Fewer Northland couples call it quits

Nearly 230 Northland couples lucked out in the search for long-lasting love last year.

Latest figures from Statistics NZ showed that of the 8785 divorces registered nationwide during 2012, 229 took place in Northland - 10 per cent fewer than during the previous year.

Those most likely to call it quits had been married between five and nine years - with nearly 25 per cent of last year's divorces involving marriages of that length.

Sceptics may point to "itchy feet", but couples who've made it past a decade know disagreements and relationship woes are part of finding lasting true love.

While some marriages turn sour, Northland marriage celebrant Susie Abraham sees couples still gripped by romance. She said those in their late 20s and early 30s made up most of marriages she performed. "Quite a few people are on their second marriages," she said.

People seemed to enjoy the freedom with a celebrant as they could choose where to get hitched and what their service entailed, Mrs Abraham said.

Relationship expert and psychotherapist Chris Wood said all relationships encountered challenges. "There's a big myth in our culture that if you're struggling in your relationship you're with the wrong person. Relationships have particular stages and people don't really understand."

Everyone felt great at the beginning "honeymoon stage", she said. "Some of that is because we've got a wonderful cocktail of chemicals in our brain that makes us feel very good. The job of those cocktails is actually to bond us together with somebody," Ms Wood said. Problems usually surfaced when couples moved on from that initial stage.

Serial daters were also more likely to be less satisfied in their relationships. "What I've heard is that the more relationship you have, the shorter [the honeymoon period] lasts," she said.

Nationally about 20,500 couples tied the knot last year, of which 647 were in Northland.

Year-on-year figures show local marriage numbers jumped nearly 12 per cent between 2011 and 2012.

Those keen to take another chance on love made up about 31 per cent of last year's marriages - with 6307 couples registering a "remarriage".

Marriage and divorce 2012:

• 
  647 couples tied the knot in Northland last year, down from 690 in 2008.

• 
  229 couples registered for divorce in Northland, down from 307 five years ago.

• 
  20,521 marriages nationally, compared to 21,948 in 2008.

• 
  8785 divorces took place, down from 9713 five years ago.

• 
  13.67 years - the median duration of marriage ending in divorce.

• 
  3822 divorces involved children.

Source: Statistics New Zealand