In 2004, Dayanara Torres—a former Miss Universe from Puerto Rico—became the former Mrs. Marc Anthony. The couple's nearly four-year marriage dissolved amid rumors that Anthony was having a relationship with actress-singer Jennifer Lopez. Those rumors seemed confirmed when Anthony married Lopez just four days after his divorce from Torres was final.

But in her new book, Married to Me: How Committing To Myself Led To Triumph After Divorce, Torres, who admits the divorce left her "purely and utterly devastated," offers no salacious tabloid-ready details and no barbs for J. Lo or her ex-husband. The book is a mostly generalized self-help guide, complete with all the requisite rebuilding steps applicable to starting life over after the world moves on to a new Miss Universe and your husband moves on to the planet's most famous Puerto Rican. The takeaway: Even international beauty queens can find themselves alone and unshaven, binging on Candace Bushnell and self pity. More life lessons from Torres follow:

ON EARLY SIGNS OF TROUBLE ON HER WEDDING DAY
"I was in Vegas wearing a decidedly untraditional wedding dress, and worst of all, my hair was curly. My hair wasn't supposed to be curly! ... I almost stopped the whole freaking wedding because my hair was not flat-ironed... Two years later in Puerto Rico, we renewed our vows... I made sure my hair was just how I wanted. A year after that, we got separated and later divorced. So maybe the perfect hair isn't the key to marital bliss?"

ON THE FINAL DAYS OF HER MARRIAGE TO MARC ANTHONY
"I was not working. I had let go of all of my hobbies, and I was living on Long Island, so far away from my family and friends. I had let my license expire. I would spend my days wandering around that large home, and I had never felt so poor, so lonely, so lost... just going into Manhattan to meet with my ob-gyn was an adventure."

ON THE DAY OF HER DIVORCE
"In December 2003, I found myself in a law office in Miami, signing an 'I'll-take-this-house-you'll-take-that-house' document... I had no idea what to with myself. I stood in that obnoxious bright Miami sun and said 'Okay, now what.' Then a part of me answered, 'hell if I know.' Another part of me suggested 'Let's go home and lie in bed and cry for a little while.' So, because I could not come up with a better option, that is what I did.

ON EMBRACING TRADITIONAL HEARTBREAK RITUALS
"I bought all of the Sex and the City DVDS... and I would let myself watch two or three episodes in a row. Okay, sometimes four or five. There was something for therapeutic about watching four beautiful single woman talking about and tackling the grand issues of love and relationships. And often failing. If any woman tells you that she did not identify with Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, or Miranda, I say she is lying."

ON ACTING THE PART
"The sun will obnoxiously continue to rise every morning, for it has no mercy on the miserable ... start with smiling. People will leave you alone for a little while if you force a smile every now and again. Most importantly: Stride briskly out into the sun, head up, legs shaven, and wearing something other other than pajama pants."

ON TAKING THE HIGH ROAD
"I can see how easy it is to fill your days talking badly about your ex. It can feel reassuring to hear a resounding chorus of friends and family say how awful he is and how great you are. But as tempting as it was, I never wanted to hear that. Okay, maybe I wanted to hear it once or twice at the beginning..."