In this raw and honest episode, I’m sharing a story I’ve never fully unpacked publicly: the moment a woman from my past accidentally sent me a screenshot of my engagement post with the caption: “Is she serious?”

It was years after my first marriage ended abruptly, years after rebuilding myself from the ground up, and on the very day I thought I’d finally stepped into a new chapter with peace. Yet one careless message from someone I hadn’t worked with in ages cracked open an old wound, the wound of being doubted, judged, whispered about, and underestimated.

This isn’t just a story about an old colleague or a mean-spirited message. It’s about the pressure so many women in leadership carry: to be liked, to be approved of, to be palatable, to never ruffle feathers even while building something big and brave.

If you’ve ever rebuilt after heartbreak, been the topic of someone’s group chat, or felt the sting of being underestimated, this one is for you.

The real work - the work no one sees - is learning to move from “I’ll show them” to “I trust myself.”