Soon-to-be divorcees at the cocktail hour at Whitney Ranch. Beth Ward is at center, wearing an off-the-shoulder dress. (Image from npr.org, Courtesy Beth Ward)

Sisters Tell Tales from a Divorce Ranch on Nevada Public Radio

Beth Ward and her sister, Robbie McBride, grew up on what was known as a “divorce ranch” in Reno, Nevada. Women could live on a divorce ranch for six weeks to establish residency, then file for divorce in a Nevada court.

Spoiler: These days, both McBride and Ward are widowed.  McBride was married for 16 years to her husband, Jerry, who passed away. And after Ward’s first marriage ended in divorce, she found her new husband in an unlikely place. “The man I remarried, his wife had been [at the ranch] for a divorce,” she says. “He came over and asked me out for dinner. And next thing I knew, I was married. So, it was the greatest move that I think we ever made.”