A newly-divorced mum has gone viral after posting a video online of the moment she torched her wedding dress.
Lauren Brooke from the US state of North Carolina has received millions of views after publishing the clip, which features her dressed in a glamorous red gown.
The mum decided to dress up and hold a professional photo shoot in order to celebrate being officially divorced after separating from her husband over a year ago.
Lauren’s video shows a series of images of her tearing up her wedding dress and stomping on a wedding photo in high heels.
She then sets her bridal veil on fire and opens a bottle of champagne while the rest of her white dress burns in a campfire.
Lauren says she is “proud” to start the “next chapter” of her life, but she has received both positive and negative attention since posting the controversial TikTok clip.
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In an interview with the New York Post, Lauren said: “I’ve been called a narcissist and attention-seeking, and people are saying I was the problem.
“The photo shoot wasn’t celebrating the divorce itself – it was celebrating the fact that I survived it.”
In North Carolina, married couples must be separated for a year before they can divorce. After almost nine years of marriage, Lauren officially separated from her husband in September 2021.
She described the year she waited for a divorce as “an emotional rollercoaster”. It was finalised in January 2023.
Lauren celebrated her divorce and did the fiery photoshoot with her mother, who is a professional photographer, her boyfriend Jonathan and also a friend who filmed the occasion.
Lauren said: “What else was I going to do with my wedding dress? It couldn’t be returned and I wouldn’t want to give it to my daughter – not after the way it ended. So why not burn it?”
Her mother, Felicia, said: “It was great to see her laughing — the year had been extremely difficult with so many emotions trying to navigate a new normal.”
However, Lauren has been dealing with negative comments since uploading the photographs to social media.
On TikTok, one comment said Lauren appeared “bitter” while another comment said: “This screams red flag.”
Lauren has also posted video responses to men who have “made ugly comments”, joking that the divorce photoshoot has offended “half the male population”.
She even revealed that she has received messages criticising her appearance and weight, describing this as “hilarious”.
Lauren added: “A lot of people think I wanted revenge, and I was like, ‘If I wanted revenge, there’s a million other ways I could have done that.’”
However, Lauren’s unconventional celebration has also gained a lot of popularity on social media.
On her TikTok video, Lauren has been described as “epic” and a “Queen” for her photoshoot in the comment section.
One popular comment said “Good for you girl”, while another user wrote: “This was awesome, you go rockstar!”
Somebody else added: “Ignore any of the haters, this is incredible!”
