<p>Wow, why would anyone think only gold diggers are available to Al or that it should be difficult for a vital 60 year old to find romance? My single peers are not quite their age, but many are having the times of their lives finding new romance in their 50s after leaving marriages that were limping along. I think many will live longer because passion keeps you young.</p>
<p>As someone pointed out above, many stay together because the lifestyle would be intolerable if they split the money. I can’t tell you how many of my girlfriends fit this description. So sad.</p>
<p>I know several couples in their late 70s that has become widows and then remarried and they are having the time of their life. I have noticed that they dance, sing, play games, exercise, socialize and even cook together and treat the other half with great respect.</p>
<p>I have to say it is great to see so much love!</p>
<p>They had a successful union for 40 years. Where is the failure in that? Do you honestly believe you can ‘choose’ the right spouse that will last 50 years instead of only 40 years? My hat’s off to them - they stayed together a good long time and both seem to be comfortable with their decision. </p>
<p>If Al and Tipper can be amicable with each other, what will be the harm to their children and grandchildren? Will family gatherings really be any less enjoyable for their children and grandchildren? Al and Tipper get to live the rest of their lives the way they want. In my book they have earned the right to whatever happiness they might choose to pursue for their remaining years, whether with another person, or alone. They put their children first and stayed together all these years (whether they truly wanted to or not) and who the heck cares what they do now?</p>
<p>Al and Tipper, I wish you much happiness and good health!</p>
<p>I work in a senior center and know at least 30 couples who have been married for 10 or even 20 years longer than the Gores. Some are devoted to each other, some can’t stand the sight of each other, and some tolerate each other because the financial aspects of divorce are just too daunting in old age. It is not flowers and rainbows for couples in their 70s and 80s. It is very hard work - one is almost certainly going to have to take care of the other at the end of life, and then be left to face the challenges of widowhood.</p>
<p>At least 80 percent of our membership is single - mostly widowed, with some who have never married and a few who are divorced. What I have noticed is that most senior men are open to the possibility of a new serious relationship, but very few senior women are (though they would like some male companionship occasionally). I think this is because the men remember the benefits of having a wife, while the women are reluctant to take on the responsibility of nursing yet another frail husband until the end. They’re worn out from having done it the first time.</p>
<p>One of our members, a peppy 70-something widow who adored her late husband, tells us regularly, “Everything is more fun when you’re not married!”</p>
<p>Those of us who are healthy and affluent are divorcing in far larger numbers after long marriages. We expect to live a long time and we want to live happily.* Many more can now afford to divorce and maintain lifestyle.** *</p>
<p>Yes, but what about the financial devastation to those who can’t. I often meet older women who have been financially devastated by divorce. These are women who gave up the idea of a career to raise their children (usually with their H’s insistence) who aren’t given spousal support for any decent period of time after the divorce. I think in such cases, spousal support should be given until the woman either remarries or dies.</p>
<p>At my mother’s continuing care center, it’s the opposite. Many of the single women, who greatly outnumber the single men, would be open to a new relationship, so the few single men are extremely popular.</p>
<p>Some divorce settlements will take this into account . . . If a spouse stayed home to raise the kids, they get more alimony since they were unable to maintain a job during that time. For a couple years I worked at a company that paid pension/retirement payments to the divorced spouses of employees. (The amount of money they got depended on how long they’d been married while the spouse worked for the company.)</p>
<p>I say “some divorces” because it may vary from state to state. If I were planning to stay home and raise kids, I would certainly get a prenup.</p>
<p>Re post 266 - at our center, the single men are certainly popular! But I was referring to serious relationships, which most of our widowed ladies avoid. In fact, in the 10 years I’ve worked at a very active senior center, only 2 marriages have resulted from contacts made here, and a handful of relationships in which couples live together and take responsibility for each other. I used to moderate a support group for widows, and the common theme was that they’d been there and done that. At our center, senior women enjoy male companionship and would like to date casually, but hesitate because they don’t want all the work a serious relationship entails. YMMV, of course.</p>
<p>Karenna Gore Schiff just split with her husband of 13 years. They have three children. They are currently separated and trying to work it out.</p>
<p>Her sister Sarah divorced her husband after 1 year of marriage.</p>
<p>It’s the trifecta, it seems. Three Gore women all split from marriages within a short period of time. Something isn’t as perfect in that world as bystanders would think. Sad.</p>
<p>*I say “some divorces” because it may vary from state to state. If I were planning to stay home and raise kids, I would certainly get a prenup. *</p>
<p>Many stay at home moms did not know that they would stay home until after the first or second child was born. So, no opportunity for such prenups.</p>
<p>['quote]Karenna Gore Schiff just split with her husband of 13 years. They have three children. They are currently separated and trying to work it out.</p>
<p>Her sister Sarah divorced her husband after 1 year of marriage.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Maybe Tipper is taking a page from her DD’s and deciding that life is too short. Maybe she called the ball and said let’s part.</p>
<p>My sister and I have 5 marriages between us. Our parents have been happily married for 56 years. You can’t necessarily project the poor choices of the child upon the parents.</p>
<p>“Three Gore women all split from marriages within a short period of time.”</p>
<p>You gotta feel sorry for the Gore daughters…their father set such a high standard for charisma–where they gonna find a guy who can compete with such a dynamo?</p>
<p>Easiest job in the world? Being the guy Chelsea Clinton is marrying. MOST guys who get caught cheating have a ticked-off father-in-law to answer to. But if Chelsea’s hubby strays, the worst beating he’ll take is if Slick Willie high-fives him a little too enthusiastically.</p>
<p>Nope, NRDBS4, no family is perfect. Most of us think that. There were just a lot of sentiments on this board that they were the picture “perfect” family. </p>
<p>That is what I was responding to.</p>
<p>Some of the comments noted how shocked they were that a seemingly happy couple would split. My point is that perhaps none of these couples were as happy as they appeared. Being in the media spotlight has got to increase the likelihood of pressure upon the couple - every time they are photographed in public, the personal issues that come to the spotlight have got to add to the stress of a marriage.</p>