My Biggest Mistakes and Regrets in Motherhood and Work (and What I’d Do Differently)

Motherkind

Zoe Blaskey

Kids & Family, Parenting

4.8 • 863 Ratings

🗓️ 7 May 2026

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Zoe has never shared her story like this before.💡 In this episode, she takes you behind the scenes of her journey through motherhood and work over the past nine years - the decisions, the trade-offs, the moments she’s proud of… and the ones she’d change if she could. This is the first episode in Motherkind’s special work series, and it starts here for a reason. Because from the outside, it can look like everyone else has it figured out.But the truth? No one does. In this conversation, Zoe shares what it really looked like to leave corporate, build Motherkind alongside early motherhood, and navigate burnout, loss, ambition, and identity… and how she’s learned (sometimes the hard way) to design a life that works for her.It’s honest, unfiltered, and deeply reassuring for any mother questioning her path. 💡 In this episode, you’ll learn: . The biggest mistakes Zoe has made in motherhood and work - and what she’d do differently now . What burnout actually felt like for her (and how she pushed herself into it) . The real tension between ambition and being a present mum . How to make peace with trade-offs and build work that fits your life 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 Neha Ruch - Work Series: The Truth About Stepping Back from your career — And Coming Back even Stronger 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. For a £100 sponsored job credit, visit Indeed.com/ Motherkind Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey and welcome back to Motherkind. It is me, your host, Zoe, and we are proudly supported by wild
0:07.8	nutrition's women's supplements. I turn 43. I know. It seems wild to me. And fun fact, on the same
0:17.7	day as my husband. Yes, we share a birthday. Anyway, because it is my birthday week,
0:23.3	I wanted to do a solo episode and share more about my journey of the last 10 years,
0:29.7	specifically how I went from my corporate job in insurance, true story, to becoming what I do
0:36.0	today, one of the UK's leading executive coaches for mothers
0:39.2	hosting mother crime podcast Sunday times bestselling author everything that I used to sit at my
0:45.8	grey desk and dream about so I hope you love this episode and if you take just one thing away
0:52.5	I want it to be this believe in
0:54.6	yourself more you are incredible and I believe that that thing that you are dreaming
0:58.8	about it's possible because it is meant for you I think if you dream about
1:04.2	something it is meant for you so I hope this episode is inspiring let me know
1:09.7	what you think here it is is. Oh, and quickly,
1:12.5	please subscribe, please share the episode. That is how we reach more and more women, more and
1:16.9	more mothers to remind them that they matter. They deserve investing in themselves too,
1:22.4	and that motherhood gets to be good. Okay, here it is.
1:33.4	I did a degree in economics, which looking back was probably a mistake. Numbers are definitely not my natural domain, but I did do a couple of modules on sociology
1:41.1	and I studied the economics of gender discrimination and I remember learning about the
1:47.1	motherhood penalty 22 years ago isn't that world I remember it so vividly the lecturer put up this
1:53.0	chart and he said very bluntly very kind of coldly so when a woman takes time out for her family
1:59.0	her salary never recovers and then the gap to men widens.
2:02.0	And that's the motherhood penalty.
	...

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