The number of civil partnerships in England and Wales has seen its biggest yearly drop in nearly 20 years. Since the introduction of same-sex marriage in the UK on March 13, 2014, more couples are deciding to tie the knot with vows instead, with 6,925 marriages recorded in 2018. Additionally, a further 803 same-sex couples converted their civil partnership into a marriage.
For heterosexual couples, meanwhile, marriage rates have fallen for the third year in a row, according to the latest ONS data for 2020. They’ve reached a historic low of 20.1 marriages per 1,000 unmarried men and 18.6 marriages per 1,000 unmarried women. Only 785 civil partnerships were recorded in England and Wales in 2020, compared to over 6,000 marriages in the same year. This stands as the biggest yearly drop, equating to a 21% plummet.
It’s expected that the number of weddings, for all couples, will experience a post-pandemic boost in the coming months. In anticipation of this, law experts are highlighting the importance of pre-nups before converting civil partnerships to marriage, building an extra layer of security into the commitment.
