Bill and Melinda Gates Are Getting Divorced. So Are Increasing Numbers of Older Americans.

Susan L. Brown, author of "Families in America," writes on NBC News that the impending divorce of Bill and Melinda Gates is emblematic of trends in the United States overall, with splits between couples 50 and older — gray divorce — on the rise. That divorce rate doubled between 1990 and 2010, climbed from 0.5 percent to 1 percent annually, and has since leveled out at this new high. A generation ago, less than 10 percent of divorces involved a spouse over age 50, whereas today more than one in four people getting divorced in the U.S. are older than 50. In comparison, the overall divorce rate has been slowly but steadily falling, with rates among young people plunging. Brown says gray divorce is often not triggered by one event, but rather precipitated by couples drifting apart. She also observes that this trend likely reflects changing definitions and expectations of marital success, which "can be challenging to sustain as relationships evolve over time." In a study Brown co-authored in the Journal of Family Issues , she noted that "adults over age 50 today are more accepting of divorce than younger people. Nearly two-thirds agree that divorce is the best solution when couples can't work out their marriage problems versus fewer than half among younger adults."