It Takes 17 Months and 26 Days to Get Over Divorce

As the divorce cake business continues to flourish and more celebrity couples admittedly contribute to the impression that divorce is a mere trifle that can be easily overcome, a new survey comes to show that, in reality, things are far from that. In fact, getting over a separation from a spouse takes on average 17 months and 26 days, with some divorcees even labeling it the most dreadful personal experience ever, as the Daily Mail informs.

The survey was conducted by Fifties.com, a website that specializes in delivering content to 50somethings, and reveals that divorce is by far the easy experience one might believe it is at first glance. The emotional impact can leave such scars that some divorcees are afraid of failure for the rest of their life, the survey has shown. Those who do get over it require on average about a year and a half to do so, which also coincides with the amount of time for all legal procedures to come to an end.

Similarly, people’s reactions to getting the divorce decree are mixed: 43 percent of the 4,000 divorcees queried said they were relieved to find out their marriage was over on paper as well, while a little over 30 percent said they felt saddened when they saw the decree. On the bright side, though it takes about a year and a half for the procedures to be final, people start feeling better and showing the first signs of moving on from the failed marriage about 16 months and 11 days later. Surprisingly, Brits start dating again much sooner than that, 15 months and 26 days after the divorce, the survey also shows.

“Divorce is tough for everyone involved and it does take a considerable-amount of time before you feel ready to move on. The research carried out says it takes over 17 months to get over divorce once it’s finalized, but it’s important to remember that people are often separated for a long time before this, so it could feasibly take years for the dust to settle after a split. Obviously everyone is different and it will take some longer than others to get over the heartbreak of a split,” a spokesperson for the website that conducted the poll tells the Mail.

“It’s also going to greatly depend on which party wanted the divorce in the first place. Initially it seems like you will never move on and seeing other people is the last thing on your mind, but slowly you realize there is life after divorce and it’s perfectly feasible to be happy again. Many people reach a certain age where they don’t necessarily want to go out on the town to meet people or don’t mix in circles where there is opportunity to start dating,” the same rep further explains.