Life after separation: One woman’s proof you can thrive after divorce

Tiffany De Sousa Machado is proof that you can thrive after divorce. Despite her marriage taking a turn for the worst, she finally got her happy ending.

• Expert advice on a successful separation
• How to tell your children you’re separating

While divorce continues to rank as one of life’s most stressful events, there’s light at the end of the tunnel with 3 out of 4 couples reporting average to high levels of life satisfaction after the end of their marriage.

Tiffany De Sousa Machado is proof you can thrive after divorce.

“I was with my ex-husband, Craig, for 14 years before we separated. Things started to go downhill after the birth of our daughter, Faith, now eight. I experienced postnatal depression, had no family support and put a lot of pressure on him to be everything. He was dealing with his own issues at the time and, although we tried counselling for nine months, we eventually realised our relationship was over.

Tiffany De Sousa Machado with her children Faith and Rumi.

From the beginning, I was adamant we would have an amicable split. I didn’t want our separation to affect Faith’s relationship with her dad. I have always spoken highly of him and allowed him to see her whenever he wanted. When things got tough, I’d remind myself of happier times. It’s easy to blame the other person in a separation, but I think it’s more effective to try to see things from their perspective.

Follow this checklist to help you deal with separation.

Now, almost six years later, we’ve both found love again and I have a great relationship with Craig and his partner, Michele. My partner James and I have a one-year-old baby girl, Rumi, and Craig is her favourite person aside from me and her dad! We share everything from Christmas and birthdays to school concerts. It took us time to get to this point, but I chose to see our separation as a chance for growth.

For more information, go to westpac.com.au/help/lifemoments/separation-divorce/

For more practical advice on how to stay in control of your financial and domestic affairs after separation, check out Westpac’s Separation Hub.

Because of the isolation I felt in the early stages of our break-up, I was motivated to create a platform that enabled parents to connect with and learn from one other, so I launched the Village Foundation App.

It’s important to have as much support as possible when you’re going through a separation and that’s exactly what we aim to provide.”

Originally published as Life after separation: One woman’s proof you can thrive after divorce