Research Says a Big Engagement Ring Means You're More Likely to Divorce

We've always believed that superficial things like the cost of your wedding or the size of your engagement ring don't say much about the state of your relationship. But this study concludes something different: that a bigger engagement ring actually increases the likelihood that you'll get a divorce.  Researchers Andrew M. Francis and Hugo M. Mialon of Georgia's Emory University surveyed 3,000 men and women in the United States who have at some point been in heterosexual marriages. 

When they controlled for things like demographic and relationship characteristics (such as the age at which they were married and whether or not they had children), they found that "marriage duration is inversely associated with spending on the engagement ring and wedding ceremony." 

Here were the most interesting conclusions from their study from their study:

- Having no engagement ring and having wedding expenses below $1,000 was associated with increases in divorce.

- Spending $8,000 or more on an engagement ring was associated with a decrease in divorce.

- Spending between $2,000 and $4,000 on an engagement ring was significantly associated with an increase in risk of divorce in the men surveyed...a 1.3 times greater risk of divorce as compared to spending between $500 and $2,000, to be exact.

They also found that "high wedding attendance and having a honeymoon (regardless of how much it cost) are generally positively associated with marriage duration," echoing a study the National Marriage Project published last year that concluded that high wedding guest attendance was positively associated with a longer marriage.

So, why would a more expensive ring lead to a higher likelihood of divorce? The researchers suggest that spending more on the ring might indicate that the couple felt pressure to have a more expensive wedding than they can afford, and that the financial stress (along with the desire to keep up appearances) ultimately led to divorce. 

They noted that women who received a ring that cost between $2,000 and $4,000 reported much more stress about wedding-related debt than women who received a ring that cost $500 to $2,000. 

The researchers did not offer any theories on why a ring that cost more than $8,000 was associated with a lower risk of divorce.

But if your ring cost between $2,000 and $4,000, your marriage isn't doomed!

Marriages work (and don't work) for a number of reasons, and no single factor will make or break you. 

But if financial stress is putting a strain on your marriage or you and your partner are spending too much to keep up with the Joneses, be honest about your concerns, start using a budgeting app with your sweetheart, and make it a priority to talk to a pro (whether that's a financial planner or a marriage counselor).