Unhappily ever after: 1.4 million brits are married to the wrong person

• More than 9.6 million Brits have regrets about their marriage
• One in twenty married adults believe they married the wrong person
• One in ten married Brits are heartbroken over ‘the one that got away’
• Britain’s infidelity crisis laid bare: 1.6 million currently married Brits regret having had an affair
  
  

New research¹ from Direct Line Life Insurance reveals. a third of married brits (9.6 million people) have misgivings about their marriage, with 1.4 million of those currently wed admitting they walked down the aisle with the wrong person and more than three quarters of a million regret ever getting hitched.

Over one million people say they married their partner for all the wrong reasons, while more than 1.2 million of married couples got together, or remain married, for the sake of their children. 

The research also exposes the extent of Britain’s infidelity, as over 1.6 million (six per cent) people currently married regret cheating on their partner and having an affair. However, it is not only affairs that have got people looking elsewhere, ‘the one that got away’ still haunts over two and a half million currently married (10 per cent), who regret what happened with the love they didn’t marry. This regret is felt even more keenly in divorced adults, with nearly a quarter (700,000) of divorcees still wondering what could have been with ‘the one that got away’.

Over 2.4 million (10 per cent) married people believe they walked up the aisle too early, with many feeling they did not make the most of their earlier independence. Ten per cent (2.6 million) regret not spending more time single, or not being more adventurous, with eight per cent (two million) disappointed they haven’t had more sexual partners and nine per cent (2.3 million) annoyed they didn’t date more people. 
 

Table one:  All Brits romantic regrets

Source: Direct Line Life Insurance, 2018

It is not only those who are married that have romantic regrets, 13 per cent of all those asked are disappointed they have not dated more people and 15 per cent wonder what could have happened with ‘the one that got away’. People are also self-critical about their taste in partners, with 12 per cent regretting the type of people they have pursued romantically. 

In the immortal words of 80’s rock band ‘Foreigner’ millions of Brits “want to know what love is” as over two and a half million claim to have never experienced it. However, the research also reveals love isn’t the only way to find fulfilment, more than a third of Brits feel fulfilled through discovering true friendship (36 per cent) and travelling the world (35 per cent), with only 27 per cent feeling fulfilled when they found the love of their life. 
 

Jane Morgan, Business Manager at Direct Line Life Insurance, commented: “Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and when many people look back they may wish they had taken a different direction in life.”

It’s not only relationship regrets people carry with them through their lives, when asked about their professional lives, almost a quarter (24 per cent) of Brits wish they had chosen a different career path to begin with. In terms of career stagnation, 15 per cent stayed in the same company for too long and 16 per cent wish they had retrained as something else. Additionally, 20 per cent believe they spend too much time at work, compared to 13 per cent of women. 

Morgan continues: “A lack of income or savings can have a real impact on the paths we choose to take in our lives and in many situations people could feel trapped by their financial circumstances. This is why families should ensure they make adequate provisions for their financial future, so they can rest assured knowing their family is safeguarded whatever life may bring.”

Direct Line Life Insurance offers an affordable way for families to help look after loved ones financially if someone passes away, paying out a lump sum, to help deal with every day money concerns such as household bills, childcare costs and mortgage payments.
 

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Notes to Editors

¹  Research conducted by Opinium among a nationally representative sample of 2,002 adults between 9 to 12 January 2018
 

For further information please contact:
 

Claire Jarrett

Media Relations Executive

Direct Line Group

Tel: 01651 832 411

Email: claire.jarrett@directlinegroup.co.uk
 

Katie Ormrod

Citigate Dewe Rogerson

Tel: 0207 282 1023

Email: katie.ormrod@citigatedewerogerson.com
 

Direct Line

Started in 1985, Direct Line became the first UK insurance company to use the telephone as its main channel of communication. It provides motor, home, travel, pet and life insurance cover direct to customers by phone or on-line.

Direct Line life insurance policies are underwritten by Legal & General, registered office: One Coleman Street, London EC2R 5AA. Legal & General Assurance Society Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under number 117659. You can check the FCA register at www.fca.org.uk/register or call the FCA on 0800 111 6768. Legal & General will introduce customers who select the Funeral Benefit Option to Dignity Funeral Services, who are members of the National Association of Funeral Directors.
 

Customers can find out more about Direct Line products or get a quote by calling 0800 145 5522 or visiting www.directline.com/life-cover