Abby Gilmore opens up about separation from Western Bulldogs forward Jake Stringer
FOOTY WAG Abby Gilmore has opened up about her separation from Western Bulldogs’ Jake Stringer in the hope of helping other women struggling through relationship breakdowns.
Confidential
Don't miss out on the headlines from Confidential. Followed categories will be added to My News.
FOOTY WAG Abby Gilmore has opened up about her separation from Western Bulldogs forward Jake Stringer in the hope of helping other women struggling through relationship breakdowns, single parenthood and post-natal depression.
The 23-year-old mother to daughters Milla, 2, and Arlo, 9 months, has never shied from openly expressing her thoughts and feelings to her 50,000 plus followers on social media, but managed to keep their separation secret for six months while they continued to live under the same roof.
Dating since they were 13, the couple broke up when Arlo was just three weeks old. Stringer, 22, finally moved out in December.
“I’m in complete shock, I’m a single mum. I’m 23-years-old with two kids, that’s shocking to me. I still can’t believe it some days myself, but it’s just how it is,” Ms Gilmore says.
“No one ever plans to have kids and then to separate but what we want to plan on doing is to make it as friendly as possible. I don’t want the girls growing up thinking mum and dad hate each other.
“As much as we fought to stay together, it just wasn’t going to work for us, and that’s OK. What’s best for our girls is to see us happy together which involves not being together constantly. We needed to separate, we come together now and we’re happy.”
Ms Gilmore says she suffered from post-natal depression after the birth of Arlo and feels sharing her ongoing battle openly with other women is having a positive impact on her and them.
“With the post-natal, the fact that I recognised it and I am getting help for it, that’s a powerful message in itself,” she says.
Her heartfelt, emotional, random and humorous daily musings, which included live Snapchatting Arlo’s birth, have resonated with a rapidly increasing audience.
“I don’t want to waste time being sad and miserable and dwelling on things, I want to move on, share my story and how I’m recovering and coping, people find it helpful,” she says.
“It’s not much effort for me to share, there are times when I’m having a melt down and I think stuff it, ‘No, I’m going to share it’, because that’s where people connect with you the best.”
Ms Gilmore says she has taken comfort from the outpouring of support from her loyal followers, which has inspired her to start a blog as a platform to expand on her daily personal posts.
“I’m obviously absolutely heartbroken and so sad that this is how it is, but we will still support Jake and he’s got the biggest support in his two girls,” she says.
“Sometimes you can’t get past that hurt, but I guess I am just good at forgiving and moving on. At the end of the day I’ll be the one sitting here miserable and I have to get up every day for these girls and I can’t afford to do that.”
“People who get angry at their partners and shut them off, you’re actually hurting your kids more. That’s where sometimes you have to put your wants and your needs to the back and look after the kids, as a mum I suppose that’s what you’re always doing, and this is just another thing you sit back and put your kids first for.”
Despite being separated at the time, Ms Gilmore still shared in the Western Bulldogs Grand Final triumph with Stringer.
“It was hard but I was still incredibly proud. I helped Jake to get to live that dream and it was our dream together and I feel really fulfilled he’s got to come out of that with a medal and memories for ever, they’re our memories,” she says.
And while she enjoyed the rare glamour moments of being a footy WAG, Ms Gilmore says she genuinely won’t miss it.
“Those kinds of things weren’t what drove me. I’m trying to make my own positive impact on women and the world. Just because I was in that light I don’t think because I’m no longer Jake’s partner my life is doomed,” she says,
“I don’t think I’ll miss the stuff that comes with that, I’ve got my own life and goals and vision.”
Kidspot: Mummy blogger Abby Gilmore reveals it was never the plan to go it alone
‘I wouldn’t even s*** that’: What you missed on Wentworth
Wentworth does WikiLeaks in the third episode of the new season, as the Foxtel drama welcomes a new face. And there’s drama for Reb and Lou. Warning: Spoilers.
Cocaine Cassie trades nude snaps for cash
Convicted South Australian drug smuggler “Cocaine Cassie” is swapping nude photos with men in Australia for cash while serving out the remainder of her sentence on parole in Colombia.