The coronavirus pandemic has meant bad news for D.C.-area couples whose marriages are on the rocks.
Michelle C. Thomas, founder of Silver Spring, Md.-based M.C. Thomas & Associates who specializes in divorce law, said the number of divorces is up nationally, and her office particularly has seen a 70% increase in calls from people eager to start proceedings.
The pandemic has exacerbated existing problems for some couples to the breaking point, she said.
“It brought a lot of issues that may have been swept under the rug to the surface,” Thomas said, WTOP reported. “Being locked in the house together will do that.”
Thomas said before the pandemic, couples who had tumultuous relationships could tolerate each other because of the limited time they had together each day, but the quarantine changed that.
“That was essentially taken away from all of us overnight,” Thomas said, WTOP reported. “It left many marriages and couples in an intense situation.”
Like much of the nation, the D.C. region has been hamstrung by the ongoing pandemic since its onset in late February, with many local jurisdictions still having yet to fully reopen all businesses and schools.