When couples 50 and older end their marriages, it’s known as gray divorce. Researchers Brown et al. found that, in 1990, eight percent of all persons divorcing in the U.S. were age 50 or older; today the percentage is 36 percent.
Reasons for this phenomenon abound:
Societal attitudes about divorce have changed.
Many older adults rank happiness, well-being, and having a fulfilling life higher than honoring the traditional expectation of “till death do us part.”
People are living longer and are unwilling to accept staying in a marriage that is unhappy, abusive, with poor communication, financial infidelity, or addiction.
After a gray divorce, many people struggle to find the happiness they hoped for.
Kathleen, 60, divorced her husband nine years ago. She sat speechless on the love seat in my office, her tear-filled eyes staring at me. I broke the silence.