Captain and Tennille, musical duo of the ’70s, divorcing after 39 years of marriage
Apparently, love couldn't keep them together.
It’s been a rough week for Baby Boomers: First the Professor from “Gilligan’s Island,” actor Russell Johnson, died at the age of 89. And now the Captain and Tennille have called it quits after 39 years of marriage.
Toni Tennille and Daryl Dragon, better known to millions as the 1970s singing group The Captain & Tennille, are divorcing after 38 years of marriage.
The split was confirmed on the couple’s Web site with the explanation: “…almost all people naturally evolve over time, & sometimes hidden feelings start to be uncovered.”
"Until Thursday, January 16th, 2014, when Toni Tennile met with a DIVORCE ATTORNEY, in Phoenix, AZ, everything relating to THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE appeared to the public as them being the ideal model for a 'rock-solid' married pair. But almost all people naturally evolve over time, & sometimes hidden feelings start to be uncovered when one may read, just a little more into (the popularized, substitute heading appearing just below), stating, for instance: 'MUSIC HAS KEPT THEM TOGETHER.'"
Dragon, 71 who seemed blindsided by the break-up. "I don't know why she filed. I gotta figure it out for myself first," he said.
According to the Associated Press, the divorce petition asks that their property, debt and obligations be equally divided. It also states that neither Tennille, 73, nor Dragon is entitled to or in need of spousal support. They have no children.
Dragon and Tennille met in the early 1970s and married in 1975. Their first big hit, the Neil Sedaka-penned Love Will Keep Us Together, stayed at No. 1 on the Billboardcharts for several weeks in 1975 and won the Grammy for record of the year.
Dragon and Tennille toured with the Beach Boys, as keyboardists, in the '70s.
They later began touring as a duo, and released their first album, Love Will Keep Us Together, in 1975. Some of their hit tracks include: "Do That To Me One More Time," "Muskrat Love," and "The Way I Want To Touch You."
An earlier version of this story misstated the number of years Dragon and Tennille have been married.
Dragon, 71 who seemed blindsided by the break-up. "I don't know why she filed. I gotta figure it out for myself first," he said.
According to the Associated Press, the divorce petition asks that their property, debt and obligations be equally divided. It also states that neither Tennille, 73, nor Dragon is entitled to or in need of spousal support. They have no children.
Dragon and Tennille met in the early 1970s and married in 1975. Their first big hit, the Neil Sedaka-penned Love Will Keep Us Together, stayed at No. 1 on the Billboardcharts for several weeks in 1975 and won the Grammy for record of the year.
Dragon and Tennille toured with the Beach Boys, as keyboardists, in the '70s.
They later began touring as a duo, and released their first album, Love Will Keep Us Together, in 1975. Some of their hit tracks include: "Do That To Me One More Time," "Muskrat Love," and "The Way I Want To Touch You."An earlier version of this story misstated the number of years Dragon and Tennille have been married.
Tennille had reported on her blog in 2010 that Dragon suffers from a neurological condition, similar to Parkinson’s, characterized by such extreme tremors he can no longer play keyboards.
Whatever the reason, the Captain and Tennille are just the latest couple qualifying for AARP membership who’ve decided to untie the marital knot. A study from Bowling Green State University found that divorce among couples age 50 and older, once practically unheard of, doubled between 1990 and 2009, and one in four couples divorcing is over 50. A new phrase, “gray divorce,” has been coined to describe the trend.
One of the most surprising was former Vice President Al Gore and Tipper Gore, who announced their separation in 2010 just days after their 40th wedding anniversary.
Not so shocking: The end of the marriage between Maria Shriver and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger after the news broke that he’d fathered a child with the family’s housekeeper.
Last summer, Russian President Vladimir Putin and wife Lyudmila revealed that they were divorcing, just two months before their 30th anniversary.
Why are baby boomers turning to divorce as they approach retirement age? “Boomers, known as the ‘me generation,’ are often committed to self-fulfillment as much as to marital vows,” said Los Angeles psychotherapist Phyllis Goldberg, PhD. “The kids are out of the house and without that buffer, couples may wonder, ‘who is this person and do I want to spend the rest of my life like this?’ “
As people live longer, maybe they don’t want to “settle,” Goldberg said. They don’t want to compromise. They grow apart. They don’t have as much in common.
Add to that the growing independence of many women who may have their own careers. “They’re financially as well as emotionally independent,” Goldberg said, although women are still more likely than men to suffer financial difficulties after divorce.
Around two-thirds of “gray divorces” are initiated by women, said Rosemary Lichtman, PhD, who shares a therapy practice with Goldberg. The two women also have a Web site, HerMentorCenter.com.
About 25 percent of divorces initiated by women are due to a husband’s infidelity, Lichtman said. ”Often their motivation is to enjoy the years ahead by escaping an unsatisfying ‘empty-shell’ marriage and focusing on their own goals and personal needs instead,” she said. ”Their expectations for marriage may have changed from one based on roles and companionship to one that creates personal happiness.”
We may see more and more couples, together for years, who decide it’s time to go their own ways. The reasons may not seem clear-cut to the rest of us. And we may never know or understand why the Captain and Tennille, who looked so much in love while they performed, could even consider divorce.
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