Lauren had left her husband – he didn’t take it well.
So he went in hard with lawyers, social services and massive pressure on Lauren to make out she was a bad mother.
But she’s a great mum with a professional job and lots of responsibility, so it was going ok for Lauren until she moved to a new place
She bought some pictures to brighten it up. She didn’t think about the images, just the colours.
Then he claimed she was a drinker – this was new. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
He suggested she wasn’t fit to look after the children. He said she was an alcoholic… And social services believed him.
But she wasn’t a drinker, there wasn’t any booze in the house.
Recently she’d fancied a glass of wine before bed, but never had one.
Her friends knew she rarely drank, even when the kids were with their Dad. No one had ever seen her drunk.
He sent in the police, claiming she was drunk in charge of the kids – she was sober…
But social services still believed him, despite all the evidence to the contrary.
The court awarded temporary custody to the man.
She was devastated, so were the kids.
She called me in. We looked at the art she had chosen, especially the huge painting of wine bottles on the stairs.
She took it down and put it outside the front door. Someone pinched it…
She went back to court. The man’s allegations fell apart. The judge called him a liar.
The kids came home. What a relief. Normality was restored and they are happy.
Look at the art in your home – is it mirroring your life too?
Suzanne Roynon is an Interiors Therapist and Author of ‘Welcome Home, How Stuff Makes or Breaks your Relationship’.