Hey friends, Kacey here. I just wanted to get on. This is going to be the first episode of the Chick Chat Collective. So my name is Kacey and I am a mother of three. I have a four-year-old daughter, a two-year-old son, and a almost seven month old son. I am engaged soon to be married to. That's a whole long story, but it was a guy I met in college and we had a really big spark and then I left.
I moved across the country and we were, basically didn't talk for 15 years. And then we reconnected and now we are getting married, November 11th, 1111. So that's exciting. I am a business owner. I founded and am the co-owner of Ladies Lifestyle Network. We have chapters in Charlotte, which is where it was founded, and we have one in Austin, Texas.
And we are launching several more this year, so that's exciting. And I'll talk more about all of these things as this podcast progresses. But I just wanted to get on here for the first episode. What this podcast is going to be mostly is storytelling and conversations. So I have been through. Many, many crazy challenging things, especially in the last, I would say five years.
And I also think a lot of the choices we make in our adult life stem from our childhood. So we'll be diving into all the subjects and all the things. But I really. Going through these things, a lot of times I felt really alone because none of my friends were going through it, and no one in my family, like I, for example, in my previous marriage, I was trying to get pregnant for a really long time and it just wasn't working and I was only like 29.
When that happened. And so I went through several rounds of I V F, several rounds of iui, all kinds of stuff. And nobody, everybody I knew right, was just already had babies very easily getting pregnant. and as much as your friends and family love you and care about you and wanna support you, it's a very lonely feeling if you don't have anyone to.
Relate to about it, right? To kinda chat to about it and, and they actually do know what you're going through. And then I got, , cheated on in my marriage, my relationship of 12 years. I had, I finally did get pregnant with my beautiful daughter via I V F. and then when she was four months old, I found out that my ex-husband had been cheating on me for almost a year.
And that is a whole nother subject on itself. But, when I found out, obviously I was completely in shock. I was completely devastated. I couldn't believe it because it was like I had just finally gotten pregnant after years and years of trying and. All of the procedures and I V F shots and surgeries and all of the things.
And then it was just like, wow, you know, this is, so, this is what's happening. And also none of my friends really, and really none of my family that I know of had been through that either. And so I had to make a lot of decisions, and a lot of things started unfolding and unraveling, in my life with that relationship.
And basically it just took a complete 180. It was, everything that I thought was not true. So it was kind of crazy. And once again, I found myself kind of in this lonely place. Like I always knew that I had friends and family I could talk to about it, but no one that had been through it, no one that could relate on my level, right?
When you find something out like that, you're traumatized, especially when you're four months postpartum and all the stuff that you, you know, went through you, it's trauma. And I had never really. Experienced trauma on that level. So that, you know, it was hard and I was like, I wish that, and I'm sure there were things that I could have listened to or read, you know, and I did some, but I definitely want this to just be a place where women are talking because now I'm on the other side of all of that stuff, right?
Like, I actually, when I reconnected with Tyler, is his name, my fiance. I was very clear I can't get pregnant. You know, I, I will never be able to, I had a 1% chance with I V F and I'll never be able to. and we got pregnant naturally with a baby boy and it was amazing. And then I got pregnant again a year after that with another boy naturally so, All of these, you know, and now I'm engaged to my true soulmate.
and we're a real family, and that's all I really wanted was just a family, a big family. And when something like that blows up, you're just like, oh my gosh, where do I go from here? You know what happens? I have this little baby. What do I do? and so I know that so many women have gone through things like that.
I know so many women have struggled with infertility, so we're going to get really real about stuff, but also it's going to be inspiring because, you know, now, I'm so happy. Like I said, I'm on the other side. I'm engaged. I have three amazing, beautiful children. My business is awesome and thriving. I have, I brought on a business partner recently and her and I are just like the perfect match.
It's, I feel like when you get, when something really crazy and shocking happens to you, you get really aware of who you are. What you want, what you're willing to settle for or not settle for, and where you want your life to go. You know, I was like 34 when I found out, or 33, and I had been with that man since I was 21.
And always, it was always in my head that like, when women get older, they, they are less desirable and blah, blah, blah. And so then I was also told when the marriage blew up that like, who's gonna want me this? Girl in her thirties who can't have kids and all this stuff, you know? And I, and I believed that for a long time.
So it took a lot of inner work and, huh? Just all the things that we're gonna get into. I don't wanna go too much into it on this episode, but I. So it's gonna be a lot of interviews with amazing women, inspiring women, and there's gonna be some stories that really get you in your heart. And there's gonna be some that are super inspiring.
And just women who are living their truth, they are owning who they are, they're owning, you know, their experiences and. You know, like something that happened to me, I could have totally let it just destroy me and be depressed and drink every day and like be a miserable person, you know? But you have to have.
I guess the will and the grit to pick yourself up. Know that you're better than that. Know that their actions do not define you as a person. Right? I didn't do that stuff and I didn't do it to anybody or to myself. Someone else did that, and I just wanna help people understand that. So, but like I said, we're gonna have.
All kinds of topics, all kinds of subjects. And so there's not this like specific niche, right? It's not just about struggles or trauma or infidelity or infertility or anything like that. It's just women talking and showing how whatever phase they're in right now, you know, giving inspiration. Hopefully it will impact someone who's listening, who is maybe going through something that they've gone through already, that the, the person I'm interviewing has gone through already, and they can kind of see where this person is.
Now. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel, you know, or hopefully, too, will have people on there that inspire you if you want to start your own business or if you wanna take the leap to a different job, or if you wanna dive into starting a family, you know, there's. There's all kinds of subjects and topics that I feel like just don't really get talked about and they need to, and I am very curious.
I always love talking to women and hearing their stories. I'm so inspired when I actually started opening up a little bit about what happened in my marriage to just a few people privately. It was amazing how many people came back to me. With a similar experience or knew someone who went through a similar story or they were like, Hey, my friend needs to talk to you because she's going through the same thing right now and I don't have any advice for her.
And so it's just a beautiful thing. I think when we feel safe and comfortable and not, not like we're being judged, not like anything is wrong, to be completely honest. you know, I'm going to have. Body image issues. That's gonna be a topic we're gonna be talking about, starting your own business.
We're gonna be interviewing an amazing woman who is terminally, terminally ill and has created her own foundation for families. Going through the same thing, we're going to chat about people who were alcoholics for decades, who. You know, now are living alcohol free. Like there's going to be all kinds of amazing topics to tune into.
And then there will be sprinklings, kind of, of me when I feel like I really need to dive deeper or talk more, kind of about my experience. Experiences. and we will just go through all of those things. And so I just hope that. Everybody gets something out of this. I hope everybody feels like this podcast.
Chi Chat Collective is a place where you can go and you're going to hear something that you needed to hear or that inspires you or that you feel like, Hey, they're going through the same thing as me and, and they're doing awesome and I know that I can get through this. You know, I know that. That it's not always gonna be this forever.
Cuz that's the thing about time. You know, when something happens and you're in it, you start to feel like you're never gonna get out of it. And then time goes by and slowly and slowly and slowly you get out of it. And there's so much beauty and love on the other side, way more than. You ever could have imagined.
and that kind of relates, I'm going to do a podcast episode on my infertility journey. It might be two episodes, depending on how long it takes. I don't want these to be super long because I want everybody to obviously be able to tune in and here. But you know, that was one of my biggest sadnesses when I found out about the, affair.
Was, you know, I had just had my daughter, which, like I said, I did five rounds of I V F and I had five more normal, healthy embryos to implant. So in my mind I thought I was gonna have six kids and I couldn't wait. I was so happy. And then when that happened in my marriage, the scariest thing was like, oh my gosh, my daughter is gonna be an only child.
Like, I am not gonna have any more of those babies that I went through literal hell to have, you know? And it's was just such a sad, dark place. And I'm looking at this perfect little four month old baby looking at her and being like, how am I not gonna have the other ones? But also, how can I have the other ones?
it was just, A really hard place to be. And like I said, with a lot of soul searching, a lot of meditating, a lot of praying, a lot of personal development, a lot of reading and opening my eyes up to, I don't know, just different aspects. You know? You don't know what you don't know, and. When you start to open your eyes to different types of reading and different types of podcasts and different types of just information, it's like you just expand, you know, and, and the things that you felt before you feel totally different about.
and so we'll also be sharing too, like. Different resources and where you can find just the things that I listen to and the things that I try to consume in my life to have a more positive outlook and, and really just not make, you know, we get in our heads about stuff. We all do, and sometimes you need something to get you out of it.
A lot of times, you know, I can do it myself, but sometimes I. I need something, I need like inspiration, and I'm hoping that we can share a lot of that here. So that's about it guys. I have three kids, a four-year-old, a two year old, and a seventh month old almost. And so we're starting this podcast out once every two weeks just because I do not want to get all.
Like nervous that I don't have episodes coming or something. And I am crazy busy, obviously with a business too. So this is going to, I guess if you're listening to this, it's the first episode, which is May 17th, my best friend's birthday, happy birthday, Heather, if you're listening. And then the next one will be released two weeks from now.
So that's super exciting. I hope that if you guys want to follow along or listen along, you will subscribe. If you leave a review, that helps also, if you tell your friends about this, that would be amazing. And if you are a woman who. Has a story to share. Please reach out to me. all the information is in the show notes of where to find me.
You can find me on Instagram though at Kasey dot n as in Nicole dot Laird. That will be changing soon though. My last name's gonna turn to Johnson. , but I'll keep everyone. Up to date on that. And yeah, I would love to start setting up interviews with amazing women and just having these really cool, fun conversations and inspiring women to find their voice, to use their voice and to step into it and just really enjoy it as they do so.
So thank you guys for tuning in.