Latest Tacky Celebrity Trend: Divorce Parties

I keep hearing about these big, blowout bashes that celebrate being single...again. They are divorce parties. Divorce parties have been gaining popularity with more celebrities selling out clubs and promoting parties in the name of their divorces. Former Miss USA and reality show star, Shanna Moakler, held a divorce party at Las Vegas nightclub Light at the Bellagio back in November. Moakler had not yet finalized her divorce from Travis Barker, former drummer of Blink 182. Moakler and Barker have two children together and Moakler also has a daughter from a previous relationship. Like all great parties, there was a cake. The three-tiered cake featured a miniature knife-wielding blonde in a wedding dress on top, with a trail of blood leading to a tiny groom sprawled at the bottom. Moakler stated, "I'm really doing it for myself to have closure and celebrate being single again and start a new chapter in my life." In the end, Moakler went through with the party, but not the divorce. Moakler and Barker reconciled and are still together.

Danny Bonaduce, the redheaded former "Partridge Family" member, recently held his official divorce party at the Key Club in Hollywood. The not-yet divorced Bonaduce and his wife, Gretchen, have been married since 1990 and have two children together, a twelve year old daughter and a six year old son. Gretchen had been urging Bonaduce to get clean and sober for years and informed him that she would be filing for divorce in April. At his divorce party, Bonaduce stripped down into teeny-tiny mankini bottoms and performed a lap dance for a young woman who happened to be onstage with him. Then he picked the young woman up and put her on his shoulders and they disappeared offstage.

I am all for individuals carrying on their lives with both a positive attitude and outlook for the future. I am also in support of a newly divorced man or woman getting back into the singles' scene by getting some friends together and hitting the town. However, the point of these divorce parties seems mean-spirited. The message seems to be saying, "My marriage failed and I'm so happy about it that I'm having a party." I wonder how someone like Shanna Moakler can claim to be celebrating starting a new chapter in her life when her divorce party cake features a likeness of herself in a wedding dress and a bloody groom. How is that moving on? Celebrating the future with a cake that acts as a gross representation of one's past seems counterproductive to me. Sure, I guess it is all intended to be in the name of fun, but isn't this behavior just a bit deluded?

I'm not sure if either Moakler or Bonaduce explained their decision to have a divorce party to their children. I hope they chose not to. When dealing with the situation of a pending divorce with children being involved in the mix, I hope that the divorcing parents make an effort to show that as a family there will remain some sense of unity even though the parents have decided that a divorce is inevitable.

Upon doing a quick Google search for divorce parties, I learned that divorce parties have created a whole new line of business for the party and entertainment industry. At plumparty.com one can buy plates and cocktail and luncheon napkins that boast, "Single Again" with a cartoon ball and chain pictured on each. Buying all three items will only set the host of the divorce party back $15. Other items available from the site for divorce parties are: '50 Wicked Ways of Revenge' cards ($10), 'Forget Him' tea bags ($12.50), 'She Learned The Hard Way' candle ($15) and a penis piñata ($30). Apparently the way to move on with your life after a divorce is to gather some friends and burn a silly candle, drink some useless (and probably foul tasting) tea, plan revenge against your ex, and destroy a piñata that is shaped like male genitalia. I fail to see how any of those behaviors is representative of beginning a new, healthy life.

These divorce parties do not represent beginning a fun, new chapter in one's life. Even the term "divorce party" indicates that the celebration is evoked due to the end of the marriage. Notice that the parties are not being called "new beginning" parties. The divorce parties are a giant representation of anger and resentment. There is no shame in divorce, nor do the recently divorce need to hide at home and grieve.

Don't let others profit (literally) from your personal pain. The celebrities having largely publicized divorce parties were likely paid by the clubs to host them, meaning the celebrity made money off of the event. By advertising the rich and beautiful having divorce parties, we are supposed to be led to believe that this is the thing to do. Divorce parties are not a healthy way to begin your new life. If really wish to celebrate in some way following a divorce then just have a cocktail party. Refrain from purchasing the very tacky divorce party favors and spend the money on yourself. Divorce parties are just another way for the entertainment industry to make a profit and this one will come from your pain.