ROCK BOTTOM AGAIN … AND AGAIN … AND AGAIN
Born in Leeds, England, Ms Bailey said she had a normal British childhood as the eldest child of three.
But as she entered her teen years, her parents’ marriage began falling apart – a slow disintegration that began affecting her mental health. It culminated in what she called her first “rock-bottom” moment when she was in university.
“My parents’ divorce was extremely bitter. As the eldest daughter, I was listening to both, trying to make them feel better but just absorbing all that negative energy,” she said.
Feeling overwhelmed, she saw the university doctor who put her on medication. But being medicated didn’t make her feel better, so she eventually weaned herself off it.
During this time, Ms Bailey was working part-time at a golf course – which was also where she met her now-husband, Steve, now 45, who was then a professional golf coach.
They were dating for about two months when he got a job offer in South Korea. They continued their courtship long-distance and in 2009, about a year and a half later, once she was done with her studies, she moved to join him in South Korea. They got married and began their new life, far from home.
Then in 2013, another work move came for her husband – this time to Jakarta, Indonesia. Ms Bailey did not know it then, but this posting would be rock bottom number two for her.
