SINGLE MUM SUCCESS

Being a solo parent isn’t easy but these mums were determined to make their kids proud

- FRANCES LEATE. LOUISE TEMLETT

I went on a mission to change things'

Louise Temlett, 47, lives in Bath with her two children, Ben, 12, and Isabel, six.

Whenever I think back to the lonely, isolated and scared person I was in November 2017, I feel a little sad but also proud of how far I’ve come. Following a traumatic break-up, I was forced to move miles away from my home and I didn’t have a secure place to live for months, staying with friends until finally I found a place to rent.

With my son Ben, then six, and my five-month-old daughter Isabel to care for, I went into survival mode, doing everything I could to keep a pretence of normality going for their sake. I worked at night at my freelance IT job, which I did from home while they slept, and after finding Ben a school place I dragged myself along to mum and baby groups in the hope of finding other mums to connect with.

HIDING THE FEAR

I’d lost my mum to MS in October 2014 and my brother lived abroad, so without family and away from my old friends, I was desperate to find a new community of like-minded people. I was terrified of navigating life as a single mum, and some days getting out and about, a smile plastered on my face, felt really hard. But in time I did start to make new friends, and in November 2022, one of them told me his local Brazilian jiu-jitsu centre was offering free classes throughout the month for adults and children. I was keen to try something new, plus we could take part as a family.

NO LONGER ALONE