'It's OK to choose you': Why women are celebrating divorce with photo sessions

Erin Daly of London, Ont., filed for divorce after learning her husband of five years was cheating on her in 2018. She was angry, embarrassed and ashamed.

"You feel like you failed at something," said Daly, who has a four-year-old son with her ex. 

She has had to come to grips with the realization her life was not going to turn out the way she'd imagined.

But today, with the support of family, friends and a good therapist, the 41-year-old is celebrating the end of her marriage with a divorce-themed photo shoot.

"I wanted to normalize divorce," said Candice Gheller, owner of CG Photography, in a post on Facebook. "Let women know it's okay to choose you. It's okay to leave toxic relationships despite saying 'for better or worse."

Gheller told CBC that while she doesn't know any other business doing divorce photo shoots now, "I guess a few years ago it took over the trash-the-dress idea that we used to shoot as a way to wear your wedding gown again."

"These 'different' kinds of shoots seem to be getting more popular." 

Gheller said photo sessions at CG Photography start at $250.

There were a few must-haves for the session involving Daly, who got the help of makeup artist Samantha Blatnicky.

"A bottle of champagne, a big puffy dress, some photo albums with some pictures to burn."

Plus, there was smoke. In a number of the shots, a calm and strong-faced Daly stands as the smoke clears around her. She also donned her wedding gown for a number of photos and is pictured ripping apart pieces of paper that read "betrayal" and "heartbreak."

"It kind of just wraps up that circle of ending that chapter before you can start a real new one," Daly said.

For the last couple of years, Daly has been posting on social media about her recovery after a divorce.

"My whole purpose was to make other people not feel alone, so often times, when I do post, I'm talking to the person I needed at that time, and that is being honest and truthful."

Daly said she isn't worried if her ex-husband is offended by the photo session. Plus, she's always taken care to be respectful, she said.

"I don't talk badly about him in front of my son."