The Story Behind the Brand, the Struggles, and the Strength That Built It

Becoming a Mother Changed Everything

At 23 years old, I had my beautiful baby girl, Anavianna, and from that moment forward, my entire world changed.

Before becoming a mother, I felt like I was simply existing. I had dreams, but no real direction. No true purpose. But the moment I held my daughter, something inside me shifted forever.

I was no longer living only for myself.

I became a mother on a mission.

I wanted more for my life. More for my future. More for my children. So after Anavianna was born, I began taking courses with hopes of eventually building a business of my own.

At the time, I was living alone with my daughter while balancing full-time courses on a fixed income. Eventually, I returned to work part time while continuing school and motherhood all at once.

Looking back now, I honestly do not know how I managed everything I had placed on my shoulders.

But somehow, I did.

I passed my semester with great grades, maintained strong work performance, and earned respect from the people around me because of my dedication and attitude. During the COVID shutdowns, my district manager personally pushed for me to receive full-time hours because of my work ethic.

At the time, I thought I understood pressure.

Now at 31 years old, I realize life had far bigger lessons waiting for me.

Looking for Love During Lonely Seasons

Toward the end of 2019, loneliness slowly began creeping into my life.

I wanted companionship. Stability. Safety. Someone dependable to build a future beside.

Like many overwhelmed mothers with little free time and even less patience for dating, I turned to social media and reconnected with someone from my past — James.

We had crossed paths before through family connections, but we never truly knew each other. As we started talking more, spending time together, and building a connection, I slowly let my guard down.

At first, life felt simple.

Movie nights. Conversations. Laughing together. Small moments that felt comforting during a difficult chapter of my life.

One of our earliest memories together was playing Battleship at his mother’s house — a game I had never played before and honestly still have not touched since that night.

As our relationship grew, so did my hope for the future.

Then COVID changed the world.

James had started a new full-time job and moved into a small apartment. At first, I had not planned on building a life together so quickly, but emotions, loneliness, and hope have a way of changing plans.

One night, after too much whiskey and emotional conversations about life, James admitted how badly he wanted to become a father.

That same night, through tears, prayers, and vulnerability, I begged God for another child.

One month later, we found out I was pregnant.

And once again, my life changed forever.

When Reality Started Breaking Through

As my pregnancy progressed, I realized our relationship was not nearly as stable as I had believed.

The deeper our lives became connected, the more hidden struggles started revealing themselves.

James struggled heavily with alcohol, and nights that should have felt peaceful often became emotionally exhausting.

I remember begging him to come inside and sleep while he sat outside drinking late into the night.

I remember feeling lonely while pregnant, wondering how the choices I had made would affect my children and our future.

Eventually, I reached a breaking point.

I took my daughter and stayed with my mother for a few days because I knew something had to change. Before leaving, I told James clearly that if we were going to continue building a future together, the drinking had to stop.

At the time, we were trying to secure a larger apartment for our growing family. But while we were apart, alcohol once again led to bad decisions, and our housing plans completely fell apart.

I was heartbroken.

Still, I went back.

More than once.

Because love, especially when children are involved, is rarely simple.

By the time our son JP was born, the relationship had become emotionally unhealthy. As the years passed, we slowly became disconnected, even while still trying to hold onto what remained.

Not because things were healthy.

But because letting go felt terrifying.

Fighting to Keep Everything Together

A few months before Christmas — and just before our son’s birthday — life became overwhelming financially, emotionally, and mentally.

I took a job at Brunner while also attempting part-time life insurance sales because I was desperate to keep our family afloat.

By this point, James and I had emotionally separated, but we still shared the same home because neither of us could afford to leave.

During this season, I opened a small Teespring shop.

Truthfully, the store itself did not become successful.

But it introduced me to something that would completely change my future:

Simplee Elegant.

At first, it was only an idea centered around merch and creativity. But something about it felt different. It felt personal. It felt meaningful.

It felt like mine.

As time passed, James lost jobs due to the effects of alcohol and instability, and eventually I found myself carrying most of the responsibilities alone while raising two children.

Then I made one of the scariest decisions of my life.

I decided to fully pursue Simplee Elegant.

Building Simplee Elegant From the Ground Up

I started signing DBA paperwork, sales tax agreements, business licenses, and taking every course I possibly could.

I threw everything I had into building this dream.

At the time, I thought I was simply creating a business.

What I was really building was myself.

Simplee Elegant slowly evolved beyond merch. It became virtual assistance, branding, blogging, educational content, mental health awareness, self-love campaigns, and creative storytelling.

It became an extension of my growth.

But life still was not easy.

Unemployment was ending. Bills were piling up. My ex’s housing situation was collapsing. Despite everything we had been through, I could not bring myself to completely abandon the father of my children.

Because underneath everything, I still saw someone who deeply loved our kids.

So I made him a deal.

If he stayed completely sober — not one drop of alcohol — he could stay in the spare bedroom while helping with bills and rebuilding his life.

If I suspected drinking at all, he would be gone immediately.

And something incredible happened.

The man who walked into my home broken and struggling slowly began finding himself again.

Today, he is approaching 18 months sober.

And I could not be more proud.

Watching someone fight their demons and truly choose change is one of the hardest and most beautiful things I have ever witnessed.

Now we have our seven-year-old daughter, our five-year-old son, and by God’s grace, another beautiful baby girl due in July.

Life somehow found a way to bring light back into our home.

What Simplee Elegant Really Means

People often look at online businesses and assume success happens quickly.

They do not see the exhaustion behind the scenes.

They do not see:

• the fear,
• the tears,
• the unpaid hours,
• the failed launches,
• the anxiety,
• the self-doubt,
• or the sleepless nights.

Simplee Elegant was not built from perfection.

It was built from perseverance.

There were moments where I wanted to quit completely. Moments where content failed, stores failed, launches failed, and confidence failed right alongside them.

But every setback taught me something valuable.

I learned marketing.
I learned branding.
I learned website building.
I learned organization.
I learned content creation.
I learned resilience.

Most importantly, I learned that growth is not always loud.

Sometimes growth looks like survival.

Sometimes success simply looks like refusing to give up.

The Heart Behind the Brand

Simplee Elegant is more than a business to me.

It represents:

• motherhood,
• healing,
• rebuilding,
• creativity,
• resilience,
• faith,
• growth,
• survival,
• and love.

It represents every late night spent trying to create a better future for my children.

It represents every lesson learned through struggle.

It represents every version of myself I had to become in order to keep moving forward.

And honestly?

The journey is still continuing.

I still have goals I have not reached.
I still have dreams I am chasing.
I still have difficult days.

But now I face life differently.

Because now I understand something I never understood before:

You are allowed to rebuild your life as many times as necessary.

You are allowed to start over.

You are allowed to grow beyond the pain that once defined you.

And no matter how messy the story becomes, beauty can still come from it.

Simplee Elegant was never created from perfection.

It was created from perseverance.

And that is exactly why it means so much to me.

Thank You for Being Here

Whether you found Simplee Elegant through our blogs, designs, services, advocacy, or social media — thank you for being part of this journey.

This brand was built with love, resilience, creativity, and the belief that beautiful things can grow from difficult beginnings.

And this is only the beginning.