Join Early Retirement Today
View Poll Results: Divorced? Now what?
I'm divorced and plan to never remarry 16 35.56%
I'm divorced and have remarried 21 46.67%
I'm divorced and open to marrying the right person 3 6.67%
Something else (please feel free to explain) 5 11.11%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 45. You may not vote on this poll

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Divorced, now what?
Old 05-24-2013, 08:13 PM   #1
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 3,430
Divorced, now what?

One of the other threads caught my eye. So many folks here who have been divorced are saying they would never marry again.

I'm wondering if that thinking is fairly common or just the ones who have been most vocal in that thread.

omni
omni550 is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 05-24-2013, 08:33 PM   #2
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 147
I got divorced a little over a year ago, at the age of 33.

I hope to find love again. Not sure if that includes marriage or not, but I rather hope it does. However, if it does, I am keeping my last name and getting an iron-clad pre-nup!

In the meantime, I'm living my life as though I will be single for the rest of my life -- a good social circle and self-sufficiency is never a bad thing. I feel I'm young enough yet and you never know what will happen!
Marathoner is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2013, 09:33 PM   #3
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
ER Eddie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 1,778
I divorced about 7 years ago. I don't think I'll ever remarry. Why? Because during the marriage, I felt strongly that this life is not for me. It felt like someone else's life, not mine. Also, I am convinced that had I stayed married, I would never have been in the financial position I am today, prepared to retire early. And third, now that I am financially independent, I'd hate to risk that with marriage, which can lead to loss of half your assets or more. I could do a prenup, I suppose.

I hope to be in love again someday. I hope to have a close, intimate relationship again. That's important to me. Marriage per se is not. I think I'm more comfortable on my own, with a little space.
ER Eddie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2013, 09:42 PM   #4
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Mulligan's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 9,343
I am divorced, but have been in a long term relationship for over 6 years. At this point in life, marriage is just a piece of paper, with no value for either of us. Our plans are to be life long partners and eventually live together once the children are gone on their own for good in a few years. For now, it is really the perfect situation, with both having our own places and space, but only 5 minutes way from each persons residence.
Mulligan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2013, 04:57 AM   #5
Moderator
Walt34's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Eastern WV Panhandle
Posts: 25,290
I was divorced at 33/34 (it takes a year in MD). Afterwards I had every intention of remaining hard-core bachelor but remarried five years later. This July it'll be 25 years. Still glad I did.
__________________
When I was a kid I wanted to be older. This is not what I expected.
Walt34 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2013, 05:30 AM   #6
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Dawg52's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Central MS/Orange Beach, AL
Posts: 9,067
Never been married. Still waiting until I'm mature enough to do so.
Got a buddy who is about to go through his 2nd divorce, he is 60. It's going to set him back on retiring for years to come. He says no more marriages for him, but the previous 2 have already done the damage.
__________________
Retired 3/31/2007@52
Investing style: Full time wuss.
Dawg52 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2013, 08:24 AM   #7
Recycles dryer sheets
check6's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 471
Div at 30 remarried at 58. Loved the time inbetween. Had I not met this lady I would have never remarried. However, I do miss the "alone" time.
check6 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2013, 09:33 AM   #8
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Mulligan's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 9,343
Quote:
Originally Posted by check6 View Post
Div at 30 remarried at 58. Loved the time inbetween. Had I not met this lady I would have never remarried. However, I do miss the "alone" time.
That is a good point, on alone time. I lived with people in college, had roommates out of college, then went into marriage. I always assumed being alone met being lonely and a pitiful way to live. It took awhile, but once I started living alone, I definitely have learned to embrace the alone time I have by living by myself. In fact that is one comment my GF and I share when discussing living together. Both of us have gotten used to our space with our own little castles, so we are worried about possibly getting on each others nerves.
Mulligan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2013, 09:35 AM   #9
Recycles dryer sheets
killingme's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 98
I think chuckanut laid it out fairly well. I waited to get married until I was in my mid thirties. Based on folks info here it seems they fell into what I had seen with my friends and peers, married early, divorced and often remarried while I was the friend who didn't have a care in the world and was a bad influence on them.

Been married over twenty years now but if something happened, I would go back to being the bad influence again! Heck the DW and I have talked about becoming DINO's (divorced in name only) if there was a sufficient financial incentive! (and requires a huge amount of trust).
killingme is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2013, 09:41 AM   #10
Moderator Emeritus
W2R's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,468
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mulligan View Post
That is a good point, on alone time. I lived with people in college, had roommates out of college, then went into marriage. I always assumed being alone met being lonely and a pitiful way to live. It took awhile, but once I started living alone, I definitely have learned to embrace the alone time I have by living by myself. In fact that is one comment my GF and I share when discussing living together. Both of us have gotten used to our space with our own little castles, so we are worried about possibly getting on each others nerves.
F and I are in no hurry to shack up either. We enjoy our alone time, and if/when we would prefer to be together, we get together. Pretty simple. We can afford to live in separate homes, so this works for us and we have no immediate intention of changing our present situation.
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.

Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
W2R is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2013, 09:46 AM   #11
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Mulligan's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 9,343
Quote:
Originally Posted by W2R View Post

F and I are in no hurry to shack up either. We enjoy our alone time, and if/when we would prefer to be together, we get together. Pretty simple. We can afford to live in separate homes, so this works for us and we have no immediate intention of changing our present situation.
W2R- Did you find your perspective on living alone change as you got older, or did you immediately embrace the idea? It took me about a year until I embraced it.
Mulligan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2013, 11:58 AM   #12
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
freebird5825's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: East Nowhere, 43N Latitude, NY
Posts: 9,037
I voted "Something else".

I was never the "marrying type". However, when my then live-in BF proposed to me at the age of 21 (he was 25), I accepted. His proposal was not the first I had received in my life. It was the only one I ever took seriously. It was the only proposal he had ever made.

I made the poor guy wait 4 years until I went down the aisle. Nothing against him. I was too free a spirit to become a Mrs. plus my parents' divorce was a real nightmare in my own family. He understood and waited patiently. Smart man!

20 years later, I lost him to a heart attack. So by default, I was spared the non-closure of divorce. That may seem very strange to read, but think about it.

These days, Mr B and I are happy to cohabitate without the marriage license. We may change our minds, we may not. It's not that important at this stage of our lives. We have declared our intentions to be together TDDUP, so why bring in the overhead of the license and the legal ramifications of marriage ?

It makes no sense in this divorce ridden society. I've seen way too many financially crippling divorces happen among my peers. Pass
__________________
"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney
freebird5825 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2013, 12:51 PM   #13
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
SumDay's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 1,862
DH and I have no plans to divorce but if we did, or if he passes before I do, I am fairly confident I will die as a single person. At this point in my life, I have such a long list of requirements that I really doubt anyone would pass the test. I don't mind my own company at all.
SumDay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2013, 04:13 PM   #14
Moderator Emeritus
W2R's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,468
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mulligan View Post
W2R- Did you find your perspective on living alone change as you got older, or did you immediately embrace the idea? It took me about a year until I embraced it.
When I was young, I was a little scared of being alone so much. Then I married and spent 23 years as a wife and mother. My ex was a sea-going man, so he was gone more than he was at home. Still, I had my daughter living with me so I was never alone. I really didn't have much (any?) "alone time" or "me time" during those years.

I didn't know what I thought about being alone when I first divorced at age 50, back in 1998. But by 2000, when Frank and I first met through a internet dating/match website, I had been living alone for a while and found out that I liked living alone. So, about 5 minutes into our first face-to-face meeting I told him that re-marriage was out of the question, as was shacking up, and if he wanted to re-marry we needed to cut things off immediately. I told him my vision of a deeply committed relationship that didn't require paper from the government or smothering one another with too much time together. Much to me surprise and relief, he was OK with that and thought it was great that I knew exactly what I wanted.

The rest is history.

Through the years we have come to recognize that we might end up living together some day, especially when we get to the age where we need to take care of one another. But for now, this is working for us.
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.

Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
W2R is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2013, 04:42 PM   #15
Gone but not forgotten
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Sarasota,fl.
Posts: 11,447
I voted "something else " . I was divorced in my early 30's . Remarried at 39 and widowed at 51 . I have been in a long term relationship for 13 years . Two years of dating and then we moved in together . We have discussed marriage and even got engaged but I chickened out ( nice ring He even hid it on the Christmas tree in an ornament ). Our relationship is solid and we have done all the paper work for power of attorney & health care surrogate . What the future brings I have no idea but it's nice to have your best friend close at hand .
Moemg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2013, 11:27 AM   #16
Recycles dryer sheets
hakuna matata's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Small town outside of Seattle
Posts: 444
Got married to my first wife very young-19! And was married for 20+ years, unfortunately we just grew apart. With my first wife I was set to retire at a normal retirement age as she didn't want to go back to work, etc and it is tougher to get FI with one income, doable but tougher. Got divorced in my early 40's and she got the equity in the house and I got my 401k.

Met my current wife a few years later and about a year later we were discussing our 401k's, etc and we both had the epiphany that together we were awfully close to FI! We both maxed out our 401k's each year and both bought an IRA so for me getting divorced has been a godsend. By getting divorced I am retiring about 10 years earlier than I would have if I had stay married. I do think I am probably an anomaly as I think getting divorced for most people is a major setback. But if you get lucky like I did, and find the right woman, life is grand!
hakuna matata is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2013, 11:40 AM   #17
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
haha's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Hooverville
Posts: 22,983
Quote:
Originally Posted by hakuna matata View Post
Met my current wife a few years later and about a year later we were discussing our 401k's, etc and we both had the epiphany that together we were awfully close to FI!
My god, that is romantic! And obviously quite effective.

Ha
__________________
"As a general rule, the more dangerous or inappropriate a conversation, the more interesting it is."-Scott Adams
haha is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2013, 12:37 PM   #18
Recycles dryer sheets
hakuna matata's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Small town outside of Seattle
Posts: 444
Quote:
Originally Posted by haha View Post
My god, that is romantic! And obviously quite effective.

Ha
It was sort of eye opening I will have to admit. She was single before we met and was basically planning on her own retirement so it never crossed her mind to discuss it with me. I was used to being the only one who handled the 401k with my first wife so it never occurred to me that my current wife might have a 401k. So one day we were discussing money, etc. and it came up and we shared the amounts we had and both were like 'duh!'

I freely admit I got very lucky with my current wife. She is a good fit for me on many levels but money is a big part of that. We are both frugal but (unlike it seems many on here) we don't mind spending money on certain things. But we both tend to analyze the decision before springing forward on spending the cash. I appreciate that I can discuss with her whether 'this' or 'that' is a better use of the dollars and we can come to consensus. I did not have that in my first marriage so I truly do value it here.

Plus she is cute and sexy
__________________
"There is only one success: to be able to spend your life in your own way.” ~Christopher Morley
hakuna matata is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2013, 12:40 PM   #19
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
haha's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Hooverville
Posts: 22,983
Quote:
Originally Posted by hakuna matata View Post

Plus she is cute and sexy
Best of all, in my book. Congratulations!

Especially as I get older I realize what a gift it is to have a woman that lights your fire.

Ha
__________________
"As a general rule, the more dangerous or inappropriate a conversation, the more interesting it is."-Scott Adams
haha is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-03-2013, 06:56 PM   #20
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
obgyn65's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: midwestern city
Posts: 4,061
Never married here therefore never divorced. I guess I lucked out :-)
__________________
Very conservative with investments. Not ER'd yet, 48 years old. Please do not take anything I write or imply as legal, financial or medical advice directed to you. Contact your own financial advisor, healthcare provider, or attorney for financial, medical and legal advice.
obgyn65 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:16 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.