When Did Divorced Singles Argue Most... Men: "When Adjusting Living Expenses," Women: "When Shopping Together"

Survey on Reasons for Arguments During Married Life

Divorced singles (돌싱, returned singles) hoping for remarriage reported that arguments most frequently occurred during 'adjusting the couple's living expenses' and 'shopping together' with their ex-spouses during their marriage.

'Frequent arguments during "adjusting living expenses" and "shopping together"

On the 4th, remarriage information company Only-U, in collaboration with marriage information company Bienarae (CEO Son Dong-gyu), conducted a survey via email and phone from November 27 to December 2 targeting 538 nationwide (twilight) remarriage hopeful divorced singles (269 men and 269 women).

When asked, "During your marriage with your ex-spouse, when did arguments frequently occur while doing something together?" respondents chose 'adjusting the couple's living expenses' (men 27.5%, women 24.2%) and 'shopping together' (men 25.2%, women 28.6%) as first and second place respectively.

Men then answered in order ▲ purchasing gifts for both families (22.3%) ▲ coordinating attendance at family events of both sides (16.4%).

Women selected ▲ coordinating attendance at family events of both sides (21.2%) ▲ purchasing gifts for both families (18.2%) as their next most frequent causes of arguments.

Son Dong-gyu, CEO of Only-U, explained, "Among divorced singles who are relatively older, many have a single income, and often one spouse, especially the wife, manages the household finances. Husbands and wives each tend to insist on increasing their own living expenses or allowances while reducing those of the other, leading to frequent arguments." He added, "When couples go shopping together, they often argue due to differences in items purchased, prices, tastes, and purchasing behaviors."

Ex-spouses nitpicked 'living habits' for men and 'level of awareness' for women

Next, in response to the question, "During your marriage with your ex-spouse, what aspects of yourself did your partner frequently nitpick?" men ranked 'living habits' (31.2%) first, while women ranked 'level of awareness' (32.0%) first.

The second most common answer was 'attitude toward the partner' (men 26.0%, women 23.1%).

For men, the third most frequent were 'work life' (21.2%) and 'values' (14.5%). Women answered 'values' (19.2%) and 'living habits' (17.1%) as their third and fourth.

An Only-U representative said, "In married life, men often receive nagging from their wives regarding cleanliness and tidiness related to living habits." He added, "Women often receive criticism from their husbands related to child education, childcare, and housework."

CEO Son also stated, "During married life, there can be significant differences between spouses in habits, ways of thinking, values, and even levels in specific areas." He emphasized, "When conflicts or arguments arise, couples should be considerate so that 'marital fights are like water off a knife' and end without causing wounds to each other."

Meanwhile, the expressions most frequently used by ex-spouses during arguments to mock were 'See, what did I tell you?' (34.2%) for men and 'That's just how you always are' (30.5%) for women.