Motherloading Podcast

She didn't know she was ADHD until the psychologist assessing her son turned to her and said, "So you've obviously been diagnosed."

Hester Grainger is a former TV and BBC Radio presenter, certified ADHD coach, and co-founder of Perfectly Autistic. She's also a mum to two neurodivergent teens, married to a neurodivergent partner, and didn't realise she was ADHD herself until her 40s.

In this episode, we talk about:
– the moment she was diagnosed (and why no one was surprised)
– raising two autistic ADHD children without knowing she was neurodivergent herself
– masking, performing, and the burnout that comes when you stop
– why perimenopause can be the moment the wheels fall off
– locking herself in the toilet just to breathe
– navigating meltdowns, sensory overload, and big emotions as a family
– the guilt of looking back and realising what you didn't know
– why her 16 year old was told "you don't look autistic"
– how she and her husband built a strong partnership through chaos
– setting boundaries, choosing your battles, and raising kind humans
– the invisible load of parenting neurodivergent kids
– what workplaces actually get wrong (and what they can do better)
– why so many women are blowing up their lives in their 40s

This conversation is honest, grounding, and full of insight. For anyone navigating neurodiversity, motherhood, identity, or just trying to work out what the hell is going on underneath the surface, this one will stay with you.

Join the waitlist for The Load System at - motherloading.net

Follow Hester at @hestersvibe on Instagram and visit perfectlyautistic.co.uk for resources and support

Follow us on:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/motherloading_x?igsh=d3JkM3lseDNhNnM1

TikTok - @motherloading_pod

Produced by TAEPodcast - www.taepodcast.co.uk

She walked away from £24 million.
Two weeks before giving birth.

Sedge Beswick is a founder, former CEO, and one of the most honest voices on what it actually costs to build a business, become a mother, and decide what matters most when the two collide.

In this episode, we talk about:
– why she turned down a multimillion pound deal days before her due date
– the invisible pressure to work like you don't have kids and parent like you don't have a career
– responding to Slack messages in the labour ward
– sobbing uncontrollably on her first day back in the office
– stepping away from the business she founded to reclaim time with her daughters
– why confidence is sold to women as something we lack, not something we already have
– how ambition doesn't die in the delivery room but identity, time, and clarity all shift
– being told she "ruined it for women" because she chose motherhood over an exit
– the millennial career crisis and why quitting isn't failure
– financial freedom, shared parenting, and setting boundaries that actually work

This conversation is raw, grounding, and unapologetically real.

For anyone navigating ambition, motherhood, identity, or the messy middle of all three, this one will stay with you.

Follow Sedge at @sedgebeswick on Instagram and LinkedIn

Follow us on:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/motherloading_x?igsh=d3JkM3lseDNhNnM1

TikTok - @motherloading_pod

Produced by TAEPodcast - www.taepodcast.co.uk

If you've ever handed your partner a list and felt quietly furious that you had to write it in the first place — this one's for you.
Alex Trippier is a couples coach, host of the Be a Happier Parent podcast, and a dad who spent years studying why parenthood quietly dismantles relationships from the inside out. In this episode we get into cognitive labour and why your brain genuinely cannot switch off, the bumbler versus superhero parent dynamic, weaponised incompetence, and his concept of relationship prehab — the conversations you need to have before the resentment fully beds in.
Honest, research-backed, and the episode you'll be sending to your partner by the end.
Find Alex at @alextrippier on Instagram and his podcast Be a Happier Parent wherever you listen.
Follow us on:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/motherloading_x?igsh=d3JkM3lseDNhNnM1
TikTok - @motherloading_pod
Produced by TAEPodcast - www.taepodcast.co.uk

You can look like you’ve got it together…
and still feel like you’re quietly unravelling.
You’re showing up.
You’re doing everything.
You’re functioning.
But underneath?
It feels heavy.
Overwhelming.
Like you’re just about holding it all together.
In this episode, I’m joined by psychologist Dr Tuesday Watts to unpack what’s actually going on beneath the surface.
We talk about:
– why so many women feel overwhelmed (even when life “looks fine”)
– the mental and emotional load no one sees
– why high-functioning women often feel the worst internally
– how shame quietly sits underneath it all
– and why this isn’t about coping better… but understanding what you’re carrying
This isn’t surface-level advice.
It’s language for something a lot of women are feeling… but can’t quite explain.
If you’ve ever thought:
“Why does this feel so hard when I should be fine?”
This one’s for you.
🎧 Listen now
Follow us on:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/motherloading_x?igsh=d3JkM3lseDNhNnM1
TikTok - @motherloading_pod
Produced by TAEPodcast - www.taepodcast.co.uk

Motherhood, identity, exhaustion, intimacy-and the body that no longer feels familiar.
This episode of Motherloading explores postpartum body grief-the side of motherhood that often goes unspoken. After the baby arrives and the outside world moves on, many women are left navigating a body that feels different, a mind under pressure, and an identity that is shifting in unexpected ways.
Topics covered include:
Postpartum body image and identity loss
The disconnect between mental strength and physical recovery
Hormonal changes, brain fog, and emotional overwhelm
Sex, intimacy, and relationships after children
The invisible mental and emotional load of motherhood
Why “I’m fine” often hides a deeper struggle
This is an honest look at matrescence-the transition into motherhood-and the physical, emotional, and psychological changes that come with it.
For anyone who has looked in the mirror and felt like a stranger, this conversation offers reassurance: this experience is more common than it seems.
Follow us on:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/motherloading_x?igsh=d3JkM3lseDNhNnM1
TikTok - @motherloading_pod
Produced by TAEPodcast - www.taepodcast.co.uk