A mum who went away on a girls' trip had no idea it would be life changing - but within six months of coming home, she had lost five stone and left her husband of ten years.
Stephanie Hanson, 41, was in Greece with friends last year when she realised she wasn't happy. On her return, she told her husband that she was leaving him.
It came after the huge realisation on holiday that she didn't miss him. Six-months-later, Stephanie had lost five stone and met a new partner.
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Now, the mum-of-four says "she couldn't be happier". Stephanie, from Liverpool, told the ECHO: "I remember thinking while I was away about how I really missed the kids, but I didn't miss my husband.
"I was in the worst shape of my life, and it dawned on me, at home, I was miserable - so I did something about it."
Stephanie enjoyed a ten day trip to Kefalonia with two friends in May 2022, to celebrate her 40th birthday. She said she had a wonderful time away from the stresses and strains of everyday life - but as the holiday went on, she had a sudden realisation.
While relaxing by the pool, chatting with her friends, Stephanie came to the conclusion she no longer loved her husband. So, she made the difficult decision to end her ten-year marriage the day she returned home.
Stephanie said: "I was having the best time with the girls, and the thought of going back home to my husband was awful. I had a moment of clarity at the hotel that I I'd been miserable in my marriage for as long as I could remember.
"So when I flew back, I ended it there and then - and I knew I'd made the right decision when I saw his reaction."
After getting the photos developed from her holiday, Stephanie realised she was unhappy with another aspect of her life. She weighed 17 stone, and decided her new era as a single woman was the perfect time to change her appearance.
Stephanie began exercising at home using a hula hoop and drastically changed her diet. She swapped chocolate, take away meals and cream and butter based dishes for lean meat, fish, salad and soup.
After a few months, she incorporated running into her fitness regime, and slowly but surely, she started to shed the weight she'd been carrying for a decade. She met her now boyfriend, David Baldwin, 43, in July and introduced him to her children, Stephanie says she "can't wait" for the future.
Stephanie, who works as a phlebotomist, said: "After leaving my ex-husband, the next thing I needed to do was lose weight. The photos from the holiday made me see what horrible shape I was in, so I started working out at home and changed my diet.
"It was hard at first, but the motivation of being freshly single carried me through. In July, I met David on Facebook's dating website and we hit it off straight away.
"I met him around halfway through my fitness journey, but he didn't care about that, he loved me as I was. I now weigh 12 stone, but I'm quite tall, so I think if I lose one more stone, that will be perfect.
"If I hadn't of gone on that holiday, I'd still be stuck in a marriage with a man I no longer loved, so to be where I am now, I couldn't be happier."
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