Long-term relationships: Navigating the ups and downs of lasting love 

Long-term relationships can be wonderful. But being with the same person for decades is not always easy. We get expert advice about the questions you need to ask to keep communications open  

Globally, there’s been a rise in what’s being termed ‘grey divorce’, where couples over 50 are ending their marriages

No relationship exists in a bubble, and life can get in the way. As years pass, major events happen, and stresses are introduced to your lives, pushing your relationship down the priority list. If you have kids, life gets even busier. You ride that busyness for years until one day, you wake up, and there’s been another shift - life has settled down, your kids are less dependent on you, and you have time.

“It’s inevitable that this happens,” says psychotherapist and author of #Love Relationships in the 21st Century, Trish Murphy. “You hit a stage where you’re not as busy and you have more time to focus on each other. The problem is that sometimes you can look at your partner and think, ‘Who is this person?’. Or the small niggles that you barely noticed when you were busy loom larger.”