In the past several years, you may have heard the phrase grey divorce. It refers to marriages ending among people age 50 and over. The divorce rate in this age group doubled between 1990 and 2015, according to a Pew Research Centre article that cites the National Centre for Health Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau.
The average age of people getting divorced has shifted in recent years to people aged in their mid-forties, and a significant increase in the numbers of those separating after the age of fifty; often referred to as “Grey Divorce” or “Silver Splitters”.
Couples can divorce later in life for the same reasons younger couples split up -- infidelity, financial pressures, regrets about earlier decisions, or a desire for greater independence. But when you're over 50, these reasons are framed by aging and the realization that you have more years behind you than ahead of you.
So, how can we prevent gray divorce from happening? The simple answer is communicating before, during, and after the transition. It is really important to talk openly with your partner about how you are feeling. Communication isn't something that only needs to happen once to “work”, it needs to happen often.
While there are countless divorce studies with conflicting statistics, the data points to two periods during a marriage when divorces are most common: years 1 – 2 and years 5 – 8. Of those two high-risk periods, there are two years in particular that stand out as the most common years for divorce — years 7 and 8.
Elementary school age (6–12) This is arguably the toughest age for children to deal with the separation or divorce of their parents.
It is no surprise, then, that marital infidelity is a leading cause of divorce. Just how common is marital infidelity? According to a study from the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, as many as 25 percent of married men and 15 percent of married women have had extramarital affairs.
According to research by AARP, most gray divorces are initiated by women as they reportedly asked for a divorce in 66% of reported cases, while only 39% of men and 15% of couples jointly decided to end their marriage.
An April 2021 report released by the U.S. Census Department found that 34.9 percent of all Americans who got divorced in the previous calendar year were aged 55 or older — aka, baby boomers, or people who might have gray hair (hence the nicknames).
Snoring, body heat, restless legs, insomnia, different schedules and a yearning for personal space are just some of the reasons why some happy couples choose to sleep apart, whether in separate beds in the same room, or in separate rooms altogether.
The primary indicator of an invisible divorce is that even though the couple is legally married, they no longer share emotional or physical intimacy as they did earlier in the relationship. Their lives tend to resemble the relationship between co-workers or roommates, rather than an affectionate and married couple.
Steady rise in the average age at divorce. The average age at marriage for persons who divorced was 23.7 years in 1980, increasing to 30.7 years in 2020. Similarly, the average duration of marriages ending in divorce rose from 12.5 years in 1980 to 15.3 years in 2020.
What is the average length of marriage? On average, the length of a marriage in the U.S. is seven to eight years. Some states have a higher rate than others, but the divorce rate for the country is around 50%.
One of the main reasons for divorce after 20 years of marriage is infidelity. It doesn't matter how old a partner is because they can still seek from others what's lacking from their marriage. This is why it is often that that sex is important in marriage.
For some, divorcing late in life, also known as “gray divorce”, is a result of empty nest syndrome, where their kids have left the house and they realize they're not as in love as they once were or lack common interests, while for others it could be involuntary, with one spouse finding someone else.
What Is a Walkaway Wife? Also referred to as the "neglected wife syndrome" and "sudden divorce syndrome," walkaway wife syndrome is "nothing more than a term used to characterize a person who has decided they cannot stay in the marriage any longer," says Joshua Klapow, Ph.
The cause of every unhappy marriage is most likely a deep-rooted sense of unfulfillment. A feeling that there is not enough love, affection, trust, respect, or other crucial components for a satisfying connection. By nature, a woman is more connected to her emotions.
There are times you MUST leave—if there is ongoing abuse or if you are in danger of physical harm, you should only consider staying safe. Repeated bouts of addiction, cheating, emotional badgering, and severe financial abuse need to be handled with extreme care as well.
Why are second marriages more likely to fail? One explanation is the formation of blended families, which can cause loyalty issues with stepchildren and rivalries between co-parents, but there are many other difficulties and stresses that come with remarrying.
A study led by the American Sociological Association determined that nearly 70% of divorces are initiated by women.
"If you're no longer spending any time together, if one or both partners is spending all their time at work, with friends, online — and if feels like a relief not to be with each other — it's a sign that you've already disengaged from the marriage." You don't support or listen to each other.
Lack of commitment is the most common reason given by divorcing couples according to a recent national survey. Here are the reasons given and their percentages: Lack of commitment 73% Argue too much 56%