This article is part of an ongoing webinar series, “Life is a Revolution”, focused on the life milestones with the biggest impact on women and their finances. In this article, we take a closer look at relationships, how they evolve over time, and how women can cultivate meaningful connections while planning for their future.
For a deeper dive, we invite you to join us on Thursday 8th May at 7 PM, where we’ll be speaking with Psychotherapist and Former Family Lawyer, Deborah Levy, on how women can navigate love, loss, and financial freedom, alongside Client Manager, Sally Matthews.
“Happiness is only real when shared”. This quote from Christopher McCandless encapsulates one of the most enduring aspects of human nature – our need to connect.
Christopher, an American adventurer and the inspiration for the hit film Into the Wild (2007), made international headlines when a once inspirational nomadic adventure turned tragic, with nomadism turning into fatal isolation.
Chris’s diaries throughout his adventure unearthed plenty of powerful life lessons, but perhaps most significant was his recognition that relationships and shared experiences were the key to long-lasting happiness.
It’s perhaps not a surprising revelation to many, and yet, with day-to-day lives that have never kept us so busy, nor faced us with so many challenges, cultivating, maintaining, and fuelling those relationships has never been so complex.
Women and relationships in the 21st century
Our relationships continuously evolve throughout life, but for women, mid-to-later life is a period with the most potential for change…
Modern marriage
Women are marrying later than ever, with the median age for women marrying an opposite sex partner being 31.2 years – the highest on record. For women in same-sex partnerships, that number climbs to 32.6.
Unlike previous decades, UK women are entering marriages older, wiser, and significantly more established.
The same extends to remarriages amongst those over 50, with a 47% rise between 2012 and 2022. Women are expected to live longer, with greater financial stability than ever before, and as a result, a mid-life romantic renaissance is becoming more and more common.
Navigating divorce
Divorce is another significant milestone, and in recent years, access to – and the consequences of – divorce have shifted. In the UK, the average length of marriages before divorce is approximately 12 years, with no-fault divorces (introduced in 2022) leading to a 20% rise in divorce filings last year.
Despite increased access to divorce, the financial implications remain complex. In 2024, women’s household incomes fell by 50% on average in the year following a divorce, compared to a 30% decrease for men. In part, this is because women are twice as likely as men to reduce their working hours to accommodate childcare responsibilities, and are therefore more likely to face challenges balancing work and childcare.
With all of this in mind, it’s perhaps most interesting here that just 7% of divorcees seek financial advice during the divorce process, greatly increasing the risk of challenging financial outcomes for women.
Blended life
Modern relationships can – and do – take many forms, including shared lives outside traditional legal structures. As a result, cohabitation is on the rise, accounting for about one in five couples living together in the UK.
Despite the increased popularity of cohabitation, the financial and legal implications for women are often misunderstood, with many believing cohabitation can afford similar rights to that of marriage.
Unlike married couples, cohabitants have no automatic rights to property following separation, which can disproportionately affect women who have taken on caregiving roles without formal ownership of assets. Rights are similarly limited when it comes to pension sharing arrangements otherwise available to married women, which can place cohabiting women at further risk of financial insecurity.
The route forward for women: how to have it all
Relationships, their evolution, and the lessons waiting within them, are one of the core parts of a rich and fulfilling life. And yet, for women, they walk hand-in-hand with financial implications that can have lifelong impacts.
The modern woman can have it all – but to do so, one thing is clear: financial planning is not a nice-to-have, it’s a non-negotiable.
Armed with the right guidance, strategy, and investment of effort, women today can open the doors to a succession of enriching life experiences, from finding love to starting again.
And, many are, by successfully intertwining their careers and responsibilities, with relationships and ambitions – all made possible by an approach to finance that ensures they’re always standing on solid ground.
With financial freedom and stability, women today are successfully shaping their lives with room for the loves and losses that make life so sweet – something that sits at the heart of what we do at Paradigm Norton.
“Life is Revolution”: a series for women on life and money
Our four-part webinar series, “Life is Revolution”, was built with a focus on the key challenges and opportunities facing women today. And, on Thursday, 8th May at 7 – 8 pm, we’ll be diving into the highs, lows, and shifts of modern relationships.
From expanding supportive relationships to evolving our roles in the home, we’ll be providing an expert-led discussion for women at a crossroads in life. We’ll discuss the tough stuff: from financial decisions to legal need-to-knows when planning for the future.
Interested? Sign up for free now.
Investing places your capital at risk, and investments may fall or rise in value. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns.
