January is the busiest month for family solicitors in Epsom and across the rest of the UK, as couples who stayed together over Christmas finally call a day on their relationship. In fact, the first Monday of the year has been dubbed ‘Divorce Day’, as queries about legal separation typically soar on this day. 

Indeed, relationship counselling charity Relate Cymru revealed it received 50 calls on January 3rd, compared with an average of eight or nine in early December, reported BBC News. 

So why do warring couples quit their marriage once the new year begins?

Relate’s Amanda Major told the publication the problems that cause marriage breakdowns tend to be similar.

For younger couples, they are typically financial worries, while parenting and taking care of elderly relatives cause tension in older relationships. 

“Many of the couples who come to us haven’t stopped loving each other, they’ve stopped talking and knowing each other,” she stated.

Divorce coach Sarah Davison said the festive season can lead to a “switch flicking moment” for many couples, which is when “something tips the balance and you decide you just can’t do this anymore”. 

The pressures of Christmas festivities and finances, seeing lots of family, not having the distraction of the usual routine, and excessive partying and drinking, which can often lead to infidelity, can lead to people deciding to call it quits in January. 

“If the foundations of the relationship are rocky, spending increased amounts of time together can increase the pressure and the cracks will start to show,” Ms Davison noted.