Most people know that it is possible to divorce a spouse on the ground of their “unreasonable behaviour”, but are less sure about what is, and is not, deemed to be unreasonable. Is, for example, a spouse’s infuriating snoring sufficient?
In Scotland the applicant must show their spouse has behaved in such a way that “they cannot be reasonably expected to cohabit with them”. That is, in general terms, a low bar and opens the door to a wide range of physical and verbal behaviour.
Conduct that would undoubtedly give a ground of divorce would include abuse of drugs or alcohol, the refusal of sexual relations, sexual relations with a third party and physical violence.
Other, perhaps less obvious, examples include controlling behaviour, persistent put downs or a complete withdrawal of any form of meaningful communication or emotional support.
The test is that the spouse in question must find it to be so difficult that he/she cannot continue, and that a reasonable person would feel the same way. This knocks out trivial behaviours. For the reasonable person, snoring is annoying but trivial and would therefore not be enough.
