Divorce is getting a lucrative rebrand. These influencers are cashing in.
Meghan McTavish is a content creator based in Australia.
Natalie Grono for BI Gabrielle Stone never imagined she'd get divorced, let alone that she'd tell the world about it.
Her first instinct after the one-two punch of ending her marriage, then enduring her first post-divorce heartbreak in 2017, was to log off entirely.
She decided to embark on a monthlong trip to Europe à la Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat, Pray, Love," and take a social media hiatus .
"I'll see you on the other side," Stone signed her farewell-for-now Instagram post, paired with a photo of herself wearing a backpack at the airport, passport in hand.
The internet had other plans.
Stone's emotional missive, which traced her path from heartache, disappointment, and betrayal to self-love, struck a chord beyond her modest following.
She received hundreds of comments and DMs from people who called Stone an inspiration and urged her to keep sharing her journey.
So she did.
Nine years after posting that pivotal airport photo, Stone has established herself in a fruitful niche: the divorce influencer.
Her Instagram audience has grown from about 10,000 to over 112,000, plus 1.3 million TikTok followers.
She self-published a viral memoir, "Eat, Pray, #FML," in 2019; hosts a podcast, "FML Talk," and arranges meet-and-greet trips across the globe where her fans, dubbed "FMLers," are encouraged to gather, commiserate, and bond.
What began as a solo mission shared online almost as a lark has bloomed into a mini media empire.
"I've never regretted my divorce," said Gabrielle Stone, who is now remarried.
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