Heading into early retirement with £100m in your bank sounds like a perfect start to midlife.
Such was the case for Karen Millen OBE after she and her former husband Kevin Stanford sold their fashion empire in her 40s. The windfall was ‘far from the wildest dreams’ of young Karen, who aged 16 walked into college wanting to study painting and decorating and left with a love of fashion design instead.
However the dream scenario rapidly turned into the ‘worst phase’ of her life when she was hit with ‘disaster and downfall’.
Not only did she wave goodbye to her name and the company she had spent decades building up, but she split from her husband of 27 years. “When we initially sold it (the business), I was pretty broken. I was in a bad way emotionally and physically, burnt out and exhausted,” the 65-year-old tells Ateh Jewel on this week’s episode of HELLO!’s Second Act podcast.
“I didn't really enjoy the rewards of it to start with. Getting up the next day, you're like, ‘well, I no longer have a relationship. I no longer have a business, a workplace.’ Apart from my children there was a feeling that I didn't have a purpose anymore. That's a lot of identity gone overnight.”
Then devastatingly a string of badly advised financial investments meant the mother-of-three went from being a multi-millionaire to bankrupt, losing everything almost overnight - including her home for 20 years.
“It was shocking. I beat myself up over it, but you have to learn.”
At 60, Karen needed to go back to work. However her business deal meant she couldn’t use her own name to collaborate. “That was painful,” she says. “I've got so much still I want to do and I feel like I'm being held back.”
New ventures
Instead she is working behind the scenes with her daughter Jordan, 34, on her new business venture. “The good thing is I want to (get back to work) I've got the energy too. And I still feel I've got lots to give. I'm feeling quite excited about it. But I've got to do it in a roundabout way.
“I'm working with my daughter, and also with the Creative Women’s Platform, which empowers women with advice, to build on your confidence and help your businesses.
The new chapter I think is creating again.”
After such a tumultuous time, turning 60 felt a fresh start. “All of that bad stuff is behind me. “This is a new decade, something new to look forward to. I try to take on the positives of getting older, the wisdom and the knowledge that I've now learned.”
Listen to the Second Act podcast, now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Podcasts and Youtube.
