Divorce Glow-Up: Rediscovering Yourself After the Split

I never thought I’d be a divorced man. I imagined my life would follow the “normal” path—marriage, kids, house, retirement. And for a while, it did. But life has a strange way of working.

My marriage wasn’t all bad—we had moments of laughter, shared dreams. But somewhere along the way, we lost each other. When the divorce was finalized, I was numb. I didn’t have the language for what I was feeling. Friends tried to help. One took me out, another suggested a dating app. But nothing clicked. I wasn’t ready to move on to someone else.

Then something unexpected happened: The first step was reclaiming my space. After my ex moved out, the apartment felt hollow. I hated coming home. So I changed everything. I repainted the walls, got rid of the gray curtains. I turned my home into something that looked like me—finally.

Next came the body. I didn’t jump into some extreme fitness challenge—I just started walking. Then jogging. Then lifting weights again like I did in uni. Six months later, I looked in the mirror and saw someone who looked sharp, alive, and—dare I say it—confident.

But the biggest glow-up wasn’t physical. I also learned to be alone. Not in the sad, eat-dinner-in-silence way. But in the intentional, “I’m enjoying my own company” way. I traveled solo to Portugal. Started journaling again. All things I used to love before I buried myself in a relationship.

Divorce gave me a reset on my relationships—not just romantic ones. I stopped making space for people who drained me. I wasn’t rude about it, just honest. I used to say “yes” to keep the peace. Now I say “no.”

One year after the split, my friends started joking about my “divorce glow-up.” They weren’t wrong. I looked better, felt lighter, laughed louder. Divorce didn’t destroy me. There’s power in letting go, and even more in rebuilding. You might be surprised who you meet on the other side of your marriage. For me, it was the best version of myself.

Hasib Afzal