‘When things go wrong, it is now possible for the first time in history for the women in a marriage to say, “I’m off,”’ wrote the Observer in 1976. Since the 1969 Divorce Reform Act, divorces were rocketing – 120,000 petitions a year – but was it inevitably an ‘emotional disaster’ or the ‘unacceptable face of individualism?’ And above all: ‘What about the children?’
Individual stories gave a more reassuring, recognisable picture. Peter, 40, had ‘achieved an amicable divorce’ with ex-wife Elizabeth, including alternate-week custody of their son, Tony. Both had remarried (Elizabeth to Peter’s best friend Jonathan) and all four met up regularly to discuss Tony’s welfare. Tony, Peter said, ‘felt the draught during the worst months’, but was now thriving. It had been painful, unsurprisingly, but eventually Elizabeth said: ‘We were able to stand back and think, “How can we be sensible?”’
