Colin Balfe

Colin Balfe is the Founder and Chief Content Officer of Love What Matters. Colin was inspired to start Love What Matters after his mother passed from Ovarian cancer. Through his grieving process, he saw the need to connect a like minded community around a deeply personal storytelling platform. He's proudest of the communities within LWM, strangers united by powerful and impactful experiences, underserved people connecting around mutual challenges, hopes and dreams. These communities include Adoption, Mental Health, Infertility, Addiction, Grief, Special Needs Parenting, LGBTQ+ and many more.

‘We almost lost her. Her feet were the size of Starbursts, and hands the size of Goldfish crackers. She was so tiny, but man was she feisty. Our girl was fearless.’

“I was lying in bed watching TV. I got up to go to the bathroom and I felt a huge gush of water. I was 22 weeks pregnant. Bryan wasn’t home, so I called my mom and she came over to drive me to the hospital, thinking I was just overreacting. A few hours later, the doctor confirmed it.”

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‘He had a stranger over at my house where my kids sleep. My entire 10-year marriage was a lie.’: Woman credits husband’s infidelity with life- changing weight loss

“In one night, I found out I weighed over 400 pounds. I also found out I was pregnant and losing a baby in one breath. That moment was a severe wake-up call I needed to change my life. I didn’t realize how much my husband’s infidelity had affected me until I stepped on that scale. I left him without a car and without a plan.”

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‘A co-worker came up to me. ‘Half your face looks a little strange.’ I tried to respond, but couldn’t move my mouth to speak. My first thought was, ‘Am I having a stroke?’: Woman shares trigeminal neuralgia diagnosis journey

“I rushed to the hospital. The pain was so bad I literally thought, ‘There’s no possible way I am going to survive this. A human being can’t survive this much pain.’ I was prescribed a copious amount of medication. When would I stop needing it? Never. I thought I would never get a chance to be a mom, but I didn’t want to give up my dream.”

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‘If I was so miserable, I should leave.’ Eventually, I did. Our marriage looked perfect on social media. We always believed in keeping our issues private.’

“Our wedding day was intimate. But behind the façade were underlying issues that left a bad taste in my mouth. I was put on the back burner. I was failing him because he was expecting me to prepare a home-cooked meal every day while also juggling maintaining a home and breastfeeding our son.”

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‘If you were to die today, what would happen to your girls?’ I was in a crumbling marriage to an unfaithful spouse, a stressful job and had just been recently diagnosed. My world was ending.’

“I started having severe chest pains. My soon to be ex-husband was determined to make my life a living nightmare. He stopped getting the girls from school, was coming and going from the house at all hours of the night. He treated our home like a roadside motel.”

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‘My father would dress up for dates with other women as my mother cried, ‘Please stay. I’ll forgive you!’ He’d disappear weeks at a time.’: Woman claims ‘the cycle of abuse can end with you’

“His secret life became an open book. My mother would wake me at 3:00 a.m. on school nights to sneak my father’s phone from the bedroom. I’d translate endless emails he wrote to various women. He was unfaithful. She’d collapse at my knees and sob. One day, I walked into the office. I opened the filing cabinet and flipped to the very back. There, I uncovered a large yellow folder. My innocence was ripped away.”

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‘My stepdad always told me I was bad luck. I never fit into his picture-perfect family. To avoid fights, I’d lose myself in a book or math problem. School was my safe-haven.’: Woman determines what the ‘American Dream’ means for her family

“I didn’t care what school I went to as long as I could get away from home. I later dropped out of high school and started working the night shift at a restaurant. Weeks later, my school counselor called. ‘If I work something out with you, would you agree to come back?’ It was my second chance at life.”

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‘I got pregnant on my 21st birthday. I was a sophomore in college and my family was 400 miles away. I had to create an exit plan. Things took a turn for the worst.’

“I moved in with family members I didn’t have contact with growing up. It was the the beginning of a harsh series of months. I remember one person telling me, ‘The reason this is happening to you is because you’re always chasing money.’ I knew there had to be something better coming.”

Published by Colin Balfe -
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