You wouldn’t normally associate divorce with smiling faces, but there’s a new trend that goes against that norm.

Anna Zybura of Farmingdale poses with her new ex-husband
Anna Zybura of Farmingdale poses with her new ex-husband (Instagram)
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Search for the hashtag #divorceselfie on social media sites like Instagram and Twitter, and you’ll find no shortage of just-divorced couples, smiling for the camera.

The unique photo-op has been gaining steam across the country with divorce selfies pinged from Queens to San Francisco. Folks in New Jersey are joining in the fun as well.

Just moments after the final documents were signed, Farmingdale resident Anna Zybura felt the urge to let the social media world know that she and her husband, now ex-husband, were no longer an item. With the official documentation in hand, the two posed for a selfie right outside the courthouse in New Brunswick.

“I pretty much turned to him and said ‘Let’s take a selfie with the sealed document and show it’s official,’ so he…just giggled and laughed about it and went along with it,” Zybura said.

And the smiling isn’t an act. Zybura, 31, said she and her ex are “completely happy” about the breakup, and their relationship is practically better than it’s ever been.

“We both share custody, share everything down the line,” she said. “There’s no child support. There’s no alimony.”

Merrill Brown, head of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University, said these post-divorce photos should not be seen as disrespectful or distasteful. The phenomenon can add some joy and clarity to such a sticky situation as divorce.

“This is the community billboard of the century we live,” Brown said, referring to social media. “Why not, on some level, let the world know that you’ve had a civil divorce, rather than one with horrific circumstances around it?”

Zybura said there have been some unpleasant online comments directed towards her divorce selfie, but she’s not bothered by them.

Here's some of the fun, charming, sweet or otherwise striking divorce selfies we found from New Jersey and beyond.

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