Life Happens with Barb & Michelle

What if being “selfish” is actually the key to healthier relationships?
In this week’s episode of Life Happens with Barb & Michelle, we’re answering your questions about navigating difficult relationship dynamics — without guilt, overexplaining, or abandoning yourself in the process.
From unrealistic expectations and gossip to setting boundaries for the first time, we’re diving into the messy, uncomfortable, and very real parts of relationships.
💬 Barb shares how she sets boundaries and approaches hard conversations with clarity and calm.
💬 Michelle opens up about releasing guilt, healing with confidence, and refusing to live in a victim mindset.
This conversation is honest, practical, and empowering — especially if you’ve ever struggled with people-pleasing or feeling responsible for everyone else’s emotions.
✨ In This Episode, We Explore:
Why guilt often keeps us stuck — and what to do instead
How to identify your values and honor your needs
Setting boundaries without overexplaining
Supporting loved ones without rescuing them
Why healthy relationships require clarity, not self-sacrifice
At the heart of it all? You don’t build strong relationships by shrinking yourself. You build them by standing in your truth.
📘 Continue the Conversation
If this episode resonates, you may also love Michelle’s USA TODAY bestselling book, Dear Friend — a daily reflection companion designed to help you reconnect with yourself, strengthen your inner voice, and practice emotional clarity one day at a time.
Because the most important relationship you’ll ever build… is the one you have with yourself.
👉 Order your copy: https://amzn.to/3Us9eqg
🎧 Listen to the audiobook and step into a year that truly loves you back: https://amzn.to/459zSdt

💬 We’d love to hear from you! What insight or moment resonated most with you in this episode? Share in the comments—we truly read every one.
📅 Subscribe & Join Us Next Tuesday for another heartfelt episode of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle! 💕
🎙️ Host by:
https://www.instagram.com/peaceful_barb/
https://www.instagram.com/michellemaros/
Join our community⬇️
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@LifeHappensThePodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifehappensthepodcast/
Substack: https://lifehappensthepodcast.substack.com/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lifehappensthepodcast

Listen to our podcast anywhere→ https://michellemaros.com/podcast/ 
🎙️ New episodes of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle are released every Tuesday

✨ Available Now✨ Order Dear Friend to receive daily doses of clarity, hope, and heartfelt encouragement.💌 https://amzn.to/3Us9eqg

Our Sponsors:
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code LIFEHAPPENS20 for a great deal: https://www.spreaker.com/our-platform

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Confrontation isn’t easy — but it’s one of the clearest ways we honor ourselves and the people we care about. If we’re not honest about our feelings and needs, how can our relationships truly grow?
In this week’s episode of Life Happens with Barb & Michelle, we’re diving into loyalty and betrayal — including our own experience of being unexpectedly ghosted by a friend. From healthy communication to redefining what loyalty really means, this conversation is for anyone navigating hurt, boundaries, and the courage to speak up.
💬 Barb shares her experience with fear of abandonment and how she’s learned to voice her truth, even when it feels risky.
💬 Michelle reflects on why she’s cautious with the word “loyalty” and how she’s redefined it in her own relationships.
✨ What We Talk About
Redefining Loyalty
Loyalty isn’t blind or unconditional — it’s a conscious commitment to work through discomfort, growth, and change with honesty and respect.
Fear of Abandonment
Recognizing the underlying fears that may keep you silent or guarded.
Being Okay with Confrontation
Healthy relationships are strengthened — not broken — by hard conversations.
Loyalty to the Relationship Itself
Respecting the time, energy, and connection you’ve built by choosing communication over avoidance.
Reminder: There is power and healing in honest communication. Be brave enough to speak your truth and set the boundaries that protect your peace.
📘 USA TODAY BESTSELLER — Dear Friend by Michelle Maros
Dear Friend is a 365-day companion designed to support self-care, self-love, and emotional clarity. Each reflection offers a gentle pause — a reminder to come back to yourself, nurture your inner voice, and build a life rooted in presence and confidence.
Explore the book and continue the journey toward deeper connection — starting with yourself.
👉 Order your copy: https://amzn.to/3Us9eqg
🎧 Listen to the audiobook and step into a year that truly loves you back: https://amzn.to/459zSdt
💬 We’d love to hear from you! What insight or moment resonated most with you in this episode? Share in the comments—we truly read every one.
📅 Subscribe & Join Us Next Tuesday for another heartfelt episode of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle! 💕
🎙️ Host by:
https://www.instagram.com/peaceful_barb/
https://www.instagram.com/michellemaros/
Join our community⬇️
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@LifeHappensThePodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifehappensthepodcast/
Substack: https://lifehappensthepodcast.substack.com/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lifehappensthepodcast

Listen to our podcast anywhere→ https://michellemaros.com/podcast/ 
🎙️ New episodes of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle are released every Tuesday

✨ Available Now✨ Order Dear Friend to receive daily doses of clarity, hope, and heartfelt encouragement.💌 https://amzn.to/3Us9eqg

Our Sponsors:
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code LIFEHAPPENS20 for a great deal: https://www.spreaker.com/our-platform

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Have we become so independent—and so focused on self-care—that we’ve forgotten how much we actually need one another? With relationship deficits at an all-time high, this episode is a powerful guide to rebuilding connection and creating healthy dependency—without losing yourself.
In this week’s episode of Life Happens with Barb & Michelle, we’re joined by New York Times bestselling author, therapist, and boundaries expert Nedra Glover Tawwab for an honest and timely conversation about relationships, communication, and expectations. This episode launches the same day as Nedra’s new book, The Balancing Act,offering a deeper look at the themes shaping her work right now.
From understanding how trauma can show up in our relationships to navigating boundaries, “no contact,” and emotional dependency, this conversation speaks directly to the loneliness so many of us are feeling—and what we can do about it.
💬 Nedra shares insights from her clinical work and personal experience, and offers a preview of the ideas explored in The Balancing Act.
💬 Michelle & Barb bring their own lived wisdom to the conversation, exploring relationships through a generational and mother–daughter lens.

✨ What We Talk About
Finding the Balance
Why boundaries aren’t walls to keep people out—but tools to keep relationships sustainable and meaningful.
The Challenge of “No Contact”
When cutting ties is necessary—and why building community and connection matters just as much.
Mindful Communication
Why speaking honestly instead of silently rehearsing conversations can save relationships.
The Relationship Deficit
How cultivating a fuller, more diverse community supports healthy dependency and eases unrealistic expectations.
As Nedra reminds us, every relationship—from romantic partnerships to friendships, family, and community—is a balancing act. When we give too much, we lose ourselves. When we protect ourselves too much, we lose closeness. Finding the middle ground is where connection, authenticity, and joy live.
✨UPCOMING EVENT:
Calling all South Florida friends! Join Nedra Glover Tawwab and Barb Schmidt at Books & Books in Miami for a meaningful conversation—and the opportunity to receive a signed copy of The Balancing Act.
Get your tickets here:https://shop.booksandbooks.com/event/2026-02-21/evening-nedra-glover-tawwab-barb-schmidt
Order Nedra’s new book, The Balancing Act, to create healthy dependency and connection without losing yourself:https://www.nedratawwab.com/books/the-balancing-act

💬 We’d love to hear from you! What insight or moment resonated most with you in this episode? Share in the comments—we truly read every one.
📅 Subscribe & Join Us Next Tuesday for another heartfelt episode of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle! 💕
⭐Special Guest:
Therapist, NYT Bestselling Author, Nedra Glover Tawwab
https://www.instagram.com/nedratawwab/?hl=en
Order her new book here: https://www.nedratawwab.com/books/the-balancing-act
🎙️ Host by:
https://www.instagram.com/peaceful_barb/
https://www.instagram.com/michellemaros/
Join our community⬇️
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@LifeHappensThePodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifehappensthepodcast/
Substack: https://lifehappensthepodcast.substack.com/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lifehappensthepodcast

Listen to our podcast anywhere→ https://michellemaros.com/podcast/ 
🎙️ New episodes of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle are released every Tuesday

📘 USA TODAY BESTSELLER — Dear Friend by Michelle Maros
You don’t need a new beginning to come back to yourself. Dear Friend is a 365-day companion for self-love, presence, and quiet courage—one page, one day at a time. 👉 Order your copy: https://amzn.to/3Us9eqg

Our Sponsors:
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code LIFEHAPPENS20 for a great deal: https://www.spreaker.com/our-platform

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Hard truth: Staying because it’s comfortable might be the loneliest choice you make. Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is stop ignoring the red flags and choose to end a toxic or misaligned relationship.
In this week’s episode of Life Happens with Barb & Michelle, we’re unpacking the pressure around relationships, singleness, and breakups — and what it really means to choose yourself. From recognizing when a relationship has run its course to building a strong sense of self, this conversation will empower you to create healthier relationships with yourself and others.
💬 Barb opens up about ending a 33-year marriage and how she stepped into a new chapter with confidence, clarity, and freedom.
💬 Michelle shares her journey of being alone and finding peace in choosing singleness over settling for less.
✨ What We Talk About
Self-Identity
Releasing the belief that our worth or purpose is defined by our relationship status.
Being Okay With Being Alone
Singleness isn’t failure — it can be a powerful season of growth, healing, and self-love.
Listening to Yourself
Learning to trust your feelings and needs so you can take the next right step.
Choosing Differently
Sometimes the uncomfortable path is the one that leads to joy, peace, and real alignment.
Reminder: You are more than your relationship status. Your identity, purpose, and fulfillment are defined by you — not by timelines, labels, or societal expectations.
📘 USA TODAY BESTSELLER — Dear Friend by Michelle Maros
Start 2026 with New Year, Brave You. Dear Friend is a 365-day companion to help you cultivate self-love, clarity, presence, and inner peace — one gentle reflection at a time.
✨ Begin the year with intention and courage.
👉 Order your copy: https://amzn.to/3Us9eqg
🎧 Listen to the audiobook and step into a year that truly loves you back: https://amzn.to/459zSdt
💬 We’d love to hear from you! What insight or moment resonated most with you in this episode? Share in the comments—we truly read every one.
📅 Subscribe & Join Us Next Tuesday for another heartfelt episode of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle! 💕
🎙️ Host by:
https://www.instagram.com/peaceful_barb/
https://www.instagram.com/michellemaros/
Join our community⬇️
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@LifeHappensThePodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifehappensthepodcast/
Substack: https://lifehappensthepodcast.substack.com/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lifehappensthepodcast

Listen to our podcast anywhere→ https://michellemaros.com/podcast/ 
🎙️ New episodes of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle are released every Tuesday

✨ Available Now✨ Order Dear Friend to receive daily doses of clarity, hope, and heartfelt encouragement.💌 https://amzn.to/3Us9eqg
🔖 Hashtags:
#Relationships #EndedRelationships #Breakups #ToxicRelationships

Our Sponsors:
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code LIFEHAPPENS20 for a great deal: https://www.spreaker.com/our-platform

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Divorce breaks a million hearts — including your own.
But sometimes, choosing yourself is the bravest and most healing decision you can make.
What if all it took to change your life was the courage to trust yourself again?
In this week’s episode of Life Happens with Barb & Michelle, we’re joined by NYT bestselling author Jen Hatmaker for an honest, compassionate, and deeply moving conversation about life after divorce, listening to your intuition, and finding freedom on the other side of heartbreak.
Jen opens up about putting her life fully out there — the grief, the courage, the fallout — and what it was like to go from deep personal pain to becoming an instant New York Times bestseller. Together, we explore what happens when trauma finds you… and how ignoring your truth doesn’t make it any less true.
This episode is for anyone who feels stuck, conflicted, exhausted from self-doubt, or quietly wondering if it’s time for something different.
💬 In this conversation, we explore:
Choosing Yourself: Why freedom and joy begin the moment you decide your needs matter.
Life After Divorce: The heartbreak, the healing, and the unexpected growth that follows.
Comfort Over Coaching: Why people often want to soothe us instead of supporting real change.
The Sunk Cost Fallacy: Why no amount of time, history, or sacrifice is worth staying somewhere that no longer feels right.
Trusting Your Intuition: How we often gaslight ourselves out of the truth we already know.
Parenting Through Divorce: Navigating change, honesty, and healing with your children.
Feeling the Hurt: Grieving what was, what could’ve been, and honoring the pain without getting stuck in it.
Barb and Michelle also share their personal experience navigating divorce as a mother and daughter — and how choosing honesty, presence, and self-trust reshaped their relationship.
✨ This episode is a reminder:
You’re not broken. You’re not weak. And trusting yourself isn’t selfish — it’s necessary.
📖 Order Jen’s memoir, Awake, to go deeper into courage, truth, and choosing yourself:
https://www.amazon.com/Awake-Memoir-Jen-Hatmaker/dp/166808368X
💬 We’d love to hear from you:
What moment or insight resonated most? Share in the comments — we truly read every one.
📅 Subscribe & join us next Tuesday for another heartfelt episode of Life Happens with Barb & Michelle 💕
⭐ Special Guest:
Follow Jen Hatmaker on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenhatmaker/?hl=en
🎙️ Host by:
https://www.instagram.com/peaceful_barb/
https://www.instagram.com/michellemaros/
Join our community⬇️
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@LifeHappensThePodcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifehappensthepodcast/
Substack: https://lifehappensthepodcast.substack.com/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lifehappensthepodcast

Listen to our podcast anywhere→ https://michellemaros.com/podcast/ 
🎙️ New episodes of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle are released every Tuesday

📘 USA TODAY BESTSELLER — Dear Friend by Michelle Maros
Start 2026 with New Year, Brave You. Dear Friend is the perfect 365-day companion to help you cultivate self-love, clarity, presence, and inner peace—one gentle reflection at a time.✨ Begin the year with intention and courage.
👉 Order your copy: https://amzn.to/3Us9eqg
🎧 listen to the audiobook today and step into a year that truly loves you back. 👉https://amzn.to/459zSdt
🔖 Hashtags:
#JenHatmaker #Divorce #Freedom #ChooseYou #Courage

Our Sponsors:
* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code LIFEHAPPENS20 for a great deal: https://www.spreaker.com/our-platform

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy