Emily Ratajkowski Shares the Story Behind Her Divorce Rings: ‘I’ve Lived a Lot of Lives’

Emily Ratajkowski unveiled her two dazzling “divorce rings” on Instagram today, which repurposed the two diamonds from her original engagement ring from ex-husband Sebastian Bear-McClard. As the jewelry designer behind the pieces, Alison Lou, put it, “We made the original two stone engagement ring that set the trend…Here we go again @emrata Divorce Rings™️.”

In an interview with ELLE.com today, Ratajkowski explains what inspired her to commission the pieces. She shares that her friend Stephanie Dandler’s essay “The Unravelers” gave her the idea. “I just love the idea of a woman unabashedly having symbols to show the many lives she’s lived,” Ratajkowski says.

The model knew she wanted to redesign her ring but wasn’t convinced that keeping its original two-stone design was the right move. She “always loved” the ring, “but the design had obviously been copied so many times that I was like, ‘It doesn’t feel special anymore,’” she says.

Emily Ratajkowski showing her wedding rings in May 2022

Turning the piece into two rings for its second life was just another way to celebrate women’s ability to reinvent themselves throughout their lives.

“Obviously our culture focuses so much on youth and being young and beautiful as like woman’s only value or femme presenting people’s only value, and I definitely don’t feel that way,” Ratajkowski says. “I’ve lived a lot of lives. I’m 32. I’ve lived a lot of lives already and I plan to live more, and I’m not gonna be shy about that. I’m not embarrassed of that.”