Nearly 20 per cent of people stay with their partners because they can’t afford to break up, a new survey has claimed.
Market research firm OnePoll polled a representative sample of 2,000 adults aged 18 or over, on behalf of the Debt Advisory Centre.
Just under 19 per cent said they had stayed with a partner at some point in their lives after a relationship had gone stale because of their financial situation at the time. Nineteen per cent is the equivalent of 9.5 million people, the Centre claims.
Just over 20 per cent of those reporting such experiences said they had stayed in such a relationship for up to three months, while nearly 43 per cent said they had stayed for a year or more. More than 24 per cent said they had remained for more than three years.
Nearly 37 per cent of respondents living in London admitted to having found themselves in this situation – more than anywhere else in the country. The percentage dropped to just under 12 per cent in the West Midlands.
Debt Advisory Centre spokesman Ian Williams said the results were “shocking” but “not that surprising”.
“It’s tough to end the bonds we create in a relationship, and financial ties can often be the hardest to break. Joint debts, mortgages or rent and childcare costs all play a part in people choosing to stay in a relationship when love breaks down, if they think they’d be unable to afford these costs alone.”
Photo by NoHoDamon via Flickr
