Unlike most things in life, divorce does not necessarily get easier with practice. Whether a separation goes smoothly or not depends more on the particulars, like how long a couple was together and during which phase of life. For Adam, his first divorce in his mid-20s felt simple compared to the one he’s going through now in his 50s. “I think the only debate was an old bill over a cable box that never got returned,” he told me. “Now we have children, cars, houses, and retirement assets.” The midlife divorce can also carry more emotional baggage. Couples have sunk more time into therapy and feel more hopeless about their future dating prospects. One woman in her 50s told me that after her first separation, she felt she still had “my whole life ahead of me. Now I just feel like I’m old Ragge

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