For single men, a win of 1 million Swedish kronor raised the chance of marrying within five years by 4.7 percentage points, from a baseline of about 16 percent, an increase of roughly 30 percent. According to Men's Journal, which also covered the study, male winners had about 14 percent more children 10 years after a win, and their risk of divorce appeared to fall.
For women the picture was different. Marriage and childbirth among single women showed only small increases that were not statistically significant. But married women who won were nearly twice as likely to divorce within two years, with the risk rising from about 4 percent to almost 8 percent, according to both reports.
The researchers interpret that short-term divorce effect as acceleration rather than creation: the win appears to speed the exit from marriages already headed for collapse. The effect faded over the longer term, and women who had earned more actually saw their long-term divorce risk fall.
The study's authors caution that the results come from Sweden, a high-income country with a strong welfare system, and from lottery players who may not represent the general population. The findings are therefore a window into how sudden wealth interacts with relationship decisions, not a rule for every couple.