We’ve all seen in the papers that the celebrities who get divorced all indicate that they have “irreconcilable differences” or the marriage has “irretrievably broken down”. The Redknapps, Ewan McGregor and Ant McPartlin are just a few who have recently indicated that this was the grounds for their divorce. But is this entirely true?

Tom Fisher, Family Law Solicitor at Jackson Lees, comments:

“Unfortunately the media like to gloss over the real circumstances and procedure of a divorce which will only distort the public perception of what happens during a divorce.

Coleen Nolan has announced that she is now getting divorced after a hellish 12 months of trying to make her marriage work and in some cases, couples will try to stay together not only to try to make their marriage work, but because they believe that they have to wait the appropriate length of time before they are able to seek a divorce. However, this is not true. Provided you have been married for more than 12 months, you can seek a divorce and no couple should be made to wait for something that they have already decided is best for them.

There are only five reasons as to why you can issue a divorce petition and a Petitioner (the spouse who is issuing the divorce petition) must rely upon only one of the five grounds. Every marriage that results in a divorce has to state that it has irretrievably broken down. Then one of the five grounds must then be relied upon for the reason as to why the marriage has irretrievably broken down.

These five grounds are:

• Adultery
• Unreasonable behaviour
• Two years’ separation with consent
• Five years’ separation
• Desertion

If you were to issue a petition based upon adultery, you would require confirmation from the spouse that they had in fact committed adultery and would confirm the same within the petition. If you were to issue a divorce petition based upon two years’ separation, you must obtain the consent of your spouse in order to proceed with the petition.

Therefore, the most common ground for a spouse to issue a divorce petition is upon unreasonable behaviour. In this petition, the spouse will then cite the “irreconcilable differences” that they wish to rely upon in order for their divorce petition to be approved. No consent or agreement is required.”

If you are considering a divorce and are unsure as to what route you would like to take, please contact a member of the family team who will be more than happy to discuss your options with you. Divorce does not have to be difficult or as dramatic as the papers wish you to believe. If you would like to talk to one of our specialist family law advisers, please click here for a call back or message us your enquiry.