135 Divorce Quotes To Help You (Or A Friend) Heal After Divorce

You can find comfort in these positive and supportive quotes about divorce.

Sometimes in the midst of the struggle to heal from divorce, all you want are a few little tidbits of inspiration. That’s exactly what divorce quotes can provide.

Below is a collection of grief, moving on with life, and divorce quotes to help inspire and comfort you (or a friend). When all you need is a little encouragement to know that you can and will get through the difficulties of your divorce, skim through this collection. And chances are that you’ll likely find at least one helpful quote.

1. I still have sadness and complicated feelings about my divorce. But how beneficial is it to keep hanging onto those feelings? If someone lives through an accident, his aim is to become better and healthy. My aim is always to progress – to make better decisions and be a better father, a better boyfriend, a better husband if it happens again. ~Ryan Phillippe
   
2. Even though you may want to move forward in your life, you may have one foot on the brakes. In order to be free, we must learn how to let go. Release the hurt. Release the fear. Refuse to entertain your old pain. The energy it takes to hang onto the past is holding you back from a new life. ~Mary Manin Morrissey
   
3. Once you choose hope, anything’s possible. ~Christopher Reeve
4. If at first you don’t succeed you’re running about average. ~M.H. Anderson
   
5. Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change. ~Mary Shelley
   
6. At the end of your marriage, your job, at least in part, is to let go and move away from the wreckage to create something better. ~Karen Finn
7. Sometimes a hug says more than any words ever could. ~Unknown
   
8. When you forgive, you in no way change the past – but you sure do change the future. ~Bernard Meltzer
   
9. Crying is not a sign of weakness, but a cleansing. ~Unknown
10. Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. ~Theodore Roosevelt
    
11. Having a great support team when you get divorced can make all the difference in your outcome. ~Anonymous
    
12. Divorce is stressful. It’s natural to feel disoriented and wish for things to be “normal” again. ~Karen Finn
13. The only person you’re ever going to be with forever is YOU. ~Unknown
    
14. We cannot change the past, but we can start a new chapter with a happy ending. ~Nishan Panwar
    
15. Don’t carry a grudge. While you’re carrying a grudge, the other guy is out dancing. ~Buddy Hackett
16. Endure the storm for a little longer. When tomorrow comes, you’ll be stronger. ~Raghib Clitso
    
17. You must imagine what could be in your life to have a shot of making the changes necessary to achieve it. ~Unknown
    
18. We don’t have the power to change the facts of divorce, but divorce definitely gives us the power to change ourselves. ~Karen Finn
19. The unfortunate truth is that not all marriages last a lifetime. ~Karen Finn
    
20. Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. ~John Wooden
    
21. To make progress in any difficult situation, you have to start with what’s right about it and build on that. ~Norman Vincent Peale
22. Just because you made a mistake doesn’t mean you are a mistake. ~Georgette Mosbacher
    
23. Human beings are not hopeless. They have never been helpless. They have only been deflected or deceived or dispirited. ~Norman Cousins
    
24. If you’re still looking for a happy ending, I suggest you start searching for a new beginning. ~Unknown
25. Negative emotions are often catalysts of great change. ~Unknown
    
26. You are not stuck where you are unless you decide to be. ~Wayne Dyer
    
27. Divorce is just a part of your life. It doesn’t define who you are. You decide that. ~Karen Finn
28. It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure. ~Joseph Campbell
    
29. Baby step by baby step, you have what you need right now to start moving in the direction of your happiest dreams. ~Marta Davidovich Ockuly
    
30. Most friendships change when one of the friends divorces. Some friendships can’t weather the changes and others become stronger. ~Karen Finn
31. Crisis leads us into emotional waters where we feel in over our head, and it calls upon us to explore unfamiliar spiritual terrain. ~D.R. Kingma
    
32. Divorce isn’t always the best answer. And sometimes it’s the only answer. ~Karen Finn
    
33. Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. ~Francis Bacon
34. Some people are like clouds. When they disappear, it’s a brighter day. ~Unknown
    
35. When I got divorced, I eventually came to the painful realization that I had trusted my ex-husband to be someone I wanted him to be instead of who he was. ~Karen Finn
    
36. All blame is a wast of time. No matter how much fault you find with another, and regardless of how much you blame him/her, it won’t change you. ~Wayne Dyer
37. Although no one can go back and make a brand-new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand-new ending. ~Carl Bard
    
38. Experiencing a great change, like divorce, has the power to change us greatly. ~Unknown
    
39. What you resist, persists. ~Werner Erhard
40. In the middle of a difficulty lies opportunity. ~Albert Einstein
    
41. People are only mean when they are threatened. ~Morrie Schwartz
    
42. Life is a DIY project – no one else can live it for you. You need to know what you want and when to ask for help. ~Karen Finn
43. Grief shared is grief abated. ~Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
    
44. Wherever you are right now is the starting point for where you will be tomorrow, next month, next year, and at the end of your life. ~Unknown
    
45. Experience is a good teacher, but her fees are very high. ~Unknown
46. You don’t always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go and see what happens. ~Mandy Hale
    
47. Remember, a closed mouth gathers no foot. ~Steve Post
    
48. Always laugh when you can. It’s cheap medicine. ~Lord Byron
49. The past must no longer be used as an anvil for beating out the present and the future. ~Paul-Emile Borduas
    
50. Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start. ~Nido Qubein
    
51. Sometimes you have to forget what’s gone, appreciate what still remains and look forward to what’s coming next. ~Unknown
52. Worry is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere. ~Unknown
    
53. Lord, either lighten my burden or strengthen by back. ~Thomas Fuller
    
54. Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently. ~Henry Ford
55. A hug is the perfect gift; one size fits all, and nobody minds if you exchange it. ~Anonymous
    
56. You may be disappointed if you fail but doomed if you don’t try. ~Beverly Sills
    
57. Grief is a long and complicated journey. ~Daphne Rose Kingma
58. The pain now is part of the happiness then. That’s the deal. ~C.S. Lewis
    
59. Divorce is hardest at the beginning, most chaotic in the middle and best at the end. ~Anonymous
    
60. Experience is the toughest teacher. She gives you the test first and then the lesson. ~Unknown
61. Grief is a time when we try to find our wholeness again after all has been lost. ~E. Kubler-Ross
    
62. We must be willing to get rid of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us. ~Joseph Campbell
    
63. I will release the old, embrace the new and grow a vision of hope. ~Shive Adhikari
64. Love, the quest; marriage, the conquest; divorce, the inquest. ~Helen Rowland
    
65. Grief can make a liar out of you. You say you are doing fine, when really your heart is shattered into a 1000 tiny pieces. ~Maria Shriver
    
66. Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment. ~Benjamin Franklin
67. Despite the pain, if minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, you keep going, you will get through your divorce. ~Karen Finn
    
68. Things happen when you least expect them – things that can change your whole life. ~Lesley Kagen
    
69. Where there’s life, there’s hope. ~Cicero
70. Co-parenting means you are not always going to get what you want. ~Ed Farber
    
71. Major life events are profound opportunities for emotional healing and spiritual development. ~Daphne Rose Kingma
    
72. Forgiveness is making a conscious decision to live in the present … even if the past still hurts. ~Unknown
73. Love is like war; easy to begin but hard to stop. ~Fortune Cookie
    
74. Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make peace with that and all will be well. ~ Buddha
    
75. Divorced ≠ Unlovable ~Karen Finn
76. Strong is what happens when you run out of weak. ~Anonymous
    
77. There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning. ~Louis L’Amour
    
78. Trouble is opportunity in work clothes. ~W. Clement Stone
79. Divorce is a process, not an event. ~Karen Finn
    
80. When a deep injury is done to us, we never heal until we forgive. ~Nelson Mandela
    
81. Many people feel numb when starting down the path of divorce – it’s a protective mechanism. ~Karen Finn
82. Every difficult situation in our life makes us bitter or better. The choice is ours to become the victim or the victor. ~Unknown
    
83. I don’t think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains. ~Anne Frank
    
84. Crying holds the power of healing. ~Daphne Rose Kingma
85. You wouldn’t believe that so much could change just because a relationship ended. ~Nick Hornby
    
86. Change takes but an instant. It’s the resistance to change that can take a lifetime. ~Hebrew Proverb
    
87. Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience. ~Unknown
88. Constructive and appropriate anger puts distance between you and your ex. It will also allow you to move on with your life after divorce. ~Karen Finn
    
89. Sometimes when you hurt too much to cry, laughter is the best response. ~Unknown
    
90. When you allow yourself to express depression, it will leave as soon as it has served its purpose in your loss. ~E. Kubler-Ross
91. The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain. ~Dolly Parton
    
92. The words we attach to our experience become our experience. ~Tony Robbins
    
93. My only advice is to stay aware, listen carefully, and yell for help if you need it. ~Judy Blume
94. Our job is not merely to discover ourselves, but to create new selves in the new context. ~Micki McWade
    
95. There is glory in a great mistake. ~Nathalia Crane
    
96. The future needs your attention. It has something beautiful to offer you, but first you must let go of the past in order to receive it. ~Israa Ali
97. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. ~James Neil Hollingworth
    
98. Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better. ~Unknown
    
99. Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future. ~Paul Boese
100. If you try to get rid of fear and anger without knowing their meaning, they will grow stronger and return. ~ Deepak Chopra
     
101. The world doesn’t stop for the personal grief of divorce. ~Karen Finn
     
102. Live a life you’re proud of and if you need to, have the strength to start all over again. ~Unknown
103. You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. ~C.S. Lewis
     
104. Forgive yourself for the blindness that put you in the path of those who betrayed you. Sometimes a good heart doesn’t see the bad. ~Unknown
     
105. There’s always a way to begin again. ~Unknown
106. Divorce sets off a tidal wave of changes – physical, mental, emotional, social and existential. ~Karen Finn
     
107. Knowing when it is over is the beginning of a new life and the end of an old one! ~Unknown
     
108. Fear wins or freedom wins. ~Brendon Burchard
109. Those who attempt to hold onto the past sign up for a lifetime of frustration. ~Micki McWade
     
110. I can courageously handle anything so long as I take it one moment at a time. ~Sue Patton Theole
     
111. Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune. ~William James
112. Adaptability is the powerful difference between changing to cope and changing to grow. ~Unknown
     
113. Do you se your divorce as a set-back or a do-over? It took time and effort, but I now see mine as a do-over. ~Karen Finn
     
114. The truth is that pain is one of our greatest teachers. ~Daphne Rose Kingma
115. It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe. ~Muhammad Ali
     
116. Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option. ~Unknown
     
117. The hopes of tomorrow can often diminish the pains of today. ~Unknown
118. It is better to be alone than to be in bad company. ~George Washington
     
119. The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any. ~Alice Walker
     
120. A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. ~George Bernard Shaw
121. An unexpected dead end in one journey is merely an opportunity to set a new course for another. ~Sean Patrick
     
122. Believing in yourself is essential to creating lasting change and a happy life. ~Tara Stiles
     
123. Changing the expectations you have of someone just might change the way you feel about them. ~Unknown
124. The only thing worse than being stuck in a situation that makes you unhappy is realizing you are not willing to change it. ~Unknown
     
125. The pain of divorce doesn’t last forever – despite how it might seem right now. ~Karen Finn
     
126. You can catch glimpses of happiness in the middle of the pain of divorce when you remember to take care of yourself. ~Karen Finn
127. The longer you focus on blaming your ex for the end of your marriage, the more you’re hurting yourself. ~Unknown
     
128. Divorce is one of the most destructive, emotionally traumatic experiences a human being can go through, no matter if you’re the instigator or the recipient. It’s hard, and it hurts, and it takes a long time to feel normal again. ~Emily V. Gordon
     
129. You don’t sign up for a divorce when you get married. It’s very painful. But it’s taught me a great deal about myself. ~Dwayne Johnson
130. When I left, after my divorce, when I left Oklahoma, I never looked back. It was the future. It was looking forward from then on. ~Reba McEntire
     
131. Divorce is a time of change. It really rocks a foundation of most people’s lives. When we have our heart broken or our dreams taken away from us, it is a time of growth and change. ~Debbie Ford
     
132. I don’t see divorce as a failure. I see it as the end to a story. In a story, everything has an end and a beginning. ~Olga Kurylenko
133. When two people decide to get a divorce, it isn’t a sign that they ‘don’t understand’ one another, but a sign that they have, at last, begun to. ~Helen Rowland
     
134. I used to think that divorce meant failure, but now I see it more as a step along the path of self-realization and growth. ~Alana Stewart
     
135. Divorce is hard and painful and complicated, and something you have to grow through. ~Sharon Stone

The wonderful thing about these divorce quotes is that they will mean something different to you each time you choose to read them. That’s because as you work through your divorce (or grow through it as Sharon Stone suggests) you’re a different person who sees and understands the world a bit differently.

I’m Dr. Karen Finn, a divorce and life coach. I help people just like you with healing after a divorce. You can join my newsletter list for free weekly advice. If you’re interested in taking the first step toward working with me, you can schedule an introductory private coaching session.

Looking for more information about getting over the end of your marriage? You’ll find what you’re looking for in Healing After Divorce.