The One Reason Why So Many People In Dubai Are Getting Divorced

Dubai can be a city for lovers, with wonderful places to go on dates and opportunities to meet unique people from all over the world, which may lead toward building a romantic relationship. However, the city also has shockingly high divorce rates. Many couples are filing for divorce in Dubai every year for reasons that vary from money issues to lack of harmony between the couple.

In 2016, Dubai saw the shocking number of 1,383 divorce certificates, according to Khaleej Times. This extremely high number of divorces came from people of all backgrounds, including expat couples, Emirati couples as well as mixed ones. This figure called attention to the city as one with an impressive number of couples choosing to split up.

Dubai has some unique marriage laws, where couples can choose which legal rules to follow when getting married. All couples in the country are subject to UAE Federal Personal Status Law; however, expats may opt to follow their own country’s marriage laws, as long as they present the courts with the appropriate paperwork. In cases of expats who can’t decide which laws they want to follow, the UAE ones apply.

One of the main reasons why so many couples are divorcing is money. Couples in Dubai seem to have constant trouble with choosing how to share and manage their money, eventually leading to arguments over all kinds of financial issues, from alimony to wanting money in order to hire a nanny or a maid.

However, this is not the only issue surrounding couples in the city. A big reason for the rising divorces rates in Dubai is the lack of harmony, with complaints involving poor communication, negligence of their partner and a lack of synergy between the couple. It also appears that divorces are often filed as a spur-of-the-moment decision, with one spouse becoming angry over a simple wrong act or small disagreement. In other words, a lack of patience with one’s spouse frequently leads to an abrupt separation.

These divorces are most common among fairly young couples, with both men and women in the age group of 30–34 having the largest number of divorces.

It is advised that couples remain calm and spend more time considering each other’s feelings; empathy can go a long way in avoiding an ill-advised divorce, especially as many of these separations involve families with children. An attempt to be more considerate and communicative can save a relationship before the problems even start.