One in five UK couples on verge of break-up-poll

LONDON, Jan 8 (Reuters) Nearly a fifth of couples in Britain are on the brink of splitting up and one in ten say they no longer have sex, a divorce advice website said today.

Sex, infidelity, abuse and falling out of love are the primary reasons for divorce, according to a poll of over 2,000 married, divorced and separated people in Britain.

The survey, conducted to publicise the launch of insidedivorce.com, found that one in three men were bored with their wife and marriage.

A fifth of women said their marriage had broken down because of a serious incident of abuse.

Some 16 percent of respondents told the survey their marriage was ''on shaky ground'', with 2.5 percent saying it was ''on the rocks''.

Nearly half of those surveyed said their sex lives had decreased, with men citing ''lack of sex'' as the biggest factor in marriage breakdown.

Divorce rates are actually at their lowest level since 2000, according to the latest official figures, which show there were 155,000 divorces granted in 2005.

But the website's editor, Fay Rowe, said the poll's findings suggested that the rate would not be falling dramatically in future.

''It is worrying that sex -- not having it or having it with someone other than your partner -- is the main catalyst for divorce.

It suggests we are no longer satisfied with having one partner in life.'' The poll found some evidence of the ''seven-year itch'', with the average length of time for people to realise whether their marriage works or not at seven years and three months.

By contrast, marriages lasting longer than 10 and half years are probably going to survive, the survey said.

One in four divorcees admitted they had doubts about the solidity of the coming union as they walked down the aisle.

The researchers also interviewed 341 children to see how divorce affected them.

They found that 80 percent of children of divorced parents said their home life was the same or better after divorce.

Only a quarter wanted their parents to get back together.

They said the biggest benefit of divorce was an end to arguments.

But the children also said the worst drawback was parents bickering over the time they got to spend with them.

Reuters PDM DB0856