The Thrive After Divorce Podcast

The 5 Stages of Grief After Divorce And Why the Process Isn't What You Think

Alexandra Niel Season 1 Episode 1

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0:00 | 6:12

Grief doesn't wait for the divorce to be final. For many women, it starts long before the papers are signed, sometimes before the decision is even spoken out loud.

In this episode, I'm walking you through the five stages of grief after divorce: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. But here's what I want you to know going in: the process is not linear. You'll move forward, loop back, and sometimes sit in two stages at the same time. That's not you doing it wrong. That's just how it works.

I share what each stage actually looked like for me, including the moment I felt sucker punched by my own decision, the marriage counseling request that came ten years too late, and how I ate my way through depression (not my finest chapter, but a real one).

I also cover the coping strategies that genuinely help, and the ones that feel like help but aren't.

If you're in the thick of it right now, this episode is your reminder that you're human and that you're moving through something that deserves to be moved through, not around.