You can get a divorce if you have been married at least a
year and your relationship has permanently broken down.
You must have a marriage that is legally recognised in the
UK, and have a permanent home in England or Wales.
Grounds for divorce
You must show there are good reasons for ending your
marriage. You can give 5 grounds for a divorce.
Adultery
Your husband or wife had sex with someone else of the
opposite sex, and you can no longer bear to live with them.
You can’t give adultery as a reason if you lived with your
husband or wife for 6 months after you found out about it.
Unreasonable
behaviour
Your husband or wife behaved so badly that you can no longer
bear to live with them.
This could include:
physical violence
verbal abuse, eg insults or threats
drunkenness or drug-taking
refusing to pay for housekeeping
Desertion
Your husband or wife has left you:
without your agreement
without a good reason
to end your relationship
for more than 2 years in the past 2.5 years
You can still claim desertion if you have lived together for
up to a total of 6 months in this period.
You have lived apart for more than 2 years
You can get a divorce if you’ve lived apart for more than 2
years and both agree to the divorce.
Your husband or wife must agree in writing.
You have lived apart for more than 5 years
Living apart for more than 5 years is usually enough to get
a divorce, even if your husband or wife disagrees with the divorce.
