The Five-year itch.

The crisis point for the modern marriage is arriving sooner, according to a study of divorce trends. Our grandparents might have suffered from the seven-year itch but five decades on more women are pursuing careers which (according to the research) can place extra stress on relationships. Also divorce is much more acceptable these days. Where Granny had to grin and bear it, modern women are financially independent and can choose to walk away.

Reasearchers found that the 'honeymoon period' for newlyweds lasts less than five years.Yet the good news is this - if you can make it to ten years of marrage you are likely to remain married for good!

Aiva Jasilioniene, an academic specialising in marriage and co-habitation studies, explains that, in the early years of a relationship, both partners go through crucial life-course transitions and challenging experiences like completion of education, building a career, childbirth etc. During the later years most couples have developed strategies to deal with problems as they arise. That's why couples who marry young are more likely to divorce.

In Britain the average age for a bride is now 33 and 36 for a groom - which probably explains our falling divorce rate. Or maybe it's to do with our poetry - "grow old along with me, the best is yet to be."

The church has its own poetry: "Families who pray together, stay together." Not quite as elegant as Browning, but worth a try in my book...