A 'miserable' mum got more than she bargained for when she took a girls' trip to Greece to celebrate her 40th birthday.
Stephanie Hanson left the country married to her husband of 10 years, but by the time she returned, she was ready to tear up her old life and start afresh.
Now 41, the mum of four from Liverpool said that it was on the 10-day trip to Kefalonia in May 2022 that she made an earth-shattering discovery about her feelings for her husband.
While she and her two friends had a wonderful time away from the stresses and strains of everyday life, as the holiday went on, she had a sudden realisation.
She missed her kids intensely, but the same could not be said for her husband, who she had no thoughts of at all.
Added to that, she also realised just how unhappy she was in herself. Weighing 17st and in the 'worst shape of her life', Stephanie said she was determined to get healthy and begin a new chapter.
And as soon as she arrived back in the UK, she told her husband their marriage was over.
Stephanie said: "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."
It was while relaxing by the pool and chatting with her friends that Stephanie came to the conclusion she no longer loved her husband.
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 decided that her new era as a single woman was the perfect time to change her appearance.
She 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.
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."
Now Stephanie has a new lease of life, has lost five stone in weight, and has even met a new man, 43-year-old David Baldwin.
And, after meeting David in July and introducing him to her kids, Stephanie says she "can't wait" for the future.
"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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