This is somewhere between statistics and superstition.
We’re romantics here at JOE HQ, so we like to believe that true love lasts forever – and can’t fall victim to something silly like the date you chose for your wedding.
However, a study conducted by the University of Melbourne took a look at one million marriages, and found that one date in particular should be avoided if you want your relationship to survive.
Tracking the progress of these couples, the researchers found that just over one-in-ten marriages that took place on February 14, Valentine’s Day, had ended in divorce after just five years.
The news doesn’t get any better once you pass out the five-year mark, with over 21% of these Valentine’s Day marriages massacred after nine years.
The study also advised against picking other specialised dates like the first day of the second month, 2003 – or palindromic dates. We can speculate as to why this might be the case, as someone who cares that much about having a weird wedding date has clearly got pretty strange priorities that are likely to inconvenience their friends (“we have our own Valentine’s Day plans, Linda”).
So if you want a love that lasts through the ages, your best bet might be just to pick a date out of a hat.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
