So-called divorce influencers who share their divorce experiences as social media content and link it to books, advertising and product sales are emerging as a new creator niche. They recast divorce, once seen as a failure or a source of shame, as a story of independence and a fresh start, and generate income from it.

According to the IT outlet Business Insider on Aug. 22 local time, Gabrielle Stone (가브리엘 스톤) began making her experience public online after her 2017 divorce. Her Instagram following has grown from about 10,000 at the time to more than 112,000, and she has amassed 1.3 million followers on TikTok. She expanded her personal experience into a business by running a podcast and fan travel programmes, including her 2019 memoir "Eat, Pray, #FML".

Online culture around divorce is also changing. On TikTok, "divorce glow-up" content showing how life changes before and after divorce is spreading, and fashion brand Reformation has launched a "Divorce Collection" campaign. In this way, divorce is no longer treated as something to hide, and the trend of presenting it publicly as a new start is extending into pop culture and the consumer market.

Personal experience is also translating into actual income. A divorce announcement video posted last January by lifestyle creator Cora Lakey (코라 레이키) drew more than 1.3 million views. She then turned her dating, moving and loneliness into content and won paid advertising from dating apps, moving companies and beauty brands. Lakey, who quit her job shortly before the divorce, also said, "Income from social media has allowed me to pay rent and take care of my dog."

Scarlett Longstreet (스칼릿 롱스트리트) also switched to content creation after divorcing following 9 years as a full-time homemaker. Longstreet said that in her second year as a full-time creator, she earned $100,000 a year from brand contracts alone. Meghan McTavish (메건 맥태비시), who works in Australia, is also using journal sales and beauty brand advertising as income sources based on about 80,000 followers.

Still, there is also criticism that packaging divorce as a stylish transformation makes the end of relationships seem too trivial. McTavish said, "I am not arguing that everyone should leave their spouse," adding that the aim is to avoid continuing unwanted relationships out of fear of being alone.

There is also the reality that economic risks can rise after divorce. A U.S. study published in 2023 found a tendency across all racial groups for women’s economic conditions to worsen more than men’s after divorce or separation. According to the Pew Research Center, more than 1.8 million people divorced in the United States in 2023, and about one-third of Americans with marriage experience said their first marriage ended in divorce.

The spread of divorce content can be seen as one facet of the creator economy that goes beyond simple boasting about a breakup and commodifies economic independence and the rebuilding of identity after divorce.