Anecdote incoming. Usual disclaimers apply. I genuinely am not sure what true numbers are. Couple#1 They are married for a good while with three kids. He is a cop in Chicago; she has semi-random kid watching gigs. While it did not happen, they did openly discuss strategic divorce to ease their financial situation. Couple#2 She works corpo job. He works a cash only contracting job. They are married in every sense, but…
in austria/germany at least what matters is household income. if you live together you get supported together. being married has no disadvantage.