‘I’d lost count of my one-night stands – now I’ve got a steady boyfriend’

Rebecca Cheng, 20, from Newcastle says, “I was a nightclub dancer, so to make sure I looked glam I’d spend £90 a time getting my hair and make-up done, and I’d always buy new outfits to wear.

“I’d be out six nights a week and would easily drink half a bottle of vodka every night. Sometimes I’d go to a house party and not come home for days. I’d have about three one-night stands a week and lost count of how many men I’d slept with. “When I was little, I was a daddy’s girl, but my behaviour left my relationship with my dad, Jim, strained. We barely spoke. A few years ago, I dropped out of my business studies course and my parents were really disappointed in me. “In the convent, I really missed my friends, and it was torture being without my phone. I found the discipline of their days really hard too, but the nuns encouraged us to open up and it made me realise how much I take my family for granted. Some of the sisters hadn’t seen their families for years and it made me think how lucky I was to have my dad, my mum, Cath, and my brother, Matthew, 17.

“Since leaving the convent, I’ve cut down my partying to once every two weeks and I don’t drink as much. I still work as a dancer, but I’ll usually go straight home after work. I see so much more of my parents, our relationship is so much better and we’ll go for lunch and catch up properly. It’s nice to be close as a family again.

“I’ve got a boyfriend, Cameron, 19, a barman I’ve been seeing for a few months. I’d never have wanted to be in a relationship before, but now I feel so much more settled and don’t need one-night stands any more. I don’t care as much about how I look, either. Since cutting back on partying, I’ve saved so much money and I’m a lot happier. I’d even like to get married and have kids one day. My time in the convent changed me for the better.”