BOSTON GLOBE – Aug 5 – With so-called gray divorce on the rise, according to sociologists at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, a growing number of baby boomers are finding themselves back on the market. “When I was in my 30s, my biological clock was ticking,” says Rita Lombardi, a divorced Canton resident. This time around, a different clock is ticking. “It’s the rest of my life,” she says, “and I want to spend it with fun people. I don’t want to spend it alone.” Even though older daters say they know themselves better than they did when they were twentysomethings, they know the new rules less well. Although the overall divorce rate in the country remains essentially flat, the rate among those ages 50 and older has doubled since 1990, reports Susan Brown, a sociology professor at Bowling Green State University. “Remarriages are more likely to end in divorce than are first marriages, and the risk of divorce is greatest during the earliest years of marriage.” Other factors include: the rise in the number of working women; changing attitudes about marriage and divorce; and lengthening life expectancies.
by Beth Teitell
The full article was originally published at Boston Globe, but is no longer available.
