This paper represents the first attempt to model the effect both marriage and divorce
probabilities have on labour supply and wages within a utility maximisation framework. I
develop a theoretical model that is based on a setting in which men and women each
maximise their own lifetime utility and married couples interact in a non-cooperative
manner. Wages are determined by the number of hours a person has worked in the past.
The probability of marriage is found to increase work hours for those unmarried people
who expect to marry someone with a lower wage rate. This is more likely to be the case
for men than women. Conversely, among married couples, an increase in the likelihood
of divorce has a positive effect on labour supply for those who earn less per hour than
their spouses: something that is likely for women but not men.