Alcohol and Relationships: Jennifer Fairbairns | OYNB 039

Drinking can have a profound effect not just on the person doing the drinking, but on their relationships with others as well. This is true whether one person in the relationship is doing most of the drinking or when both people are drinking.  In today’s episode, Ruari’s wife, Jennifer Fairbairns, joins the podcast to talk about her story, her relationship with alcohol, and her relationship with Ruari. Jennifer talks about her family and growing up in Sweden, her modeling career that began at the age of 16, and what it was like to meet Ruari for the first time in London – at a costume party where he was dressed as Gene Simmons. She describes the beginning of their relationship, which included a lot of clubbing, dancing, and drinking.  “It’s sad to say that it’s normal, but it kind of seems what’s normal, when you have a young couple of a certain age and they party really hard, they always seem to have quite a volatile relationship.”  Jennifer discusses her issues with anxiety and depression, and how those issues were affected and exacerbated by alcohol. She also talks about the effects that drinking – both her own and Ruari’s – had on their marriage during the early years. She describes traveling around the world and going to couples counseling for the first time. She talks about motherhood and how the maternal instinct drove her to begin settling down.  Jennifer also describes a difficult period in their marriage that led her to temporarily leave with their daughter and return to her family’s home in Sweden. She and Ruari eventually reconciled and she returned home, and things were better for awhile, but eventually they began to backslide.  Jennifer talks about the changes that she observed in Ruari when he first decided to try an alcohol-free challenge, including the fact that he began to look younger and seem happier. At that point, Jennifer was pregnant with their second child and also not drinking. When she returned to drinking, she realized that it increased her mental health issues and made her feel worse. She talks about replacing bad habits, like drinking, with good ones, and how she started to get involved with One Year No Beer and get into CrossFit.  Jen talks about her love of fitness, and Jen and Ruari discuss their participation in the Spartan races. She also talks about her plans for the future, which include increasing her involvement with One Year No Beer, focusing on fitness and family, and possibly pursuing a coaching course.  LINKS & RESOURCES:  OYNB Website: https://www.oneyearnobeer.com/  OYNB Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Oneyearnobeer/  OYNB Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/199505820380513/  OYNB Twitter: https://twitter.com/oynbuk/  OYNB Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oneyearnobeer/