While people got married at 25 half a century ago, the French now wait much longer to take the plunge. A new love calendar which could well hold unexpected surprises regarding the longevity of the couple.
We know that marriage is no longer a priority for the French. Over the last decades, morals (and especially women’s rights) have evolved significantly: remaining single, living together or having children outside of marriage is no longer an unacceptable affront in the eyes of society, but the daily life of a large part of the population. So much so that putting a ring on your finger is no longer a norm to follow, but a simple option available to couples who wish to celebrate their love.
In the space of 50 years, the number of unions celebrated in France has also decreased by more than 40%. If we actually marry less than before, a majority of lovers still end up passing the milestone: according to INED figures, 72% of French couples are today married, while 8% are in a civil partnership, and 20% live in a common-law union. Marriage therefore remains in the majority, but the difference lies above all in the age at which we end up saying “Yes!”, which is only increasing.
In 1975, people got married on average around the age of 25. But half a century later, it’s a completely different story. According to INSEE data, “in 2025, the average age of women at marriage is 37.5 years for different-sex marriages, and 39.0 years for same-sex marriages”. Men take the plunge even later: 39.8 years on average for marriages between heterosexual couples, compared to 44.5 years for marriages between homosexual couples. Faced with the financial cost of a marriage and the undeniable possibility of a divorce, also costly but above all emotionally heavy, we think longer before swearing fidelity for life. But is a later marriage really a guarantee of a lasting relationship?
“For years, we believed that the longer you waited to get married, the less likely you were to divorce.”recalls Nicholas H. Wolfinger, professor of sociology at the University of Utah, in a study published by the Institute for Family Studies. His work shows that before the age of 32, each year spent without getting married actually reduces the risk of future separation, by around 11% per year. But after 32 years, the trend reverses. Each additional year this time increases the probability of divorce, with an increase estimated at 5% per year. In short, if maturity and reflection remain undeniable assets for building a solid couple, the adage “better late than never” seems to have its limits in love.
