Being madly in love is widely seen as the best recipe for a successful marriage. According to research published this month, however, love is little more than a starting point.

Academics say there are more important factors that lead to “happily ever after” – or otherwise. These include the ages of the bride and groom when they marry, their level of education and even how much they drink.

For example, couples who are young when they wed have less idea of what makes the best match, thus increasing the risk of divorce. Yet the same applies to older couples, because the “marriage market” at that stage in their lives may have produced less-than-perfect partners.

Big age differences between husband and wife are also associated with higher rates of divorce – particularly if the wife is nine or more years younger than her husband.

The researchers, from the Australian National University, found, too, that partners who each have a degree are more likely to stay together than couples who have no higher educational qualifications.

The results of this survey, which examined the relationships of nearly 2,500 couples over a six-year period, may not be earth-shattering in its findings, but it does underline the fact that a successful marriage is about more than sexual attraction and even companionship.

The value of such research is debatable, but it may help couples who are struggling to understand why their relationship isn’t working, even if they still enjoy a good love life.

Unsurprisingly, the researchers also found that a husband losing his job can heighten the risk of a break-up, as can generally tough economic times. In today’s difficult economic climate, therefore, even erstwhile happily married couples may find their relationship is starting to fall apart.

When you are in the heady throes of romantic love, it is easy to overlook potential risk factors such as a big age gap or vastly different educational backgrounds, but these things can matter in the long term and it is wise to give them consideration.

For those of you who didn’t do that and are now contemplating divorce, the message is to not beat yourself up. It’s not that you’re a terrible person or that your commitment to marriage is suspect, it’s that you didn’t weigh up the potential pitfalls that might, now, seem only too obvious.

Marriage is about love, of course, but love tends to survive where there are complementary factors such as whether you are of a similar age and if you both like a drink or a cigarette after dinner, as the Australian researchers found.

I see many clients who believe their marriages collapsed because of their character flaws. The truth, in lots of cases, is that age, habit or circumstance played a major role. If divorcing partners are able to recognise this, they will be more able to move forward in a positive way – be it on their own or in a new relationship.