3. Showing contempt for your partner

No. 3 on our list of things that predict divorce is contempt toward your spouse. According to John Hottman, the founder of the Gottman Institute and a psychologist at the University of Washington, there are certain relationship behaviors that can predict divorce with pretty high accuracy.

There are four, and Gottman calls them the “four horsemen of the apocalypse”.

The first one is contempt, when you see your spouse as beneath you. Then it’s criticism, which is when partners turn a behavior into a statement about the other’s character. The third is stonewalling, when one or both partners block off conversation. Finally, there’s defensiveness, when one or both partners play the victim during difficult situations. All four behaviors make the list of things that predict divorce, especially if the partners exhibit all of them.

By the way, here’s a book where you can find some tricks that can help you communicate effectively in your marriage.