Survey says same-sex couples are less likely to divorce

A new survey has found that same-sex married couples are less likely to divorce than their straight counterparts.

The research – conducted by The Williams Institute – found that the average divorce rate for same-sex couples in the US is just 1.1 percent annually, down from the 2 percent divorce rate for straight married couples.

The survey also discovered that lesbian couples are far more likely to get married than gay men, with 62 percent of gay marriages being between two women.

“In early 2014, the Williams Institute collected administrative data on marriages, civil unions, and domestic partnerships of same-sex couples in the 23 states that offered these statuses at the time data collection began,” said the group behind the study.

The researchers went on to add that the number of gay weddings in the US nearly doubled from 2012 to 2013, suggesting that the striking down of the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013 – which paved the way for same-sex marriages in a number of states – was responsible for the increase.

“Before 2013, the number of weddings in Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Vermont decreased each year as the pent-up demand for wedding played itself out,” they explained.

“In 2013, the number of weddings jumped in all three states, reversing that earlier downward trend and suggesting that the Windsor decision may have contributed to more marriages. Across the three states, the number of same-sex couples who married nearly doubled from 2012 to 2013.”

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