Forget the seven-year itch: opposite-sex marriages more likely to end after two decades 18 October 2026 at 09:29

Forget the seven-year itch: opposite-sex marriages more likely to end after two decades

18 October 2026 at 09:29

ONS data for England and Wales shows 26% of heterosexual divorces in 2025 followed 20 years or more of marriage

Most couples are aware of the dreaded “seven-year itch”, when the honeymoon period wears off and real life starts to bite.

Now official data has shown that couples in England and Wales are more likely to split after 20 years. According to Office for National Statistics figures, more than a quarter of all divorces between opposite-sex couples happened after 20 years or longer of marriage.

Ms., Martians and Guacamole: Their First Time in The Times 15 October 2026 at 15:50

Ms., Martians and Guacamole: Their First Time in The Times

NYT: Technology

By: The New York Times and Joanna Ni

15 October 2026 at 15:50

Our reporters share a compendium of debuts, discoveries and (sometimes overdue) appearances in the paper.

‘I am still a child, it cannot be good to be married’: how drought forces Afghan families to sell girls as brides 15 October 2026 at 00:00

‘I am still a child, it cannot be good to be married’: how drought forces Afghan families to sell girls as brides

The Guardian

By: Elise Blanchard

15 October 2026 at 00:00

As climate breakdown pushes families to starvation, many feel forced to ‘sacrifice’ daughters to save siblings. Photographer Elise Blanchard travelled the country speaking to girls as young as eight, 10 and 14 who have been engaged or married to repay debts or pay for food

‘I’m not happy about this,” says 11-year-old Khatira, who was sold into marriage to repay debts, sitting in her home in Qala-e-Naw, capital of Badghis province in north-west Afghanistan. “She was healthy before her engagement, now she is worried and cries a lot,” says her 40-year-old mother, Noor Bibi.

When her 20-year-old husband-to-be comes to her home, Khatira runs away. Since her engagement, she has stopped going outside because she “is ashamed of having a husband in front of the other girls”, says her mother.

Shepherds watch over their sheep in the hills of Bala-Murghab, Badghis province, north-west Afghanistan. By March, the pasture was already too dry for the season

Same-sex couple sue over Slovakia’s refusal to register marriage 13 October 2026 at 02:00

Same-sex couple sue over Slovakia’s refusal to register marriage

The Guardian

By: Rob Cameron in Bratislava

13 October 2026 at 02:00

Case of couple who wed legally in Austria exposes clash between EU court ruling and national restrictions

A same-sex couple are suing authorities in Slovakia for refusing to register their Austrian marriage, testing whether a landmark EU court ruling can turn recognition abroad into legal security at home.

Their fight exposes a clash between European obligations and national restrictions – and what that means for LGBTQ+ people living under Robert Fico’s populist-nationalist government.

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