If You Have This Specific Age Gap, The Higher The Chance Of Divorce
The bigger the age gap, the higher the chance of divorce.
Getty Images My husband is 11 years older than me. It never really crosses my mind, because I think when you get to a certain age, most of us are on the same page…. and I'm totally way more mature.
If he were 30 years older, it might be tricky, because of the generational gap and he being older than my parents, but at just 11 years older, I think it's OK.
But science, however, doesn't agree.
Do you have a big age gap in your marriage? Science says you're probably getting divorced
A 2014 study has found that, in addition to many other factors, the key to a successful marriage is marrying someone close to your age.
In fact, the closer the better. The study polled over 3,000 married and divorced Americans to examine what are the major contributions to the success of a marriage. What was discovered was that age difference was one of the common denominators in determining whether or not a marriage would end in divorce.
Those with only a one-year difference in age were 3 percent more likely to divorce than those who were the same age; whereas a five-year age difference resulted in couples being 18 percent more likely to call it quits. As for my husband and I? We're at just over a 39 percent likelihood of divorcing because we're slightly above the 10-year difference.
Those couples that really don't seem to have any hope for the future are the ones with the 20-year age difference (a 95 percent likelihood of splitsville — yikes!), and a 30-year age difference who has — wait for it — a 172 percent more likelihood of divorcing.
It's like what's even the point of getting hitched to someone that much older with those sorts of statistics? It's practically a guarantee that things will never, ever work out, and every cent you spend on your wedding will be a waste, and every bit of effort you put into your relationship will just be in vain! Or will it?
As the study also pointed out, statistics are not destiny. We can never tell what the future holds, and when we look at Harold and Maude, if she hadn't killed herself at the end of the movie, those two crazy kids, with their 50+ age difference, could have really had something special until the end of time. It takes a rare breed to bond over funerals, death, and stealing cars.
As I've stated time and time again, studies definitely give us something to ponder and even inject into our lives, but if we steer away from the possibility of happiness, then we condemn ourselves to misery.
Age is but a number; this is a very true statement. If we allow an age difference to dictate to the heart, then we're not really getting the whole love experience…says the girl who has a 39 percent likelihood of divorce.
Amanda Chatel has been a sexual wellness and relationship journalist for over a decade. Her work has been featured in Glamour, Shape, Self, and other outlets.