For Some Women, Finalizing Their Divorce Means Throwing an Actual Party

The success of that event led Gallagher to write The Divorce Party Handbook and to ultimately open up her own party-planning business in Los Angeles that specifically deals in celebrating successful splits. “All of our big life transitions—birth, marriage, death—have a ceremony or ritual. Until recently, there’s been nothing for divorce. But it’s the time when people need community the most,” she says.

Gallagher's services are so in demand today she says she can take on only one or two clients a month, with her events ranging in price anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000 and customized based on individual breakup stories.

“I meet with the person and hear what’s happened to him or her, and try to come up with a party that plays to the theme, and turns the breakup on its head,” she says.

Take, for instance, one of Gallagher’s clients who learned her husband was cheating after she discovered a set of unused golf clubs, which were meant to be his alibi. After hearing her story, Gallagher decided to play up the golf theme. “Guests came in golf gear, we hired an instructor and swung at balls with the husband’s name on them and roasted food on golf clubs. We turned this horrendous thing into something for her to laugh about that night.”

Another client had her husband leave her. He’d kept a trophy he’d won in their home while they were married, which is what ultimately served as Gallagher’s inspiration for her divorce party. “She took the trophy and burned it at the party. It was very primitive.”

Despite high emotions—and the fact that the all-in-good-fun vibe can turn less celebratory after the lights go on—Gallagher says she does her best to keep the events positive. “I try to make sure these don’t get completely out of control,” she says. “I read about people going to rage rooms and throwing axes and getting carried away. I want to make my parties about moving on.”

While 90 percent of the events Gallagher plans are for women she says, she has planned divorce parties for straight men and gay couples too.

Nicole Niesner, based in Saskatchewan, didn’t expect her divorce party to become a viral sensation after photos of her celebrating with a group of friends—by wearing their wedding gowns and drinking wine—spread far and wide across the Internet.

Despite her unexpected Internet fame, Niesner says her divorce party was just a great night. “We all helped each other get dressed, danced around, took some pictures, and reminisced about our weddings, children, families and friends,” Niesner shares. “We ate, drank wine, and laughed so hard we cried."