A woman left her 'dream' husband, house and career behind when she realised she was gay at 35 - and now travels the world and living out of a suitcase. Lauren Burgess, 37, thought she had the perfect life until she broke out in chronic hives, due to stress, and started having therapy which led her to realise she was a lesbian.
She had 'experimented' with women in her college years but thought it was 'just a bit of fun'. After seeing people on social media embracing different labels, she began to work out her sexuality.
In February 2021 she took the plunge and left her husband, Matt, 40, after four years of marriage to travel the West coast of America in a van with her dog, Ted, a Goldendoodle. Now she has expanded her travels to Europe exploring cities like Lisbon, London, Paris and Amsterdam - whilst embracing her sexuality.
Lauren, a business coach, from Joshua Tree, California, US, said: “I was living a life that I was told would make me happy. I had the dream husband, house, dog and career but I started to realise something wasn’t right.
“I saw people on social media talking openly about their sexuality and something started to twig. I wanted to travel and work, and my husband wasn’t so keen.
“I went travelling in my van for a couple of weeks and it all clicked - I realised I was gay. I had experimented with women in college but didn't think anything of it. It was just a bit of fun back then.
“Telling Matt was really hard but he was supportive. Now I’m living my dream life travelling the world.”
Lauren had thought she was genuinely happy in her life until she came down with chronic hives in April 2018.
“I would go to bed every night grateful and content,” she said. “I had a home and a job I was passionate about, but I worked very long hours which caused me to come in hives.
“I was in and out of hospital until my therapist told me I needed to drop something to get better.”
When covid hit in March 2020 Lauren found herself becoming depressed. “I could hardly get out of bed,” she said.
“Matt and I started having marriage therapy and we discussed travelling.
“But all of a sudden he changed his mind and had the confidence to tell me that it wasn’t what he wanted.”
Lauren decided that it was something she still wanted to pursue, and she bought a van on Craigslist to travel 'for a couple of weeks'.
“I went on the trip for a couple of weeks, and it was amazing,” she said. “I’d been seeing a lot of people of social media taking about their sexuality and I began to realise that I might be bisexual.
“But on the trip it all clicked and I realised I was definitely gay. It all made sense.
“I knew I had to go back to my husband and talk about getting a divorce.”
Lauren separated from Matt in February 2021 and took her belongings and went travelling along the West Coast of America ending up in Joshua Tree, California, US. “It was so hard, but he was supportive and understanding,” she said.
“It felt very selfish, and I had a lot to grieve. I had my dog Ted with me, and he takes up the whole bed.”
Lauren bought a house in California, US, in January 2022 and let it out during weekends.
In June 2022 she took the plunge to travel to Europe, leaving Ted with Matt. "It’s been amazing to explore Europe,” she said.
“I’ve been to loads of cities like Copenhagen, Amsterdam and now I am in Lisbon. Matt is an amazing person and I still have a lot of care there for him.
“It’s been really hard, but I had to follow my dreams. I thought I was living the life of my dreams before but now I really am.”
