Are we still built for marriage or just good at weddings?

Say what you want about love, but in Tanzania, divorce is working overtime. According to RITA, 675 divorce certificates were issued between July 2024 and April 2025.

That’s 116 percent of the annual target. Yes, you read that right, we’re breaking up faster than we’re signing up.

The situation is so serious that the government had to pull the emergency brake.

Minister for Constitutional and Legal Affairs, Dr Damas Ndumbaro, took a detour during his 2025/26 budget speech to sound the alarm: parents, guardians, and marriage officiants, please start giving couples actual survival tips—not just wedding speeches and matching khangas.

His point? We need to go back to the basics, moral values, emotional preparation, and a clearer understanding of what marriage really requires.

But let’s be honest...today’s version of marriage isn’t your grandmother’s “just stick it out” situation.

Modern couples want it all: love, peace, partnership, financial stability, deep conversation, and sometimes matching pyjamas.

But what happens when those things fall apart? So does the marriage. And these days, leaving a bad situation isn’t shameful, it’s called self-care.

Still, it’s not just about who’s leaving. It’s also about who’s not showing up in the first place.

RITA only registered 35,052 marriages during the same period, just 65 percent of the target. So not only are more couples breaking up, but fewer are even bothering to walk down the aisle.

Welcome to the age of vibes, cohabitation, and love without paperwork.

Well, for starters, we hype weddings like blockbuster movies, from location shoots, bridal showers, to send-offs with 20 speeches.

But give marriage all the emotional preparation of a group chat. The result? Two people trying to build a life together using TikTok advice and what their aunties said at the kitchen party.

Meanwhile, social media is serving us unrealistic love goals. Everyone looks blissfully happy online until the filters fade and the arguments start over who left the gas open.

By then, it's easier to split than to fix things. If we want fewer divorces, we need more than moral lectures.

We need marriage prep that’s as real as the challenges couples face—conflict resolution, money talk, mental health, even parenting styles.

Also let’s normalise therapy over gossip and deep conversations over assumptions.

Because marriage isn't the enemy. Misinformation, unrealistic expectations, and lack of tools are.

And until we start treating marriage like the lifelong team project it is and not just a one-day fashion show, we’ll keep seeing the “I do” turn into “I’m done” faster than you can say hashtag couplegoals.

So yes, say what you want about love. But if we don’t upgrade our understanding of commitment, divorce will keep winning.