Reconnect With Your Partner

Strengthen Your Relationship Now To Prepare for Your Post-Corporate Life

By MyNextSeason Advisor Lauren Brand

For many high-achieving professionals, career success comes with a hidden cost: disconnection at home. After years of long hours, travel, and relentless focus, it’s not uncommon to look up near the end of a career and realize that the life your partner built while you were busy… doesn’t quite include you. Not in the same way, at least.

And as retirement nears, many are left wondering: Where do I fit now? What does our life together look like without the structure of work?

Reconnection doesn’t just happen when the calendar clears. It’s a deliberate process, and the time to begin is before retirement. Start building the bridge back now so when the day comes, it’s a continuation, not a scramble.

The Power of Reconnecting
I speak from personal experience. Near the end of my career, I had a demanding, high-profile role. My husband kept our home running smoothly, and life went along. But one day, I realized: All I talked about at home was work.

So, my husband gently offered a solution—a weekly date night with one rule: no work talk.

And it has been a game changer.

More than 20 years later, we still do it. We talk about our interests, wants, and dreams. Phones stay off the table. We are a couple who are deeply engaged with each other. That ritual became and remains our anchor.

Not Just Dinner, But Discovery
Date night is more than going out to dinner—it’s a mindset of curiosity. When you’re dating someone new, you ask questions, explore ideas, and discover who they are. Why stop doing that once you’re married? And why wait until retirement to start again? I’ve shared my own journey with the clients I advise, and I’ve seen this intentional approach to reconnection work time and again.

One couple used their date nights not just for dinner but to plan an upcoming international trip. It became their shared project, something to look forward to, and, ultimately, the spark that brought them closer.

Another client wanted to find a way to incorporate himself into his wife’s very full calendar after he retired. They discovered a common interest in cooking and started taking lessons together.

Shared hobbies and holding dedicated time for one another are key to finding a fulfilling cadence for your post-career relationship. But you can (and should try to) build those habits before you officially leave the office.

Start Now, Not Later
Waiting until retirement to reconnect is like waiting until race day to start training. Do it now. Create the activities. Have the conversations. Make space for each other—not as an afterthought, but as the central part of this next chapter of life. Shape your future together.

Ask the questions you used to ask when you were dating. The answers may have changed, but that’s the beauty of it. Reconnecting isn’t going back. It’s starting fresh with the foundation of everything you’ve already built.