Gray Divorce and Retirement: Redefining Your Life and Identity (Ep. 105)
There are moments in life when everything shifts at once: your identity, your roles, and your plans for the future.
What happens when the life you expected changes, and you’re left asking what comes next?
In this episode, I sit down with Oona Metz, LICSW, CGP, licensed clinical social worker and certified group psychotherapist, to talk about the emotional journey women face during divorce and how it connects to retirement planning. We explore the role of shame in financial decision-making, the power of community through support groups, and how women can begin to rebuild their identity. Oona also shares practical ways to reduce overwhelm, reconnect with purpose, and move forward with clarity.
Key takeaways:
- How shame around money can prevent women from asking questions or seeking guidance after divorce
- Why support groups help women feel less isolated and more connected during life transitions
- The emotional impact of gray divorce and identity shifts tied to an empty nest and retirement
- Simple exercises that help women reconnect with purpose, meaning, and personal identity
- Why asking for help and building a trusted support system is essential during uncertain times
- And more!
Resources:
- Get Your FREE Simply Retirement Roadmap
- 2026 Tax and Retirement Planning Cheat Sheet
- Book: Unhitched: The Essential Divorce Guide for Women by Oona Metz
Connect with Eric Blake:
- www.TheSimplyRetirementPodcast.com
- Join the Simply Retirement Newsletter
- Ask a Question or Suggest a Topic for the Podcast
- Blake Wealth Management
- YouTube
Connect with Oona Metz:
About our Guest:
Oona Metz is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, a Certified Group Psychotherapist, and a Fellow of the American Group Psychotherapy Association. She brings 30 years of experience working with individuals, families, and groups. Her private practice offices are located in Brookline and Arlington, Massachusetts. She is actively involved in numerous committees and boards related to group therapy and is committed to ongoing learning in diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Her practice focuses on individual adults and group therapy. She specializes in working with women+ who are navigating life transitions. Whether transitioning from college to graduate school or into the workforce, beginning or ending a relationship or job, becoming a parent or adjusting to an empty nest, or coming out to family and friends, she views these experiences as opportunities for reflection, insight, and meaningful change.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed