Over the Back Fence

This week Nicola and Di chat with the insightful family law expert Nikki Parkinson. Nikki is a divorce and separation coach who guides and supports people through this difficult time and helps them create a clear and practical pathway to navigate their separation. She has 25 years of experience with the family law system, as well as her own personal experience of divorce and as a mother of 3, Nikki also knows what it’s like to navigate co-parenting and how to take care of yourself through the challenging times. 

In this conversation, we hear how Nikki believes you really can turn a breakup into a breakthrough, if you’re willing to do the work, reflect on what you’ve learnt and make the changes you need to make. Nikki shares how she works with her clients, and that it’s really about understanding their unique needs and taking a holistic approach.

Nikki opens up about her own personal story of divorce, including the mistakes she made along the way that we can learn from. She gives great tips and practical advice for what to do if you find yourself in this situation and why she believes time is our most precious commodity. 

Even if you never have to go through a divorce or separation, this chat is full of great ideas for how to communicate well in any relationship, the benefits of being clear on the values you want to live by and the importance of treating yourself with kindness and self-compassion. Everyone can take away something helpful from this conversation. 

We really loved chatting to Nikki and we hope you enjoy listening to this episode. 

Follow Nikki and the Divorce Hub on IG here

Find our more about Nikki’s work and divorce coaching here 

Follow The Divorce Hub community on Facebook here

Follow The Divorce Hub on LinkedIn here 

Listen to Nikki’s Divorce and Separation podcast here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Nicola and Di chat with our first ever return guest, David The Medium. We were lucky enough to kick off season 2 with an amazing episode with David full of predictions for the year ahead, so we were thrilled to have him back in the studio with us. For those who are new to David’s work, he is one of the most renowned Australian mediums and psychics, and he recently became the first medium to appear on Sky News Australia, on the popular show Power Hour with Gabriella Power. 

In this conversation we hear all about David’s incredible Live show at the Sydney Opera House, and what it’s like to walk out on stage in front of 400 people with no script and connect in real time with the spirits of their loved ones who have passed away to deliver messages of love and support from the other side. 

David shares what he believes happens after we die, and gives us a beautiful way to think about the collective consciousness that we all return to in the afterlife. 

We also get David’s practical tips for manifesting and how you can attract whatever you want into your life by following some simple steps. 

And to top it off, we catch up on Nicola and Di’s amazing European holiday adventures, including some classic stories of the Italian men and how they used their charm to try and romance the ladies - you’ll even get to hear a voice note that one of them sent our lovely Nicola, so stay tuned for that. 

Big thanks to David for joining us in the studio again, it’s always special chatting with him and we hope you love it as much as we did. 

Follow David The Medium on IG here

Find out more about David’s work including tickets to his live events

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Nicola and Di chat with the talented and brave Vikki Petraitis. Vikki is best known as a true crime writer and Casefile podcaster, who created The Frankston Murders series. Casefile is one of the most popular true crime podcasts around, topping the Apple charts with millions of downloads per month, so it was a thrill to get to hear some of the incredible stories from Vikki herself. As well as writing 18 books and having a top-rating podcast, Vikki is also a school teacher by day, which is where she has honed her wonderful storytelling abilities. 

In this conversation, we dive deep into The Frankston Murders and hear how Vikki still gets a bit spooked to this day about what went on in the suburbs of Melbourne back in the early 90s. Vikki shares how she was out on patrol with police on the night of one of the victims, Natalie Russell’s murder, and how that motivated her to tell the story as a local community member. We talk about the way that the police disregarded the evidence at the time and the danger of what happens when women aren’t believed. 

We also chat about how this book became a Casefile podcast, and the power of podcasting in not only sharing stories, but in some cases, making a real difference and getting laws changed. This was certainly the goal for Vikki - the Casefile team decided to release the podcast in 2023, the year that serial killer Paul Denyer was due for parole, and through their hard work they managed to get his parole bid denied and a law changed in parliament so that he can never apply again. 

Vikki shares her theories on why she thinks many women are fascinated by true crime podcasts, her own addiction to writing true crime stories and why she believes that podcasts are one of the most powerful platforms around. 

This is such a fascinating conversation with Vikki and we thoroughly enjoyed chatting with her. We hope you love it as much as we did! 

Follow Vikki on IG here

Buy Vikki’s latest book The Unbelieved here 

Listen to The Frankston Murders on the Casefile podcast here 

Find out more about Vikki’s work and true crime books here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Nicola and Di chat with the multi-talented journo, radio host, celebrity commentator and podcaster Jonathon Moran - better known as J.Mo. J.Mo is Australia's authority on all things entertainment, from film to TV, music and everything in between. He has more than 20 years experience in journalism and hosts the top rating national Confidential on Nova radio show with Tanya Hennessy. He is also Chief Entertainment Writer at The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph and Host of the new podcast Mental as Anyone.

In this conversation, Nicola asks J.Mo about the juicy world of celebrity gossip and how he really gets the stories, who his ‘inside sources’ are and why some stories end up in the media, even though the facts were never checked with the person involved. 

J.Mo tells us about the idea for his podcast, Mental As Anyone, that we are all a little bit mental, and that no matter who you are, you’re going to have challenges and tough times to work through - none of us are alone. J.Mo shares that this is really a passion project for him to open up more conversations around mental health, particularly among men. We hear about some of the inspiring episodes he’s had so far with guests like Guy Sebastian and Robert Irwin.

J.Mo also generously opens up about his own struggles with mental health, the journey he’s been on with it for years and how he’s finally found tools that help him, which is why he’s so passionate about having conversations with others, normalising these struggles and sharing practical tips that could help others. 

We had such a great time chatting with J.Mo in the studio. We talked about so many things - light and deep - and had a lot of laughs together. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did. 

And of course, If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health or suicidal thoughts and needs support, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. 

Follow J.Mo on IG here

Listen to J.Mo’s podcast Mental As Anyone here

Find out more about J.Mo’s work here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Nicola and Di chat with the wise and inspiring Jacinta Tynan. Jacinta is a well-known journalist, presenter, author, speaker and founder of The Spiritual Book Club. She is also a single mother to two boys, which is something she shares more about in her new book, The Single Mother’s Social Club. 

In this conversation Jacinta shares what it was like for her when she became a single mother, how lonely and difficult it can be, but why ultimately she saw it as a gift and an opportunity for her to reflect deeply on her life and grow in the ways she needed to. 

Jacinta talks about the importance of being present with your emotions and allowing them to pass through you, because the only way to process emotions is to feel them fully. Nicola and Di also open up about their own relationships ending, and what it was like becoming single parents much later in life. They were both able to move through the difficult times and come to a happier place, where they are loving life in their sixties on their own terms.  

We also hear about Jacinta’s new business, The Spiritual Book Club - an online book club for anyone who loves books about spirituality, personal growth, presence and surrender - books that expand your mind and help connect you to your higher self. Jacinta has already interviewed some incredible authors for the book club like Gabby Bernstein and Deepak Chopra, and she’s just getting started.

We loved having Jacinta at our back fence. It was like having a good chat with a girlfriend and she shared so many pearls of wisdom. We hope you love this episode as much as we did. 

Follow Jacinta on IG here

Find out more and join The Spiritual Book Club here 

Get tickets to The Spiritual Book Club in conversation with Luke McLeod event in Sydney, July 25th here

Buy Jacinta’s book The Single Mother’s Social Club here

Find out more about Jacinta’s work and books here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Nicola and Di chat with writers, podcasters, and friends Laura Jackel and Cathy O’Brien. Laura and Cathy met when they both applied for a role at Mamamia through a program called The Encoreship, which gives opportunities to women to get back into the workforce in a meaningful way. When the recruiters at Mamamia couldn’t pick between the two, they offered Laura and Cathy the chance to job share. This led to a beautiful partnership and friendship, and now Laura and Cathy have created their own podcast, The Change, to discuss the changes in life that shake, break and make us.  

In this conversation we hear what it was like to work at Mamamia, some of the funny moments in the office and the type of stories they got to write. Cathy shares more about her incredibly popular article about what it was like to be in her early fifties and feel like she was becoming invisible, and how she is now becoming more confident and finding her voice. 

We also hear about Laura’s first story that she wrote for Mamamia, which was the inside scoop on what it was like to go to an elite sex party - you’ll want to stay tuned for the juicy details on that one! 

We chat to both Laura and Cathy about the changes that they’ve been through and noticed in midlife, why they’re passionate about this topic and how their podcast came to be. Laura and Cathy also turn the tables on Di and Nicola and ask them about the big changes in their lives and what they’ve learned along the way. 

This is such a fun conversation and we really loved being in the studio with Laura and Cathy. We hope you’ll find that listening to this episode is like being in a room with a group of girlfriends for a fun and meaningful chat. Enjoy. 

Follow The Change podcast on IG here

Follow Laura on IG here

Follow Cathy on IG here

Read Cathy’s article on feeling like she’s becoming invisible here

Read Laura’s article on what really goes on at an elite sex party here

Listen to The Change podcast here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Nicola and Di chat with the wise and exceptional Dr. Frank Anderson. Frank is an author, psychiatrist, therapist, speaker and trauma specialist who’s spent the past three decades studying neuroscience and trauma treatment. His latest book, To Be Loved, is a deeply moving memoir that explores how Frank triumphed over trauma in his life and now he shares with us his message of love and healing. 

In this conversation, we hear about Frank’s difficult upbringing - being sent to therapy as a child for 6 years because he was gay, which at that time, wasn’t acceptable in his family. Frank shares how he learnt to completely shut down his emotions and play the part he was ‘supposed’ to play to fit into society. Thankfully, through all the work and healing he’s done, Frank now has a beautiful family life with his husband and 2 children. 

Dr. Frank breaks down what trauma really is, which is something that at least 70% of humans experience in their life. He talks about how it’s important to do the work and understand how our past experiences are influencing our current behaviour. As Frank says, you either repeat it, repress it or repair it. 

Dr. Frank shares with us a powerful framework - the 5 T’s - for how we can heal from trauma and that ultimately, love and connection is the best pathway to healing. 

This is such a moving and powerful conversation, and Dr. Frank is a true example of how anyone can turn their life around and heal no matter what they may have been through. It was so inspiring to learn from Dr. Frank and we were so grateful for his insights. We hope you love this conversation as much as we did. 

If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health or suicidal thoughts and needs support, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. 

Follow Dr. Frank on IG here

Buy Dr. Frank Anderson’s book To Be Loved here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Nicola and Di chat with the beautiful and bubbly Tahnee Cook. Most people know Tahnee as one of the brides in the 2023 season of Married at First Sight (MAFS). Before MAFS, Tahnee worked as a content creator and PR manager and she is now the host of her own wonderful podcast, Chuffed, where she talks all things love, career and life and interviews a variety of guests with interesting stories to share. 

In this conversation Tahnee gives us a glimpse behind-the-scenes of what it was like to be on MAFS. She talks about how it was a really positive experience for her and how she feels lucky she was matched with someone who she was compatible with at the time, and that they weren’t a couple who the producers tried to create drama with or paint them as a villain. Tahnee lets us know her theory for how they pick the couples on the show and she talks about the more awkward moments - like when they had to swap couples. 

We also hear about life after MAFS for Tahnee, her decision to go to couples therapy with Ollie, but why in the end it didn’t work out. Tahnee is very honest about how she doesn’t like the modern-day world of dating apps, the problems she has with them and then she asks Nicola and Di for any dating or relationship advice they would share with someone like Tahnee in their 20s. 

Tahnee also shares about her new podcast Chuffed, and we hear about the juicy conversation she had with David The Medium (one of our favourite podcast guests here on OTBF) and how everything he predicted came true. 

Tahnee is absolutely full of life - her energy and bubbly personality is infectious and we had such a fun time chatting with her. We hope you love her as much as we did. 

Follow Tahnee on IG here

Follow Chuffed on IG here

Listen to Chuffed here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Nicola and Di chat with the dynamic and inspiring Tory Archbold. Tory is a highly respected businesswoman, CEO, and founder of Powerful Steps, a global platform for women making a significant impact. Her impressive career spans over 24 years in brand building, public relations, digital media, and events, working with some of the world's most influential celebrities, entrepreneurs, and CEOs. She is also the author of a wonderful book, Self Belief is Your Superpower. 

In this conversation we hear how Tory started her first business at 24 through a coffee date strategy where she would meet with 3 different people every week. She shares how she experienced a lot of rejection, but how she sees rejection as a positive thing that ultimately shows you what it’s possible to create. Tory knew that she was capable of creating something great, so despite the rejections, she chose to believe in herself anyway. Tory grew her business to be one of the most successful brand and communications agencies in Australia, launching some of the biggest international brands like Zara in the Australian market.

We chat about what it’s like to be in flow - when you’re clear on your vision, your passion and your purpose and when you’re anchored in your values, so many opportunities and doors will open up for you. We hear about these moments in Tory’s life, and the incredible possibilities that appeared when she was living in alignment with her values. 

Tory shares the life-changing moment when she was listening to Drew Barrymore speak about her dream of one-day having a talk-show, and Tory realised that she also wanted a different life for herself and that she was finished with her career in PR. This led to Tory starting her second business, Powerful Steps, at the age of 44 which helps other women to step into their power and achieve their full potential.

This was such a fun and meaningful conversation with Tory and we could have chatted to her for hours. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did. 

SPECIAL OFFER

To get the incredible giveaway offer that Tory mentioned in this episode - access to her Network Like A Pro masterclass that gives you a series of video lessons and workbooks to help you build your profile and connect with others, go to her website here and enter the promo code POWERUP444 at checkout and you’ll get this $99 masterclass for FREE. Offer only valid until 24th July, 2024. 

Follow Tory on IG here

Buy Tory’s Book Self Belief Is Your Superpower and access free bonuses here

Find out more about Tory’s Powerful Steps Community here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Nicola and Di chat with the truly remarkable Julie Randall. Julie’s story is one you won’t want to miss. In 2012 Julie was diagnosed with advanced stage four metastatic melanoma and given only months to live, but she promised her heartbroken teenage daughters she would survive. Thankfully for us, her family, and the world, she did. Julie now spends her time giving back and as an ambassador for various cancer charities, she’s working hard to make as much money as possible to support more research to find cures for this insidious disease.

In this incredible conversation, we get to hear Julie’s story of survival - from the life-changing moment just after her 50th birthday when she had a brain seizure in the office, to being given a terminal diagnosis, to a fight against all the odds to find a way to stay alive for her kids and her husband Scott. 

As Julie shares each step of her journey, you’ll hear how much determination, optimism and perseverance it took for Julie to survive. It’s an uplifting story of hope and strength and we felt so inspired having this conversation with her. We highly recommend her best-selling memoir, Patient 71 and we know you’ll love Julie as much as we did. Please share this episode with anyone who needs an uplifting story of hope in their lives. 

Follow Julie on IG here

Find out more about Julie and her work here

Buy Julie’s book Patient 71 here 

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.