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Women who win the lottery are twice as likely to seek divorce, study finds

The research — conducted to look at how “large, positive wealth shocks” impact marriage — studied a group of Swedish lottery winners over a 10-year period.

Happily ever after? A new study reveals how winning the lottery can impact relationships.
Happily ever after? A new study reveals how winning the lottery can impact relationships.

Winning the lottery has its downsides — well, depending on who you ask.

In a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research published earlier this month, results showed that winning a large sum of money affects men and women differently in a marriage.

The research — conducted to look at how “large, positive wealth shocks” impact marriage — studied a group of Swedish lottery winners over a 10-year span after their big wins.

The results revealed that men are more likely to stay married to their respective partners after winning the local equivalent of $131,973 CAD. Furthermore, their risk of divorce dropped by 40 per cent, and their likelihood of having children increased.

According to the study, unmarried men who won the lottery are 30 percent more likely to get married within five years of their win, and are more likely to have children.

Women, however, seem to have a different agenda. The researchers found that women lottery winners are twice as likely to leave unhappy marriages.

“Intuitively, a lottery win may give a discontent wife economic opportunity to leave the marriage, while men use the prize money in a way that increases the gains from marriage,” the study reads.

Researchers reveal that women are twice as likely to seek divorce after winning the lottery
Researchers reveal that women are twice as likely to seek divorce after winning the lottery

According to a report in Harvard Men’s Health Watch, men benefit substantially from having a marital partner — a potential reason they might feel more inclined to preserve their marriages, even after winning the lottery.

"Married men are more likely to receive regular checkups and medical care, maintain healthy diets, exercise, and enjoy higher standards of living. In addition, married men benefit from lower levels of stress and fewer stress-related diseases," the study showed, adding that "overall, marriage appears to improve the lifestyle of men and stabilizes their lives," unlike men who never-married, are divorced, or widowed, who "are more likely to drink excessively, engage in dangerous behaviour and smoke."

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