A large number of California spouses celebrate many years together. People’s perceptions about decades-long marriages are that the unions will last “forever.” That is not always the case, as many spouses file for divorce even decades after being married. A long-term marriage might suffer from many problems that make keeping the spouses together challenging, if not unlikely.
Long-term marriages start to suffer
In previous generations, married couples often choose to remain together even though ties that held the marriage together broke apart. Modern marriages may involve spouses that focus on personal happiness and fulfillment. When a marriage ceases to benefit one spouse personally, the spouse could decide it is time to end it. The decline of negative social attitudes towards divorce may contribute to decisions to file for dissolution.
Long-term marriages are not the only ones susceptible to divorce, but couples risk drifting away from one another over time. Attitudes may change, and a spouse that develops changing social, political, or religious beliefs might have little in common with his or her partner. Marriage breakups may take place when the differences become pronounced.
Discontent and troubles in a marriage
Several other reasons may factor into a long-term marriage falling apart. Infidelity could ruin a marriage, and some spouses may become less faithful in later years.
Financial goals might change, leaving one spouse to worry more about retirement and stability than another. One spouse’s terrible financial habits could become too much to handle for the other.
Yes, the presence of children may bind a marriage. When the children leave home, which often happens as the young ones grow up, the new “empty nest” lacks the sons or daughters who kept things stable. The new home situation could prompt one spouse to seek a divorce.
Long-term marriages sometimes face difficulties. Sadly, in some situations, separating or divorcing seems to be the appropriate solution.