Healing or heartbreaking? Divorced woman shares wedding photos on what would’ve been her 1-year anniversary

A woman has shared her wedding photos and memories with TikTok on what should have been her 1-year anniversary.

What happened in the video?

In the five-minute-long video—which has amassed over 5.2M views as of Oct. 3, 2025—Ashley sits down in front of viewers to tell them the story of her wedding.

“I’ve been sitting here trying to think of a non-awkward way to start this video but there is none,” she begins.

“But I am divorced. I no longer have a husband. Do you wanna know what I do have? The top tier of our damn wedding cake.”

She then pulls out her frozen wedding cake—traditionally eaten on a first anniversary—and eats some, claiming it “tastes like betrayal”, before sharing photos of her wedding along with some of her favorite memories.

The highlights include photos of Ashley’s grandmother, who was the flower girl at the wedding and came down the aisle on a mobility scooter, wearing shades. She explains that her Grammie was supposed to walk immediately in front of her, but they decided against this, feeling it would make the vibe too funny, before scathingly adding in hindsight, “We all should have been laughing when I walked down the aisle.”

Her other favorite memories included hiding the ring under a random person’s chair during the ceremony, writing each of the 120 guests a heartfelt and personalized letter, and playing the first dance songs of all the other married guests, so that couples got a chance to relive them.

“These are my four favorite memories that I don’t wanna not talk about just because the marriage didn’t work out,” she concludes.

@lastmarried1stdivorced
I’ve been dreading October 4th for so long. Gonna take a break from posting while I let whatever emotions come up that want to come up. Thanks for being on this divorce journey with me & letting me yap with no rules. See ya on the other side! To all my October brides who are now ex-wives. I see you and I love you. 🫶
♬ suono originale – tayloewe

What was the reaction?

Many commenters thanked Ashley for sharing the memories with them and encouraged her to keep celebrating her wedding, despite her ex-husband (who, as most people agreed, definitely fumbled her).

“Who cares about him. Your wedding was EPIC congrats on being free,” wrote Fleetwoodhag.

“As someone who is getting married and will miss my grandmother being there…get those pics framed,” someone else suggested.

Others suggested that Ashley should have a career change.

“You should be planning weddings,” wrote H.L Brooks.

“Babe, hear me out, with your party planning skills you should throw a divorce party and it could be even more iconic,” someone else wrote.

Overall the sentiment was one of earnestness and vulnerability, with most commenters seeing the wedding as a celebration of Ashley’s other relationships and all those in her life who love and care about her.

“It seems like maybe your wedding WAS a love story, just not the one you were expecting. I’m sorry,” Krista Marie said.

@lastmarried1stdivorced Replying to @Ileskaa Grammie wants you all to know that she made a TikTok @susangrant33 ♬ original sound – Ashley No Last Name

While some commenters asked for a storytime (many feeling that some comments insinuated cheating was involved), Ashley has yet to provide one—but did share an update from her iconic Grammie who thanked people for following her granddaughter saying, “she’s my baby. I love her dearly.”

Is reminiscing over wedding memories helpful after divorce?

Many people in the comments section felt Ashley’s decision to share her memories and photos made sense, but is it actually helpful?

It turns out the answer is probably yes, but with some caveats. In general, studies have shown that people who retrieve positive or even neutral memories after a traumatic event are less likely to experience post-traumatic symptoms or depression.

Other anecdotal evidence from Reddit implies that keeping wedding photos is generally something lots of people do, and that doing so helped them to remember how great they felt on the day.

“I kept a few of my favorites. I’m glad I did. Even though the marriage was s–t, the day was good, and I looked f——g fabulous,” wrote one person on a post entitled, “to those who are divorced: what did you do with your wedding photos?”

“I get why some people prefer to forget everything but for me, we had beautiful years, we had hard years but we had each other. So why should I forget all that?” replied someone else while Aramyth reminded commenters of the importance of relatives at the event.

“Not divorced. But also the child of a dead parent. Keep anything with your parents in it.”

Linda Simpson, a writer who offers divorce advice, answered the question on what to do with wedding photos for an article in Divorce Magazine. In general, she suggested keeping the photos but not retaining them on display.

“You can view these photos as having some family history significance and pack them away. If you feel strongly, they can be thrown out. Ask your children if they may want them as a keepsake of a life together that was started in good faith,” she says.

She also encouraged divorcees to acknowledge that it isn’t possible to delete everything, but that they should instead focus on capturing new memories.

“Put all your energy into facing forward, too and creating a new you that has let go of the hurt and anger. It is your life now and your future. Posting meaningful pictures and living well is your statement to the world that you are doing fine”, she concluded.

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