Divorce Registries Are Helping People Rebuild After Marriage

As the rapper formerly known as Kanye West once said, “When she leave yo’ ass, she gon’ leave with half.” Depending on the circumstances of your own divorce (and prenup), that might include half of your income, as well as half of your belongings. For those who have lost half their stuff after a life built together falls apart, divorce registries are the growing trend helping divorcés rebuild and restock their newly single lives.

While some divorcés had already been taking advantage of Amazon wishlists to build their own de facto divorce registries, a number of divorce-specific platforms have popped up recently to provide a more official service. Fresh Starts Registry launched in October 2021, serving as a one-stop online destination for all your divorce needs, including the option to build a registry, as well as recommendations for products, divorce lawyers and therapists. Another divorce-friendly platform, Divorcist, is currently in the soft-launch phase and reportedly plans to release its registry feature in February, according to the New York Post.

The rise of divorce registries is the latest sign that societal attitudes surrounding the once-taboo nature of divorce are slowly by surely shifting. Rather than condemn or pity individuals going through a divorce, friends and loved ones of divorcés are helping them celebrate the end of a difficult marriage or legal process, and rebuild the next phase of their lives. If we can have divorce parties, why not divorce registries?

“Our mission is to make divorce and separation dignified,” Divorcist co-founder Eliza Cussen told the Post. “We’re trying to elevate divorce, separation and breakups to the same status as a life event. Not a happy one, but one that deserves recognition.”

After all, why should we shower a couple with gifts at the beginning of a marriage but not at the end, when most could really use the support? Sure, most newlyweds could use some extra stuff, but, particularly in an age when most couples already live together before marriage, there’s a good chance they’ve already set up house well before the weddings gifts come rolling in. You know when you really need new stuff? When your ex-partner took off with half of it and you’re reeling emotionally, mentally and probably financially in the wake of a breakup combined with a pricey, typically unpleasant legal process. If ever there were a time to give someone a gift, it’s when they’re getting divorced.