Justine CullenAug 12, 2026 – 5.00amDivorce is having a moment. Maybe not in real life – the divorce rate in Australia is the lowest it has ever been since the introduction of no-fault divorce in 1975 – but as a cultural preoccupation.Divorce novels are a genre unto themselves. There’s Leslie Jamison’s Splinters, Sarah Manguso’s Liars and Zoë Foster Blake’s forthcoming Group Chat. None, though, has harnessed the collective consciousness like Belle Burden’s memoir Strangers, sparking both a Netflix adaptation and a surge in prenups. Meanwhile, there’s a rise in “grey divorces” as increased life expectancies have over-50s rethinking what they want out of a potentially longer third act.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles
The first rule of hot divorcees? You don’t need to be hot or divorced
The end of a marriage was once code for misery. All it needed was a little rebrand for a new cultural archetype to emerge.
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