Have you ever wondered, is divorce contagious? Can you catch it from a co-worker, just like the flu?
According to a long term study on divorce, yes you can. The facts are kinda scary.
A recent study on divorce found some pretty surprising statistics:
If your friend gets a divorce, you are 147 times more likely to get a divorce within the next four years.
If your sibling happens to get a divorce you are 22% more likely to get divorced too.
If you work in a small office and a co-worker gets divorced, you are 55% more likely to also become divorced.
Could it be? Did I just catch my divorce like a bad summer cold? Did I touch a doorknob or speak to someone and unwittingly expose myself to divorce?
I’m no smarty pants, especially when it comes to math and such but I have some issues with this whole idea.
First of all, if 50% of all marriages supposedly end in divorce, wouldn’t that mean that just about every single person in this country comes in contact with a person who’s been divorced? Doesn’t everyone have a family member who has been divorced? Then why are we not all divorced?
Because what caused my divorce wasn’t other people’s influence. It wasn’t because of a co-worker or relative. No amount of outside influence can prop up a bad marriage or cause a strong marriage to disintegrate.
I’ve had friends here in Los Angeles whose husbands didn’t want them to be around me in case my divorce was catching. (Oh yes, I’m that powerful. Repeat after me: I want to leave my amazing husband and become alone and poor like you!)
I believe in the end it comes down to one thing. Two people. Their decisions. Their actions. Their relationship. No amount of lunches with a co-worker who’s getting a divorce will bring your marriage crashing down unless it was going to happen anyway.
What do you think? Can being around another divorced person increase your chances of getting divorced too?
xoxo-Rosie