Couples in their 60s are divorcing in their droves in what is being branded the “silver splitter revolution”.
Statistics show that while divorce rates are at an all-time low, older people are bucking the trend. Of the 78,759 divorces in 2022, 11,905 couples had been married for more than 25 years. Some 6,683 had been together for 30 years or more. And the number of over-60s legally separating has jumped by more than 60% since 1990, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Lyn Siddle, 67, is among those to have called time on her marriage. She left John, 74, her husband of 38 years, after the pair “grew apart” when their four children left home. The businesswoman, from Southport, Merseyside, said she felt compelled to “grab life with both hands” after the death of a friend – so packed her bags and went travelling across Central America, India, Australia and Asia.
Lyn said: “The people we had become at retirement age were very different to how we were when we married. We’d started living separate lives, stopped communicating and ultimately, we grew apart. When my best friend died, I got a sense of, ‘Life is too short’. Eventually, we agreed to separate.
“I think we both understood we wanted different things and, despite splitting, we still have a good relationship.” Sarah Balfour, a family law planner at Irwin Mitchell, said: “Older adults, particularly women, have become more financially independent, giving them the means to live alone and support themselves.”
Relationship coach Susie Masterson added: “The fact we are living longer and have access to all kinds of educational material around choice enables us to review our circumstances more than our parents did. Ultimately, there is less stigma and expectation around relationships for life.” The average length of a marriage in the UK currently stands at a record 12.9 years.