Once upon a time… in the 90s…

There was a girl in oversized Nike and adidas tracksuits, popper joggers swishing as she walked, hanging around a caravan site in Skegness.
She was 14. An only child. And she’d already learned something important if she didn’t make friends, she’d be alone.

So she did what she always did best she adapted.

There were no girls her age. Just lads. Loud, funny, full of rave music and energy.
Helter Skelter blasting, Nakatomis “Children of the Night” echoing through long summer nights and somehow, she fit right in.

She found her people.
And then she found her first love.

Or at least, what she thought love was.

But this wasn’t a fairytale… not yet.

The years that followed were a loop of highs and heartbreak.
On. Off. Together. Broken. Repeated.

Until one day she chose different.

She moved on.
Started something new.

And at just 17 years old life changed forever.

She became a mum.

Her daughter, Cody, didn’t arrive easily.
29 weeks early. Tiny. Fragile. Fighting.

But that little girl?

She was strong.

And her mum?
She became stronger.

Working part time. College. Weekends. Doing whatever it took.
Because when you have someone depending on you you find a way.

But sometimes old chapters try to rewrite themselves.

And she went back.

Back to the boy who had always broken her heart.
Back to the red flags she’d once ignored.

This time it became something darker.

The kind of love that isn’t love at all.

Control. Fear. Isolation.

They married and during that marriage, she had another child Camron.
A beautiful part of her story born into a chapter that was anything but.

Moments no one should ever have to live through.
Like being dragged from a van and left on the side of the M1.
No phone. No money. Just her walking 11 hours to get home.

Or being abandoned again this time in floodwaters in 2007. Ended up alone sleeping with strangers on the floor of Sainsbury’s whilst the flood waters subsided.

And that’s when it hit her.

This isn’t love.

So one day… she escaped.

Locked in the house.
She climbed out of a bedroom window. Onto the porch.
Grabbed the spare key for the car she’d memorised the hiding place for before she left. With one bag of clothes she’d hid in a black bag earlier that day and out in the bins before he’d left.

And she ran.

Not just for herself but for her children.

She ended up in Scotland.

And for the first time in a long time she found peace.

Real peace.

The kind where you can breathe again.
The kind that feels like coming home even when it’s not where you’re from.

Scotland became her heart home.
A place her feet might leave but her heart never would.
This may explain to some people why Edinburgh means so much to me.

But life wasn’t done testing her.

While in Edinburgh she was diagnosed with MS.
A label she never asked for.
A battle she never chose.

And then something unexpected happened!

She reconnected with someone from her past.

Her daughter’s dad Durand.

They met again!

And the spark?

Electric.

The kind that lights up everything.
Like Blackpool illuminations in your mind.

Together, they rebuilt.

A family.
A life.

More children followed, Bexley and Tiana.
New beginnings. New hope.

Then came another chapter…

A pub.
A business.
A dream that quickly turned into chaos. Into hell.

Mistakes. Miscommunication. The wrong place. The wrong people.

And when it all fell apart…

It didn’t just crumble.

It exploded.

And somehow…
She became the target.

The face people saw.
The one they blamed.

Trolls. Lies. Hate campaigns. Death threats.

Things no one should have to endure.

Especially not someone who had already survived so much.

They lost everything.

A home. Stability. Security.

Living in a caravan near Cleethorpes.
Four kids, 2 dogs. A storage unit. No clear future.

Rock bottom.

The kind where the darkness feels endless.

But here’s the thing about her!

She doesn’t stay down.

Three months later…

She took a chance.

A Comic Con in London.

Then another in Scotland.

And then the email that changed everything.

A cancellation table at Comic Con Liverpool.

An opportunity from someone who believed in her when she barely believed in herself.

No upfront payment. Just trust.

And she grabbed it.

That weekend?

She made enough to put a deposit on a house rental.

That was the turning point.

And people sometimes ask why she’s so loyal, why she defends Monopoly Events the way she does.

Now you know.

Because when the world was loud with hate
they were quiet with belief.

When doors were slammed shut they opened one.

When she had nothing they gave her a chance.

And that kind of loyalty?

You don’t forget it.

But healing wasn’t just about money or business.

She carried trauma.

Years of it.

And eventually, she was diagnosed with CPTSD.

Because survival leaves marks even when you escape.

Then she met Roxy.

Through a business academy in Sheffield.

Counselling. Coaching. Growth.

Piece by piece… she rebuilt herself.

Not just her business.

Herself.

And somewhere along the way…

Her business became more than a business.

It became her identity.
Her freedom.
Her voice.

Because once upon a time…

She wasn’t allowed to be herself.

She had to shrink.
Conform.
Fit someone else’s idea of who she should be.

So now?

She creates for the women who refuse to shrink.

The women who want to take up space.
To wear what they love.
To be unapologetically themselves.

And that girl in the oversized tracksuit?

She’s still there.

Still dancing.
Still fighting.
Still building something magical from the chaos.

And this time…

She’s the one writing the story. ✨
This is my Once upon a life.

PS. In the pic im second from left in between Kirsty with the Blue hair and Lisa in the IWG T-shirt.
Pic consists of the following fab people and fellow business owners from left to right:
Kirsty – Truly Unique, Meeeeee, Back blue hair Sam – Going Potty With Sam, Lisa – IWG Clothing, Stacey – Pixie Dust Emporium, Alex – Heavenly Darkness Candles, Leanne – The Undead Designer.