--- title: Divorce: Why Women Are More Likely to Ask for a Divorce description: When it comes to divorce, one spouse is more likely to start proceedings than the other. But the same isn't true for non-marital relationships. canonical: https://time.com/4007174/which-spouse-asks-for-divorce/ author: Alice Park article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-22T13:46:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:45:13.516Z og:title: Why Women Are More Likely to Ask for a Divorce og:description: Women initiated 69% of divorces, compared to 31% of men og:url: https://time.com/4007174/which-spouse-asks-for-divorce/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4641466524023812/6988607ee20a8785b4a8ce35/gettyimages-501870849.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5616 og:image:height: 3159 og:image:alt: 501870849 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Women Are More Likely to Ask for a Divorce twitter:description: Women initiated 69% of divorces, compared to 31% of men twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4641466524023812/6988607ee20a8785b4a8ce35/gettyimages-501870849.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Women Are More Likely to Ask for a Divorce > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=923157e4-2640-4ab5-9213-110334d5c4b8&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | Subscribers | Open rate | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | 540,000 | 45.6% | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 430,000 | 50.7% | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Daily | 240,000 | 54.1% | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Tuesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 40,000 | 31.7% | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | 85,000 | 37.0% | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | 40,000 | 34.2% | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | 25,000 | 28.6% | Source: TIME, August 2026. Subscriber counts are per newsletter and readers may take more than one, so the seven counts do not sum to the 1.1 million+ unique newsletter audience. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Highest open rate | 54.1%, Health Matters | TIME, August 2026 | | Largest list | 540,000, The Brief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=923157e4-2640-4ab5-9213-110334d5c4b8&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=923157e4-2640-4ab5-9213-110334d5c4b8&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (daily health), Worth Your Time (culture, twice weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: What One Woman Learned From Taking a Year Off From Her Marriage [Watch (HLS stream): What One Woman Learned From Taking a Year Off From Her Marriage](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/B3QCkNPd.m3u8) (3:53)  _Published 2015-04-01. Robin Rinaldi did what many women dream of but few actually do: she took a year off from her marriage, made an agreement with her husband that they would both sleep with other people for a set period of time, and threw caution to the wind._  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Aug 22, 2015 1:46 PM UTC  Still life of his and hers wedding rings Still life of his and hers wedding ringsGetty Images  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Aug 22, 2015 1:46 PM UTC In a presentation to the American Sociological Association, researchers report that women are more likely than men to ask for divorce. But non-marital breakups are more gender neutral. The results came from an analysis of the aptly named “How Couples Meet and Stay Together” survey, collected from 2,262 adults with opposite sex partners who answered questions about their relationship status between 2009 and 2015\. Women initiated 69% of divorces, compared to 31% of men. But if men and women were living together without marrying, each gender was equally likely to initiate a breakup. Almost all studies to date have shown that women are more likely to ask for divorce, the study’s lead author, Michael Rosenfeld, said in a statement. An associate professor of sociology at Stanford University, Rosenfeld said that social scientists assumed that women’s heightened sensitivities to the ups and downs of relationships would mean they were more likely to leave both marriages and non-marital unions. But the latest data suggests that perhaps there’s more involved. Women may be responding to the still arcane conventions of spousal roles, which contrast with growing equality in other institutions, such as the workplace. “I think that marriage as an institution has been a little bit slow to catch up with expectations for gender equality. Wives still take their husbands’ surnames, and are sometimes pressured to do so. Husbands still expect their wives to do the bulk of the housework and the bulk of the childcare,” he said in the statement. “On the other hand, I think that non-marital relationships lack the historical baggage and expectations of marriage, which makes the non-marital relationships more flexible and therefore more adaptable to modern expectations … of gender equality.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4007174/which-spouse-asks-for-divorce/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4007174/which-spouse-asks-for-divorce/"},"headline":"Why Women Are More Likely to Ask for a Divorce","datePublished":"2015-08-22T13:46:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:45:13.516Z","description":"A new study suggests women are more likely than men to initiate a divorce in opposite sex relationships, but the same isn't true for non-marital relationships. If men and women were living together without marrying, each gender was equally likely to initiate a breakup","url":"https://time.com/4007174/which-spouse-asks-for-divorce/","keywords":["Living","Divorce","gender equality","Love & Relationships","breakups"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4641466524023812/6988607ee20a8785b4a8ce35/gettyimages-501870849.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alice Park","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/alice-park/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4641466524023812/6988607ee20a8785b4a8ce35/gettyimages-501870849.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"501870849","caption":"501870849","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4007174/which-spouse-asks-for-divorce/","name":"Why Women Are More Likely to Ask for a Divorce"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"What One Woman Learned From Taking a Year Off From Her Marriage","description":"Robin Rinaldi did what many women dream of but few actually do: she took a year off from her marriage, made an agreement with her husband that they would both sleep with other people for a set period of time, and threw caution to the wind.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/B3QCkNPd/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-04-01T13:42:10.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/B3QCkNPd.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4007174/which-spouse-asks-for-divorce/","duration":"PT3M53S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4007174/which-spouse-asks-for-divorce/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```