Why Relationships Matter

Take our Can You Spot Red Flags In A Relationship?

Find a therapist to strengthen relationships

Repartnering is increasingly common among older couples, especially with the rise in “gray divorce.”

As couples navigate their new partnerships, several factors may influence the nature of these bonds.

By learning more about the complexities of repartnering late in life, you can look ahead with optimism.

Marriage is perennially associated with young couples who, after some period of engagement and/or cohabitation, decide it’s time to make their relationship official. To be sure, the odds of a couple in their 50s or older deciding to head into marriage are not as high. However, with people living longer and deciding to end a failing relationship in their 50s (the “gray divorce”), there is increasing evidence that some aging couples decide to give a new partner a try. The question is, can these work and if so, how?

The Facts About Repartnering

According to a 2025 study by Bowling Green University’s Susan Brown and colleagues, not only is gray divorce increasing, but so are the numbers of 50 divorced people who decide to try again. As many as 37 percent of men and 22 percent of women repartner after a late-life divorce, with the norm being cohabitation and the exception, marriage. People who want to be together at this point in life may feel they don’t need the formality of marriage.

You might think that people who decide to repartner are coming at this from the standpoint of putting it off as long as possible. Burned after their divorce, they may want to take time to contemplate their next steps before starting anew. There are, in fact, differences between men and women in this situation as well as differences in the choice to repartner based on prior marital history.

The men who want to repartner tend to have been married longer than women who want to try again. Also, men who were married more than once are also more likely to seek a third (or more) spouse.........

© Psychology Today