This week I'm joined by Leah Aguirre, licensed therapist, relationship expert and author of Is This Really Love. Leah has built a huge following talking honestly about emotional abuse and boundaries, and what makes her work land is that she's not just speaking from the clinical side, she's lived it too.

We get into so much in this one. The way our bodies often know something is wrong long before our minds catch up. The difference between someone who is genuinely abusive and someone who just doesn't have the emotional capacity to show up for you, and why that distinction matters so much when you're trying to make sense of what happened. Trauma bonds and why it can feel almost impossible to walk away from someone who hurts you and then loves you so tenderly straight after.

We also talk about the questions we're too afraid to ask when we're dating, the small moments that actually tell you everything about someone's character, and how to start rebuilding trust in yourself again after you've been made to question your own reality.

If you've ever looked back at a relationship and asked yourself how did I not see this, this episode is for you.

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What do you do when life doesn't turn out the way you imagined?

In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Sarah Jane, creator of Spinal Energetics and author of the new book Your Spine Holds the Answer.

This conversation is about so much more than healing. It's about navigating the gap between the life you thought you'd have and the life you're actually living.

We talk about divorce, recurrent pregnancy loss, single motherhood, getting older, and the quiet grief that can come from watching other people live the life you once imagined for yourself.

We also explore why so many of us understand our attachment style, our triggers and our patterns, yet still find ourselves stuck in the same emotional loops. Why isn't awareness always enough? And what role does the body play in helping us move through experiences that our minds alone can't seem to resolve?

For the single mums listening, we also dive into chronic stress, living in survival mode, the fear of letting your guard down, and whether it's actually possible to feel safe again after life has knocked you around.

This conversation is an invitation to make space for grief without letting it define you, to loosen your grip on how life "should" look, and to remember that a meaningful life isn't reserved for those whose plans worked out.

In this episode we discuss:
• The grief of letting go of the life you imagined
• Divorce, infertility and rebuilding after loss
• The pressure women feel around age and timelines
• Why knowing your patterns isn't always enough to change them
• Chronic stress, survival mode and the nervous system
• Learning to feel safe in your body again
• Opening yourself up to love after heartbreak
• Finding hope when life hasn't gone to plan

Find Dr Sarah Jane:
@drsarahjanechiro
@spinalenergetics
Pre Order her book "Your Spine holds the answer"

Rach:
@rachel.maksimovic

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When she became a single mum, Jen made a promise to herself: she was not going to live a smaller, harder life just because a relationship had ended. Years later, that promise turned into a "mommune" — a shared home in New York City with her best friend Annabelle, also a single mum, where they split rent, share dinners, divide the mental load of parenting, and raise their kids as one family unit. No romantic partners live in the house. No calendars or chore charts either. Just two women who decided that trust, presence and showing up for each other beats waiting around for a man to do it.

In this conversation, Jen unpacks how the mommune actually started (hint: it wasn't a business decision, it was years of shared play dates and swapped babysitting), how she and Annabelle split money and domestic labour without ever discussing finances directly, how dating still fits into her life without ever entering the home, and why she believes isolation, not money, is often the real crisis facing single mums.

This episode is for anyone who has ever sat alone on a Friday night after the kids are asleep and wondered if there's another way to build a home, a family and a life that doesn't hinge on finding "the one."

In this episode:

• How a years-long friendship turned into a shared household
• Splitting rent, groceries and bills without pooling finances
• Why trust replaced micromanaging once a man was out of the equation
• The "no men in the home" rule, and how dating still works around it
• The moment Jen realised the mommune had given her her mental space back
• Advice for anyone wanting to build this kind of support system, with or without moving in together

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Jemima found out she was pregnant at 39. The father made it clear from the beginning — if she continued, she was on her own. She continued.

This conversation covers what nobody prepares you for when you're doing it completely alone from the start — the shame of a pregnancy you're hiding in plain sight, the identity shift that hits harder when there's no one to hand the baby to, the sleep deprivation, the finances, the friendships that quietly disappear, and the strange grief of losing a spontaneous life you didn't realise you'd miss.

Jemima is two years in, finally back at work, newly dating, and still figuring out who she is on the other side of it. She doesn't sugarcoat any of it — and that's exactly why this one is worth a listen.

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Four months out of a relationship breakdown, Rachel finds herself saying something she never thought she'd say: I'm never doing this again.

She gets it now. The bitterness. The wall. The absolute certainty that closing off is safer than trying again.

But she also knows there's a question worth sitting with — one that's harder than it sounds: is this protection, or is this avoidance? Because they feel identical from the inside. And the research says they have very different costs.

Hannah Rose Keys is back. Six months ago she was done with men entirely. Something shifted. This is that conversation.

Now What is hosted by Rachel Maksimovic. Follow @hannahrosekeys Follow @rachel.maksimovic & @nowwhat.podcast on Instagram.

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Tara Pavlovic is a Gold Coast-based content creator and mum of two who recently announced her separation — and the response from women everywhere made it clear this conversation needed to happen.

Rachel and Tara get into what the lead-up to leaving actually looks like from the inside. The years of therapy. The panic attacks. The couples counselling that didn't save the marriage but mattered anyway. The Fiji holiday they booked because they knew they could still have a good time together. And the moment Tara's body made the decision before her mind was ready to.

They also go somewhere neither of them planned — into what it does to a woman's sense of self when she realises her version of the marriage and his were two completely different realities. And what it means to lose trust in yourself so completely that you can't imagine ever choosing again.

Honest, raw, and at times genuinely surprising. This one will probably make you cry at least once.

In this episode:

• Why the hardest part of leaving isn't what comes after — it's the decision itself
• What couples counselling actually does when it doesn't save the marriage
• How alcohol can hold a relationship together — and what happens when it's gone
• The moment the panic attacks became impossible to ignore
• Why she doesn't believe anyone will truly love her now
• What it feels like to lose all trust in yourself after a marriage ends
• What Tara would say to any woman sitting in that dark place right now
• 
  

Find Tara: @tarapavlovic

Now What is hosted by Rachel Maksimovic. Follow @rachel.maksimovic & @nowwhat.podcast on Instagram.

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Rachel sits down with Kylie to talk about the parts of single motherhood and dating again that don't get said out loud enough — the fallout when a significant relationship ends and your kids are caught in it, the survival mode that masquerades as a personality, and the stories women tell themselves to excuse behaviour they should be walking away from. Kylie is five years out from her separation, has lived through a second major breakup, and speaks with the kind of hard-won clarity that only comes from actually doing the work. This is an honest conversation about blended families, self-trust, and what it really takes to be open to love again without losing yourself in the process.

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Catie Gett is a Melbourne-based naturopath, founder of The Staple Store, and single mum to her daughter Scout. She has spent her career making food and health accessible to people who can't afford a 20-step morning routine — and this conversation goes places neither of them expected.

Rachel and Catie get into what survival mode actually costs you. Why the wellness industry has made health aspirational instead of accessible. Why telling women to self-care without changing any of the actual conditions they're living in is just another layer of guilt. And what it feels like to look back on your daughter's early years and realise you don't remember them — because you were so deep in stress you weren't really there.

Rachel also gets honest about where she's at right now. And somehow, by the end of it, finds one thing she can actually change.

This one is for every woman standing at the bench feeding her kids breakfast while she has nothing but a coffee. It's practical, it's honest, and it will probably make you cry at least once.

In this episode:

• Why the wellness industry has made health a purchase, not a right
• What survival mode does to your body — and your memory
• The breakfast change that shifted everything for Katie
• Why "have you tried yoga?" is some of the most expensive free advice women get
• The specific cruelty of heartbreak when you're parenting alone
• 
  

Find Catie: @thestaplestore

Now What is hosted by Rachel Maksimovic. Follow @rachel.maksimovic & @nowwhat.podcast on Instagram.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Rachel sits down with Stephanie, the creator of The Divorce Diaries, who began documenting her divorce and court experience in real time from the US. Together they unpack what it’s really like to navigate a legal system when money, representation, and support feel out of reach, and the financial whiplash of going from being a stay-at-home mum to having to provide again almost overnight.

Stephanie shares the turning points that made her leave, the layers of betrayal she uncovered, and why choosing to “settle” wasn’t giving up, it was a decision to step out of the chaos and protect her kids’ wellbeing. They talk co-parenting when communication is tense, how to stay grounded when things are done to derail your day, and the practical ways Stephanie rebuilt her strength through small daily acts of self-care, perspective, and boundaries.

This is a candid conversation for anyone entering separation, facing court, or trying to rebuild a life that feels stable, safe, and yours again.

Find Stephanie @stylewith.stephanie

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Amy didn’t set out to become a voice for single mums online. She started by sharing her running. Then she posted one honest video about single motherhood and it blew up, not because it was dramatic, but because it told the truth: stop feeling sorry for her. Her life is good. And 18 months ago, she was in the hardest place of her life.

In this episode, Amy speaks candidly about the slow heartbreak of postpartum expectations not being met, the moment she realised she couldn’t stay, and the stigma she had to unlearn about what being a single mum means. She also shares what it was like growing up raised by a single mother herself, how that shaped her fear of repeating history, and why she now sees her choice to leave early as its own kind of cycle-breaking.

There’s no sugar-coating the early months. Amy describes them as hell: moving constantly, sleep deprivation, living out of bags, and navigating a legal battle while trying to stay present for her son. She talks about the unexpected things that helped her heal, including community, friendship, and a relationship that showed her what respectful love can look like, even if the timing wasn’t right to keep it.

The conversation goes deep into the parts of single motherhood that aren’t always said out loud: weekend triggers, watching families together, grieving the dream you had when you fell pregnant, and the ongoing ache of knowing your child didn’t choose this. It also explores identity, boundaries, and the conscious decision not to make your child your whole world, especially when you know the pressure that can put on a son.

Amy shares what her co-parenting structure looks like, how she uses the little time she gets to refill her cup, and what she’d say to a newly single mum who feels like dreams and goals are a lifetime away.

This episode is for the woman in the thick of it. The woman comparing her life to the families at cafes. The woman just trying to survive the day. It’s a reminder that single motherhood is brutally hard, but it can also be the making of someone.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

**Melbourne IVF fertility specialist Dr Daniel Lantsberg has offered the Now What community an exclusive discount for anyone in Melbourne considering becoming a solo mum by choice.

They are offering half-price off the initial consultation — usually $400, reduced to $200 — for those who register via the link below.

The initial consult is the most important first step, even if you’re only in the thinking stage. It gives you clarity on your fertility, your timelines, your options and the realistic pathway ahead, so you can make informed decisions without losing valuable time.

If this is something you’ve been quietly considering, this is a practical place to begin.

Leave your details to start your journey with Melbourne IVF:

https://www.jotform.com/assign/260467361728059/260471128781054

In this episode, Rachel sits down with Anna Riches (you may know her from Big Miracles) for an honest, reassuring conversation about becoming a solo mum by choice- and what people don’t tell you about the road to getting there.

Anna takes us through the turning points that pushed her from “I’ve got time” to freezing her eggs, then choosing a donor, then diving into treatment with Dr Daniel Lantsberg — including multiple failed IUIs, IVF, a chemical pregnancy, a pregnancy loss, and the third transfer that finally brought River into her life.

They talk money (because IVF isn’t optional-cost), the long, mandatory counselling and donor waitlist process, how she chose her donor, why she didn’t use a friend as a donor even when offered, and what it feels like when you’re the only adult at 4am with a crying baby and no one to tap in.

It’s also a conversation about the emotional aftermath: the hormonal shock, the loneliness that hits in different seasons, the grief for your old life even when you got the life you wanted, and the non-negotiable need to protect your mental health - including building in paid help even if it means living lean.

If you’re considering solo motherhood by choice, this episode cuts through the noise: start earlier than you think, expect it to take longer than you think, and don’t confuse fear with a “no.”

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