“When I go out with a woman, I can always tell on the first date if she’s from a divorced family,” said a young man. “The women from divorced families are overanxious, eager to please. They’re exhausting.” (“The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce”)
“My parents have been married 35 years, and I want a long marriage like they’ve had. I love my boyfriend, but he’s from a divorced family and, I don’t know, it just seems like he had to be a lot more independent growing up than I ever was. Frankly, it worries me.” (“Between Two Worlds”)
As a researcher and an adult child of divorce, Elizabeth Marquardt is all too familiar with statements like these.
“I will never forget a conversation I had with my ex-stepfather about the possibility of marrying the man I was dating at the time,” said Marquardt. “He suggested that because of my parents’ track record on marriage, that I might not make great marriage material. I was devastated, angry and scared.”
If you ask a group of people what their chances are of making it in a lasting marriage, practically everyone will say they have a 50/50 chance of making it. And many have heard that if you come from a home of divorce you are at an even higher risk for divorce.