This week on the show, I have a single mum, Sarah Robb, sharing her story. 

**Please note this episode and topic may act as a trigger for some people, and this episode is not suitable to listen to within earshot of children.**

Sarah is a beautiful member of my Thrive Tribe community whom I've known for a number of years now. 

In this episode, Sarah talks about:

• how she met her ex,
• how they quickly entered into a very serious relationship,
• the gaslighting she experienced from her ex,
• the other red flags that showed up in the relationship,
• how she handled the discovery of her husband's infidelities and affair with another woman before and during their marriage,
• how she discovered that the other woman had a close relationship with her daughter and had known her since she had been born (without Sarah's knowledge),
• becoming a single mum twice,
• the importance of taking care of yourself first, how she focused on self-development to have a thriving life as a single mum,
• her favourite things about being a single mum, and
• so much more!

Listen to her journey of healing, growing, and thriving. 

In this episode, my special guest from last week shares Part 2 of her story.

In the last episode (278 - Blindsided by my partner (Part 1)), my anonymous guest talked about how she had always thought she and her partner had a good life. They had been together for 7.5 years and they rarely argued. 

Life was good when they had their first baby, but things quickly changed when she saw changes in her partner's demeanour and when he began a strong friendship with a girl from his work. Until one day, she was blindsided by her partner's sudden decision to leave her while she was just pregnant with their second baby.

In Part 1, my guest talked about:

• the challenges of becoming a first-time mum and the shifting in identity from doing what she wanted when she wanted and adjusting to motherhood,
• how she never felt fully supported by her partner when it came to caring for the baby,
• not addressing the unspoken expectations about the shared responsibilities of being a parent,
• the signs and changes in the behaviour of her partner when she found out he was texting another woman,
• her decision to move back to her parents to get the support she needed,
• juggling career and pregnancy while taking care of her first child,
• co-parenting with her ex, and 
• moving into her own place and starting the next chapter.

In this episode, my guest shares Part 2 of her story. She talks about:

• the absolute grief and trauma she felt when her ex left her and the emotionally difficult pregnancy and birth she had,
• how she was in fight or flight mode the first months after separation,
• how she proactively sought help and put support in place around her during the early part of her pregnancy as she knew she was a candidate for PTSD,
• trauma recovery,
• intentionally seeking single mum friends who get it and understands her journey,
• how her visits to her psychologist triggered past trauma from her childhood which she never knew were there but
  how seeking therapy during these hard times helped release past and current trauma and helped process the rollercoaster of feelings one goes through in times of grief,
• her journey to self-discovery, and
• so much more!

Links mentioned in the episode: 

Listen to Episode 278 - Blindsided by my partner (Part 1) HERE.

Jump on the waitlist for Thrive Tribe HERE. 

Download the E-book – Thirteen single mothers share their struggles, top tips, and their favourite things about being a single mother – HERE.

To contact Julia, email: julia@singlemothersurvivalguide.com.

Visit us at Single Mother Survival Guide. And join the email list there too.

Or connect with Single Mother Survival Guide on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest.

This week on the show I have an anonymous single mum sharing her story. She's a single mum of 2 kids - a 3-year old and a 3-month old.

My guest had always thought she and her partner had a good life. They had been together for 7.5 years and they rarely argued. They spent much of their time travelling the world together.

She was studying for her Masters when they had an unplanned pregnancy, which caught her off guard as she was only a few weeks out from completing it and was about to pursue a new career.

Life was good when they had their first baby. They bought a house and had good times together exploring new places. But things quickly changed when she saw changes in her partner's demeanour and when he began a strong friendship with a girl from his work. Until one day, when she got completely blindsided and was told by him that he wanted to separate.

In this episode, my guest talks about:

• trusting the process when you have an unexpected pregnancy, as it has a habit of working things out in the end,
• the challenges of becoming a first-time mum,
• the challenges of shifting identity from doing what she wanted when she wanted and adjusting to motherhood,
• how she didn't feel fully supported by her partner when it came to caring for the baby,
• not addressing the unspoken expectations about the shared responsibilities of being a parent,
• the signs and changes in the behaviour of her partner when she found out he was texting another woman,
• how she was eventually blindsided by her partner's sudden decision to leave her while she was just pregnant with their second baby,
• her decision to move back to her parents to get the support she needed,
• juggling career and pregnancy while taking care of her first child,
• co-parenting with her ex,
• moving into her own place and starting the next chapter,
• and so much more!