There are a lot of stories in the news about how millennials are ‘killing’ industries or changing them for the worse. Most of them are completely unfounded and any changes are usually down to not having the same financial stability as the previous generations.
However, there is a lot of evidence to suggest that millennials are changing the way that marriage works, often for the better. Here are some of the different ways that millennials approach marriage.
Millennials Are Waiting Longer To Get Married
There was a time when people would graduate from high school and get married. In fact, this is what happened with many of the baby boomer generations. But now it is increasingly common for people to wait until they are older to commit.
Many millennials have been through several jobs or gone to university so that they can have a better chance financially before getting married. A lot of couples are buying houses together before getting married too.
There are a few reasons for this delay in getting married. Firstly, millennials don’t have the same financial freedom that their parents did and with the cost of living going up, people are more likely to save money for a house deposit instead of spending it on a wedding.
The way that millennials date is so much different now too. In the past, people were expected to get married young so they met and married the first person they came across (not quite this extreme, but close)! These days, people have more freedom to wait until they find somebody they are really sure about.
Millennials have fears about getting divorced. They saw very high divorce rates among their parent’s generation. This leads to our next change…
Millennials Are Getting Divorced Less
People are getting married later, which means they have more time to date people before tying the knot. This means that many millennials have a better idea of who they want to marry and couples are making it work before deciding to make their union official. It is becoming increasingly common for young people to live together before marriage too.
As a result, millennials seem to be getting it right the first time and divorce rates are declining. That doesn’t mean you won’t need a divorce lawyer just because you’re a millennial, but it is less likely. In fact, there has been a 24% decline in divorces since the 1980s.
Millennials Are More Likely To Get a Prenup
Millennials are more likely to protect their own financial assets by getting a prenup before they get married. This might seem like a sad reflection of society, but there are many good reasons why this is becoming more commonplace.
A prenup means that both parties know what will happen in the event of a divorce. You won’t lose out financially because you didn’t get your fair share when you and your partner split; you know exactly how much you’re entitled to before agreeing to get married.
People might complain about millennials changing things, but there’s no denying that we are changing marriage for the better.
