Grey divorce is a term referring to the demographic trend of an increasing divorce rate for older ("grey-haired") couples in long-lasting marriages. Former American vice-president

Vice President of the United States

The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...

ial couple Tipper

Tipper Gore

Mary Elizabeth "Tipper" Gore , née Aitcheson, is an author, photographer, former second lady of the United States, and the estranged wife of Al Gore...

 and Al Gore

Al Gore

Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....

's decision to separate after over 40 years of marriage is an example of this trend.

In the United States

Grey divorce was documented in the United States as early as the 1980s, but wasn't labeled as such until around 2004. The phenomenon entered the public awareness with a 2004 AARP

AARP

AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is the United States-based non-governmental organization and interest group, founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, PhD, a retired educator from California, and based in Washington, D.C. According to its mission statement, it is "a...

 study and was further elucidated in Deirdre Bair

Deirdre Bair

Deirdre Bair is the critically acclaimed author of five works of nonfiction. She received the National Book Award for Samuel Beckett: A Biography. Her biographies of Simone de Beauvoir and C. G. Jung were finalists for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize...

's 2007 book containing interviews with grey divorcees. Older couples are responsible for the overall increase in the divorce rate in the United Kingdom. While wives seek divorces at a higher rate than husbands, some have argued that an increase in older husbands' infidelity has led to the divorce increase, though this account has also been disputed. Other researchers have pointed to the increase in human longevity, the cultural values of Baby Boomers, and women's increasing financial independence as potential causes.

In Japan

In Japan it is referred to as . While devoting years to his career a husband may rarely see his family. As a result a husband and wife may not interact extensively and when he retires both can feel they are living with a virtual stranger. This can cause particular stress for the woman who, as society dictated in her youth, is now expected to attend to her husband's every need. The stress this change in lifestyle brings can lead to a number of problems, including feelings of resentment towards husbands.