How long after a person is divorced is s/he single again?

Question

I know this may sound like a silly question, but after divorce, some people classify themselves as divorced & others classify themselves as single. Could they be considered as both?

Answer 1

Divorced people who call themselves single are technically incorrect. Once you have been divorced, you remain divorced until you remarry, in which case you go back to being married. Only people who have never married may correctly call themselves single.

Later edit:
aph k said, "single is the term for me. 'divorced' is kinda outdated... don't you think? it sounds like 'I have baggage from the past'." She is correct that it sounds like you have baggage from the past, which is why it is correct to use -- if you are divorced you DO have baggage from the past. Stating that you are single when you are divorced is false advertising. If you get into a relationship with someone and it starts to get serious, you're going to have to eventually reveal that you are divorced. At that point, the person would be well within his rights to say, "Why didn't you tell me that to start with? That's a deal breaker for me," and break up with you, thus wasting the time you had invested in him. It is advisable to be honest in all things. If you are divorced, it is more honest to call yourself divorced than single.

Answer 2

Boy, do I know the answer to this question. Two years ago, I met someone from a personals site. He said, "Like I said on my profile, I was divorced."

I could have sworn that his profile said "Single never married." But I was like whatever.

Then he said, "Actually, I'm not divorced yet, my divorce finalizes in May" (and it was March).

Okay, so I went home and checked his profile and it said "Single, never married."

His photo also looked like it had been taken at least 5 years prior. He said he was 30, but he looked at least almost 40.

I can't believe some of these people!!

Also, usually after meeting someone from this personals site, they would all just say goodbye after one hour. But no, this date had to last about three hours.

Not only that but I had the wrong shoes on (he noticed before I did). That was crazy too.

So he was still married and he thought that classified as single, never married. ? ? ? ? ? I guess he didn't classify himself as divorced because he wasn't technically divorced yet (but he was NOT technically single either).

So I had the nerve to ask him why the marriage didn't work out, but I said he didn't have to answer. But he did. Because they wanted different things outta life or something.

Answer 3

Well yes they would be considered both really because when you divorce someone then most times you'd be single after the divorce, unless maybe the reason for the divorce was cause say you cheated to begin with so you were in another relationship before the divorce was finalized. I guess they have divorce as an option cause maybe some people are iffy about dating divorced people or something like that.

Answer 4

It really depends upon the form one is filling out. If it says: married, divorced or single, then I put divorced. If it just says married or single, I put single. Normally I do not think it is anyones business if I am married or not unless it is for financial or insurance purposes. If I was getting a loan, they might like to know that I was divorced in case they get a report of a previous loan that had my married name on it. The doctors office usually needs to know if one is using insurance. Other than that, IMO, there are two marital statuses: married and single.

Answer 5

You can call yourself single immediately after divorce. However, if you are in a new relationship, you need to be honest about your divorced status as early in the relationship as possible or you will be deemed to be dishonest and hiding the truth.

Answer 6

IMO, Happy-2, It depends on the "marriage". Call yourself whatever you wish. Once the papers are signed by the judge you ARE single. What if you were only married for a few days? (I know a chick that did that). The "divorced" label to some sounds like a failure. (to me also) My ex cheated and I was SINGLE. Big whoop whatcha label it. Good luck.

Answer 7

Once you have been married and divorced, you should not be calling yourself single. Your marital status is divorced. Yes, people call themselves 'single' after they are divorced, but this is technically incorrect. I believe they do it to avoid the 'stigma' existing with being divorced sometimes - but it signals the wrong impression to others.
The same thing happens with moms with children. If they have been married and divorced, they are divorced moms, not single moms.
Yes, it's all semantics but, then, that's what words are for!

Answer 8

Officially you are a divorcee until you tie up with someone else or until death (whichever comes first).

Of course, we bend the rules since we want to get on with our lives and the 'divorcee' tag is not the greatest piece of baggage to be carrying around while you try to find love again.

I wouldn't recommend claiming to be single while you are paying child support, palimony, etc. Any potential partner would think very differently about you if you weren't truthful during that 'getting to know you' phase of a new relationship.

However, if you are free of any financial olbigations from the dead relationship, I see no reason why you couldn't describe yourself as 'single'.

Answer 9

technically a person is single as soon as the divorce is final. If you want to go deeper if a legal separation had been filed-single could be used at that point as well.

Answer 10

Well, being divorced and being single is the same thing, no? Someone who is divorced can be single.