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People love to judge your success, but they never stick around for the prequel. You know, the one with the wall-unit A/C, the EBT cards, and the 59¢ pasta dinners that lasted all week. In this episode, I’m taking you back to where it all began—L Street in Lake Worth, Florida—where resilience was the family currency and silence was the love language.

My dad was the youngest of four kids in a family that learned grief before they ever learned healing. We didn’t have much, but we had grit, and after he passed, I made a promise: the cycle ends with me. From a childhood built on scarcity to buying my first Lexus as a symbol of survival, this is the story of how I learned that breaking generational trauma doesn’t mean chasing luxury—it means claiming peace.

So if you’ve ever been judged for what you’ve earned instead of what you’ve overcome, this one’s for you. Because being the Black Sheep isn’t about standing out—it’s about breaking out.

Follow the show, drop a 5-star review, and email your Black Sheep breakthrough story to [email protected] Let’s keep breaking cycles—one story at a time.

Slide into the Black Sheep’s DMs – Janine’s waiting.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.stellamix.com

Produced by StellaMix

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Let’s be real — speaking up for yourself shouldn’t feel like a crime scene, but somehow it does. One minute you’re calm, cool, and collected, and the next minute you’re “too much,” “aggressive,” or “not a team player.” But here’s the truth: silence might keep things comfortable, but it also keeps you small.

In this episode, I’m talking about what it means to finally stop biting your tongue and start using your voice — even if it shakes. From years of being the family peacekeeper to finally standing up in boardrooms and relationships, this is the story of learning that self-respect doesn’t always sound polite.

We’ll talk about the emotional whiplash that comes with speaking your truth, the guilt trips people hand you when you set boundaries, and the freedom that follows once you stop apologizing for taking up space. Because when the Black Sheep starts to speak, the whole flock starts listening.

Follow the show, drop a 5-star review, and email me your “speak-up” story at [email protected]
— I might share it in an upcoming episode.

Slide into the Black Sheep’s DMs – Janine’s waiting.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.stellamix.com

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Growing up in a rainbow household meant my family looked nothing like anyone else’s — I had a lesbian mom, a bisexual (okay, mostly gay) dad, and a childhood that could’ve been its own sitcom. The PTA wasn’t ready for us, and neither was my bank account.

 From my mom’s secret partner to my dad’s quiet coming out, I learned early that love doesn’t fit into neat little boxes — and neither does budgeting.

 In this episode, I talk about how being raised by a fabulously nontraditional family gave me resilience, humor, and a complicated relationship with money. Spoiler alert: emotional spending counts as cardio when you’re a black sheep with rainbow DNA.

Slide into the Black Sheep’s DMs – Janine’s waiting.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.stellamix.com

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Newsflash: the minute a Black Sheep stops playing nice, the flock starts bleating. This episode dives into why boundaries are the ultimate rebellion, how to say no without guilt, and why your fleece pajamas and peace of mind are worth more than keeping everyone else happy.

From flaky friends to overbearing bosses to family who think “no” is negotiable, I’m unpacking the real reason people lose it when you draw a line. Spoiler: they were cashing in on your lack of one. So pour a drink, snuggle those threadbare pajama pants, and let’s talk about why saying no is the most Black Sheep thing you can do. Baa, bitch.

Slide into the Black Sheep’s DMs – Janine’s waiting.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.stellamix.com

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Dating as a Black Sheep isn’t romantic—it’s survival with cocktails. One minute you think you’ve met “the one,” the next you realize you’ve trauma-bonded with a walking red flag in skinny jeans. The herd calls it chaos. We call it Tuesday.

In this episode, I’m diving into why Black Sheep love differently—attachment styles with a misfit twist, rejection sensitivity, and why calm love feels boring when you’re wired for drama. We’ll laugh through red flags I’ve ignored, unpack trauma reenactment (a.k.a. dating your family with better hair), and talk about how to stop confusing chaos with chemistry.

If you’ve ever swiped wrong, chased chaos, or felt like “too much” in love—this one’s for you. Pour yourself a drink, mute your situationship, and let’s get into the mess together.

Slide into the Black Sheep’s DMs – Janine’s waiting.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.stellamix.com

Produced by StellaMix

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Family isn’t always warm hugs and Sunday dinners. Sometimes it’s blame, favoritism, or that aunt with boxed wine breath telling you you’ll “never measure up.” In this raw episode of Being the Black Sheep, Janine Stella teams up with trauma specialist Eric Bricker, LMHC to rip the bandage off family-of-origin trauma.

From Christmas gift inequality to being iced out at the dinner table, Janine and Eric expose how families brand their misfits, why rejection cuts the deepest at home, and what it really takes to survive when the herd turns on you.

This isn’t therapy—it’s rebellion. If you’ve ever felt like the scapegoat, the outcast, or the one who never belonged, this episode is proof: you’re not broken—you’re just not built for their flock. 

Slide into the Black Sheep’s DMs – Janine’s waiting.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.stellamix.com

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Some sheep follow the herd… and then there are the ones who set the pasture on fire. In this episode of Being the Black Sheep, Janine Stella dives into the rebels who flipped history on its head—mythical misfits like Prometheus and Loki, real-world fire-starters like Joan of Arc and Rosa Parks, and modern icons from Ali to Gaga who turned “too much” into legendary. 

With a few of her own wild stories thrown in (yes, there’s a cartwheel-for-a-contract moment and a bridesmaid-dress cannonball), Janine proves that sometimes being the black sheep isn’t about fitting out—it’s about shaking things up. 

Because let’s be honest: when you’re the black sheep, tradition isn’t your prison—it’s your playground. 

Slide into the Black Sheep’s DMs – Janine’s waiting.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.stellamix.com

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What happens when your faith decides you’re no longer fit for the flock? In this episode of Being the Black Sheep, Janine Stella unpacks the wild, heartbreaking, and often absurd ways religious communities have given the ultimate cold shoulder—from medieval Spain’s “convert or get out” orders to the silent shunning of modern high-control groups.

We’re talking Amish teens torn between family and freedom, Jehovah’s Witnesses facing “social death” for walking away, and the unspoken biases that still police who’s in and who’s out. With historical dirt, personal war stories, and plenty of sass, Janine proves that sometimes getting holy-ghosted by your community isn’t the end—it’s the start of finding your own damn pasture.

Because, once you’ve been baaa-nished, you’re free to run wild.

Slide into the Black Sheep’s DMs – Janine’s waiting.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.stellamix.com

Produced by StellaMix

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Ever been the one in the office who doesn’t fake-laugh at the CEO’s lame jokes or join in the gossip just to fit in? Welcome to the club. In this episode of Being the Black Sheep, I share my own wild ride through corporate hell—complete with toxic positivity memes, wine-fueled “check-ins,” and the two little words (“Yes, boss”) that got me publicly shamed and fired.

But here’s the twist: getting canned during COVID turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. I’ll walk you through how that soul-crushing job loss pushed me to stop playing small, go all-in on podcasting, and rebuild my life on my own terms.

We’ll dive into the psychology of corporate black sheep, why companies fear independent thinkers, and how to survive (or escape) when you’re allergic to corporate BS. Spoiler alert: you’re not the problem—sometimes you just need a new flock.

Slide into the Black Sheep’s DMs – Janine’s waiting.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.stellamix.com

Produced by StellaMix

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Every group has one—the person who refuses to blend in and makes the rest wonder what rulebook they’re following. You know the type.

In this very first episode of Being the Black Sheep, I’m ripping the wool off the history of this infamous label. I’ll take you from ancient flocks to Puritan judgment, through folklore where black sheep were seen as magical, to modern psychology that explains why we’re the ones carrying all the “unspoken stuff.”

I’m not here to sugarcoat it. I’m here to flip the script on what it means to be the outsider and show you why being different isn’t a flaw—it’s a damn superpower.

Got your own black sheep story? I want to hear it! 

Slide into the Black Sheep’s DMs – Janine’s waiting.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.stellamix.com

Produced by StellaMix