When you’re in the thick of it, divorce can feel like being dropped into a maze with no map—just a stack of forms, a pounding heart, and the vague instruction to “call a lawyer.” In this episode of Divorce Happens, Olivia sits down with Meghan O’Malley, a lawyer, mediator, and divorce coach who has spent years inside the legal system…and then intentionally stepped outside of it to help people do divorce differently. Drawing from her background in law and her work as a divorce coach for women, Meghan explains why divorce isn’t just a legal transaction—it’s a massive life transition that touches your home, your children, your finances, your nervous system, and your future self.

Together, Olivia and Meghan unpack what Meghan calls “the old way of divorce”: filing first, hoping for the best, handing your power to an overwhelmed court system, and reacting to every crisis as it lands in your inbox. Meghan offers a different model—one where filing papers isn’t the first step, and where you build a support team (divorce coach, mediator, CDFA, therapist, lawyer when needed) around your goals and values. She and Olivia talk about the rise of divorce coaching, the realities of mediation vs. litigation, and the dozens of ways to structure a divorce outside the stereotype of battling it out in court. Along the way, Olivia shares her own stomach-ache season of divorce and the moment a mediator asked her, “But what do you actually want?”—a question nobody prepares you to answer.

This conversation is a gentle but powerful reframe of divorce recovery, co-parenting, and starting over after divorce. Listeners will walk away with a new mindset: you are allowed to lead your divorce instead of just surviving it. Meghan shares practical divorce tips you can act on right now—like pausing before you hire a lawyer, getting curious about your goals, and creating a simple roadmap that keeps your kids’ well-being at the center. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by conflicting advice, terrified of the court system, or unsure where to start, this episode offers both clarity and hope, plus a reminder that you are far more capable and resourced than the system wants you to believe.

Learn more about Meghan O’Malley: https://www.freshstartsregistry.com/resourceguide/divorce-brave

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