Studies appear to suggest that this is a myth, because evidence points to the contrary.  According to the Institute of American Values, when divorced couples were rated with couples who stayed married on 12 parameters of psychological well-being, it was discovered that on average, couples who divorced were no happier five years after the divorce than were equally unhappily married couples who stayed together.[1]

 

There are other reasons why divorced individuals don’t end up happier: 

 

•        Depression symptoms do not necessarily diminish with divorce, nor did divorce raise people’s self-esteem;

 

•        Unhappy marriages were less common than unhappy spouses;

•        Staying married did not typically trap unhappy spouses in violent relationships.[2]

 

Ms. Heines also raised the litigation aspect in most divorces.  She said that a significant number of married people usually want to