Split decisions from the past!

LOVE turns to loathing for Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch in prickly divorce comedy The Roses, a remake of 1989's War Of The Roses, out in cinemas this week. Blooming romances are often nipped in the bud. Getting into the weeds, TOM STICHBURY charts the history of divorcing, from the earliest to the most expensive...

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HOLY STAT-RIMONY: Without sounding like a cold-hearted cynic, it might be worth brushing up on a few facts before you get down on bended knee and pop the question.

Recent statistics show 42% of marriages in the UK end in divorce. On the plus side, in 2022, 80,057 divorces were granted across England and Wales, a 29.5% drop from the year before, and the lowest number since 1971. That's something, eh?

HOLD THE THRONE: If history taught us anything it's that, what Henry VIII wants, he gets. One of his crowning achievements is introducing divorce to the UK in the 16th century. When Henners failed to obtain an annulment from the Catholic Church for his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, he took matters into his own hands, switcheroo-ing to the Church of England, kicking Catherine to the curb and marrying Anne Boleyn. At least Cat kept her head, mind.