Attorney Michael de Broglio on: South Africa, Law, Politics, Attorneys, Sport, Photography, Technology, Gadgets, Media, Crime, Road Accidents Fund,
Divorce, Maintenance, Personal Injury, Medical Negligence
An article in the Sunday Times this weekend caught my eye. It was primarily about divorce, and how the number of divorces in South Africa soared from 39 573 the previous year to 50 517 in the most recent year due to the fact that it is relatively easy to get divorced in South Africa and detailing how, as long as they were no financial problems in the relationship, the parties tended to stay together for longer, even if the relationship wasn’t working that well. It’s no surprise that when on top of everything else, there are financial issues, that the relationship doesn’t survive.
The part that interested me the most though was that for first-time marriages the average marrying age for a women in South Africa’s 29 and for a man is 32 to 33. I’ve often thought that people tend to get married too quickly, this statistic tends to suggest that those that are marrying young are in fact the exception these days. And average age for women of 29 is far higher than I thought it would be, and probably around the ideal age for marriage.
Posted by Michael de Broglio on Monday 04-Nov-13
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Comments
Catherine said:
on Monday 11-Nov-13 06:48 AM
I believe people should marry when they feel and act mature enough to handle life's complexities.
salomie said:
on Friday 08-Nov-13 02:50 PM
marage is just marage if it works great if not to bad
Yolandi P said:
on Friday 08-Nov-13 02:32 PM
I don't believe in marrying to young. People need to have the opportunity to fully develop their personality and know who they are before they commit to being with someone forever. I do believe that marriage is forever and should not be taken lightly.
Yolandi C said:
on Friday 08-Nov-13 01:36 PM
If you are financially secure, I don't think age matters.
Lourien said:
on Wednesday 06-Nov-13 04:39 PM
I have to say I do believe when you do get married it should be forever and when you are with someone you know if its right or wrong. My parents and both my grand parents have all been happily married for all their lives and yes everyone has their ups and downs and so have they, wonderful times and some bad days as well, and not once have I ever heard they wanted to get divorced and its a word that I will never use. In this time its so much easier to get divorced than it is to forgiving and forgetting problems, and most people cant solve their problems because they may give up and they might not know how. But in my eyes that is what makes a relationship work and that is as perfect as you are going to get it, no relationship is without problems big or small but the way you handle it makes a difference in life ... I would love to get married to the person in my life with no certain age in mind...
Cindy said:
on Wednesday 06-Nov-13 12:55 PM
I think a perfect age is around 24-27 to get married. You still want to get children and around that age you should already be stable in your financial life. BUT I wont recommend to get married if it is not the right one... Divorce is so easy these days and I think people get married for the wrong reasons.
Anjelica said:
on Tuesday 05-Nov-13 07:51 AM
I don't think that the age really matters. As Melissa said you need be secure in your job and financially before making the big decision.
Brenda said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 02:58 PM
Typo in my previous comment.... At the age of 30 not 20 :)
Brenda said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 02:57 PM
I get a lot of question as to why I am not yet married at the age of 20. Quite frankly, divorce is a major issue in my family, my parents getting divorced after only 1 year of marriage, and then both remarrying and getting divorced again. My grandparents are divorced, aunts and uncles are divorced. I just don't see myself following in the "family tradition". I have dated a lot of guys, but I never felt that any of them were those that i want to spend the rest of my life with. Should i ever get married, i want my marriage to be till death do us part, because divorce will not be an option, and therefore i am waiting for the right man, the man who I will know without a shadow of a doubt, is the man i want to grow old with.
Kaylee said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 02:12 PM
I don't think men or woman are mature enough to get married before 30. I also think that most people only start to obtain financial stability at about 30 years old. I probably only have one friend who is married, and most of my friends are focusing on their careers and will probably only get married after 30. I have no intention of getting married before 30.
Melissa said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 01:02 PM
The marriage ages still differs a lot, but most couples only marry from ages 24 onwards, they first study & get a secure job & are financially stable. Partners wants to be financially independent from each other. Although some marriages does not last due to different problems in their marriages. Although a main problem is finances.
brumilde said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 12:41 PM
It's not weird that people don't last if the money is a problem. Love can't buy food or clothes. but loves can survive allot. Good to know that people are waiting when they are a bit older to get married. Although it is easy to get divorced it still breaks you down
Ashleigh said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 11:20 AM
A lot of young couples are actually in the trend of moving in together and seeing if they would be able to live together before they get married. Its a good exercise to do before tying the knot because either way you are sharing finances in the household and to see how you cope with life together.
Thabitha said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 11:15 AM
I think we must start by understanding what is the marriage first and what is your responsibility as a man or woman in that marriage.
I understand man are scared of the noisy woman so I think woman must be soft and calm people and which is highly impossible
Iola said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 11:10 AM
I believe that there are people who get married to young but I dont think 'to young' has a specific age I think it is more to do with the maturity and at what stage of life you're in if you are successful at the age of 21 and you are stable and are happy where you are and you have found the 'love of your life' given that your partner is at that same stage in their lives why not get married but don't when times get a little tough give up on that person.
people who get married need to honour their vows but also not just jump into marriage for the wrong reasons Divorce shouldnt be as easy as a relationship to get out of like Benita said
Angelique said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 11:02 AM
Why is this topic coming up more and more around me. I think age is a huge factor to take into consideration before getting married. Not many will agree but I have seen many people get married too young and get divorced. In your early twenties you can fall so quickly in and out of love - one is allowed to. You are still figuring out what you want! You should be having fun in your early twenties, why do you want to grow old too quickly and be tied down? My eldest sister got married at 20 and a few years later got divorced. So I learned that way. I feel no matter what, I would like to first have a degree and all my ducks in a row and be stable before I think of marriage. Ideally that would be around 27 - 28 as I would not like to have kids after 30.
Jessica said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 11:02 AM
I personally think people that leave because of financial difficulties are sad people. I mean Rome wasn't built in a day and as the saying goes, If you couldn't stand by me at my worst, you sure can't have me at my best!!! Nice they got the age right because I plan on getting married in 2015 when I have turned 29 and I never even thought of it that way. I must say financial issues do play on your relationship but if you can make it through that together, you can sure live together for the rest of your lives, just my thoughts.
ursulene said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 10:58 AM
Lucky for me I am far from the average marrying age. I think this is a good age to get married too, close to 30. When you should be settled and more secure in who you are and should know what you want out of life.
ursulene said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 10:58 AM
Lucky for me I am far from the average marrying age. I think this is a good age to get married too, close to 30. When you should be settled and more secure in who you are and should know what you want out of life.
Lizanne said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 10:55 AM
I agree with Lee-ann! I met my husband in Matric of 2002, we got married in August 2007 when we were 22 years old......and now, we know each other for 11 years and are married for 6 and still going strong. We are both 29 years old!! But i also think that some people intent to get married for the wrong reasons.
Helen said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 10:35 AM
I founded very easy today to get married and after couple of years to get divorce. Like it is the type of games of relationship - but the ones who will suffer the most are kids. I will no judge anyone or even I will say I do not know how to have a perfect marriage, I do know my self. But I believe that people can work out and be honest to each other and fight for each other to keep their marriage going, and if they have kids - make their kids happy and be proud of their parents.
Sinead said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 10:14 AM
Hmmm.... I don't know how I feel about this topic. In my opinion, by 30 years old, a woman should have had all her children already, and although it is nice to think like that, realistically most women are only having their first at that age.
As for the divorce rate: It's sad to see the number of divorces go up so drastically in a year.
Sheena said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 10:13 AM
I personaly dont think that there should be any specific age that one should get married. If you feel ready to make that choice and you are sure , then it is a chance you must take.
Tersia said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 10:08 AM
In my opinion 29 is way to old to get married, a woman should at least be 24/25. I don't believe in divorce, if you know the person is not right for you and you fight allot why go through all the trouble to marry him/her just to divorce him/her. The problem is people don't care anymore, they give on something too easily.
Dune said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 10:07 AM
Marriage means sharing a life together, loving each other and the most important thing that couples should be aware of is the responsibility that comes with it.
Cornelie said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 10:07 AM
I don't regret that i got married at age 25 but if i could do it all over again i would rather got married at age 29 a person would think 4 years would not make a differences it does make you more mature.
Henrietta said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 10:05 AM
I actually don't believe there is a certain age to get married. I believe if you want to get married at 20 you do that. My parent divorced when I was 7 and it really is sad but things happen for a reason and they were just not meant to be. In a way I'll say when you older you are wiser and do take things more seriously while when you 20 you are still growing up in a way.
Simone said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 10:00 AM
Yes, I completely agree. 29 is a good and perfect age for a woman to get married. It should be the same with having children.
Tanya - the T said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 08:26 AM
Marriage, such a lovely way to ruin your perfectly functional relationship with social norms.
Lucretia said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 08:22 AM
I think people are to quick to marry, nothing to do with age but too quickly. If the sex is good, lets get married - the most important part is the communication because that might be all that is left and if that is bad - forget the rest, it's doomed. The lust will disappear, the looks fade, weight changes, etc, if the communication is good from the start - chances are the relationship will ride most storms.
Benita said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 08:08 AM
Marriage is something a lot of people take to likely. It has become like dating and to easy to get out of
Liesl said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 08:07 AM
The "real-life" couples that have been in the marriage trenches and still manage to make it work, we can learn a lot from them. Falling in love is not the same thing as being in love, embrace the change and know that it takes work.
Lee-Ann said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 07:55 AM
" to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us apart" I believe that marriage is sacred and the vows you take should be upheld, but it seems that these days no one takes it seriously.
moenisha said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 07:30 AM
The first year maybe two is hard because you are now living together and a have to learn each others ways lots of compromise,if you get through that then it gets easier, but most of the youngsters today don't have staying power that's why they rather get a divorce.
Alexis said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 06:49 AM
Divorce is an ugly thing and happens too often. But i think that i all depends on the people and how they handle the marriage and deal with it, for some people it changes the relationship entirely and others it makes them better. You can never tell what will happen, but you need communication in your relationship amongst a lot of other thigs and people tend to forget that
Sorea said:
on Monday 04-Nov-13 06:40 AM
At least people are waiting until they know what is going on in life before getting hitched ... well at least mostly.
Johannesburg based attorney specializing in personal injury matters including Road Accident Fund claims and medical negligence matters. My interests include golf, reading and the internet and the way it is constantly developing. I have a passion for life and a desire for less stress!
