Background: Quality of life for people with intellectual disabilities has been reported in the research literature across differing demographics. There has been, however, little research that has examined in-depth the experiences of women with intellectual disabilities aged 40 years or older. Materials and methods: Fifty-five women from Sydney, Australia, and Prague, Czech Republic, were recruited to the study. Participants were recruited through agencies known to the researchers, ensuring ethical conduct of all procedures. Results: Each participant completed a semi-structured interview, and using a grounded theory approach, a series of themes were identified common across all women. The strongest theme identified throughout the interviews was the lack of control participants perceived they had over their lives. Conclusions: The results of this study further the call for people with intellectual disabilities to be provided the opportunity to participate in decisions about their life choices.