Marital Separation, BMI Decline, and the Myth of the Revenge Body

While many life course transitions are associated with weight gain, marital separation follows a different trajectory and instead is associated with weight loss. Research remains inconclusive whether the weight changes are intentional or if they reflect more unintentional mechanisms. We first examine fluctuations in both objective (BMI) and subjective weight (self-rated weight and weight satisfaction) before, during, and after marital separation. In the year of separation, women’s BMI decreases by an average of 1 unit (equivalent to 6.3 pounds for a 5’5” woman), compared to a 0.3 unit decline for men (approximately 2 pounds for a 5’10” man). These patterns align with shifts in subjective weight: around the year of separation, men and women report greater weight satisfaction and women are less likely to perceive themselves as overweight. We then explore potential explanatory mechanisms to elucidate intentionality. Results indicate no substantial changes in dieting and exercise for women or men during marital dissolution but concurrent increases in psychological distress that are more substantial for men, highlighting that weight changes might be linked to unintentional stress-related mechanisms rather than intentional weight-loss behaviors. The findings shown here underscore the complex and socially embedded ways in which bodies respond to major life transitions.