Increased Divorce Rate Among Baby Boomers

My wife, Martha, and I are baby boomers. Many of our good friends are baby boomers. We are in that cohort of Americans born after World War II between 1946 and 1964. This year the youngest baby boomers are turning 50 years old! The oldest of us are closing in on age 70 years.

As I have been sharing the publication of my book, The Partnership Marriage: Creating the Life You Love…Together, with others, I have had many people say to me that they know couples who have been married for years, are now empty nesters and are getting divorced.

I’ve looked into this and, sure enough, the divorce rate among baby boomers is currently higher than the divorce rates for every other generation. In fact, couples over the age of 50 today are twice as likely to get a divorce than couples the same age 20 years ago. What is more, this increase in divorce for baby boomers is occurring when the divorce rate for married couples in the United States is generally declining, if only slightly!

We, the baby boomer generation, have been committed to happiness, individual growth and self-expression. Right? Well, today, if baby boomers aren’t happy, growing or self-expressed in their marriages, they are throwing in the towel in record numbers! Typically, wives are filing the papers in two-thirds of these divorce proceedings.

Some of the possible reasons for this phenomenon:

• Couples are confronting the reality of their lives and the unhappy state of their marriages once their grown children leave home.
• Many baby boomer women have professions that can support them living independently.
• Baby boomers will be living longer than previous generations, putting new pressures on the success of marriage over the long-term.
• Many baby boomers have the economic resources to divorce successfully.
• Baby boomers are also confronting other significant life transitions, such as the death of a parent and retirement, which can have a destabilizing impact on their lives.
• While raising their children and building careers, baby boomer couples fail to routinely invest in the health and well-being of their own relationship.

The current trend in the baby boomer divorce rate has much to teach younger couples who are heading off into marriage.

The most important lesson might be that happiness is not a compelling purpose for marriage today. In a partnership marriage, each of you must fully commit to nurturing the quality of your relationship, while working together to realize your individual and shared dreams.

Happiness might better be thought of as a by-product of creating a fulfilling partnership, in which you and your spouse are devoted to creating a life that is an expression of your shared values and vision.

For all the empty nest baby boomers out there, if you haven’t already done so, it is time to put your focus on your relationship with your partner! Celebrate! The kids aren’t home!

Reference

Miser, A. (2014) The partnership marriage: Creating the life you love…together. Charleston, South Carolina: Create Space Publishing.

Posted in Partnership Marriage