On TikTok, social media influencers can be seen extolling the virtues of just about everything. From fibermaxxing to ResearchTok, we have seen—and covered—it all.
Well, at least we thought we had, until we saw the wildly popular “divorce glow up“—also known as the “divorce effect”—viral trend, in which women are posting before and after photos following the end of their marriage. And, the internet is loving it.
The trend shows women, mostly in their 20s and 30s, sharing their post-divorce physical transformations on TikTok—into seemingly fitter, better dressed, and happier versions of their married selves. The trend is also spilling over to Instagram—where users have been writing captions like: “peace is the best anti-aging serum“—as well as YouTube.
The “divorce effect” social media trend has already racked up over 28 million views, according to legal informational website divorce.law.
As realtor and social media user @mariah_lynn_clark posted in a video, “the divorce glow up is real.” Her video shows her pre-divorce, wearing a T-shirt and her hair messy, as the camera pans over a man sitting next to her in the car, presumably her husband. In the next shot, she looks transformed: Her makeup is perfect, and she’s looking happy next to a new man—presumably not her husband.
“Imagine thinking a woman glows up after divorce because she stopped trying, instead of because she finally stopped surviving,” the caption reads. “Maybe if I would have been loved and supported the way I deserved, the glow up would’ve happened IN the marriage instead of after. But I’m just a silly girl who created all of this mess myself.”
According to social science experts, the “divorce effect” trend is one part personal growth, one part feminist, and all parts TikTok makeover.
“A ‘divorce glow-up’ isn’t about vanity; it’s about nervous system regulation,” psychologist Belinda Bellet, Ph.D., tells Fast Company. “Research shows that women in unhappy marriages experience severe, multi-dimensional depletion. When they leave those toxic environments, their bodies and minds finally exit survival mode.”
“What looks like a superficial ‘glow-up’ is actually a profound biological and emotional metamorphosis,” she adds. “It’s healing from the inside out.”