Peter Saddington, a counsellor and sex therapist with Relate, explained in a recent Telegraph article the eight most common reasons he’s uncovered for couples wanting to separate. The list includes:

• 1.Communication problems. If you like to talk about problems and share all of your thoughts and feelings, but your partner doesn’t – you may never be able to get along. Accusations can fly that the other person isn’t listening, doesn’t understand or just isn’t interested.
• 2.Infidelity. Affairs not only cause hurt feelings and a feeling of betrayal, but they inevitably result in a serious breakdown of trust, which may never be regained.
• 3.Money worries. Most couples think their relationship will be fine, for richer or for poorer, but in reality the stress of debt and money worries can be too much for most couples to bear. There can also be problems if one person is frugal, while the other can’t help spending.
• 4.Intrusive parents. You may not think that an interfering mother or father-in-law could eventually lead to divorce, but it does happen. If one partner confides everything to a family member, for example, it can lead to a breakdown of intimacy and trust in the relationship.
• 5.Problems resolving conflict. How couples handle conflict can make all the difference to whether they stay together or not. If one partner hates arguments and will do all they can to avoid a row, some issues will never get aired, and the other partner can be left feeling resentful.
• 6.Unwanted ex-partners. If one partner’s ex is very much on the scene, either as a good friend or because of children from a previous relationship, it can be very difficult for the other person to deal with. It can cause suspicion, jealously and inevitably, lots of arguments.
• 7.Children from previous relationships. If you marry someone who already has kids, it can be tough to adjust to your new role as parent to them. You may feel you have no authority or that you don’t get along with the children, and the other partner will need to be very understanding and supportive to avoid more serious problems.
• 8.Privacy problems. A relationship can end because one partner thinks its fine to share intimate details with their friends or family, and the other doesn’t. This situation can be magnified by modern society’s obsession with social media, which can make the ‘over-sharing’ and betrayal of trust even worse.

If any of these or other issues have led to the breakdown of your own relationship, you can get expert advice, support and legal representation from the family law and divorce specialists at Tracey Miller – get in touch for an initial chat about the situation.