Dating Away Divorce?

These days, it seems like divorce is close to universal in many countries around the world. Governments have attempted many things in order to bring down divorce, from creating tax benefits for marriage to taxing divorce to making divorce very difficult or impossible to legally request. It doesn’t appear that many of these options are working, because even if people are not able to divorce their spouses, that does not mean that they want to remain married, and often live separately or, if they may not, live as separately as possible in the circumstances.

While all of these tactics may make the divorce process more difficult or less financially desirable, they do not address the underlying reason for most divorces: that the parties just aren’t happy together anymore and want to live separate lives. The Huffington Post is reporting that Norway, the Northern European country with a 40% divorce rate, is attempting something different to impact that underlying problem: Date Night.

In the movie Date Night, Tina Fey and Steve Carrell’s characters are in a boring and repetitive marriage and decide to start going out on date nights to reinvigorate their marriage. Although in the movie hijinks and trouble ensue, it did lead to an increase in excitement and put the “magic” back in their marriage, which is what the Norwegian government is trying to replicate.

Solveig Horne, the Norwegian Minister for Children, Equality, and Social Inclusion, in the spirit of Date Night, is encouraging couples to go on dates to put the spark back into their marriage, as well as increasing funding for marriage counseling. She may be right. In 2012, the National Marriage Project released a study revealing that couples who kept dating after marriage were more than 3 times happier in their marriages than couples who did not date. Women in relationships in which the parties go on weekly dates also experienced higher levels of sexual satisfaction.

If you are unhappy with your relationship, then it may be the case that divorce is the best option for you. Contact our PA divorce attorneys to discuss your case!