 Most wives were encouraged to remarry after either the death of the husband or a divorce; and a high death rate, low average life expectancy and high divorce rate meant frequent or multiple remarriages.Since children were expected in marriage, each spouse usually brought at least one child to the new marriage.Remarriages thus created a new blending of the family in ancient Roman society, where children were influenced by stepparents and some instances where stepmothers were younger than their stepchildren.