Mum Sarah used to walk into walls and flash her knickers after downing prosecco, but going sober has changed her life
A mum who used to walk into walls and flash her knockers after downing two bottles of prosecco in a night looks completely different after ditching her 28-year drinking habit in June. Sarah Mills, 40, used to indulge in “wobbly Wednesday” and the “Friday feeling” by downing bottles of prosecco and spirits like gin and vodka.
Whether she was at a bar with her friends or cooking Sunday dinner for her husband and children, Sarah would “always have a drink in hand”. Her binge drinking sessions saw her experience embarrassing incidents like walking into walls, flashing her underwear and splitting her nose open on a toilet bowl.
After a particularly “heavy” 40th birthday, the mum-of-two says she was left with “crippling anxiety” and unable to function. Deciding enough was enough, Sarah quit drinking in June and hasn’t touched a drop since – and is now two months sober.
Sarah, an NHS business administrator, from Devon, said alcohol was destroying her looks. She said: “I could go the whole week not giving alcohol a thought, but as soon as the weekend hit, I wanted a drink. I used drink to be seen as a loud, fun-time girl. Prosecco was always my go-to – I could drink two bottles a night.
“I would do silly things when drunk, like flashing my knickers and walking into walls. I even split open my nose on the toilet when I was throwing up. It took a toll on my marriage because hangovers would leave me feeling anxious and lazy.
“But after my 40th birthday, I had the worst anxiety and depression. I didn’t want to live my life like that. Ditching the booze made me realise it was ageing me – despite my efforts to look youthful through aesthetics. I never want to be that chaotic person again.”
Describing herself as a ‘difficult child’, Sarah discovered alcohol aged 12, and started drinking MD 20/20- a whisky-based fruit drink- before moving onto rose wine and spirits, and then prosecco. Sarah continued to “binge drink” throughout her 20s – which didn’t stop when she met her husband Martyn, 45, who works in administration, in 2013, and went on to welcome their daughter, seven, and son, six.
Despite trying 90 days of sobriety in 2023, she slipped back into old ways. She said: “I didn’t let motherhood stop me from having a good time. I’d celebrate getting midway through the week with a bottle of prosecco on Wednesday and then the same again on Friday.
“If I kids had nowhere to go on a Sunday afternoon, I would down a bottle of prosecco whilst cooking a roast. But I would feel awful on the Monday school run, my kids would look put together but I’d look like a mess. Martyn and my sister sat me down many times to tell me to stop drinking because they saw me at my absolute lowest. I’d tell them ‘I don’t have a problem- I just like to have a good time’. “
Sarah started getting Botox and lip filler in 2021 to “look [her] best” – costing £300 every four months. She said: “Looking at me, you’d think I was quite vain – I have Botox and filler. I was concerned with my appearance, but not realising that I was ruining my insides with alcohol.”
Seeing her 40th birthday on 6 June 2025 with a six-hour-long bar crawl, her hangover sent her into “the darkest spiral”.
Sarah said: “I couldn’t shower, walk the dog, or even eat. I just sat on the sofa all day and cried. Something within me changed, and through willpower alone, I’ve been 67 days sober. I don’t ever want to go back.
“I used to mope about the house, but now I’m up at 6 am and full of life. My husband is so proud of me, and I’m a better mum too. I actually sit down with them to play, and we go on bike rides as a family.
“I’ve replaced my booze time with doing up the house and growing my own veg. I look and feel more youthful. I’ll keep getting Botox and filler top-ups but every six months instead of four.”
Sarah documents her sobriety journey on Instagram and has amassed over 38K followers. She said: “Having a following helps keep me going, and people are even going sober with me. I used to be too embarrassed to talk about the things I did when drunk, but now I do, and it helps others because they can relate.
“I’d like to think I’m helping people, just as much as they help me.”
Sarah’s journey can be found @sarahstayssober.