Grey divorce on the rise: Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness among spike in Australian couples married 20-plus years calling it quits
Their split has shocked fans but the Hollywood power couple are not alone with Australians calling it quits on decade-long relationships in droves.
Lifestyle
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Their split has shocked the world but Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness are not alone with older couples increasingly opting for divorce in Australia, statistics show.
Coined “grey divorce”, experts believe the emerging trend has been escalated by Covid, social media, reduced stigma around separation, and women feeling more empowered.
The Hollywood power couple jointly announced their separation last week after 27 years of marriage with reports the pandemic put a huge strain on their relationship.
The Wolverine star, 54, and Shame actor, 67, met co-starring in the 1995 Australian miniseries Correlli, were married less than a year later and went on to adopt two children Oscar and Ava.
“We have been blessed to share almost three decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage,” the estranged couple told People magazine in a statement.
“Our journey now is shifting, and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth.”
The A-listers are not immune to the spike in couples married for two decades or more calling it quits.
Experts say while “infidelity still reigns supreme in the divorce stakes”, for many older couples a decision to go their separate way simply reflects an “it’s time” moment.
Australian Institute of Family Studies figures released in March show more than one quarter of the 56,244 divorces granted in 2021 involved couples married 20 years or more, up from about one in five in the 1980s and 1990s.
More recent data from national information and mediation group The Separation Guide reveals a 27 per cent increase in the number of people aged 45 and older who had been married more than 20 years seeking advice on separation, in the last half of 2022.
The guide’s chief executive Angela Harbinson said many more people with a “thirst to live a different type of life” were opting to separate once kids had been schooled and put through university.
“(Often) they both still have deep fondness for each other but have just decided to move on; 62 per cent of this cohort are amicable and don’t want to fight,” she said.
Vanessa Camerlengo, a senior solicitor at Adelaide’s Resolve Divorce, said her firm was “definitely experiencing” a rise in the number of divorces involving long-term relationships, consistent with the national trend and an increase on the back of Covid.
Firm director Rose Cocchiaro said contrary to popular belief, mature-age divorce wasn’t predominantly driven by “men cheating or trading in their wives”.
“We honestly see the opposite – women who want something more from their lives than they are getting and choosing to empower themselves by doing it alone,” she said.
She pointed also to “the negative impact of social media on marriages” with people comparing their own lives to what they see showcased as “a perfect marriage” on their screens.
Local collaborative law specialist Clark Panagakos Family Law director Bev Clark also noted a “higher incidence of long marriages/relationships ending”.
“In my experience all separations are stressful for those going through them … for me, personally, I find it terribly sad to see elderly people facing the prospect of selling the home they have lived in for 40 years and worrying about how they can replace it,” she said.
“Long marriages usually mean that couples are either retired or nearing retirement, that means there is less or no opportunity to replenish wealth or rebuild financially.”
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