However you choose to “reinvent” yourself after divorce, do it for YOU

According to figures published this month, a growing number of divorcees are seeking “revenge surgery” to get their own back on their former partners and restore their bodies to how they were before they had children.

Transform Cosmetic Surgery group reports that more than a quarter (26 per cent) of its patients are newly-divorced women – a rise of 62 per cent in a year. Perhaps even more surprisingly, 11 per cent of patients are newly-divorced men wanting “moob jobs”, nose realignments or Botox injections.

The organisation says the most popular procedure for women following a divorce is the “yummy mummy package” of breast augmentation with uplift, liposuction and abdominoplasty.

Nearly half of divorcees – 48 per cent – admitted they had turned to surgery to make their ex-spouses jealous.

“Many divorcees we see look to cosmetic surgery as a fresh start in a newly single world and want to regain the confidence they had in their appearance when they were younger,” the organisation’s Shami Thomas was quoted as saying.

This is the time of year when many people will be seeking a fresh start having decided to file for divorce at the beginning of January.

Cosmetic surgery is a fairly radical and expensive way to begin anew: there are lots of other, less drastic ways to draw a line under the past by reinventing yourself.

Many women mark the end of a long-term relationship by changing the style or colour of their hair – the Duchess of York opted for a short bob after her marriage to Prince Andrew broke down.

Reinventing your wardrobe is another way to ring the changes, especially if you had tailored your dress sense to please your partner. Without anyone to tell you “your bum looks big in this”, you are free to dress for yourself – and only yourself.

Losing weight is also a reinvention tool: some people do this without even trying as they find the misery and trauma of separation makes them lose their appetite for a while.

If your confidence has been dented by the collapse of your marriage, improving your appearance can do wonders for your self-esteem.

But – as we all know – there’s more to a book than its cover: how you feel inside is even more important.

So if you want to spring clean your life now that your marriage is over, don’t just concentrate on onward appearances.

For instance, taking steps to get fit – rather than to lose weight – can make you feel much better emotionally as well as physically. Pounding the treadmill may help you release pent-up anger and frustration and taking a brisk walk in the countryside is likely to improve your mood.

Many people who have recently separated retreat into the privacy of their home, so another way to start afresh is to make changes to the decor, layout of the rooms or furniture. Embarking on a programme of DIY or redecorating the bedroom can not only give you a sense of having moved on emotionally, it can also give you something constructive to do in the evenings and at weekends.

Opting for a facelift or “boob job” may seem like a good idea in the immediate aftermath of divorce and separation, but it won’t make you feel better about yourself in the long run unless you find ways to bloom and grow on the inside.

It’s also worth noting that whichever way you choose to reinvent yourself, you should do it for YOU, not to get back at your ex. Only by loving the way you feel and look – rather than being motivated by bitterness or revenge – will you be able to start the process of moving confidently towards the next phase of your life.