She was never lost.
She was doing it in the dark.

An Australian woman’s initiative dedicated to closing the framework gap for women navigating

grey divorce.

29%

of Australian divorces follow marriages lasting 20 years or more.

(Source: Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2026)

1 in 4

Australians over 50 have seriously considered separation or divorce

(Australian Seniors & CoreData, 2023)

45%

Average decline in women’s standard of living following grey divorce, reported in US

research.

(Source: Lin & Brown, 2021)

While much of the international research originates in the United States, Australian evidence shows that later-life divorce is becoming increasingly relevant as the population ages and long-term marriages transition through retirement and later life.

Full references are provided in the Doing It in the Dark white paper, Version 1.2.

The Framework Gap

Australia built transition frameworks for soldiers, police officers, and retirees. It built nothing for the end of a long marriage.

Grey divorce the end of a long-term marriage in midlife or later is one of the fastest-growing demographic transitions across Australia and the Western world. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reports that the median age at divorce for women is in the mid-forties, meaning many women reach the end of their marriages at the exact stage when identity, caregiving roles and life direction are already shifting.

For many women, the consequences extend beyond legal separation to include financial decline, housing insecurity, social isolation, health pressures and a profound disruption to identity. Yet no dedicated Australian national framework, coordinated clinical pathway or government-funded support infrastructure was identified in the research reviewed by The Grey Divorce Project.”

“Australia’s ageing population and the movement of large cohorts into later life suggest that grey divorce will remain an important social and demographic issue in the decades ahead.”

Behind the Project

Lisa Keevill

Lisa Keevill is the founder of Recreate & RISETM and creator of the Recreate & RISETM Framework an identity-centred methodology purpose-built for women navigating life after grey divorce. After her own 30-year marriage ended in 2020, Lisa discovered there was no roadmap, no framework, and no structured support for the transition she was facing. So she built one.

Today, through Recreate & RISETM, Lisa works with women across Australia and internationally through mentoring, membership and advocacy turning lived experience into a movement for systemic change.

The research is clear. The gap is real. The framework exists.

Download the White Paper and join the women, researchers, and advocates working to close the framework gap.

For media, partnership, or research enquiries: [email protected]

Are you navigating grey divorce? The community is open — visit www.recreateandrise.com

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She was never lost.She was doing it in the dark.