September 2025 Global Roundup

Family related news included a focus on: late in life divorce; a parent’s role in helping children use A.I. to their advantage; and eight phrases couples can use to strengthen their relationship. Also in the news, is an in-depth look at a gay mother, and her adult daughter, working together to come to grips with their past.

In 1975, Gay Moms Rarely Got Custody. So She Took Her Child Underground

Sarah Diamond Photographs and Video by Caroline Gutman, The New York Times, June 29, 2025

In 1975, faced with a legal system that almost never granted custody to gay parents, Georgette DuBois, a lesbian mother, secretly took her 3-year-old daughter, Kara, from her estranged husband in Michigan and went underground to raise her in a lesbian collective in Pennsylvania. Their story reflects the broader struggle of lesbian mothers in the 1970s, who were often forced into hiding to keep their children. Decades later, mother and daughter are still navigating the emotional aftermath of that decision—balancing love, regret, secrecy, and the desire to understand their past.

The Rise of ‘Meno-Divorce'

GMA Cover Story, Audio, September 1, 2025

This story explores a growing trend in divorce among older couples, with some pointing to menopause as a contributing factor.

Parents, Your Job Has Changed in the A.I. Era

Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop, The New York Times, September 11, 2025

Parents often are wary about children having unfettered access to a new digital technology. Social media has wreaked havoc on young people’s emotional states. When it comes to A.I., as with social media, parental involvement is vitally important. Research shows that families are as influential as teachers and peers in helping young children and teens engage deeply in learning.

8 Phrases to Help Your Relationship Thrive

Catherine Pearson, The New York Times, September 12, 2025

Couples’ therapists were asked to share the magic words that can strengthen bonds, even in the middle of a disagreement. But while it may be easy to rattle off comments that couples should avoid, it was trickier to identify the expressions that can help strengthen relationships, even in the midst of a disagreement.

'Was it All Smoke and Mirrors?': How Adult Children are Affected by Grey Divorce

Molly Gorman, BBC, September 13, 2025

Adults aged 65 and older are now the only age group in the US with a growing divorce rate. One aspect of grey divorce is beginning to receive more attention: the surprisingly deep and wide-ranging impact the split can have on adult children – and on their relationships with their parents, especially, their fathers. This pattern of children turning towards the mother after divorce is known as the matrifocal tilt and it can be seen in several different age ranges.