Covid-19 toll on marriage: divorce inquiries on the rise as stay-home measures push Hong Kong couples off the edge
- Couples cannot cope being cooped up at home, minding kids for an extended period
- Helplines flooded with calls, family lawyers say more clients asking about divorce
Finally, she decided it was time to get a divorce after eight years of marriage.
The distress caused by the fear of coronavirus infection, confinement measures and social isolation has taken a toll on couples. Cooped-up Hongkongers have been flooding hotlines with calls seeking help with conflicts at home, while family lawyers say they have received more divorce inquiries.
Cheung, in her 30s, says she and her husband had problems in the past, but she always put up with them. Her busy schedule left her no time to think seriously about the state of their marriage.
But the pandemic proved the final straw. Cheung, a waitress, had no work since the outbreak started. Her husband, in his 40s, lost his job in construction. The couple found themselves trapped in their tiny home with their son, a Primary One pupil whose school remains closed.
They squabbled more often, sometimes over cleaning and disinfecting their home, with the conflicts occasionally escalating into pushes and shoves. Even worse, she says, their son witnessed it all.