Motherkind

What happens when your life looks perfect from the outside, but deep down you know something isn’t right?
Mimi Ikonn had built a successful business, a marriage and a family, but after becoming a mother, something began to shift. She felt increasingly alone in motherhood and slowly started to disconnect from her relationship without fully understanding what was happening.
In this deeply honest conversation, Mimi shares what ultimately led her to leave her 13-year marriage, why becoming a mother changed the dynamic of her relationship and the difficult decision to choose herself while raising a young daughter.
Mimi and Zoe also explore ambition after motherhood, mum guilt, asking for help, perfectionism and why becoming a mother can force us to rethink who we are, what we value and what success actually means.
At the heart of this conversation is a powerful reminder: choosing yourself doesn’t mean choosing your children any less.
💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why relationships can change so dramatically after becoming parents

How loneliness and resentment can quietly build in motherhood

Why asking for and accepting help is so important

How to balance ambition with being the mother you want to be

Why perfectionism becomes impossible once you have children

How to recognise when your life no longer feels aligned

Why choosing yourself can also model something powerful for your children

How self-acceptance can change the way you experience motherhood

Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode of Motherkind. It helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing.
Watch every full episode on YouTube and subscribe.
Loved this episode?
Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode of Motherkind. It helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing.
If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy: The "Old You" is Gone, Here's How to Embrace Who You're Becoming — Jada Sezer
Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet
Connect with Zoe:
Follow Zoe on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok

Get Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’

This Motherkind episode is sponsored by:
Headline sponsor Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women’s supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply.

Key topics
Motherhood identity • Matrescence • Relationships after children • Marriage after motherhood • Divorce • Separation • Single motherhood • Mum guilt • Mental load • Resentment • Asking for help • Ambition after motherhood • Self-acceptance • Choosing yourself • Motherhood and relationships • Working motherhood • Perfectionism • Life transitions • Finding yourself again • Mimi Ikonn

Do you ever sit down to play with your child and, five minutes later, find yourself thinking about the washing, dinner or everything else you could be doing? Zoe does too.
In this special episode, created in partnership with Melissa & Doug, Zoe talks to Dr Martha Deiros Collado, a clinical psychologist specialising in parenting and child development, about why play can feel difficult for adults, especially when we’re used to being busy and productive. Dr Martha explains how play helps children process their day and connect with us, and shares simple ways to make it more enjoyable for parents too.
You don’t need to invent elaborate games or become your child’s entertainer. Sometimes five or ten minutes together, following their lead, is enough. And if you’re hoping to encourage independent play, Dr Martha has a wonderfully simple idea you can try before they even come home from school.
💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:Why finding play boring sometimes is completely normal

How to choose activities you enjoy as well as your child

What children may be telling us when they ask us to play

A simple way to invite more independent play

Why toys that leave room for imagination can be so engaging

Watch this episode on YouTube and subscribe.
This episode is made in partnership with Melissa & Doug. Discover toys designed to inspire imaginative play at Amazon.co.uk: Melissa & Doug and help your little one find the extraordinary in the ordinary. ✨
Connect with Zoe:
Follow Zoe on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok

Get Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’

Key Topics
Playing with your children • Why parents find play difficult • Parent guilt • The pressure to be productive • Imaginative play • Pretend play • Independent play • Child development • Connection through play • Play after school • Helping children process emotions • Encouraging creativity • Open-ended toys • Following your child’s lead • Making play enjoyable for parents • Quality time with children

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.
Have you ever gone back to a fitness class after having a baby and wondered why nobody asked how your body was doing?
In this Motherkind Moment, women’s fitness coach Elizabeth Davies talks to Zoe about pelvic floor symptoms that can be hard to bring up at the gym, and the support many mothers don’t know is available. Elizabeth explains what a pelvic health physiotherapist can help with, including an individual assessment and a plan for returning to the movement you enjoy.
They also discuss why being “18 months postpartum” doesn’t automatically mean your body is ready to pick up where it left off. Whether you want to run, skip or lift weights again, Elizabeth’s advice is to find a starting point that suits you and build gradually. There’s no deadline to get back to it.
💡 In this Moment, you’ll learn:
What a pelvic health physiotherapist does and how you may be able to access one

Why it’s okay to speak up if you experience leaking or something feels wrong during exercise

How to approach running and other high-impact activities gradually

Why returning to exercise doesn’t have to be a race

Watch every full episode on YouTube and subscribe.
Loved this episode?
Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode of Motherkind. It helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing.
If you enjoyed this episode, you can listen to the full episode: The ultimate (realistic) guide to fitness in motherhood, with Elizabeth Davies
Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet
Connect with Zoe:
Follow Zoe on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok

Get Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’

This Motherkind episode is sponsored by:
Headline sponsor Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women’s supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply.

Grape Tree Feel Good Foods. Buy online at Grapetree.co.uk or find your local store

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.
What if the career you worked so hard to build no longer fits the woman you’ve become?
If motherhood has changed what you want from work, you may know something needs to shift without knowing what to do next. Perhaps you’re worried about money, childcare, or whether the skills you’ve spent years building will transfer to something new. I’ve been there. I left corporate marketing and built Motherkind gradually, alongside the responsibilities of family life.
In this solo episode, I’m sharing MOVE, the career change framework I’ve used with mothers in my coaching practice. We’ll start by defining what success means to you now, including your income, energy and family life. Then we’ll look at your skills and the interests that could point towards your next move.
I’ll also show you how to test an idea before committing to it, and how to make a practical 30-, 60-, and 90-day plan. You don’t need to have your whole future worked out today. You need a way to explore what’s possible and take the next step.
💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:Map: Define success for this season of your life and picture your ideal working day.

Options: Recognise your technical and transferable skills, then find your “red thread”.

Validate: Test a career or business idea through conversations and small experiments.

Execute: Work out your financial needs and build a 30-, 60-, and 90-day plan.

Why you can build a new path alongside your current work.

Watch every full episode on YouTube and subscribe.
Loved this episode?
Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode of Motherkind. It helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing.
If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy the episode Zoe recommended you listen to next: How To Find A Career You Genuinely Love That Works for Your Life
Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet
Connect with Zoe:
Follow Zoe on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok

Get Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’

This Motherkind episode is sponsored by:
Headline sponsor: Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women’s supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply.

Grape Tree Feel Good Foods. Buy online at Grapetree.co.uk or find your local store

Key topics: Career change after motherhood • Working mothers • Matrescence • Career confidence • Transferable skills • Finding fulfilling work • Starting a business • Work and family life

Ready for a career that fits who you are now? Join my 30-day Career Pivot Challenge, starting 21 October. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s possible and turn your next move into a practical plan. Join the waitlist for first access and 30% off.
Does the thought of getting through bedtime without that evening glass of wine feel almost impossible?
Motherhood can leave your nervous system completely overwhelmed. You’re overstimulated, exhausted, carrying the mental load and desperately looking for something that will help you switch off. It makes sense that alcohol can begin to feel like the quickest way to find relief.
But what if the thing helping you cope in the moment is actually making you feel more anxious, affecting your sleep and leaving motherhood feeling even harder the next day?
In this powerful Moment, Zoe is joined by author, entrepreneur and Made in Chelsea alumna Millie Mackintosh to unpack the reality behind “mummy needs wine” culture.
Millie shares how easily alcohol became intertwined with motherhood, from champagne after giving birth to drinking at children’s parties and counting down to that first evening glass. She explains why she eventually realised it was stealing her joy, and the practical first steps that helped her change her relationship with drinking.
This isn’t about judgement or labels. It’s an honest conversation for anyone who has wondered whether alcohol is still working for them.
💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why motherhood can make alcohol feel like such a powerful coping mechanism

How even moderate drinking can affect anxiety and sleep

Why “mummy needs wine” culture has become so normalised

The signs that alcohol may be taking more from your life than it gives

How to explore your relationship with drinking without labelling yourself

The practical first steps Millie recommends if you know something needs to change

Why support, information and self-compassion can make changing your habits feel possible

Watch every full episode on YouTube and subscribe.
Loved this episode?
Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode of Motherkind. It helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing.
If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy Zoe’s conversation with Frankie Bridge: How to Stay Ambitious After Kids Without the Mum Guilt
An honest conversation about anxiety, maternal mental health and giving mothers permission to admit when they are struggling.
Feeling like you’re carrying it all? Download your FREE Mental Load Cheat Sheet and learn how to start feeling lighter, even if nothing in your life changes.
Connect with Zoe:
Follow Zoe on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok

Get Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’

This Motherkind episode is sponsored by:
Headline sponsor: Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women’s supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply.

Key topics
Motherhood and alcohol • Mummy wine culture • Grey-area drinking • Sober curiosity • Alcohol-free motherhood • Maternal anxiety • Anxiety after drinking • Alcohol and sleep • Nervous-system regulation • Overstimulation in motherhood • Maternal mental health • Mental load • Drinking habits • Emotional coping mechanisms • Sobriety • Self-care for mothers • Millie Mackintosh • Bad Drunk • Motherkind