Elizabeth Taylor wins the Grand Poobah of Dashing Divorcees. Married eight times, this magnificent woman never let pain and sorrow stop her from loving again.
Let me say that again… she wasn’t married twice, or three times… EIGHT TIMES!! That’s eight weddings! Which sounds pretty wonderful actually. But I can’t imagine going through seven divorces. One of her husbands, Mike Todd, was tragically killed in a plane crash soon after their wedding. She was devastated, of course, but found yet another husband to help her in her grief. And then there was her passionate love affair with the brilliant and troubled actor, Richard Burton, whom she married and divorced twice.
I always find that so interesting. How do you marry and divorce the same person twice? I had an Uncle do that, he married my Aunt Louise twice. She had red hair, smoked cigarettes, looked like Ginger on Gillian’s Island and told us she had kissed Elvis. I always like Aunt Louise, but after their second divorce, I never saw her again.
In any case, this story is about Elizabeth Taylor, not my Aunt Louise. After our insanely painful divorce, I took my children to NYC. We were walking through the Cartier shop on fifth, which is in a fabulous historical mansion, and this particular Cartier had a fantastic relationship with Elizabeth Taylor, who is even more famous for her jewels than for her husbands. There was a wonderful photo of Elizabeth on the wall where she’s about to go swimming while wearing a necklace of gorgeous rubies that had been gifted to her. She has on no makeup, and is laughing in the photo. I pointed at the photo and told my kids to guess how many times Elizabeth Taylor had been divorced. Their eyes grew huge when I said seven. We couldn’t imagine going through that much heartbreak that many times.
So every time you feel alone and heartbroken, imagine the Grand Poobah laughing and swimming in her jewels. Call up your own inner Elizabeth Taylor, a saucy hilarious gorgeous and dashing divorcee who always kept and open heart and never gave up on love. Put on your jewels and go for a swim. And don’t forget to raise your glass to this week’s Dashing Divorcee. Cheers!!
