Couple's smiling 'divorce selfie' goes viral

(NEWSER) – Selfies are taken pretty much anywhere these days, and yet the one Chris and Shannon Neuman took last Wednesday actually manages to surprise. It shows the grinning Canadian couple outside Calgary Courts Centre in downtown Calgary, their smiles big enough that their mouths are both agape. What's the seemingly happy moment? As Shannon explained in a Facebook post the next day, " Here's Chris Neuman and I yesterday after filing for divorce!" But she doesn't stop there, and her words, and the image—hash-tagged #teamneuman and #divorceselfie—have been shared nearly 35,000 times. She explains that they're certainly not smiling at the marriage's undoing. But they are celebrating the fact that "we have done something extraordinary (we think anyway!)"

Specifically, "we have respectfully, thoughtfully and honourably ended our marriage in a way that will allow us to go forward as parenting partners" for the two children they had during their 11 years of marriage. That means they'll be a united force throughout their children's lives. "They won't have to struggle with their own wedding planning because we'll be sitting on the same side of the aisle - THEIR side." Shannon tells Global News that the two had been separated for almost four years, and "this marriage was mourned, I promise you." But after so much heartache, the photo wasn't a celebration but a commemoration of "the accomplishment of a goal that we worked really hard to reach ... it felt good to achieve a positive outcome and share that with our friends and family," she tells Global News. And the world beyond. Her Facebook post invites others to share the message that it's "possible to love your kids more than you hate/distrust/dislike your ex."

This article originally appeared in Newser:

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