MONEYWEB app instead? Changing marriage patterns and their impact on financial planning A newly married couple should have a shared vision of their future and be prepared to work as a team. 14 April 2021 06:41 Image: Shutterstock Recently released stats from Statistics South Africa this month show that fewer people are getting married in either civil marriages or customary marriages and that first-time marriage partners are getting older. The report, Marriages and Divorces, 2019, showed a significant drop in the total number of marriages; in 2019 there were nearly 50 000 fewer civil and customary marriages than in 2018. However, the number of same-sex unions increased between 2015 and 2019.