Abstract This chapter reports on a cross-national exploration on manifestations and drivers of exclusion from social relations, in rural Britain and Belgium. Each study was composed of a quantitative and qualitative phase. The quantitative phases operationalised exclusion from social relations using existing datasets within each country while both qualitative phases comprised life history interviews with older people. The results demonstrate that although social relations are vital for several reasons ( e.g. health and care, practical support in times of poverty, safety), older participants in both countries regularly face exclusion from social relations ( e.g. feelings of loneliness, isolation, “bad” social relations). The results show a strong interrelationship between exclusion from social relations and other domains of exclusion ( e.g. economic and material exclusion). In terms of drivers of exclusion from social relations, the life stories revealed micro risk factors ( e.g. marital status and gender), exo ( e.g. being remote and rural living) and macro drivers of exclusion from social relations ( e.g. inadequate social security and population change). The conclusion discusses the main limitations of this cross-national exploration and offers some tangible policy and further research recommendations.