The Other Side of Addiction with Monica Kline.The Other Side of Addiction with Monica Kline.
The Elevate Experience
Monica Klein shares how marrying a high-functioning alcoholic and prescription drug addict led to violence, trauma and a hard-won decision to leave. She reflects on Al‑Anon, therapy, grief and rebuilding her life, offering validation and hope to others affected by a loved one’s addiction.
1:07:26•31 May 2022
The Other Side of Addiction: Monica Klein’s Story of Love, Danger and Letting Go
Episode Overview
- You cannot fix someone who openly chooses their addiction; their recovery has to be their decision.
- Abuse, manipulation and financial chaos are common fallout for loved ones of addicts, not signs of personal failure.
- Support tools like Al‑Anon and therapy can reduce isolation and offer perspective for partners and family members.
- Setting firm boundaries and leaving may be essential acts of self-preservation, even when guilt and shame are strong.
- Painful experiences can later become a source of strength and a way to support others facing similar situations.
“"I learned that the pain comes to teach us, not to punish us."”
What remarkable journeys have people faced head-on against addiction? This conversation on The Elevate Experience flips the usual script by focusing on the partner of the addict, rather than the addict themselves. Branding expert and business owner Monica Klein shares how her life was turned inside out by marrying a "full-fledged alcoholic and prescription drug addict" – a world she admits she was totally unprepared for.
From glamorous holidays and fine wine to hiding in closets, keeping a go-bag by the door, and escaping via back stairwells, Monica lays out how quickly charm and romance can slide into chaos, violence, and fear. She describes the moment she hit her own rock bottom: after a brutal assault, she triggered the building’s emergency system and watched her husband leave in handcuffs.
Later, she opened his bag and found "needles, drugs of every colour, shape and size" and a sea of hidden prescriptions. Yet even then, she thought, "I really felt like it was my problem that I could fix him" – a line many loved ones of addicts will recognise. Monica talks candidly about Al‑Anon, therapy, and the painful shift from trying to save him to choosing herself: "He finally admitted to me, 'I like feeling this way'...
and I just at that point, I'm like, this is not my addiction or my battle." She also reflects on grief, rebuilding her life and business, and how she now sees pain as something that "comes to teach us, not to punish us." This episode is ideal if you’re affected by someone else’s drinking or drug use, or you support people who are.
It’s raw, honest, and quietly reassuring – a reminder that leaving isn’t failure, and that choosing your own safety and sanity is never selfish. If you’re standing on that edge yourself, what would it look like to put your oxygen mask on first?
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