When it comes to marriage, 3rd time is NOT the charm for NJ

Take it from me, who many would consider a loser when it comes to love. Divorce is hard. You question everything you thought you knew about yourself and the choices you made. Or you dwell on what you only thought you knew about the other person.

You know what can oddly be even harder? Remarrying. You feel like damaged goods. You feel like ‘what business do I even have?’ You feel a lot of things and none of them good. But as Springsteen sang, everybody has a hungry heart. And sometimes we try again.

What about the either very brave (or very foolish depending on your mindset) folks who try a third time?

Rare Carat did a study of which states had the highest to lowest percentage of people who were brave enough or foolish enough to marry for a third time. Some would call them serial brides or grooms. They used U.S. Census data to determine how many individuals in each state were married three times or more. Then they calculated it as a percentage of population.

For whatever reason, New Jersey came in 50 out of 50, meaning we were dead last and least likely to have married three or more times. Our percentage is 1.08%.

Compare that to the state that has the highest rate of serial brides and grooms at 6.07% of the population having been married three times or more, which is Arkansas. In fact, the top three states we are most likely to find these hopeless romantics are Arkansas, followed by Oklahoma at 5.13% and Alabama at 4.72%.

The three least likely are New York at 1.17%, Massachusetts with 1.13% and then New Jersey. Are we just smarter? Or are we less romantic and not risk takers?

A spokesperson for Rare carat explains it this way, saying, “It's clear from the data that certain states have a significantly higher percentage of individuals who’ve been married three times or more, particularly in the South and Midwest. This trend is often linked to cultural factors. In these regions, there is a stronger emphasis on traditional family structures, and this might encourage individuals to re-marry after a divorce, seeking that 'ideal' family unit."