These days, people in their midlife years are more active and adventurous than ever before. However, while more people are enjoying their midlife years, there has also been a rise in midlife divorce. As it turns out, there’s several different factors which might lead to the end of a long-term marriage…
Midlife Divorce: What Ends Long-Term Marriages?
Infidelity
A major reason for midlife divorce is infidelity. Sometimes, a spouse might start to feel that their long-term marriage’s love life is becoming stale. This may lead them to try and explore intimacy outside of their marriage.
Infidelity may be the reason a long-term marriage ends in divorce. However, infidelity is just a symptom of the more underlying problems in the marriage. Unfortunately, this symptom tends to break the bond created by marriage.
Wanting something “different”
Everyone changes over time. What you might’ve wanted for yourself at 20 can change when you’re 40. This might even mean you no longer want to be in your marriage anymore. Instead, you want to have something “different”.
Couples can grow apart over time. In effect, they become strangers to each other instead of partners. Wanting to regain that connection with someone else is a driving force behind midlife divorce. Midlife crises can also bring on feelings of wanting to divorce.
Divorce is more accepted
Divorce is a much more accepted practice now than it used to be in the past. Many unhappy couples would stay married due to worries over social shunning or religious beliefs. Nowadays, this isn’t the case.
Society and religious leaders have become much more accepting of divorce these days. This means that it’s easier for couples to decide on a midlife divorce. They can pursue their own personal happiness while not feeling a sense of guilt at the same time.
Midlife divorce may seem like a disappointing outcome, but for some couples it’s the best choice for them. It’s always important to be able to have your own happiness which you can then bring into a relationship. Sometimes, the best way to find that is to begin a new chapter in your life.