Divorce among couples over age 45 has increased over time even as the overall divorce rate has fallen. According to one study, the divorce rate among people between 45 and 54 increased from just over 13 people per 1,000 married people in 1990 to 18 people per married people in 2017.
Among people between 55 and 64, the change was from about 5 per 1,000 to 12 per 1,000, while people over 65 saw a change from under 2 per 1,000 to 5 per 1,000.
By contrast, the number of younger people divorcing after marriage has steadily fallen during the same period of time. Those between 35 and 44 are divorcing at about the same rate when comparing 1990 to 2017, but people between 25 and 34 divorced much less frequently.
In 2017, the divorce rate for 25 to 34-year-olds was 23 per 1,000, dropping from 33.3 per 1,000 in 1990. Among the youngest couples, those in their teens or early twenties, the divorce rate dropped from over 47 per 1,000 to 27 per 1,000.
To put these numbers in context, people are marrying later in life. Even so, the number of younger couples getting divorces is still higher than the rate among older couples.
Gray divorces can present some difficult legal situations
However, the trend of older couples being willing to divorce, often after decades of marriage, is still worth noting.
Many people speculate on the reasons why the divorce rate is climbing among more seasoned couples, but the important thing for Floridians who are going through one to remember is that gray divorces can be complicated.
For instance, many established couples in the northern Tampa area have saved up considerable wealth between them and may have that wealth invested in many different types of assets.
This can make marital property division and other divorce-related matters contentious and harder to sort out.