Relationships Uncensored: Real Talk with Lisa Sonni

Send Lisa a question for her to reply in a future episode!

Somewhere along the way, society convinced us that the battle lines in blended families are always drawn between “evil stepmom” and “bitter baby mama.” But what if the real chaos is coming from the man in the middle—or from a system that thrives on pitting women against each other? Survivors know that nothing fuels abuse and dysfunction like smoke and mirrors, and blended family dynamics are no exception.

Lisa sits down with Naja Hall, host of I Know I’m Crazy and founder of VIP Stepmom, to peel back the layers of high-conflict parenting after separation. From stepmoms stepping into landmines they didn’t plant, to biomoms fighting for stability while being mislabeled as “bitter,” Lisa and Naja call out the unspoken truths about how men’s avoidance and manipulation often set the stage for these wars. They trade raw stories and hard-won lessons—naming the difference between boundaries and control, exploring why “keeping it real” with kids can cross into emotional abuse, and spotlighting the cost of outsourcing fatherhood to stepmoms.

What emerges is not a call to pick sides, but an invitation to clarity: to name dysfunction for what it is, to refuse loyalty binds, and to remember that kids deserve love and stability over ego and power plays. Healing starts when we stop playing by the tropes and start telling the truth.

Resources mentioned
• VIP Stepmom — community platform by Naja Hall
• I Know I’m Crazy — podcast hosted by Naja Hall
• Girl Bye, She’s Not Going Anywhere, Neither Are You — journal by Naja Hall
• Stepmom Mastermind Intensive — monthly program led by Naja Hall
• Co-parenting apps: TalkingParents, OurFamilyWizard

Join Lisa Sonni & Dr. Peter Salerno in Boston, MA November 13-15, 2026 here: https://lisasonni.com/unbreakable-and-irreplaceable/

Support the show

This is the podcast they don't want you listening to.

👉 Find me at lisasonni.com 

Book A Session with Lisa

Join my online survivor community called She Rises Collective where we are breaking free, rebuilding and dismantling patriarchy. 

Follow on IG
Watch on YouTube

Get My Books Here

New episodes drop every Tuesday.

Subscribe, share it with someone who needs the truth - and remember:
You’re stronger than they ever wanted you to believe.

Send Lisa a question for her to reply in a future episode!

Dr. Nadine Macaluso, formerly Belfort is a British-born American psychotherapist, author, internet personality, and former model. She was the second wife of the stockbroker and financial criminal Jordan Belfort, to whom she was married from 1991 to 2005. She is a narcissistic abuse and trauma bond expert.

Abuse doesn’t always look like shouting, bruises, or threats. Sometimes it looks like the love story everyone else envies—grand gestures, tenderness, and promises of forever. That’s what makes trauma bonds so dangerous: the cycle of cruelty and kindness that keeps you hooked and questioning yourself. Dr. Nadine knows this cycle all too well. She fell hard for someone the world admired, only to discover she was trapped in an addictive pattern of control, fear, and confusion. Together we unpack why victims don’t “just leave,” how coercive control strips away free will, and why the moments that felt like love were part of the manipulation.

Resources mentioned: 

Run Like Hell by Dr. Nadine Macaluso (book)

Join Lisa Sonni & Dr. Peter Salerno in Boston, MA November 13-15, 2026 here: https://lisasonni.com/unbreakable-and-irreplaceable/

Support the show

This is the podcast they don't want you listening to.

👉 Find me at lisasonni.com 

Book A Session with Lisa

Join my online survivor community called She Rises Collective where we are breaking free, rebuilding and dismantling patriarchy. 

Follow on IG
Watch on YouTube

Get My Books Here

New episodes drop every Tuesday.

Subscribe, share it with someone who needs the truth - and remember:
You’re stronger than they ever wanted you to believe.

Send Lisa a question for her to reply in a future episode!

After abuse, so many of us wonder if love is even possible again. We tell ourselves we’re too broken, too much, or too “used up". I used to believe that too—until I met Jamie.

Together we share what it’s really like to build a relationship after abuse—the fears, the triggers, and the moments that almost felt too good to be true. We talk about unlearning survival mode, discovering what reciprocity actually feels like, and why healing doesn’t have to be complete before love can begin.

It’s not a fairytale and it’s not perfect. but it’s real. For anyone who feels like love isn’t possible after everything you’ve been through—I want you to know it is.

Join Lisa Sonni & Dr. Peter Salerno in Boston, MA November 13-15, 2026 here: https://lisasonni.com/unbreakable-and-irreplaceable/

Support the show

This is the podcast they don't want you listening to.

👉 Find me at lisasonni.com 

Book A Session with Lisa

Join my online survivor community called She Rises Collective where we are breaking free, rebuilding and dismantling patriarchy. 

Follow on IG
Watch on YouTube

Get My Books Here

New episodes drop every Tuesday.

Subscribe, share it with someone who needs the truth - and remember:
You’re stronger than they ever wanted you to believe.

Send Lisa a question for her to reply in a future episode!

If you've ever been in a relationship with a man who tells you that God hates divorce or weaponizes religion of any kind against you, this episode is for you. And this episode is one that he will not want you to listen to.

This week, I sit down with Holly Tidwell, a former pastor who spent 20 years in an abusive marriage while trying to be the perfect submissive Christian wife. Holly shares her powerful story of growing up in Pentecostal culture, attending Liberty University for biblical studies, and becoming a pastor - all while being conditioned to believe that her value was in her virginity and her role was to submit to male authority. After having four children in three years and experiencing the loss of her first daughter, Holly began questioning everything she'd been taught about God, women's roles, and what true love actually looks like. We explore how organized religion creates a breeding ground for abuse by conditioning women to be submissive, childlike, and financially dependent while teaching them that their reward for suffering will come in heaven. Holly explains how scripture gets weaponized - from "wives submit to your husbands" (while conveniently leaving out the part about mutual submission) to being told that women have a "biological duty" to fulfill their husband's sexual needs every 36 hours. We discuss the devastating impact of being taught not to trust your own thoughts and instincts, the financial and spiritual abuse that runs rampant in religious communities, and why domestic violence rates are equally high among Christians and non-Christians. 

Holly also shares what finally gave her the courage to leave, how she rebuilt her relationship with God outside of organized religion, and what she tells women who feel trapped between their faith and their safety.

Resources Mentioned:

Brené Brown's "The Gifts of Imperfection": https://a.co/d/f1tNvN0 

Connect with Hope With Holly:

TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube: @HopeWithHolly

Website: https://stan.store/HopeWithHolly 

Join Lisa Sonni & Dr. Peter Salerno in Boston, MA November 13-15, 2026 here: https://lisasonni.com/unbreakable-and-irreplaceable/

Support the show

This is the podcast they don't want you listening to.

👉 Find me at lisasonni.com 

Book A Session with Lisa

Join my online survivor community called She Rises Collective where we are breaking free, rebuilding and dismantling patriarchy. 

Follow on IG
Watch on YouTube

Get My Books Here

New episodes drop every Tuesday.

Subscribe, share it with someone who needs the truth - and remember:
You’re stronger than they ever wanted you to believe.

Send Lisa a question for her to reply in a future episode!

Cheating doesn't always happen in spite of how much it hurts you. Sometimes it happens because it hurts you - because that's the exact reason they want you to feel that pain, to feel less than. But the psychology behind serial cheating is more complex than we might think, and understanding it can help us make better decisions about our relationships and our own healing.

This week, I sit down with Dr. Kate Balestrieri, a licensed psychologist and certified sex therapist, to explore the real motivations behind serial cheating. We dive deep into the concept of "eroticized rage" and how cheaters use infidelity to restore power, seek revenge, transgress social norms, or possess what feels out of reach. Kate explains why the common narrative of "unmet sexual needs" is actually bullshit - men don't have a biological need for sex, and cheating is rarely about the betrayed partner at all. We discuss the difference between compulsive sexual behavior and coercive control, why some people weaponize the "sex addiction" label, and how patriarchal conditioning creates sexual entitlement in relationships. Kate also shares insights on why saying "just leave" isn't always realistic and how to assess whether a relationship involving infidelity is worth trying to repair. Throughout our conversation, we emphasize that no one is entitled to sex from another person, and that healing from betrayal requires individual work - not couples therapy.

Resources Mentioned:

Dr. Kate Balestrieri's book: "What Happened to My Sex Life? A Sex Therapist's Guide to Reclaiming Lost Desire, Connection and Pleasure": https://a.co/d/7Cj0iCb 

"Isn't Sex My Right?" webinar featuring Dr. Kate Balestrieri https://strongerthanbefore.podia.com/isn-t-sex-my-right-why-sexual-coercion-is-abuse-webinar-replay 

Connect with Dr. Kate Balestrieri:

Website: https://www.modernintimacy.com/

Social Media: @drkatebalestrieri

Join Lisa Sonni & Dr. Peter Salerno in Boston, MA November 13-15, 2026 here: https://lisasonni.com/unbreakable-and-irreplaceable/

Support the show

This is the podcast they don't want you listening to.

👉 Find me at lisasonni.com 

Book A Session with Lisa

Join my online survivor community called She Rises Collective where we are breaking free, rebuilding and dismantling patriarchy. 

Follow on IG
Watch on YouTube

Get My Books Here

New episodes drop every Tuesday.

Subscribe, share it with someone who needs the truth - and remember:
You’re stronger than they ever wanted you to believe.

Send Lisa a question for her to reply in a future episode!

The Five Love Languages seems like such a helpful relationship tool - until it's weaponized by an abusive partner. I brought this popular book into my own abusive relationship hoping it would help us communicate better, only to watch it become a tool for coercion and manipulation against me. This week, I sit down with sexual coercion expert Nat LaJune to unpack the deeply problematic nature of Gary Chapman's bestselling book. We explore how "physical touch" as a love language is almost always weaponized by abusive men, the patriarchal origins of the book itself, and why the entire framework can enable manipulation in relationships. Nat shares insights from her years of content creation on marital coercion, including the common tactics abusers use and why simply saying "just say no" isn't realistic for women in coercive relationships. We discuss the transactional nature that develops when love languages are weaponized, how any of the five categories can become coercive tools, and the importance of focusing on what you give rather than what you receive. Our conversation also touches on the psychology behind men who feel entitled to sex, the role Christianity plays in enabling sexual coercion, and signs that your relationship may involve coercion you haven't recognized yet.

Resources Mentioned:

"27 Love Languages" piece by Nat LaJune

Connect with Nat LaJune:

Find Nat on social media: @alwaysmending and @natlajune 

https://www.alwaysmending.com/ 

Join Lisa Sonni & Dr. Peter Salerno in Boston, MA November 13-15, 2026 here: https://lisasonni.com/unbreakable-and-irreplaceable/

Support the show

This is the podcast they don't want you listening to.

👉 Find me at lisasonni.com 

Book A Session with Lisa

Join my online survivor community called She Rises Collective where we are breaking free, rebuilding and dismantling patriarchy. 

Follow on IG
Watch on YouTube

Get My Books Here

New episodes drop every Tuesday.

Subscribe, share it with someone who needs the truth - and remember:
You’re stronger than they ever wanted you to believe.

Send Lisa a question for her to reply in a future episode!

There's a kind of abuse happening in relationships that doesn't involve broken dishes or broken bones, but it's just as damaging. It's the slow destruction of your sense of self through weaponized incompetence, emotional labor dumping, and the constant message that you should just accept less because "that's how men are."

This week, I sit down with Abby Eckel, online content creator known for challenging gender norms and traditional relationship stereotypes. They dive deep into how we're conditioned from childhood to normalize harmful relationship dynamics - from the "boys will be boys" mentality to the expectation that women should just pick up the slack when men refuse to participate in the lives they asked for. Abby shares her insights on the difference between men who genuinely don't understand versus those using weaponized incompetence, why Fair Play doesn't work for most couples, and the reality that you cannot make someone care about your wellbeing. We also discuss the privilege of being able to "just leave" and what women can do when leaving isn't immediately possible.

Resources Mentioned:

Fair Play by Eva Rodsky

"She Divorced Me Because I Left Dishes by the Sink" article

Follow Abby Eckel on Instagram

Join Lisa Sonni & Dr. Peter Salerno in Boston, MA November 13-15, 2026 here: https://lisasonni.com/unbreakable-and-irreplaceable/

Support the show

This is the podcast they don't want you listening to.

👉 Find me at lisasonni.com 

Book A Session with Lisa

Join my online survivor community called She Rises Collective where we are breaking free, rebuilding and dismantling patriarchy. 

Follow on IG
Watch on YouTube

Get My Books Here

New episodes drop every Tuesday.

Subscribe, share it with someone who needs the truth - and remember:
You’re stronger than they ever wanted you to believe.

Send Lisa a question for her to reply in a future episode!

Somebody can look you dead in the eye, say everything that you've been dying to hear, and they can still be lying to you. The science behind deception in abusive relationships reveals how manipulators weaponize psychology to systematically break down their victims. This is the podcast they don’t want you listening to.

This week, I'm joined by Dr. Abbie Maroño, a behavioral expert with a PhD in psychology who trains the Secret Service and FBI on deception, body language, and influence. 

We explore the disturbing world of psychological manipulation and how abusers use sophisticated tactics to deceive their victims. Dr. Abbey breaks down the neuroscience behind why we fall for manipulation, explaining how it's not about intelligence but about being human in a world where predators understand psychology. We discuss how abusers systematically strip away your sense of self to gain control, the difference between everyday cognitive dissonance and traumatic cognitive dissonance, and why "love bombing" and intermittent reinforcement create biological addiction. 

Dr. Abbie reveals how false vulnerability is weaponized to fast-track intimacy and trust, why we rationalize abusive behavior, and the concerning trend of men's dating coaches teaching these same manipulation tactics. She emphasizes that manipulators don't need to be "book smart" - they learn through experience and lack of empathy, exploiting the brain's shortcuts to appear trustworthy. We also dive into her experience training law enforcement and the shocking lack of trauma-informed training in the criminal justice system, highlighting why taking time in relationships is crucial for spotting deception.

Connect with Dr. Abbie on Instagram here: @doctorabbieofficial 

Ger her book, The Upper Hand

Join Lisa Sonni & Dr. Peter Salerno in Boston, MA November 13-15, 2026 here: https://lisasonni.com/unbreakable-and-irreplaceable/

Support the show

This is the podcast they don't want you listening to.

👉 Find me at lisasonni.com 

Book A Session with Lisa

Join my online survivor community called She Rises Collective where we are breaking free, rebuilding and dismantling patriarchy. 

Follow on IG
Watch on YouTube

Get My Books Here

New episodes drop every Tuesday.

Subscribe, share it with someone who needs the truth - and remember:
You’re stronger than they ever wanted you to believe.

Send Lisa a question for her to reply in a future episode!

The hardest truth about parental accountability isn't admitting you were wrong-  it's living with the consequences when your own children can't trust you enough to let you back in. This is the podcast your toxic Mom doesn't want you to listen to.

This week, I sit down with Crystal Allon, a mother, content creator, and recovering alcoholic who is estranged from two of her adult children. Together, we explore what real accountability looks like when your kids go no contact, not the defensive "I did my best" narrative, but the raw, honest reckoning with how your own unhealed trauma created an emotionally unsafe environment for the people you love most.

Crystal shares her journey from active addiction and emotional dysregulation to recognizing the painful truth: her children felt about her the way she felt about her own toxic mother. She breaks down the "playpen analogy" that's helping other estranged parents understand boundaries, why "you can't outwit trauma, you either heal it or pass it down," and the difference between taking responsibility and playing victim.

This episode will validate adult children who are tired of being told they're "too sensitive" for protecting themselves, and challenge parents to look beyond their own pain to see the damage they've caused.

Guest

Crystal Allon, Content Creator and Recovery Advocate

Follow her on TikTok here.

Join Lisa Sonni & Dr. Peter Salerno in Boston, MA November 13-15, 2026 here: https://lisasonni.com/unbreakable-and-irreplaceable/

Support the show

This is the podcast they don't want you listening to.

👉 Find me at lisasonni.com 

Book A Session with Lisa

Join my online survivor community called She Rises Collective where we are breaking free, rebuilding and dismantling patriarchy. 

Follow on IG
Watch on YouTube

Get My Books Here

New episodes drop every Tuesday.

Subscribe, share it with someone who needs the truth - and remember:
You’re stronger than they ever wanted you to believe.

Send Lisa a question for her to reply in a future episode!

The voice of your abuser doesn't just sound familiar—it echoes the voices that shaped you long before you ever met them.

This week, I sit down with Trauma Therapist, Logan Cooper, to explore the 7 most common childhood environments that unknowingly program us to accept abuse later in life. Together, we break down how emotionally invalidating homes, conditional love, narcissistic parenting, authoritarian control, chaotic households, family secrets, and enmeshment create the perfect storm for trauma bond vulnerability. Logan shares her expertise on how these early experiences teach us to distrust our own reality, chase unavailable love, and mistake chaos for connection. This episode will help you recognize the specific patterns from your past that may be influencing your present relationships and give you the clarity needed to finally break free from toxic cycles.

Resources Mentioned:

Emotionally Bulletproof Kids: How To Raise Strong & Confident Kids Amongst Chaos

Guest: 

Logan Cooper, Trauma Therapist (@crookedcounselorcooper) 

https://www.tiktok.com/@crookedcounselorcooper?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc 

[email protected]  

Join Lisa Sonni & Dr. Peter Salerno in Boston, MA November 13-15, 2026 here: https://lisasonni.com/unbreakable-and-irreplaceable/

Support the show

This is the podcast they don't want you listening to.

👉 Find me at lisasonni.com 

Book A Session with Lisa

Join my online survivor community called She Rises Collective where we are breaking free, rebuilding and dismantling patriarchy. 

Follow on IG
Watch on YouTube

Get My Books Here

New episodes drop every Tuesday.

Subscribe, share it with someone who needs the truth - and remember:
You’re stronger than they ever wanted you to believe.