Why unreasonable behaviour is the top reason cited for divorce in S’pore, and adultery the least

SINGAPORE – Almost half, or 48.7 per cent, of all civil, or non-Muslim, couples who divorced in 2025 cited unreasonable behaviour, making it the most commonly used reason for such marital breakdowns.

Adultery was the least commonly cited fact, accounting for just 0.9 per cent of civil divorces in the same year, according to marriage and divorce statistics released by the Department of Statistics on July 10.

This stands in contrast to Muslim divorces.

Some 18.4 per cent of couples who divorced under Muslim law cited infidelity as the “main issue” for the marital breakdown, making it the second most commonly cited issue after personality differences (21.5 per cent).

Lawyers say the gap reflects differences in the legal frameworks governing civil and Muslim divorces, rather than suggesting adultery is significantly more common among Muslim couples.

Q: How do civil and Muslim divorces differ?

PKWA Law Practice’s Managing Director of Family Law & Dispute Resolution Lim Chong Boon explained that the only legal ground for civil divorces is that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.

A fact is one of six ways recognised under the Women’s Charter to prove this marital breakdown.

These include three fault-based facts: adultery, desertion and unreasonable behaviour. There are two non-fault based facts: A couple are separated for at least three years with consent to divorce, and a couple are separated for at least four years if there is no consent.

Divorce by mutual agreement is the sixth fact, which came into effect on July 1, 2024. In 2025, divorce by mutual agreement was the third most commonly cited fact for civil divorces, after unreasonable behaviour and living apart or separated for at least three years.

Muslim divorces are governed by the Administration of Muslim Law Act (AMLA) and are heard in the Syariah Court, whereas civil divorces come under the Women’s Charter and are heard in the Family Justice Courts.

A.W. Law’s Managing Director Abdul Wahab said that unlike the Women’s Charter, AMLA does not set out the statutory facts for divorce.

The Syariah Court determines divorce proceedings according to AMLA and the applicable principles of Muslim law, he said.

Q: Why is adultery rarely cited in civil divorces, compared with Muslim divorces?

Lawyers say proving adultery in court for civil divorces can be difficult, expensive and unnecessary.

Lim said that those whose marriages broke down due to infidelity often cite unreasonable behaviour instead, because they do not have to prove their spouse had a sexual relationship with a third party. The process is also less acrimonious.

To prove adultery in a civil divorce, parties typically need strong circumstantial evidence, such as a private investigator’s report or photographs or videos, lawyers said.

Lim said the Muslim divorce statistics record the reason given for the marital breakdown. This is unlike in civil divorces where the legal fact of adultery has to be proven.

Hence, the higher share of Muslim divorces citing infidelity should not be interpreted as adultery being substantially more common among Muslim couples, he added.

Q: What counts as unreasonable behaviour?

Lim said unreasonable behaviour covers a broad range of actions. These include family violence, verbal abuse, controlling behaviour, addiction, gambling, financial irresponsibility, neglecting the family, and extra-marital affairs.

If the divorce is not contested, detailed documentary evidence is often unnecessary as the allegations are not disputed, he said.

For contested cases, evidence includes messages, bank records, police reports, medical reports or evidence from witnesses, such as neighbours, relatives or counsellors.

Q: Why is unreasonable behaviour the most commonly cited fact?

“Unreasonable behaviour” covers a wide range of situations that can cause a marriage to break down, lawyers say, and many couples see it as the most practical option.

Wahab said unreasonable behaviour is often easier to prove than adultery, and a couple do not have to wait for years before filing for divorce.

For example, couples have to live apart for at least three years before they file for divorce, if they want to cite separation of three years with consent.

If the other party objects to the divorce, the one filing the divorce can file under separation of four years without consent. In this case, the couple must have lived separately for at least four years before filing for divorce.

Q: How does divorce by mutual agreement reduce acrimony in the process?

Lim said the introduction of divorce by mutual agreement removes the blame game.

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.

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.

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.

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