Remarriage: Starting Over

Abstract

The process of becoming happily remarried requires navigating a series of relationships, transitions, and difficulties that differ from the challenges confronted in first‐marriage couple formation. Though there is limited research on repartnering dynamics, researchers and clinicians have uncovered some clues about adaptive strategies for remarried couples. Negotiating the identity shifts from married to divorced to eligible dating partner, managing and balancing relationships between new partners and parental responsibilities if there are children from prior marriages, and forming a new household that meshes two previously independent systems are all processes in which adults must engage when entering a second or higher order marriage.