Woman Burns Wedding Dress and Photos to Heal from Divorce: ‘Like a Phoenix Being Reborn’ (Exclusive)

“It was me relighting my inner flame after being with somebody who really dimmed my light for so long,” divorcee Lindsay Hordal tells PEOPLE

Christine Genevieve Photography Lindsay Hordal burning her wedding dress and photos© Christine Genevieve Photography

After a “long and arduous” divorce, social worker Lindsay Hordal, who turns 43 on Nov. 17, wanted to move on from her “unhealthy” relationship and celebrate her new chapter in life. Inspired by “wreck the dress” posts on Pinterest, Hordal decided that she would burn her wedding gown, ceremony photos and marriage paperwork in a “powerful” gesture of closure as part of her “healing journey.”

“The fire was really symbolic to me. I feel like he walked me through the fire, so burning the wedding dress, for me, was almost like reclaiming my sense of self,” Hordal tells PEOPLE. “It was me relighting my inner flame after being with somebody who really dimmed my light for so long.”

Photographer Christine Genevieve, 31, admits that Hordal’s request to “torch the dress” was a photo shoot first for her, but she was “super pumped” about the concept of Hordal reclaiming her power, especially having experienced a “toxic” relationship herself in the past.

Christine Genevieve Photography Lindsay Hordal burning her wedding dress

The hour-long photo shoot at Jamieson Creek in Kamloops, British Columbia, on Oct. 26, involved “a mix of emotions,” including anger, sadness, peace and relief. Above all was a “sense of finality” and “sense of wonderment” on how far Hordal has come since her divorce.

Genevieve, who had a fire extinguisher on hand to be safe, tells PEOPLE that she could sense Hordal’s personal growth from behind the camera, and says that watching her rise from her divorce was “almost like a phoenix being reborn.” The pair even spotted a phoenix-shaped flame in the photo of Hordal burning her wedding portrait, which they believe represents her “rebirth.”

“It was absolutely incredible and so powerful to watch,” Genevieve says, adding, “You could see her metamorphosis. Like she was shedding the old version and it was like, ‘Boom.’ “

Hordal chimes in, “It was really just for me to be like, ‘This is the end and and I’m finally done. I’m finally free, and finally in this place of peace and joy and light that I deserve to be.’ “

Christine Genevieve Photography Lindsay Hordal by the fire

Hordal married her ex-husband on Sept. 23, 2021. The former couple of five years split after less than two years of marriage when Hordal realized she had “never been so lonely” in her life. She remembers breaking down in tears after reading a line from Untamed by Glennon Doyle that asked, “Isn’t it supposed to be better than this?” In that moment, she understood “this isn’t what love is supposed to be,” and found the strength to walk away with her head held high.

“I knew that if I stayed any longer, that I would be a shell of the woman who I really am,” Hordal says.

She continues, “I walked out in such a better place — emotionally, physically, financially, all of the pieces. [The photo shoot] was definitely a mix of emotions. I think sadness for some time lost and for a piece of myself that I gave that I’ll never get back. However, being able to rebuild, and being strong in spite of the situation, not because of the situation.”

Her divorce was finalized this year on Jan. 31 and her home sold on July 16, so “everything was done and dusted.”

“This was kind of the end piece,” Hordal says of burning her wedding items.

Christine Genevieve Photography Lindsay Hordal burning a wedding photo

Hordal’s friends were “so proud” of her for ending her marriage and were “excited” about the photo shoot. The group of women previously celebrated the divorce in a party themed “red flags.” Although Hordal embraced the end of her marriage, she says she still believes in love and is open to remarrying in the future “with the right person.”

Genevieve shared the destructive photos on Instagram not just because they were “incredible,” but also because she wanted to “empower other women.”

“I was like, maybe this will help another woman see that it’s possible to leave that toxic or abusive relationship where she’s not being seen and heard and loved,” she says. “And choosing herself because I know how it feels. Lindsay knows how it feels. I know lots of other women that have been through it. That’s one of the big things that I base who I am off of and helping other women, that’s something that’s really important to me.”

Christine Genevieve Photography Lindsay Hordal’s wedding dress on fire

She captioned the post: “Cheers to new beginnings, stronger boundaries, and a version of her that refuses to settle for less than she deserves. Sometimes you don’t just close a chapter — you set it on fire and dance in the glow.”

Since the post unexpectedly went viral with more than 165,000 likes, Genevieve has received requests from people around the world to book similar photo shoots.

Although some individuals commented that the concept is “dark,” Genevieve argues it’s about “celebration and rebirth and growth.”

“Divorce isn’t a dirty word,” the photographer says. “It doesn’t mean failure. It means that you tried, and sometimes relationships don’t work out the way that you would think. It’s almost like grieving what you thought would have been or could have been or should have been in this picture that you had in your mind.”

She continues, “I think that women get a really dirty rap when it comes to divorce because they’re like, ‘Oh, he dodged a bullet.’ And it’s like, ‘Have you stopped to think about what a grown man has done to this woman to get her to that place?’ It’s two people. It’s never just the woman and never just the man.”

Christine Genevieve Photography Lindsay Hordal walking away

Hordal advises other women going through similar healing journeys to “sit down and look in the mirror.”

“Look within,” she says. “Because what we put out is what we get back. And so if you do the work, you won’t come across this type of thing again. Do the inner work, the self-work.”

Read the original article on People