Why Older People Are Divorcing More Than They Used To (The New York Times, Jun 2026)

Tier 2: Professional organization or credentialed expert guidance
Publisher: The New York Times · Published: June 22, 2026 · Accessed: August 20, 2026

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Claims this source supports

• Gray divorce - divorce among people 50 and older - has risen sharply over the past few decades, even as the overall U.S. divorce rate has fallen to a 50-year low.
• Experts interviewed name the 'empty shell marriage' as a key driver: marriages that keep functioning as logistics partnerships (shared mortgage, calendar, household management) long after the emotional content is gone.
• These marriages often end without a single dramatic activating event - no affair, no explosion - just cumulative erosion and, eventually, someone deciding the shell is not enough.