Is the 7th year a "nightmare" of marriage?

This notion was popularized in 1955, when a movie titled 'The Seven Year Itch' starring Marilyn Monroe was released.

But is this concept true or just Hollywood fiction?

Psychologists and marriage therapists say that "seven year itch" has a basis and happens quite a lot in reality. This stage is characterized by feelings of insecurity and the desire to have an affair or leave the marriage.

A 2014 US study found that divorce rates are low in the first months of marriage, then gradually increase and reach a maximum around the seventh year of marriage, before decreasing again.

In a study published in the JournalSex ResearchIn a study of 313 Israeli adults, averaging 32-33 years old, all of whom were heterosexual and had been married for at least a year, the participants were asked about their likelihood of having an affair. The researchers looked at how this related to the length of their marriage.

Participants were divided into three groups: short-term marriages (<5 years), medium-term marriages (6 to 10 years), and long-term marriages (11 years or more). The group reported having the highest likelihood of cheating was the long-term group, the short-term group had the lowest rate of cheating, and the medium-term group fell in between. The study found that the longer a couple had been together, the more likely partners were to think about cheating.

However, the rates of cheating differ for men and women. For men, the likelihood of cheating increases as the relationship gets longer (what scientists call a linear effect). For women, however, the effect is curvilinear. Women generally report being most likely to cheat in medium-term marriages, but cheating rates are lower in short- and long-term marriages.

In short, this study found that women seem to be more susceptible to the so-called "seven-year itch," while men, the longer they've been married, the more likely they are to cheat.

MagazinePsychology Todayalso asserts that the actual rate of infidelity increases in the seventh year of marriage, but women are more likely to show this. Based on data from a gender survey conducted in the United States, the results show that for women, their infidelity rate is highest in the seventh year of marriage, but gradually decreases after that. Men also have a high rate of infidelity around the seventh year, then decrease until around the 18th year, when the rate begins to increase again. In fact, men who have been married for 30 years or more actually have the highest rate of infidelity.

Additionally, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, the average length of marriage before divorce is about eight years. This is consistent with the infidelity data mentioned above: divorces occurred shortly after infidelity peaked (at seven years).