CEO Sam White with her partner Jennie Guay (Image: David Harrison)
Sam White was “appalled” by any form of exercise in her 20s, smoked like a chimney and admitted she felt she “had no purpose”. She was also a size 24 and was dating a bricklayer whom she decided to travel with around 2002; a decision she called a “real turning point”.
During her time in Thailand, the Maldives, Australia, Indonesia and elsewhere, Sam tried new exercises, embraced new foods, and lost four pounds in a year.
And upon her return, Sam fell in love with a friend and had a messy breakup with her boyfriend. Now she and her current partner Jennie Guay are planning a trip to Beverly Hills, California for IVF following the success Jennie and her first wife have had with their two children.
Sam, now 46, also runs a £20million car insurance claims empire and now works from her own office in her converted barn, Manchester Evening News reports.
Recalling her anxiety in her 20s, Sam said: “It was a vicious circle of me seeking solace in junk food; everything that was bad for me and everything that had to do with exercise was appalling.
“I suffered badly from panic attacks, four or five a day, it was full blown panic disorder.
“I ate to quell those feelings.
“But I’ve always had success at work, consistent promotions, it was my only safe place.”
Sam is now CEO of her own successful company (Image: David Harrison)
Sam, whose “dysfunctional alcoholic” mother died of an overdose when Sam was 23, struggled with mental health issues and dropped out of Bolton University before traveling.
“I had this idea in my head that I could sort myself when I travel. I felt like I needed a dramatic change,” said the entrepreneur.
“I gave the team my number and said, ‘You can call me if there’s a problem, I’ll get off.’
“Thailand was a real game changer – there weren’t many fast food places, certainly not on the islands, so I had to try different types of food.
“Then I realized I like things that aren’t wrapped in styrofoam and fried.
“It’s started to change my perspective.
“People thought I had surgery when I came back because I looked like a completely different person.
“It took me a few years to nail this, but I realized there was a direct correlation between exercise and reducing my anxiety and panic attacks.
“When I came back I was 70 percent better because I hadn’t come to terms with my sexuality, it was the final piece of the emotional health puzzle.”
After returning from a trip, Sam became content with her sexuality and came out as gay at age 30.
She added: “I didn’t realize what relationships could be like until I started dating the same sex.
“When I did something about it, it was like, ‘Oh, that’s much better, I should have done that a long time ago.'”
Sam in Thailand at the age of 27 – a turning point in her health (Image: included)
Sam, from Stockport, Greater Manchester, separated from her partner and dated a woman who was previously also straight for several years.
They share two children, Harry, six, and Frankie, eight, who they now have equal custody of.
The birth of their IVF children led the couple to live in Beverly Hills for a few years beginning in 2010.
They initially attended the fertility clinic but were so enthusiastic they stayed and rented a house – at a time when their business had grown significantly, reaching sales of £18million.
It’s the clinic she’ll be returning to this year with her new partner Jennie, whom she met on Tinder after a year of dating after their marriage broke up.
The couple tied the knot just last week as legal marriage is a requirement for the IVF process in California.
There the donors don’t have to be anonymous so the couple can see pictures of the potential donors as baby, child and adult and you can also hear from the candidates through audio interviews.
You can also choose the gender, which is an important factor for the newlyweds.
Sam has two children from her previous marriage (Image: included)
Sam, who says Jennie is very supportive of caring for her children from her previous marriage, said: “Being a blended family obviously has its own challenges and you add in the lesbian parenting component and some people’s heads are spinning.
“But our family is more conventional than you might think. The fact that we are gay parents does not affect our family unit.
“Jennie even wrote a children’s book called ‘Howie Blend’ to address the lack of blended families and diversity representation that currently exists in the children’s market and goes into schools to raise awareness.
“But as far as our children go, our family is conventional to them. They get super excited at the idea of another sibling and often ask when the baby is due.”
The businesswoman, who runs her own home gym, says her panic attacks were completely eradicated once she incorporated exercise into her daily regime.
Sam not only works out for her weight, but also for her mental health, she says.
“It took me a few years to come back [from travelling] to make it something I do consistently,” continued Sam, who eats a healthy, balanced diet.
“It doesn’t have to be big, just something to get the blood pumping through the body.
“It solves so many problems for me.
“When you exercise to lose weight, it’s always short-term. If you focus on sports as a means to an end, jump in and out.
“The real change for me was really focusing on how I was feeling, making a really conscious effort, sitting in that moment after a workout and asking myself how I’m feeling and knowing that I am feel calmer and happier, it just locks that memory in for me.
“I’ve started companies, I’ve had successes and failures, but I find that doing is more important than thinking.
“Walk out the door, put on your sneakers … I’ll put my gym gear out the night before so I can put it on first thing, and I’ll work out first thing in the morning so it’s ready.”
The businesswoman acknowledges that she is in an extremely privileged position to be her own boss who can manage her own time coupled with a great support network including her own PA to help her navigate life as a working mother of two children to master.
She organizes her everyday life in her diary and plans in it what is important to her.
But for those who feel like they don’t have time to exercise, Sam argues that prioritizing just 20 minutes will in turn give you more energy to do the things you love.
“When I have the kids, I will reduce my work meetings,” the CEO said.
“I hire good people, I trust them, I don’t have to be involved in every meeting or decision.
“I have a lot more free time than other people and am deeply aware of how privileged I am to be in the situation I am in now.
“I look at single moms who are struggling, and I totally understand why they might be like, ‘It’s okay with you, you have x, y, z.’ But what excites me is that it’s only 20 minutes of exercise, even if you get up just 20 minutes early, I guarantee it will make a massive difference in your life.
“For many people it seems like too much with everything they have in life, but it gives you time, energy and peace; it really is priceless.”
