Parenting | Are Your Kids Walking on Eggshells? Co-Parenting Without Emotional Damage
Divorce and Separation
When parents separate, the focus is often on logistics parenting schedules, property settlements, court orders. But underneath all of that is something quieter. The emotional world of our children. In this episode, I sit down with psychologist Jamie Maserow, author of The Therapist in Therapy, to explore the silent emotional work children often carry during divorce and separation. We discuss how children can slip into people-pleasing patterns, walking on eggshells to avoid upsetting Mum or Dad. We unpack jealousy — whether it’s a child feeling replaced by a new partner, or a parent...
info_outline
Self Care & Support | Self-Gaslighting After Separation: When You Stop Trusting Your Own Reality
Divorce and Separation
If you’re separated (or separating) and you keep replaying the past, rewriting conversations, and wondering “Maybe I’m the one who’s wrong…” this episode is for you. One of the most common (and most unsettling) things I see after a breakup isn’t confusion about money, logistics, or parenting schedules. It’s people quietly doubting their own reality. There’s a name for it: self-gaslighting and it can keep you stuck long after the relationship ends. In this short solo episode, I explain what self-gaslighting is, why separation turns up the volume, and how to rebuild trust in...
info_outline
Parenting | Social Media After Separation: When Milestones Hurt Because the Story Isn’t Yours
Divorce and Separation
Some of the hardest days after separation aren’t the days where everything falls apart. They’re the days that look “fine” on paper — birthdays, Christmas morning, school milestones, first days back — and yet I still feel that sting afterwards. In this episode, I’m talking about why milestone days can hurt more than you expect, especially when social media tells the story first. Not because a photo is “wrong”… but because the timing, the caption, and the implied narrative can leave you feeling edited out of your child’s life. This isn’t petty. It’s grief meeting...
info_outline
Finance | Buying Out your Ex After Separation: The Finance Reality
Divorce and Separation
Jonathan Kline-Spink, Director at Market Street Finance, unpacks what banks are really looking at when someone is separating and hoping to keep the family home. We talk about the difference between borrowing capacity and affordability, why keeping the family home after separation is often more complex than people expect, and how lenders reassess risk when a joint mortgage becomes a single loan. Jonathan explains how banks consider income, expenses, child support, and property values; why finance approvals fall through, and the importance of having honest, early conversations before...
info_outline
Legal | Who Keeps the House After Separation?
Divorce and Separation
Buying out an ex from the family home after separation can feel overwhelming — financially, legally, and emotionally. In this episode, I’m joined by Christina Salvo, CEO and Founder of Simple Separation, to break down how the process actually works and what needs to happen first. We talk through the real sequence involved in buying out an ex — starting with negotiation and mediation, moving into formal agreements, and then looking at finance and title transfer. Christina explains why affordability and borrowing capacity need to be assessed early, what lenders look at when a joint...
info_outline
Self Care & Support | The Habits That Heal: Dr Gina Cleo on Identity, Separation and Starting Again
Divorce and Separation
Dr Gina Cleo joins me for a powerful conversation about the tiny habits that help you steady yourself after separation especially when identity, routine and confidence feel completely shaken. Gina shares openly about her three divorces and the very human process of rebuilding from the inside out. We explore how separation disrupts the “micro-moments” of your day, why habits shape identity, and the difference between having a habit problem versus simply having no capacity left. We also talk about: Small actions that rebuild confidence and clarity Breaking patterns like people-pleasing...
info_outline
Spotlight | When Kids Carry Adult Pain: A Conversation with Tommy Herschell
Divorce and Separation
Children feel the impact of separation long before they can explain it and many carry those early wounds into adulthood. In this episode, I’m joined by Tommy Herschell, founder of Find Ya Feet, to explore what can happen for kids during a family breakdown and how those early experiences can shape boys and men for decades. Tommy shares his own story, his parents’ separation when he was 10 years old, the years of self-blame, and the emotional crash in his mid-30s that forced him to face what he’d been carrying. We talk about how unspoken pain shows up in kids’ behaviour, why emotional...
info_outline
Anatomy of Divorce | How to Filter the Noise During Divorce
Divorce and Separation
If your mind feels loud but your heart has gone quiet, this episode is for you. If you’re navigating divorce or separation and feel overwhelmed by everyone’s opinions, this episode will help you tune back into your voice. In this instalment of The Anatomy of Divorce, I explore The Ears — the part of the process where discernment, boundaries, and self-trust matter most. During separation, it can feel like you’re drowning in advice from friends, family, lawyers, social media, and your own inner critic. But not every voice deserves airtime. I share how this played out during my own...
info_outline
Anatomy of Divorce | Let Go, Let Them, and Find Real Peace After Separation
Divorce and Separation
This episode is part of The Anatomy of Divorce segment, I unpack one of the most overlooked skills in separation - perspective. When life turns upside down after divorce, your brain goes into survival mode. You loop old arguments, replay stories, and grip tightly to being understood. But sometimes the shift you need most isn’t fixing them - it’s seeing them differently. I share how understanding your biology, practising perspective-taking, and embracing Let Them Theory can help you calm your nervous system, make clearer decisions, and protect your peace. You’ll also learn my...
info_outline
Finances | Divorce in the Workplace: The $101 Billion Blind Spot with Andrew Tomich
Divorce and Separation
Separation and divorce cost the Australian economy $101 billion every year but behind that figure are real people quietly trying to hold their lives, families, and jobs together. In this episode, I’m joined by Andrew Tomich, Director at , to explore how divorce impacts the workplace from leadership and productivity to culture and wellbeing. Andrew shares what happened when a senior colleague went through a complex separation and how empathy, flexibility, and communication became the foundation for getting through it together. We talk about the ripple effect personal crises have inside...
info_outlineThis episode is part of The Anatomy of Divorce segment, where we explore the emotional, physical and psychological layers of separation through the whole person body, mind and heart.
Today, we move into The Heart the space where pain lives first.
If you’re in that place where everything feels raw, where your chest feels tight and your thoughts loop endlessly, this one’s for you. In this episode, I’m speaking directly to that tender part of you that’s trying to make sense of the ending the part that wants to heal but still feels stuck in the ache.
I share my own experience of heartbreak when my marriage ended and I couldn’t see beyond the grief and how I began to shift from surviving to slowly rebuilding.
We’ll talk about:
-
Why emotional pain narrows your world and how to gently widen your view again;
-
How the brain protects us in the middle of heartbreak (and when it’s time to move from protection to possibility);
-
The moment I realised my pain had changed shape from breaking to becoming;
-
What it means to truly “let go” without losing yourself;
-
How to use gentle curiosity and journaling to reconnect with your heart and your future.
This isn’t about pushing past the pain it’s about understanding it, honouring it, and learning what it’s trying to show you.
Let’s Keep the Conversation Going:
Visit Divorce and Separation Hub to explore expert resources, courses, and programs tailored to your needs. Share your questions or comments you’re not alone in this.
Host: Nikki Parkinson, TEDx Speaker, Divorce Doula, Coach and Founder of The Divorce and Separation Hub.
The Divorce and Separation Hub Website
The Divorce and Separation Hub Instagram
The Divorce and Separation Hub Facebook
The Divorce and Separation Hub Linkedin
Join our Divorce and Separation community HERE.
Watch Nikki's TEDx Talk HERE.
Loved This Episode?
Support the podcast by subscribing, leaving a five-star review, and sharing it with someone who could use a little extra support right now.
This episode is produced by Dan King of Dan King Productions.
This episode is sposnored by Simple Separation, the smarter way to separate. Simple Separation is an online, fixed-fee service designed to help Australian couples finalise their divorce and separation respectfully, collaboratively, and without the stress of going to court. From property settlements and parenting plans to child support and divorce applications, everything you need is under one roof, saving you time, money, and unnecessary conflict.
Book your free consultation today to find out if Simple Separation is right for your situation at simple-separation.com.au.