By Chance Avenue

Elizabeth Tiglao-Guss
  • 5.0 (20)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

Hi friend! If you are a woman who does not have kids by chance, not by choice, this message is for you. If you had an inner desire to be a mother but never came to reality, this show is for you. If you got married at a later stage in your life, or if you are single and you never had the chance to even try, this is for you. If you were a mama at some point and suffered a loss, this is for you too. And if you want to feel like you are a part of a community alongside other women who have walked a similar path, who understand you, who see you and feel you, this is where you belong. This show is called By Chance Podcast, a space for sacred conversations with women who don't have kids by chance, not by choice. We will have conversations with brave women who share their stories with grit and resilience. We'll also bring on different guests who will help us continue to grow and guide us in our healing journey. I will share with you tools that helped me thrive over the last 20 plus years, even when I battled years of depression and anxiety. Each week, I will bring you an episode that will be a reminder that our struggles, fears, and joys are universal threads that bind us all together. This show will be heartwarming, vulnerable, fun, and educational. I'm Elizabeth Tiglao Gus, your new friend and podcast host. I am a woman who has overcome 10 years of infertility struggles, including three years of failed adoptions. So trust me when I say, I see you. I am also a social entrepreneur and a life coach, focusing on helping women thrive rather than just survive. I help women who are ready to transform their lives, empower themselves to live with purpose and radical self love. If you are ready to be part of this community, come with me. Together let's celebrate life and being a woman without being defined by the rule of motherhood. And my hope is that you will feel seen, heard, and feel less alone when you tune in. Now it's time. Let's go. Let's go.

  1. 4d ago

    112. Okay Hear Me Out | Why Stepping Outside the CNBC Bubble Might Actually Help You Heal

    Host Elizabeth Tiglaso-Guss reflects on how, during grief and loss around not having children, people need empathetic community that “gets it,” and affirms the value of childless-not-by-choice spaces like the one they are building. They also warn that the same supportive bubble can become too small and limit growth if it becomes someone’s whole world, and they gently encourage listeners to “breathe different air” without abandoning the community or bypassing grief. Using examples like taking American mahjong lessons, hosting a beginner mahjong soiree where no one knew their story, and attending salsa dancing workshops, they describe the freedom of reconnecting with parts of themselves that existed before this journey. They also share their preference for reading general books on grief, healing, mindset, and growth rather than books centered on childlessness, and invite listeners to try one hobby, friend group, or space where they can simply be themselves. A Gentle ContradictionWhy Empathy MattersThe Bubble EffectStep Outside BrieflyReclaim Old JoysChoosing Different BooksMore Than One IdentityOne Small ExperimentCommunity Plus Growth Connect with Elizabeth: IG: @bychanceavenue Stay connected & up to date with all things By Chance Want to share your story? Apply to be a guest!

    11 min

  2. Jun 2

    111. She Built a World for Us | World Childless Week with Stephanie Joy Phillips

    In this interview, Steph (Stephanie Phillips), founder of World Childless Week, shares her path to childlessness: after leaving an abusive relationship, she and her future husband tried to conceive in her late 30s, received devastating news from a doctor at age 39, and declined NHS-funded IVF due to timing, low odds, and her inability to lose weight while grieving. She describes navigating shock, isolation, and pronatalist culture, finding a crucial Facebook support group, and how she and her husband largely processed grief separately. Now nearly 60, she explains grief’s evolving “triggers,” speaking openly, and fears and planning around aging without children. Stephanie spent a large part of her twenties in an abusive relationship so took the contraceptive pill to prevent a child being born into that situation. In her early thirties she met her husband to be but they didn't try to conceive until nearing forty. At the age of 39 she was told by an unsympathetic doctor "if he manages to get you pregnant it is highly unlikely you'll carry full term". She knew in that moment, she would never be a mum. In 2016 Stephanie Joy Phillips founded Childless Path To Acceptance, a free support group on Facebook that welcomes anyone who is childless by circumstance, infertility, chance or tough choices. In 2017 after realising there was no national recognition of the childless community Stephanie had an idea for a global awareness week. She mentioned her idea to several childless friends who encouraged her to pursue her idea. Inspired by their enthusiasm, she spoke to the childless not by choice community who rallied round and stepped forward to offer their support and participation. Six weeks later World Childless Week went live for the first time. In 2026 World Childless Week will be celebrating ten years of giving the childless community a platform where they can find their voice and share their stories with confidence. Stephanie lives in Worcestershire with her husband and two rescue cats, Storm and Tea-Cup. She enjoys gardening, arts and crafts, a good book, dining out and relaxing in front of the television with a puzzle book and one of her two cats snuggled up beside her. Meet StephHer Childless JourneyDiagnosis and IVF DecisionFinding Support OnlineMarriage Under GriefSpeaking Up PubliclyAging Without ChildrenAging Without Kids PlanningSilver Linings And PreparednessWhy World Childless Week BeganChoosing September 16First Year On FacebookChildless Versus ChildfreeGrowth Website And WebinarsCommon Threads And IsolationHealing Worthiness And AnonymityMeaningful Life And Getting Involved Connect with Stephanie: https://www.facebook.com/WorldChildlessWeek https://www.instagram.com/worldchildlessweek https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-phillips1966/ Connect with Elizabeth: IG: @bychanceavenue Stay connected & up to date with all things By Chance Want to share your story? Apply to be a guest!

    42 min

  3. May 26

    110. Random Gut Punches | When Everyday Life Reminds You of What You Don't Have

    Host Elizabeth Tiglao-Guss reflects on a week of being sick at home and noticing unexpected reminders of what she and her husband, Victor, don’t have. She shares three moments that landed differently: a Facebook post claiming you don’t know love until you have children, a coworker telling Victor he “highly recommend[s]” having kids, and an Apple TV show, Shrinking, featuring a simplified adoption storyline with a happy ending. While not triggered in the way she once would have been, Elizabeth describes feeling the weight of their journey and their two failed adoptions, and acknowledges that even after healing, random comments or media can still catch you off guard. She encourages listeners to notice these moments without over-meaning them, remember they pass, and know they aren’t alone. Sick Week ReflectionsThe Love Quote StingCoworker Kid TalkAdoption Plot SurpriseNot Triggered But AwareHealing Still Has MomentsYou Are Not AloneClosing Take Care Connect with Elizabeth: IG: @bychanceavenue Stay connected & up to date with all things By Chance Want to share your story? Apply to be a guest!

    8 min

  4. May 19

    109. From Suffering Alone to a Space for Storytelling | Lisa Levey of The Otherhood Collective

    Host Elizabeth Tiglao-Guss speaks with a New York-based filmmaker about her multi-year journey through unexplained infertility, multiple IVF rounds beginning at age 38 in 2019, and the trauma of continuing treatment as the city shut down during the pandemic, including a failed transfer and chemical pregnancy. Lisa is the Co-Founder of The Otherhood Collective, a storytelling platform and community using real voices to challenge and reshape narratives around parenthood, identity, and belonging. After repeated cycles yielding one embryo that failed, health issues and surgery, she and her husband explored adoption but struggled with pandemic red tape, emotional readiness, and unspoken exhaustion before drifting toward acceptance that having children would not happen. She describes keeping the process secret, feeling unsupported, loneliness, and grief shifting from shame to sadness, especially around milestones like Mother’s Day. Seeking deeper representation, she and longtime friend Sarah created The Otherhood Collective to share layered, inclusive video stories that bridge divides between parents and non-parents and help people feel less alone. Starting the JourneyTrying to ConceiveIVF Meets PandemicRounds and SetbacksConsidering AdoptionLast IVF AttemptLetting It FadeGrief After TreatmentKeeping It SecretLoneliness and TherapyCreating OtherhoodWhere I Am NowSadness Without ShameAdvice for the ThickBeyond Black and WhiteFuture of OtherhoodFinal Thanks and Wrap Connect with Lisa: LINKS: YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@TheOtherhoodCollective Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/theotherhoodcollective/ TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@theotherhoodcollective LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-otherhood-collective/ Website - https://www.theotherhoodcollective.com Get Involved - https://www.theotherhoodcollective.com/get-involved-1 Connect with Elizabeth: IG: @bychanceavenue Stay connected & up to date with all things By Chance Want to share your story? Apply to be a guest!

    49 min

  5. May 12

    108. The Fear No One Talks About | Aging Without Children

    Host Elizabeth Tiglao-Guss opens an honest conversation about the unspoken worry many childfree women carry: what aging will look like without children and whether life will still feel full, enough, or lonely. Reflecting on her parents’ aging and a medical scare that led her and her husband, Victor, to care for them for months in California, she describes realizing that, as a Filipino raised in a culture where caring for elders is expected, the cycle of family caretaking may stop with her. She shares fears about needing support later in life, the possibility of assisted living, and the financial and emotional realities of having no one else to lean on, while acknowledging those facing this completely alone. Rather than offering “toxic positivity,” she validates the sadness, uncertainty, and fear, and invites ongoing conversations with other women, including older voices. The Unspoken FearAsking the Hard QuestionsParents Aging Reality CheckCulture of CaregivingWhen the Cycle StopsSpiraling Into the FuturePlanning for TwoSeeing Women AloneLiving Present Yet WonderingNo Toxic PositivityOpening the ConversationYou Are Not AloneClosing Thanks Connect with Elizabeth: IG: @bychanceavenue Stay connected & up to date with all things By Chance Want to share your story? Apply to be a guest!

    11 min

  6. May 5

    107. When Comparison Trap Feels Different | Life Without Children

    Host Elizabeth Tiglao-Guss reflects on the “comparison trap” in the context of living without children, sharing how it shows up in layered, sometimes contradictory ways. She describes beach days with her partner Victor where being surrounded by young families brings an unexpected sense of relief at not managing the exhaustion of toddlers, especially at 51 after trying IVF and adoption in her 40s. At the same time, conversations with friends who enjoy close relationships with their college-age and grown children spark curiosity and longing about what her own relationship with an adult child might have been like. She emphasizes that both relief and wondering can be true, that comparison can come and go without overtaking life, and that all emotions—envy, anger, resentment, or peace—are valid with no timeline for grief. Comparison Trap ReframedBeach Walks And NoiseRelief Without KidsThe Other Side Of ComparisonWondering About Adult KidsBoth Feelings Can CoexistLayers Of ComparisonPermission To Feel It AllClosing Thoughts Whether you’re in the thick of grief or finally starting to feel like yourself again, there’s a name for where you are and a roadmap waiting for you. bychanceavenue.com/roadmap Connect with Elizabeth: IG: @bychanceavenue Stay connected & up to date with all things By Chance Want to share your story? Apply to be a guest!

    13 min

  7. Apr 28

    106. The Sisterhood We're Yearning For | Finding Your People

    Host Elizabeth Tiglao-Guss shares a surprise insight from a recent therapy session: beneath current relationship tension, she’s grieving the loss of sisterhood and a deep craving for kinship with women who truly know her. She reflects on longing for belonging since college and explains how infertility and loss can quietly isolate women as social circles shift around kids, causing friendships to drift and compounding grief—especially for single women navigating the journey without a partner. Elizabeth offers practical ways to rebuild connection intentionally using available time and bandwidth: host small gatherings, name the desire for deeper friendship out loud, seek women in a similar season through groups like Facebook, stay open to unlikely friendships across ages and life stages, and deepen existing relationships one step at a time. She closes by encouraging listeners to reach out this week and DM her on Instagram at by Chance Avenue. Therapy Surprise InsightGrieving Sisterhood LossA Lifelong LongingInfertility Isolation EffectsSingle Women LonelinessTurning Ache Into ActionHost Small GatheringsSay It Out LoudFind Your Season PeopleUnlikely FriendshipsQuality Over QuantitySisterhood Is EssentialWeekly Challenge And ConnectClosing Gratitude Whether you’re in the thick of grief or finally starting to feel like yourself again, there’s a name for where you are and a roadmap waiting for you. bychanceavenue.com/roadmap Connect with Elizabeth: IG: @bychanceavenue Stay connected & up to date with all things By Chance Want to share your story? Apply to be a guest!

    18 min

  8. Apr 21

    105. Purpose Wasn't Lost | It Was Always There

    Host Elizabeth Tiglao-Guss reflects on how years of trying to become a mother consumed her identity and buried the question “What do I want?” After repeated heartbreak, she realized her personal growth wasn’t just preparation for motherhood—it was building her, and it led her back to what had always been true: she loves serving and helping people, which inspired her podcast and By Chance Avenue. She offers a reframe for women who are childless not by choice: purpose isn’t lost, it’s buried under grief, and it’s not one big revelation but subtle nudges that can change with life seasons. She introduces Ikigai as a framework—what you love, what you’re good at, and what you want to give the world—and invites listeners to start asking these questions. She also shares a free “Roadmap Quiz” at bychanceavenue.com/roadmap. The Big QuestionTrying And Losing SelfGrowth Became The PointServing Spark ReturnsPurpose Was BuriedPurpose Is Many NudgesIkigai Finding DirectionHope For The MiddleRoadmap Quiz Next StepsClosing Reframe Whether you’re in the thick of grief or finally starting to feel like yourself again, there’s a name for where you are and a roadmap waiting for you. bychanceavenue.com/roadmap Connect with Elizabeth: IG: @bychanceavenue Stay connected & up to date with all things By Chance Want to share your story? Apply to be a guest!

    13 min
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Trailer

5
out of 5
20 Ratings

About

Hi friend! If you are a woman who does not have kids by chance, not by choice, this message is for you. If you had an inner desire to be a mother but never came to reality, this show is for you. If you got married at a later stage in your life, or if you are single and you never had the chance to even try, this is for you. If you were a mama at some point and suffered a loss, this is for you too. And if you want to feel like you are a part of a community alongside other women who have walked a similar path, who understand you, who see you and feel you, this is where you belong. This show is called By Chance Podcast, a space for sacred conversations with women who don't have kids by chance, not by choice. We will have conversations with brave women who share their stories with grit and resilience. We'll also bring on different guests who will help us continue to grow and guide us in our healing journey. I will share with you tools that helped me thrive over the last 20 plus years, even when I battled years of depression and anxiety. Each week, I will bring you an episode that will be a reminder that our struggles, fears, and joys are universal threads that bind us all together. This show will be heartwarming, vulnerable, fun, and educational. I'm Elizabeth Tiglao Gus, your new friend and podcast host. I am a woman who has overcome 10 years of infertility struggles, including three years of failed adoptions. So trust me when I say, I see you. I am also a social entrepreneur and a life coach, focusing on helping women thrive rather than just survive. I help women who are ready to transform their lives, empower themselves to live with purpose and radical self love. If you are ready to be part of this community, come with me. Together let's celebrate life and being a woman without being defined by the rule of motherhood. And my hope is that you will feel seen, heard, and feel less alone when you tune in. Now it's time. Let's go. Let's go.

Information

  • Creator
    Elizabeth Tiglao-Guss
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    113
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Elizabeth Tiglao-Guss
  • Show Website
    By Chance Avenue

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