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NEWS: Woman torches her wedding dress at 'Divorce Garage Sale'

Onlookers cheered as a Texas woman joined the First Wives Club in a blaze of glory last week, burning bridges —and her wedding dress— at a 'divorce garage sale' where she sold all of her ex's belongings.

34-year-old Brianna Barksdale says her marriage went down in flames because her husband cheated and abused her.  After a heated two-year court battle she said she was finally free and held the divorce garage sale to celebrate.

“This is for every woman who has ever been in a relationship that was abusive, that hurt, that they shouldn’t have stayed in, that they didn’t know how to get out of,” Barksdale said.  

While I sympathize with her plight, I don't condone burning anything at any Garage Sale — including the divorce variety. Barksdale is lucky the fire didn't get out of hand and no one was injured.

Image: Giphy


Still, burning her wedding dress was a helluva publicity stunt.

Image: YouTube


Close to a thousand people turned out for the Divorce Garage Sale, mostly thanks to a scathing yet hilarious invitation Barksdale posted on Craigslist. 

"If you've EVER been completely screwed over by an ex, PLEASE come support my garage sale ... You can even help me burn the pictures, and my wedding dress, if you like,"  she wrote, "Think of it as a party... There will be mimosas. And doughnuts. Because I'll be up early and life is stressful... 

[Note: The Craigslist ad for Barksdale's divorce garage sale was flagged and subsequently removed, but you can read the full text at the end of this post. I'd love for you to tell me what you think about it in a comment after you do!]

Image: YouTube

Garage sale shoppers came from miles around to write insults and nasty messages to Barksdale's ex on the wedding dress before she torched it.

Image: YouTube

The newly-single mom-of-two sang, "Burn, baby burn" as she watched her wedding dress go up in flames.

Image: YouTube


"This is symbolic of freedom. This is symbolic of moving forward," she said. "This is symbolic of letting go of the past and moving forward to the future."

Image: YouTube

Barksdale told KHOU that she sold all of the items awarded to her in the divorce within minutes of opening her garage door for the sale. She made about $3,000 total — an impressive sum for a garage sale, but a far cry from the $50,000 she said she spent getting out of the marriage.

Regardless, Barksdale accomplished her goal. She sold everything that was "theirs" and got a fresh start with what is "hers" alone.

Image: YouTube

Here's the full text of the Craigslist Garage Sale ad, minus some of the colorful language:
"So after 2 long years, I have FINALLY been able to divorce my worthless, cheating, abusive husband. During that time, I had the distinct pleasure of paying for TWO entire households because he lost his job due to commiting (sic) a felony and couldn't support himself, so guess who demanded in court docs that I keep him in the lifestyle he'd become accustomed to???
Fortunately, everyone eventually saw through his (expletive), and I'm free. I am also WAY more broke. But hell, divorce is expensive because it's worth it. Was it worth the more than $50,000 to get rid of him? Yes. Am I going to be eating ramen until I'm 50? Probably also yes. It's fine. Single ramen tastes better than married filet mignon anyday (sic). 
That said, I have an entire household worth of (expletive) that needs to be GONE. I don't want to look at it. I don't want the memories. And I'd like to recoup some of the thousands upon thousands of dollars I spent on his sorry ass.
So, SATURDAY, February 10th is it. The "freedom from a--holes" garage sale.
I have ALL the things. 
Living room set, queen size bed/mattress, a wooden bunk bed that breaks down into 2 twins, an entire kitchens worth of things, dining table, some clothes, a TV stand, tools, linens, pretty much everything it takes to keep a lazy worthless human being in a state of comfort for a year. 
I also have a ton of kids games and toys (boys or unisex). They mostly belonged to my kids, but easily could have been his since the maturity levels are about the same :) 
Which reminds me, I do have a playstation (sic) and an Xbox. And a bunch of other electronic-y stuff. Ha. Selling that too. (Don't judge me, the guy tried to take my DOG... who does that?!?!) 
Oh, and I'm selling the grandmothers (sic) silverware. Because he deserves it. F him. Maybe he'll learn not to get bartenders pregnant and hit his wife.

If you've EVER been completely screwed over by an ex, PLEASE come support my garage sale and help me get rid of this (expletive) so I can move on with my life.

You can even help me burn the pictures, and my wedding dress, if you like. There will be mimosas. And doughnuts. Because I'll be up early and life is stressful.

And I'll even let you pay me electronically (Venmo or PayPal) if you don't have cash. Yay technology.

The address is 29210 Legends Beam Dr. Spring, TX 77386. It's in Legends Run neighborhood off of Rayford.

Come stop by. Buy something. Support moving forward and getting rid of (expletive). Or just get a great deal on a couch. Think of it as a party and THIS is YOUR personal invite! 
Maybe bring some champagne or OJ, cuz it sounds like we may need it based on the response I'm getting. 
This is happening this Saturday from 7:30 AM until I need a nap... so maybe 2ish?"

Several news agencies reached out to Mike Barksdale, but he wasn't unavailable for comment. Court records show he's serving seven years probation and community service after pleading guilty to assaulting a family member.

Best wishes and good luck to the former Mrs. Barksdale. I hope you find peace and happiness.

Happy Garage Saling!  

        



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