Almost a quarter of British couples are stuck in an unhappy marriage, a study has revealed.
Researchers found 23 per cent of married adults are unhappy in their relationship due to a lack of sex, being ‘stuck in a rut’ and being more like friends than lovers.
Others put their gloomy marriage down to constant arguments, having no shared interests with their other half and simply falling out of love with each other.
Only one in five married couples described themselves as ‘blissfully happy’.
Author Andy Gibney, who commissioned the research to mark the release of his book, ‘How to Seduce your Wife, or Anyone Else’s’, said: ‘’Marriage can be hard and it’s unusual for couples to be completely happy all of the time. But it’s worrying to see just how many people are unhappily married.
‘’I believe there are two main reasons for this: firstly, thanks to Facebook, Twitter and so on, our ever connected world has actually made us more disconnected with each other.
‘’You just have to look at couples in restaurants on their phones and iPads, not actually talking to each other.
‘’Secondly, I believe romance is a dying art and one we need to get better at – especially men. A bunch of flowers and a box of chocolates simply isn’t enough.
‘’We all need to work harder at not accepting the mediocrity of marriage and really treating our partners like we want to be treated ourselves.
‘’Love and marriage should be a journey of thrills and adventure.’’
The study, of 2,000 married adults revealed a lack of, or even no sex is the main reason for considering a marriage to be an unhappy one followed by being stuck in a rut and being more like friends than lovers.
Others said money struggles put too much pressure on their marriage while some reckon they have become too comfortable with each other, meaning they no longer make any effort.
Modern technology is also getting some of the blame with 42 per cent of married people saying they think it gets in the way of their relationship.
And 73 per cent of married couples admit they have an average of three nights a week where they barely speak to each other because they are too engrossed in TV, laptops or tablets.
It also emerged 44 per cent of couples don’t kiss each other goodnight before going to sleep, while another 39 per cent rarely share a goodbye kiss before leaving the house in the morning.
More than four in ten never hold hands in public and 55 per cent don’t usually say ‘I love you’ at the end of a phone call to their other half.
As a result, 39 per cent of Brits don’t feel their partner gives them enough attention but 44 per cent admit they probably don’t show enough interest in their partner either.
Researchers also found almost two thirds say their marriage has lost some of its spark, while another 66 per cent think it is lacking in romance.
And 69 per cent think their relationship needs some more excitement.
More than half believe a weekend away is the best way to get a marriage back on track, followed by regular holidays and date nights, surprise gifts and trying new things in the bedroom.
Two thirds even believe putting more effort into the little things like paying more attention to each other or making more effort in the bedroom would result in their marriage improving.
It also emerged while the average unhappy Brit said their troubles started around seven and a half years after their wedding, almost one in twenty said they started to feel down about their relationship almost immediately.
And 28 per cent even went as far as to say they regret getting married to their current partner.
‘How to Seduce your Wife, or Anybody Else’s’ author Andy Gibney, added: ‘’Life is too short to spend time with people who don’t make you feel good.
‘’If things are going wrong address them quickly or get out fast.
‘’There are too many people out there in 30 year marriages that they should have left 20 years before.
‘’Being in love is the greatest feeling in the world so learn the art of seduction and keep each other happy or find someone who does.’’
‘How to Seduce your Wife (or anyone else’s)’ is available in paperback (£9.99) from Amazon and www.andygibney.com, and e-book download (£3.99) from Kindle.
Top ten reasons a marriage is unhappy
1. A lack of/no sex
2. We are stuck in a rut
3. We are more like friends than lovers
4. We don’t share the same interests anymore
5. We argue all the time
6. My partner and I no longer get on
7. We don’t really spend any time together
8. We don’t have any money
9. We’re just too comfortable with each other to make the effort
10. We don’t really love each other anymore
