Why are we falling out of love with marriage?

Why are we falling out of love with marriage?

From Afternoons by RNZ

May 5, 2026 · 9 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the decline in marriage rates in New Zealand and Australia with comedian Chris Parker.

Stats NZ released the latest marriage figures yesterday and they show a continual decline. 17,481 marriages and civil unions were registered in 2025, down 3% from 2024, and that was down from the years prior. The Australasian region - that's us and Aussie - also get married later, with an average age of 36 for men and 30 for women To get his take on why fewer of us are getting hitched - recently-ish married comedian Chris Parker is with Jesse.

People in this episode

Host: Jesse

Guest: Chris Parker

Topics covered

  • marriage
  • decline in marriage rates
  • comedy
  • societal trends
  • relationships

Keywords

  • marriage
  • civil unions
  • Stats NZ
  • decline
  • average age
  • relationships
  • comedy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Stats NZ

Places: Australasian

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