Kaitlin Reeve: Motherhood, Cocaine, 12 Steps & How Mums Can Ask For Help Without Losing Their Children

Kaitlin Reeve: Motherhood, Cocaine, 12 Steps & How Mums Can Ask For Help Without Losing Their Children

Witness the remarkable journeys of those who have faced addiction head-on, as this conversation centres on a topic many mums quietly fear: how to ask for help without risking their children. Guest Kaitlin Reeve, known online as "Sober As A Mother Focused", talks candidly with host Matthew Butler about motherhood, cocaine, cannabis, shame and the 12 Steps.

She shares how years of childhood trauma, early drinking and heavy drug use left her hiding her addiction in plain sight while parenting three children. On the outside she looked “just a bit mad”; behind closed doors she was working multiple jobs to fund daily cocaine and constant weed, all while shrinking under guilt and terror of social services. Kaitlin captures the core dilemma many mothers face: “Mums don’t want to be told to get sober.

They want to know how to ask for help without losing their kids.” She explains how double standards mean dads are often praised for seeking help, while mums expect instant blame and judgement. That fear, she says, keeps countless women stuck in addiction far longer than they need to be.

The episode walks through her “internal snap” moment in the garden, her first 12-step meeting (attended in full makeup and a hat to “look better than you lot”), and the reality of early recovery while still doing school runs, hospital visits and bedtime routines. She talks about taking her children to meetings, redefining what it means to be “the fun mum”, and learning to apologise and repair when she gets it wrong.

If you’re a parent wondering how on earth you’re meant to get clean while still packing lunch boxes and paying bills, this honest chat might leave you asking: what would my own first brave step look like?