Divorce rate surges as friends are reunited

Internet sites such as Friends Reunited are unwittingly fuelling a surge in marital break-up as bored husbands and wives contact old flames, relationship counsellors warned yesterday as official figures showed divorce has reached a seven-year high.

The marriage guidance body Relate said Britain's long working hours and ease of internet access provided increasing opportunity for a disaffected spouse to seek out an alternative relationship.

It was easier than ever for one or both partners to find an excuse to stay late at the office - or log on to the internet to scan for romance - instead of sorting out the emotional problems of the marriage.

Christine Northam, a spokeswoman for Relate, said: "A lot of people have a rosy impression of the first relationship they had at school or college. If they are feeling unhappy with their partner, they begin wondering what it would have been like if they'd stayed with the old flame. Friends Reunited makes it possible to get back in contact with old classmates. It doesn't cause breakdowns, but for those who were scanning for another relationship, it's a nice way of doing it. You make contact, you meet and Bob's your uncle."

Her comments came after the Office for National Statistics said that the number of couples getting divorced in England and Wales is higher than at any time since Labour came to power in 1997. It said there were 153,490 divorces last year, an increase of 3.9% since 2002. This was the third successive year of rising divorce rates, since falling back from 157,107 in 1996. The record was 165,018 in 1993.

Ms Northam said: "These figures are a reflection of the way society is changing. Developments in the role of women have affected the power balance of modern couples and that is a struggle for some men who find it hard to negotiate. People also expect a better quality of relationship and sometimes may set their sights too high. And there are the long working hours. I sometimes nearly fall off my chair when I hear couples describe their working week, with schedules taking so much energy and putting them under such pressure."

Internet access was the new factor allowing a disaffected husband or wife to pursue other relationships while saying they were working at home. "It makes having extramarital relationships easier," Ms Northam said. The ONS said the divorce rate for men was highest in their early 30s, with 27.7 divorces per 1,000 married men aged 30-34. Among women the divorce rate was highest in the 25-29 age group, with 28.9 divorces per 1,000 married women.

The average age at divorce for both men and women continued to rise in 2003: to 42.3 years for men and 39.8 for women. Couples divorcing last year had been married on average for 11.3 years. More than half (55%) had at least one child under 16.