July 2, 2025 • 24 mins
Can you rebuild your life after abuse and betrayal at 50? Sophia Dias proves you can—and must.
Sophia Dias shares her true survivor story, revealing how she escaped an abusive marriage, faced down a biased legal system, and started over in midlife with nothing.
From fashion mogul to domestic abuse survivor, Sophia was left without access to funds, betrayed by those she trusted, and targeted by a husband who had a loaded gun pointed at her head. The emotional and financial abuse was devastating—but not the end.
Through emotional healing, fierce determination, and a commitment to personal transformation, she turned her trauma into purpose—becoming a global advocate for women, children, and the elderly.
This is a story of midlife reinvention, empowerment, and how to take your power back when the world thinks you’re broken.
🎁 Ready to discover your reinvention potential?
Download the free Checklist From Stuck to Unstoppable and join our community of purpose-driven women rewriting midlife after 50.
For similar episodes on reinventing your life over 50 check out episodes 124 and 133 of Aging with Purpose and Passion and, if you love podcasts for older women, the Late Bloomer Living podcast will give you a fresh perspective on midlife and aging. From embracing health and wellness to navigating empty nesting and chasing new dreams, this podcast offers practical advice, uplifting stories, and a reminder that it’s never too late to bloom.
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Resources:
Sophia Dias:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B08D4M4RSD
Beverley Glazer:
https://reinventimpossible.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/beverleyglazer/
https://www.facebook.com/beverley.glazer
https://www.facebook.com/groups/womenover50rock
https://www.instagram.com/beverleyglazer_reinvention/
🎁 BONUS: Take your first step to clarity, courage and momentum. Your free checklist: → From Stuck to Unstoppable – is here.
https://reinvent-impossible.aweb.page/from-stuck-to-unstoppable
Have feedback or a powerful story that's worth telling? Contact us at info@Reinventimpossible.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to Aging with Purpose and Passion, the
podcast designed to inspire yourgreatness and thrive through
life.
Get ready to conquer your fears.
Here's your hostpsychotherapist, coach and
empowerment expert, BeverlyGlazer psychotherapist, coach
(00:30):
and empowerment expert, BeverlyGlazer.
Beverley Glazer (00:36):
If you thought it's too late to build a life
with meaning, this is yourwake-up call, because it is not.
Welcome to Aging with Purposeand Passion the podcast for
women over 50, ready to live thelife on their own terms.
So each week you will hear rawconversations, inspiring stories
and get practical tools to helpyou reignite your fire.
I'm Beverly Glazer, atransformational coach and
(00:59):
therapist for women ready toreclaim their voice and break
free from what's holding themback, and you can always find me
on reinventimpossiblecom.
Sophia Dias is a philanthropist, an international entrepreneur
and an author who was in asecretly abusive marriage and
(01:21):
lost everything when shedivorced of marriage and lost
everything when she divorced.
Today, she uses her voice, herresources and her influence to
help women, children and theelderly to break free from their
shame, step into their powerand rebuild their lives, which
(01:44):
proves that it's never too lateto rewrite your story.
Welcome, Sophia.
Sophia Dias (01:46):
Good morning Beverly.
Thank you so very much forhaving me.
Beverley Glazer (01:50):
Sophia, you were a child of the world.
You grew up in India.
You moved between Europe andChina.
What was your life all about asyou were growing up?
Sophia Dias (02:04):
My childhood was quite exciting for me, I think
extraordinarily exciting.
I was in an all-girls boardingschool and you know it's a very
structured way of life, so therewas really no time for me to
say, oh, I'm bored and I don'tknow what to do with myself,
because my best friend was thegym going to the gym playing
(02:27):
cricket, squash, and everymorning it was mass, say you
know, cleaning up the church,mopping the floor and so on and
so forth, and you know thatdiscipline has done me really
good.
I grew up appreciating andrespecting people's time and you
(02:49):
know their effort and energyand presence in my life.
Beverley Glazer (02:53):
Yes, and you traveled all over.
Yes, you were in China, didyour parents?
Were they?
Why did they travel so much?
Parents were they?
Why?
My father was a civil servantthat you know.
That took him to places aroundthe world and for me, not just,
you know, living in China, butI've also traveled extensively
(03:16):
at a young age across Africa,and what traveling and meeting
people and experiencing people'sculture and beliefs and cuisine
and so on and so forth is oneof the most fantastic
experiences that you cannot buyin a classroom.
Oh, yes, oh yes, From a veryearly age.
(03:44):
I was very appreciative and grateful for
having that background.
When did you realize, though,that you had a passion for
fashion?
I didn't realize that rhymes,but you had a passion for
fashion.
Sophia Dias (03:53):
Well, it came from a very young age.
My mother was a seamstress.
She was a housewife and youknow we lived in a modest small
home so she had her sewingmachine in the kitchen.
So when my brother and I wereasleep, she would be sewing and
making clothes for theneighbours and the neighbours
down the road.
So I essentially picked up theart of sewing from her.
(04:17):
And also throughout my travelsyou know, volunteering across,
volunteering across Mozambique,south Africa, tanzania, almost
throughout Asia, thailand,Indonesia, malaysia I picked up
(04:39):
the sense of fabric and thequality of fabric.
And in 2012, I went down toMilan, in Italy, and launched a
small company called DiazDesigns.
Beverley Glazer (04:50):
And you and your husband also had a very
large company.
It grew, it was large.
Right, you were working withyour husband.
Is that correct?
Sophia Dias (05:02):
A former husband, a former spouse.
Yes, I supported him.
I supported his work and workedextensively for over 15 years
in factories, you know, onholidays, Christmas Day, my
birthday worked hard to the coreof my heart.
And all of that got dissolvedwhen my then spouse asked me if
(05:30):
he could take a second wife inChina and he would keep me as
his first wife in the USA.
And that wasn't a goodsituation for anybody.
I would not wish that uponanybody.
That was a tumultuously painful, brutally painful situation at
(05:55):
that time which I endured forseveral years, and that's what
led me to go and file a petitionto my attorneys for divorce, to
go, and you know, file apetition to my attorneys for
divorce, and that came at such acost because you were working
with him.
Beverley Glazer (06:12):
That was a big company, there was a team.
You discovered you had some gutfeeling that things were going
wrong, I mean, and yet you stillhad to continue working because
this is what you did, this was.
You know, your job, your career, your life.
You know when did you get thatgut feeling that something was
(06:35):
off?
Sophia Dias (06:36):
Well, it was very evident.
Everybody in the company I meanwe're talking about offices all
across Asia company I meanwe're talking about offices all
across Asia, in Taiwan, HongKong, Kunshan, Minneapolis,
Dallas, Texas, Houston, Chicago,in over 12 or 15 states in
(06:59):
America and everybody knew whatwas happening and people talked.
And what was really even moreheartbreaking was the employee
of the company who my thenspouse was married to, got
married whilst he was married tome.
She had a specific agenda.
(07:21):
We found out that not only wasthis individual, who was 22
years old then, but it was hermother and her sister who were
involved in a scam where theywould make themselves available
only to married men, men whohave a structured family life,
her wife, children and theywould either drug them or entice
(07:47):
them to go into hotel rooms andhave cameras set up before the
intimate encounter and thenblackmail the men and threaten
their wives that they would, youknow, sell these so-called sex
tapes to potential competitorsRight.
Beverley Glazer (08:11):
And your colleagues knew about this.
All of them, yes, yes.
And so you wanted to get out ofthis marriage.
It was like enough is enough,desperately.
It was like enough is enough,desperately, tied to the man,
the company, etc.
And divorce is a difficultthing in the best of times, but
(08:32):
in this case there was a lot ofresentment.
Tell us about that 9-1-1 callthat you had to make.
Why did you do that?
Sophia Dias (08:42):
oh, the 9-.
The 911 call was essentiallywhat really saved my life.
I was in my home in Bucktown inChicago, illinois, and the
spouse then had developed alifestyle which.
I do not know what drugs do toyour system, because I've not
(09:03):
taken any drugs, but there was alot of cocaine use, copious
amounts of alcohol and I, to thenaked eye, there was a lot of
other use, like crack, cocaineand various other medications
and essentially, um, you know,when I did press for divorce, he
(09:24):
pulled a loaded gun in thekitchen and aimed it not just to
my head but threatened to killmy dog, a large Bernese mountain
dog, a very beautiful person.
He was a person Mr Santos ishis name, he's now passed on and
(09:48):
there was a brief seconds, atiny amount of seconds, where I
could push Mr Santos to thegarage, lock myself in on the
other side and call for help.
911, which arrived.
They didn't even wait.
They had been to our home manytimes before and they pushed
down the door and saved my life.
They didn't even wait.
Beverley Glazer (10:07):
They had been to our home many a times before
and they pushed down the doorand saved my life, my goodness,
and was your ex there Did hedisappear?
Sophia Dias (10:18):
He was there.
He was very much not in controlof himself really.
I believe that is why the gundid not go off.
He was heavily under theinfluence of drugs and when he
was taken away and arrested andfound by jury in the criminal
court in Chicago for aggravateddomestic battery and assault,
(10:42):
one of the sergeants on dutythat night, Beverly he's
actually in my book and in themovie he had a conversation with
me as a human being to a humanbeing and not as a police
officer and he said you know,miss Diaz, we've come to your
home so many times whilst youare in distress.
Maybe the next time we might bea little bit delayed and you
(11:06):
might not be able to survive.
So what are you going to dowith your life?
Do you want to live or do youwant to take a chance and maybe
one day you won't live?
Beverley Glazer (11:21):
He controlled everything.
He controlled your credit cards, you were part of the business,
everything.
So basically, you were leftwith nothing.
Did you have any resources?
Like how?
How were you able to survive?
Sophia Dias (11:38):
well, uh, the cruelty and the financial abuse
was so, so horrible that I wasnot allowed to purchase
groceries for myself because Idid not have the funds.
My funds and marital funds werecompletely blocked from me.
So what the former spouse woulddo?
He would purchase groceries forme and he would put these
(12:03):
groceries outside my home.
It was a really beautifulneighborhood and sometimes I was
unaware there was a companycalled Peapod that would drop
off the groceries and if, ondays when I did not exit from
the front door, those grocerieswould be sitting and rotting
outside my home for days, wouldbe sitting and rotting outside
(12:26):
my home for days.
And you know, this is the chiefcreative officer of a large
printing packaging and a branddevelopment company, a
multibillion-dollar company.
And this is how this individualwas treating his spouse with
complete and utter disrespect.
Beverley Glazer (12:49):
And you went to the law, you had to file a
divorce, and did they take alook at all this and were they
on your side and you know whathappened there.
Sophia Dias (13:02):
What happened was I did have some fantastic
attorneys, some of the finest inthe business in Chicago
Illinois, and I writeextensively about Room 3010.
I even wrote a song about thatroom.
It's in my first album,bulletproof, by Sophia Dias.
(13:24):
We were before a female judgein room 3010, who had made up
her mind that I had absolutelyzero rights as a human being, as
a petitioner.
I was the petitioner.
She was aware that.
You know the individual wasfound guilty in the criminal
(13:47):
court of Chicago Illinois foraggravated assault, battery,
beatings, the whole, everything.
All the transcripts aresupposed to have an evidentiary
hearing.
She granted his petition on thefirst minute for selling the
(14:12):
only home that I had was themarital home.
Not only that, but the judge sawit as a money-making, as a
profit-making business deal, anactive case on her docket, and
she appointed her close and herpersonal friend, who's a realtor
, to sell my home, and therealtor was another.
(14:37):
It was like a group of somediabolically evil people that
worked together and the realtordecided that she wanted to
renovate the house.
And you know how people inamerica if you're renovating the
basement, you and the pets liveon the first floor, or if
(14:57):
you're renovating the secondfloor, you go and live in the
basement.
But this realtor was so um, shejust thought that, you know,
because her best friend was thejudge.
She wrote a letter and all ofthese emails are in the book
(15:28):
four pets should be asked toleave the home so that she can
have full control of the houseand renovate the home.
She eventually sold the house.
I believe her fee was, hercommission fee was $75,000.
And all my attorneys, you know,made fun of it and they said,
oh, don't worry.
Attorneys you know made fun ofit and they said oh, don't worry
, sophia, you too are paying forthe judges' re-election
(15:49):
campaign in your own way.
Beverley Glazer (15:52):
Oh my, oh my.
So you were battered and beatenin the court system.
You were battered and beaten byyour colleagues, not only your
ex.
How did you keep having thisstrength, sophia?
Sophia Dias (16:07):
Oh, I really didn't have much choice.
I relied heavily on my faith.
I was responsible for fourother lives.
I had adopted Salvatore Solaand I had Santorini, my cat,
who's here now.
The two other cats passed away.
They were with me for a longtime 18 years and 15 years and I
(16:32):
just had to find the strengthfrom within.
And you know, there is a sayingwhere if you exercise
consistently and, you know,really take good care of
yourself, the brain has anautomatic mechanism of
forgetting traumatic events.
So that is what I reallyfocused on myself keeping myself
(16:57):
together, eating really healthyand I'm a trained chef, so I
would cook some fabulous foodfor myself soups, go to the gym,
you know.
And I'm on the women's board,catholic Charities, I'm a board
member, so I continued my youknow volunteer work.
I would cook some fabulous food, food which was donated by
(17:21):
other people in my home and godown to Kent City on Roosevelt
and Canal Street in Chicago, sitwith the homeless people, eat
with them.
And you know, life just went onand I was very fortunate to be
surrounded with people whowanted me to succeed.
(17:41):
I also had the opportunity whenI wrote my first album at the
same time, when all of this washappening.
I worked with Grammyaward-winning music engineers
like Shane Brown, clive Hunt,who's one of the biggest music
producers and well-respected inthe industry.
I got to work with one of thefinest iconic studios in the
(18:06):
world Tufcom InternationalRecording Studio, downtown
Kingston.
Beverley Glazer (18:12):
Jamaica.
So what I'm hearing isthroughout this hell and it
certainly was you were focusedon self-care.
You were focused on movingforward 100%.
You focused on things that werepositive.
You did not focus on thesehorrible people and how they
(18:36):
were tearing you apartfinancially and emotionally.
You just moved forward, justmove forward.
And now you're also aphilanthropist and an advocate
for women and children and theelderly, and that you keep
giving back.
What would you say to women whoare listening, who are stuck
(18:56):
and they're fearful and theycan't get out because they feel
that they have too much to lose?
What would you tell them,Sylvia?
Sophia Dias (19:05):
Oh, breathing, and breathing fresh air is so much
better than being oppressed andnot knowing if you're going to
survive or close.
Go to bed with both eyes shut.
You know it's a decision thatone has to make.
I was in volunteering at theAmah House in the south of India
(19:33):
, in Trivandrum, last year and Igot to work, volunteer and
serve the elderly and the sickwho are over the age of 95,
almost 98.
And these are people who areabandoned by their own children
because they don't want to takecare of them, so they
essentially pack up the trashand leave the parents on the
(19:54):
side of the street.
That was an eye-opener.
You know of how cruelty canwork in different dynamics.
Prior to that, I was alsovolunteering at the Travancore
National School, travandrum.
I got to work with severelydown syndrome and autistic
children there were about 200 inthe school and that also showed
(20:16):
me another element of life justhow precious life is.
So to anybody who's listening Iwould say no matter how hard
you've been battered andtormented and tortured by people
closest to you, it is just notworth being in that environment
because the other side is dead.
Beverley Glazer (20:42):
Thank you, thank you.
Sophia Dias is a philanthropist, an international entrepreneur,
an artist and an author who hasbeen in a secretly abusive
marriage and lost everything.
Today she uses her voice, herresources and her influence to
(21:03):
help women, children and theelderly to rebuild their lives
with active initiatives aroundthe world.
Here are some takeaways fromthis episode.
You can lose everything, but ifyou're alive, you can always
rebuild.
Trust your intuition whensomething feels wrong.
Don't ignore those red flagsand do get help.
(21:28):
Believe in yourself.
You are stronger than you think.
If you've been relating to thisepisode, here are a few actions
that you could do right now.
If you feel that something'swrong, don't ignore it.
Gather documents, tell atrusted friend and seek advice
for planning your first move andgo slowly.
When you have the rightstrategies, there's no need to
(21:51):
stay stuck.
Slowly when you have the rightstrategies, there's no need to
stay stuck.
For similar episodes onempowering yourself to reinvent
your life, please check outnumber 124 and 133 of Aging with
Purpose and Passion.
And if you love podcasts forolder women, the Late Bloomer
Living podcast will inspire youto find joy, embrace change and
(22:15):
live playfully at any age.
Every Wednesday, yvonneMarchese interviews inspiring
guests who dare to reinventthemselves and experts who
provide valuable guidance onnavigating the unique challenges
in midlife and beyond.
So, sophia, where can peoplelearn more about you online?
Sophia Dias (22:40):
Actually my website is under construction so that
should be going up in the nextfew months and I'm very easy to
find.
My books are on Amazon justunder Sophia Dias.
Beverley Glazer (22:53):
Terrific, and, as Sophia said, her site isn't
up yet, but it is going to be inthe show notes, so just check
the show notes, and all Sophia'slinks will also be on
reinventimpossiblecom.
That's my site too, and so, myfriends, what's next for you?
(23:16):
Are you just going through themotions or are you living a life
that you truly love?
Get my free guide to go fromstuck to unstoppable, and that
also will be in the show notes,too.
You can connect with me,Beverly Glazer, on all social
media platforms and in mypositive group on Facebook, and
that's Women Over 50 Rock, andthank you for listening.
(23:39):
Have you enjoyed thisconversation?
Please subscribe and help usspread the word by dropping a
review and sending it to afriend.
And remember you only have onelife, so live it with purpose
and passion.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
Thank you for joining us.
You can connect with Bev on herwebsite, reinventimpossible.
com and, while you're there,join our newsletter Subscribe so
you don't miss an episode.
Until next time, keep agingwith purpose and passion and
celebrate life.
Welcome to Aging with Purpose and Passion, the
podcast designed to inspire yourgreatness and thrive through
life.
Get ready to conquer your fears.
Here's your hostpsychotherapist, coach and
empowerment expert, BeverlyGlazer psychotherapist, coach
(00:30):
and empowerment expert, BeverlyGlazer.
Beverley Glazer (00:36):
If you thought it's too late to build a life
with meaning, this is yourwake-up call, because it is not.
Welcome to Aging with Purposeand Passion the podcast for
women over 50, ready to live thelife on their own terms.
So each week you will hear rawconversations, inspiring stories
and get practical tools to helpyou reignite your fire.
I'm Beverly Glazer, atransformational coach and
(00:59):
therapist for women ready toreclaim their voice and break
free from what's holding themback, and you can always find me
on reinventimpossiblecom.
Sophia Dias is a philanthropist, an international entrepreneur
and an author who was in asecretly abusive marriage and
(01:21):
lost everything when shedivorced of marriage and lost
everything when she divorced.
Today, she uses her voice, herresources and her influence to
help women, children and theelderly to break free from their
shame, step into their powerand rebuild their lives, which
(01:44):
proves that it's never too lateto rewrite your story.
Welcome, Sophia.
Sophia Dias (01:46):
Good morning Beverly.
Thank you so very much forhaving me.
Beverley Glazer (01:50):
Sophia, you were a child of the world.
You grew up in India.
You moved between Europe andChina.
What was your life all about asyou were growing up?
Sophia Dias (02:04):
My childhood was quite exciting for me, I think
extraordinarily exciting.
I was in an all-girls boardingschool and you know it's a very
structured way of life, so therewas really no time for me to
say, oh, I'm bored and I don'tknow what to do with myself,
because my best friend was thegym going to the gym playing
(02:27):
cricket, squash, and everymorning it was mass, say you
know, cleaning up the church,mopping the floor and so on and
so forth, and you know thatdiscipline has done me really
good.
I grew up appreciating andrespecting people's time and you
(02:49):
know their effort and energyand presence in my life.
Beverley Glazer (02:53):
Yes, and you traveled all over.
Yes, you were in China, didyour parents?
Were they?
Why did they travel so much?
Parents were they?
Why?
My father was a civil servantthat you know.
That took him to places aroundthe world and for me, not just,
you know, living in China, butI've also traveled extensively
(03:16):
at a young age across Africa,and what traveling and meeting
people and experiencing people'sculture and beliefs and cuisine
and so on and so forth is oneof the most fantastic
experiences that you cannot buyin a classroom.
Oh, yes, oh yes, From a veryearly age.
(03:44):
I was very appreciative and grateful for
having that background.
When did you realize, though,that you had a passion for
fashion?
I didn't realize that rhymes,but you had a passion for
fashion.
Sophia Dias (03:53):
Well, it came from a very young age.
My mother was a seamstress.
She was a housewife and youknow we lived in a modest small
home so she had her sewingmachine in the kitchen.
So when my brother and I wereasleep, she would be sewing and
making clothes for theneighbours and the neighbours
down the road.
So I essentially picked up theart of sewing from her.
(04:17):
And also throughout my travelsyou know, volunteering across,
volunteering across Mozambique,south Africa, tanzania, almost
throughout Asia, thailand,Indonesia, malaysia I picked up
(04:39):
the sense of fabric and thequality of fabric.
And in 2012, I went down toMilan, in Italy, and launched a
small company called DiazDesigns.
Beverley Glazer (04:50):
And you and your husband also had a very
large company.
It grew, it was large.
Right, you were working withyour husband.
Is that correct?
Sophia Dias (05:02):
A former husband, a former spouse.
Yes, I supported him.
I supported his work and workedextensively for over 15 years
in factories, you know, onholidays, Christmas Day, my
birthday worked hard to the coreof my heart.
And all of that got dissolvedwhen my then spouse asked me if
(05:30):
he could take a second wife inChina and he would keep me as
his first wife in the USA.
And that wasn't a goodsituation for anybody.
I would not wish that uponanybody.
That was a tumultuously painful, brutally painful situation at
(05:55):
that time which I endured forseveral years, and that's what
led me to go and file a petitionto my attorneys for divorce, to
go, and you know, file apetition to my attorneys for
divorce, and that came at such acost because you were working
with him.
Beverley Glazer (06:12):
That was a big company, there was a team.
You discovered you had some gutfeeling that things were going
wrong, I mean, and yet you stillhad to continue working because
this is what you did, this was.
You know, your job, your career, your life.
You know when did you get thatgut feeling that something was
(06:35):
off?
Sophia Dias (06:36):
Well, it was very evident.
Everybody in the company I meanwe're talking about offices all
across Asia company I meanwe're talking about offices all
across Asia, in Taiwan, HongKong, Kunshan, Minneapolis,
Dallas, Texas, Houston, Chicago,in over 12 or 15 states in
(06:59):
America and everybody knew whatwas happening and people talked.
And what was really even moreheartbreaking was the employee
of the company who my thenspouse was married to, got
married whilst he was married tome.
She had a specific agenda.
(07:21):
We found out that not only wasthis individual, who was 22
years old then, but it was hermother and her sister who were
involved in a scam where theywould make themselves available
only to married men, men whohave a structured family life,
her wife, children and theywould either drug them or entice
(07:47):
them to go into hotel rooms andhave cameras set up before the
intimate encounter and thenblackmail the men and threaten
their wives that they would, youknow, sell these so-called sex
tapes to potential competitorsRight.
Beverley Glazer (08:11):
And your colleagues knew about this.
All of them, yes, yes.
And so you wanted to get out ofthis marriage.
It was like enough is enough,desperately.
It was like enough is enough,desperately, tied to the man,
the company, etc.
And divorce is a difficultthing in the best of times, but
(08:32):
in this case there was a lot ofresentment.
Tell us about that 9-1-1 callthat you had to make.
Why did you do that?
Sophia Dias (08:42):
oh, the 9-.
The 911 call was essentiallywhat really saved my life.
I was in my home in Bucktown inChicago, illinois, and the
spouse then had developed alifestyle which.
I do not know what drugs do toyour system, because I've not
(09:03):
taken any drugs, but there was alot of cocaine use, copious
amounts of alcohol and I, to thenaked eye, there was a lot of
other use, like crack, cocaineand various other medications
and essentially, um, you know,when I did press for divorce, he
(09:24):
pulled a loaded gun in thekitchen and aimed it not just to
my head but threatened to killmy dog, a large Bernese mountain
dog, a very beautiful person.
He was a person Mr Santos ishis name, he's now passed on and
(09:48):
there was a brief seconds, atiny amount of seconds, where I
could push Mr Santos to thegarage, lock myself in on the
other side and call for help.
911, which arrived.
They didn't even wait.
They had been to our home manytimes before and they pushed
down the door and saved my life.
They didn't even wait.
Beverley Glazer (10:07):
They had been to our home many a times before
and they pushed down the doorand saved my life, my goodness,
and was your ex there Did hedisappear?
Sophia Dias (10:18):
He was there.
He was very much not in controlof himself really.
I believe that is why the gundid not go off.
He was heavily under theinfluence of drugs and when he
was taken away and arrested andfound by jury in the criminal
court in Chicago for aggravateddomestic battery and assault,
(10:42):
one of the sergeants on dutythat night, Beverly he's
actually in my book and in themovie he had a conversation with
me as a human being to a humanbeing and not as a police
officer and he said you know,miss Diaz, we've come to your
home so many times whilst youare in distress.
Maybe the next time we might bea little bit delayed and you
(11:06):
might not be able to survive.
So what are you going to dowith your life?
Do you want to live or do youwant to take a chance and maybe
one day you won't live?
Beverley Glazer (11:21):
He controlled everything.
He controlled your credit cards, you were part of the business,
everything.
So basically, you were leftwith nothing.
Did you have any resources?
Like how?
How were you able to survive?
Sophia Dias (11:38):
well, uh, the cruelty and the financial abuse
was so, so horrible that I wasnot allowed to purchase
groceries for myself because Idid not have the funds.
My funds and marital funds werecompletely blocked from me.
So what the former spouse woulddo?
He would purchase groceries forme and he would put these
(12:03):
groceries outside my home.
It was a really beautifulneighborhood and sometimes I was
unaware there was a companycalled Peapod that would drop
off the groceries and if, ondays when I did not exit from
the front door, those grocerieswould be sitting and rotting
outside my home for days, wouldbe sitting and rotting outside
(12:26):
my home for days.
And you know, this is the chiefcreative officer of a large
printing packaging and a branddevelopment company, a
multibillion-dollar company.
And this is how this individualwas treating his spouse with
complete and utter disrespect.
Beverley Glazer (12:49):
And you went to the law, you had to file a
divorce, and did they take alook at all this and were they
on your side and you know whathappened there.
Sophia Dias (13:02):
What happened was I did have some fantastic
attorneys, some of the finest inthe business in Chicago
Illinois, and I writeextensively about Room 3010.
I even wrote a song about thatroom.
It's in my first album,bulletproof, by Sophia Dias.
(13:24):
We were before a female judgein room 3010, who had made up
her mind that I had absolutelyzero rights as a human being, as
a petitioner.
I was the petitioner.
She was aware that.
You know the individual wasfound guilty in the criminal
(13:47):
court of Chicago Illinois foraggravated assault, battery,
beatings, the whole, everything.
All the transcripts aresupposed to have an evidentiary
hearing.
She granted his petition on thefirst minute for selling the
(14:12):
only home that I had was themarital home.
Not only that, but the judge sawit as a money-making, as a
profit-making business deal, anactive case on her docket, and
she appointed her close and herpersonal friend, who's a realtor
, to sell my home, and therealtor was another.
(14:37):
It was like a group of somediabolically evil people that
worked together and the realtordecided that she wanted to
renovate the house.
And you know how people inamerica if you're renovating the
basement, you and the pets liveon the first floor, or if
(14:57):
you're renovating the secondfloor, you go and live in the
basement.
But this realtor was so um, shejust thought that, you know,
because her best friend was thejudge.
She wrote a letter and all ofthese emails are in the book
(15:28):
four pets should be asked toleave the home so that she can
have full control of the houseand renovate the home.
She eventually sold the house.
I believe her fee was, hercommission fee was $75,000.
And all my attorneys, you know,made fun of it and they said,
oh, don't worry.
Attorneys you know made fun ofit and they said oh, don't worry
, sophia, you too are paying forthe judges' re-election
(15:49):
campaign in your own way.
Beverley Glazer (15:52):
Oh my, oh my.
So you were battered and beatenin the court system.
You were battered and beaten byyour colleagues, not only your
ex.
How did you keep having thisstrength, sophia?
Sophia Dias (16:07):
Oh, I really didn't have much choice.
I relied heavily on my faith.
I was responsible for fourother lives.
I had adopted Salvatore Solaand I had Santorini, my cat,
who's here now.
The two other cats passed away.
They were with me for a longtime 18 years and 15 years and I
(16:32):
just had to find the strengthfrom within.
And you know, there is a sayingwhere if you exercise
consistently and, you know,really take good care of
yourself, the brain has anautomatic mechanism of
forgetting traumatic events.
So that is what I reallyfocused on myself keeping myself
(16:57):
together, eating really healthyand I'm a trained chef, so I
would cook some fabulous foodfor myself soups, go to the gym,
you know.
And I'm on the women's board,catholic Charities, I'm a board
member, so I continued my youknow volunteer work.
I would cook some fabulous food, food which was donated by
(17:21):
other people in my home and godown to Kent City on Roosevelt
and Canal Street in Chicago, sitwith the homeless people, eat
with them.
And you know, life just went onand I was very fortunate to be
surrounded with people whowanted me to succeed.
(17:41):
I also had the opportunity whenI wrote my first album at the
same time, when all of this washappening.
I worked with Grammyaward-winning music engineers
like Shane Brown, clive Hunt,who's one of the biggest music
producers and well-respected inthe industry.
I got to work with one of thefinest iconic studios in the
(18:06):
world Tufcom InternationalRecording Studio, downtown
Kingston.
Beverley Glazer (18:12):
Jamaica.
So what I'm hearing isthroughout this hell and it
certainly was you were focusedon self-care.
You were focused on movingforward 100%.
You focused on things that werepositive.
You did not focus on thesehorrible people and how they
(18:36):
were tearing you apartfinancially and emotionally.
You just moved forward, justmove forward.
And now you're also aphilanthropist and an advocate
for women and children and theelderly, and that you keep
giving back.
What would you say to women whoare listening, who are stuck
(18:56):
and they're fearful and theycan't get out because they feel
that they have too much to lose?
What would you tell them,Sylvia?
Sophia Dias (19:05):
Oh, breathing, and breathing fresh air is so much
better than being oppressed andnot knowing if you're going to
survive or close.
Go to bed with both eyes shut.
You know it's a decision thatone has to make.
I was in volunteering at theAmah House in the south of India
(19:33):
, in Trivandrum, last year and Igot to work, volunteer and
serve the elderly and the sickwho are over the age of 95,
almost 98.
And these are people who areabandoned by their own children
because they don't want to takecare of them, so they
essentially pack up the trashand leave the parents on the
(19:54):
side of the street.
That was an eye-opener.
You know of how cruelty canwork in different dynamics.
Prior to that, I was alsovolunteering at the Travancore
National School, travandrum.
I got to work with severelydown syndrome and autistic
children there were about 200 inthe school and that also showed
(20:16):
me another element of life justhow precious life is.
So to anybody who's listening Iwould say no matter how hard
you've been battered andtormented and tortured by people
closest to you, it is just notworth being in that environment
because the other side is dead.
Beverley Glazer (20:42):
Thank you, thank you.
Sophia Dias is a philanthropist, an international entrepreneur,
an artist and an author who hasbeen in a secretly abusive
marriage and lost everything.
Today she uses her voice, herresources and her influence to
(21:03):
help women, children and theelderly to rebuild their lives
with active initiatives aroundthe world.
Here are some takeaways fromthis episode.
You can lose everything, but ifyou're alive, you can always
rebuild.
Trust your intuition whensomething feels wrong.
Don't ignore those red flagsand do get help.
(21:28):
Believe in yourself.
You are stronger than you think.
If you've been relating to thisepisode, here are a few actions
that you could do right now.
If you feel that something'swrong, don't ignore it.
Gather documents, tell atrusted friend and seek advice
for planning your first move andgo slowly.
When you have the rightstrategies, there's no need to
(21:51):
stay stuck.
Slowly when you have the rightstrategies, there's no need to
stay stuck.
For similar episodes onempowering yourself to reinvent
your life, please check outnumber 124 and 133 of Aging with
Purpose and Passion.
And if you love podcasts forolder women, the Late Bloomer
Living podcast will inspire youto find joy, embrace change and
(22:15):
live playfully at any age.
Every Wednesday, yvonneMarchese interviews inspiring
guests who dare to reinventthemselves and experts who
provide valuable guidance onnavigating the unique challenges
in midlife and beyond.
So, sophia, where can peoplelearn more about you online?
Sophia Dias (22:40):
Actually my website is under construction so that
should be going up in the nextfew months and I'm very easy to
find.
My books are on Amazon justunder Sophia Dias.
Beverley Glazer (22:53):
Terrific, and, as Sophia said, her site isn't
up yet, but it is going to be inthe show notes, so just check
the show notes, and all Sophia'slinks will also be on
reinventimpossiblecom.
That's my site too, and so, myfriends, what's next for you?
(23:16):
Are you just going through themotions or are you living a life
that you truly love?
Get my free guide to go fromstuck to unstoppable, and that
also will be in the show notes,too.
You can connect with me,Beverly Glazer, on all social
media platforms and in mypositive group on Facebook, and
that's Women Over 50 Rock, andthank you for listening.
(23:39):
Have you enjoyed thisconversation?
Please subscribe and help usspread the word by dropping a
review and sending it to afriend.
And remember you only have onelife, so live it with purpose
and passion.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
Thank you for joining us.
You can connect with Bev on herwebsite, reinventimpossible.
com and, while you're there,join our newsletter Subscribe so
you don't miss an episode.
Until next time, keep agingwith purpose and passion and
celebrate life.
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