Radical Stepmoms
Radical Stepmoms is a podcast that explores the challenges and realities of being a stepmother. It discusses co-parenting, marital issues, and relationships with stepchildren, as well as self-care and personal growth. The host aims to make listeners feel validated and empowered with each episode.
Episodes
Season 9: Episode 9: Supporting our Neurospicy Stepkids in their Blended Families with guest, Beven
Christina Welcomes Beven! Beven is a neurodivergent leader, educator, and parent of neurodivergent children, who joins us to chat about how we can help our neurodivergent stepkiddos navigate two separate homes with different rules and norms. We discuss the importance of communication, belonging, and predictability. While we can't always have consistency between homes - we can focus on what we
Season 9: Episode 8: Life After 18 & Entering a New Stepmom Chapter with guest Veronica
Christina chats with Veronica, a stepmom who is now on the other side of 18. Veronica shares her story of being a full-time stepmom, to long distance, to now loving her stepkids as they’re adults. How did she develop and maintain a relationship from miles away? How did her partner support her role? What changes as your stepkids grow? What (if anything) gets easier? Listen in! About My Guest:I’ve
Season 9: Episode 7: The experience of growing up with a stepmom with guest, Robin
Christina chats with Robin, who shares her experience of being the stepchild. Robin’s mother passed away when she was young and her father quickly remarried. Robin gives guidance to stepmoms navigating the loss of a bio-parent, and how her perception of stepmoms has changed over time. What should a stepmom do or not do? What’s the partner’s role in the dynamic? Listen in! About My Guest: Robin Bre
Season 9: Episode 6: Making Mistakes & Finding Your Purpose as a Stepmom, with guest Nancy
Christina welcomes Nancy, a poet by trade and a stepmom in life. As a newer stepmom, Nancy chats all the layers of finding your identity, dealing with societal pushback and grieving the firsts. What “mistakes” do all stepmoms have to make in order to find their footing? How do you find your purpose? Nancy shares a few poems from her new book, “Confessions of a New Stepmom” and encourages all stepm
Season 9: Episode 5: Tell Me Your BM Horror Stories!
Christina asked her audience to submit their BM horror stories, and OH MY! Listen in for some WTF moments and to feel a little less alone in your chaos. Sending love to you all! Interested in trying Sync Botanicals Tea? Check it out HERE and use code RADSTEPMOM to save $15 off your first month!
Season 9: Episode 4: Struggling as a stepmom? Let's Chat About CONTROL with guest, Cameron
Christina welcomes back Cameron to chat the many struggles of being a stepmom and how it all leads back to our search for control. Cameron shares her experience in raising teens with a coparent who is very different than her. The two unpack topics like not taking things personally, knowing the difference between developmentally appropriate issues and blended family issues, fears and hopes and more
Season 9: Episode 3: When the War with the Ex Never Seems to End with guest, Bre
Christina welcomes Bre to share her stepmom story of high conflict chaos, an ex that won't finalize the divorce and a 2020 pregnancy. How do you find the love and joy when it feels like everything is working against you? Bre opens up about her transition into full custody, bringing home an ours baby and the grief of not having what she thought she signed up for. What makes you stay when you ha
Season 9: Episode 2: Holding space for the Mom when you’re the Fulltime Stepmom with guest, Carol
Christina welcomes Carol to discuss her role as a full-time stepmom. Fulltime stepmoms take on a lot of the responsibility, but are always making space for the BM. Carol shares her feelings of resentment, gratitude and how she invests in her relationship with her stepdaughter. How do you manage loyalty binds? How do you remain open and loving when you feel vulnerable? Listen in! So much more than
Season 9: Episode 1: Triple Blending, Co-parent loss & Resiliency with guest, Nicole
Christina welcomes Nicole who shares her step-parenting and co-parenting journey that’s included significant adversity, including the loss of a co-parent, shaping her perspective with honesty and resilience. How did she develop her relationships with her stepkids, assist her own kids with blending, manage grief and define her role? Also, how many counselors become stepmoms? Is it destiny? Listen i
Season 8 : Episode 22: When a Stepmom investigates the Stepdad and finds out….with guest, Dee
Christina welcomes Dee to chat about her Netflix-Documentary-worthy tale of stepmotherhood. Dee strived for a peaceful co-parenting dynamic complete with joint birthdays and friendly banter with the ex…but what happened when the ex wasn’t even interested in meeting her? What happened when Dee was getting a weird vibe from the stepdad and started to do some digging on him? What do you do when you f
Season 8: Episode 21: When the “fixer” is done fixing and chooses her own peace with guest, Shanae
Christina welcomes Shanae, a woman who fell in love, admittedly ignored all the red flags and decided the high conflict life was not for her. Shanae shares how she fell into the role of “fixer” and how she realized her partner was the one stealing her peace. Now that she’s a biomom on the other side, what would she tell her younger self? As a stepmom, we ask ourselves “is it worth it”? When did Sh
Season 8: Episode 20: The Invisible Stepmom at the Holiday Table with Guest Michelle
Christina welcomes back special guest Michelle to chat stepmoms during the holidays. Stepmoms are vulnerable to feeling invisible on any day, but the holiday season adds a special zing. How do we handle the emotions of grief, comparison and guilt? How do we protect ourselves from burnout when it feels like all the magic depends on us? How do we advocate to feel seen in our families? Listen in! Abo
Season 8: Episode 19: When Blending a Family Feels More Like It’s Breaking Apart with Therapist and Stepmom Tarah and Husband EJ
Christina welcomes stepmom Tarah and her husband EJ to discuss their transitions into blending. The three discuss why resentment builds in blended families and how to address it before it causes emotional distance. Where and why do many couples get stuck and what can they do to prepare and heal? Tarah and EJ offer their professional and personal experience in assisting couples out of the trenches
Season 8: Episode 18: Divorce, finding love and blending with faith & intention with guest, Lisa
Christina welcomes Lisa, a mom who divorced and is currently dating a man with kids. Many of them adults. Lisa shares her story of divorce, protecting and respecting her kids, and how she's had to grow so she doesn't fall into that high conflict category. Even when her kids are grown, how are they impacted by her new relationship? Christina also shares her personal experience of being the stepkid,
Season 8: Episode 17: When Friends & Family Don’t Understand Stepmotherhood with guests Cynthia and Mackenzie
Christina welcomes Cynthia and Mackenzie to discuss how becoming a stepmom can impact our relationships with our family and friends. As our lives evolve into parenthood, how do our own parents embrace our new identities? What happens if our friends don’t support us? Do your parents takes on the step-grandparent role? What do you do when you want to be seen in your role, but your closest loved ones
Season 8: Episode 16: I am Surviving Purely Out of Spite with guest, Amy
Christina welcomes Amy who shares what it took to create her stepmom identity. In the beginning of our relationships, we’re just putting the pieces together. We’re learning about the ex, experiencing how society views stepmoms, and figuring out what parts of parenting we’re “allowed” to do. How do we form our identity without losing ourselves? Listen in as Amy shares how she survives…out of spite.
Season 8: Episode 15: Surviving Summer: Co-Parenting, Stepfamily Stress, and the Schedule from Hell with guest, Coach Michelle
Christina welcomes back Michelle to talk about real and tactical tips for navigating the chaos of summer—when there’s no school or camp buffer, exchanges get messy, routines fall apart, and stepmoms often end up managing more than they expected. Michelle and Christiina talk about boundaries, managing expectations with partners, and keeping your sanity when everything feels unpredictable. What can
Season 8: Episode 14: Child-Free Woman to a Full House with guest, Aimee
Christina welcomes Aimee to chat about her long-term decision to not have children, and then falling in love with a man who has 2 kids. PLOT TWIST! Aimee shares how she jumped right in, then needed to find her boundaries before she lost herself. How do you manage the guilt while disengaging? How do you find your role when you never wanted to “mother”? Christina and Aimee discuss parenting with int
Season 8: Episode 13: When your partner was never married to the mom and why stepmoms are the worst with guest, Shayla
Christina chats with Shayla about how dynamics are just different when your partner was never married to the mom. There was no wedding, no long history... what unique issues does this bring up? Shayla shares about the custody loss for 50/50, feeling protective of your partner and the frustration with “single” moms. Why do exes get more upset after you're married? How do you “love them like you
Season 8: Episode 12: Blending and swirling...Stepmothering in an interracial family with guest, Katherine
Christina welcomes Katherine to share her story of blending into an interracial family. What happens when your mother-in-law isn’t happy you’re white? How do you find confidence in your stepmom role when it’s clear you’re not the mom? Christina and Katherine discuss positive relationships with the ex, bringing home an ours baby and so much more. Listen in! So much more than a podcast!Instagram: @r
Season 8: Episode 11: Navigating the nuances of a queer blended family with guest, Nicole
Christina welcomes Nicole to chat about the dynamics of being in a queer blended family and balancing boundaries with compassion. Nicole shares when her optimism for a peace was confronted with the reality of conflict and how she remains authentic even when the other co-parent is watching. How does her stepdaughter feel about having 4 moms? What is Nicole striving for now? Listen in! About My Gues
Season 8: Episode 10: : The difficulties in blending, your threshold for bullshit and when to say “it’s not for me.” with guest, Courtney
Christina welcomes Courtney who shares her reflections on stepmotherhood. Courtney, a BM and stepmom, discusses the red flags she didn’t see in her relationship, the thresholds of bullshit she uncovered and when she realized it was time to leave. What is a non-negotiable when it comes to blending a family? How do you forgive yourself for not seeing it sooner? Listen in! So much more than a podcas
Season 8: Episode 9: Taking up space and finding your voice. A stepmom's guide to existing with guest, Kelly
Christina welcomes Kelly to discuss stepmom identity and finding your voice. We’ve all experienced situations that have made us feel small or ignored. Did your SK not include you in their family project? Does the ex completely ignore you? What do your stepkids call you and how does it make you feel? Kelly and Christina chat about it all and more! Listen in! About My Guest: Kelly Christ is a writer
Season 8: Episode 8: Pregnancy loss, grief and finding your light with guest, Carly
Sensitive Content: This episode talks about pregnancy and loss. Please care for yourselves as you need. Christina welcomes Carly to share her story of falling in love, pursuing friendship with the ex, and navigating loss alongside stepmotherhood. As we all know, stepmotherhood doesn’t pause to acknowledge your happiest moments, and it won’t for your deepest moments of grief. Listen in as Carly sha
Season 8: Episode 7: One couple's journey through high conflict & how they've found healing with guests, Courtney and Mark
Christina welcomes back Courtney and introduces Courtney’s husband, Mark. Courtney and Mark have been through a lot together and share their experience in dealing with high conflict, endless court battles, false allegations and how they managed to preserve their marriage in the process. Courtney speaks about her newly published book, “Uncaged” and gives her words of support and wisdom to other wom
Season 8: Episode 6: When you’re the full-time mom, but only the step mom with guest, Jessica
Christina welcomes Jessica to hear her perspective on being a full-time stepmom, mom and having an ours baby. What have been her own challenges and areas for growth sharing custody of her kids? How has she adapted to full time stepmom life, and what advice does she give others? Christina and Jessica chat about “fairness” between siblings, being called “mom”. In this episode we talk about the messy
Season 8: Episode 5: Finding stepmotherhood in your early 20’s, the sacrifices and the gains with guest, Nathalie
Christina welcomes Nathalie who shares her story of finding love and KIDS in her early 20’s. Young stepmoms have a unique journey. Nathalie shares how her friendships evolved or dissolved after taking on the stepmom role, having a partner in the military and managing custody schedules and oh-yes, high conflict situations. What can new, young stepmoms learn from Nathalie? Listen in!
About My Gue
Season 8: Episode 4: Overcoming Loyalty Binds & Creating Blended Harmony with guest, Alexandra
Christina welcomes Alexandra Nolan to chat how to create harmony within your blended family. Establishing a new family system takes time, so what can we do as parents and stepmoms to foster security, love and respect? Listen in as Alexandra and Christina talk loyalty binds, family identity and finding your footing as a stepmom.
About My Guest
Alexandra Nolan is a dynamic parenting educator, aspi
Season 8: Episode 3: A single dad’s perspective on making space for stepmoms with guest J.P.
Christina is excited to welcome J.P. to the podcast to get a dad/partner perspective! JP shares about his co-parenting dynamic and what he considers when dating and potentially welcoming a stepmom into the blended mix. How does he view the stepmom role? What responsibility does the dad/partner have in the “blended process”? And what red flags does he suggest the stepmom pay attention to?
We talk
Season 8: BONUS - Avoiding the Holiday Chaos: Tips to Prepare with Coach Michelle
The holidays are supposed to be full of joy and love, but in a blended family…it can also bring frustration and conflict. In this BONUS episode, Christina and Michelle chat ways to prepare, things to consider and tips on protecting your holiday peace. How do you navigate schedule changes, gift giving, or holiday cards? Listen in! Happy Holidays, rad stepmoms! About My Guest: Michelle Mitchell, JD
Season 8: Episode 2: Learning how to navigate your high conflict co-parenting relationship to save your financial and emotional wellbeing with guest Coach Michelle
Christina welcomes back Coach Michelle Michele to discuss the foundations of navigating a high conflict co-parenting relationship. If we’re in a high conflict dynamic we know the toll it can take on our relationship and our own mental health. We can all name one bad habit we have or one need that isn’t being met. What can you start implementing right now that will save time, money and resources i
Season 8: Episode 1: Hello Season 8! Coming in hot with guest Victoria
Welcome to Season 8! Christina kicks off with a new series that will sound a little more like a 1:1 session. Meet Victoria, a stepmom who started her role in a less traditional way that adds an interesting dynamic. She is grieving the newlywed era she never got to have, wants to disengage but doesn’t know where to start and wonders how an “ours baby” will fit into the high conflict mix. Listen in
Season 7: Episode 21: A Finale Q&A with Christina's husband, Jacob
Christina invites her husband on to answer your questions! Some things they cover:
- how can partners support the stepmom? What challenges have they overcome?
- How do Christina and Jacob handle when their son shares details about the other house?
- What conversations/concerns did they have when preparing for an ours baby?
- Teacher conferences with or without the ex? How do we do it?
AND MORE
Season 7: Episode 20: Leading with love and understanding even in High Conflict with guest, Courtney
Christina welcomes Courtney to unpack the term "High Conflict", and why labeling everyone as a "Narcissist" is concerning. How do these terms help us find support? Courtney shares her experience being both a bio-mom and stepmom navigating a challenging "co-parenting" dynamic. How does she lead with love and understanding, despite false allegations and endless court da
Season 7: Episode 19: Giving yourself to stepmotherhood and finding yourself after you walk away with guest, Jen
Christina welcomes Jen to discuss her story of vulnerability, opening your heart up to your partner and kids and all the sacrifices that come with becoming a stepmom. When she wanted the full package and the official marriage certificate, things changed within her relationship and home. Jen shares her heartache in leaving the family she built and how she's evolving post-stepmotherhood.
Find Jen
Season 7: Episode 18: A Marriage Loving Divorce Attorney's take on stepmotherhood and where we find "our place" with guest, Nicole
Christina welcomes divorce attorney and author, Nicole Sodoma to chat how stepmoms fit into their homes and the courtroom. Over the years, Nicole has risen to prominence as a national authority on divorce, custody, and co-parenting. However, she never expected to go through a divorce herself. She is not only a bio-mom but a stepmom, and shares her insights into topics that many of us face. What sh
Season 7: Episode 17: Rising Above the Past & Fighting for Your Future with guest, Sam
Christina welcomes Sam to share her story of being the girlfriend through divorce, self-representing and even managing a restraining order. Sam also shares her experience in supporting high needs stepkids, toileting issues and the ex’s lack of support.
Also discussed in this episode:
The trauma our partner’s faced with the ex
When the ex likes to call the cops
Christina shares her updat
Season 7: Episode 16: We're not Evil...How to share The Truth About Stepmoms with guest, Renee
Christina welcomes Renee to chat being a stepmom, growing up as a stepdaughter and how we can discuss our role with our stepkids. Renee took her own journey and made it into a children's storybook to debunk that evil stepmom trope. "The Truth About Stepmoms" is a fun and loving illustration of all the ways a stepmom can show they care - take that, Disney! What do we want our stepkids
Season 7: Episode 15: When stepmom life leads to burnout, what you can do about it and a little Mother's Day Pep-Talk with guest, Veronica
Christina welcomes Veronica, a seasoned stepmom and author of the book “You Can Heal Stepmom Burnout.” Veronica shares her all too familiar journey of jumping into the stepmom role and getting a little too crispy burnt out. What can you do? How can you begin to find yourself again? What is your role? Veronica gives some guidance on where to start.
Also, in the spirit of Mother's Day... Chr
Season 7: Episode 14: Prepping for Court & How To Build Your Parenting Plan, with guest Beth
Christina welcomes Beth on to discuss high conflict in the court room. Not only is she a stepmom but also a litigation attorney! Beth is sharing her tips on preparing for court, what she did to get through the process, and must have’s she included in their parenting plan.
Have you ever looked at your parenting plan and thought WTF? Are you gearing up for court and need some guidance and a pep talk
Season 7: Episode 13: How to create a safe place for yourself while going through IVF and being a stepmom with guest, Amber
Christina chats with Amber, a stepmom who is currently in her IVF journey. For any woman navigating the hormone and the emotional and physical tolls are difficult, but being a stepmom adds a unique layer to the ride. Amber chats her difficult feelings, what has been helpful and not so helpful and what she reminds herself everyday to keep her mindset strong. If you’re a stepmom navigating fertilit
Season 7: Episode 12: The invisible load of running a home and how to empower your family to make a shift with guest, Lori
Christina welcomes Lori, a coach, speaker and author to discuss the unpaid labor of women, mothers and stepmoms. Lori is an advocate for amplifying the value of unpaid labor and influencing how families share the workloads in their homes. Through her children's book, "
Our Home: The Love, Work, and Heart of Family" Lori breaks down the invisible labor that occurs in our homes and enc
Season 7: Episode 11: High Conflict Exes? What about high conflict stepkids? With guest, Ava
We talk about high conflict exes, but what do you do when your stepkids are the source of the drama? Christina welcomes Ava to discuss her stepmom journey, how she's navigating the teen years, parallel parenting and when it feels like the ex runs the show. Ava opens up about the complicated relationship she has with her stepdaughter and the confusion around her parenting role. Where's the
Season 7: Episode 10: Waking up and becoming a fulltime stepmom to teens, with guest, Emily
What would you do if the ex just called and gave up custody?
Christina welcomes Emily to chat her experience of raising teens while transitioning to full-time step parenting. Emily shares how she has helped her kids manage their expectations of their mother, and how she jumped into full-time parenting without really knowing what is and isn't "my place". How do you manage first jobs,
Season 7: Episode 9: When a mom becomes a stepmom and what we all have to learn, with guest Chanda
Christina welcomes Chanda to offer her experience in being both a biomom AND a stepmom. Chanda shares what's it's been like to accept a stepmom into her kids' lives and how she's found her own footing in the stepmom role. Should stepmoms and biomoms have an official first meeting? What if the stepmom is the high conflict one? What do we ALL have in common, and what's required t
Season 7: Episode 8: Self Care vs. Soul Care and why Stepmoms need both with Guest, Coach Michelle
Christina welcomes back Coach Michelle to talk about how we are caring for ourselves this year. We've all heard of Self Care, but what is Soul Care? In the world of stepmotherhood, we need to advocate for our own happiness...but how? Michelle also answers your questions...like how to reduce the amount of messages you get from the ex. Listen In! Mentioned in this Episode: Connecting with Michel
Season 7: Episode 7: No "ours babe" and what that means for a stepmom with guest, Nicole
Christina welcomes Nicole to chat about her decision to not have an ours baby, the outside pressure to change your mind, the grief that decision comes with, and all the feelings that follow. Christina and Nicole discuss the very normal feelings of feeling pressured to "love them like your own", feeling like an outsider yet feeling like you live in a fish bowl. Whether you're a new(er
Season 7: Episode 6: The Ours Baby that Broke the Camels Back with guest, Sara
Christina welcomes Sara who had been a stepmother for 3 years and had a great relationship with her stepson. Once her pregnancy was announced, coparenting dynamics changed for the worse. Sara will discuss what she learned while navigating a new ours baby during a pandemic with a high conflict coparent and how she protected her daughter from the chaos. Listen in!
Mentioned in This Episode: Ours B
Season 7: Episode 5: Creating your own unique family as a stepmom with guest, Brent Crandal, children's book author and family psychologist
Christina welcomes Brent Crandal, an author and family psychologist to discuss how the feeling of "family" is formed. As stepmoms, we can often feel like outsiders as we step into an "already established family", but we have to change the belief that there's only one way to "family". Not only does Brent speak from his professional knowledge, but he speaks as a par
Season 7: Episode 4: Let's Answer Your Holiday Questions!
Christina answers your holiday questions, everything from her own holiday plans, to navigating alienation, to implementing new traditions with or without an ours baby. What are some tips on how to keep your sanity and not lose the holiday spirit? Listen in!
So much more than a podcast!!!
Find me on the Gram @radicalstepmomspodcast
Want a little more support? Schedule a 1:1 session or beco
Season 7: Episode 3: Tools for managing HC and words of wisdom from a seasoned stepmom with guest, Megan from the High Conflict Institute
Christina welcomes Megan from the High Conflict Institute to chat about co-parenting with someone who operates with a repetitive pattern of high conflict. In order to be effective, we have to understand how a high conflict person thinks - so how do they? How do you flip the script to start interacting with them differently? Megan shares some great tools on how to change the way you communicate in
Season 7: Episode 2: The Stepmom & Ex Relationship...an episode for for both women trying to make it out alive, with guest Sarah
Christina welcomes Sarah to chat her experience in developing a relationship with her partner's ex. Who's responsible for setting the tone? What contributes to a successful start and what boundaries need to be considered? How does it evolve overtime? Can it get better? This is an episode both stepmoms and moms can benefit from - if you're willing to look a little inward and ask yoursel
Season 7: Episode 1: Bringing Stepmoms together and a little Pep-Talk
Christina kicks off Season 7 with live interviews from the recent Radical Meet-Up in Chicago! What were the hot topics discussed? What binds us together as stepmoms? What makes us "radical"? Christina also sets the tone for the upcoming season with a little pep-talk. Download this episode so you can save it for a stepmom rainy day. Enjoy and Cheers to Season 7!
So much more than a podc
Season 6: Episode 25: How Our Partners Can Step-Up & Support the Stepmom with guest, Carl Knickerbocker
Christina wraps up Season 6 by welcoming Carl Knickerbocker -you my know him on IG as Unapologetic Parenting. Not only is he in Family Law, but he lives the blended life himself. Carl shares his own experience through the court system and how he supports his wife as a stepmom. He answers how bio-dad's can step up, how to recognize and establish boundaries, navigating the court system and the b
Season 6: Episode 24: Supporting Our Partners through High Conflict and Fighting for our Peace with guest, KC
Christina chats with KC to discuss the often unspoken reality of men's mental health through their divorce and into high conflict co-parenting. Women can be emotionally abusive too and many stepmoms are seeing the residual and continued trauma our partners experienced. How do we support them as they navigate their own healing? How do we advocate and protect our partners from more emotional abu
Season 6: Episode 23: The Benefits of Co-Parenting Apps with guest Matt from Our Family Wizard
Christina welcomes Matt from Our Family Wizard to discuss how Co-parenting apps can help organize and lessen the conflict in blended family life. There are more options out there now so what do you look for in an app? What tools are the most helpful? How do you get the use of the app court ordered and how do you get the other house to use it? If you're curious about getting started with a co-p
Season 6: Episode 22: The unique experiences of a Pandemic Stepmom with guest, Marci
Christina welcomes Marci, a "pandemic stepmom" whose introduction into the role was deeply impacted by a quick move-in with her partner and staying home with the kids for remote learning. Even being a teacher could not have prepared her! The two discuss being childless by choice and how circumstances change what we thought our families would look like. Marci also shares about her tricky relationsh
Season 6: Episode 21: Child-Centered Parenting Tips During Divorce or in Remarriage with guest, Dr. Ann
Christina welcomes Dr. Ann, a psychologist, author and stepmom of 30+ years. Ann shares about her book "The Parent's Guide to Birdnesting" the decision some divorced couples choose to share a home so the kids don't have to transition, What?! Dr. Ann and Christina also chat topics like when is the best time to introduce a new partner and how it impacts the kids, and how biology p
Season 6: Episode 20: Identifying our patterns and improving our relationships with guest, Dr. Tracy Dalgleish
Christina welcomes Dr. Tracy Dalgleish to discuss how we can unravel our difficult patterns and how we can change the way we communicate with our partners. Dr. Tracy shares her insights on shifting from a focus of wanting control to relationship and intimacy, prioritizing "we" over the need to be right and how to move through our feelings of resentment and find acceptance. It's not always easy mak
Season 6: Episode 19: It's possible, You can be friends with the Ex with guest, Felisa
Yes, a stepmom and the ex CAN be friends. Christina welcomes Felisa, a stepmom who shares her story of stepmotherhood and how she navigates her friendship with her stepkids' mom. Who extended the olive branch? Are there any weird feelings? Felisa and Christina chat about what helps make a relationship like this to happen, and what boundaries might need to be present. It's not always possible, so w
Season 6: Episode 18: Tips and a Q&A with High Conflict Diversion Coach Michelle
Christina welcomes back Coach Michelle, a licensed attorney, a Certified High Conflict Diversion Coach, as well as a Certified Martha Beck Life Coach. The two chat hot topics like communication, documentation, parenting plans and boundaries. Michelle anwers your questions about how to document in preperation for court, what to do about the misuse of cell phones, and what to do when the other house
Season 6: Episode 17: A military wife and long-distance stepmom with guest, Charlotte
Christina chats with Charlotte, a long-distance stepmom and military wife. After moving from the UK to the US to be with her person, she knows the trial and errors of being a stepmom. Charlotte shares how she maintains a relationship with the kids when she doesn't see them often, what it was like to get the full-time for a year and then back to long-distance and how she prioritizes her relationshi
Season 6: Episode 16: Establishing boundaries and making space for your new shared life with guest, Katie Beth
Christina chats with Katie Beth, a stepmom who shares her story of falling in love, the complexities of dating with kids, managing not only a high conflict ex but her high conflict parents. The two discuss what happens when the stepmom shows up and there's no boundaries in place, raising a special needs stepkid and pregnancy after loss. What helped Katie Beth learn how to identify boundaries? What
Season 6: Episode 15: A house full of kids and the need for communication, with guest Elly
Christina chats with Elly, a bio-mom who remarried and now finds herself rocking the stepmom role. With Elly's background in communication, she shares her dos and don't of co-parenting her SIX kids. The two chat group texts, methods to help lessen the conflict and how to manage when you feel your partner walks on eggshells. How has Elly's role as a bio-mom influenced how she shows up as a stepmom?
Season 6: Episode 14: Let's talk teens, blended family finances and finding your voice with guest, Cameron
Christina welcomes Cameron, a stepmom who found her voice and founded This Custom Life, is host of The Stepmom Diaries podcast, Co-CEO of Stepfamily Magazine, and Co-founder of The Stepmom Summit. Cameron discusses how she stepped into her role and how the ages of our stepkids can impact the way we show up. Christina and Cameron chat how the bond can be different between your different stepkids, t
Season 6: Episode 13: A couple chats how they love it all even when it's tough with guests Amanda and Joe
Christina welcomes Amanda and Joe to talk full-time step-parenting, supporting one another through HCBM's antics, how to establish boundaries and MORE. Grab your partner for this one. Hearing from another stepmom is validating, but it's always enlightening to hear from how another couple navigates the good, bad and ugly. Listen in!
So much more than a podcast!!!
Find me on the Gram @radicalstep
Season 6: Episode 12: Walking away from stepmotherhood and the life after with guest, Haley
Christina chats with Haley, a former stepmom ready to share her story of love, life, struggles and choosing to walk away. What led to Haley's decision? Is she able to maintain a relationship with her stepkids? How is she protecting her our's baby? Stepmotherhood can be a rough road, what would Haley do differently? Has her perspective on blended life changed now that she's a biomom? Listen in!
S
Season 6: Episode 11: Evolving through Co-Parenting & Parallel Parenting with Guest, Tori
Christina chats with Tori to share her story of co-parenting, parallel parenting and how her family is gradually finding their way back to co-parenting. What does it take to co-parent effectively? When should you make the move to parallel parenting? How do you build trust and manage your own high conflict tendencies? They also chat about when the ex gets a new partner, the feelings of needing to p
Season 6: Episode 10: Protecting your relationship from the messy with Jacob - Part Two
Christina and Jacob continue their conversation in Part 2! If you haven't listened to Part 1 (S6:Episode 8) - you should go back and do that first! They start by sharing how they stay connected when blended life feels all consuming. Do you put the relationship first? How do they see their blended family evolving as their kids get older? What does Jake struggle with most in dealing with his ex
Season 6: Episode 9: A story of alienation and protecting your Ours Baby with guest, Mallory
Christina chats with Mallory to share her story of being the non-preferred house, alienation and how she's protected her ours baby from the harshness of blended life. Mallory speaks to what it's like living in the same home her husband shared with the ex - maybe excessive amounts of paint and redecorating?! Ever reach your limit and stand up the the ex? What happens after alienation? Listen in!
A
Season 6: Episode 8: Christina and husband Jacob get real and candid (Part One)
Christina welcomes back her husband Jacob to chat her recent choice to disengage. What led her to stepping back? How does Jacob feel about it and what does he struggle with? What do they bicker about besides blended family life?! Christina and Jacob talk candidly about who’s the preferred parent, when you just can’t stop talking about the ex and the hard feelings about being the partner of a disen
Season 6: Episode 7: Performative Mothers and when a Stepmom Disengages, with guest Kelly
Christina chats with Kelly who shares her journey of being a pandemic stepmom, teens and parenting with a "performative" biomom. Do you feel like you live in a fishbowl? Is it weird to have never met the ex? With all the ups and downs, let's talk our greatest lifeline: Disengaging. Listen in!
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Season 6: Episode 6: Christina's Hot Takes and a little pep talk for the tough-on-herself stepmom
In this solo episode, Christina shares what many stepmoms are asking about and gives her hot take. What if a stepmom doesn't want a relationship with the ex - no matter how nice she is? Is it ever okay to look at the ex's social media? How does a stepmom manage disciplining the stepkids? Christina chats it all! And if you're a stepmom who's super hard on herself...listen in. Christina shares some
Season 6: Episode 5: The highs and woes of having stepkids in extracurricular activities with guest, Amanda
Christina welcomes Amanda who understands the highs and woes of having stepkids in extracurricular activites. What's the big deal? Well, let's chat about it!
Do you show up to the games/practices? If you do - do you sit with the other parent? How do you handle the cost of uniforms? What do you do if the ex signs the kids up without telling you? How do our own values, needs and personality play a
Season 6: Episode 4: Loss & Grief - the death of a stepchild with guest, Courtney
Content Warning: This episode discusses the loss of a child. Please check in with your heart and listen in only if you have the time and space.
Christina welcomes Courtney to share her story of stepmotherhood. Like many stepmoms, Courtney struggled with the role she played in her stepdaughter's life. After years of navigating a long distance relationship Courtney and her husband started building
Season 6: Episode 3: A divorce attorney explains all with guest, Jill
Christina chats with Jill, a Divorce Attorney who shares what to look for if you're headed to family court. In her book, "No One Dies From Divorce" Jill discusses what it takes to co-parent well and how to manage an alienating parent. What's the "right" way to divorce and where did our partners go wrong? What's her experience in working with stepmoms? Is the legal system changing how stepmoms are
S6: Episode 2: The long game is exhausting with full-time stepmama, Anna
Christina chats with Anna a full-time stepmom who has been through high conflict, custody battles, control issues with communication, self esteem and guilt. Any of this sound familiar? Anna shares her experience with full custody stepmom life, the pros and cons, what helps and doesn't help and what she struggles with most. They chat how to support stepkids who don't see their other parent often an
S6:Episode 1: Thriving as a couple in a blended family with guest, April
Welcome to Season SIX!!! Christina kicks off the season by discussing the most important topic when it comes to blended family life: your relationship. On this episode you'll meet April, a marriage and family therapist and stepmom. April discusses the common issues she sees blended couples and stepmoms struggling with most and shares the advice and tips she often provides. How do we make an effor
S5: Episode 20: When the ex burns your olive branch with guest, Elizabeth
Christina welcomes Elizabeth, to chat gaining primary custody, parallel parenting and when the ex lights the olive branch on fire. As a Behavioral Specialist, Elizabeth shares her wisdom in being able to respond to difficult behaviors from....everyone. Listen in!
This episode wraps up Season 5! We'll take a short break and Season 6 will start in a few weeks!
About My Guest:
My name is Elizabeth
E5: E19: What is parental alienation and what can you do about it with guest, Amy
Christina welcomes Dr. Amy Baker to discuss parental alienation, what it is and best practices on how to navigate it. What does the research say about alienation and how to stay connected to the kids? How do grown kids reconcile with their alienated parent? Amy discusses her work and the books you can read now to help guide you through this difficult road. Listen In!
About My Guest:
Dr. Baker has
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