Lovesick? There's an app for that. Romance rehab has grown into a booming industry complete withprofessional pocket coaches and five-star retreats. But, asks Kathryn Madden, cangroup chanting and gourmet granola really mend a broken heart?
It’s a trope as old as time. Boy dumps girl. Girl drowns her sorrows in a bottle of shiraz, washed down with a tub of cookie-dough ice-cream. She blubbers her way through Bridget Jones’s Diary, only emerging from the sea of tissues to text her ex, “Diid you ever even lovee me?” Girl passes out. The next night, she does it all again.
Mercedes Fernandez, 25, was not that girl. Following the breakdown of her three-year relationship, she escaped to a luxury estate on the Malibu coastline. She did yoga and meditation, grazed on organic quinoa and kombucha, talked about her feelings and worked with experts to analyse her relationship patterns. After three days, she felt refreshed, revived and ready to face the world.
Fernandez’s sun-kissed sojourn is emblematic of a burgeoning global trend: the business of broken hearts. Savvy entrepreneurs are tapping into one of our most basic, universal emotions – heartache – and responding with a smorgasbord of services designed to ease the pain. While the ’90s and ’00s saw us dabble in therapy and self-help books, today a new guard of professionals and pocket coaches are here to help us navigate the rocky roads of love.
Amy Chan, 36, goes by the title chief heart hacker. Her LinkedIn page portrays a strong, successful woman – a glossy-haired go-getter whose fruitful career spans corporate communications and luxury hotel reviewing. But seven years ago, the Canadian’s world was turned upside down when she discovered her partner was cheating on her. “I spiralled into depression, I stopped eating, I had thoughts of suicide … it was a really dark time in my life,” she recalls. “Being a typical Type A [personality], I tried everything I could to heal: therapy, yoga retreats, psychics, reiki. There was nothing focused on the type of pain I was going through.”
Denne historien er fra November 2018-utgaven av Marie Claire Australia.
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Denne historien er fra November 2018-utgaven av Marie Claire Australia.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
SHANNEN DOHERTY
The rebellious actor died in July after a nine-year battle with cancer. Zara Wong looks back at the legacy of a woman who always lived on her own terms
IN THE WILDS OF ALASKA
Nature served up a spectacular array of delights, while cruising the majestic waters of the far north.
Back to EARTH
In its earliest days, the farm bred draught horses for export. Now Tasmania's 1840 cottage Leighton House has been restored as a glorious getaway
ODE to LIGHT
Created by master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian in 2011, Elie Saab's Le Parfum has since gained a cult following and become an industry icon. Here, Sally Hunwick uncovers the origins of the stunning chypre floral scent
JEN ATKIN
The Ouai beauty guru is regularly called on by the Kardashians and a host of other A-listers. Here, she talks about hair, her beauty cupboard and how she keeps up her energy levels
A NEW DIRECTION
When she was 16, Jordan Lambropoulos told her surgeon she'd rather die than wake up with a colostomy bag. Today - 10 years, countless operations and 14,000 Instagram followers later - she's proof that a colostomy bag is not the end. In fact, it can be the beginning of a whole new life
LADY LUCK
Rosalía takes her accessories as seriously as she takes her art. The Spanish musician spent three years working on her much-lauded album Motomami, finessing the details and perfecting the finishing touches. And when it comes to her outfits, she's no less specific
Wait... superhero movies are cool now?
Who had Emma Corrin and Juno Temple as supervillians on their 2024 bingo card?
CURTAIN CALLING
Brisbane-born star Vidya Makan steps into the shoes of America's founding mother in the long-awaited return of Hamilton
LEIGH-ANNE
The English singer on colourism, freedom and reuniting Little Mix
