Opinion: What the blowback to Rupert Murdoch’s engagement at 92 misses

Editor’s Note: Deborah Carr is a professor of sociology and the director of the Center for Innovation in Social Science at Boston University. Her most recent book is “Aging in America.” The views expressed here are the writer’s own. Read more opinion on CNN.

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Billionaire media magnate Rupert Murdoch celebrated St. Patricks’ Day this year by proposing to his companion Ann Lesley Smith. (Spoiler alert: She said yes!) Instead of heart emojis and congratulatory wishes, though, Murdoch’s happy news sparked snide tweets and mocking memes. Why the snark? Smith will be Murdoch’s fifth wife, and his divorce from model Jerry Hall was finalized just seven months ago.

But there’s another reason for the chilly reception: ageism – those negative stereotypes that people hold about old age. Murdoch is 92 and his bride-to-be is 66. Naysayers’ posts equated Murdoch’s age with death (“Next ceremony will be a funeral”), impotence (“Hope springs eternal even when body parts don’t”) and a repulsive physique (memes of toothless ogres and wrinkled walruses). These cynical reactions raise a genuinely important question: Is it ever too late to find love?

No. As a sociologist who studies older adult relationships, I reacted to Murdoch’s engagement news by thinking: “Good for them!” Older people, generally considered to be 65-plus, are just as capable of falling in love as any other adults. Why shouldn’t they fully commit to spending the rest of their lives – however long that may be – with their new love?

Yet later-life marriages aren’t completely the same as those undertaken at earlier ages. My second reaction to their announcement was “Proceed with caution.” Older adults’ new romances raise complex legal and financial challenges – especially for those previously married – and it is foolhardy for couples to be so blinded by love they close their eyes to the difficult decisions that confront them.

Overall, however, there are so many benefits to being happily coupled in old age that it’s something to be celebrated. Murdoch’s engagement is an opportunity to understand why new romances, whether remarriages or living together without a change in legal status, are so popular with older adults and how these couples can best be supported –…