A woman threw an iconic divorce party for her 14 close friends in Las Vegas and it ended with the ultimate blessing - an emotional speech by Adele on stage. After her six-year marriage officially ended, Rebecca Feinglos, 33, decided to celebrate with a sparkling tiara, relaxing spa day and heart-healing concert.
Rebecca and her best friends jetted from North Carolina to Nevada in December and hit the strip before travelling in a stretched hummer to superstar Adele's residency at Caesars Palace. The singer noticed the group in the crowd after clocking Rebecca's sign that read: 'You got me through my divorce'.
Adele teared up on stage and told the audience: "I know all about broken hearts. You bringing all your friends is so moving to me."
Rebecca says the trip made her want to reclaim the word divorce and she's now focusing on herself and building "authentic and loving" relationships.
Rebecca, a full-time writer, from Durham, US, said: "It was a weekend of fun, bringing together and an incredible group of women.
"I threw myself a newly-unwed party in Vegas with my closest friends. Divorce is a long, emotional, and stressful process.
"We talk about the trauma of toxic relationships, but we don't get real about divorce. It can be traumatic, too. Mine certainly was and I'm so glad it's over.
"My 14 best girlfriends and I went to Las Vegas not only to celebrate my divorce, but I wanted to celebrate them for standing by my side during one of the most difficult times of my life.
"So, no more 'failed marriage' talk. No more divorce shame. Let's celebrate leaving relationships that aren't good for you.
"And, let's remember Adele's advice: 'Keep your friends close to you, because they're better than any man.'"
After walking around the theatre and meeting fans, Adele got up on stage and delivered a short speech about Rebecca.
"Relationships fall apart, whether you're married or not, it's really difficult – it's really traumatic," she said.
"It was an unbelievable moment. Either side of me were my best friends, the women who got me through it all.
"In that moment I felt connected to her, to women and the friends around me - I was very emotional."
She described it as a "symbolic" way to celebrate her divorce and said Adele's album '30' was "emblematic" when she was separating from her ex-husband.
Rebecca made the decision to end her marriage during lockdown after the revelation that she wasn't happy anymore.
"[It] was the gravest decision that I have ever made, it was incredibly difficult but one I am proud of," she said.
"After the death of my mum and dad, after the grief, all of us were facing, it hit me as I had thrust myself into work."
Once she got back to work, Rebecca decided to take a year out which she calls her "grieve leave".
She said: "I travelled, I was writing, documenting my journey and learned about my own feelings."
When travelling, Rebecca started grieveleave.com where she documented her journey and put out resources to support other people going through the same thing.
Once her divorce was finalised, Rebecca wanted to get all her friends together and thank them for supporting her.
She said: "Throughout my divorce process, it frustrated me so much, I was struggling to navigate the process.
"Once it became clear that my divorce was going to end there was a light at the end of the tunnel.
"As soon as those papers were signed, we started planning. It was a weekend of fun, bringing together an incredible group of women.
"We all got together for dinner beforehand and all went to the show.
"I never in a million years imaged that Adele would see us, talk to my friend and be so touched personally by what we were doing there."
Rebecca said: "It was a pretty unbelievable moment and I think if there wasn't someone to video I don't know if I would believe it myself."
Did you throw a divorce party after your marriage ended? Email nia.dalton@reachplc.com.
