A new type of party is taking a page out of the book of the bachelorette party. The divorce party is becoming more and more common as divorce rates hover around 50 percent. It seems that the majority of divorce parties are thrown by women who have recently finalized their splits from their former spouses.
Women in Columbus, Ohio, may want to consider throwing themselves such a party. According to some, the parties are very empowering for the newly single individuals, reminding them that they are no longer tied to their former counterpart and can begin their new lives. In some eyes, they are seen as a similarly-themed event to the bachelorette party. The only major difference is that bachelorette and bachelor parties are thrown as a celebration of the last time a woman will independent, while divorce parties celebrate a return to that lifestyle.
Some of the first well-known divorce parties were thrown by celebrities who were involved in amicable divorces. Jack White of the White Stripes and his former wife Karen Elson hosted a joint divorce party and sent out invites to friends and families along with a statement indicating that they both believed it was time to split.
Party suppliers have realized the market for divorce parties and have created products such as ex-husband toilet paper and customizable doormats that can have a picture of a former spouse placed on it. One woman who found out that her husband was cheating on her burned her wedding dress at her divorce party three years after her discovery. She also had a cake that showed a groom — a representation of her ex-husband — on a sinking ship. Of course, not every marriage ends this way. Couples who split up amicably may be able to use the party as well.
Source: New York Magazine, “How Divorce Parties Became the New Bachelorettes,” Michelle Ruiz, Oct. 10, 2012