Maria Shriver is going through hell this week. But somehow, even as news of her soon-to-be-ex-husband Arnold Schwarzenegger’s affair and love child with one of their staffers broke, she managed to put on a brave face, sexy blue sequined dress and inject some serious volume into her hair for an appearance at her buddy Oprah’s celeb-filled farewell spectacular in Chicago yesterday.

It’s hard to imagine how she pulled it together for such a public appearance amidst the media onslaught about the torrid demise of her marriage. But here are some women–politicians’ wives and celebrities alike, who probably can imagine what Shriver is going through. They all weathered incredibly messy and public splits and through it all they held their heads high and managed to look fantastic. Take a look: