Queer Love Stories

Reclaiming her identity after a breakup: Eden on Manchester Pride, an Apple Photos hack every heartbroken person needs, and taking back the songs, places and pet names she used to share.

Eden shares an iPhone trick almost nobody knows about - how to stop your ex's face showing up in Photos memories, without deleting a single picture - before diving into a whirlwind week that included Manchester Pride, an unexpected backstage pass to see Lana Del Rey at Leeds Festival, and the strange grief of hearing "your" songs performed live. She talks through what it actually means to reclaim your identity post-breakup: taking back shared places, shared music, even shared pet names, and deciding what still gets to mean something to you.

Plus, a listener dilemma about a partner who let themselves into the house without permission - and then lied about it.

This week I chat through my fun weekend at Manchester Pride, the mischief I got up to and how I've started to reclaim my interests and identity after my breakup.

Listen to Eden's ULTIMATE BREAKUP ANTHEMS PLAYLIST ❤️‍🩹

You can send me your dilemmas by direct message or by emailing [email protected]

❗️ DISCLAIMER ❗️
These episodes were recorded in the immediate aftermath of my  breakup and only show my version of events. Although the thoughts, feelings and realisations are authentic to me, I'm only human and my feelings might have changed as I've gone through the healing process.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

I want to create the best independent podcast for the LGBTQ+ community, and I need your help to do it! Take a few minutes to GIVE YOUR FEEDBACK IN OUR LISTENER SURVEY ⚡️

However, I fund this podcast to bring the highest quality content, the most interesting guests and inspiring conversations whilst working full-time.

Please support the podcast by checking out the links below:

Sign up to MisterBnB as a guest or host to support the podcast and find your next adventure.

Use my code BBQUEERLOVE at checkout to get 85% off your entire purchase at Skin + Me!

Show your support for the free content we create by buying us a coffee - mine's a brown sugar oat shaken espresso 😉

CREDITS
Queer Love Stories is Hosted and produced by Eden Heath.
 
Follow Queer Love Stories on Instagram 💕
Follow Eden on Instagram 💕

If you or someone you know has a story to share we'd love to hear from you, send us a message on Instagram or email [email protected]

Get your love story started with Kindling Dating Coaching now 💗

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Spotting the signs of codependency: Eden breaks down independence, dependence and interdependence using the scale her therapist taught her, and why she loses herself every time she falls for someone.

Fresh off a surprisingly good week, Eden shares the therapy exercise that finally explained her relationship pattern: a scale running from independence to dependence, with codependency and interdependence in between. She walks through the real signs of codependency - loving people you can rescue, feeling responsible for a partner's happiness, needing approval to feel worthy - and admits which ones hit close to home. Then she lays out exactly what she wants to do differently next time: setting boundaries early, not disappearing into constant texting, and learning to listen without trying to fix.

Plus, a listener dilemma on whether cuddling with a friend while your partner's away counts as cheating - and how to navigate the answer when you and your partner don't agree.

This week I give you secondhand therapy, courtesy of my therapist, on the scale of independence. I break down the signs of codependency in relationships and how to retain your independence whilst striving for interdependence.

Listen to Eden's ULTIMATE BREAKUP ANTHEMS PLAYLIST ❤️‍🩹

You can send me your dilemmas by direct message or by emailing [email protected]

❗️ DISCLAIMER ❗️
These episodes were recorded in the immediate aftermath of my  breakup and only show my version of events. Although the thoughts, feelings and realisations are authentic to me, I'm only human and my feelings might have changed as I've gone through the healing process.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

I want to create the best independent podcast for the LGBTQ+ community, and I need your help to do it! Take a few minutes to GIVE YOUR FEEDBACK IN OUR LISTENER SURVEY ⚡️

However, I fund this podcast to bring the highest quality content, the most interesting guests and inspiring conversations whilst working full-time.

Please support the podcast by checking out the links below:

Sign up to MisterBnB as a guest or host to support the podcast and find your next adventure.

Get your first and fifth Daily Doser for just £3.50 from Skin+Me to finally feel confident in your skin!

Show your support for the free content we create by buying us a coffee - mine's a brown sugar oat shaken espresso 😉

CREDITS
Queer Love Stories is Hosted and produced by Eden Heath.
 
Follow Queer Love Stories on Instagram 💕
Follow Eden on Instagram 💕

If you or someone you know has a story to share we'd love to hear from you, send us a message on Instagram or email [email protected]

Get your love story started with Kindling Dating Coaching now 💗

Get your first and fifth Daily Doser for just £3.50 from Skin+Me to finally feel confident in your skin!

Support the show

Eden finally answers the question everyone's been asking: why did the relationship actually end?

In this raw, unfiltered Heartbreak Chronicles episode, Eden digs into the real, self-reflective answer — not gossip about her ex, but an honest look at her own patterns in relationships. She unpacks how a deep-rooted need for external validation shows up as love addiction, why she loses her independence and turns codependent once a relationship gets serious, and why the most passionate, intense connections are often the ones that burn out fastest.

Along the way, Eden talks about watching Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and asks the question that's been on her mind ever since: if you could wipe every memory of an ex, would you? Plus a Brat Girl Summer update, an Ariana Grande "Eternal Sunshine" deep dive, and practical takeaways on breaking codependent relationship patterns for good.

This week's listener dilemma: what do you do when your partner's family decides you're "a distraction" holding him back from success?

This week I get real deep and reflect on the self-sabotaging patterns I seem to repeat in relationships, but the bets part is by noticing them I can make changes in the future to have healthy, long-lasting relationships.

Listen to Eden's ULTIMATE BREAKUP ANTHEMS PLAYLIST ❤️‍🩹

You can send me your dilemmas by direct message or by emailing [email protected]

❗️ DISCLAIMER ❗️
These episodes were recorded in the immediate aftermath of my  breakup and only show my version of events. Although the thoughts, feelings and realisations are authentic to me, I'm only human and my feelings might have changed as I've gone through the healing process.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

I want to create the best independent podcast for the LGBTQ+ community, and I need your help to do it! Take a few minutes to GIVE YOUR FEEDBACK IN OUR LISTENER SURVEY ⚡️

However, I fund this podcast to bring the highest quality content, the most interesting guests and inspiring conversations whilst working full-time.

Please support the podcast by checking out the links below:

Sign up to MisterBnB as a guest or host to support the podcast and find your next adventure.

Use my code BBQUEERLOVE at checkout to get 85% off your entire purchase at Skin + Me!

Show your support for the free content we create by buying us a coffee - mine's a brown sugar oat shaken espresso 😉

CREDITS
Queer Love Stories is Hosted and produced by Eden Heath.
 
Follow Queer Love Stories on Instagram 💕
Follow Eden on Instagram 💕

If you or someone you know has a story to share we'd love to hear from you, send us a message on Instagram or email [email protected]

Get your love story started with Kindling Dating Coaching now 💗

Get your first and fifth Daily Doser for just £3.50 from Skin+Me to finally feel confident in your skin!

Support the show

Eden's ultimate breakup playlist: 10 songs to get you through a heartbreak, from bad bitch anthems to sad girl crythems.

This Heartbreak Chronicles episode is all about music therapy. Eden shares the dream that helped her reframe her ex (spoiler: it involves a pair of falling-apart Zara pumps), then counts down her top ten breakup songs — a mix of Madonna, Kesha, Ariana Grande, Lana Del Rey and Taylor Swift tracks split into two moods: the defiant "bad bitch" anthems for when you're feeling like the best thing that ever happened to your ex, and the "sad girl" songs for the days you just need a cry.

Plus this week's listener dilemma: a 17-year-old scared to come out while still living at home with a religious family, and Eden's advice on building a support network and creating a safety-first exit strategy before taking that step.

This week I talk music and go through my top ten breakup tracks from bad bitch anthems to sad girl crythems. Let me know your favourite tracks so I can add them to the Queer Love Stories playlist.

Listen to Eden's ULTIMATE BREAKUP ANTHEMS PLAYLIST ❤️‍🩹

You can send me your dilemmas by direct message or by emailing [email protected]

❗️ DISCLAIMER ❗️
These episodes were recorded in the immediate aftermath of my  breakup and only show my version of events. Although the thoughts, feelings and realisations are authentic to me, I'm only human and my feelings might have changed as I've gone through the healing process.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

I want to create the best independent podcast for the LGBTQ+ community, and I need your help to do it! Take a few minutes to GIVE YOUR FEEDBACK IN OUR LISTENER SURVEY ⚡️

However, I fund this podcast to bring the highest quality content, the most interesting guests and inspiring conversations whilst working full-time.

Please support the podcast by checking out the links below:

Sign up to MisterBnB as a guest or host to support the podcast and find your next adventure.

Get your first and fifth Daily Doser for just £3.50 from Skin+Me to finally feel confident in your skin!

Show your support for the free content we create by buying us a coffee - mine's a brown sugar oat shaken espresso 😉

CREDITS
Queer Love Stories is Hosted and produced by Eden Heath.
 
Follow Queer Love Stories on Instagram 💕
Follow Eden on Instagram 💕

If you or someone you know has a story to share we'd love to hear from you, send us a message on Instagram or email [email protected]

Get your love story started with Kindling Dating Coaching now 💗

Get your first and fifth Daily Doser for just £3.50 from Skin+Me to finally feel confident in your skin!

Support the show

A day-by-day account of the first three days after a breakup — the crying, the anger, the numbness, and everything Eden did to get through it.

In this Heartbreak Chronicles episode, Eden takes listeners through days one to three post-breakup in real time: the nonstop crying and phone calls home on day one, the anger and Madonna-fuelled gym rage of day two, and the numb, longing ache of day three. She breaks down her actual coping mechanisms — screaming into pillows, scribbling out anger in notebooks, leaning on her support network, and reframing passion as a way through the pain — along with the harder realisations about codependency, shame, and why healing from a breakup is never a straight line.

Plus this week's listener dilemma: how do you get out of being a bridesmaid for a childhood friend you've drifted apart from, without blowing up the friendship?

This week I go through the varying emotions I've experienced in the first few days post breakup, as well as my coping mechanisms and the biggest struggles.

You can send me your dilemmas by direct message or by emailing [email protected]

❗️ DISCLAIMER ❗️ These episodes were recorded in the immediate aftermath of my  breakup and only show my version of events. Although the thoughts, feelings and realisations are authentic to me, I'm only human and my feelings might have changed as I've gone through the healing process.

Follow Eden on Instagram 💕

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

I want to create the best independent podcast for the LGBTQ+ community, and I need your help to do it! Take a few minutes to GIVE YOUR FEEDBACK IN OUR LISTENER SURVEY ⚡️

However, I fund this podcast to bring the highest quality content, the most interesting guests and inspiring conversations whilst working full-time.

Please support the podcast by checking out the links below:

Sign up to MisterBnB as a guest or host to support the podcast and find your next adventure.

Get your first and fifth Daily Doser for just £3.50 from Skin+Me to finally feel confident in your skin!

Show your support for the free content we create by buying us a coffee - mine's a brown sugar oat shaken espresso 😉

CREDITS
Queer Love Stories is Hosted and produced by Eden Heath.
 
Follow Queer Love Stories on Instagram 💕
Follow Eden on Instagram 💕

If you or someone you know has a story to share we'd love to hear from you, send us a message on Instagram or email [email protected]

Get your love story started with Kindling Dating Coaching now 💗

Get your first and fifth Daily Doser for just £3.50 from Skin+Me to finally feel confident in your skin!

Support the show

[RECORDED 29th JULY 2024]

Just a little life update from me about season three, my current circumstances and an upcoming mini-series.

GIVE YOUR FEEDBACK IN OUR LISTENER SURVEY ⚡️

Follow Eden on Instagram 💕

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

Eden funds this podcast to bring the highest quality content, the most interesting guests, and inspiring conversations while working full-time. Please support the podcast by checking out the links below:

Sign up to MisterBnB as a guest or host to support the podcast and find your next adventure.

Use my code BBQUEERLOVE at checkout to get 85% off your entire purchase at Skin + Me!

Show your support for the free content we create by buying us a coffee - mine's a brown sugar oat shaken espresso 😉

CREDITS
Queer Love Stories is Hosted and produced by Eden Heath.
 
Follow Queer Love Stories on Instagram 💕

If you or someone you know has a story to share we'd love to hear from you, send us a message on Instagram or email [email protected]

Support the show

The Witch Blair very nearly stood Eden's guest up on a bad first date - if a phone call from a friend hadn't stopped them mid-text, they might never have met their husband of eight years.

Blair opens up about growing up mixed-race, autistic and Muslim-and-Catholic in a tiny North Yorkshire village, the racism they and their sister faced after 9/11, and coming out to religious grandparents who responded better than expected. We get into meeting husband James on Grindr, the string of ghostings and near-misses right before it, and what almost 11 years together (eight of them married) has taught them about honesty, compromise and not expecting one person to meet every need.

Blair also walks through why they and James opened their relationship, how they handle jealousy, communication and the "admin" of polyamory, and what it's actually like navigating the stigma around it. Plus the story of becoming The Witch Blair - from an accidental drag debut in a charity shop wig to running Lincoln's pride cabaret circuit for six years - and a full live tarot card reading Blair does for Eden's own relationship, right there in the episode.

GIVE YOUR FEEDBACK IN OUR LISTENER SURVEY ⚡️

The Witch Blair is a drag performer, podcaster, and tarot card reader.

Growing up mixed-race in the late 90s and early 00s with both muslim and catholic family was challenging, especially when it came to navigating their pansexuality and non-binary identity.

They've been happily married for the last 8 years whilst discovering the joys of an open relationships and battling the stigma of polyamory.

Follow Eden on Instagram 💕
Follow The Witch Blair on Instagram 🔮

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

Eden funds this podcast to bring the highest quality content, the most interesting guests and inspiring conversations whilst working full-time. Please support the podcast by checking out the links below:

Sign up to MisterBnB as a guest or host to support the podcast and find your next adventure.

Use my code BBQUEERLOVE at checkout to get 85% off your entire purchase at Skin + Me!

Show your support for the free content we create by buying us a coffee - mine's a brown sugar oat shaken espresso 😉

CREDITS
Queer Love Stories is Hosted and produced by Eden Heath, and mixed by Benji Antonio.
 
Follow Queer Love Stories on Instagram 💕

If you or someone you know has a story to share we'd love to hear from you, send us a message on Instagram or email [email protected]

Get your love story started with Kindling Dating Coaching now 💗

Get your first and fifth Daily Doser for just £3.50 from Skin+Me to finally feel confident in your skin!

Support the show

Only 20% of bisexual people are out to their entire family, compared to 63% of gay and lesbian people. Kirsty and Natalie know that statistic intimately — both have been in long-term relationships with men for years, and both say their families still haven't clocked that they're bisexual.

Kirsty and Natalie run Bi+ Leeds Social Group, a grassroots community that grew out of a monthly cafe meetup into something nominated for LGBT Community Organisation of the Year at the National Diversity Awards. They talk candidly about their own bisexual awakenings, coming from very different upbringings — Kirsty an only child raised in Leeds who's never felt the need to track down the father she never knew, Natalie one of potentially eight siblings from Newcastle who spent years bouncing between undiagnosed ADHD and not quite fitting in — and how straight-passing relationships mean the question of their sexuality almost never comes up at all.

They open up about the fragmentation within the LGBTQ+ community, the loneliness epidemic affecting one in five queer people, and why they build every event around affordability and accessibility, from free monthly meetups to pom-pom making workshops. It's an honest, funny conversation about building a chosen family from scratch, and what community really means when you've spent years feeling like you don't quite belong anywhere.

GIVE YOUR FEEDBACK IN OUR LISTENER SURVEY ⚡️

Bi+ Leeds Social Group is a social space for Bisexual, Pansexual, Queer, exploring or otherwise people within Leeds to come together, attend events and create a thriving community. 

They've been nominated at the National Diversity Awards for LGBT Community Organisation of the Year 2024 and have been an integral part of the Leeds Queer community. 

The organisation is run by four inspiring individuals, and I'm joined by two of the key drivers who spearhead the project.

 Follow Eden on Instagram 💕
Follow Bi+ Leeds Social Group

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

Eden funds this podcast to bring the highest quality content, the most interesting guests and inspiring conversations whilst working full-time. Please support the podcast by checking out the links below:

Sign up to MisterBnB as a guest or host to support the podcast and find your next adventure.

Use my code BBQUEERLOVE at checkout to get 85% off your entire purchase at Skin + Me!

Show your support for the free content we create by buying us a coffee - mine's a brown sugar oat shaken espresso 😉

CREDITS
Queer Love Stories is Hosted and produced by Eden Heath, and mixed by Benji Antonio.
 
Follow Queer Love Stories on Instagram 💕

If you or someone you know has a story to share we'd love to hear from you, send us a message on Instagram or email [email protected]

Get your love story started with Kindling Dating Coaching now 💗

Get your first and fifth Daily Doser for just £3.50 from Skin+Me to finally feel confident in your skin!

Support the show

Kaue Garcia came out at 16 in Brazil and was kicked out by his own mother the same day — Ryan O'Neill spent his childhood at an English boarding school where two of his teachers are now serving 28 years combined for paedophilia. Twelve years later, the couple own a professional rugby club together.

Kaue grew up in a country he calls one of the most dangerous places in the world to be LGBTQ+, coming out young despite the bullying and being thrown out of his mother's house after she found him sending a kiss emoji to a male friend. He moved in with his grandmother, rebuilt his relationship with his mum a year later, and eventually left Brazil at 24 to travel — a trip that took him through Ireland and Thailand before he met Ryan on a night out in Bangkok.

Ryan's path was very different: seven years old and sent to boarding school with no contact from his parents for the first three weeks, a "quite Victorian" old boys' culture, forced rugby every day, and years spent dating a girl and working for the Conservative Party before finally coming out after university. The pair talk candidly about the culture clash of their first year living together, and how in January 2019 a spontaneous decision to save Keighley Cougars Rugby Club from extinction turned into them becoming the first, and still only, openly LGBTQ+ owners of a professional sports club outside the US.

They open up about the transphobic abuse they receive for flying trans pride flags and appointing India Willoughby as the club's first openly trans patron, why they refuse to delete hateful comments from their social media, and how a rugby club in a small Yorkshire town became an unlikely home for LGBTQ+ visibility in sport.

GIVE YOUR FEEDBACK IN OUR LISTENER SURVEY ⚡️

In January 2019, Keighley Cougars Rugby club was saved from the brink of extinction by Ryan O’Neill and his husband Kaue Garcia.

The married couple became the first, and still to this date, only openly LGBTQ+ owners of a professional sports club outside of the United States of America.

Since taking over the club they've used their platform to champion LGBTQ+ rights, create a more inclusive sporting environment and have raised nearly six figures for LGBTQ+ charities, and will continue to do so as they look to make Keighley a united town, and Rugby League a united sport.

 Follow Eden on Instagram 💕
Follow Keighley Cougars 🏉

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

Eden funds this podcast to bring the highest quality content, the most interesting guests and inspiring conversations whilst working full-time. Please support the podcast by checking out the links below:

Sign up to MisterBnB as a guest or host to support the podcast and find your next adventure.

Use my code BBQUEERLOVE at checkout to get 85% off your entire purchase at Skin + Me!

Show your support for the free content we create by buying us a coffee - mine's a brown sugar oat shaken espresso 😉

CREDITS
Queer Love Stories is Hosted and produced by Eden Heath, and mixed by Benji Antonio.
 
Follow Queer Love Stories on Instagram 💕

If you or someone you know has a story to share we'd love to hear from you, send us a message on Instagram or email [email protected]

Get your love story started with Kindling Dating Coaching now 💗

Get your first and fifth Daily Doser for just £3.50 from Skin+Me to finally feel confident in your skin!

Support the show

Bisexuals make up roughly 52% of the LGBTQ+ community but receive around 1% of LGBT grant funding. Lewis Oakley has spent five years trying to fix that, and it all started with him ranting drunk at a stranger in a bar.

Lewis didn't realise he was bisexual until he was 19, and his activism began almost by accident: a heated defence of his sexuality at a party led to someone offering him his first writing gig, which snowballed into national columns for Metro and Attitude, an advice column, Ask A Bi Dad, and now his book, Bisexuality: The Basics. He talks candidly about the biphobia he's faced from both straight women and gay men, losing friends after coming out as bisexual rather than gay, and the guilt of watching his partner receive homophobic abuse for being with him.

Lewis also opens up about growing up mixed-race in a Jamaican and English family, the family intervention that cancelled a long-planned trip to Jamaica over safety concerns tied to his public profile, and why he's committed to staying visibly bisexual as a father of three rather than quietly disappearing into a "straight-passing" family life. It's a sharp, funny and occasionally furious conversation about erasure, discrimination and what real allyship to the bi+ community actually looks like.

GIVE YOUR FEEDBACK IN OUR LISTENER SURVEY ⚡️

Lewis Oakley is one of the leading bisexual advocates in the UK, with his work in the LGBTQ space changing attitudes around what it means to be a bisexual man.

He appears regularly across radio, TV and podcasts including TalkTV, GB News and most notably, Queer Love Stories. 

Lewis has successfully kept bisexuality in the media for over five years having written articles for leading publications such as the Metro, Attitude magazine, and Gay Times, as well as answering life problems in his successful column  Ask a Bi Dad.

On top of all this, he is a husband, father-of-three and co-host on the unique podcast 'Bisexual Brunch.'

 Follow Eden on Instagram 💕
Follow Lewis on Instagram ⚡️

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

Eden funds this podcast to bring the highest quality content, the most interesting guests, and inspiring conversations while working full-time. Please support the podcast by checking out the links below:

Sign up to MisterBnB as a guest or host to support the podcast and find your next adventure.

Use my code BBQUEERLOVE at checkout to get 85% off your entire purchase at Skin + Me!

Show your support for the free content we create by buying us a coffee - mine's a brown sugar oat shaken espresso 😉

CREDITS
Queer Love Stories is Hosted and produced by Eden Heath, and mixed by Benji Antonio.
 
Follow Queer Love Stories on Instagram 💕

If you or someone you know has a story to share we'd love to hear from you, send us a message on Instagram or email [email protected]

Get your love story started with Kindling Dating Coaching now 💗

Get your first and fifth Daily Doser for just £3.50 from Skin+Me to finally feel confident in your skin!

Support the show