When Laraine’s husband died, her kids told her to stay put. Instead, she bought an RV, named her Matilda and drove away. Now, she’s a full-time “grey nomad,” looping Australia instead of ‘mowing lawns’.

In this episode, Laraine shares what it takes to downsize a life into a van, what her kids really think, the most breathtaking places she’s been, and when she’s felt truly afraid.Retirement doesn’t have to look like it used to—some keep working, others chase freedom.

Laraine’s is a story that proves life after work can be whatever you want it to be.

THE END BITS: 

Share your feedback! Send us a voice message or email us at [email protected] 

Follow us on Instagram @MidbyMamamia or sign up to the MID newsletter, dropping weekly here. 

Mamamia's new podcast BIZ is rewriting the rules of work with no generic advice - just real strategies from women who've actually been there. Listen here.

CREDITS:

Host: Holly Wainwright

Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Senior Producer: Grace Rouvray

Producer: Tahli Blackman

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Antonia Murphy knows more about sex than pretty much anyone I’ve ever spoken to.

Antonia was raising three kids, including one with a serious disability, in a small town in New Zealand when her marriage unravelled.  A lot of women make big changes after divorce, and Antonia took that to a whole new level - she opened a legal, ethical brothel.In this shame-free conversation, Antonia shares the set of events that led her there, what she learned about what the women who worked at the brothel wanted and needed. And, of course, what the clients - almost all men - wanted and needed. And that can be surprising.

You’re going to hear stories about the men who were dropped off by their mothers or their wives, a surprising fact about the preferred age of the women, about the worst thing any parent can imagine happened to Antonia, and generally you’re going to be in the presence of a woman who looked at how you’re supposed to carry on, when you’re a divorced, regional mother, and said, F THAT.

You can follow Antonia on Instagram here

You can find her book, Madam, here

Listen to my conversation with Rachel Griffiths, who plays Antonia in the TV series, Madam, here.

THE END BITS: 

Share your feedback! Send us a voice message or email us at [email protected] 

Follow us on Instagram @MidbyMamamia or sign up to the MID newsletter, dropping weekly here. 

Mamamia's new podcast BIZ is rewriting the rules of work with no generic advice - just real strategies from women who've actually been there. Listen here.

CREDITS:

Host: Holly Wainwright

Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Senior Producer: Grace Rouvray

Producer: Tahli Blackman

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's the dream every MID woman has discussed with her best friends. You know the one. The one where you fantasise about living in a big house together, or maybe a bunch of tiny-houses on land, but the gist is the same: When we're older, we will live together and pool our resources and care for each other.

But for most of us, this dream remains a dream. For Eve Grzybowski and Heather Bolstler, two of the six people, all over the age of 70, who are living together on a beautiful property on New South Wales’ mid north coast - it is their reality. But, as you'll hear, this isn't the kind of thing you just "do."

Making this dream a reality takes planning, lots of conversations and communication and transparency - but Eve and Heather have a blueprint, and they're sharing it with you here, on MID with Holly Wainwright.

THE END BITS: 

Share your feedback! Send us a voice message or email us at [email protected] 

Follow us on Instagram @MidbyMamamia or sign up to the MID newsletter, dropping weekly here. 

Mamamia's new podcast BIZ is rewriting the rules of work with no generic advice - just real strategies from women who've actually been there. Listen here.

CREDITS:

Host: Holly Wainwright

Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Senior Producer: Grace Rouvray

Producer: Tahli Blackman

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nicole O' Neil is a Real Housewife of Sydney.

Yes, we mean the reality show. And she's also a woman dealing with a lot of what everyone else is - kids getting older, a long marriage shifting gears, friendship changing with time, a career crossroads. 

She just looks much more glamorous doing it.In this conversation we talk to Nicole about how MID’s going for someone who’s in the public eye in a very specific way. Whether the glamour is real, what it takes and what it hides. How to handle the pressure to look perfect. About friends, marriage and parenting lessons from the perspective of a newly-empty nest. And, of course, how to throw a damn party.

You can follow Nicole on Instagram and learn about her new venture BonPatch and many passions and projects.

THE END BITS: 

Share your feedback! Send us a voice message or email us at [email protected] 

Follow us on Instagram @MidbyMamamia or sign up to the MID newsletter, dropping weekly here. 

Mamamia's new podcast BIZ is rewriting the rules of work with no generic advice - just real strategies from women who've actually been there. Listen here.

CREDITS:

Host: Holly Wainwright

Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Senior Producer: Grace Rouvray

Producer: Tahli Blackman

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the MID view of The White Lotus.

The three 'midlife' friends in the latest season of the prestige TV show are a perfect thin-slice of the new forty-somethings. These are not your mother's foreheads. And this is not your mother's resortwear.

But when Jaclyn, Kate and Laurie ventured away from the beautiful people inside their five-star bubble, they ran perfect-face-first into an uncomfortable truth that's deeply relatable, even if we don't want to admit it to ourselves.

This special drop is inspired by a story by Holly Wainwright on Mamamia

THE END BITS: 

Share your feedback! Send us a voice message or email us at [email protected] 

Follow us on Instagram @MidbyMamamia or sign up to the MID newsletter, dropping weekly here. 

CREDITS:

Host: Holly Wainwright

Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Producer: Tahli Blackman

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1. Faith Agugu always imagined she would be a mother. But at 45, after many, many detours, she decided it was time to recognise the reality that wasn't going to happen, and almost immediately everything changed for her.

Faith wants us to make peace with the lives we're living and the ones we didn't quite get to live. In fact, she wants us live in a pro-ageing world. She knows it exists, because it's where she was born, into a culture where everyone wanted to be the oldest person in the room. They were the respected ones, the wise ones, the ones with status.

Faith lived in Nigeria until she was 9, then in Britain and now in Australia. She says that through her work as a psychotherapist, and founder of advocacy group Silver Sirens, ageing-anxiety is ruining our mental health. And it's fair to say, she has some ideas about how to deal with that.

This conversation is a big exhale. Like taking off your bra, it's about making peace with the changes age brings, and the surprises, and the shit bits too. 

Enjoy this episode of MID with the excellent Faith Agugu.

You can learn more about Faith's community, Silver Sirens, here 
You can follow Silver Sirens on Instagram.

THE END BITS: 

ENTER SUBSCRIBER GIVEAWAYS: Use code MIDCRUISE for 20% off a yearly subscription.

Share your feedback! Send us a voice message or email us at [email protected] 

Follow us on Instagram @MidbyMamamia or sign up to the MID newsletter, dropping weekly here. 

Mamamia's new podcast BIZ is rewriting the rules of work with no generic advice - just real strategies from women who've actually been there. Listen here.

CREDITS:

Host: Holly Wainwright

Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Senior Producer: Grace Rouvray

Producer: Tahli Blackman

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Caroline Baum and her mother Judith walked into family therapy, Caroline’s first thought was: 'We are going to eat you for breakfast… we are so fucked up…'

After all, they had a lot to discuss. At 90 years old, Judith had recently invited herself to come and live with Caroline and her husband and... it wasn't going well.

Caroline is a writer, speaker and broadcaster. She has written about the complexities of caring for her mother and trying to navigate the aged care system. And that essay, linked below, was going to form the basis of this conversation. But as you'll hear, there's so much more to discuss.

Caroline's story is both highly specific and deeply universal - speaking to the perplexing and often contradictory realities of what it means to care for our parents in their elder years, and how not all narratives are neat and tidy ones of gratitude returned. In fact, some of them end up in therapy.

You can follow Caroline Baum here

You can listen to Caroline’s podcast about the art of the biography, Life Sentences, here.

And you can read the essay that inspired this conversation, here. 

THE END BITS: 

ENTER SUBSCRIBER GIVEAWAYS: Use code MIDCRUISE for 20% off a yearly subscription.

Share your feedback! Send us a voice message or email us at [email protected] 

Follow us on Instagram @MidbyMamamia or sign up to the MID newsletter, dropping weekly here. 

Mamamia's new podcast BIZ is rewriting the rules of work with no generic advice - just real strategies from women who've actually been there. Listen here.

CREDITS:

Host: Holly Wainwright

Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Senior Producer: Grace Rouvray

Producer: Tahli Blackman

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Midlife style doesn’t have to be complicated. Today, Leigh chats with Holly Wainwright, Mamamia Out Loud co-host and bestselling author, about how she hit her fashion stride after 50. 

Holly shares her top tips for building a wardrobe that feels authentic and comfortable—without the stress of chasing trends.

If you're feeling stuck in a rut or need a wardrobe refresh, Holly and Leigh are sharing their best tips to help you feel confident without the rules. 

Check out Leigh's article 'Every piece you need for a Holly Wainwright-inspired capsule wardrobe.

THE END BITS

Watch us on Youtube

LINKS TO EVERYTHING MENTIONED: 

Kireina 'Freya' jean in multiple colours $189

Bared Cupwing cage sandal $269

Habbot Shoes

Saint Laurent Le Loafer $1700

BOUJEE & BUDGET 

Leigh Boujie:

Tony Bianco Gatsby Vanilla Venice $219

Leigh Budget:

M&S Quilted Shoulder Bag $99.99

Holly Boujie:

Vivaia Pointed-Toe Slingback Sandals $228

Rixo Coco sequined maxi dress $755

Holly Budget:

Just Jeans Originals Seam Front Short $79

GET IN TOUCH:

Feedback? We’re listening! Call the pod phone on 02 8999 9386 or email us at [email protected]

CREDITS:

Host: Leigh Campbell

Guest: Holly Wainwright

Producer: Cassie Merritt

Audio Producer: Lu Hill

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eleanor Mills had a very fabulous job, one that she had built her life and identity around for decades. But her "midlife collision" was calling when the boss called her up to their office for a "chat".

Years on, Eleanor is living a very different life, and one that has its start, as some good stories do, in a midlife mushroom trip.

In this conversation, Eleanor talks about the question women are too afraid to ask themselves, empty nests, cold swimming, why her "Noon" women are the world's greatest untapped resource, and how she cured her "addiction to busyness" to rebuild after her midlife collision.

You can find more about that, and Eleanor’s community of Queenagers here.

THE END BITS: 

ENTER SUBSCRIBER GIVEAWAYS: Use code MIDCRUISE for 20% off a yearly subscription.

Share your feedback! Send us a voice message or email us at [email protected] 

Follow us on Instagram @MidbyMamamia or sign up to the MID newsletter, dropping weekly here. 

Mamamia's new podcast BIZ is rewriting the rules of work with no generic advice - just real strategies from women who've actually been there. Listen here.

CREDITS:

Host: Holly Wainwright

Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Senior Producer: Grace Rouvray

Producer: Tahli Blackman

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rachel Griffiths says she just got through her "peak mid-hell years" and she's here to tell us how.

The actor, producer, and director has had many eras - from the "fast start" of Muriel's Wedding to being a Hollywood awards darling, a big-deal US TV star, the director of the Australian classic movie Ride Like A Girl, the co-creator of Total Control and now, the star of the TV show Madam. Through all that, she was also wrestling with the relatable MID dramas - parenting teens and young adults, a diagnosis that made sense of so much, caring for ageing relatives and trying to keep a long-term marriage going. No wonder, as she tells host Holly Wainwright, she and her husband needed a sabbatical.

This conversation also veers off into ageing, the Hollywood stars Rachel used to envy but no longer does, how to stay optimistic in a tumultuous world and the relief of finding out she's "ADHD AF".

You can follow Rachel Griffiths here.

You can watch Madam here: Watch Madam Season 1, Catch Up TV

THE END BITS: 

ENTER SUBSCRIBER GIVEAWAYS: Use code MIDCRUISE for 20% off a yearly subscription.

Share your feedback! Send us a voice message or email us at [email protected] 

Follow us on Instagram @MidbyMamamia or sign up to the MID newsletter, dropping weekly here. 

Mamamia's new podcast BIZ is rewriting the rules of work with no generic advice - just real strategies from women who've actually been there. Listen here.

CREDITS:

Host: Holly Wainwright

Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Senior Producer: Grace Rouvray

Producer: Tahli Blackman

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.