History Main / DivorceInReno

Many old movies and plays about the fashionable upper classes will have characters travel to Reno, Nevada, to obtain painless divorces. (At this time Reno was by far the biggest city in Nevada, as UsefulNotes/LasVegas did not start developing until TheFifties.) Reno businessmen went out of their way to attract those seeking Nevada divorces with specialist lawyers and affordable extended-stay hotels. Eventually, as the other 49 states liberalized their divorce laws, thus making divorce vacations to Nevada unnecessary, this became a ForgottenTrope.

A ForgottenTrope popular when divorce was difficult in most of the United States but much easier in Nevada. In the early 20th century, most American states had fairly strict divorce laws, often only granting divorces for specific cause (abandonment, adultery, etc) and often requiring a long waiting period. No-fault divorce was rare. (The last state in the Union to not allow no-fault divorce, New York, only did so in 2010). In Nevada, however, no-fault divorce was legal by the early 20th century. Even more significantly, in 1931 the residency requirement to establish residency in Nevada, and thus be able to get divorced in Nevada, was reduced to only six weeks. So while in most of America one would have to wait quite a long time to get a divorce, and one would probably have to show cause why one should be allowed a divorce, one could go to Nevada and get a divorce in six weeks, no questions asked.

* In romantic comedy ''Film/{{Phffft}}''!, Creator/JackLemmon and Judy Holliday get divorced in Reno but can't seem to get out of each other's lives.

* In romantic comedy ''Film/{{Phffft}}'', Creator/JackLemmon and Judy Holliday get divorced in Reno but can't seem to get out of each other's lives.

* In romantic comedy ''Phffft!'', Creator/JackLemmon and Judy Holliday get divorced in Reno but can't seem to get out of each other's lives.

* In Jane Rule's 1964 novel ''The Desert of the Heart'' (and its loosely adapted FilmOfTheBook ''Desert Hearts'', made in 1985 but set in 1959), the protagonist is an English professor who goes to Reno to divorce her husband--and gets into an unexpected lesbian relationship with a casino worker.

* ''Music/Billy Joel'' wrote a song called "Stop in Nevada" about a woman leaving her husband to move to California - but she has to, well, stop in Nevada first, presumably for the divorce.

* In ''The Women'' (1939), based on the play of the same name, Mary goes to stay at a ranch in Reno with a group of other women as they wait to obtain their divorces. The movie was remade into a film as well as a musical comedy called ''The Opposite Sex''.

* In ''Film/CharlieChan in Reno'', Charlie's son when he hears his dad is going to Reno--actually to consult the Reno Police on a case--is afraid his parents are getting a divorce.

A ForgottenTrope popular when divorce was difficult in most of the United States but much easier in Nevada. In the early 20th century, most American states had fairly strict divorce laws, often only granting divorces for specific cause (abandonment, adultery, etc) and often requiring a long waiting period. No-fault divorce was rare. (The last state in the Union to allow no-fault divorce, New York, only did so in 2010). In Nevada, however, no-fault divorce was legal by the early 20th century. Even more significantly, in 1931 the residency requirement to establish residency in Nevada, and thus be able to get divorced in Nevada, was reduced to only six weeks. So while in most of America one would have to wait quite a long time to get a divorce, and one would probably have to show cause why one should be allowed a divorce, one could go to Nevada and get a divorce in six weeks, no questions asked.

* In Stephen King's novel ''11/22/63'', the romantic interest of the main character becomes a cocktail waitress in Nevada for six weeks so that she can divorce her psychotic husband.

* At the time of this trope, divorce wasn't considered a polite topic of conversation, so this could be used as a complete euphemism. Here's a middle-class example from the original ''Film/InvasionOfTheBodySnatchers'' (having nothing to do with the main plot):

* Tijuana, another once-popular destination for quickie divorces, serves the same purpose for the housewife who hitches a ride with the party-seeking college boys in ''Road Trip''.

* Creator/ShirleyTemple vehicle ends with Susan and Tommy, having entered into a MarriageOfConvenience so Tommy can adopt Barbara (Temple), going to Reno to get divorced. Barbara intervenes, getting Susan and Tommy to admit in court that they really do love each other. The judge disallows the divorce and the film ends with Tommy, Susan, and Barbara as a happy family.

Many old movies and plays about the fashionable upper classes will have characters travel to Reno, Nevada, to obtain painless divorces. (At this time Reno was by far the biggest city in Nevada, as Las Vegas did not start developing until TheFifties.) Reno businessmen went out of their way to attract those seeking Nevada divorces with specialist lawyers and affordable extended-stay hotels. Eventually, as the other 49 states liberalized their divorce laws, thus making divorce vacations to Nevada unnecessary, this became a ForgottenTrope.

* In ''The Women'' (1939), based on the play of the same name, Mary goes to stay at a ranch in Reno with a group of other women as they wait to obtain their divorces. The movie was remade into a film as well as a musical comedy called ''The Opposite Sex''.

* In the Creator/BusterKeaton film ''Film/SevenChances'', Buster has to marry someone -- ''anyone'' -- before turning 27 [[OnOneCondition or lose his inheritance]]. He runs a newspaper ad for a wife and is ready at the altar with tickets to both Niagara Falls, and Reno.

* In ''Film/LibeledLady'', Bill tries to surprise Gladys with the news that [[OopsIForgotIWasMarried she's technically still married to her first husband]], but Gladys subverts this when she tells him she got a divorce in Reno.

* FilmNoir ''Born to Kill'' (1947) involves a woman who came to Reno to get a divorce, and hooks up with a jealous lover who murdered his ex-girlfriend and her new man.
* In romantic comedy ''Phffft!'', Creator/JackLemmon and Judy Holliday get divorced in Reno but can't seem to get out of each other's lives.
* In ''The Women'' (1939), based on the play of the same name, Mary goes to stay at a ranch in Reno with a group of other women as they wait to obtain their divorces. The movie was remade into a film as well as a musical comedy called ''The Opposite Sex''.
* In ''Film/TheMisfits'', this is why Roslyn is in Reno. Right after getting her divorce she falls in love with an older local man.

* "Cowboy", from season one of ''Series/{{Mash}}'' subverts this. Cowboy's wife sent him a letter from Reno. Hawkeye and Trapper, reading it to Cowboy over the radio, panic about the implications until Cowboy reveals he lives in Reno. They panic again when they read "Dear John", only for Cowboy to reveal that his real name is John Hodges. Cowboy's wife reassures him in the letter that she loves him and would never cheat or leave him.

* On ''Series/MadMen'', Betty flies to Reno at the end of Season 3 to get a divorce from Don. (''Mad Men'' is a period piece and the episode in question was set in 1963.)
* While made in the 1970s, ''Series/{{Mash}}'' was of course set during the Korean War. This trope turned up on occasion.

* In Jane Rule's novel ''The Desert of the Heart'' (and its loosely adapted FilmOfTheBook ''Desert Hearts''), the protagonist is an English professor who goes to Reno to divorce her husband--and gets into an unexpected lesbian relationship with a casino worker.

* One segment of ''Theatre/TheWomen'' takes place in a Nevada dude ranch where the assorted (female) characters are waiting to establish residency. A newspaper gossip column is quoted: "[one character] is being Reno-vated".