Woman holds 'Finally Divorced' party in black veil as the internet celebrates her empowering 'glow up'

There’s no rulebook to navigate life after a divorce, but for some, the best way to move forward is to celebrate a new beginning. Ava Gonzalez, a 20-year-old woman—who goes by @avaamolina on TikTok—decided that instead of mourning the end of her marriage, she would embrace her newfound freedom with a “Finally Divorced” party. And she didn’t hold back. Gonzalez’s story began when she got engaged to her now ex-husband at just 20 years old, after only three months of dating in college. Their whirlwind romance turned into a quick marriage, but things unraveled just as fast. By December 2024, Gonzalez found herself officially divorced and staring down a future that was uncertain and full of possibilities, according to PEOPLE.

Rather than dwelling on the end of her marriage, Gonzalez turned to the advice her counselor had given her during the separation, “This will not define you. You are not ruined or damaged. Your life will be okay again,” she told the outlet. With those words in mind, she started planning her celebration. "I wanted to celebrate becoming a single woman because going from basically a stay-at-home mom to a working woman is no easy task," Gonzalez said. She decided the best way to honor her fresh start was to gather her friends and throw a party—complete with a cheeky invitation that read, “Ava is FREE,” encouraging guests to wear black “in honor of the death to her Mrs.”

On the night of December 6, Ava arrived at her friend’s apartment in Provo, Utah, dressed for the occasion. She wore a black mini dress, her courthouse and wedding reception shoes, and a pink sash emblazoned with iron-on letters that spelled “Ex Wife.” For the finishing touch, she donned a black veil. “Shockingly, there are not a lot of places that sell cute divorce party merch, so all the things were DIY,” she explained, laughing about a sign that accidentally read “Finally Diorced” for most of the evening.

Moreover, guests passed around a digital camera to capture moments of joy, toasted to Gonzalez’s freedom, and sliced into a cake that read “Got that Fire D(ivorce)” and “Boy Bye.”

"This party made me feel liberated," Gonzalez said. She also shared a glimpse of the party on her TikTok, and people were nothing but supportive. @giankka29 said, "The glow up! You can see how much happier you are in your eyes." @jess_camille07 commented, "Dang, I need to get married and divorced just to glow up." @tianananabooboo shared, "Good for you, lady! When I got divorced and ran into a mutual friend a year later, she told me, 'I don’t even recognize you.' That told me a lot about my former marriage."

@grace_porter_pahl added, "You’re incredible! You’ve gone through so much and have such a resilient and brave heart." Gonzalez admitted that she had hesitations about sharing photos of the event online, worried about what others might think about her marriage ending. But she quickly realized that other people’s opinions didn’t matter. “All those worries went away when I realized other people's opinions should not define my happiness,” she said. As she looks to the future, she’s grateful for the community that supported her through the tough times and proud of the steps she’s taken to reclaim her happiness. “Don’t let your partner define your life,” she said. “If you are in the thick of it right now, it does get better.”

You can follow Ava Gonzalez on TikTok and Instagram for more updates about her life.