A mum obsessed with mythical creatures has changed her name to Marie Unicorn Sparkles and decided on the switch while watching Marie Kondo's hit Netflix show.
Marie Unicorn - who was previously called Marie Naisbitt - changed her name by deed poll three years ago after realising her real name 'didn't spark joy'.
Marie Unicorn also realised that she disliked her straight black hair and 'sensible' dark-coloured mum outfits as they didn't reflect her authentic self so in 2019, she cleared out her wardrobe and hit the hair dye bottle.
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The mum-of-two, who's loved unicorns since she was a child, decided to embrace vibrant multi-coloured hair and ditch dark outfits for brightly-coloured clothing.
As the medical secretary started to feel 'more her', people started commenting that she even looked like a unicorn, convincing her to take the plunge and fill in deed poll forms to change her name.
The 36-year-old said plumber hubby Patrick Naisbitt, 38, jokingly asked if she was having a midlife crisis, but fully supported her and told her to 'do whatever makes you happy'.
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Three years on Marie Unicorn hasn't looked back, and now daughters Elouise, 14, and 10-year-old Esme have even taken on the Sparkles moniker too.
Despite being fully supportive of Marie Unicorn ditching her married surname Patrick won't be changing his, with his wife joking 'he's a bore'.
However the name has been known to leave others baffled and even forced Marie to provide identification to convince a confused car insurance sales assistant that it was indeed her real name.
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Marie Unicorn, from Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, said: "I changed my name as I just wanted to be myself. I had a business called the Unicorn Beauty Club and people used to call me 'the unicorn lady' because I'm obsessed with them.
"I've always loved unicorns. It always annoys me the thought that giraffes and owls exist but a unicorn couldn't. I used to collect unicorn things when I was younger, it just sort of got out of control when I got older.
"I love that they can be themselves and they're so magical."
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Beauty fan Marie Unicorn said watching Marie Kondo on Netflix while going through a bout of depression spurred her on to make changes in her life.
She explained: "I went through quite a bad depression in 2018 and I just didn't feel like me. I wasn't happy so I decided to start making changes.
"I saw Marie Kondo and she says if something doesn't spark joy, throw it out. That's what really inspired me and I started looking at my clothes and hair and thinking 'I don't like any of it'.
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"I was wearing dark clothes and had straight black hair trying to look all sensible because I'm a mum but I wasn't being me. I started making little changes and that's where it spiralled.
"The Netflix series sparked an idea in my head that I needed to go through things that I liked and throw things out of my house that I didn't.
"Marie Kondo hasn't just changed my wardrobe but my entire life, that one quote changed everything and has moulded the way I am now."
After splashing out £25 to get her name changed by deed poll, she contacted all companies and utility providers to update her details from Marie Naisbitt to Marie Unicorn Sparkles.
The majority have been plain sailing, with her driving licence, bank cards, finance information and work ID proving an easy transition.
But poor Patrick spent 20 minutes on the phone trying to convince a bemused car insurance provider that the name change wasn't a wind-up.
Marie Unicorn said: "My driving licence has been super easy to change, everything else has been really easy too.
"We had a couple of issues with the car insurance, my husband changed it over because I was already listed as a named driver.
"He was on the phone for 20 minutes and he was arguing with the bloke because he was going 'no, behave, tell me really' and this went on for a while. It got really awkward, my husband was saying 'no seriously, check the driving licence'. We got it sorted at the finish.
"Everything's been changed now, I'm just waiting for my passport to arrive but the name change has been done."
Rebecca Shepherd