In the movie, Shall We Dance, starring Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez and Susan Sarandon, there is a terrific scene where Sarandon’s character is sitting at a bar explaining to a stranger why being married is important.

She says, “We need a witness to our lives. There are billions of people on the planet…I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you’re promising to care about everything – the good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things – all of it, all the time, every day. You’re saying, ‘Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it.  Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness.’”

For the 65 percent of Baby Boomers who are married (of which I am one), this ideal of marriage probably resonates. We do want someone to share ourselves with and to eventually grow old with. Even for those Boomers who have divorced, most seek to remarry… to find a new lover, best friends, and partner for life. But things are changing.

There is a disturbing trend happening