The detailed study carried out among 2,000 couples found that 83 per cent of couples felt they 'made more effort' with each other while the kids were home but only five per cent said that they had now resolved their issues.
An astonishing 72 per cent of those who said they were still living together and simply acting as a couple in front of the kids said they in truth considered themselves 'separated', the Daily Mail reported.
Another one in three said they had made their friends or family aware of the fact they weren't planning to stay together forever.
One third of troubled couples questioned had discussed ending the relationship with their partner, one in four said they had decided themselves to end the relationship but had yet to inform their other half.
It also emerged that six out of ten of those who are staying together because of the children want to wait until their kids are at least 18 years of age, often preferring to wait until their child is settled at university, before planning for life apart.
Break-up and bereavement support website in the UK, HealBee commissioned the study after experiencing a 40 per cent rise in the number of visitors.
"What we are most surprised at is that it would seem that many parents feel compelled to stick together with a disregard for their own happiness, or without fully considering the effect on children growing up in a household where there is animosity," a spokesman said.
"Aside from the very real possibility of children blaming themselves for their parents' unhappiness should they choose to stay together, but then separate when they're older, these children might also follow their parents' patterns in their own relationships," the spokesman added.
"Children are both highly receptive to their role models