Copper, perhaps recently married, retired (5)
I believe the answer is:
metal
'copper perhaps' is the definition.
(copper is a kind of metal)
'recently married retired' is the wordplay.
'recently' becomes 'late' (I've seen this in other clues).
'married' becomes 'm'.
'retired' says the letters should be written backwards.
'late'+'m'='latem'
'latem' written backwards gives 'METAL'.
(Other definitions for metal that I've seen before include "Headbanger's music genre" , "Broken stone used in road-making" , "Silver or gold, say" , "Aluminium or copper for instance" , "Intrinsic quality; stone for roads" .)