The Ultimate List of Inspiring and Motivational Divorce Quotes

When you’re going through a challenging time in life, sharing a quote can be surprisingly comforting. They can make you laugh, or make you cry. They can inspire you and motivate you. Most of all, they make you feel like you’re not alone. Maybe that’s why divorce quotes are so popular.

The Power of Inspirational Quotes

Scientists and psychologists have theorized at length about why so many of us are so attracted to quotes. (If you wonder just how many of us actually enjoy reading quotes, do a quick Google search of the word “quotes.” You will find over 1,500,000,000 results!)

Some believe that, as our lives get faster, we are increasingly drawn to bite-sized morsels of wisdom and inspiration. Others see quotes as an escape that helps us cope with our stressful lives.

Media psychology expert and communications consultant Scott Sobel believes that the appeal of quotes is rooted in biology. He says,

Humans are aspirational. … Leaders and their words – inspirational quotes – affect us on a primal level.

Personally, I think quotes are powerful, not only because they make us think, but because they make us feel. Usually, they make us feel better.

Divorce quotes are the same.

Good divorce quotes can distract us from the pain and craziness of a life in turmoil.

The truth is, quotes are powerful because words have power. They can start wars or end them. Nowhere is that more true than in divorce.

Here are some of the best divorce quotes to help make your divorce journey a little bit easier.

The Definitive List of Divorce Quotes 

Quotes About Divorce and the Divorce Process

"Fair" is the four letter "F" word of divorce.

Going through a divorce is a lot like getting hit by a Mack truck on a deserted highway in the middle of winter - it's cold, lonely, and it hurts like hell.

Divorce is one of the most financially traumatic things you can go through. Money spent on getting mad or getting even is money wasted.

Divorce is a process, not an event.

No enemy is worse than bad (divorce) advice.

Divorce only goes as fast as the slowest person.

If being married to a narcissist is hell, divorcing a narcissist is hell on steroids.

If you spend your divorce fighting so intensely that you create a hatred of biblical proportions with your former spouse, your divorce process will be a lot like surviving the plagues - you may get through it, but the scars will be with you forever.

People spend years planning their wedding, but they're often too terrified (or too guilty) to spend ten minutes preparing for their divorce.

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.

Divorce is like construction. It ALWAYS takes longer and costs more than you think!

Divorce is a process, not an event.

Quotes About Deciding Whether to Divorce

One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. "Which road do I take?" she asked. "Where do you want to go?" was his response. "I don't know," Alice answered. "Then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter.

The only thing more unthinkable than leaving was staying; the only thing more impossible than staying was leaving. I didn't want to destroy anything or anybody. I just wanted to slip quietly out the back door, without causing any fuss or consequences, and then not stop running until I reached Greenland.

Don't let your fear of the unknown keep you from experiencing a life greater than you have ever known.

The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.

Do what you feel in your heart to be right, for you will be criticized anyway. You will be damned if you do, and damned if you don't.

Disappointment either destroys you or drives you. Which will you choose?

Divorce Quotes About Court and Lawyers

A lawyer is never entirely comfortable with a friendly divorce, any more than a good mortician wants to finish his job and have the patient sit up on the table.

Arguing with a lawyer is like wrestling with a pig in mud. Sooner or later you realize they like it!

The law isn't justice. It's a very imperfect mechanism. If you press exactly the right buttons and are also lucky, justice may show up in the answers. A mechanism is all the law was ever intended to be.

Quotes About Dealing with the Pain of Divorce

You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.

Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.

The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any.

We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.

 The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you.

A divorce is like an amputation. You survive it. But there's less of you.

The greatest test of courage on the earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.

People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.

The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you've got to put up with the rain.

This one step - choosing a goal and sticking to it - changes everything.

Stressful thoughts are all fake news.

Divorced is what you are, not who you are.

Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.

When in doubt just take the next small step.

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

Inspirational Quotes to Get You Through Divorce

Everything you've ever wanted is on the other side of fear.

Life is like a camera. Focus on what's important. Capture the good times. Develop from the negatives. And if things don't work out, just take another shot.

(Okay. So maybe it's not exactly that easy. But you get the picture!)

Courage doesn't mean you don't get afraid. It just means you don't let fear stop you.

Words of Encouragement for Women

Stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be.

i never knew how strong I was until i had to forgive someone who wasn’t sorry and accept an apology i never received.

You deserve to be happy.

Divorce Quotes About Kids

Love your child more than you hate your ex.

Spouses may divorce, but parents are parents forever.

Your children are not the pawns in the chess game of your divorce.

Quotes About Creating Your New Life After Divorce

Holding on is believing there's only a past. Letting go is knowing there is a future.

Just because the past taps on your shoulder, doesn't mean you have to look back.

Turn your wounds into wisdom.

Destiny is not a matter of chance. It is a matter of choice.

It is never too late to become what you might have been.

The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.

You are responsible for your life. You can't keep blaming somebody else for your dysfunction. Life is really about moving on.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the tradewinds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

The purpose of life is to live it, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.

What's Your Favorite Divorce Quote?

Whether you’re in the mood to laugh, to cry, to be motivated, or to be inspired, divorce quotes can do it all.  They can dispense great divorce advice, and inspire you to go on. They can help you let go, or help you hang on.

If you have a favorite divorce quote that I haven't listed here, please share it in the comments!

(And if you're looking for funny divorce quotes, I've got those too! Check out, Funny Divorce Quotes: 23 Divorce Memes That (Might) Make You Laugh!)

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This post was originally written on February 27, 2018 , and update on Jan. 22, 2024.