Bri's StoryBri's Story
The Broke Girl Society
Christina talks with Bri about her experience of gambling harm, family addiction, and using marijuana and spending as escape. Bri shares how she is trying to rebuild her life, protect her future, and keep going despite fear of relapse.
30:01•9 May 2026
Bri’s Battle with Gambling: Money, Escape and Starting Again
Episode Overview
- Gambling moved from harmless scratch-offs to severe online losses, including blowing entire paycheques and borrowing against wages not yet earned.
- Bri links her gambling and spending to growing up around addiction and having what she calls a very addictive personality.
- Marijuana became a way to escape the shame and anxiety after gambling, leading her to cut back when it became unhealthy.
- She manages risk by sending her pay to her boyfriend’s account, recognising she doesn’t currently feel safe handling large amounts of money.
- Her main advice for others struggling is to keep trying after setbacks and relapse, holding onto the idea that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
“Don’t give up… there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”
What drives someone to seek a life without gambling when it feels like the only way out of money worries and stress? This conversation between Christina and Bri sits right in that messy, honest space where addiction, family history, and everyday bills collide. Bri talks openly about growing up around addiction – an alcoholic dad, a mum addicted to pain pills, a brother using heroin and cocaine – and how she thought gambling would be different.
It started with scratch-offs and the odd Powerball ticket, then escalated after watching a friend’s partner win big online. One big jackpot of her own followed, but as she admits, “Most of the money I just put right back into online.” You’ll hear how her gambling spiralled into blowing whole paycheques within an hour, borrowing against wages she hadn’t even been paid yet, and watching debt stack up while still chasing that one win to “fix” everything.
Bri also shares how marijuana became her escape from the shame of gambling losses, and why she’s cut back after realising it was just another way of avoiding her emotions. The episode digs into tricky stuff many people face but rarely say out loud: managing recovery while your partner still gambles, handing your pay over to someone you trust because you don’t feel safe with money, and realising you’ve got a spending problem as well as a gambling one.
Through therapy, honest reflection, and thinking hard about her future, her animals, and the kind of life she wants, Bri is finding some stability and hope. Her message to anyone stuck in the cycle is simple and real: “Don’t give up… there’s light at the end of the tunnel.” If you’re wrestling with gambling harm, money worries, or that urge to escape, could Bri’s hard-won honesty be the nudge you need to take your own next step?
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