Knowing how to support your friend through a divorce can not only help your friend through a difficult time, but it can also strengthen your friendship. That said, many people, maybe even you, don’t know how they can best support a friend during a divorce. If you’re in that boat, then you may find the following four tips helpful.

Help With Chores

There are chores and activities that couples do together, like yard work and childcare. When someone goes through a divorce, the extra pair of hands that made these chores easier goes away. One way you can support a friend during a divorce is to provide acts of service that replace the extra pair of hands. For example, offer to do some yard work or watch the kids so that your friend can do errands. These are small things that add up.

For someone going through a difficult time, it can also be hard to cook meals every night. You could help by providing easily heated meals. If they have children, be sure to ask about what food limitations you will want to take into consideration.

Invite Them Out

Most people who have been married for a while get used to having a partner to go out and “play with.” Once divorce proceedings start, that partner-in-crime goes away. Asking your friend out to coffee or to the movies gives him/ her someone new to play with for a while. This allows your friend to feel less isolated and allows him/ her to adjust to the idea of going out with someone aside from a spouse.

Be Willing to Listen

Your friend will likely need help processing everything that they are experiencing. Never underestimate how helpful having a ready listener is to someone going through a divorce. It’s not even necessary to give advice unless your friend asks for it. It’s just important to have someone who is willing to listen.

Recommend Professionals

The process of divorce itself can be quite overwhelming. If you know of any reliable divorce lawyers in your area, this can be a huge relief for your friend in need. Considering how many choices there are, it is an intimidating decision. Additionally, a good lawyer can help their divorce go a lot more smoothly. 

Help Your Friend to Celebrate Milestones

Birthdays, holidays, and other important events happen whether a person is single or married. However, for the married person, these events become associated with his/ her significant other.

Once your friend’s significant other goes away, the milestones and important life events can be hard to face, particularly if they represent something sorrowful, like the death of a parent. You can support your friend through these milestones by being there, ready to be a part of the celebrations and ceremonies that go with these events.

These days, divorce is a common rite of passage for many people, unfortunately, including people close to us, like our friends. Despite the difficulties that divorce brings to a person’s life, it is possible to get through it and to thrive, and you can be a big part of helping your friend survive their divorce and get through to the other side happier than ever.