Martin Maynard was an incredibly successful businessman who went through a heart wrenching divorce, but instead of letting it destroy him, he picked himself back up and now runs a highly successful business in Cyprus.
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Martin left school at 16 and went straight into the financial services business, something that he stuck with for his entire career.
He says, “In 1996 I set up my own company called Mortgage Next LTD which we built over a period of 8 years and then sold for a substantial amount of money in 2004.”
Sadly, in 2008 Martin felt that his marriage was no longer working at came to the decision that he and his wife of 27 years should separate.
“The marriage was, unfortunately, going through a really difficult period for a number of years. I think it is best described as we were just going through the motions,” said Martin.
“I think because I channelled a lot of my energy into setting up and running a successful business, it probably played a part in the marriage suffering.”
Being the one that instigated the divorce, despite feelings being mutual, Martin felt for a long time that he had to take the blame.
He says, “I don’t know whether it was true or not, but I personally felt that a lot of fingers were being pointed at me and questioning ‘how could you just let the marriage go?’”
“I was going through a very, very difficult time health wise trying to deal with that. Even though I knew it was the right decision, I felt this huge blame of ‘why didn’t you just hang in there, get on with it, put up with it?’ and to be honest there were times when I thought ‘have I made the right decision?’”
The finalising of the divorce threw up many issues, but one happened to be what would happen to the family holiday villa in Cyprus, the asset that is now key to his new life.
After meeting his new girlfriend two years ago, Martin knew that he wanted to start a new life. This came in the form Akamas Villas, his new villa letting service in the Akamas region of Cyprus.
It wasn’t an easy decision to make though. Martin says, “My girlfriend worked in retail, probably the biggest decision for her was whether or not she wanted to take the chance to come out here with me, chuck in her job and try and find a job in what is essentially a tourist area.
“We decided about two months ago to give it a go, so we put our apartment on the market, she quit her job and we got a place out here. My girlfriend has now got a job, ironically in the travel industry, she’s done really well.
“I’m probably making it sound like it’s all been plain sailing, and it hasn’t been but it’s the start of a really exciting adventure, not just from the point of our relationship but also from the point of view of how the business can evolve.”
Martin feels that the move was essentially the right thing for him to do after the painful divorce aftermath.
He says, “The divorce was hugely distressing, but I had great support from friends and family members. I channelled all of the support into my strengths, a business, and I’m now out in Cyprus.
“It’s reignited my passion for running a business but it’s also taken me to a completely different part of the world. It’s enabled me to draw a line under things much more readily.”
Despite how much he’s been through, Martin knows that without all of it, he wouldn’t be where he is today.
“I suppose suddenly being freed of the relationship that was having negative effects on my life and health gave me the opportunity to really look at other horizons,” said Martin.
“If I was still married now I certainly wouldn’t be living in Cyprus and I think it’s highly unlikely that I would have set up the business I have so it’s one of those interesting crossroads, you never really know for sure what would have happened, but that would be my guess.”
It’s easy to let a divorce bring your entire life crashing down to the ground, but Martin’s proof that if you can pick yourself up and give yourself a new focus, you can achieve anything.
Martin says, “Having been in a marriage for the best part of 27 years, people think once you’ve been married that long and your marriage is failing that there’s nothing much out there, or there’s no hope for new relationships and a good future. From my own experience that is definitely not the case.”
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