I’ve been divorced three times—why I’m getting married again at 35

A millennial woman has been hailed as a modern-day Elizabeth Taylor after getting divorced three times and planning her fourth marriage at the age of 35, but she hopes to show that there’s truly no shame in being a divorcee.

When Sarah Edery was younger, she loved the idea of moving abroad, meeting the man of her dreams and getting married. It’s the happily ever after that many teenagers want, but life didn’t quite work out like that.

Edery, 35, who resides in Chicago, met her first husband in her late teens, before tying the knot in July 2010 at 19 years old. While she was happy initially, Edery told Newsweek that she was “young and didn’t truly understand what love was.” The first few months seemed like romantic bliss, but after around six months of living together, Edery came to realize that the marriage wasn’t exactly what she wanted after all.

She and her first husband were friends from high school and were long-distance for a while due to him being in the Army. When he was stationed in South Korea, Edery moved out there to live with him, which was an eye-opening experience.

“By October 2021, my sister came out for two weeks and his behavior solidified that I needed to end the marriage. He was extremely jealous of my sister and how close we were. Two weeks after she left, I asked for a divorce,” Edery said.

The first marriage ended in November 2011, and then she met her second husband in March 2013 during a night out. Edery had gone through a traumatic experience in the months prior and was “drinking very heavily” to cope. During a difficult time in her life, he felt like a safety blanket. They started dating and as the relationship progressed, he touted the idea of marriage, which Edery wasn’t opposed to.

She continued: “We got married May 2013, so that moved quickly, but deep down I knew it was wrong, to the point that I didn’t tell any of my friends or family until I decided to end it. It was all done in secret.”

Seeing a therapist helped Edery work through her trauma and she came to realize that she didn’t want to remain married. While her second husband “wasn’t a bad guy,” they just had very different lives and ambitions, so it didn’t make sense to stay. By December 2013, Edery was a two-time divorcee.

She married her third husband in May 2017 after dating for a year. He felt stable and she finally thought she’d found the one—until she didn’t.

Intimacy was a significant problem throughout their relationship but Edery repeatedly told herself things would get better. Unfortunately, she also came to view him as financially controlling and jealous, so by the summer of 2018, she was done with the relationship. They were divorced by September 2018.

Fourth Time’s a Charm

The divorces weren’t particularly hard for Edery to accept because she was just so ready to move on with her life. After the third divorce, dating wasn’t a priority and Edery enjoyed the single life, although she never gave up on love.

By June 2023, she met her now fiancé Kevin while attending a wedding. She was a bridesmaid and he was a groomsman, and to her surprise, they hit it off.

At the time, she was living in North Carolina while he was in Chicago, so Edery didn’t think it would go anywhere. But when she received a message from Kevin a year later, she took it “as a sign from the universe.”

Edery said: “Initially neither one of us wanted to get married, he’s also divorced and didn’t see the reason to get married again. I remembered an accident my cousin had and how her partner couldn’t get any information or make decisions because they’re not married. I brought this up to Kevin and told him that if we plan on having kids, we may want to consider marriage.

“As our relationship progressed, we realized that marriage felt like the next step. Everything about our relationship has felt so natural from the beginning, and we both feel confident that it’s going to work out this time.”

The couple are planning to wed on June 19 at a small ceremony with around 30 guests.

How Did Social Media React?

Edery doesn’t feel shame or regret about her past, and she hopes to show other women that divorce isn’t anything to be embarrassed about. She found it hard to accept that divorce was on the cards a third time, especially after having a big wedding paid for by her family. But her dad reassured her that the right guy wouldn’t care about the number of divorces, and it turns out, he was right.

Edery regularly posts about her experiences on TikTok (@saruh_fe) as she doesn’t want there to be any stigma. A video explaining why she’s getting married a fourth time has gone viral with over 510,900 views and 29,500 likes at the time of writing.

Many social media users were keen to find out more about her relationship history, while others hailed Edery as a modern-day Elizabeth Taylor (who famously married eight times).  

“I am happy and confident in my decision,” Edery told Newsweek. “There is so much negative stigma on women getting divorced and shamed for it. My hope is to show women it’s ok to get divorced and that life does get better. There is always the possibility to find love again if you’re open to it.

“I like to throw that I’ve been divorced three times as a fun fact because people find it interesting and I’m never going to see them again. The people in my life don’t judge me because they know the situations and all the tiny details that I wouldn’t tell others.”

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