Gabrielle Stone thought she found love and happiness but then had her heart broken – twice. But that made her into the great American woman she is today.
When couples get married, it’s a joyous celebration for them and their entire family. Every newly married couple believes things are going to stay perfect forever.
And things usually do, at least for a while. And Gabrielle’s marriage was no different.
“I was married for almost two years, and I found out my husband was having an affair with a 19-year-old for six months. At the time, it felt like it had been a blessing like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders,” Gabrielle said.
She continued, “It was like, ‘this is going to be my second chance at a do-over’. He made it very easy for me to wipe my hands clean, walk away, and choose me. And I was and still am very grateful for that.”
After that experience, Gabrielle was determined to stay single for the rest of her life.
Easier said than done.
“I met a man, and we fell madly in love with each other. He invited me on a month-long trip to Italy with him,” Gabrielle said.
After she was given the details, she realized the trip dates coincided with memorable moments from her past. She took that as a sign that it was meant to be and made all the arrangements for the European trip.
Not So Fast
But fate had other plans.
“48 hours before we were getting on the plane, he told me he needed to go by himself and broke up with me. I was absolutely devastated. This man broke my heart like my ex-husband never could have done,” Gabrielle said.
Gabrielle then had some time to herself, and after some personal reflection, she chose to do something unique.
“I was like, I can either stay at home heartbroken, or I can go take a month-long European trip by myself. I took my backpack and did six countries over the span of a month. And on that trip, I wrote the book Eat Pray FML,” Gabrielle said.
She spent time every day of the trip writing the book and putting her relationship experiences on paper. The writing experience had a positive impact on her.
“It became therapeutic for me to feel the emotions and then actually physically write it out onto a piece of paper. It became my form of therapy that now has become everyone else’s therapy,” Gabrielle said.
Gabrielle freely admits that she fears abandonment issues that are likely due to losing her father to a heart attack when she was only six years old. She then tragically lost her high school boyfriend years later.
“All the men in my life that were these prominent first loves were being taken away in this very traumatic way,” she said.
She now believes that she is drawn to men who will be a part of her life but will then abandon her. But her solo trip gave her a renewed sense of purpose.
“The biggest lesson I learned from the trip was because of the solo travel and that I was never truly abandoned because I will never abandon myself,” Gabrielle said.
Her Next Bestseller
Two years after her first book was published, she wrote a second book, which was even more of a challenge than the first one.
“Writing the second book was a lot more difficult for me because when I wrote it, I was in a very happy, healthy relationship. I had to go back to a time when we weren’t necessarily happy and healthy, and it was difficult for me. I had to write about things I wasn’t necessarily proud of,” she said. “The core of the books is healing from heartbreak and grief, and that’s universal.”
She understood that the only way to connect with her readers is through raw and real stories, a don’t hold back approach.
And it worked.
Gabrielle’s books Eat, Pray, #FML, and The Ridiculous Misadventures of a Single Girl are best-sellers with millions of copies sold worldwide. She has since expanded to creating the FML Podcast, an extension of her life and experiences that help women everywhere.
“To anyone that’s struggling, fear is in your mind. Don’t ever allow fear to make you feel like you can’t do something,” Gabrielle said.
Great last words.
To learn more about Gabrielle Stone, follow her on Instagram at @gabriellestone and check out her podcast on YouTube. And her books are exclusively available on Amazon.
Who is Trudy Jacobson?
Trudy is an entrepreneur and leader. Her path to success and entrepreneurialism started in the trucking industry decades ago. She encountered numerous obstacles in the male-dominated industry- like discrimination. She was even conned out of a lot of money in a fraudulent scheme. Despite all that, Trudy always fought hard and pushed forward. Once she realized she was capable of anything, she went on to start her own company and excelled. Now she empowers other women to do the same and to learn from her experience. Trudy now highlights their stories for the world to see in the Great American Women Series. Trudy wants women everywhere to know they can achieve their goals.
