I have a friend from my chapel who is civilly divorced.  A little over a year ago, her husband, who was raised traditional Catholic, deserted her and their child, and left the faith.  A civil divorce soon followed.  While she is understandably upset, she accepts that she is still married, and cannot remarry.

My question is, on a social level, how should she present herself?  For example, when meeting new people, does she say that she is married?  Does she refer to her husband as her "ex"?  Does she still wear the wedding ring?  Should she continue using his last name, or revert to her maiden name?

I doubt the Church has any explicit teachings about this, as it is more social question, but any guidance you can give is appreciated.

I am just guessing here, so I submit to whatever teaching the Church teaches about this issue.

I would suggest she introduce herself as married, wear the ring, and keep her new last name.

Going back to her maiden name, ditching the ring, or calling herself "single" would just invite the attention of any eligible bachelors who find her interesting and/or attractive. And justly so.

The ring represents she belongs to someone. Which is true -- that is why she can't get married again. She's not being punished in some way by the Church. The Church says she can't get married again only because she is already married. That is the long and short of it.

When someone says, "Where's your husband? I could use a golf partner." That's when you go into the details about her husband's whereabouts.

I don't think most people would be confused though. They will get the picture soon enough. It's not like divorce is unheard of.

I have a friend from my chapel who is civilly divorced.  A little over a year ago, her husband, who was raised traditional Catholic, deserted her and their child, and left the faith.  A civil divorce soon followed.  While she is understandably upset, she accepts that she is still married, and cannot remarry.

My question is, on a social level, how should she present herself?  For example, when meeting new people, does she say that she is married?  Does she refer to her husband as her "ex"?  Does she still wear the wedding ring?  Should she continue using his last name, or revert to her maiden name?

I doubt the Church has any explicit teachings about this, as it is more social question, but any guidance you can give is appreciated.

The Church doesn't have explicit teachings on every detail of our lives. As long as she is not putting herself out as available to be married then whatever she feels is most prudential would probably be best.