While “Gray Divorce” (Baby Boomer Divorces) has been a hot topic for a few years now, I haven’t written about it. There are a few reasons for this:
1… I divorced in my twenties, so I’m not personally familiar with the phenomenon.
2… My parents divorced in their thirties, so I can’t comment as a child of such divorces.
3… Personal preference: I’ve never liked the branding. For as awesome as I think Divorce is, I don’t want to treat it like a trend.
But, despite my ignorance-and-arrogance-induced silence, Gray Divorce isn’t going away. It’s time for me to embrace it (and appreciate the fact that the trendiness is bringing more attention to the overall topic of divorce). And so a few weeks ago, I decided to delve into the matter with someone who has been there, done that and created a web site devoted to the issue. Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to Barry Gold, Coach and Proprietor of DivorcedOver50.com.
As you’ll see in the interview below, Barry and I had a nice chat. We compared personal stories and discussed some challenges (and advantages) of separation at different stages of life.
I now find myself contemplating which, in theory at least, is “better”… Those who divorce young typically have a lot of time to reset, recover and rebuild their lives. On the other hand, those on the Gray end of the spectrum have the advantage of maturity, self-confidence and grown children. …But of course, age and income can’t predict everything, thus the process and outcome of divorce depends mainly on the individuals embarking on the journey.
If Gray Divorce pertains to you (or just piques your curiosity), check out my interview with Barry and then head over to DivorcedOver50.com where you can dig deeper into the trend. There’s even a special section for those who are “Di-Curious” 😉
If you have an opinion about whether gray or non-gray divorce is better, feel free to leave a comment.