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Marriages Are Up, Divorces Down as Rates Return to Pre-Pandemic Levels: CDC

The end of lockdown and a shift in the way people choose partners may be behind it.

More and more couples are getting hitched and fewer are splitting up, according to a new data released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. In 2022, marriage rates rebounded from a pandemic low of 5.1 per 1,000 people to 6.2 per 1,000 people; by the same token, divorce rates fell from 4 per 1,000 to 2.4 per 1,000 people between 2020 and 2022. Marissa Nelson, a marriage and family therapist in D.C., told CNN the changes may reflect how the end of COVID lockdowns provided many couples with a new perspective on their relationships, as they were forced to confront difficulties head-on. Ian Kerner, another marriage and family specialist, observed a change in the way more people are choosing long-term partners. “I’ve noticed a gradual shift from the ‘romantic marriage’ to the ‘companionate marriage,’ meaning that people are increasingly choosing spouses at the outset who are more like best friends than passion-partners,” Kerner told CNN. That type of partnership may be better for long-term stability and support, he said.