Feb 10, 2022
On a special two-part episode from “across the pond”, Hilary’s close friends Annie and Kevin Blake join the show to discuss their marriage, co-dependency, and what the disease of addiction did to their relationship. Kevin suffered from alcoholism for many years before and after Annie married. He was a “functioning alcoholic” and things only got worse as the years went by. He would return home intoxicated on a regular basis, spend important money on alcohol, and communication became nearly impossible for them. Annie explains the reason she never suspected Kevin was an alcoholic was because, in her mind, she had a completely different vision of what an alcoholic looked like. While Kevin was suffering from his own disease, Annie was also experiencing her own share of difficulties. She was a co-dependent who couldn’t understand why Kevin was putting her through this and grew more frustrated as she began realizing she couldn’t fix him. Among many other things between the two, Annie began putting laxatives in Kevin’s coffee to keep him at the house and hiding the family money from him, to which Kevin suspected Annie of having an affair. Communication was completely severed eight years into the marriage, and both were convinced it was over. Things took a turn, however, after Kevin’s father expressed concern over his drinking on his deathbed. Today, 41 years into their marriage, Kevin and Annie share insight into how Kevin overcame his addiction and how they were able to mend their relationship to make it last all this time. Kevin truly needed Annie while battling his addiction, but the tables turned, and Annie would desperately need the support of Kevin down the road.
Tune in next week for Part 2 to hear about Annie’s struggle with muscular dystrophy and how the couple overcame one of the darkest periods of their lives.
You can connect with Annie and Kevin at:
Email: imdoublegood@yahoo.co.uk
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