Actress Tamzin Outhwaite says she is in her ‘rebirth era’ and has ‘never been happier’ as she swaps the stage and screen to focus on her free residential retreats for women in urgent need of respite.
Tamzin, who became a household name thanks to her role in EastEnders and shows including New Tricks and Hotel Babylon, is now on a mission to make wellbeing accessible to all women – from cancer survivors to burnt out mums.
Who are We Free Women?
Tamzin, 54, launched We Free Women, a Community Interest Company (CIC), in 2023 after going on a solo retreat to help with her perimenopause symptoms. On returning home Tamzin felt called to help more women experience the same level of healing without the high cost.
“For many a solo trip when you’re just looking after you, feels extravagant. So many women need it, but they put themselves last. I was trying to teach myself to put myself first and look after me and thought ‘why shouldn’t everyone have the tools to be able to do this’”, she says.
The journey so far
The mum-of-two self-funded her first retreat and held it at her home in London just six weeks after having the initial idea for We Free Women.
Tamzin, alongside her cofounders and team of volunteers, have now run seven retreats, each hosting 10 to 12 women. The most recent retreat was held in Somerset earlier this year which Tamzin hosted in between filming for the new Channel 5 crime drama Murder Before Evensong set to come to screens soon.
Reflecting on her new wellness venture, Tamzin says she is in a ‘happier place’ than she’s ever been and now feels like she’s in her ‘rebirth era’ on her menopause journey.
“I’m probably the most liberated that I’ve ever felt and feeling like I’m actually helping people while doing it. I have the most incredible team at We Free Women – it’s a really beautiful thing.
“We ask the ladies who take part in the retreats to take the kindness they’ve felt back into society and keep looking after themselves with a full cup and full heart. Our ethos is you can’t pour from an empty cup,” she says.
Why the name and who are the retreats for?
Explaining the premise behind the name We Free Women, Tamzin says: “As a group of women we are free and help other women to have that freedom.
“The retreats give women their power back or teach them how to get it back and remember who they are. Whether they’re feeling lost in their world, or they’ve lost themself over the years – through disease, devoting themselves to their children, a marriage breakdown or burnout – it’s about helping women find themselves again which is a truly magical thing.
“It’s brave of them to trust us, sometimes they arrive, and they look like they’re breaking, and they leave with clear smiles on their faces,” she says.
Attendees at previous retreats include women who have just finished cancer treatment, wives who have discovered their husbands have been having affairs and women who have just been diagnosed with a medical condition or are recovering from trauma.
Tamzin says: “All sorts of women attend – some women are suffering from intense burn out and have never spent a day alone. Sometimes it’s hard, people are healing from really difficult stuff but there are moments of just utter joy and release and spiritual break throughs – they make friends, and we all laugh.”
Women can either be nominated by a friend or family member to attend a retreat or can nominate themselves.
Why easyfundraising?
The retreats, which Tamzin estimates would normally cost around £1,500 per person, are funded through a combination of donations, grants, sponsorship and a large network of volunteers – including nutritionists, life coaches and menopause experts.
Tamzin hopes to one day be able to run four retreats a year with one held each season but says more regular funding is needed. In a bid to help boost funding and cover costs Tamzin and her team have registered We Free Women as a cause on easyfundraising.
Tamzin says: “Easyfundraising is absolutely brilliant. I often go through easyfundraising if I have stuff to get online. I love the fact that it doesn’t cost you anything and it’s the actual retailer that’s donating on my behalf. It’s a lovely way of doing it – almost like a loophole.”
How you can support We Free Women
If you would like to support We Free Women every time you shop, you can sign up to support them here.
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