Surviving Toxic Relationships Podcast with The Matadoras

In this deeply personal episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, Lizzie opens up about how the holidays can feel different—lonelier, quieter, or unexpectedly emotional—especially after walking through heartbreak, divorce, or the loss of family traditions.

Midlife brings new realities: children growing up, parents passing on, relationships ending, and identities shifting. What once made the season magical—the gatherings, the laughter, the sense of belonging—can now stir up grief, longing, or uncertainty about where we fit.

Through her own story of midlife change, divorce, and rediscovering faith, Lizzie offers encouragement for women who find the holidays bittersweet. She reminds us that we can grieve what’s gone, honor what was, and still find comfort and meaning in what remains.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Why the holidays often trigger grief after toxic relationships or loss
• How to handle loneliness when family traditions or roles change
• The emotional shift from being “the one who made the magic happen” to finding peace in stillness
• Faith-based encouragement for navigating change and rediscovering yourself
• Ways to rebuild new traditions with grace and self-compassion
  
  

Even when your world feels different, peace is still possible. Healing doesn’t mean pretending—it means allowing yourself to feel, to grow, and to find joy again.

Support the show

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website:

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

Contact us anytime at our email:  [email protected]

 📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556560386678

Disclaimer:  The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help. 

The holidays can intensify toxic family dynamics, emotional labor, grief, and high-conflict co-parenting. For many women, this season brings pressure to perform, suppress pain, and hold everything together.

In this episode, Lizzie and Deana talk honestly about why the holidays feel so heavy for women navigating emotionally unsafe relationships and life transitions. We discuss guilt, boundaries, caregiving overload, and why real self-care is not selfish—it’s protective.

This episode offers permission to say no, leave early, grieve what’s changed, and guard your heart without shame. If the holidays are hard this year, you are not alone—and you are not doing them wrong.

Support the show

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website:

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

Contact us anytime at our email:  [email protected]

 📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556560386678

Disclaimer:  The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help. 

What if the greatest pain in your life was also the beginning of your purpose?

In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, hosts Deana and Lizzie welcome Dr. Wole (Oluwole) Babatunde—a physician, psychiatrist, author, and faith leader whose extraordinary story proves that resilience and divine purpose can rise from even the darkest valleys.

In this deeply moving episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships with Deana and Lizzie, we meet Dr. Wole (Oluwole) Babatunde—a man whose life is a living testimony of faith, discipline, and healing after loss.

Orphaned as a child in Nigeria, Dr. Wole faced profound grief and adversity. Yet through unwavering faith, purpose, and resilience, he chose not to be defined by tragedy but transformed by it. His message of “Adapt and Advance” challenges us all to turn pain into power, heartbreak into healing, and trials into triumphs.

Dr. Wole’s book, Adapt and Advance: A Faith-Based Step-by-Step Guide to Turning Trials into Triumphs, introduces his transformative M.A.P.L.A.M.P. framework —
Meaning-Making, Action, Planning, Learning, Alliance Formation, Mission, and Prayer — a spiritual and practical roadmap for anyone seeking to rebuild after trauma, loss, or toxic relationships.

🎧 Listen in to discover:
-How faith and emotional discipline create lasting resilience
-The power of reframing pain through meaning-making
-Why compassion and service are the ultimate forms of healing
-How to keep walking forward—no matter the fire you face

Dr. Wole’s story reminds us that while grief may visit, grace always remains.

Connect with Dr. Wole Babatunde:
🌐 Website: oluwolebabatunde.com

📘 Book: Adapt and Advance on Amazon

▶️ YouTube: @OluwoleBabatunde1870

📘 Facebook: Oluwole Babatunde

💼 LinkedIn: Dr. Wole Babatunde

✨ If you’re struggling to find hope, this episode will remind you:
You can cry. You can rest. But don’t stop walking forward.

Support the show

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website:

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

Contact us anytime at our email:  [email protected]

 📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556560386678

Disclaimer:  The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help. 

What happens when the pain and exhaustion isn’t “in your head” — but everyone tells you it is?

In this powerful and validating episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, Lizzie and Deana talk with Tami Stackelhouse, founder of the International Fibromyalgia Coaching Institute and host of The Fibromyalgia Podcast.

Tami shares her deeply personal journey from being dismissed and misdiagnosed to finally understanding her chronic pain, and how trauma, stress, and fibromyalgia can feel like an invisible toxic relationship with your own body. She opens up about the emotional impact of medical gaslighting, mental health struggles, and the long road to reclaiming your power and trusting your body again.

You’ll learn how to:
✨ Recognize the signs of medical gaslighting
✨ Understand the link between trauma, depression, and chronic pain
✨ Advocate for yourself after misdiagnosis
✨ Practice self-compassion and emotional healing
✨ Find validation and community through awareness

💜 Watch if you’ve ever felt dismissed, gaslit, or unseen — by others or by your own body.

🎧 Guest: Tami Stackelhouse
📚 Author, Fibromyalgia Coach & Founder, International Fibromyalgia Coaching Institute
🔗 Learn more: fibromyalgiapodcast.com
Fibromyalgia Podcast®
International Fibromyalgia Coaching Institute, LLC

Get FREE fibromyalgia books and resources here

Support the show

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website:

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

Contact us anytime at our email:  [email protected]

 📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556560386678

Disclaimer:  The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help. 

Have you ever worked for a fear-based leader, a toxic bully boss, or someone in authority who used intimidation and harassment instead of emotional maturity? In today’s eye-opening conversation, Kate Lowry, CEO Coach and Author of "Unbreakable: How to Survive Under Fear Based Leaders"  breaks down why so many leaders behave more like emotionally reactive children than competent adults — and how their lack of emotional intelligence can create abusive, chaotic workplaces.

Kate explains the shocking truth: many leaders are not actually adults emotionally.
They operate from fear, insecurity, and power struggles — the same way a child does when they feel out of control. Think: “a five-year-old with car keys.”

This episode teaches you how to understand and navigate the behavior of fear-based, toxic leaders by becoming the grounded emotional adult in the room. You’ll learn how to recognize their emotional limitations, help them name their feelings, interrupt their intimidation patterns, and protect yourself from their bullying tactics.

If you’ve ever been belittled, humiliated, micromanaged, or made to feel “less than” by a boss who used fear instead of leadership — this conversation will validate your experience and give you tools to reclaim your power.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why fear-based leaders rely on control, intimidation, and emotional manipulation
• How toxic bosses use bullying behavior when they lack emotional intelligence
• Why emotionally immature leaders behave like children in adult bodies
• How to identify a leader’s emotional limitations before they hurt you
• How to stay grounded and emotionally regulated around abusive authority figures
• Why being “the adult” protects your confidence and career
• How to guide leaders toward better behavior without being their doormat
• Why supported leaders rely on the emotionally mature people around them

If you’ve ever whispered to yourself:
“I want to be the adult here… but why is my boss acting like a child?”
— this episode will feel like someone finally turned on the lights.

Check out Kate's book here!   https://a.co/d/6V16oL2

Support the show

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website:

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

Contact us anytime at our email:  [email protected]

 📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556560386678

Disclaimer:  The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help. 

After a 25-year marriage ended suddenly, emotional-wellbeing expert and artist Elizabeth Jane turned heartbreak into a mission: to help others climb out of the quicksand of grief, reclaim self-worth, and rebuild a full life. In this episode Elizabeth shares practical, bite-sized tools that helped her move from shock → survival → reinvention — plus mindset shifts every woman leaving a long relationship needs to hear.

In this episode we cover:
 • Quick presence tools to stop the “should’ve / could’ve / would’ve” spiral.

 • The ABCs of healing: Acknowledge → Boundaries → Conversation.

 • How finding small daily practices (10 things that lift you) pulls you out of   grief.

 • Reframing blame: “People did stuff to us — the perpetrator is responsible.”

 • Forgiveness vs. trust — why forgiveness can free you even when trust must be rebuilt.

 • Why rediscovering yourself is the real “gift” divorce can give.

Grab Elizabeth’s book and art: https://a.co/d/4tG7WCy
Follow Elizabeth: https://elizabethjane.com.au/ 

Support the show

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website:

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

Contact us anytime at our email:  [email protected]

 📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556560386678

Disclaimer:  The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help. 

In this powerful episode, Lizzie and Deana speak with Tracy DeTomasi, CEO of Callisto, a groundbreaking nonprofit using secure technology to connect survivors of serial predators—without forcing them to go public.
Tracy shares how the Callisto Vault platform empowers survivors to safely report, match with others harmed by the same perpetrator, and make informed choices about next steps. The conversation dives deep into the psychology of grooming, the myths around “risk reduction,” and how shifting the focus from “don’t get assaulted” to “don’t assault” changes everything.

In this episode:
 • How trauma-informed technology is changing survivor advocacy
 • What “Callisto Vault” does and how it protects privacy
 • The difference between minimizing risk vs. blaming victims
 • How grooming happens at any age—and how to recognize it
 • Why we need to hold perpetrators accountable, not survivors

💡 Learn more about Callisto: https://www.projectcallisto.org 
💬 Share this episode to help raise awareness — someone you know may need this resource.

Support the show

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website:

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

Contact us anytime at our email:  [email protected]

 📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556560386678

Disclaimer:  The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help. 

In this raw & honest episode, Lizzie opens up about her courageous journey of leaving a toxic relationship and rebuilding her life from the ground up. She shares how healing isn't a single dramatic moment, it's a process that unfolds in stages, with every step leading toward self-discovery and empowerment. 

From surviving emotional turmoil to stepping into a season of reinvention, Lizzie reflects on the power of community support, the importance of self care, and how she's transforming her pain into purpose.   As she transitions from her teaching career to a life filled with travel and helping others heal, Lizzies story serves as an inspiring reminder that it's never too late to start over.  

Tune in if you’re ready to:

• Break free from toxic cycles and reclaim your identity
  
  Learn how to heal at your own pace
  
  Find hope in reinvention and personal growth
  
  Be inspired by someone who turned trauma into transformation
  
  
  

✨ “My healing was survival.” “This is your time.”

Support the show

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website:

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

Contact us anytime at our email:  [email protected]

 📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556560386678

Disclaimer:  The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help. 

In this deeply moving and insightful episode, relationship and self-love coach Jonathan Aslay shares his powerful journey of healing after the tragic loss of his son. Through vulnerability and wisdom, Jonathan explores how grief can become a catalyst for growth, why self-worth is non-negotiable in midlife, and how to build meaningful, lasting relationships rooted in authenticity—not just chemistry.

Whether you're navigating midlife dating, recovering from emotional loss, or seeking deeper self-understanding, this episode offers tools and heartfelt truths to help you embrace self-love, develop emotional resilience, and reconnect with purpose.

What you'll learn:

• How grief can lead to profound self-discovery
• Why self-esteem is essential for healthy relationships
• How midlife challenges can become pathways to empowerment
• The impact of attachment styles and self-image on dating
• Why building love on friendship creates deeper connection

Check out Jonathan's Book: "What the Heck is Self Love Anyway?" https://a.co/d/08975RR

Chapters:

00:00 – Opening Reflections: Self-Love and Grief
02:44 – Rediscovering Identity Through Personal Loss
05:53 – Grief as a Catalyst for Self-Love
08:43 – Why Self-Worth Matters More Than Ever in Midlife
11:43 – Personal Growth: The Foundation of Healthy Love
14:32 – Midlife Dating & Self-Perception in a Filtered World
24:41 – Friendship First: A New Model for Relationships
28:00 – The Power of Emotional & Heart-Based Connection
30:53 – Understanding Attachment Styles & Inner Needs
35:52 – Choosing Empowerment Through Radical Self-Love
39:20 – Closing Thoughts: You Are Worth the Journey

Support the show

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website:

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

Contact us anytime at our email:  [email protected]

 📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556560386678

Disclaimer:  The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help. 

In this inspiring episode, Deborah Weed opens up about her powerful transformation—from a high-achieving corporate career to becoming the founder of the Self-Worth Initiative and the Quills Up Movement. 💫

After a life-altering health crisis, Deborah began to reframe her understanding of value, moving from external validation to embracing her intrinsic worth. She shares how a simple 1943 copper penny sparked a personal revolution, leading her to create tools, stories, and a musical called Paisley to help women—especially in midlife—reclaim their creativity and self-worth.

✨ What you'll learn in this episode:

• The difference between self-esteem and self-worth
• Why creativity is a powerful force for healing and transformation
• How women can advocate for themselves in a broken healthcare system
• The emotional cost of disappointment vs. fear
• Why community and connection are non-negotiables for true resilience

🔑 Whether you're navigating midlife, recovering from burnout, or searching for a deeper sense of meaning—Deborah’s wisdom will remind you: You are valuable, even when the world tells you otherwise.

Deborah Weed

Founder of the Self-worth Initiative, LLC

Creator of Paisley The Musical

http://www.selfworthinitiative.net

http://www.paisleysfashionforest.com

https://deborahweed1.hopp.to/amazon

👇 Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more soul-nourishing conversations.

Support the show

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website:

Looking to be a guest or host a guest for your podcast?

https://www.joinpodmatch.com/deanalizzie

Contact us anytime at our email:  [email protected]

 📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships with The Matadoras: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556560386678

Disclaimer:  The views expressed by our guests are their own, and this show is for educational purposes only. It is not therapy, medical, or professional advice, and listening does not create a therapeutic relationship. If you need personalized support, please reach out to a licensed professional. If you’re in crisis or immediate danger, please call 911 for help.