21 Divorce Quotes to Help You Survive the Holidays with Your Heart Intact

The holidays are hard enough on their own. Add divorce to the mix and suddenly every twinkling light, every family gathering, every song on the radio can feel like a small ambush.

Your first set of holidays after divorce will be weird, scary, and painful. But they can also hold moments of genuine joy and unexpected lightness, if you give yourself permission to let them. The key is to feel what you actually feel, not the version you think you are supposed to feel. It is okay if you are not holly and jolly. It is okay if you sit down to write in your gratitude journal and the best you can come up with is: Well, I changed out of my pajamas today.

I do not say any of this to minimize what you are going through. Divorce is one of the most disorienting experiences of adult life, and the holidays have a way of turning up the volume on all of it. What I know, both professionally and personally, is that you will get through this season. And on the other side of it, something new is waiting for you.

These 21 divorce quotes are here for the moments when you need a reminder that other people have walked this road and come out the other side. Read them slowly. Come back to them when you need to.

Quotes About Letting Go and Moving Forward

The hardest part of divorce during the holidays is often the weight of what you are carrying from the past. These quotes speak to the quiet work of releasing what is no longer yours to hold.

“Your dream doesn’t have an expiration date. Take a deep breath and try again.” — KT Witten

“Letting go doesn’t mean that you don’t care about someone anymore. It’s just realizing that the only person you really have control over is yourself.” — Deborah Reber

“Don’t spend time beating on a wall, hoping it will transform into a door.” — Coco Chanel 

“You cannot start the next chapter of your life if you keep rereading the last one.” — Michael McMillian 

“Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.” — Lily Tomlin

“Sometimes you’re going to have to let one person go a thousand different times, a thousand different ways, and there’s nothing pathetic or abnormal about that. You are human.” ― Heidi Priebe

Quotes About Strength and Resilience

Some days you just need someone to remind you that you are stronger than this moment feels. These are for those days.

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” — Maya Angelou

“It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.” — Lena Horne

“To me, finding my faith, right now where I’m at, is putting all of my trust in something bigger than myself and living for something bigger than myself and trying to do that through service.” Noor Tagouri “Hold your head high, stick your chest out. You can make it. It gets dark sometimes, but morning comes. Keep hope alive.” — Jesse Jackson

“I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done.” — Lucille Ball

“Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible.” — Corrie ten Boom

Quotes About the Reality of Divorce

Sometimes the most comforting thing is someone saying the quiet part out loud. These quotes acknowledge that divorce is complicated, and that complicated does not mean wrong.

“When people divorce, it’s always such a tragedy. At the same time, if people stay together it can be even worse.” — Monica Bellucci

“It’s sad, something coming to an end. It cracks you open, in a way—cracks you open to feeling. When you try to avoid the pain, it creates greater pain.” — Jennifer Aniston

“In college, I had a course in Latin, and one day the word 'divorce' came up. I always figured it came from some root that meant 'divide.' In truth, it comes from 'divertere,' which means 'to divert.' I believe that. All divorce does is divert you.” — Mitch Albom

“Divorces are made in heaven.” — Oscar Wilde

“When two people decide to get a divorce, it isn’t a sign that they ‘don’t understand’ one another, but a sign that they have, at least, begun to.” — Helen Rowland

“Divorce, the end of an error.” — Unknown

Quotes About Self-Care and Healing

You cannot pour from an empty cup, and the holidays have a way of demanding everything from you. These quotes are a reminder to put yourself first.

 “When we truly care for ourselves, it becomes possible to care about other people. The more alert and sensitive we are to our own needs, the more loving and generous we can be towards others.” — Eda LeShan

“When your heart is broken you plant seeds in the cracks and wait for rain.” — Andrea Gibson

“If you spend your time hoping someone will suffer the consequences for what they did to your heart, then you’re allowing them to hurt you a second time in your mind.” — Shannon L. Adler

“There is no such thing as a “broken family.” Family is family, and is not determined by marriage certificates, divorce papers, and adoption documents. Families are made in the heart. The only time family becomes null is when those ties in the heart are cut. If you cut those ties, those people are not your family. If you make those ties, those people are your family. And if you hate those ties, those people will still be your family because whatever you hate will always be with you.” — C. Joybell C.

You Do Not Have to Navigate the Holidays Alone

Are there other quotes that have carried you through? Share them in the comments.

No matter what this season holds, you are more capable than you feel right now. I mean that. My first Christmas after divorce nearly knocked me flat. I was not prepared for how much would surface during the holidays: the grief, the guilt, the strange mix of relief and sadness all tangled together. What helped me most was having support, people and resources that reminded me I was not alone in it.

Here are a few resources I have put together over the years specifically for the holidays:

• What to Expect During Your First Christmas After Divorce
• How to Talk to Family Members About Your Divorce During the Holidays
• How to Make Sure Your Kids Have an Easy Transition During the Holidays
• Browse all holiday posts

Working Through the Holidays Feels Different with Support

If this season is bringing up more than you expected, divorce coaching might be exactly what you need. Our coach Liesel Darby works with clients who are in the thick of it, helping them move through the emotional weight of divorce with more clarity and less isolation.

A single coaching session can help you figure out what you actually need right now, and what to do with everything that has been surfacing.

Learn More About Divorce Coaching with Liesel

Related reading: 30 Divorce Journal Prompts to Help You Heal and Move Forward

Related reading: Life After Divorce: 21 Inspiring Quotes