Splitting After a Long Marriage

 Posted on February 28, 2013 in Divorce

According to the AARP Magazine, the story that a long-married couple splits because one of the partners—usually the man—has cheated is an old one. It’s not that long-married couples always split after one partner has been found to be unfaithful, sometimes the couple’s “marriage can withstand the infidelity.” Other times, of course, “the breach of trust is too deep.” Questions and accusations of infidelity can be tantalizing. Many high-profile couples that go through divorce have their infidelity splattered across newspaper headlines and trashy magazines for months after the split has been announced. Yet beneath the headline-worthy scandal, “having an extramarital affair is not what’s behind the breakup of most long-term relationships,” according to AARP.  The ending of a long-term relationship, reports AARP, is less like an explosion and more like a balloon, which has been losing air over a long period of time. Many couples, for a myriad of reasons—one of them children—have been facing the prospect of divorce for years, and only when they reach mid-life do they decide it’s time. An AARP study found that for people 45 and older “extramarital affairs happen for only a relatively small number of couples.” The increasing number of couples divorcing later in life could have something to do with the fact that these days, as opposed to in the past, it’s much easier to divorce. Not only does divorce carry much less of a stigma than it did in decades past, there are also more ways that an older person can be independent than there used to be. There’s also the fact of longevity—according to AARP Magazine, “half a century ago, an unhappy couple in their mid-60s might have stayed together because they thought it wasn’t worth divorcing if they had only a few years left to live. Now, 65-year-olds can easily envision at least 20 more active years—and they don’t want them to be loveless, or full of frustration or disappointment.” If you or someone you know is considering a split after a long marriage, don’t go through it alone. Contact a dedicated Chicago-area family law attorney today. Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net