While there are plenty of marriages that don’t end in amicable divorces, it doesn’t mean ex-spouses have to become enemies. National Ex-Spouse Day gives former couples the opportunity to reflect on the ups and downs of their relationships.

Whether you are furious at your ex-husband or ex-wife, or you have formed a solid friendship, April 14 is the perfect time to reflect on the time you spent with the person you were in love with.

Celebrate the National Ex-Spouse Day by sharing these quotes and sayings from A-Z Quotes, Goodreads, and Brainy Quote.

  • “You may have even an ex-wife or an ex-husband, but you can never have ex-children.” - George Foreman
  • “An ex-wife is a woman with a crick in the neck from looking back over her shoulder at her matrimony.” Ursula Parrott
  • “A wife lasts only for the length of the marriage, but an ex-wife is there for the rest of your life.” - Jim Samuels
  • “All discarded lovers should be given a second chance, but with somebody else.” - Mae West
  • “The difference between divorce and legal separation is that legal separation gives a husband time to hide his money.” - Johnny Carson

“Time can divorce us from the reality of people, it can separate us from people and turn them into ghosts. Or rather it is we who turn them into ghosts or demons. Some kinds of fruitless preoccupations with the past can create such simulacra, and they can exercise power, like those heroes at Troy fighting for a phantom Helen.” - Iris Murdoch

  • “It was funny how all the useless knowledge you accumulated when you’re in love with someone could sit for years gathering dust in the back of your mind, only to spill out at the slightest reminder.” - Blakney Francis
  • “You don’t particularly want to stay close to your ex-wife. Or why would she be your ex-wife?” - Ian McShane
  • “Some people don’t realize what they have until it’s gone, but that does not always mean they are supposed to get it back.” - Stephan Labossiere
  • “It is possible for your ex, your boyfriend or girlfriend, or your husband or wife, to no longer be your type.” - Mokokoma Mokhonoana

“Many divorces are not really the result of irreparable injury but involve, instead, a desire on the part of the man or woman to shatter the setup, start out from scratch alone, and make life work for them all over again. They want the risk of disaster, want to touch bottom, see where bottom is, and, coming up, to breathe the air with relief and relish again.” - Edward Hoagland

  • “The end of a marriage has got to be one of the saddest events one can experience. I’ve heard that the pain [of divorce] is second only to an actual death in the family, and that sounds about right.” - Danica McKellar
  • “I don’t think much about guys from the past. I’m glad I knew them, but there’s a reason they didn’t make it into my future.” - Lorraine Zago Rosenthal
Wedding cake
Pictured: Wedding cakes by Laduree are presented during the New York Magazine’s New York Weddings Event at Metropolitan Pavilion, New York City, March 27, 2014. Getty Images/ Larry Busacca
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