Emily Ratajkowski Explained The Meaning Behind Her "Divorce Rings," And It's Empowering
Emily Ratajkowski shared the deeper meaning behind transforming her engagement ring into "divorce rings."
In 2018, Emily was married to producer and actor Sebastian Bear-McClard.
Around that same time, she debuted her two-stone Toi et Moi engagement ring, which was a massive upgrade from the paperclip he initially used to propose.
In 2022, Emily filed for divorce from Sebastian, revealing that she still had the ring, which had now become two separate "divorce rings."
Jewelry brand Alison Lou told Buzzfeed, "Being as there were two stones, the idea of divorce is a separation, so it was always going to be splitting the ring into two separate but complementary rings. We wanted to give them both their own moment to shine."
On April 7, Emily posted to her TikTok that she "forgot to make a TikTok about my divorce rings" and shared a deeper meaning behind the liberating jewelry.
Since it's been a few years since the divorce, she explained the "main reason that I'm sharing that I did this because I seen so many comments that associate divorce with failure and shame. And both personally and politically, I fundamentally disagree with that."
"I think historically, the shame around divorce is at least partly what has kept women in unfair, unhappy, and even sometimes abusive marriages."
"Finding the resources and strength to leave a relationship is often a very brave and remarkable act. I'm not trying to make the point that everyone needs to make a divorce ring or turn their wedding dress into a mini dress or whatever symbolic gesture for evolution."
"But I do think that single moms and women who are starting over for the first time in a terrifying way should find solace in the fact that they're not failures for leaving."
Several fans praised Emily for sharing the meaning behind her rings and even shared some of their own experiences.
"Omg I love this! I loved my wedding rings & after the breakup they started to only symbolise pain & failure. So keeping them & turning them into something beautiful again is an amazing idea 😭💗," one TikTok user wrote.
Another user wrote, "I'm going thru a divorce rn & I want my wedding ring so I can turn it into a necklace for our daughter to symbolize our love for her."
"Aw, my mom always wore a divorce ring through my childhood, it seemed very healing," another person wrote.
Someone commented, "I wear my grandmother's divorce ring every day! It was the first thing she purchased for herself when left <3."
"This. I'm divorced twice by my choice. I refused to be unhappy in life. It was extremely brave and scary but nothing was going to stop me. Thank goodness 👸🏻. I am so happy now!" another TikTok user wrote.
"My mom got her diamonds divided and put me and my sister's birthstones next to them to make it a 'mom ring'!" Another person commented.
And finally, a Sex + Relationship Coach wrote, "Not every relationship is supposed to last forever. Ending isn't a failure. Love that you repurposed your ring 💍💖."
