Later-life divorce, also known as gray divorce, has been growing among couples aged 50 and older since 1990 in the U.S. and other industrialized countries. This significant societal shift creates far-reaching challenges, and not only for the divorcing parents. While there has been considerable focus on the impact of divorce on young children, adult children of divorcing parents face unique hurdles. They may grapple with shifting family dynamics, feelings of betrayal, and concerns about their parents’ well-being.
As a warm June morning dawned in Southern California, a message arrived on my office voicemail. The male voice sounded tense and distressed, emblematic of the pain he would later describe to me. “Dr. Hughes, my name is Alex. I’ve been reading your articles on Psychology Today about how gray divorce affects adult children. They echo my life themes after my parents divorced. I’m a mess. Could we schedule an appointment?”