Mikayla Nogueira's fiancé Cody is telling his story.
While the beauty influencer has previously spoken about her partner's journey to sobriety following his battle with drug and alcohol addiction, Cody shared his experience in a new TikTok posted Aug. 10.
"All my life I was just sad," Cody began as Mikayla held his hand in support. "Even before I found drugs I was just a sad person. I didn't feel accepted. I didn't feel like I belonged anywhere. I was never part of a group. So when I did find drugs, that gave me people to be around who I thought were friends at the time and it helped me escape from self."
He shared that at the time he didn't have much hope for his future. "I never really pictured a life," Cody said. "I didn't think I would live to see 18. Then I turned 18 and I'm like, 'Well it's 21.' And then I turned 21, and I was still alive. So I was like, 'You know, this isn't what I want. Like, I'm not going anywhere obviously.' I'd ruined relationships with my family, all my friends."
That's when he decided to seek help, sharing he traveled from his home state of Nevada to Massachusetts to get treatment for his addiction.
"When I had reached the end of my rope, I came out here about two and a half years ago and I spent my last $400 on a plane ticket out here and I had $19 when I landed in Logan Airport," he recalled. "Just broken—just, like, a broken, hopeless addict."
Cody shared that after a few months in treatment, he began to see a shift, noting, "The first thought in my head wasn't 'I'm not good enough.'" Now, more than two years sober, Cody is living in a new house with Mikayla and they're preparing to tie the knot after getting engaged last year. And Mikayla noted Cody's biggest life goal is to open a sober living facility.
@mikaylanogueira A message from Cody to you ?? - Cody is camera shy and not the most comfortable on camera, but he wanted to express his gratitude to you for the support you have shown him and I! We love you!
? original sound - Mikayla Nogueira
Cody then thanked fans for supporting not only him and his journey but also Mikayla, who has spoken about her eating disorder and mental health struggles, noting "it means the world to both of us."
Cody sharing his story comes just a few weeks after his fiancée spoke about it—with his permission—in a July 22 TikTok.
"After many many years of struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, Cody hit a rock-bottom and he was homeless," Mikayla said. "All he had was a really old beaten down truck that he had bought with a couple thousand dollars and he began living in it. All he would do every day is drink bottles and bottles of alcohol and take drugs until he could feel numb."
And as Cody lives a sober life following treatment, Mikayla added, they continue to "work on his sobriety every singe day" as a team and partners.
As for the truck Cody used to live in, Mikayla said he sold it to buy her engagement ring. "The most important thing to him, that truck, it transferred over to me," she said. "I became the most important thing in his life....Just the fact that someone would do that for me, it blows my mind. And to this day, Cody continues to show me every single day why he made that decision, why he loves me and how excited he is about the future with me."