UK's Most Entrepreneurial Widow Turns Her Attention To Sober Dating Following Her Own Challenges With Alcohol
After launching her groundbreaking widow dating service worldwide, dating entrepreneur Nicky Wake is calling on her experience to help sober singles in the UK and USA find that special someone.
AN entrepreneur that set up the world’s first dating service specifically for widows has called on her personal experience with alcohol to launch a brand-new dating app for the sober and sober curious.
Sober Dating is an all-new service that is launching on the most romantic day of the year - 14 February - in the UK and USA, and will offer a safe space for those that chose not to or cannot drink alcohol who want to find like minded singles.
Sobriety is surprisingly becoming the dominant drinking trend of the 2020s, with the younger generations leading the way toward an alcohol-free future. One in four 18-24 year olds is completely teetotal, sobriety levels that are almost double that of their parents' generation.
Binge drinking is also at its lowest level since the first time it was measured, according to charity DrinkAware, and 2024 saw a record low in the number of adults that drank to excess at least once a week, with just 11% saying they regularly went out on a binge.
Nicky has an intimate knowledge of the impact that alcohol can have. The event that inspired her to set up her first dating service, Chapter Two, was the loss of her husband Andy. Andy, who passed away during the Covid pandemic in 2020, left Nicky and their 12-year-old son in what she describes as a ‘black hole of grief’.
This tragic loss also had another heartbreaking effect, as the stress of Andy’s death also plunged her into a 4 year long battle with alcoholism.
“In the wake of the loss of Andy, I almost lost myself,” said Nicky. “It was a terribly stressful time with the death of my husband, the realisation that I was now a single parent and the huge impact that Covid had on the country and my businesses that I was running at the time.
“Drinking and alcohol became a coping strategy for me. It gave me a way to relive the stress, allowing me to have downtime where I didn’t obsess over the struggles that I was going through.”
Nicky’s alcoholism continued to spiral until it reached its peak in 2024. Following a four year battle to manage her addiction, she decided to seek professional help and checked herself into Altrincham’s branch of Priory, one of the UK’s top rehabilitation centres, in order to tackle her problems once and for all.
“Entering rehabilitation was a huge step for me,” continued Nicky, “and one that has made an immense impact on my life. It gave me the strength to tackle my addiction and realise that I could beat alcoholism with the right help.”
While she was there, Nicky spent her time tackling one of her biggest fears about her imminent sobriety; the challenge of dating whilst sober.
“Ever since the loss of my husband, I’ve always been terrified of the idea of sober dating. I couldn’t face the idea of talking to someone for the first time without having a glass of wine to calm my nerves and help me approach the date without taking in any of my past trauma.
“If the idea of a sober date was scary, the thought of sober sex was downright frightening. With the loss of Andy, I have such a complex relationship with love and attraction, and for years the only way that I could manage it effectively was through drinking and alcohol.
“Being at the Priory and realising the importance of my sober journey also helped me see how real the difficulties of being sober in a drink-and-date world are. It’s exceptionally tough for anyone who has struggled with their sobriety to even go for a date in a bar, let alone spend their time with someone that is drinking.
“So I decided to create a solution. I wanted to pull out the ideas that worked so successfully for Chapter Two, specifically how it was more than just a dating service but a true support system and community, because it has such direct parallels with the sobriety journey.
“Whether you’ve suffered a loss or you’re dealing with alcoholism, the most important thing you need is support from people that know what you’re going through. Sober Dating will be a place that you don’t just go to find the one, but to find the ones that will help you through the tough times too.
“For me, it’s the route into dating that I know that I need. A place that I can come to for love & friendship, for the hard times and the good ones, and it’s something that I know will resonate with anyone who is worrying about what their love life will look like once they’re on the sober journey.
“I wanted it to be a community that is accessible to anyone, no matter where they are in their sober journey. If you’re just starting out, or you’ve been sober for years, it will be open to you, and by bringing people together in the real world through our events and in person meetings as well, we’re creating a space that builds long-term friendships, long-term relationships and helps people to tackle sober dating without judgement or worry.”
SoberDating.com will launch on 14th February 2025, with pre-registration now open.
Anyone that signs up to the service before the launch date will enjoy 8 weeks of premium benefits, including unlimited messaging with potential matches, access to profile views, priority access to exclusive sober events, full access to the site’s sober community features and personal profile optimisation.
To find out more information and sign up, visit https://soberdating.app/.
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