This week on the Wake the F*ck Up podcast, Alix sits down with trailblazing entrepreneur and widowhood advocate Nicky Wake for a conversation about loss, resilience, sobriety, and starting over. What unfolds is a story of surviving unthinkable tragedy and radically rebuilding a life with purpose, love, and honesty.

Nicky shares her harrowing personal journey, from the day her husband Andy suffered a catastrophic heart attack, through three years of anticipatory grief, to raising her son solo, navigating stigma, and ultimately becoming a voice for a new kind of widowhood. She opens up about the impossible parenting decisions she had to make, the loneliness of losing someone during COVID lockdowns, and the surprising grief dynamics between men and women.

But this episode is also about power. Nicky rebuilt her life and simultaneously built entire communities. Through Chapter Two Dating, WidowsFire.com, Sober Love, and nonprofit projects like SoberAF.club and The Widow Collective, she’s reimagining how we approach relationships, recovery, and connection after loss.

Now 259 days sober, Nicky describes this chapter as the happiest and healthiest of her life. She’s living proof that after devastation, your next chapter can be better and even more beautiful than your last.

For those of you who are frequent listeners of the Wake the F*ck Up podcast, you’re already familiar with the topics we explore in this episode, such as the emotional complexities of anticipatory grief, parenting in the aftermath of trauma, and society’s misconceptions about death, grief, and widowhood. 

If you’ve ever faced heartbreak, burnout, addiction, or grief—and wondered if there was life on the other side—this conversation is your wake-up call. Nicky shows us how to own your story, take up space in your healing, and create the kind of future you deserve to wake up for.

Resources mentioned in this episode: 

• ChapterTwoDating.com – Dating for widowed individuals

• WidowsFire.com – No-strings-attached connections post-loss

• SoberLoveApp.com – Dating for the sober & sober-curious

• SoberAF.Club – Peer-led alternative to AA

• TheWidowCollective.com – Resources for widows

• Connect with Nicky Wake on LinkedIn 

• Follow @chapter2_dating on Instagram

• Follow @soberlove.app on Instagram

• Follow Wake on Instagram: @thewakewellness

• Follow Alix Long on Instagram: @alixlongwinded

• Download the WAKE app on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store