Emily Ratajkowski has one, but what is the divorce ring trend?

‘I loved the idea of a ring unabashedly representing the many lives a woman has lived’

Emily Ratajkowski has shared an Instagram post of herself wearing ‘divorce rings’.

In the post, which features a slide of pictures and videos, the 32-year-old wears two rings from New York City-based jewellery brand Alison Lou, founded by Alison Chemla, on her fourth and fifth fingers.

The caption reads: “Divorce rings ©️ @alisonlou”.

The model and actress has repurposed her two-stone engagement ring from her ex-husband Sebastian Bear-McClard. The couple, who were married for four years and share a son named Sylvester, finalised their divorce in 2022.

“The rings represent my own personal evolution. I don’t think a woman should be stripped of her diamonds just because she’s losing a man,” Ratajkowski told Vogue.

Ratajkowski said she was inspired to by reading Stephanie Danler’s essay, The Unravelers, in The Paris Review, which loosely tells the story of Danler’s great-grandmother and her “Snake Ring”.

This was “a ring that is made up of the different stones from her various marriages,” Ratajkowski told Vogue.

“I loved the idea of a ring unabashedly representing the many lives a woman has lived.”

Chemla, who created Ratajkowski’s original engagement ring, split the two diamond stones – an angled pear-shaped stone next to a princess-cut stone – and placed them on two, separate gold bands, adding two extra diamonds on one of the rings.

Chemla captioned pictures of the rings on Instagram: “We made the original two stone engagement ring that set the trend… Here we go again @emrata Divorce Rings™️”

According to Nilesh Rakholia, jeweller and founder at Abelini, divorce jewellery is usually created to honour the marriage and help you move on from a chapter of your life.

“While it may seem odd to celebrate a divorce, it’s less about focusing on the separation, but instead honouring your past and helping you to move forward, while reclaiming your identity,” he said.

“Your divorce ring can act as a replacement to your wedding ring and can be worn on the fourth finger of your left hand. While there are many ready-made options available, you can also repurpose your old wedding ring to create something new, like Emily Ratajkowski has.

“Redesigning her engagement ring, Emily has separated it to form two new rings, perfectly signifying the separation [from] her partner. While the ring still incorporates the original stones, repurposing the original piece into two new pieces gives it a completely new feel and meaning.”

Arabel Lebrusan, founder of Lebrusan Studio added: “Gold and diamonds are resilient enough to be repurposed again and again, which is why engagement rings and wedding bands are an ideal opportunity for remodelling, crafting something new from the enduring materials already above ground.

“As advocates of circularity, we love how the divorce ring creates an opportunity for women to reclaim their own gold and diamonds. Why should we strip ourselves of perfectly beautiful jewels?

“During transitional periods, remodelling an emotive piece of jewellery is a cathartic process that culminates in a tangible symbol of new intentions. Divorce rings like Emily’s are symbolic of a fresh start, enabling the wearer to claim their future without denying the path that led them to the present.”

During an interview with Harper’s Bazaar in 2022, Ratajkowski spoke openly about her marriage and how she initially felt post-divorce.

“I can tell you that I have never been single before,” she said.

“I feel all the emotions. I feel anger, sadness. I feel excitement. I feel joy. I feel levity. Every day is different. The only good thing I know is that I’m feeling all those things, which is nice because it makes me believe that I’ll be OK.”