T0 support young celebrity families publicizing their breakups, supermodel and divorcée Emily Ratajkowski hopped on TikTok yesterday to defend being divorced by 30. Ratajkowski and the father of her two-year-old son split last year, a decision she called “chic.”
“Personally I find it chic to be divorced by the age of 30,” she said. “So it seems that a lot of ladies are getting divorced before they turn 30. As someone who got married at 26, has been separated for a little over a year, I’m 32, I have to tell you, I don’t think there’s anything better. Being in your 20s is the trenches. There is nothing better than being in your 30s, still being hot, maybe having a little bit of your own money, figuring out what you want to do with your life, everything, and having tried that married fantasy and realized that maybe it’s not all it’s cracked up to be and then you’ve got your whole life ahead of you.”
Cat-eye sunglasses are chic. Pointed-toe pumps are chic. The dissolution of what should be a permanent bond is not. Branding divorce as a fashionable event trivializes the institution of marriage — a husband or wife isn’t something to replace once they go out of style.
Celebrating divorce without acknowledging the trauma and heartbreak it can cause does a massive disservice to young women. Even if a couple has a valid reason to get divorced, it’s a painful process and even more so when children are involved. For a young mom like Ratajkowski, whose former husband was accused of being a serial cheater, divorce can’t be easy. It’s a lie to tell other young women that the process is sexy and liberating.