When the Law Interferes with Love
In some cases a divorced woman can be penalized — even if she doesn’t marry or live with a new romantic partner
In her latest podcast episode, “One Love, Two Homes,” Dating While Gray, host Laura Stassi explores the growing live apart together (LAT) lifestyle, especially among people aged 60 and older, and she was kind enough to interview me for the first part of the episode.
As exciting as that was, the second half of the episode — an interview with “Evelyn” (a pseudonym) who lives apart from her romantic partner — was intriguing.
Evelyn was a stay-at-home mom to five children, two with lifelong special needs, for whom she is the sole caretaker. She divorced after nearly 25 years of marriage.
Eventually, Evelyn found love with “Scott,” and after a few years they built a duplex — two age-in-place units, his and hers, with connected garages between them.
They are not married and have no plans to marry, they do not live together, they have two separate addresses, they have separate utilities and separate finances, but they have dinners together and sleep together and all the other typical things committed romantic couple do.
