"Burn, Baby, Burn!" Woman Sets Wedding Dress Ablaze to Celebrate End of Abusive Marriage

One Texas woman's marriage just went up in flames — literally. Briana, a Texas resident, is going viral after setting her wedding dress on fire to celebrate her divorce, and now she's striving to help women who have endured similarly abusive relationships.

After officially becoming divorced on Jan. 31, Briana posted a Craigslist ad to spread the word about a "freedom from assholes garage sale" she was hosting to get rid of everything that reminded her of her former husband. "If you've EVER been completely screwed over by an ex, PLEASE come support my garage sale and help me get rid of this sh*t so I can move on with my life," the ad read.

On Feb. 10, her driveway was filled with "pretty much everything it takes to keep a lazy worthless human being in a state of comfort for a year," including a living room set, video game consoles, a dining table, and even his grandmother's silverware. The belongings were joined by dozens of neighbors, strangers, and news reporters who came across her Craigslist ad and wanted to show their support (Eye Kandy Graphics even designed shirts with quotes from the now-iconic original ad). Besides the fact that Briana sold everything, the highlight of the get-together was when she doused her wedding dress in lighter fluid and set it ablaze as a symbol of moving forward from her divorce.

Though the ceremonial burning of her dress is what made headlines, Briana later explained in a Facebook post how she wants others to see the deeper meaning of her viral story. "I think the real message here is that there are a LOT of women who have been where I was, who are brave and resilient and have found the strength to get out of bad situations," she wrote. "Let's just remember that domestic violence happens at staggering rates every day, and it's not OK. So keep all the women who haven't made it out yet in mind, and let's all do what we can to support them."

A GoFundMe page was started for Briana to help with her divorce attorney charges, but she also plans to donate some of the money to a nonprofit organization that helps women who are victims of domestic violence.