Divorce: Has January become the month for marriages to end?

The first Monday of the New Year has long been known among solicitors and counsellors as "Divorce Day".

However, in Wales at least, it appears this phenomenon is turning into "Divorce Month".

One law firm has said enquiries in January have spiked at about 150% of the November, December and February average.

Relationship counselling charity Relate Cymru also said it had seen an increase in couples asking for help.

Grant Stephens, of Cardiff-based Grant Stephens Family Law, said on top of the normal pressures of the festive period, new factors such as Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis are compounding matters.

"In terms of stressors on a relationship, Christmas can be right up there with moving house or having a child," he said.

"There's the pressure of being cooped up at home with your extended family, or at the other end of the spectrum, not seeing as much of them as you'd like because of work commitments."

Mr Stephens said he primarily deals with high net worth divorce cases, where the spike often comes from couples deciding the have one last Christmas together, or see New Year as a milestone.

"However I am also finding from staff who deal with more modest divorce cases that there is increasing anxiety of price rises, and worrying how to heat the home, never mind finding money for Christmas presents," he added.

He said the Christmas break was a snapshot of what couples experienced during the height of the Covid pandemic.

"With lockdown, couples faced the intensity and close proximity issues of Christmas multiplied by a thousand," he said.

Relate Cymru reported on 3 January it received 50 enquiries for help from couples, compared with about 8 or 9 a day in early December.

The charity said many couples expected their relationships to come under increased strain over the coming months, with financial worries, mental health problems and the pressure to create the perfect Christmas cited as reasons.

Relate's Amanda Major said the main concerns depended considerably on the age of the respondent.

"The pressure seems to be universal, across all ages, married or cohabiting, and straight or same-sex relationships, though the causes do vary according to their age," she said.

"For the under 35s money worries account for about half the problems identified, with the difficulties of having to live with parents if you can't afford your own home, and the increase in prices.

"However for older couples other factors come into play, such as parenting, and the toll of caring for elderly relatives in an aging population."

Ms Major said early intervention was vital for couples, ideally as soon as any cracks start to emerge.

"Communication is vital at any stage of a relationship, but especially so in the early days," she said.

"Many of the couples who come to us haven't stopped loving each other, they've stopped talking and knowing each other.

"Often counselling can help them to understand what has gone wrong, to part as amicably as possible, and avoid making the same mistakes in future relationships."