StepStories Podcast

Robin Breuner

StepStories is an honest and heartfelt podcast exploring the real-life experiences of blended families. Host Robin Breuner, who has lived life as both a stepdaughter and a mother, brings deep empathy and understanding to conversations about the challenges and joys of blended family life. Each week, Robin talks with stepmothers, stepfathers, stepchildren, and step-siblings—sharing stories that reveal the love, tension, heartbreak, frustrations, and resilience found within these unique family dynamics. From families who've found harmony to those still working through the challenges, whether past or present, StepStories shines a light on every side of the journey. Through authentic storytelling and open dialogue, Robin creates a space for reflection, healing, and connection. Whether you are or have been part of a blended family, or are simply curious about the bonds that hold people together, StepStories offers honesty, hope, and heart in every episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 4d ago

    Ep. 44 – Sarah Kugelman: How the Love and Guidance of Stepparents Launched a Successful Career Woman

    Host Robin Breuner welcomes longtime friend Sarah Kugelman to this week’s episode of the Step Stories Podcast to discuss Sarah’s career and blended-family experience. Sarah recounts launching gloss.com in 1999 as an early beauty internet site, raising $5 million, and selling to Estée Lauder just before the internet bust; she later built and sold Skyn ICELAND (a stress-on-skin skincare line using Iceland-inspired ingredients) and now runs All Golden, a skincare and haircare brand for women 45+ that has launched on ulta.com and is sold in Anthropologie. Sarah shares a childhood marked by anxiety and an acrimonious divorce, then describes how a devoted stepfather and inspiring stepmother made her feel safe, seen, and supported, influencing her parenting and career. She also discusses her own difficult divorce and prioritizing being present for her daughter. Sarah Kugelman Email: Sarahk@allgolden.com Website: https://allgolden.com/ Facebook: FB/All-Golden-Beauty Instagram: IG/allgoldenbeauty IG/sarahskyn TikTok: @allgoldenbeauty Youtube: YT/@AllGoldenBeauty Linkedin: IN/sarah-kugelman Substack: @allgoldenbeauty Podcast: Going Golden Robin Breuner Email: robinbreuner@gmail.com Website: www.robinbreuner.com Instagram: stepstoriespodcastIG Facebook: stepstoriespodcastFB Linkedin: RobinBreunerLinkIN Podcast: StepStories Podcast Threads: @robinbreuner YouTube: StepStories Podcast YouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  2. Oct 29

    Ep. 43 – PJ King: A Stepfather Reclaiming his Lost Childhood Through his Daughters

    Host Robin Breuner welcomes actor PJ King to the Step Stories podcast to discuss how Stanislavski-based method acting became cathartic for him, helping him access and express childhood pain and ultimately launching his acting career. PJ shares a difficult upbringing marked by alcoholism, his parents’ separation when he was 13, becoming a caretaker for younger siblings while his mother worked and later struggled with alcoholism, and an emotionally shut-down relationship with his father, who later remarried and formed a new family. He describes discovering an older adopted sister at 21, getting sober at 27, and using recovery, therapy, spirituality, and forgiveness to face truth and build intimacy, leading to meeting his wife Lila. As a stepfather and father, he emphasizes inclusive family language, openness without judgment, discipline, and teaching kindness; he also mentions returning to theater and narrating Bar Rescue. PJ King Email: pjking1169@gmail.com Facebook: FB/PjKing Instagram: IG/officialpj_king Robin Breuner Email: robinbreuner@gmail.com Website: www.robinbreuner.com Instagram: stepstoriespodcastIG Facebook: stepstoriespodcastFB Linkedin: RobinBreunerLinkIN Podcast: StepStories Podcast Threads: @robinbreuner YouTube: StepStories Podcast YouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  3. Oct 22

    Ep. 42 – Amy Evans: How One Mom Blended a Family, Battled Cancer, and Lives with Gratitude

    Host Robin Breuner welcomes Step Stories guest Amy Evans, a wife, mother, stepmother, and cancer survivor from Peachtree City, Georgia, to share lessons from building a blended family of four kids (Carson, Jack, Lydia, and Gage) and navigating years marked by serious illness. Amy describes easing the kids into the relationship through “play date” introductions, aligning parenting styles, and thoughtfully blending traditions like Christmas and family ornaments. She recounts the family supporting the children through their stepfather’s stage four colon cancer and death, her own 2015 triple-negative breast cancer treatment, and later her father-in-law’s multiple myeloma while living with them. Amy also shares the 2020 loss of Gage’s father to aggressive cancer, emphasizing resilience, open communication, and how strong co-parenting helped. She updates listeners on the kids’ adult lives and reflects on what she’d do differently. Amy Evans Email: aevans0721@icloud.com Facebook: FB/Chris & Amy's - Our Story Robin Breuner Email: robinbreuner@gmail.com Website: www.robinbreuner.com Instagram: stepstoriespodcastIG Facebook: stepstoriespodcastFB Linkedin: RobinBreunerLinkIN Podcast: StepStories Podcast Threads: @robinbreuner YouTube: StepStories Podcast YouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  4. Oct 15

    BEST OF - Dr. Patricia Papernow: Connection Not Correction

    Join host Robin Breuner in this week’s Best Of episode of the Step Stories Podcast as she welcomes renowned stepfamily expert Dr. Patricia Papernow, who has spent five decades researching, teaching, and practicing in stepfamily relationships and is the author of Surviving and Thriving in Stepfamily Relationships and The Stepfamily Handbook. Dr. Papernow explains why stepfamilies differ fundamentally from first-time families, why clinicians receive little stepfamily training despite widespread prevalence, and why what works is not intuitive. She emphasizes that parents should retain discipline and authoritative limit-setting, while stepparents build trust through “connection, not correction,” warmth, and one-to-one time; harsh discipline by stepparents can be toxic. They discuss “stuck insider/outsider” dynamics, moving slowly for kids, communication skills, gray divorce and later-life stepfamilies, and planning for end-of-life care, inheritance, and sentimental items, including after a parent’s death. Dr. Patricia Papernow Email: ppapernow@gmail.com Website: https://stepfamilyrelationships.com/ Books: Surviving and Thriving in Stepfamily Relationships The Stepfamily Handbook Robin Breuner Email: robinbreuner@gmail.com Website: www.robinbreuner.com Instagram: stepstoriespodcastIG Facebook: stepstoriespodcastFB Linkedin: RobinBreunerLinkIN Podcast: StepStories Podcast Threads: @robinbreuner YouTube: StepStories Podcast YouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  5. Oct 8

    Ep. 41 – Tracey Mishel: The Tightrope Between Parents Many Adopted Kids Walk

    On this week’s episode of the Step Stories Podcast, Host Robin Breuner welcomes writer Tracey Mishel about her adoption and blended-family experience. Adopted through the Louise Wise Adoption Agency, Tracey grew up in Suffern, New York, knowing she was adopted, alongside an older adopted brother, amid family anxiety and conflict. As a high school senior she received a surprise call from her birth mother, Toby, triggering fear from her adoptive parents and warnings from the agency; Tracey initially cut off contact, then later exchanged letters while hiding it from her parents. She eventually met Toby around a friend’s Aspen wedding, met three half-brothers, and describes Toby’s intense push for connection and her work helping others find birth relatives. After conflict, they were estranged for years until Toby’s terminal brain cancer prompted reconciliation, and Tracey maintains relationships with her half-brothers and later connected with her biological father and new half-siblings. She reflects on parenting, writing her book, and advice for open, compassionate adoption relationships Feedspot is an RSS Reader that lets you follow your favorite podcasts alongside blogs and news in one place: https://podcast.feedspot.com/blended_family_podcasts/ https://podcast.feedspot.com/stepparent_relationship_podcasts/ Tracey Mishel: Email: traceymishel@gmail.com Robin Breuner Email: robinbreuner@gmail.com Website: www.robinbreuner.com Instagram: stepstoriespodcastIG Facebook: stepstoriespodcastFB Linkedin: RobinBreunerLinkIN Podcast: StepStories Podcast Threads: @robinbreuner YouTube: StepStories Podcast YouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  6. Oct 1

    BEST OF - Kristen Skiles

    In this week's Best Of episode, Robin interviews stepmom coach Kristen Skiles, founder of Stepmomming.com, host of Stepmom Made Easy, and author of “Stepmomming Made Easy,” to discuss her work supporting stepmoms worldwide and her annual virtual Stepmom Con. Kristen shares her blended-family story, including marrying a single dad, navigating early high-conflict dynamics, and the unusual experience of her husband’s ex-wife and her new husband living with them for three months, which challenged boundaries but helped Kristen release unrealistic expectations and accept she isn’t her stepdaughter’s mom. They talk about adding two sons after a fertility journey, Kristen’s experience as a stepdaughter, why remarriage divorce rates are high, differences for stepmoms partnered with widowers, and what Stepmom Con offers, including expert interviews, live chat, connection hours, and upgrade options. Kristen Skiles Email: kristen@stepmomming.com Website: Stepmomming.com Instagram: Kristen Skiles (@stepmomming) Facebook: Stepmomming Blog Pintrest : Stepmomming with Kristen Skiles Threads: Stepmomming Made Easy Books: Stepmomming Made Easy Strategies Everything/ Robin Breuner Email: robinbreuner@gmail.com Website: www.robinbreuner.com Instagram: stepstoriespodcastIG Facebook: stepstoriespodcastFB Linkedin: RobinBreunerLinkIN Podcast: StepStories Podcast Threads: @robinbreuner YouTube: StepStories Podcast YouTube TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@stepstoriespodcast/video/7569378260706938126 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  7. Sep 24

    Ep. 40 - Suzanne Sherman: What Does It Mean To Live In The Long Shadow

    Robin Breuner welcomes author and memoir coach Suzanne Sherman to discuss her book, Living in the Long Shadow: Surviving a Legacy of Mental Illness (publishing Sept. 29). Suzanne recounts her earliest memories of her mother’s sudden-onset schizophrenia, her father’s lack of explanation, and the family’s upheaval, including her mother’s overdose attempt when Suzanne was 10 and later diagnosis and treatment with Thorazine. She describes her parents’ separation, her father dating a woman who became her stepmother, and how Suzanne, at 14, moved in with her father and new wife, initially facing rejection behind closed doors before the relationship improved over time. Suzanne also reflects on her mother’s eventual suicide, a letter explaining she couldn’t live with or without medication, and a later “sign” that brought comfort. She closes with advice that love and feeling valued matter most in stepfamily relationships. Feedspot is an RSS Reader that lets you follow your favorite podcasts alongside blogs and news in one place: https://podcast.feedspot.com/blended_family_podcasts/ https://podcast.feedspot.com/stepparent_relationship_podcasts/ Suzanne Sherman: Email: suzanne@suzannesherman.com Website: http://www.suzannesherman.com Facebook: FB/suzanne.sherman.14 Instagram: IG/suzanne_sherman_author Linkedin: IN/suzannesherman Books: Living In The Long Shadow Robin Breuner Email: robinbreuner@gmail.com Website: www.robinbreuner.com Instagram: stepstoriespodcastIG Facebook: stepstoriespodcastFB Linkedin: RobinBreunerLinkIN Podcast: StepStories Podcast Threads: @robinbreuner YouTube: StepStories Podcast YouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  8. Sep 17

    Ep. 39 – Alex Feldman: Everyone Can Teach You Something

    Host Robin Breuner welcomes Alex Feldman to this week’s episode of the Step Stories podcast to discuss his complex blended-family upbringing and how it shaped his empathy and worldview. Alex describes growing up in Santa Cruz with divorced parents who co-parented 50/50 while living four blocks apart, and how his father’s earlier marriages and relationships resulted in much older half-siblings (Lauren and Jenna) and a half-brother (Evan), plus a stepbrother (Chris). He shares developing closer sibling relationships mainly in adulthood, the role Jenna played as a family “glue,” and his reflections on being the youngest and receiving more consistent parenting. Alex also explains Burning Man as a temporary gifting-culture city and connects it to valuing creativity, diverse backgrounds, and learning from everyone, ending with advice that genuine listening is a modern superpower. Alex Feldman: Email:  afeld11@gmail.com     Robin Breuner  Email:  robinbreuner@gmail.com Website:  www.robinbreuner.com Instagram: stepstoriespodcastIG Facebook: stepstoriespodcastFB Linkedin:  RobinBreunerLinkIN Podcast:  StepStories Podcast Threads:  @robinbreuner YouTube: StepStories Podcast YouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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5
out of 5
40 Ratings

About

StepStories is an honest and heartfelt podcast exploring the real-life experiences of blended families. Host Robin Breuner, who has lived life as both a stepdaughter and a mother, brings deep empathy and understanding to conversations about the challenges and joys of blended family life. Each week, Robin talks with stepmothers, stepfathers, stepchildren, and step-siblings—sharing stories that reveal the love, tension, heartbreak, frustrations, and resilience found within these unique family dynamics. From families who've found harmony to those still working through the challenges, whether past or present, StepStories shines a light on every side of the journey. Through authentic storytelling and open dialogue, Robin creates a space for reflection, healing, and connection. Whether you are or have been part of a blended family, or are simply curious about the bonds that hold people together, StepStories offers honesty, hope, and heart in every episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Robin Breuner
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    56
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Robin Breuner
  • Show Website
    StepStories Podcast

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