Marriages are shortest in Wales (From Penarth Times)

Marriages are shortest in Wales

PENARTH has been given the dubious award of the worst place to live in Wales if you want a long-lasting marriage.

But is that the case or does the survey not show the whole picture.

A cross section of people were asked about their marriage credentials.

More than 900,000 were surveyed on their marital status by consumer group Claritas. Joan Marsh of Westbourne Road, Penarth is married to John and they will be celebrating 40 years of wedded bliss at the end of December.

She said: "John is my soul mate and I don't know what I would do without him. We met when we were both 17 years old.

"He said that he knew I was the one as soon as we met.

"I was a bit more cautious but I gradually came round to the idea.

"We were married on my birthday."

She added that they have stayed together so long because they are best friends and enjoy a lot of the same things in life.

Manager for Relate Wales, Rose O'Driscoll said: "I think we must be careful what comparisons we make from this survey.

"There are many factors which have made the result high.

"Penarth has a high proportion of professional people who often have problems with their relationships.

This is because they often work late and bring work home."

She continued by saying: "There are a lot of people who are commuting and moving in all the time.

So all the statistics need to be put in to context."

Superintendent of the Register Office, Penarth, Carol Frieze said: "Civil marriages are on the increase and church weddings are slightly decreasing.

But that could be due to the increased choice of venues today."

In the Vale of Glamorgan there were more than 300 civil marriages and 250 religious weddings last year.

The survey found that 21.1 percent of marriages in Penarth failed compared to a national average of 15.4 percent.