To sign up for the free coming out later in life workshop, visit www.comingoutsupport.net

If you are going through a later in life coming out journey and are in the process of divorce, and you feel that you need support, come to the Life Reimagined workshop, offered free and on Zoom, July 8-10th, 7 p.m. CST. Sign up at www.comingoutsupport.net. 

New to queer community and want to expand your circle of queer women friends? Join Anne-Marie, Barb and many other amazing guest speakers at Wing Women Weekend, Oct 16-20, 2024, in Provincetown, MA during their annual Women's Week. Learn more about this great getaway at www.wingwomenweekend.com. 

In the final episode of the year, host Anne-Marie Zanzal and podcast producer Barb Rowlandson talk about the podcast episodes whose stories impacted them the most. Listen and we guaranteed to be inspired by the incredible journeys of some truly remarkable LGBTQIA+ people! They also talk about Anne-Marie's second podcast Queer Business Success, that launched earlier this year, and a free educational series for women (cis or trans) and non-binary people who are at the beginning of their coming out later-in-life journey.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday and new year! Thank you for being a listener; if you'd like to give us a small, meaningful gift, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. Thank you!

Every Friday in the month of February in 2023, host Anne-Marie Zanzal and podcast producer Barb Rowlandson have been sharing lots of loving advice and encouragement with the late-in-life community. In this episode, Anne-Marie and Barb cover alllll the feelings and share their best advice when it comes to catalyst relationships, including:

-defining 'what is a catalyst?' in the context of the coming out later in life experience,

-why catalyst relationships are often profoundly joyful in the beginning, and earth-shatteringly painful when they end,

-how catalyst relationships can often become all consuming,

-separating your new Queer identity from your catalyst,

-picking up the pieces and healing after a catalyst relationship ends,

and more!

In this episode, Barb shares her catalyst experience with listeners and offers reflections on the good, the bad, and the ugly about catalyst relationships. Anne-Marie offers tons of wise, loving advice on how to navigate these relationships, and what to do if your catalyst relationship ends.

You can catch episodes of the Coming Out & Beyond: LGBTQIA+ Stories podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and at www.annemariezanzal.com

Want to book a Discovery Call with Anne-Marie? You can select a time for a call here: https://calendly.com/annemariezanzalcoachingllc/discovery-call?month=2023-01

Learn more about Lotus Group Coaching here: https://annemariezanzal.com/lotus-group-coaching/

For context, here's a link to that 1993 photo of kd lang and Cindy Crawford. Photo by Herb Ritts for Vanity Fair magazine: https://www.reddit.com/r/OldSchoolCool/comments/qynov7/a_little_throwback_kd_lang_and_cindy_crawford...

In the podcast, we refer to Tonda McKay's articles on the origins of the 'convert a straight woman, win a toaster oven' joke and relationships between long-out and newly-out lesbians. You can find these articles here:

https://annemariezanzal.com/whats-up-with-the-toaster-oven-by-tonda-mckay/

https://annemariezanzal.com/when-this-long-time-out-lesbian-dated-a-newbie/

Every Friday in the month of February, host Anne-Marie Zanzal and podcast producer Barb Rowlandson will be sharing lots of loving advice and encouragement with the late-in-life community. This week, Anne-Marie and Barb dive into the topic of joy, including:

-The infectiousness of joy,

-The joy of shedding old beliefs and expectations to live as your true self,

-Celebrating the independence that comes with coming out later in life,

-The unparalleled feeling of joy that comes with being accepted by Queer community,

-Stepping into courageousness,

-The multi-layered joy that comes with intimacy in Queer relationships,

and more!

Share the Love February continues with more loving advice and encouragement for the late-in-life community. Our final Share the Love episode drops on February 24th when we unpack the complexities of catalyst relationships. Anne-Marie and Barb will share lots of loving advice about overcoming heartbreak and stepping into self-love.

You can also catch these episodes of the Coming Out & Beyond: LGBTQIA+ Stories podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and at www.annemariezanzal.com

Want to book a Discovery Call with Anne-Marie? You can select a time for a call here: https://calendly.com/annemariezanzalcoachingllc/discovery-call?month=2023-01

Learn more about Lotus Group Coaching here: https://annemariezanzal.com/lotus-group-coaching/

Every Friday in the month of February, host Anne-Marie Zanzal and podcast producer Barb Rowlandson will be sharing lots of loving advice and encouragement with the late-in-life community. This week, Anne-Marie and Barb tackle the topic of grief, including:

-Why it's normal to grieve your old, married/hetero life,

-How, sometimes, we can find ourselves grieving a life we didn't live,

-Finding someone to talk to about your grief other than your partner,

-The truth about how long it takes to grieve,

-Feeling joy and grief simultaneously,

-Why the grief journey never travels in a straight line

and more!

Share the Love February continues with more loving advice and encouragement for the late-in-life community:

February 17th - Anne-Marie and Barb talk about the joy that comes with coming out later in life

February 24th - We unpack the complexities of catalyst relationships, with lots of loving advice about overcoming heartbreak and stepping into self-love.

You can also catch these episodes of the Coming Out & Beyond: LGBTQIA+ Stories podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and at www.annemariezanzal.com

Want to book a Discovery Call with Anne-Marie? You can select a time for a call here: https://calendly.com/annemariezanzalcoachingllc/discovery-call?month=2023-01

Learn more about Lotus Group Coaching here: https://annemariezanzal.com/lotus-group-coaching/

Every Friday in the month of February, host Anne-Marie Zanzal and podcast producer Barb Rowlandson will be sharing lots of loving advice and encouragement with the late-in-life community. This week, Anne-Marie and Barb cover a multitude of topics surrounding divorce, including:

-Whether or not to disclose your newly (re)discovered sexual identity to your husband,

-When to see a lawyer,

-Whether or not mediation is right for you,

-Flipping your mindset from 'I am destroying my family' to 'I am changing my family,'

-Why divorce can ultimately be very good for kids.

-Pushing past fear and getting out of your comfort zone.

Share the Love February continues with more loving advice and encouragement for the late-in-life community:

February 10th - This episode focuses on navigating grief when coming out and/or divorcing

February 17th - Anne-Marie and Barb talk about the joy that comes with coming out later in life

February 24th - We unpack the complexities of catalyst relationships, with lots of loving advice about overcoming heartbreak and stepping into self-love.

You can also catch these episodes of the Coming Out & Beyond: LGBTQIA+ Stories podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and at www.annemariezanzal.com

Want to book a Discovery Call with Anne-Marie? You can select a time for a call here: https://calendly.com/annemariezanzalcoachingllc/discovery-call?month=2023-01

Learn more about Lotus Group Coaching here: https://annemariezanzal.com/lotus-group-coaching/

From Barbara: If folks would like to follow my adventures in growing flowers they can connect with Queen Bee Flower Farm on Facebook and Instagram, or visit the website at www.queenbeeflowerfarm.com.

Wing Women Weekend, October 15-18, 2025, Provincetown, MA - a conference for women/non-binary persons who are new to the LGBTQIA+ community! This conference is all about connection, finding queer community, and having a whole lot of FUN! For the full conference schedule and to sign up, visit https://wingwomenweekend.com/ and use the coupon code PRIDE in June to receive 10% off.

This week on Coming Out & Beyond: LGBTQIA+ Stories, host Anne-Marie Zanzal and fellow later-in-lifer Barbara Rowlandson talk about #wlw dating later in life. Barbara Rowlandson is a coach for women who come out later in life with a focus on catalyst relationship recovery and dating resilience, and a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) in Ontario, Canada. Dating later in life - whether you're new to dating women or a long-out person who just hasn't dated in a very long time - dating can feel daunting, complex, and disappointing. Anne-Marie and Barbara explore the unique challenges of dating women later in life, the importance of understanding personal values and doing self-work, how to uncover limiting beliefs about dating, cultivating psychological flexibility, dealing with dating disasters and more. This is a fantastic episode for any woman who is about to step into the dating pool, or for those who have been dating and struggling to meet the right person.

For those interested in Barbara's coaching services, you can book a free consultation call here: https://calendly.com/lavender-dating-team/connection-call-with-barb

Learn more about Barbara's services and find 'The List' pdf downloadable template mentioned in the podcast at https://lavenderdating.com/

Direct link to 'The List' pdf download: https://lavenderdating.com/the-list

❓ What to Expect in This Episode:

🌈Discussion about finding yourself and getting clear about values after a long term relationship, and why this is an important step before dating.

🌈Clues on how to recognize limiting beliefs - and how to counter them.

🌈Reflection on setting boundaries and how to hold them.

🌈Tips for mindfulness practices to beat dating anxiety.

🌈Thoughts on what to do when you encounter a 'dating disaster.'

✨ Why This Matters:

Taking the next step into dating represents a major shift for many women that can feel very uncomfortable. Dating requires a willingness to try and to fail, and failure can sometimes feel very personal or painful. By adjusting our mindset around dating, we can create a much better experience for ourselves, one where we can meet people without pressure of expectation and shrug off negative experiences without taking rejection personally.

💬 Join the Conversation:

What is your biggest dating concern? What challenges have you run into, either within yourself or interpersonally? Let's talk about it in the comments!

🔗 Visit our website:

Anne-Marie's : [ annemariezanzal.com]

🔗 Follow us on social media:

💠 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amzanzal

💠 Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/annemariezanzalcoaching/

💠 Twitter: twitter.com/annemariezanzal

💠LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/annemariezanzalpurposefulempowerment/

👉 Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more inspiring stories and advice on navigating life, love, and everything in between!

That question deserved more than a one-line answer. So Anne-Marie brought in two of her favorite humans to tell the truth — the kind of truth nobody hands you before you get here.

Her wife Tonda McKay has been out for forty years and brings the long view: what the community looked like before midlife women started arriving in big numbers, and what she's watched shift since. Co-coach Barb Rowlandson came out later in life and survived midlife lesbian dating to tell the tale. Together with Anne-Marie, they go where most podcasts won't.

In this episode, the three of them talk about:

🌈Why the lesbian sex fantasy is so powerful — and why the reality is more complicated than the imagination

🌈Where the U-Haul joke actually comes from (hint: it's economics, microaggressions, and brain chemistry, not just feelings)

🌈Moving fast in a new relationship — when it works, when it doesn't, and how to tell which is which

🌈Why moving toward something is different from moving away from something

🌈Internalized homophobia, shame, and how it shows up in the bedroom — for newly out and long-out women

🌈What it's like to date someone who is brand new when you've been out for decades

🌈How the conversation around later-in-life lesbians has shifted in the last ten years

🌈Why "we send our representative" on the first few dates — and what happens when the real person shows up

🌈Butch, femme, and the freedom of having no rules

🌈The talking. So much talking.

This is a warm, funny, honest conversation between three women who love each other and who are not interested in pretending lesbian relationships are easier, simpler, or more magical than they actually are. They are interested in telling you the truth, so you have company on the road.

If you have ever wondered whether your experience is "normal," whether you are doing this right, or whether the hype was lying to you — this one is for you.

Have a question you want answered on the podcast? Send it to us. Like the listener who asked the question that opened this episode, your question might be exactly what someone else in our community needs to hear.

New episode of Coming Out & Beyond is live. Listen wherever you get your podcasts — Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or watch the full episode on YouTube:

If you are coming out later in life, dating for the first time as a queer woman, or somewhere in the middle of figuring it all out — you are not alone, and you are not behind. We're glad you're here.

If this episode made you think I want to talk about this with women who get it — that's exactly what Authentically Us is for. It's our private community for women navigating identity, coming out, and what comes next. We talk, we laugh, we process, we hold space. Come find your people. Join us at https://community.annemariezanzal.com .