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The rise of ‘gray divorce,’ and why so many Boomers are splitting up late in life
NY Post ^ | 06/24/2026 | Alex Oliveira

Posted on 06/25/2026 9:47:40 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege

Americans age 50 and older are getting divorced—with almost half of all broken marriages in recent years coming from aging Gen Xers and Baby Boomers.

Gray divorces doubled between 1990 and 2010, until they comprised about one in four of all divorces nationally...

And though divorce has been dropping in most age groups across America, it has not among people 50 years and older.

Michael Stutman, a top New York City divorce lawyer, thinks a “popular culture” shift around modern marriage expectations, coupled with staring down the barrel of mortality, could be playing a part.

“The thing about people who are over 50 is that they’re getting cognizant that the fuel gauge is starting to go down to empty,” Stutman told The Post.

“And there’s one thing money can’t buy, which is time.”

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: agetruth; alexoliveira; divorce; generations; graydivorce; marriage; newyorkpost

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To: Sequoyah101

if you have a woman I am sure she wishes you would already. You sound like a delight.


41 posted on 06/26/2026 5:16:52 AM PDT by ronniesgal (can FR please get a "like" button and a "block" button? Please.)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

I know a guy that was married for 30+ years, then at 77, divorces her...goes back to DATING like he’s 30.

She took care of him in hospital and any time he needed her. He seems to be under the impression he’ll find somebody that will replace her dedication.


42 posted on 06/26/2026 5:24:45 AM PDT by fuzzylogic (welfare state = sharing of poor moral choices among everybody)
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To: hinckley buzzard
If a couple lives in a community property state, and one is facing potentially serious major health issues, bifurcating assets can be a wise move... Better to let one be penniless and on Medicaid than both be in the poorhouse together.

This. One hears of divorce papers but not as much about a divorce on paper.

43 posted on 06/26/2026 5:31:57 AM PDT by T.B. Yoits
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

...better the devil you know.


44 posted on 06/26/2026 5:46:10 AM PDT by exPBRrat
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To: mass55th

Same. I was 38 when I realized: I just don’t want to do this anymore. Not with anyone.


45 posted on 06/26/2026 5:50:21 AM PDT by A_perfect_lady (The greatest wealth is to live content with little. -Plato)
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To: MayflowerMadam
Mom didn’t start living until Dad died. She said they were the best 15 years of her life.

Same for my Grandma. She was 79 when Grandpa died, and she lived to be 94. She sold the farm, moved to town, started wearing pants (!!) bought a little go-cart to drive around the neighborhood in... I mean, she cared about him, but he'd been a drinker, and she was very straight-laced. She was appropriately subdued for 2-3 months after he died. But after that, it was pants and the go-cart, and all smiles. LOL! And she said she'd never, ever marry or "go with" a man again. And she didn't. Any of the old fellows in the community who expressed an interest were shot down with withering scorn.

46 posted on 06/26/2026 5:57:02 AM PDT by A_perfect_lady (The greatest wealth is to live content with little. -Plato)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

And it makes the next one you want to hook up with how long will you hang around?.


47 posted on 06/26/2026 5:59:13 AM PDT by Vaduz (NEVER TRUST A DEMOCRAT)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

“Experts have given a variety of explanations for this phenomenon — including longer lifespans, people marrying older, “empty nester” syndrome, and even wives being less tolerant of insensitive spouses after menopause.

I’m currently going through a divorce. We were married 36 years. Our daughter, who is married didn’t want kids. My son, at 31 came out as gay, so no grandchildren for my wife. Her business is failing after 25 years. She still cries at least once a week for her niece who killed herself in 2021. Apparently, I ate too much, drank too much, smoked week too much, took pills too much, lacked any motivation and was lazy. She didn’t trust me thinking I was cheating on her and hiding money, neither which was true. And she finished menopause in early 2025.

So one day in November of 2025, during a fight she said she didn’t want to live anymore, took the car and left. I called the police and they found her in a parking lot, but couldn’t do anything because she didn’t have a means on how she was going to kill herself.

Because I live in South Carolina, we have to wait a year of her not being in the house because we can officially put the final touches on the divorce. Mediation is next. I tried to have my mutual fund released so I can get all the gold and silver investments liquidated and her attorney said I cannot trade.

Meanwhile, her family circles the wagons and I am viewed as some monster who destroyed her life. Never threatened her, never laid a hand on her, never did anything so egregious that it would create an episode on Divorce Court. Just a vindictive family are are narcissists.

Thank god I was given my freedom from this.


48 posted on 06/26/2026 6:18:15 AM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (Quiet! Quiet Piggy!)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

Just celebrated our 30th anniversary of a happy, productive marriage.

This thread is disheartening and why boomers are a blight on society.

Me, me, me, me fkn me.


49 posted on 06/26/2026 6:31:53 AM PDT by AAABEST (That time Washington DC became a corrupted, existential threat to us all...)
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To: voicereason

Oh. So it’s true. We cruise a lot but don’t recall ever seeing one.

Sometimes I surf in the website CruiseCritic.com and there can be some weird info posted.


50 posted on 06/26/2026 6:51:14 AM PDT by MayflowerMadam ( "Trouble knocked at the door, but, hearing laughter, hurried away". - B. Franklin)
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To: MayflowerMadam
Oh. So it’s true. We cruise a lot but don’t recall ever seeing one.

I've only been on four cruises, and I think I only saw it twice. But then again, I also don't walk through all of the deck room hallways.

But my wife likes to put beach gnome magnets on our door, so I don't know what that says about us. It does make it easier to pick our door though.

51 posted on 06/26/2026 7:00:16 AM PDT by voicereason (When a bartender can join Congress and become a millionaire...there’s a problem.)
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To: hinckley buzzard

I know people who divorced to survive financially. They still lived together even though divorced. They didn’t WANT to divorce.


52 posted on 06/26/2026 7:06:01 AM PDT by madison10
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To: Mr. Blond

That shining castle isn’t do sparkly anymore


53 posted on 06/26/2026 7:22:06 AM PDT by Keyhopper (Indians had bad immigration laws)
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To: yldstrk

Plenty to be sour about. I’m tired of crap and there is more than enough to go around these days and nobody does a thing about it. There is no kinder gentler way to deal with some of it so it woudl be best to get on with what is necessary.


54 posted on 06/26/2026 7:32:12 AM PDT by Sequoyah101 (Opinions and belly buttons, everybody has one and they get to show them if they want to.)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

Awesome. Another boomer bashing thread. Pass.


55 posted on 06/26/2026 7:48:16 AM PDT by subterfuge (What happened to my tagline?)
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To: Aria

Supposedly at the Villages they have little signs on their golf carts that tell others that they are available and if they prefer girl or boy I think. STD capital of the country in the Villages.


56 posted on 06/26/2026 7:57:04 AM PDT by subterfuge (What happened to my tagline?)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

In the Villages they invented to SOocial Security play.

He is getting $3200 mo SS benefit; she $0.

Divorced he gets $3200, she gets $1600.

What broke boomer would not do it?


57 posted on 06/26/2026 8:01:30 AM PDT by anton
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

I can posit on this topic. For a lot of these couples I bet the kids are just out of the house. Either graduated from college, or married. Once they’re not responsible for taking care of the “kids” anymore, a lot of people move on.


58 posted on 06/26/2026 8:16:32 AM PDT by FrankRizzo890
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To: voicereason

Mr. GG2 and I both had previous bad marriages. We will have 20 years in on July 27th and I don’t even know where the time has gone. Everyday is a happy day with us.


59 posted on 06/26/2026 8:23:15 AM PDT by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

That being said, it’s a crying shame I can’t get out of this because of the economy. And age discrimination in hiring. If I could afford it, I’d be gone and much healthier


60 posted on 06/26/2026 8:23:27 AM PDT by dkGba
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