Why Can’t Women Celebrate Divorce Like They Do Marriage?
For some of us, it’s a day worth celebrating
Every week in the small town where I used to live, the local newspaper published the names of couples who’d recently married. Printed directly underneath were the couples who’d recently divorced.
Both lists often with an equal number of names.
In 1999, I made the marriage list after getting hitched to a man who would years later earn a diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder (and boy did he earn it).
Sixteen years later, we made the paper again. This time under Divorces Granted.
My euphoria equally matched on both of these days.
Like every other girl, society had prepped me to marry my Soul Mate, my Prince Charming, my He Who Rides a White Horse, as soon as I could find him. Then have a big fat expensive wedding that would put us in debt before the honeymoon. Then have 2.3 kids and live happily after.
When this didn’t work out (not for lack of trying), society pointed its finger in my direction and said I’d broken up the family. It seemed I hadn’t “worked” hard enough to save my marriage, which is why it failed.
My then-husband escaped any such judgment and instead got a pity party thrown in…
