Although the average lifespan of a British marriage is longer, those that end up in a divorce last just over 11 years, according to government figures.
The number of British marriages in 2007 fell to 270,000, a 2.6 percent decline from 2006. In 1940 there were 426,100 weddings.
The 2007 figures also show that 144,220 couples were divorced and the average length of marriages ending in divorce was 11.5 years, according to the Office of National Statistics.
But a recent book based on five years of research into family life suggests 11 years may be the natural lifespan of a marriage, and expectations a lifetime of marital ties may be a modern invention, the Sunday Times reported.
Michael Brynin, the co-author of "Changing Relationships", argues that the expected norm of marriages lasting for decades is a modern construct and social and economic pressure may be pushing the relationship beyond its “natural” duration.
In previous centuries, marriages were cut short by death rather than divorce.
The average length of marriage of a modern British couple who divorce is roughly the same as the 11-15 years spent together by late medieval English peasants, who stayed married until one of them died.
Brynin and other experts suggest that marriage should be viewed as an economic partnership, which couples should expect to fail when the emotional and economic benefits begin to decline.
“The costs and benefits of a relationship are more fluid than in the past,” said Brynin.