87. When blended DOES mean happily ever after, with Catt Sadler and Sarah Boyd
Release Date: 08/14/2024
101. What Stepkids Think About Their Stepparents - And Why It Matters
The Stepmom Diaries Podcast
Ever Wondered What Your Stepchildren Think About You? Kids can be tricky for stepparents to navigate. Their behavior isn't rational, they don't know how to express their emotions, and sometimes they can take out their frustration on the person who can be the easiest target: stepmom. But there's more to the story, and that's what we're talking about in this episode. We've got one of the top stepfamily researchers with us, and he's recently released a new look at the stepfamily dynamic - from the kids' perspectives. He's got some really interesting, insightful, and surprising, findings...
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100. Looking Back on 100 Episodes: The Lessons That Matter Most
The Stepmom Diaries Podcast
🎉🎉We're 100! 🎉🎉 Today's episode is all about celebrating our big milestone - we have hit one hundred episodes! It's been a wild ride for these first hundred episodes and I am so honored that you've joined me to explore so many different topics that impact stepmoms. There's still so much to talk about, so I hope you'll come along for the next hundred episodes! Today we're going through some of the biggest lessons I've learned in these first hundred episodes. The lessons aren't all related to stepmom life - but they are all helpful for taking a look at your mindset, your stepmom...
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99. Family Law Essentials for Stepmoms: A Conversation with Maria Simon
The Stepmom Diaries Podcast
Family Law Insights From a Real Housewives' Lawyer In today's episode, we’re getting into all the legal things around stepfamily life with an award-winning family law expert who has represented many high-profile clients in their divorces, including Ashley Darby of the Real Housewives of Potomac. About Maria: This week, I'm talking to a rockstar and award-winning attorney in the family law area. She is Managing Partner at the Geller Group and specializes in family law, divorce, custody disputes, collaborative divorce, and litigation. Maria has been continually recognized as Virginia...
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98. Every Other Weekend: A Son's Reflection On Stepfamily Life with Judge Anthony J. Mohr
The Stepmom Diaries Podcast
Stepfamily Life From A Son's Perspective This week's guest isn't a stepmom. But he does have an interesting take on stepfamily life. Judge and author Anthony J. Mohr grew up with a father who had been a well-known radio actor who descended to the Hollywood B-list with the advent of television, and a stepfather who was a wealthy and successful businessman. In his award-winning book, , Anthony discusses how he found his place between the two contrasting worlds while coming of age during a time when divorce was rare and often viewed as shocking. About Anthony: Anthony J. Mohr served for 26 years...
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97. A Sober Look At (Step)Mommy Wine Culture, with Casey Davidson
The Stepmom Diaries Podcast
How does "mommy wine culture" impact stepmoms? This week's episode is different than others - in the most interesting way! We're talking to top Life & Sobriety Coach Casey Davidson about drinking. It felt like a timely topic given the U.S. Surgeon General's around alcohol - plus, Casey has a refreshing, non-"preachy" take on sobriety. We talk about how to hit pause on reaching for that glass of wine at the end of a hard day - and why it might just be the best thing you do for yourself. About Casey: Casey McGuire Davidson is a Life & Sobriety Coach and the host of the Top 100 Mental...
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96. A Better Marriage Starts With A Better You, with Casey & Megan Caston
The Stepmom Diaries Podcast
"If you want a better marriage, it starts with a better you" (there may be affiliate links in this post - for more about what that means, click ) Our guests this week are known for their clever and relatable social media videos - but they are much more than that. Casey and Meygan Caston, founders of , offer up some great relationship advice for couples. In today's episode, they give us their top tips for good communication, and you'll enjoy hearing their story. And they've offered a special $250 discount for our listeners to their annual marriage retreat happening October 2-5, 2025. You...
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95. Stepfamily Holidays: Scrooge-Proof Your Season
The Stepmom Diaries Podcast
The Stepfamily Holiday season can be filled with landmines. Let's tackle them one at a time. If you’ve ever felt like the holidays in a stepfamily are more stress than joy, this episode is for you. We're going to talk about some of the hardest things that come up for stepmoms during the holidays - and I'm going to give you some tips to help make it through. And if you'd like more support for the holidays, I'm hosting a special live class called From Humbug To Happy next week inside the . It will be an interactive hour filled with Q&A - and you'll walk away with practical strategies to...
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94. Smooth Talking: Improving Communication, One Step At A Time
The Stepmom Diaries Podcast
Stepfamily Communication Is Complicated. But Does It Have To Be? In this episode, we go back to a topic that comes up over and over again with the stepfamilies I work with: communication. We'll talk about why communication is so much more challenging in a stepfamily than in a first family, and a few things you can do to improve it. And I've got a freebie for you to help with your communication. will give you the exact words to use when you're trying to talk about some of these tricky stepfamily topics. For additional support, join me in Alexandria, VA January 24-25th for - it will be a...
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93. What DOES Work In Stepfamilies, According To Research
The Stepmom Diaries Podcast
What Do We Know About What DOES Work In Stepfamilies? In this episode, I'm joined by one of the preeminent stepfamily scholars in the world, Larry Ganong, Ph.D., who is out with a new book, called What Works In Stepfamilies: Creating And Maintaining Satisfying And Effective Relationships. He also happens to sit on the Stepfamily Solutions advisory board and if you've attended any of our past Stepmom Summits, you'll remember him as one of our speakers. The two coauthors of What Works In Stepfamilies are his wife, Marilyn Coleman, Ed.D., who is a celebrated researcher with an...
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92. Stepfamily Resilience in Crisis: Addressing the Emotional Toll of War
The Stepmom Diaries Podcast
How Does The Daily Trauma of War Impact Stepfamilies? The trauma inflicted on stepfamilies is an aspect of war not often considered - but has a very real impact. In this episode, we are talking with Sigal Kaplan, a family counselor in Israel specializing in blended families. Sigal has done groundbreaking and captivating work around the impact of the ongoing war on Israeli stepfamilies. About Sigal: Sigal Kaplan is a family counselor specialist who works with stepfamilies, as well as families dealing with divorce. She teaches a course at Kibbutzim College for counselors and educators about...
info_outlineCan You Actually Have It All In A Stepfamily?
Today I'm sharing an interview I did for this year's Stepmom Summit because it's the kind of story that we don't get to hear enough of as stepmoms: a stepmom and mom who not only get along, but are real-life friends, work together, and have made co-parenting virtually seamless for their kids.
I'm talking with Emmy Award-winning journalist Catt Sadler and Digital Dept. CEO Sarah Boyd. These women are each superstars professionally, and both vowed to put the kids in the stepfamily first. It's a wonderful story of how the dynamics can come together in a loving and positive way.
About Catt:
Catt Sadler is a three time-Emmy winning journalist, renowned for her work on E! Entertainment, where she spent more than a decade contributing to E! News, E! News Weekend, Daily Pop, Live From E! and hosting various network specials. She’s also been a fixture on the red carpet covering high-caliber events and interviewing celebrities during awards season. She has been co-host of the Vanity Fair Oscars Party show for the last several years. Today, she is the host and EP of her weekly podcast: CATT SADLER Now.
Catt has appeared on The View, The Talk, The Tamron Hall Show, and many other programs. After choosing to leave E! over a wage gap issue and receiving an outpouring of support, Catt became a prominent voice for the equal pay movement.
She has spent much of her time contributing to the cause by taking part in the LA Women’s March, speaking at the Equal Pay Day rally at City Hall in New York, and starring in LUNA Bar’s Equal Pay Day campaign. Catt was also selected for the NYDJ Denim campaign highlighting women leading change. She starred in the SECRET deodorant “I’d Rather Get Paid” initiative and MM.Le.Fleur’s “What Are You Made Of?” fashion campaign. In 2021 she was featured with a diverse group of women in Summersalt’s swimwear campaign celebrating an eclectic group of confident and successful women who love their bodies – in all forms, at any age. Championing women has always been her passion.
About Sarah:
Sarah Boyd is the co-CEO of The Digital Dept., which represents the most sought-after celebrity influencers. Her current/past clients roster includes Alessandra Ambrosio, Jamie Chung, Olivia Culpo, Julianne Hough, Lauren Bushnell Lane, Jana Kramer, and many more who look to Sarah to help them capitalize on their influential status in the entertainment industry to make their mark in the influencer world.
Sarah started her career in Fashion PR and in 2012, she decided to channel her expert industry know-how, her extensive list of contacts, and relationships into starting her own business, SIMPLY, a collective with one goal in mind: connecting.
The SIMPLY ‘Do What You Love’ event is an annual Fashion and Beauty Conference in cities such as LA, NY, Chicago, and Dubai. Since 2012, SIMPLY has hosted tens of thousands of attendees.
Sarah has secured partnerships with prestigious brands like CITI, Topshop, Barney’s NY and many more. She’s been featured in Marie Claire, People Style Watch, Fox News, E!, LA Business Journal, to name a few. She was named a “Female Founder to Watch” by Forbes and is now a Forbes Fashion and Beauty contributor.
In 2017, Sarah completed a successful acquisition for SIMPLY with Socialyte (under the NYLON LLC parent company) and Sarah held the position of President of Socialyte.
In 2018, Sarah co-founded the Moms + Babes Box with partner Jana Kramer which is a quarterly subscription box filled with 6+ full sized products for moms and their babes. In 2020, Sarah and Jana sold the business.
In 2022, Socialyte was acquired by Dolphin Entertainment, and in 2023, Socialyte and Be Social merged to become The Digital Dept. where Sarah was installed as co-CEO.
You Can Find Catt and Sarah:
On Instagram:
On their websites:
Links Mentioned In Today's Episode
Sarah appeared on the podcast back in episode 75, which you can listen to HERE.
Got a question for me or something you're struggling with in your stepfamily life? Submit a question to be answered on a future podcast episode HERE
Want to go deeper into coparenting, dealing with your partner's ex, finding your own peace, and other blended family challenges? Join the Stepfamily Circle HERE
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