This week, I’m talking about gray divorce. Gray divorce refers to the skyrocketing trend of divorce rates among those age 50 and older. In fact, over the last 25 years, the divorce rate has doubled for Americans over 50 and tripled for Americans over 65. 

Today, I’m talking about why Americans are divorcing later in life. A blog post by McKinley Irvin, a prominent family law firm, compiled the research on why and compiled it to identify some of the reasons behind this growing trend. They have some other great research findings and articles that go deeper on this topic as well, so if you want to know more, I’ll link to their resources in the show notes which you can find in episode 507 in iTunes. 

Here’s what they came up with and what the studies show is behind this trend: 

1. Multiple marriages. Couples in their 50s and 60s who are on their 2nd or 3rd marriage are the most likely to get a gray divorce. In fact, the divorce rate is 2.5x higher for people who have had more than one marriage, compared to those who have only been married once. 
2. No more kids. A lot of empty nesters find it difficult to hold together an unhappy marriage once the children leave. 
3. Lifestyle changes. Once one or both spouses retire, it can have a big impact on the lifestyle of individuals and couples, and can often cause friction if that vision for retirement isn’t a shared one.

Those are just a few of the reasons behind the gray divorce trend and something to be mindful of and on guard for, especially as the empty nest and retirement transitions approach. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

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