
01/08/2025
Today would have been my 15th wedding anniversary.
By the time this date came around in our final year together, I think we both knew things weren't quite right.
The distance between us was growing, but we hadn't yet said the hard things out loud.
We weren't ready, at least, not just yet.
We sat with it longer than we should have.
And then, a few months later, we finally dared to face our truth.
We were honest. We opened up.
But that conversation marked the start of one of the most challenging times in my life.
Because not long after, life threw me one of its cruellest curveballs, my mum was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.
Suddenly, everything else faded into the background.
My energy went into survival. Into holding everything together.
In the nearly 10 years since our divorce, I've come to understand something important, which is sometimes relationships end not because they failed, but because we outgrow the version of ourselves that once fit there.
We wanted different things. And in the end, we honoured that by letting each other go.
I look back now not with regret, but with deep respect for the years we shared.
That chapter shaped me, but it didn't define me.
Since then, there's been grief. Growth. So much change.
Moments I never thought I'd get through, but I did.
There have also been moments of profound joy and deep healing.
Of travelling to new places, discovering new hobbies, and building a life that finally feels like mine.
Anniversaries like this are tender.
They remind me of the love that was real and the courage it took to walk away and start again.
If you're in the middle of change...
If you're grieving something or someone you thought would last forever...
Please know this, it's OK to feel all of it. And it's OK to keep going.
There is life after loss, and sometimes, it's where we discover the truest version of ourselves.
You are stronger than you think.
And there's still so much ahead.