The first working Monday back after the Christmas break is wryly dubbed "Divorce Day" by lawyers who typically see a spike in couples considering divorce.
Divorce Day this year falls on Monday, January 7 when solicitors across the country will expect to be fielding more enquiries from couples unhappy in their marriage.
Experts say the stress of trying to create the perfect Christmas, along with money troubles after the festive break, are the main reasons why married couples decide to split at this time of year.
Support service Amicable says that more than 40,500 people will search "divorce" online in January, which is nearly 25% higher than at any other time of the year.
While relationship charity Relate says it receives a peak in calls in January, as tensions come to a head over Christmas and families are pushed to boiling point.
What is Divorce Day?
"Divorce Day" is a term used by lawyers and law firms to typically describe the time of year when they receive a surge of new enquiries from couples about divorce.
The day is on the first Monday of the year when you're back at work, when bank balances are low and tensions are high.
Amicable says more relationships break down in January than any other month and that on Divorce Day, internet searches about divorce and divorce enquiries peak.
What is the divorce rate in the UK?
The latest divorce figures, released last year, revealed the divorce rate for heterosexual couples in the UK was at a 45-year low, with 101,669 divorces of heterosexual couples in England and Wales.
According to the Office for National Statistics, there were 8.4 divorces of oppposite-sex couples per 1,000 married men and women in 2017, representing the lowest rates since 1972 and a 5.6 per cent decrease since 2016.
But experts said this could be down to the fact that fewer couples are choosing to get married.
While divorce rates for same-sex couples tripled from 2016 to 2017 - which Nicola Haines of the ONS said was "not surprising since marriages of same-sex couples have only been possible in England and Wales since March 2014".
Interestingly, the divorce rate was highest for men aged 45-49 and women aged 40-44, which Relate relationship counsellor Gurpreet Singh suggested was because couples had reached the stage in their life when "all the distractions have finished".
He told the Standard: "You reach that stage of life when you have the money, the children have left home and you don't know if it is the person you want to spend your days with.
"The relationship is now just the two of you and this is why people end up in arguments."
What is the most common reason for divorce?
According to the ONS figures, unreasonable behaviour was cited as the most common reason for both heterosexual and same-sex divorce.
Around 52 per cent of wives and 37 per cent of husbands petitioned on these grounds in opposite-sex marriages, while for same-sex couples the figures stand at 83 per cent for women and 73 per cent among men.
Why do so many people file for divorce in January?
Mr Singh said: "Any post-holiday break, when you get a period of intense time with each other, you start to wonder if you belong together.
"Anxieties come up and you get time to think and evaluate, and you come up wanting to work things out. People have different views and they end up in arguments."
Not only does January fall after a holiday period, but Christmas is also a stressful time, which Mr Singh said can make trivial comments escalate into arguments.
He said: "Your argument might start with the dishes before escalating to 'you never listen to me'. All you need is a trigger for it to escalate.
"You end up evaluating when you have a bit more time to yourself. Most of the time you're taking care of things rather than wondering what's next in your life."
How to avoid a relationship breakdown over Christmas
Relate has issued a seven-point list to help you avoid any fallouts over the festive break, including cutting back on alcohol, sharing the workload and making time for yourself and your partner.
Budgets are important to stick to as is communication, with Mr Singh saying that "listening is the operative word".
