‘WE’RE PROOF THAT IT CAN WORK’
Recruitment speaker and facilitator and author of
The Robot-Proof Recruiter, Katrina Collier, 48, lives with her ex-husband, fitness trainer Richard, 52, in south London. She says, “I met Richard at a friend’s wedding in 2000, and in 2003 we got married ourselves. We were incredibly happy at first, but gradually we grew apart. I asked for a divorce on Christmas Day in 2011, and I moved out the following month into a rental flat. We didn’t have children, but we did have a Labrador called Lance, who we both absolutely worshipped. We shared custody of him, so we’d see each other regularly and we were always civil to each other. Then, in March 2013, I was setting up my own business and struggling with rent. Richard was still living in our twobedroom flat but struggled to afford to live alone financially.
He’d tried having flatmates but it hadn’t worked. When he suggested me moving back in as friends, I was stunned at first, but then realised it was the answer to our money problems – plus it meant I got to live with Lance full-time again. Some friends and family thought we were mad, but it worked. Six years later, we’re still living together – even though financially we could live apart now. It works well for us. We have very firm boundaries – if we go out on a date, we don’t bring them home. And we give each other our own space, too, which is so important. We get on better now than we did towards the end of our marriage. But we won’t get back together – we’re better as friends. We obviously have our own bedrooms, and our own living areas, too. We share the kitchen but buy our own food. We’re proof that it can work. We’ve managed to stay civil for the sake of our dog – I can’t understand why others can’t for their children.”