It’s been a long time between posts, and the truth is, it’s been a busy time. Late last year, Dave and I committed to building something we care about deeply, and we’re now almost ready to share it with you.
Many of you know our story from our memoir, Beyond Betrayal: 28 Years, Lies, Deceit, Infidelity, so you already know what brought us here. Before discovery, I was happy and content in my professional hairdressing career. I never intended to become an author or a Betrayal Trauma Specialist, and I certainly didn’t set out to build an app.
I only set out to survive.
Why we built it
If you’ve read Beyond Betrayal, you know how little there was to turn to when my world fell apart. I would have given anything for something to hold onto at 2 a.m., when the questions wouldn’t stop, or in the moments I started to doubt what I knew to be true. Something to help me breathe through the suffocating fumes of confusion and chaos.
It didn’t exist then, and I’m not sure it exists now. So Dave and I wrote our story together and have spent much of the past year building the support we wished we’d had.
It’s called Here I Am.
Here I Am is for everyone
Betrayal doesn’t discriminate. Women are betrayed. Men are betrayed. Some relationships survive, and others don’t.
Whether you’ve experienced a recent discovery or disclosure, or you’re years out, and however your relationship looks, your pain is real, and you deserve support that takes it seriously.
What’s inside
At the heart of Here I Am is Willow, the chat and voice inside the app. You can text Willow any time of day or night and receive compassionate support. But Willow is only one part of the Here I Am comprehensive healing space: Inside is also
- A journal for putting the unspeakable into words
- The 2 A.M. Survival Toolkit for the moments you need something to do right now
- Body-based calming practices and grounding exercises for when the thoughts won’t stop
- Learn More, a library of psychoeducation resources to help you understand what’s happening and empower you toward healing
- A feelings wheel to help you name what you’re carrying
- Willow Sanctuary, fifty gently guided recordings across five volumes, from finding safety to reclaiming your life
- Crisis support lines for your country, always one tap away
What makes it different from a general AI chatbot?
Here I Am is built for a specific wound.
- Willow listens first. It makes room for whatever you’re feeling and never rushes you.
- Your decisions stay yours. Willow will never tell you whether to stay or leave, never label you, and never pretend to be an authoritative voice on your circumstances.
- Private by design. Your journal and conversations are stored only on your own phone, not on our servers.
Willow is an AI companion, not a person and not a therapist. Here I Am is designed to sit alongside counselling and the people in your life, never to replace them.
In the words of our first users
“Willow is not a sycophant, who just agrees with everything you say.” — Val
“It never pushed me to stay or leave, and it consistently pointed me back to my therapist for the real work.” — Anna
Join us as a founding member
Before Here I Am is released in the App Store, we’re inviting a small group to be the first to use it, free and exclusive. Many of you have walked alongside us through the pages of Beyond Betrayal, and we’d love you to be among the first to explore this next chapter.
This is more than early access. By taking part, you’ll help shape what Here I Am becomes for the people who are dropped into infidelity quicksand in the future. Support like this, available 24/7 and created specifically for infidelity and betrayal trauma, is new, and you would be part of its foundation.
Your free early access
- Free for 30 days from your first conversation with Willow, with no card details needed
- Places are limited, and the offer is open until 30 October
- At the end of your trial, you may choose to continue with a subscription at a discounted founding-member rate, with no obligation
What we ask in return
- That you complete a short survey (about three minutes) when you start, and another at the end of your trial
- That you agree your anonymous survey answers, and simple counts of how often Willow is used (never what you write), may be used in de-identified form, including in a clinical presentation about the app. Nothing personal is collected, shared or stored.
You’ll be asked to confirm your consent when you register.
Claim your place
Wherever you are, and whatever your story, if you’ve ever wished something like this existed, this is your invitation to help bring it to life.
Places are limited, so please register your interest today and I’ll send further details.
Here I Am is for adults 18 and over.