Divorce Happens

When you’re sitting at the mediation table and someone asks, “What do you want?” it can feel like a trick question. In this episode of Divorce Happens, Olivia Howell sits down with certified ADR divorce coach, pre-mediation coach, and trauma-informed coach Lyerly Spongberg, to unpack why that deceptively simple question is the key to unlocking better outcomes in divorce. With warmth and candor, Lyerly explains how getting clear on your why—the deeper reason behind your wants—can transform negotiation, reduce conflict, and protect your peace of mind.

Drawing from years of coaching individuals through the chaos of divorce, Lyerly shares the common pitfalls she sees when people cling to rigid positions, and how shifting the conversation from what you want to why you want it opens the door to creative, flexible solutions. She shares client stories that illustrate how reality testing and curiosity can ease conflict—whether it’s navigating custody arrangements or deciding what to do about the family home. Her trauma-informed approach helps clients slow down, regulate their nervous systems, and focus on what truly matters.

For anyone overwhelmed by the divorce process, this episode offers clarity and hope. Listeners will walk away with practical strategies like breaking down decisions into manageable steps, naming fears out loud, and entering mediation with confidence and emotional grounding. Most importantly, Lyerly reminds us that divorce, while often disorienting, can also be a process of empowerment, dignity, and growth when guided by the right support.

Learn more about Lyerly Spongberg: https://www.freshstartsregistry.com/resourceguide/step-up-with-lyerly

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Divorce has a way of silencing even the loudest voices. In this episode of Divorce Happens, Olivia Howell sits down with Chedva Ludmir—business strategist, mentor, and the founder of Consider Labs—to talk about what it really means to lose your confidence in the storm of separation. Chedva knows this terrain not only as a strategist who guides entrepreneurs but as someone who has walked through divorce herself. She shares how gaslighting and subtle shrinking can chip away at a person’s identity until one day you wake up and no longer recognize your own voice.

From her years in strategy and leadership, Chedva brings a unique lens: the personal and professional are never separate. When you’re silenced at home, it seeps into your work. She speaks candidly about her own season of shrinking—where she shifted from visionary strategy to small, menial tasks—and how that disconnect drained her energy and joy. Through gentle but powerful questioning, she helps clients, and herself, rediscover what lights them up and where their true genius lies. Her methodology centers on curiosity, forward-thinking vision, and building rituals that slowly expand your capacity to take up space again.

Listeners will leave with more than just validation—they’ll have a map. Chedva offers concrete ways to notice when you’re “going through the motions,” to begin asking small, non-judgmental questions, and to envision the bolder, braver self waiting on the other side of divorce. This conversation is a reminder that your voice isn’t gone forever; it’s waiting for you, and reclaiming it can change not just your personal healing, but your entire future.

Learn more about Consider by Chedva Ludmir: https://www.freshstartsregistry.com/resourceguide/consider-by-chedva-ludmir

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The first & only divorce registry + support platform ➡ https://www.freshstartsregistry.com/

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📬 Newsletter: https://divorceguide.substack.com/

Divorce rarely ends at the signing of papers. It lingers in the day-to-day decisions, the cast of new characters who enter the family orbit, and the quiet ways insecurity, judgment, or outside voices can unsettle the fragile ecosystem of co-parenting. In this episode of Divorce Happens, Olivia sits down with relationship coach Anna Howerton, who not only works with clients navigating these moments but has lived them herself. Anna shares the raw, unexpected story of stumbling upon her ex-husband’s new partner speaking publicly about her, a moment that forced her to confront the messy overlap of private life, public perception, and the resilience it takes to rise above.

Anna brings deep credibility to this conversation—not only as a coach who supports individuals in crisis points before, during, and after divorce, but as someone who has walked the road of conscious uncoupling, rebuilding, and dating again. She explains how step-partners often act from a place of insecurity, and why compassion, rather than retaliation, is sometimes the only way forward. Through her story, she illuminates the often invisible labor of divorced moms: to regulate emotions, protect children, and elevate above drama—even when their character is publicly challenged.

Listeners will come away with both clarity and hope. Anna offers practical strategies like resisting the urge to engage in public battles, keeping communication with your ex at the center of co-parenting, and grounding yourself through nervous system resets. At the heart of her message is a reminder that children are on “mom WiFi”—they feel our energy more than they hear our words. Divorce is never simple, but as Anna beautifully says, “Every rainstorm runs out of rain.” Healing is possible, and your steady presence can be the anchor your children need as you build a new beginning.

Learn more about Anna: https://www.freshstartsregistry.com/resourceguide/anna-howerton-coaching-llc

🔗 Check out Fresh Starts Registry:

The first & only divorce registry + support platform ➡ https://www.freshstartsregistry.com/

📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshstartsregistry/

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🎙 Podcast IG: https://www.instagram.com/divorcehappenspod/

📬 Newsletter: https://divorceguide.substack.com/

Divorce has a way of cracking us open, forcing us to confront truths we may have avoided, and reshaping the way we move through the world. In this episode of Divorce Happens, I sit down with Amanda Goetz—two-time founder, four-time CMO, and author of the upcoming book Toxic Grit—to talk about the lessons she learned while navigating her own high-stakes divorce. From financial shocks to emotional entanglements, Amanda shares candidly about the missteps, the strategies, and the breakthroughs that helped her reclaim her power.

With honesty and clarity, Amanda reveals what it was like to be a successful executive making over $200,000 a year while still finding herself financially manipulated during her divorce. She discusses the importance of knowing where your money is, the hard-earned wisdom of choosing mediation over drawn-out litigation, and the gut-punch reality of how numbers on tax returns can shape your entire settlement. But she doesn’t stop at the legal and financial: Amanda also opens up about the emotional hooks of divorce, from learning to respond with “facts, not emotions” to creating rituals that sever lingering ties of control.

What emerges from our conversation is not just a survival guide but a framework for transformation. Amanda encourages listeners to embrace divorce as a cocoon moment—a chance to explore new versions of themselves, step into main character energy, and learn which people and practices help them rise to higher frequencies. Her story is proof that while divorce breaks us open, it also invites us into a new, more expansive chapter of life. If you’ve ever wondered how to navigate both the chaos and the clarity of starting over, this episode will leave you with hope, courage, and actionable wisdom.

Buy Toxic Grit here: https://www.toxicgrit.com/

🔗 Check out Fresh Starts Registry:

The first & only divorce registry + support platform ➡ https://www.freshstartsregistry.com/

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🎙 Podcast IG: https://www.instagram.com/divorcehappenspod/

📬 Newsletter: https://divorceguide.substack.com/

Divorce has a way of pulling everything to the surface—the grief, the guilt, the relief, the fear, and the hope. In this episode of Divorce Happens, Olivia sits down with relationship expert and EFT tapping practitioner Lizzy Gobst to explore what happens when all those emotions collide, and how to create space for them without being swallowed whole. Lizzy reminds us that mixed feelings don’t cancel each other out—they’re proof that we’re human, healing, and moving forward in our own time.

With a background in communication coaching and emotional regulation, Lizzy brings both warmth and practicality to the conversation. She explains the science and simplicity of EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), a method that uses tapping on acupressure points to soothe anxiety, shift subconscious patterns, and reconnect us to agency. Through stories of her clients—and her own life—she illustrates how tapping can transform “stuck” moments into opportunities for insight, whether it’s navigating difficult conversations with an ex, handling paperwork that sparks dread, or untangling old family patterns that resurface post-divorce.

At its core, this episode is about reclaiming calm in the chaos. Lizzy offers listeners permission to hold contradictory feelings—grief alongside gratitude, fear alongside excitement—while also equipping them with a tool to quiet spirals in real time. The conversation is grounding, hopeful, and filled with tangible reminders that healing isn’t about erasing the past, but about creating new patterns that help us live fully in the present.

Learn more about Lizzy: https://www.freshstartsregistry.com/resourceguide/love-smarts

🔗 Check out Fresh Starts Registry:

The first & only divorce registry + support platform ➡ https://www.freshstartsregistry.com/

📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshstartsregistry/

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📬 Newsletter: https://divorceguide.substack.com/

The first truth Meredith Beardmore learned in divorce was deceptively simple: she wasn’t “crazy”—she was intuitive. In today’s conversation, Meredith—a therapist, author, and creator of the YouTube channel Men With Mare, where she offers therapeutic reactions to lyric-driven songs—walks us through the moment her body knew what her brain was not yet allowed to say out loud. The arguments that looked small from the outside (like whether her son should get ear tubes) were flares on the horizon. The real fire, she later discovered, was fueled by hidden drug use, financial fallout, and betrayal. That’s when the second truth arrived: when a partner becomes an adversary, protecting your child means protecting your own knowing.

Meredith tells the story without varnish. She moved from New York City back to Ohio for family support, charged therapy to credit cards, and watched the numbers climb while her shame tried to keep pace. She names aloud what so many listeners whisper to themselves: freedom is expensive. Debt stacks, timelines stretch, and at every turn there’s unsolicited commentary from the sidelines—neighbors praising “bike rides,” strangers doubting emotional abuse because it leaves no bruise. But fast doesn’t equal free, and every hard choice became, in her words, “a down payment toward my peace.”

And then the third truth: grace. Grace for the version of you that didn’t have all the information, grace for the professional who didn’t predict the plot twist, grace for the parent who is doing it all—because she was doing it all even before she left. Meredith’s memoir, The Plan B Chronicles: Divorce Defines Liberation, braids survival writing with therapeutic tools and pop-culture echoes to offer clarity without cliché. Listeners will leave with two grounding shifts: trust your intuition even without “proof,” and treat every practical step—therapy, safety planning, strategic boundaries—as an investment in future you. It will get better. You are stronger than you know.

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🎙 Podcast IG: https://www.instagram.com/divorcehappenspod/

📬 Newsletter: https://divorceguide.substack.com/

The first friendships to change after divorce aren’t always the loud ones—they’re the quiet ones that stop texting back. In this episode, Olivia sits down with psychotherapist and relationship specialist Stevie Blum to name that ache and offer language for it. Stevie works with high-achieving women navigating life transitions, anxiety, and perfectionism, helping them “rewire” unhelpful patterns and design lives aligned with their higher selves. Together, they map the overlooked grief of friendship during divorce: the early rush of check-ins that fades, the isolation of being the first in your circle to separate, and the sting of well-meaning but misguided advice.

Stevie offers a compassionate toolkit for moments when you feel dropped by your people. She explains the spotlight effect—how we overestimate the space we occupy in others’ lives—and why depersonalizing helps. She shares how to turn a complaint into a clear request (“It would mean a lot if you checked in on Fridays” or “Please include me when your family does Saturday plans”), and gives boundary scripts for friends who keep saying the wrong thing. When a repair isn’t possible, she introduces her gentle sequence: solve, reframe, accept—and reminds us that acceptance isn’t approval; it’s choosing not to fight what’s true.

Threaded through is Stevie’s wave metaphor for big feelings: stop thrashing, let the water roll over you, and trust there is another side. Listeners will leave with hope and practical language—assume best intent, ask for what you need, offer friends “the gift” of feedback—and a reframe that heals both directions: “Everyone’s doing the best they can…and they can do better.” Vulnerability can deepen certain friendships, reveal unexpected allies, and rebuild the confidence you’ll use everywhere else—from texting your best friend to asking your lawyer for what you deserve.

To get in touch with Stevie Blum:

https://www.stevieblumtherapy.com/

https://www.instagram.com/stevieblumtherapy/

The end of a marriage can feel like a storm—messy, disorienting, and all-consuming. But what if, instead of letting the wreckage define you, you saw it as the start of a completely different chapter? In this episode of Divorce Happens, I sit down with Michelle Dempsey-Multack, certified divorce and co-parenting specialist, trauma and resilience coach, and bestselling author of Moms Moving On. Known as the “OG Divorce Queen,” Michelle has helped thousands of people not just survive divorce, but create a future they’re proud of—one that prioritizes peace, personal growth, and the well-being of their children.

Drawing on her own divorce and years of working with clients, Michelle shares the hard-earned lessons that can completely shift the way you navigate separation. She reminds us that divorce is an adult’s choice, but a child’s lived experience—and that how we show up after the split matters far more than the split itself. Through candid stories and actionable advice, she challenges us to take ownership of our role in conflict, let go of the need to “win” against an ex, and see the potential for transformation in the midst of heartbreak.

This conversation is equal parts grounding and hopeful, offering listeners a blueprint for co-parenting without resentment, healing without losing yourself, and raising children who don’t have to recover from their parents’ divorce. You’ll walk away with a fresh perspective on ego, boundaries, and why choosing peace over power can change everything. Whether you’re knee-deep in the process or on the other side looking to rebuild, Michelle’s insights will leave you feeling less alone—and more equipped to move forward.

🔗 Check out Fresh Starts Registry:

The first & only divorce registry + support platform ➡ https://www.freshstartsregistry.com/

📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshstartsregistry/

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🎙 Podcast IG: https://www.instagram.com/divorcehappenspod/

📬 Newsletter: https://divorceguide.substack.com/

Some divorces are quiet, others are catastrophic. For Sarah May, it was the latter—a marriage that imploded in betrayal and emotional abuse when she was just 24, followed by a decade-long healing journey she never expected. In this deeply moving episode, Sarah shares how that early unraveling forced her into a reckoning with her own story: her codependency, her childhood wounds, and the patterns that made dysfunction feel like home. Through tears, therapy, and truth-telling, she slowly rebuilt herself—not for a partner, not for the outside world, but for the girl inside who had always longed to feel safe.

Sarah is an author, yoga teacher, Reiki practitioner, and intuitive healing guide whose debut memoir She Journeys: A Memoir of Heartbreak and Homecoming is a stunning reflection on how we reclaim ourselves after devastating loss. In this conversation, she joins Olivia to explore the hard-won wisdom she carries now—the kind that only comes from surviving what you once thought might break you. Together, they talk honestly about the trap of blame, the long road to self-responsibility, and the radical act of forgiving both yourself and the women who were part of the harm.

Listeners will walk away with powerful mindset shifts: that healing doesn’t mean letting others off the hook—it means setting yourself free. That self-forgiveness is more powerful than any apology. And that yes, you will love again—but only after you learn to love yourself first. This episode is a balm for anyone who’s ever looked around the ruins of a life and wondered, “How do I begin again?” The answer, as Sarah shows us, is: one brave, honest page at a time.

Buy the book here: https://amzn.to/45gUzUe

🔗 Check out Fresh Starts Registry:

The first & only divorce registry + support platform ➡ https://www.freshstartsregistry.com/

📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshstartsregistry/

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreshStartsRegistry

🎙 Podcast IG: https://www.instagram.com/divorcehappenspod/

📬 Newsletter: https://divorceguide.substack.com/

When your world falls apart, the idea of starting over can feel both impossible and overwhelming. In this emotionally rich episode of Divorce Happens, Olivia Howell sits down with Taylor Beck, certified ADR divorce coach and intuitive guide, to explore what it really means to move forward when you're feeling stuck in the wake of a life-changing separation. With warmth, humor, and hard-earned insight, Taylor shares her compassionate approach to coaching women through the fog of divorce—helping them reconnect with their intuition, reclaim their power, and take one small, courageous step at a time.

Taylor has helped countless women navigate the pivotal moments before, during, and after divorce—from making the decision to leave, to reentering the dating world, to establishing co-parenting boundaries. Drawing from her extensive experience and her work through Revive + Rise Coaching, she emphasizes the importance of sustainable rituals, nervous system care, and somatic healing. Whether it's making your bed, going for a walk, or playing your favorite song in the morning, Taylor reminds listeners that transformation starts with the tiniest of choices. Her message is clear: healing doesn’t require perfection—it just requires presence.

Listeners will walk away from this episode with a renewed sense of hope, permission to slow down, and the reminder that healing is nonlinear—and deeply personal. Taylor offers a powerful mindset shift: temporary pain is worth enduring when it leads to permanent peace. If you’ve been feeling paralyzed in your post-divorce life, this conversation is your sign to begin again—with grace, clarity, and support at your side.

Learn more about Taylor: https://www.freshstartsregistry.com/resourceguide/revive-rise-coaching

🔗 Check out Fresh Starts Registry:

The first & only divorce registry + support platform ➡ https://www.freshstartsregistry.com/

📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshstartsregistry/

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🎙 Podcast IG: https://www.instagram.com/divorcehappenspod/

📬 Newsletter: https://divorceguide.substack.com/