seven-years has traditionally been the time when love and affection give way to disillusion and disappointment。

　　but couples who manage to survive the seven-year itch would be wise not to get complacent。

　　the biggest threat to modern marriages actually comes from the 12-year itch, research has revealed。

　　the majority of couples who divorce have now spent more than a decade together before going their separate ways。

　　and they are increasingly likely to cite 'growing apart' or 'falling out of love' as the cause of their split。

　　there has been a four-fold increase in couples breaking up for these reasons in the last two years, amid increasing financial strain on families。

　　but infidelity is still responsible for more than a quarter of divorces. the seven-year itch - or the theory that adultery becomes impossible to resist after seven years - got its name from the 1950s film starring marilyn monroe。

　　the study by the grant thornton accountancy group, which was based on a survey of 90 of the country's biggest family law firms, echoed figures released last year which showed that marriages are most likely to fall apart around the 12-year mark。

　　sally longworth, of grant thornton's forensic and investigation services, said: 'this rather dispels the age-old myth about marriages failing after seven years。

　　'it is impossible to put any scientific reasoning on why certain marriages succeed and others fail.'

　　传统观点认为，“七年”是婚姻的一个坎，结婚到了这个年头，爱情渐渐变淡，取而代之的是幻想的破灭和失望。

　　但成功度过“七年之痒”的夫妇不要沾沾自喜。

　　一项研究表明，现代婚姻的最大威胁其实是十二年之痒。

　　现在很多人都是在结婚十几年后分道扬镳。

　　而至于离婚的原因，越来越多的人说是因为两人的感情“渐渐疏远”或“不再相爱”。

　　随着家庭经济压力的增大，在过去两年中因为这些原因分手的夫妇的数量增加了四倍。

　　然而，仍有四分之一的夫妇因为伴侣不忠而离婚。“七年之痒”的说法源于20世纪50年代玛丽莲•梦露主演的一部电影，描述夫妻在结婚七年后开始禁不住外面的诱惑。

　　这项由英国格兰特·桑顿会计事务所开展的研究基于对英国规模最大的90家家庭律师事务所开展的一项调查，调查结果与去年的差不多，发现婚姻到了十二个年头最容易出问题。

　　格兰特·桑顿会计事务所法庭和调查服务部的萨莉•朗沃斯说：“这在一定程度上打破了多年来有关七年之痒的‘魔咒’。”