Coming out the other side

After my husband left, I felt irrationally angry when I saw loved-up couples pushing prams.

I wanted to rage at them: “You just THINK you’re happy, but it’s a big, fat LIE … He’s going to break your heart and leave. You just wait and see!”

Fortunately that feeling has passed – my faith in ‘happily ever after’ has been restored.

Seeing happy, long-term couples fills me with feel-good vibes. I think it’s because I have a deeper understanding and too-late wisdom about what it takes to make a relationship work when it hits the hard yards.

Anyone who thinks it won’t require LOTS of effort is kidding themselves, but it IS possible.

When friends post on Facebook about their wedding anniversaries I feel a little burst of joy – good for them! Isn’t it lovely they still feel that way after all those years?

I have a new appreciation for those “for better or for worse, in sickness and in health” vows.

My relationship didn’t survive the worse and sickness bits, but I’m glad yours did.

Some celebrity long-term couples have popped up on my Instagram feed recently.

I reckon keeping the love alive in Hollywood is even harder than in Sydney.

Goldie Hawn recently joined Instagram and shared a sweet shot of herself with Kurt Russell. They’ve been together more than 30 years and are still going strong …

 

 

And David Beckham and Posh have survived all those cheating rumours to become the poster children for family goals …

 

 

Over the weekend, Sarah Jessica Parker shared some lovely snaps from her 51st birthday celebration (51!!!!).

(I’ve always felt a certain kinship with SJP since we’ve both been plastered on public transport …)

She and husband Matthew Broderick have been married more than 16 years, had three kids and they’ve stayed strong despite challenges. So go them!

Take a look, her celebrations are quite lovely in their “realness” …

Relationships have their ups and downs. They’re not always fun, they’re not always easy.

But if you can make things work and keep the love alive, it’s a beautiful thing.

And I’m really happy for you.

xoxo