From Spain to Florida: A Journey of Resilience and Renewal

A woman's move from Spain to Florida twenty-one years ago began a journey of profound change. Initially, she uprooted her life to follow her then-husband, leaving behind an established career and family. The move triggered significant personal challenges, including major depressive disorder episodes and marital strife. Following a divorce during the 2008 recession, she faced single motherhood with limited resources. Despite these hardships, she remained in Florida for her children. Nearly a year after separating, she met a new partner who shared her bilingual background and dedication to family. This relationship provided the stability and love she had been seeking, leading to a successful blended family and a perspective that values the difficult path she traveled.

The journey began 21 years ago when the author, then 41, made the difficult decision to move her family from Sevilla to the United States. She traveled with her 3-year-old daughter and 4-month-old baby to follow her husband, who had lost his job and secured a new position in Florida. This decision required leaving behind a penthouse lifestyle, an established writing career, and her support system of family and friends.

She faced conflicting advice regarding the move. Her own family viewed the relocation as a terrible idea, while her husband's family saw it as a significant opportunity. Despite the uncertainty and the fact that her marriage was already shaky, she decided to uproot her children and take the chance after receiving promises of a better life.

Upon boarding the plane to join her husband, who had arrived in the U.S. ahead of them, she experienced mixed emotions. While she felt the excitement of her eldest daughter reuniting with her father, she also harbored a deep fear of the unknown. She constantly questioned whether it was truly possible to repair her marriage and thrive in a foreign country.

The reality of the move proved to be a shock to her system. The transition from walking everywhere in the historic part of Sevilla to being confined in a small apartment in a gated community in suburban Florida was described as brutal. Feeling trapped without her own car in a location where a vehicle was necessary for everything, she began experiencing panic attacks and depressive episodes, exacerbated by a history of major depressive disorder.

Financial and marital struggles compounded these mental health challenges. Just months after arriving, her husband lost the very job they had moved for. Over the next four years, the family moved multiple times within Florida in pursuit of new employment opportunities. While the author found work as a freelancer for newspapers and magazines and wrote books for Spanish publishers, the relationship continued to deteriorate.

Despite attempts to save the marriage through counseling and self-improvement seminars, trust and admiration had been completely lost. The onset of the 2008 Great Recession was the final blow, leaving them with no money, savings, or jobs. This led to the end of their marriage.

The separation left the author as a single mother with very little. She departed the marriage with only her laptop, her books, and joint custody of her children. She carried the heavy regret of having moved so far away from her family and friends, only for the marriage to fail. Despite the desire to return to Spain, she chose to remain in Florida to ensure her children did not live far from their father.

Life became a struggle for survival. From one day to the next, she found herself relying on food stamps to feed her family. This period represented one of the lowest points of her life, as she tried to navigate single parenthood and financial instability in a foreign country without her original support network.

However, hope emerged nearly a year after the separation. She met the love of her life 16 years ago. The connection was immediate, built on shared similarities: they were both newly single, bilingual, bicultural, and writers dedicated to creating a better life for their children. Neither had given up on love despite the hardships they had endured.

The new relationship blossomed slowly and deliberately. For nearly two years, the couple maintained a long-distance relationship, driving two hours to see one another on weekends and holidays. They navigated the complexities of dating as parents, sometimes meeting with their children and other times meeting alone when the kids were with their former spouses. They supported each other's personal and professional rebuilding efforts, forming a strong team.

Eventually, the author moved again for love, but this time, she had no regrets. Four years after they met, they married in a sunset ceremony on the beach, surrounded by their children and close family. Their union created a blended family that has endured through both high points and rough times.

Today, all their children are in their 20s. Looking back over the past 21 years, the author acknowledges that while she regrets the initial move with her ex-husband, that path was necessary to find her true love. She ultimately built the stable and dependable family she always wanted.