Not only does the arrival of the new year mark an end to the merriment of the Christmas period, but it also signals the coming of Divorce Day. Divorce Day, as it has come to be known by lawyers in recent years, is a day on which law firms reportedly see a spike in couples filing to split from one another. It falls on the first Monday following 1 January – which this year is on Monday 6 January – likely due to high numbers of separating couples hoping for a new start with the new year. In January 2019, relationship support organisation Relate reported a significant increase in the number of people visiting its website over the festive season. During the first three working days of the year, Relate received 84 per cent more visits to its website in comparison to the year before. Read more Divorce rate for heterosexual couples hits 45-year low “The first Monday in January is when lawyers and law firms receive a surge of new enquiries from couples about divorce,”