Life After Divorce: Become the CEO of Your Life

confidence emotional regulation financial independence mindset Jan 19, 2026
The Crazy Ex-Wives Club Podcast, Season 11, Episode 9: How Divorced Women Rebuild with Meagan Norris

 

Hello friends! It’s Erica.

If you listened to our latest episode of The Crazy Ex-Wives Club, you know we went beyond the logistics of divorce and talked about the real rebuild: who you become in life after divorce. Not the version of you who’s reacting to the past, but the version of you who’s intentionally writing what comes next.

I was joined by Meagan Norris (certified life coach and retired attorney), and together we explored four pillars that help you shift from surviving to thriving. In this post, I’m expanding on that conversation so you can start using these tools in your everyday life.

Because you don’t need permission to rebuild. You need a plan, support, and the willingness to lead your own life again.


 

Life After Divorce Is More Than a Breakup: It’s a Rebuild

In the beginning, divorce can feel like a never-ending checklist. Paperwork. Co-parenting logistics. Housing. Money. Rebuilding routines. And yes, sometimes panic-shopping for new sheets.

But the deeper work is this: divorce invites you to release the version of yourself that was built for survival, for keeping the peace, for shrinking to make someone else comfortable.

Life after divorce is an opportunity to stop outsourcing your happiness and start living like the woman who’s in charge.

Not controlling everything. Leading yourself.


 

Becoming the CEO of Your Life After Divorce

CEO energy isn’t about hustle. It’s about ownership.

It’s you deciding:

  • “I’m not waiting to feel ready.”

  • “I’m not living from fear.”

  • “I’m not negotiating with my own needs anymore.”

Here are the four pillars Meagan and I discussed, with practical ways you can start today.


 

Emotional Resilience After Divorce: Build Safety Inside Yourself

Divorce can put your nervous system on high alert. You may feel irritable, numb, anxious, exhausted, or like you’re one text away from spiraling.

Emotional resilience isn’t about never feeling big feelings. It’s about learning how to feel them without letting them drive the car.

Try this:

  • Name what’s true: “I feel overwhelmed.” “I feel scared.” “I feel grief.” Naming it reduces the power it has over you.

  • Create a calming ritual: Open a window, light a candle, take a slow shower, sit in your car for 3 quiet minutes before walking inside.

  • Build self-trust through reps: Every time you keep a boundary, follow through, or choose yourself, you teach your body: “I can handle hard things.”

If you’ve been living in survival mode, this pillar is foundational. Safety is what makes the rest possible.


 

Financial Independence After Divorce: Redefine Your Relationship With Money

Money after divorce can trigger fear, shame, anger, or scarcity. Even if you’re “fine” on paper, you might still feel unsafe in your body.

Financial sovereignty starts when you stop using money as a measurement of worth and start using it as a tool for support.

Start here:

  • Get honest without judgment: What do you believe about money right now? What are you afraid of?

  • Replace comparison with clarity: Your life isn’t meant to look like your married neighbors’ or your friend’s highlight reel.

  • Practice financial self-trust: One small action at a time—checking accounts weekly, setting a simple savings goal, learning what you need to feel stable.

You don’t need to have it all figured out today. You just need to start leading this area of your life instead of avoiding it.


 

Lifestyle Design After Divorce: Let Your Space and Habits Match Your Next Chapter

Your environment matters more than you think. Your home, your routines, your weekends—these become the containers for your healing.

This doesn’t require a renovation. It requires intention.

Try this:

  • Reclaim your space: Remove what feels heavy. Rearrange furniture. Add something new that feels like you now.

  • Create pockets of delight: A reading corner. Fresh sheets. A morning playlist. A Sunday walk that belongs to you.

  • Choose one habit that supports future-you: A consistent bedtime. Meal prep twice a week. A “no phone in bed” boundary.

Every small shift signals to your nervous system: “This is a new chapter.”


 

Vision-Based Decision Making After Divorce: Stop Choosing From Fear

When you’ve been through divorce, fear can start driving your decisions:

  • “What’s the safest option?”

  • “What’s the least I can lose?”

  • “What if I mess up again?”

But healing requires a new question:
“What would I choose if I trusted myself?”

Try this:

  • Write your vision like it’s real: What do you want life after divorce to feel like in one year? In five?

  • Choose qualities, not outcomes: Calm. Confidence. Freedom. Stability. Peace. These guide your choices when life gets messy.

  • Take one aligned step in the next 72 hours: One email. One boundary. One appointment. One decision you’ve been avoiding.

You don’t need perfect clarity. You need forward movement rooted in who you’re becoming.


 

Practical Steps: Pick One Pillar and Start Today

If you’re overwhelmed, don’t try to do all four at once. Choose one pillar and commit to one small action this week:

  • Emotional resilience: 3-minute breathing reset once per day

  • Financial independence: check your accounts every Friday morning

  • Lifestyle design: clear one drawer or corner that still feels like the past

  • Vision-based decisions: journal your “future-you” qualities and choose one action that matches

Small steps build identity. Identity builds your next chapter.


 

Community Connection: The Club Is Where We Do This Work Together

If you’re ready for community, accountability, and real tools that support emotional regulation and healing, join us inside The Club.

This is where women stop white-knuckling life after divorce and start rebuilding with support:

  • nervous system tools and emotional regulation practices

  • coaching, structure, and real-life strategies

  • a community of women who get it (no judgment, no explaining)

Join The Club: [insert link]
Take the quiz: [insert link]
Join the free community: [insert link]
Listen to the episode: [insert episode link]

You rise faster when you put yourself in rooms that reflect your next level.


Meet This Week's Guest: Meagan Norris

Meagan Norris is a certified life coach and retired attorney who helps women rebuild with clarity, confidence, and intention during major life transitions. Her work supports women in shifting from survival mode into a grounded, empowered next chapter.

Connect With Meagan Norris

Website | Instagram | TikTok

 


Final Thought From Erica

You don’t have to overhaul your life overnight. You just have to stop giving your power away one decision at a time.

Life after divorce is not the end of your story. It’s the moment you become the author again.

With love and grace,
Erica Bennett
Host of The Crazy Ex-Wives Club

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