There is no such thing as ‘automatic’ divorce. Sometimes people confuse the rules around divorce applications and assume that if a couple has been living separately for two or five years, then they are considered to be legally divorced. This is not the case.
The confusion arises because of rules that state that one of the five grounds for divorce is that you can apply for a divorce if you’ve been separated for at least two years and you both agree to it.
Another of the five grounds for divorce is that you’ve been separated for at least five years and, in these circumstances, you can apply for a divorce even if your husband or wife disagrees.