In her 20s Lucy Da Silva was the classic work hard play hard London party girl.
She had a well-paid job with a City insurance company, shared a house with friends, and was attempting to manage an eating disorder plus addictions to drugs and alcohol.
Da Silva, now a country mother-of-two, credits her recovery with two things. A stint in rehab, and a move from the capital to the Hertfordshire countryside where she can immerse herself in nature and get the peace and quiet she needs.
“It has been the best move that I have ever made,” she says. “It has had a massive impact on my mental health.”
Da Silva, now 41, was born and raised in Walthamstow, east London, and her first career was as a professional singer, touring around the UK and Europe. The instability of life on the road allowed her addictions to take hold.
In her early 20s she decided to settle down and base herself full time in London, landing a corporate job involving lots of hard drinking nights out.
By the time she was 30 Da Silva’s health had declined to the extent that she checked herself into rehab, supported by her employers who gave her time off followed by a phased return to work.
She met Alex, 44, who was then working in recruitment, on Tinder in 2016.
By then Da Silva was clean and sober, living in Grange Park, north London, paying around £650pcm for a room in a shared house.
Alex was living in nearby Southgate and he was the one who decided to get out of town, moving to Letchworth, in Hertfordshire. After doing long-distance for a year or two Da Silva joined him in 2018.
By the end of that year they had had their first child, Ruby, now six, later joined by Junior, three. Alex also has two older children from a previous relationship, Brandon, 27, and Madi, 20.
Getting clean and starting a family gave Da Silva new focus. She studied for a master’s degree in psychology, trained as a psychotherapist, and began working in private practice.
Last year she and Alex moved the family to a £3,000pcm barn conversion in a village near Hitchin, Hertfordshire, which sits in the middle of a nature reserve where she can meditate, go for long walks and cycle rides, and immerse herself in the great outdoors.
“It creates a lot of peace, contentment, and calmness,” says Da Silva. “I have to take care of myself in an environment which is slower paced and peaceful.”
Da Silva does miss the convenience of London but it is not as if she is deprived of a city fix. Last year she and Alex set up Silva Wellness (silvawellness.com), offering a range of treatments from breathwork and psychotherapy, to yoga and ketamine lozenge therapy, to help people with treatment-resistant mood disorders.
Alex has quit recruitment and is now a mindset coach and runs breathwork classes and meditation sessions.
“It is a passion project for me,” says Da Silva. “I wanted to create a safe space for people.”
