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Monday, November 14, 2022
In the midst of a cost of living crisis, and with a stressful winter ahead with soaring energy prices, this is the first of a series of blogs examining the impact of the crisis on couples and families.
As the cost of living crisis heaps pressure on couples, this has reportedly led to a huge increase in the number of people having affairs. A certain website, dedicated for people looking to have extra marital affairs, claims they have had an unprecedented number of new members during the crisis.
Historically at Samuel Phillips Law, we have always seen divorce rates sore when the financial climate is poor and this was certainly the case during the financial crisis in 2008. More recently during the pandemic, we experienced a peak in divorce rates with many citing the reason for the breakdown of their marriage as their partner’s infidelity.
So why does financial strain push some to have affairs ?
One of our former clients shares with us her story.
Francesca’s story ….
“At the outset of the crisis my partner’s income was adversely impacted. I increased my working hours to try to alleviate some of the financial pressure. I drastically changed my spending patterns and encouraged my husband to do likewise. He refused, rather he continued to spend as before. His behaviour made me stressed and anxious.
There was constant bickering and arguing about money. I began to feel resentful towards him which in turn made it hard to maintain any romance.
I started spending more time at the office in a bid to avoid seeing my husband. Then, what started as a flirty friendship with a colleague led to a full blown affair.
The affair was such a welcome distraction from the stress at home and well sex is one of the few things you can do for free Incredulously not once did I consider the consequences of the affair upon my marriage, I was just living in the moment. But then my husband discovered the affair. Our marriage sadly ended.
I wish I had made more of an effort to resolve our money worries and if necessary sought professional help. The affair was short term escapism from those worries and in fact has now created more financial stress as we try to finance the running of two homes”
In our next blog we will examine the difficulties that couples face once they have made that decision to separate but cannot afford to do so in the current economic climate.
If you need any personal guidance with regards to any issues regarding separation or divorce, contact our friendly and supportive Family Law team in the strictest of confidence on 0191 232 8451 or email familydepartment@samuelphillips.co.uk
Written by Sarah Ward, Partner – Divorce and Family
Sarah “Best divorce lawyer in the North” and “Wonder Woman of the Divorce World”, joined Samuel Phillips Law in 2019.
