Divorce lawyer reveals one common thing that indicates your marriage is going to end

Throughout his illustrious 23-year career as one of the US' most prolific divorce lawyers, James Sexton has learned a lot about relationships.

And in a recent interview with Steven Bartlett this week, the globally-renowned attorney has lifted the lid on the most frequently observed indicator that a marriage is near breaking point.

If you fear your other-half is growing away from you, suspect deceitful behaviour or are going through financial strains within your relationship, you can always count upon Sexton to offer you some straight-up - and often hard to hear - guidance.

A year after passing the bar, the familial solicitor opened his own firm and has remained a managing partner there ever since.

He's featured in hundreds of court appearances - many of which centred on the break down of relationships, parental estrangement and child custody.

And in recent years, he's used his prestigious platform as a means of issuing advice on preventing divorce and maintaining a happy marriage, securing his own US television segment and releasing two best-selling self-help books.

Sexton recently appeared on Dragon's Den star Steven Bartlett's popular podcast, The Diary of a CEO.

Countless clips from the pair's conversation have since gone viral online - including one which saw the lawyer divulge the 'main reason' that couples officially call time on their romance.

Sexton began by claiming that the observation comes from years of researching and observing patterns of behaviour among different groups of society in the hope of spotting the most common reasons that couples butt-heads.

"I'm very fixated on pattern recognition," he explained.

"So, I'm constantly thinking. I'm always looking at the same religion, different religions, or religious versus non-religious.

"Or, older and younger, older man - younger woman, younger man - older woman. Same races, different races. Like, [one being] first generation to the US, or both being first generation, or neither.

"I don't see those patterns - if I did, I'd be the first to say it. You know? I don't hesitate to say stuff. But I've not seen those patterns."

It was then that his revealed his ultimate finding.

"I think substance is probably the main thing," Sexton revealed.

"If one or both people are big drinkers or drug-users, that's usually a good indication that the marriage is going to lead to divorce."

And while the comment may seem rather controversial, thousands of the video's viewers are seemingly in agreement.

In fact, several even took to the comments to share their own experiences in relationships that involved substance abuse, claiming that addiction did play a huge part.

"My first marriage ended due to alcohol," one revealed. "I started drinking less, him more. He was punching holes in our walls, drinking before work, and wouldn’t get in counseling. I left."

They added: "He ended up with a man after this, and I also was told he was in love with his best friend whom we hung out with all the time. So…. Yeah, alcohol ended my marriage… but thank goodness."

Another follower explained: "I just got out of an 8.5 year relationship, and he and I smoked pot almost every day for that entire time.

"For the last year or so, I had been wanting to cut back, and it was a huge challenge. We were definitely using it as a coping mechanism for the dysfunction in our relationship."

A third added: "Yep been there! With a heavy drinker you become a carer, you’re not a partner".

"This is good intel," a fourth went on. "And some become big drinkers or substance users because they can’t manage to get married 🥹 saying this for a friend."

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Please drink responsibly. If you want to discuss any issues relating to alcohol in confidence, contact Drinkline on 0300 123 1110, 9am–8pm weekdays and 11am–4pm weekends for advice and support.