The Divorce Party Trend: Healthy Or Harmful?
Divorce parties can be a good way to cope, but they could be harmful to people going through a difficult one.
VlaDee | Canva, @ilovefamilyguy | Instagram With the approximation that between 40 and 50 percent of all marriages today will end in divorce, it’s hard to hold faith in the ancient institution that binds two people together. Surprisingly enough, most people (64% of men and 52% of women) will end up getting re-married after their first divorce anyway! And those marriages are statistically even more doomed to fail — 67% of second, and 73% of third marriages end in divorce, according to statistics from Psychology Today.
Since divorces seem to be happening left and right, more and more people are hopping onto the rising trend of throwing a “divorce party” in order to either celebrate their relief or mask their grief — but is the divorce party trend here to help or make things worse?
Is the divorce party trend healthy or harmful?
There are many reasons why someone might throw a divorce party, and the result could end up being either harmful or healthy. Maybe the divorcee was in an abusive marriage and, as a way to reclaim some of their power, they’re celebrating the separation. Or maybe your best friend is hoping to cheer you up out of the slump of grieving a love lost.
Either way, there’s no denying just how popular the trend has become.
There’s a rising interest in divorce parties. Google Trends show that the average interest in search for divorce parties for the entire year of 2004 was 25.83. In the last 8 months of 2023 alone, the average was 68.25 — nearly 3x the amount of searches generated.
Photo: Google Trends
Thanks to social media and the urge to share everything online, everyone is being exposed to the idea of a divorce party. From people throwing up decorations to handing out invitations, divorcees are hosting ragers in order to celebrate their newfound singleness.
Divorce parties can be an empowering way to regain control of your life.
According to Stella Harris from Hello Divorce, “a divorce party is a chance for someone to celebrate the wide-open potential of their next phase of life. It’s also a way to release the past and move forward with a clean emotional slate.”
Although she impulsively decided to throw one in the form of a short-notice post on Facebook in which she invited her friends to a strip club, she highly suggests taking care when planning out this “once-in-a-lifetime” event.
“It should be something special that has been thoughtfully planned to meet the needs of the moment,” she explains. “A divorce party is an opportunity to reclaim your independence and make decisions based entirely on your own desires and preferences.”
It’s important to highlight Harris’s claim that it should be planned to meet the needs of the moment. Divorce parties can be fun! Even if you’re not happy about the way your marriage turned out, it could still be a way to surround yourself with people close to you who could provide you with company and support during a difficult time.
It’s okay to grieve the loss of your marriage and cope in whatever way you see fit.
Since the trend is continuing to rise in popularity, it’s important to remember that not everyone needs to have a divorce party. There is no societal obligation that says you need to celebrate the loss of your marriage — in fact, it’s totally okay to grieve. As PsychCentral explains, it's natural to run the gamut of emotions post-divorce, as it's normal to experience grief as a chapter of your life closes.
There’s no right or wrong way to grieve, so long as you aim for healthy coping mechanisms. It’s important to be able to recognize what you need in order to get you through those tough times — a divorce party may or may not be written in those cards.
Working through your emotions and ensuring that you’re doing the best thing for you will go a long way in the process of healing. If that means throwing a divorce party in order to welcome a new chapter of your life, then by all means, get those invitations ready.
Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor for YourTango who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics.