With the launch of Divorce Guide Magazine, Olivia is reshaping how people are supported through one of life’s most tender transitions. Born from years of firsthand experience through Fresh Starts Registry, the magazine offers a trauma‑informed, shame‑free blend of personal storytelling and expert guidance—treating divorce not as a failure, but as a profound chapter change worthy of dignity and care. Free and accessible, the publication aims to normalize divorce as a human experience, helping readers feel seen, informed, and empowered to rebuild on their own terms.
Hi Olivia, thank you so much for taking the time to share your story with us. Congratulations on launching Divorce Guide Magazine — it’s such a thoughtful and much-needed resource, and we’re excited for our readers to learn more about what you’re building. To start, what moment or experience made you realize there was a real gap in how people are supported through divorce?
Divorce Guide Magazine was born out of a very real and personal understanding that people are expected to navigate divorce largely in isolation. For years, through Fresh Starts Registry, I watched thousands of people try to untangle the emotional, logistical, and structural realities of divorce without a roadmap, and I kept coming back to this same realization: there is no centralized, shame-free, beautifully crafted publication that meets people where they actually are. Divorce remains one of the few major life transitions without a culturally accepted guidebook or celebration of rebuilding. The moment that crystallized this gap for me was hearing, again and again, from individuals who felt overwhelmed not because divorce is inherently shameful, but because no one had ever offered them compassionate, practical guidance all in one place. I realized we needed something accessible, thoughtful, and steady—a magazine that treated divorce not as a failure, but as a profound chapter change worthy of support.
Divorce Guide Magazine grew out of your work with Fresh Starts Registry, the world’s first divorce registry and support platform. How did your firsthand work with individuals navigating divorce shape the vision and tone of the magazine?
Fresh Starts Registry’s mission has always been to provide both emotional and practical support during life’s most tender turning points, and that philosophy directly shaped Divorce Guide Magazine. Every day, people come to us with questions that are vulnerable, complicated, and deeply human—questions about finances, housing, parenting, identity, and grief. Those conversations made it clear that the magazine needed to be warm, trauma-informed, and rooted in dignity. When I first had the idea for a divorce magazine, I knew it had to feel like a hand on your back, not a finger wagging in your face. Jenny, my sister, co-founder, and our COO, immediately understood that vision and ran with it. Under her leadership as Editor-in-Chief, she has crafted a publication that feels expansive, curious, and deeply respectful of the lived experience of divorce. The result is a free, accessible magazine that reflects the real questions, fears, and hopes we hear from our community every single day.
So much divorce content out there can feel clinical, legal-heavy, or even sensationalized. You’ve taken a trauma-informed, compassionate, and shame-free approach instead. Why was it important for you to reframe the conversation around divorce in this way?
Most divorce content available today either pathologizes people or sensationalizes their pain. Neither approach serves anyone. From my own divorce and the thousands of stories shared with Fresh Starts, I know how profoundly tender this transition can be—and how dangerous shame is when someone is trying to rebuild their life. It was essential for me that Divorce Guide Magazine create a new cultural script, one that treats divorce not as a moral failure but as a moment of courage, clarity, and rebirth. Trauma-informed storytelling isn’t just a stylistic choice; it’s a necessity. People need to see themselves represented in ways that honor their complexity rather than reduce them to stereotypes. By rejecting stigma and embracing honesty, humor, empathy, and education, we’re helping readers feel less alone and more empowered, which is ultimately the heart of everything Fresh Starts stands for.
The magazine serves both people going through divorce and the professionals who support them. How do you balance personal storytelling with expert guidance to create something that’s practical, inclusive, and emotionally safe for readers?
From the beginning, our goal was to create a magazine that held two truths at once: that divorce is deeply human and emotional, and that it also requires clear, practical support. Divorce Guide Magazine is the only active divorce magazine in America, and we take that responsibility seriously. Each issue blends real stories with the expertise of our Fresh Starts Experts—lawyers, therapists, coaches, financial professionals, and more—who offer grounded, trustworthy guidance. Jenny is extraordinary at curating this balance. She builds every issue with an editorial philosophy that centers lived experience first, then layers in expert insight that is accessible, actionable, and jargon-free. Because the magazine is free, we’re able to ensure that anyone—regardless of background, income, or where they are in the process—can access information that is inclusive, emotionally safe, and genuinely helpful. That combination is what makes the magazine feel both personal and pragmatic.
Looking ahead, what excites you most about the future of Divorce Guide Magazine, and what impact do you hope it has on how society views divorce and the people rebuilding their lives afterward?
What excites me most is the opportunity to fundamentally reshape how our culture understands divorce. For too long, we’ve had two dominant narratives: the horror story or the courtroom drama. Divorce Guide Magazine offers something completely different—a place where people can learn, feel seen, access expert wisdom, and imagine a future that feels hopeful and self-directed. As the magazine grows, I’m thrilled to continue featuring our Fresh Starts Experts, elevating diverse stories, and expanding our coverage of the emotional, financial, legal, and identity-based dimensions of divorce. My hope is that, in time, this magazine helps normalize divorce as a human experience rather than a taboo. If people feel even a little less alone, a little more informed, and a lot more empowered to rebuild on their own terms, then we’ve done exactly what we set out to do.
Links:
- Website: https://
divorceguidemagazine.com/ - Instagram: https://www.
instagram.com/ divorceguidemagazine/
