No matter when people divorce, it’s a lot . There’s pain, grief, sadness . There’s finding movers, lawyers, therapy. As we get older, it only gets more — much more — complicated . Add in child custody, home ownership, your own career, and the financial pressures that come with all of the above. Even with these challenges, though, divorce at midlife can create space for your own needs, the opportunity for a new beginning, becoming reacquainted with yourself, and rediscovering freedom.

Below, six women walk us through their experiences getting divorced after 40 — the loneliness, the podcasts they listened to, the hobbies they took on, the degrees they got, and more — all in the name of starting fresh.

We were together for almost ten years as a couple, married for eight of them, b

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