SINGAPORE, July 19 — Almost half of all civil divorces in Singapore last year were filed on the grounds of “unreasonable behaviour”, while adultery accounted for fewer than one in 100 cases, according to newly released official figures that lawyers say reflect legal rules rather than the true causes of marital breakdown.
Statistics published by Singapore’s Department of Statistics on July 10 showed that 48.7 per cent of civil, or non-Muslim, couples who divorced in 2025 cited unreasonable behaviour, making it the most commonly used legal basis for divorce, The Straits Times (ST) reported.
Adultery, by contrast, accounted for just 0.9 per cent of civil divorces — the lowest proportion of any legal fact cited.
The picture differs for Muslim divorces. Infidelity was cited as the “main issue” in 18.4 per cent of cases, making it the second most common reason after personality differences (21.5 per cent).
Lawyers interviewed by ST said the contrast reflects differences between the legal frameworks governing civil and Muslim divorces, rather than suggesting adultery is more common among Muslim couples.
Under Singapore’s Women’s Charter, couples seeking a civil divorce must prove that their marriage has broken down irretrievably by relying on one of six recognised legal facts, including adultery, desertion, unreasonable behaviour, separation or divorce by mutual agreement.
PKWA Law Practice’s managing director of family law and dispute resolution, Lim Chong Boon, said spouses whose marriages end because of infidelity often rely on unreasonable behaviour instead of adultery because it is simpler to establish.
He said adultery carries a higher evidential burden, often requiring compelling circumstantial evidence — such as private investigators’ reports or photographs — to prove a spouse had a sexual relationship with a third party.
Lim noted that Muslim divorce statistics record the reason given for a marriage breaking down, unlike civil divorces where adultery must be proved as a legal fact.
“Hence, the higher share of Muslim divorces citing infidelity should not be interpreted as adultery being substantially more common among Muslim couples,” he said.
Lawyers said unreasonable behaviour has become the most common basis for civil divorce because it covers a broad range of conduct, including abuse, controlling behaviour, addiction, gambling, financial neglect and extra-marital affairs.
A.W. Law managing director Abdul Wahab said it is also more practical than relying on separation, which requires couples to live apart for at least three years with consent or four years without consent before filing for divorce.
The figures also showed that divorce by mutual agreement, introduced on July 1, 2024, became the third most commonly cited legal fact in 2025.
Lim said the new provision had made the process less confrontational by allowing couples to acknowledge that their marriage had broken down without assigning blame.
“Previously, even when both spouses accepted that their marriage has come to an end, one party still had to make allegations, such as unreasonable behaviour, against the other party to establish the legal fact for divorce,” he said.
“This made the divorce process more confrontational.”
“The new option allows couples to jointly acknowledge that their marriage has broken down without either spouse being portrayed as the wrongdoer.”
He added: “This lets them focus on resolving issues relating to their children and finances, and maintaining a co-operative co-parenting relationship, instead of arguing about the past.”
