Dishing on Divorce Podcast

dishingondivorce

Dishing on Divorce: Sharing Stories and Empowering Lives is a podcast by Deanna Coyle and Mandy Pullen Barr, two best friends and single mothers who have experienced divorce. In this series, they share the ups and downs of rebuilding their lives, offering a mix of personal insights and expert advice. Each episode features a guest who educates listeners on relevant topics or inspires them with powerful personal stories. This podcast is a valuable resource for anyone seeking guidance, inspiration, and a sense of community as they embark on the transformative journey of divorce.

  1. 5d ago

    High-Conflict Divorce and Coercive Control: How to Document the Evidence with Courtney Gilmartin

    When you are living through a high-conflict divorce or custody dispute, it can feel like there is too much to explain. Too many emails, texts, incidents, court documents, and interactions, all while trying to parent, work, and manage the emotional weight of what is happening. In this episode, Mandy and Deanna are joined by Courtney Gilmartin, founder of New Jersey Protective Moms and Strategic Litigation Consultant with Monarch Consulting Group. Courtney brings both personal and professional experience to this conversation. After navigating her own family court challenges, she began using her background in project and program management to organize evidence, identify behavioral patterns, and communicate information more clearly. That approach eventually became the foundation of the work she now does with clients navigating high-conflict custody and divorce matters. Courtney explains why effective documentation is not about collecting every single piece of information or repeatedly calling someone a narcissist or coercive controller. It is about showing patterns through organized, credible evidence. The conversation explores coercive control, post-separation abuse, financial control, difficult co-parenting dynamics, parallel parenting, parenting coordinators, and the importance of thinking ahead when creating divorce and parenting agreements. Courtney also shares practical ways to organize timelines, texts, emails, court documents, and other records so they are easier to use when communicating with attorneys and other professionals. One of the biggest takeaways from the conversation is simple: show the pattern rather than relying on the label. For anyone navigating a high-conflict divorce or custody situation, this episode offers thoughtful, practical guidance to create clarity in circumstances that can otherwise feel chaotic and overwhelming. Learn more about Courtney and her work at MonarchConsultingGrp.com.

  2. Oct 5

    Love Bombing, Gaslighting and Emotional Abuse: Why It’s So Hard to Leave with Dianne Harris

    What happens when the relationship you thought was your happily-ever-after slowly causes you to lose yourself? In this episode of Dishing on Divorce, Mandy and Deanna sit down with Dianne Harris, author of Love Bomb: He Sold Her a Dream and Delivered a Nightmare, a certified life coach, entrepreneur, and advocate. Dianne shares the deeply personal story behind her memoir, including how a relationship that initially felt like the love she had been waiting for became a nearly decade-long cycle of love bombing, emotional and verbal abuse, manipulation, gaslighting, and confusion. Together, they explore why these relationships can be so difficult to recognize and leave, especially when moments of pain are followed by apologies, promises, affection, and hope that things will finally change. Dianne also opens up about the life-threatening health crisis she experienced during the relationship, the role journaling played in helping her understand what was happening, and the realization that while she was working so hard to save someone else, she had slowly abandoned herself. The conversation explores people-pleasing, self-abandonment, blurred boundaries, and how we can lose trust in our instincts over time. From there, Dianne shares what healing has looked like for her, including rebuilding boundaries, reconnecting with her intuition, and learning that self-trust is restored through small choices made over and over again. This is a vulnerable conversation about recognizing unhealthy patterns, listening to your inner voice, and finding your way back to yourself. Learn more about Dianne and her work at https://dianneharris.com/ Get Dianne's Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GY5BL3G3

  3. Sep 28

    Finding Your Flock: Connection, Community & Coming Home to Yourself with Hey Birdie

    What happens to your sense of belonging when life changes? In this episode of Dishing on Divorce, Mandy and Deanna sit down with Jess Lindsley and Heather Bahlmann, co-founders of Hey Birdie. This Colorado-based community helps women build deeper, more meaningful connections. Heather and Jess share how a friendship that began on a playground grew into a mission to create the kind of community so many women are craving: a place to be seen, show up authentically, and build real relationships through every season of life. Jess opens up about experiencing her parents' divorce as a child and remembering how the larger community surrounding her family seemed to disappear. Heather shares how her own community became essential when her daughter became seriously ill. Together, their experiences shaped their belief that we aren't meant to navigate life's biggest transitions alone. The conversation explores divorce, motherhood, menopause, empty nesting, grief, career changes, relocation, people-pleasing, asking for help, learning to honor your own needs, and the difference between simply being social and feeling truly connected. They also talk about Hey Birdie's Flight Clubs, teen flocks, their new membership community, The Roost, and an upcoming cultural immersion in Guatemala exploring how women around the world build community and support one another. This is a warm, funny, vulnerable conversation about finding your people, allowing yourself to be seen, and discovering who you are now, especially when life looks very different than it once did. Learn more about Hey Birdie: https://www.heybirdie.co/ Connect with Heather and Jess: hey@heybirdie.co

  4. Sep 21

    Marriage, Divorce, and Fatherhood: Becoming a Terrific Dad with Dr. Binyomin Rothstein

    How can men become better husbands, fathers, and partners, and what happens when a marriage reaches a breaking point? Mandy and Deanna welcome Dr. Binyomin "Dr. Ben" Rothstein, men's coach, author of A Real Man's Guide to Becoming a Terrific Dad, and founder of Terrific Dads, for a wide-ranging conversation about marriage, divorce, fatherhood, personal responsibility, and growth. Dr. Ben shares how his journey from medicine into coaching led him to recognize the profound impact fathers can have on their children simply by being present, affectionate, engaged, and emotionally available. Together, they explore the dynamics that can affect a marriage long before divorce, including appreciation, communication, resentment, intimacy, forgiveness, and accountability. They also discuss what men may be experiencing beneath the surface when a relationship struggles and why meaningful change often begins with the courage to examine your own behavior. The conversation then turns to divorce and fatherhood, with an important reminder that the end of a marriage does not mean the end of being an engaged and intentional dad. Whether a father is married, separated, divorced, or rebuilding after a major life transition, Dr. Ben's message is centered on courage, connection, growth, and taking responsibility for how you show up in the relationships that matter most. Learn more at https://beaterrificdad.com/ or schedule a discovery call at https://beaterrificdad.com/schedule-your-discovery-call

  5. Sep 14

    Radical Acceptance in Divorce: Reclaiming Your Power

    Acceptance can be one of the hardest parts of divorce. How do you accept a reality you never wanted without feeling like you are giving up? In this episode of Dishing on Divorce, Mandy and Deanna welcome Lindy Yoshida and Erin Siegel for a thoughtful conversation about grief, radical acceptance, accountability, and finding your power during one of life's most difficult transitions. Lindy brings together her experience as a divorce financial professional, certified life coach, and grief educator to help people understand both the numbers and the emotions influencing their decisions. Erin is a professional certified coach and high-conflict divorce coach whose work focuses on coercive control, family court navigation, complex custody litigation, and post-separation abuse. Together, they discuss why acceptance is not the same as approval, why two seemingly opposing truths can exist at the same time, and how focusing on what we can control can help us move forward. The conversation also explores the profound grief that can accompany divorce, the temptation to stay focused on what a former partner should have done differently, the importance of accountability without victim-blaming, and the question that can change the way we move through difficult seasons: Who do I want to be when life gets hard? Lindy and Erin remind us that the pain of loss deserves to be felt and witnessed. We don't have to compound that pain by endlessly replaying what we should have known or done differently. Lindy and Erin are also hosting The Rebuild Retreat, a 4-day in-person retreat for women navigating divorce, October 16 through 19 at Freebird Valley Collective in Colorado. They are offering one scholarship covering $1,500 of the retreat experience, including workshops, guided practices, group coaching, and healing sessions. The recipient is responsible for the $1,500 cost of room and board. The Rebuild Retreat: https://lindyyoshida.com/retreat Scholarship application: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScKLB1ezSlropDG76jGxZJNYU2EPpCI-VrLUbsss7oyI5EFhA/viewform?usp=header A compassionate, honest conversation about accepting what is, honoring what hurts, and creating space for what comes next. Connect with Erin: https://www.hcdivorcecoach.com/divorce-coach-erin-m-siegel Connect with Lindy: https://lindyyoshida.com/

  6. Sep 7

    Creating a Home After Divorce: Selling, Starting Over & Building What Comes Next with Greg Banks

    Divorce can change your address, your routines, your finances, and even what "home" means. In this episode of Dishing on Divorce, Mandy and Deanna sit down with Greg Banks, owner and operator of Set the Stage Boston Metro North, for a conversation about the home from both sides of divorce: preparing the marital home for sale and creating a new space that feels safe, comfortable, and truly yours. Greg brings a perspective that is both professional and deeply personal. After going through his own divorce when his children were young, he discovered how much creating a new home helped him begin imagining the life that could come next. Together, they explore the emotional attachment we have to our homes and belongings, why leaving the marital home can feel like a genuine loss, and how your physical environment can support healing during a major life transition. Greg also shares practical guidance for homeowners preparing to sell, including why decluttering and depersonalizing matter, where improvements like paint and lighting may make a difference, and how staging can help buyers envision themselves living in a space. And for those beginning again in a new home, the conversation turns to decision fatigue, where to spend versus save, creating meaningful routines with your children, and why you do not need to create your "forever home" all at once. This episode reminds you that starting over doesn't mean having everything figured out. Sometimes it starts with creating a space that cares for you while you decide what comes next. Connect with Greg: https://bmn.wesetthestage.com/ Email Greg: greg.banks@wesetthestage.com

  7. Aug 31

    Divorcing a Narcissist: Coercive Control, Gaslighting & How to Protect Yourself with Kimberly Solo

    What happens when the abuse in a relationship isn’t obvious to everyone else? In this powerful episode of Dishing on Divorce, Mandy Barr sits down with Kimberly Solo, LICSW, PMH-C, a licensed therapist and Certified Narcissistic Abuse Treatment Clinician who has spent more than 20 years supporting women through trauma, relationship challenges, high-conflict divorce, emotional abuse, and coercive control. Kimberly helps us understand what narcissistic and controlling relationship dynamics can actually look like in everyday life, including the subtle behaviors that can leave someone questioning their own reality. We talk about: • Gaslighting and why confusion can become a tool for control • The subtle signs of coercive control and emotional abuse • Love bombing, jealousy, isolation, and financial control • Sexual coercion within relationships • How technology and social media can be used to monitor or intimidate a partner • Why abuse may escalate during separation and after divorce • The importance of preparing before leaving a high-conflict relationship • Protecting financial information, communications, and important documents • Why documenting specific behaviors can be so important • How children can become caught in high-conflict dynamics • Finding attorneys and professionals who understand these complex cases • Why connection and community can help break the isolation Kimberly also shares the inspiration behind She Breaks Free, her peer-support program connecting women who are separating from or divorcing emotionally abusive or narcissistic partners. One of the most important messages from this conversation: you do not have to convince everyone around you that your experience is real. Pay attention to the behaviors, trust what you are experiencing, gather support, and create a thoughtful plan for your next steps. Wherever you are in your divorce journey, you do not have to navigate it alone. Connect with Kimberly: https://www.kimberlysolo.com/ Email Kimberly: kimberly.solo.licsw@gmail.com

  8. Aug 24

    Who Am I After Divorce? Rebuilding Identity, Self-Trust & Your Life with Hope Firsel

    Sometimes the hardest part of divorce isn’t losing the marriage—it’s losing the version of yourself you thought you would always be. In this deeply personal and uplifting episode of Dishing on Divorce, we sit down with certified life coach, certified divorce specialist, and IFS-trained coach Hope Firsel to talk about the hidden grief that can come with divorce and what it really takes to rediscover yourself afterward. Hope’s perspective was shaped not only by the end of her 18-year marriage, but by years of life-changing experiences including infertility, five failed rounds of IVF, stage three colon cancer, multiple surgeries, chemotherapy, and, more recently, the loss of her father. Through those experiences, Hope learned powerful lessons about surrender, gratitude, grief, resilience, and trusting yourself when life no longer looks like the plan you once imagined. Together, we explore: Why divorce involves grieving more than the relationship itself The loss of identity, family structure, traditions, friendships, and the future you expected Why you can want a divorce and still experience profound grief The danger of “toxic positivity” and trying to rush through painful emotions How fear, shame, resentment, and old beliefs can influence the way we navigate divorce How Internal Family Systems (IFS) can help us understand the different “parts” of ourselves Rebuilding self-trust and reconnecting with your own inner authority Discovering what you actually enjoy after years of making decisions through the lens of marriage and family Why a new relationship should add to your life rather than become the source of your happiness How gratitude can coexist with incredibly difficult seasons of life Hope reminds us that difficult experiences are chapters—not our entire story—and that rebuilding can become an opportunity to decide who we want to be moving forward. As Hope beautifully puts it, “On the other side of fear is freedom.” Learn more about Hope and her coaching at hopefirsel.com. Hope has also generously offered Dishing on Divorce listeners a complimentary consultation. Text Hope directly at 773-848-9349 and mention “Dishing on Divorce” to connect with her. Sometimes beginning again requires a plan…and a little Hope.

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About

Dishing on Divorce: Sharing Stories and Empowering Lives is a podcast by Deanna Coyle and Mandy Pullen Barr, two best friends and single mothers who have experienced divorce. In this series, they share the ups and downs of rebuilding their lives, offering a mix of personal insights and expert advice. Each episode features a guest who educates listeners on relevant topics or inspires them with powerful personal stories. This podcast is a valuable resource for anyone seeking guidance, inspiration, and a sense of community as they embark on the transformative journey of divorce.

Information

  • Creator
    dishingondivorce
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    98
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2024 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Dishing on Divorce Podcast

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