Grief, Alcoholism & Building a Dating Empire with Nicky Wake l EP45

In this episode of The Midlife Awakening, I sit down with Nicky Wake — widow, recovering alcoholic, serial entrepreneur, and solo parent — for one of the most raw and powerful conversations we've had on the show.In 2017, Nicky's husband Andy suffered a heart attack that left him with a catastrophic brain injury. For three years she lived in a devastating limbo, running a multi-million-pound events business and solo-parenting their son while grieving a husband who was still alive. When Andy passed away during COVID lockdown in 2020, the grief she'd suppressed came crashing down — and she became a highly functioning alcoholic, drinking up to three bottles of wine a day while never missing a day of work.Nicky opens up about:Anticipatory grief and the "limbo" of loving someone who's gone but not goneBecoming a high-functioning alcoholic while running a successful businessThe rock-bottom moment that led her to choose rehabRebuilding her life through sobriety and launching Chapter2Dating, Widow's Fire, and SoberLoveEmbracing her bisexuality after years of assumed heterosexualityEthical non-monogamy and finding an unexpected second chapter of loveWhy community and peer support were essential to her healingThis is a conversation about grief, addiction recovery, midlife reinvention, and turning pain into purpose.Connect with Nicky Wake: Website: nickywake.com Apps: chapter2dating.app | widowsfire.dating | soberlove.app Community: thewidowedcollective.comIf this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and share The Midlife Awakening with someone who needs to hear it.Send us Fan MailSupport the showRate the Show : RateThisPodcast.com/midlifeFacebook Community : https://www.facebook.com/groups/1717887919057641/Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/the.midlife.awakening/Substack : https://themidlifeawakening.substack.com/The Awakened Community - https://themidlifeawakening.substack.com/subscribeTo submit your story to be featured on...