You’re barely out of your twenties, but it happened to you: You’ve got a “failed” marriage to your credit. You’re what people might call a baby divorcée, but it’s hardly a label you want. Your focus is more on: How’d that happen? Am I ever going to date again? Am I ever going to want to date again? And when I do date, do I hang out with the other single 20-somethings, or is there a new way to date that’s more appropriate for a person with a past?

To understand what life is like for the young and the divorced — and how they can move on with their romantic lives — we talked to relationship experts and people who’ve been there. Here, they share tips, insights, and advice.

Is Divorcing Young a New Trend?
“The younger you are when you’re married, the more likely it is to end in divorce,” says Pamela Paul, author of The Starter Marriage: and the Future of Matrimony. Forty percent of marriages overall fail. “That number goes up into the 50 percent or more for people in their 20s,” she adds.

There are many theories on where to lay the blame for the current generation of divorces. “It’s that whole one-click culture,” says Paul. “This generation moves at warp speed. They want to get married right away and when it doesn’t work out, they want to get out. They’re the consumer generation.” They’re also, she says, a group that grew up with the concept of the makeover. “If this identity isn’t working for you, start over.”

“I’ve been noticing more young divorces happening for the last couple of years,” says Amanda Freeman, a vice president of The Intelligence Group, a consumer insight firm in New York City. “This generation is a little more noncommittal and more fickle. They’re taught in so many areas of their lives that something new and better will arrive over time—they don’t want to commit to things. There’s always a new cell phone on the horizon.”

Now, no one is saying that 20-somethings don’t mind being divorced — they do indeed — but they may be more willing to view divorce as a viable option than those who are somewhat older. And of course, there’s the fact that in early, brief marriages, there may not be children involved. That’s another factor that makes it somewhat less onerous for couples to break up.

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