Secret Lives of Women Tuesdays at 10pm|9c

Diane, 43, of Boise, ID


I live in beautiful Boise, Idaho with my husband and three "kids," our dogs Madison, Rummy and Bella. I’ve been working in marketing for over 10 years. We moved here six years ago from Louisville, a small city between Denver and Boulder, Colorado. I grew up as a military kid, and was born in Germany, so I’ve lived all over the world. I still get the bug to move and am always looking for the next place to go. My secret is that I have a problem with shopping. A lot of people might think that’s a ridiculous statement and that I should just not buy anything if I don’t have the money. Well, it’s easier said than done. As with any other addiction, it’s a coping mechanism for me. When I shop, all my worries go away – all I see is the "stuff" and it totally takes me away and the only thoughts I have are, "I have to have this. If I don’t get it, I’ll never see it again." I love antiques, fine jewelry and fine art. I always have to be searching for the next thing and if I don’t get it, I can’t focus or sleep until I get it. Then once I have it, I put it away and it’s on to the next thing. It’s a vicious cycle. Does anyone know my secret? Some do, most do not. In our society, sharing money issues is very taboo, almost like talking about sex. I do believe, though, that more people struggle with money than they let on. I know I do. I act like I have money, and it’s not a problem, but I have huge issues around it. I have to say, since the show was taped, I have closed down all the credit cards. It’s mostly due to the fact that my husband has lost hours at work and we are going to lose our home, like many people in this poor economy. The worst part is that I could have paid the difference in his lost pay if I hadn’t run up all our bills, so that’s a lot of guilt that I deal with daily. My shopping has gotten better, but is it because I don’t have the cards to fall back on anymore, or that I finally got a major wake-up call with losing our house? I’ll never really know, but I do know that now, more than ever, I’m finally getting better about this, and while I don’t think it will ever be "cured" it certainly has gotten much, much better.