Millie Elder Holmes: 'I had to find myself again'

Millie Elder Holmes has shared that she "deserves to be happy". Photo / Instagram, Clean Eatz NZ

Following a harrowing few years that included the loss of her beloved father, Sir Paul Holmes, and the murder of her partner, Connor Morris, Millie Elder Holmes moved to the other side of the world to start a new life.

Away from the media spotlight in her birth father's homeland of Greece, Millie has focused on her family, her life goals, and finding happiness again.

It's been a year since she moved to the Mediterranean, and she's taken to Facebook to reflect on some life lessons.

"At the start I wanted to escape sadness and pressure after everything that happened after Connor passed and I wanted to reconnect with my family here," she wrote.

"I left New Zealand extremely depressed and anxious about my life, my goals were simple to just try to be happy again in a place where people didn't assume who I was beceause of what they thought they knew about my life."

In the post, which was added to her Clean Eatz NZ page, she explained how moving to a place where life is more simplistic has allowed her to learn about herself.

"Making the decision to stay in Europe gave me the chance to step back from everything that I had and who I was in New Zealand," she wrote.

"I had the chance to get back to the basics and grow as a person, to be able step back and just listen to myself more in a more relaxed setting."

While she said the distance has put a strain on some friendships, she added that it has also shown her who her lifelong friends really are.

In the candid post, Millie also spoke about Connor Morris, who was tragically murdered in a street fight in August 2014.

Millie with Connor Morris' father Chris at a memorial bike ride. Photo / Michael Craig

"Anyone who has lost a partner will understand that when you build a life together and lose your significant other is like your life looses its point... I had to find myself again and try to figure out who I was without that person anymore and this past year I've done that.

"This last 12 months showed me that life will always go on, and it's for you to decide what you make of it. It's taught me how to accept myself, that I deserve to be happy and that getting some distance from your situation for anyone, reguardless of something bad happening to you or not will open your eyes and give you perspective in some way or another and I highly encourage that," she wrote.

"It's really shown me that you will always have the ability to grow, learn and change and if you stop doing things that are different and challenging you might get stuck and that's not a life worth living."

The healthy eating advocate said she had "fallen in love" with the picturesque Mediterranean country, and reminded her followers that "through every cloud there is a lining."

-nzherald.co.nz