How old is too old to get divorced?
Shortly after his 90th birthday my uncle asked my aunt for a divorce. It wasn’t like he had met another woman, it wasn’t like he wanted to be free to sow his wild oats (to be honest his oats had passed their use by date) and it’s not like they were arguing over what direction to take in life or how to raise the kids – the kids were, after all in their late 60s. But my uncle just decided he no longer wanted to be married. He’d had enough.
Today we read news that Danny DeVito and his wife Rhea Perlman are divorcing after 30 years of marriage. I know that they certainly aren't the first couple to decide that after 30 years enough is enough - hey my own husband's parents divorced after 28 years of marriage but Danny is 67, Rhea is 64. And you don't often see people that age divorcing.
They are not in the full flush of youth and that is all the more reason that I absolutely admire the fact that they are being true to the way that they feel.
However sad divorce is and IT IS (and 30 years is a long time to be with someone), it's awesome to see that there is no resignation to accepting a life that you had made - just because it has always been that way. It would be easy to think that that you should just stay with someone you know, that there is more to be found in what you know and the company that you keep than the unknown and a life of possible solitude.
ninemsn reports
"Hollywood couple Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman have separated after 30 years of marriage.
The pint-sized pair's publicist confirmed the news to Entertainment Tonight, but would not comment on the reasons for the split.
Danny, 67, and Rhea, 64, met in 1971 after one of the Batman Returns actor's off-Broadway shows in New York.
They went on to play lovers in the '70s series Taxi, and acted together in just one film, 1996's Matilda."
So is it just society that makes us believe that older people have no desires, no right to a life of freedom and excitement that they cannot possibly find within the confines of their marriage vows?
Or are people like my uncle, Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlamn the exception to the rule?
