DIVORCE WAS THE MAKING OF ME

Nicky Bright, 51, turned her life around in the five years after her husband left her

For 25 years, I thought I had the perfect marriage. But in the space of a few hours, it was all over. My ex and I fell in love at 20, and built a fantastic life together. I worked as a store manager, and he worked for a bank. We had a lovely home and two children. Then one day at work, in 2017, I received a panicked phone call from my son, who was 21 at the time. He said his dad was leaving us. I rushed home, thinking it must be some kind of awful mistake – but it was true.

I’d never had the slightest clue that he was unhappy, but my husband wanted out. I was traumatised. For weeks, I cried around the clock. I couldn’t eat and couldn’t think straight. I felt like I was having a constant panic attack. Life felt unbearable. The kids were in shock too.

I was approaching my 50s, my husband had gone, and the kids were growing up fast and would be leaving home in a few years. The void petrified me.