Unmarried couples in the UK are almost three times more likely to have split by the time their child turns 14 than those who married before the birth, a new study has found.

Sixty per cent of couples who cohabit but never marry had separated by the time their first child turned 14, compared with 21 per cent of those who had married before the birth, according to the Marriage Foundation report. The proportion rose to 32 per cent of couples who married after the birth.

The researchers found that 46 per cent of 14-year-olds in the study were not living with both natural parents. A similar figure was found in a review for the Children’s Commissioner last year.

The Marriage Foundation report tracked 4,476 mothers with children born between 2000 and 2002, from the Millennium Cohort Study.

Researchers found that by the age of three, 26 per cent of children were not living with both natural parents, rising to 46 per cent at the age of 14. Among the 54 per cent of children still living with both natural parents, 84 per cent lived with parents who were married.