She Looked Like She Had It All Together While Secretly Struggling With Alcohol | Kori’s Sober StoryShe Looked Like She Had It All Together While Secretly Struggling With Alcohol | Kori’s Sober Story
Sober Motivation: Sharing Sobriety Stories
Secret drinking, motherhood, and the decision to finally quit alcohol
1:19:47•23 Sept 2026
From Secret Shots to Self-Respect: Kori’s High-Functioning Sobriety Story
Episode Overview
- High-functioning drinking can hide serious problems, especially when work culture and identity revolve around alcohol.
- Secret drinking and shame often create a double life that feels lonely and exhausting, even when everything looks fine from the outside.
- Physical warnings like elevated liver enzymes can be early signs that alcohol is causing real harm, even at a young age.
- A long “sober curious” phase, with repeated experiments in stopping, can still be a meaningful stepping stone towards full sobriety.
- Replacing alcohol with healthier habits, such as exercise and new career goals, helps build a life that feels worth protecting from drink.
“"If it's even just a thought in your head, there's a reason it's crossed your mind."”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This conversation follows Kori, a self-described "functioning alcoholic" who looked like she had life nailed – wife, mum, general manager of busy bars – while secretly sneaking shots and drowning in shame and anxiety. Growing up in what she calls a “perfect upbringing” in West Des Moines, Kori’s drinking really picked up in the nightclub and bar scene, where long nights, regulars, and free shots felt like part of the job.
She talks about how her identity became wrapped up in being the hard-working, always-on bar professional who everyone knew and relied on. Behind that polished image, though, was the woman taking secret shots in the kitchen so her husband couldn’t see, and slipping into the storeroom “to grab paper towels” while actually downing tequila.
A doctor’s blunt warning – “you are way too young to have elevated liver enzymes” – planted a seed she couldn’t ignore, especially as she juggled postpartum struggles, antidepressants, grief from multiple losses, and the relentless pressure to keep showing up. Kori shares the moment she walked into the middle of a busy street, told her husband she didn’t want to be here anymore, and then quit her beloved bar job by text the next morning.
From there, she spent two exhausting years in a “sober curious” cycle before finally waking up on a random Sunday – 10 December 2023 – and saying, “I’m done.” Since then, she’s switched careers into beauty and aesthetics, leaned heavily on the gym instead of the bar, kept her circle small at first, and slowly shared her sobriety with family and friends.
Her message is simple: if the thought “maybe I should stop drinking” has crossed your mind, it’s crossing it for a reason. Could it be time to see what your life looks like without alcohol too?
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