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Culture War Roundup for the week of April 20, 2026

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I have a corner of the extended family that includes a man who, after his kids were grown, divorced his wife and remarried someone slightly older than his kids and had a full second family. They are nice folks that clearly love each other and I like them, but I can tell it's been rough on them in various ways due to the age gap: the dad hit (practical) retirement age while the youngest kids (one with special needs) were still in middle school, and I know the wife has had to start working, presumably to close the budget. I know she's been having to take care of him (now in his 80s) physically too since before the last kid left the house, and I can't help but occasionally think about how she's actuarially likely to be widowed in maybe her early 60s, and how she'll handle that long-term.

Nothing against them personally, but I think they'd have been happier overall if they were closer to the same age and met earlier. I wish them well, though. Life throws things like that at you sometimes. I hope it goes well for the GP here, too.

From the purely pragmatic/actuarial standpoint, if the gap is 10 years or larger, you as the male had better make some kind of preparations that will ensure financial security for the family if you die, and definitely to cover those last few years of care.

I mean you should in any case, but doubly so if you're asking them to sign up for a very high chance of spending their twilight years alone and unable to earn much.