Hey guys, it's Jamie Scrimter here, second wife, stepmom of three and mum of one.

And you're listening to my podcast, where we talk about all things motherhood, stepmotherhood,

and living a kick-ass life. If you're ready for raw and real conversations and are striving

to live your very best life, then you are in the right place.

Every week, I'll provide you with tips and strategies and mindset shifts to inspire you to

live your own version of a kick-ass life.

We'll bring you along as I create my own.

Hello, hello, welcome back. So, guys, this week, I'm chatting with Brandy Weikley, and she is the host of the award-winning podcast, The New Family Podcast. She is also the former editor-in-chief for Canadian Family Magazine and has been an editor for Toronto Star and today's parent.

Currently, she rates a column called Modern Family for the Toronto Star and is working on a book

called The X Next Door, how a generation of parents is redefining life after divorce.

I'm going to back that truck up for you for a second. Her book is

called The X Next Door. So the idea for the new family and this book stems from her own

experiences as part of a non-traditional family. She is amically divorced and for eight years

lived next door to the father of her children.

Even after, and get this, he remarried to the boy's stepmom.

Now, they don't live beside each other anymore, but they do live around the corner.

So today, Brandy and I are diving into her story and how she and her

ex went from married to neighbors. And we're also diving into the touchy subject of how to cope

when your family remains close with the ex. I'm so excited to share Brandy's perspective with all of you.

And I am so confident that no matter what your stepfamily dynamic looks like right now, you're going to have at least one aha moment after listening to this episode.

Let's dive in.

All right. Hello, Brandy. Hi, Jamie. So great to chat with you. Yeah, I am so excited that you're here. You know what? I was thinking this morning, what was it? It was just a couple years ago. I was a guest on your podcast. I know. I meant to look that up to see how long ago that was, but it has to have been to maybe even three years ago now. And that was a great conversation.

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