
The Divorce Expert: 86% Of People Who Divorce Remarry! Why Sex Is Causing Divorces!
James Sexton (guest), Steven Bartlett (host), Narrator, Steven Bartlett (host), Narrator, Narrator, Steven Bartlett (host)
In this episode of The Diary of a CEO, featuring James Sexton and Steven Bartlett, The Divorce Expert: 86% Of People Who Divorce Remarry! Why Sex Is Causing Divorces! explores divorce Lawyer Reveals Why Marriage Fails—and Why We Still Marry Divorce attorney James Sexton uses decades of high‑conflict cases to dissect why marriages collapse, focusing on sex, money, delusion, and our refusal to do preventative maintenance on relationships.
Divorce Lawyer Reveals Why Marriage Fails—and Why We Still Marry
Divorce attorney James Sexton uses decades of high‑conflict cases to dissect why marriages collapse, focusing on sex, money, delusion, and our refusal to do preventative maintenance on relationships.
He explains how prenups really work, why fidelity clauses backfire, and why social media and romantic myths distort our expectations of love and marriage.
Sexton argues that sex is the defining glue of romantic relationships and that most marital problems trace back to two core issues: not knowing what we want and not knowing how to express it.
Despite calling marriage a technology that fails 70–75% of the time, he remains deeply romantic about love itself, stressing its impermanence and urging people to cherish partners, kids, and even dogs with far more intentionality.
Key Takeaways
Treat marriage as a high‑risk technology, not a default life step.
Sexton notes that roughly 56% of marriages end in divorce, and if you add couples who stay together but are miserable or trapped financially, failure climbs toward 70–75%. ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Use prenups as a proactive, romantic tool—not a threat.
A prenup is essentially a custom rule‑set for the legal and financial side of your marriage, drafted by you instead of politicians or changing laws. ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Prioritize sex as a core barometer of relationship health.
Sex, in Sexton’s view, is what distinguishes a spouse from a roommate. ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Practice “preventative maintenance” with small, consistent, honest behaviors.
Sexton advocates regular, uncomfortable but loving check‑ins on connection, attraction, and satisfaction instead of waiting until a crisis. ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Stop comparing your relationship to curated, performative social media.
He routinely sees couples in his office whose online presence screams “perfect, blessed relationship” while they are in brutal litigation. ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Recognize that most marital problems come down to clarity and expression.
Sexton distills years of cases into a simple formula: “All marital problems stem from two things: I don’t know what I want, and I don’t know how to express it. ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Love is impermanent and will hurt—choose it anyway, and act accordingly.
Drawing on hospice work, his mother’s death, and aging dogs, Sexton emphasizes that every person and pet we love is on loan. ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Notable Quotes
“All marital problems stem from two things: I don’t know what I want and I don’t know how to express it.”
— James Sexton
“Marriage is a lovely thing, but as a species we’re unbelievably bad at it.”
— James Sexton
“I don’t ever want the person who lays their head on the pillow next to me to be there because they don’t want to get divorced.”
— James Sexton
“Love is not permanently gifted, it is loaned.”
— James Sexton
“I think it’s insane to love anything, because some day that’ll be gone and this thing’s gonna break my heart… but that’s not a reason not to love.”
— James Sexton
Questions Answered in This Episode
You argue that all marital problems stem from not knowing what we want and not knowing how to express it—what are three concrete exercises couples can do this week to clarify and articulate their wants before resentment builds?
Divorce attorney James Sexton uses decades of high‑conflict cases to dissect why marriages collapse, focusing on sex, money, delusion, and our refusal to do preventative maintenance on relationships.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
In the case of the client whose alimony decreased with every 10 pounds of weight gain, what would you advise a young person who feels pressured to sign a deeply conditional or appearance‑based prenup today?
He explains how prenups really work, why fidelity clauses backfire, and why social media and romantic myths distort our expectations of love and marriage.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
You’re strongly against fidelity clauses yet see sex as central to marriage; what would a truly effective, non‑legal ‘fidelity framework’ between partners actually look like in practice?
Sexton argues that sex is the defining glue of romantic relationships and that most marital problems trace back to two core issues: not knowing what we want and not knowing how to express it.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
You describe many women leaving sexless or unequal marriages only after years of tolerance—what early financial and sexual red flags should someone treat as ‘non‑negotiable’ signs to rethink marriage before walking down the aisle?
Despite calling marriage a technology that fails 70–75% of the time, he remains deeply romantic about love itself, stressing its impermanence and urging people to cherish partners, kids, and even dogs with far more intentionality.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
If we reframed relationships as chapters rather than forever‑bonds, how should that change the way we educate teenagers and young adults about love, commitment, and the expectations they bring into their first serious partnerships?
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Transcript Preview
All marital problems stem from two things, and that's-
What about sex? How often is sex the issue in divorce?
Oh my God.
James Sexton, the world's number one divorce lawyer, specializing in billionaires, athletes, and celebrities for over two decades.
Giving him a unique insight into how relationships fail and succeed. There's about a 56% chance that your marriage will end in divorce. Yet 86% of people remarry within five years. But most people have no idea what they are getting themselves into. And a great example of that would be prenups.
Who gets what when they break up?
Correct. And the most shocking prenup I've ever seen said that for every 10 pounds the wife gained, she would lose $10,000 a month in alimony.
10 pounds of weight?
And that was enforceable.
Do money issues lead to divorce?
Oh, it's controversial.
What's the quickest someone's gone from marriage to divorce?
48 hours.
Who cheats more, men or women?
You'll be shocked to hear it's-
Have you ever seen violence during a divorce?
They ran her over four times and stabbed her.
Jesus Christ. So here's the question then, should we get married? And then do you think love is a terrible idea?
I think it's insane to love anything, because some day that'll be gone and this thing's gonna break my heart no matter what I lose. But that's not a reason not to love, and I- I think there's something really important there.
Congratulations, Diary of a CEO gang, we've made some progress. 63% of you that listen to this podcast regularly don't subscribe, which is down from 69%. Our goal is 50%. So if you've ever liked any of the videos we've posted, if you like this channel, can you do me a quick favor and hit the subscribe button? It helps this channel more than you know, and the bigger the channel gets, as you've seen, the bigger the guests get. Thank you and enjoy this episode. James, I've never spoken to somebody that does what you do. What do you do?
I'm a divorce lawyer. I'm a divorce lawyer who represents people in contested divorce and custody proceedings in court. So it's, the fact that you've never spoken to someone who does what I do is a good thing. It- it- it means that either you've not married or it means that you've successfully married to the point where you would never end up in my office. By the time someone sets foot in my office, something's gone terribly wrong in their life, because no one ever meant to meet me, no one ever meant to be in my office ever.
What is the probability that some day I do meet somebody like you and not in this context?
Well, if you marry, there's about a 56% chance that your marriage will end in divorce. Now, that doesn't take into consideration how many people may consult with a divorce lawyer because they're having difficulty in their marriage, but they choose subsequent to meeting me not to divorce for some particular reason, whether that's they don't wanna part with half of their funds or they've just decided it's easier to stay miserable and with a person, or they're staying together for the kids but they wanted to know what their rights were. So if you marry, the ch- the- the chances of meeting someone like me are- are more likely than not, if we look at it that way, 'cause it's more than 50%. So it's a, it's a high number, you know?
Install uListen to search the full transcript and get AI-powered insights
Get Full TranscriptGet more from every podcast
AI summaries, searchable transcripts, and fact-checking. Free forever.
Add to Chrome