Sarah was happily married for 16 years. Then her husband turned into a monster.
From the moment a marriage went bad to a glorious mid-life reinvention by Christine Anu and what on earth is going on with Witchery? Welcome to your weekly dose of MID-spo.
When Sarah* first met Andy*, she immediately put him in the friend zone. It wasn’t the same for him though. He was keen and ensured they spent as much time together as possible, frequently catching up on their lunch breaks.
"By the time I realised I had feelings for him he had friend-zoned me, so it all became a little awkward until a night out in a pub and a pash on the dance floor. Our relationship moved along at a very fast pace after this."
In the beginning, the relationship was great. They were both career focused, hard-workers, they enjoyed an active social life and a shared love of travel.
"After we wed in 2005, we waited a few years until having children. I didn't want to be pregnant before I reached age 30. Once we decided on a baby though, they came along very quickly - three babies in 3.5 years."
Life became very hectic very quickly, and although they both adored their kids and their lives, cracks began to appear.
"I was either at home with the children or working part time. The full weight of the mental and physical load of raising the kids and running our household sat with me.
"He would be up and gone before the kids and I even woke in the morning and he would rarely be home before the kids were all bathed, fed, and put to bed for the night."
Over time, Sarah decided to get her life back. She had bariatric surgery, and was feeling the best she’d felt in a long time. "I felt like the old me was back, confident and loving life."
It was after a night celebrating a friend’s 40th birthday that things changed irreparably. "We were both drinking, it was a great party, and it certainly felt nice for me especially to be out and about. When we arrived home from the party, neither of us were especially drunk."
They began having consensual sex, changing positions. "He was making actions to indicate that he wanted to have…. continue reading
Christine Anu was foreced to rebuild herself, mid-life
By MID, you've woven a big, beautiful, messy life. Some of it joyful, some of it devastating, some of it entirely unexpected.
The iconic Australian musician Christine Anu has woven plenty of stories about all these things. In this very frank conversation with Mid host, Holly Wainwright, she talks about rebuilding herself, her life, her relationship with her kids and her career after a divorce knocked her off her feet.
Now, about to release her new album, Christine is reckoning with how all the parts of her past have brought her to a place where she's making the music of her life, free of the expectations of an industry that can be unkind to grown-up women.
THE SCROLL
Some goodness to feed your mind, your heart and your group chats
5 Warning Signs A Marriage Is Heading Off The Rails, By A Divorce Lawyer
Katie Holmes has never been able to say what happened to her. But we're starting to find out.
HOLLY WAINWRIGHT: 'When your children are no longer children.'
29-year-old Zoraya was physically healthy. Doctors helped her end her life.
'I'm a cosmetic doctor and no one is getting filler anymore. Here's what's replacing it.'
7 items you’ll never regret buying - by a stylist
MID-SPO STYLE: Is Witchery still for us?
The Witchery brand has long been known for modern fashion aimed at working, grown-up women. If you’re over 35, you’ve probably got a Witchery piece somewhere in your wardrobe but this week, the brand has found themselves in a total PR crisis when the launch of their new ‘Bold Awakening’ collection went horribly wrong.
This rebrand, led by a new creative director, is targeting women who want to feel "forever 30."
The sense of betrayal felt by some customers about the new look has played out on social media where many women objected to the decision to phase out size 20 from the range and seemingly pursue a younger look - a bubble skirt has been the object of particular horror presumably from those of us who went there the first time back in the 80s and don’t want to go there again. But what about the clothes behind all the hype? Decide for yourself and let us know what you think in the comments below.
This was such an uplifting newsletter ( is that what it is?)
Do other middle aged women really want to spend their time reading stuff like this?
None of this edition was worth a read.
As a size 18 woman I don’t remember witchery even having size 20 clothes they had a very limited range for size 18. - so I think that was just an advert that they either paid you for or didn’t pay you for.
The rest, no I don’t want to read about husbands assaulting their wives and then becoming drug addicts. Seriously, I don’t.
Again you’ve reminded me that no matter how I try to read mamma Mia, I just can’t.
Witchery. What a debacle. Alienating your old loyal customers base and insulting the desired one, all in one launch. Magic stuff.
Re the fashion. Some nice cuts and fabric compositions. Colour palette not so much. Pricing is high for a chain store targeting 30! $400 for a trench…. Not sure how it will all work out for Witchery.