Watching the spectacle of Gen Z unraveling marriages feels like watching the slow-motion collapse of the social glue that holds communities together. Young people raised on instant validation from screens and therapy-speak are walking away from vows at rates and for reasons that should alarm every parent and patriot. Surveys show that financial secrecy and so-called “financial infidelity” are shockingly common among younger couples, a practical betrayal that often precipitates divorce.
Lawyers and family courts are now dealing with divorces nobody in previous generations imagined: fights over crypto wallets, digital assets, and social-media histories that never go away. What used to be private marital disputes have become legal nightmares thanks to the gig economy and tech-driven lifestyles that complicate asset division and trust. The rise of complicated, high-conflict breakups among younger couples has been reported by legal observers who point to social media and crypto as new accelerants of divorce.
Money, not romance, is increasingly the wedge that splits couples who should be building families. Recent surveys and studies link rising debt and secrecy about finances to higher breakup and divorce rates among Gen Z and young millennials, proving that financial irresponsibility is not just an economic issue but a moral one. When half of young adults hide debt or lie about spending, they erode the very foundation of marriage: mutual trust and shared sacrifice.
This fracture did not appear by accident; it follows years of cultural conditioning that prizes self and safety over duty and permanence. College romance and young-adult relationships have been hollowed out by pandemic-era isolation, an app-driven hookup culture, and the constant message that commitment is optional. The result is fewer marriages and more disposable unions that end the moment inconvenience or financial stress appears.
Conservative common sense is the simple antidote: teach responsibility, delay marriage until you can afford it and be honest about your finances, and rebuild institutions that promote family over self. Churches, local communities, and families have always been the first line of defense against the atomizing effects of modern life; it is time to restore those institutions and stop outsourcing child-rearing and moral training to celebrities and influencers. No government program will substitute for character and duty.
If you are a young person considering divorce, don’t let the culture’s easy exit lie to you. Seek counsel that prioritizes marriage as a public good, insist on financial transparency, and consider practical steps that protect both partners without rewarding selfishness. Premarital planning, financial literacy, and a community that enforces norms of commitment will do more to save marriages than another trendy therapy fad or a viral TikTok telling you to run.
The left’s institutions have been busy celebrating individualism while never teaching how to sustain a family, and now we see the bill coming due. Big Tech and woke messaging have made permanence look like a relic and selfishness look like self-care, and our young people are paying for it with broken households. Conservatives must be unapologetic in defending marriage, calling out the cultural rot, and offering real, practical alternatives.
Hardworking Americans built this country on the idea that families matter and that sacrifice for the next generation is noble. If we want stable communities, thriving kids, and civic strength, we must reclaim marriage as an honored institution and stop treating divorce as just another lifestyle choice. It is time to stand firm, speak truth, and restore a culture that values love that lasts over pleasures that fade.
