‘I remember thinking how I really missed the kids, but I didn’t miss my husband’
A mum divorced her husband of 10 years after realising on a girls’ holiday in Greece that she didn’t miss him.
Stephanie Hanson was in Kefalonia last year to celebrate her 40th birthday when she made the life-changing decision.
And when returned home she gave her husband the flick.
Six months later, the 41-year-old has lost five stone and met a new man, David Baldwin 43.
Now, the mum-of-four says “she couldn’t be happier”.
Stephanie, from Liverpool, said: “I remember thinking while I was away about how I really missed the kids, but I didn’t miss my husband.
“I was in the worst shape of my life, and it dawned on me, at home, I was miserable – so I did something about it.”
She says she had a wonderful time away from the stresses and strains of everyday life – but as the holiday went on, she had a sudden realisation.
While relaxing by the pool, chatting with her friends, Stephanie came to the conclusion she no longer loved her husband. So, on the day she returned home, she did it.
Stephanie said: “I was having the best time with the girls, and the thought of going back home to my husband was awful.
“I had a moment of clarity at the hotel that I’d been miserable in my marriage for as long as I could remember.
“So when I flew back, I ended it there and then – and I knew I’d made the right decision when I saw his reaction.”
After getting the photos developed from her holiday, Stephanie realised she was unhappy with another aspect of her life.
She weighed 17 stone, and decided that the start of her new era as a single woman was the perfect time to change her appearance.
Stephanie began exercising at home using a hula hoop and drastically changed her diet.
She swapped chocolate, take away meals and cream and butter based dishes for lean meat, fish, salad and soup.
After a few months, she incorporated running into her fitness regime, and slowly but surely, she started to shed the weight she’d been carrying for a decade.
And, after meeting her now boyfriend, David, in July, and introducing him to her kids, Stephanie says she “can’t wait” for the future.
Stephanie, who works as a phlebotomist – a person who takes blood samples – said: “After leaving my ex-husband, the next thing I needed to do was lose weight.
“The photos from the holiday made me see what horrible shape I was in, so I started working out at home and changed my diet.
“It was hard at first, but the motivation of being freshly single carried me through.
“In July, I met David on Facebook’s dating website and we hit it off straight away.
“I met him around halfway through my fitness journey, but he didn’t care about that, he loved me as I was.
“I now weigh 12 stone, but I’m quite tall, so I think if I lose one more stone, that will be perfect. “If I hadn’t of gone on that holiday, I’d still be stuck in a marriage with a man I no longer loved, so to be where I am now, I couldn’t be happier.”
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