Nearly one in three married under-35s in the UK have signed a prenuptial agreement, according to surveys, as younger couples drive a surge in demand for the legal arrangements once reserved for the rich and famous.
Celine Tsoi and Charles Mock met two years ago in Goleta, California, when she was 23 and he was 27. Eight months later they were engaged — and friends immediately asked: “Oh, are you getting a prenup?”
“Nearly one in three married under-35s in the UK have signed a prenup, as younger couples lead a surge in demand, lawyers say.”
“A lot of things could happen in a marriage and you want to discuss them when you still love each other rather than when things go bad and you want to take revenge,” Celine says.
The couple decided to sign a prenup even though the wealth disparities between them were not big — Charles, a nurse, earns more than Celine, a PhD student, but she had a bit more saved. She was particularly touched that Charles wanted the agreement to say she should have the house if they split up. Just having the conversation, she says, “can show you what the person you’re going to marry is like”.
In the UK, research suggests around one in ten couples now has a prenup, following a legal shift in England towards greater recognition. But it is younger couples leading the way, with around one in three married under-35s having signed one, the surveys show.
London lawyer Mark Gilmartin at JMW Solicitors says in the past 18 months he has seen a big increase in demand for prenups, with the billionaire-and-barmaid stereotype fast giving way to demand from “start-up professionals” including entrepreneurs and influencers. “It’s the attempts to protect the fruits of what’s going to be, rather than what is,” he says. Beyond would-be TikTok stars, he sees a significant trend towards “every-day you and I” couples wanting them, often to protect inherited wealth.
Becca Gibson from West Sussex is one such couple. In a few days she will marry Dave Howells, who earns more than three times what she makes from her eyelash extension business. “I was very open to the idea [of a prenup],” says the 33-year-old, especially after her first marriage ended.
The rise of prenuptial agreements among ordinary couples raises the question: are younger generations simply more pragmatic, or has the stigma around planning for divorce finally faded?