Same-sex marriage in Australia became legal in December 2017.

Many lesbian couples were excited to try out their new legal rights, so they rushed to get married. As is the case regardless of, if you are straight or gay, rushing to marriage without thinking about your long-term plans increases your chances of getting divorced.

11% of people in Australia live an alternative lifestyle when it comes to sexual orientation and/or gender. And since many are planning to get married, this means that divorce will increase. The family law courts need to prepare for this.

Lesbian couples are 250% more likely to get divorced than straight couples. Further, lesbian couples are twice as likely to get divorced than gay male couples.

Why Do Lesbians Get Divorced More?

Data shows that there were 112 same-sex couple divorces in Australia in 2016 – 500 times compared to the previous year when only 22 divorces took place. In the United Kingdom it’s a similar story, where 78% of lesbians got divorced, versus 25% of gay men.

In the United States, there were 134,000 same-sex couples and 21% of them were either common law (living together not married) or were married. In the state of Massachusetts, 3 out of 4 same-sex couples that were married were lesbian.

For What Reasons Do Lesbians Get Divorced?

The most common reason we hear for same-sex couples getting divorced is because of cheating. The most common reason for straight couples is financial problems. Often the words “respect” and “the other spouse being controlling” are common.

What Should You Do To Reduce Your Chance Of Divorce?

• Make sure you do a marriage agreement (prenup) to reduce the costs of a divorce.
• Make sure you agree to who owns what prior to getting married.
• Discuss if you want to have children prior to getting married.
• Don’t leave important conversations for after marriage. Be clear and up front with your expectations.