Introducing Split Happens
We’re so excited to announce the launch of Split Happens!
Split Happens is a new digital support space for young people affected by parental separation, created through a collaboration between Your Direction’s deep expertise in helping young people navigate and rise above family breakdown and amicable’s innovative, tech-enabled approach to separation.
Why Split Happens exists
We’ve seen first-hand the impact parental separation can have on young people. Nearly four million children in the UK live in separated households, and family breakdown can affect every part of a young person’s life – their education, mental wellbeing, sense of identity, and the relationships they go on to build.
Yet too often, the focus is on the surface issues – anxiety, absenteeism, anger, low mood – rather than the root cause. Family breakdown itself remains stigmatised and rarely talked about openly from the child’s perspective. Split Happens exists to change that.
Our mission is to destigmatise separation, centre young people’s experiences, and help them engage in conversations about their parents split in ways that feel safe, meaningful, and empowering.
Real stories from young people
Over the past year, we’ve interviewed young people from a wide range of backgrounds to share experiences of their parents’ split. They spoke not only about the challenges they faced, but also about the ways they found resilience and hope.
From the very beginning, it was important to us that Split Happens felt positive and reassuring. Parental separation can be incredibly isolating, and we know how powerful it is for young people to hear from others who truly understand what they are going through.
We’re incredibly proud of the young people who shared their real stories, and you can explore them all on the platform.
Yuni – your AI guide
Split Happens is powered by Yuni, an AI chatbot built on real stories from young people and expert approved guidance.
Yuni is not designed to replace real people or real conversations. Instead, it acts as a bridge to the real world, helping young people find the words to reach out to their parents, teachers, friends, or counsellors.
Unlike generic AI tools, Yuni does not pull information randomly from across the internet. Every response is grounded in empathy, credible resources, and thoughtful signposting to further support. By reinforcing connection rather than replacing it, Yuni helps young people feel more confident taking the next step toward more human connection.
Meeting young people where they’re at
Every young person experiences parental separation differently. For some, it may feel turbulent and high conflict. For others, it may even come as a relief. Whatever that experience looks like, it can still have a lasting impact, and every response to it is valid. That’s why we created ‘Your Journey’ in Split Happens. It’s designed to help young people explore the different stages of parental separation in a way that feels relevant to where they are right now, not where anyone thinks they should be.
Each stage within Your Journey is supported by tailored resources and practical tools, offering clear, actionable guidance to help young people process what they’re feeling, build confidence, and take positive steps forward.
You can explore Your Journey and find practical tools and resources to support you along the way.
Help us share Split Happens
Now that Split Happens has launched, helping it reach the right people really matters to us.
If you can, please share Split Happens with young people, parents, teachers, legal professionals, and anyone supporting families through separation. You can explore the platform at splithappens.co.uk and help spread the word by following and sharing our content on Instagram at @splithappensofficial.
Together, we can help young people feel less alone and empower them with the tools and skills to move forward with resilience.