The top five reasons marriages fail can be bundled into one convenient term: irreconcilable differences. In fact, irreconcilable differences are, by far, the number one reason for divorce. These differences are often due to financial, commitment, fidelity, communication and family issues.  

Many minor marriage issues can be resolved if the couple is still in love, committed to the relationship and willing to go to marriage counseling. Counseling may need to include communication and conflict-resolution skills to help strengthen the bond and understanding between spouses. Financial issues may benefit more from financial counseling than marriage counseling, though.  

Financial
Unfortunately, constant financial stress has caused many marriages to end in divorce. The stress can be caused by one or both people overspending or not working. Even if both spouses are gainfully employed, stress can occur if the salaries are still not enough to pay the bills. If you add the extra stress of large and unexpected medical bills to the equation, your chance of divorce rise even higher.

Commitment
Divorce is often the result of one or both spouses’ lack of commitment to the marriage. This doesn’t necessarily mean infidelity, but rather a general distraction from the relationship. Whether focused on a career, addiction, hobby or social life, it means they are not keeping their marriage very high on their priority list. As the marriage is ignored, it slowly dies away and the couple grows apart, causing a divorce.

Fidelity
Infidelity is a common cause of divorce for both men and women. There is a basic bond broken when someone cheats that causes many emotional and self-esteem issues in both partners. The resulting anger and guilt stresses a marriage to its breaking point.

Though marriage counseling can sometimes help, the lack of intimacy and trust that results from infidelity is more than most couples can recover from. Even in open marriages, the external romantic links can cause intimacy and relationship issues that end in divorce.

Communication
Communication, or a lack thereof, is a big cause of divorce. The problem can be due to either a refusal or inability to communicate. If someone refuses to talk, listen, or communicate anything to their spouse, there is no relationship and no marriage. If one or both people grow weary of each other and stop communicating, they need to seek marriage help to avoid ending up divorced.

When two people are so different that they communicate in two completely different ways, they must learn how to relate. If the couple cannot do this, they will never be able to express their emotions, goals or basic thoughts to each other and are headed for a divorce.

Family
Though family can strengthen a marriage and create an everlasting bond between spouses, it can also be a large source of stress and a common cause of divorce. Problems can range from personality differences between stepchildren to different methods of child rearing. In-laws can cause many marital issues, especially if you live with them.