Marriage

Cover of Marriage, Moment Report No. 09

Moment Report No. 09 · 16 pages · 14 sources

What does research say about making marriage work?

The research says less about the wedding than about the years after it. Higher spending on rings and weddings was linked to a higher divorce risk, money disagreements predicted divorce more than other disagreements, couples asked to pool money reported better relationships, and lost affection in the first two years predicted divorce more than early conflict.

What the report found

  1. More Emiratis are marrying in Dubai. Marriage contracts between Emirati couples in Dubai rose from 983 in 2022 to 1,450 in 2025, an increase of 47.5 per cent.
  2. Civil marriage has boomed in Abu Dhabi. Civil marriages rose from 5,400 in 2022 to 19,000 in 2025, nearly 53,000 since the law took effect.
  3. Couples who pool money do well. Couples asked to open a joint account reported higher relationship quality two years later than couples who kept their money separate.
  4. Money is the conversation that matters most. Agreement about money mattered more to whether marriages lasted than agreement on other matters, and spenders and savers tend to marry each other.
  5. The happiness boost fades, on average. In a 15-year study, life satisfaction rose around the wedding and returned to its earlier level within a few years, with large differences between people.

What is inside

  1. The moment
  2. Before: choosing and planning
  3. During: deciding together
  4. After: happiness and its limits
  5. What lasts

Plus the decisions a new couple makes in the first years and a graded list of claims.

Who it is for

For banks, wedding and home businesses, employers, policymakers and couples planning a life together.

How we work

Moment Reports look at how people think and decide at particular points in the year or in life, starting with the UAE and then the wider Gulf. Every claim is graded Established, Emerging or Untested. Where researchers disagree, as they do on whether marriage makes people happier, both sides are set out before we say where we stand.

Cite this report

The Why We Project (2026) Marriage: The biggest joint decision. Moment Report No. 09. Dubai: Why We Tech Ltd. Available at: thewhyweproject.com