35 - Sam Symonds - Surviving divorce, single parenting to letting new love in and starting her own fashion business.

​Sam was working in fashion when she fell pregnant with her little girl.

​Her husband was a chef who worked very different hours so they didn’t get to see each other much.  They had been trying for just over three years when Sam eventually fell pregnant.  

​Sam went 10 days overdue and eventually her daughter was born via an emergency c-section. Sam had to spend four days in hospital and it was at this time the gaps in her relationship began to appear. 

Unlike the other new fathers the visits to hospital were few and far between and when she got home the support that she needed from her husband just wasn’t there. Sam unfortunately ended up with two infections in her C-section scar from doing too much. 

Without the support of friends and family close by the marriage deteriorated. Sam wanted to be able to look her daughter in the eye and tell her that she had done everything that she could do to try and make the relationship work.  

With stints at her parents and then going back again Sam finally decided to make the split for good. Not only was she not getting the help she needed Sam just couldn’t understand why her husband seemed to have no interest whatsoever in their little girl.

The main tipping point being when Sam asked her husband to look after their little one for an hour so she could rest, he fell asleep downstairs and before Sam could fall asleep herself their not yet one year old daughter had crawled up the stairs on her own because the stair gate had not been shut, she was crying and had a dirty nappy.  Sam decided enough was enough.
 
Life as a single parent was hard but Sam found ways around difficulties, such as showering with her baby girl in the bathroom with her and also running back from work to fit in some exercise.
 
Sam has gone on to find a new partner and has also launched her own business selling funky mummy and baby clothes.

www.becauseIsaidSo-shop.com
www.instagram.com/biss2shop
www.facebook.com/biss2shop

The BeGlad Movement is aiming to collect 100 stories of good coming out of bad and reasons to be glad by the end of 2018 to help support each other with our experiences and to raise money for the Samaritans and Action for Happiness. If you would like to donate it would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you!
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https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/beglad