Almost a quarter of Britons regret marriage: survey

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Almost a quarter of Britons regret getting married to their spouses while 15 percent of newlyweds-to-be will walk down the aisle with misgivings, according to a survey on Thursday.

It found that while most people married because of true love, a third of couples did so just because they wanted to have children or had bought a house together.

Four percent of the 4,000 married people surveyed by OnePoll.Com said they had got married just because they wanted wedding presents and a party.

"We tend to think of marriage as something people do when they are in love but this survey reveals that people tie the knot for all sorts of different reasons," OnePoll's John Sewell said.

"And many of them aren't sure they want to get married -- even as they are standing at the altar saying their vows, which may worry some brides and grooms-to-be."

About 560,000 people are due to marry in Britain this year. The survey found that 15 percent would have second thoughts, meaning around 84,000 people would be regretting their decision.

The findings also revealed that 23 percent of people would not marry their partner if they could go back in time, and 14 percent wished they had married someone else they had met in their past.

Fifteen percent of husbands and wives also lied to each other about their love lives, with most decreasing the number of previous sexual partners although two percent admitted boosting the number.