Maternal Guilt, Identity Loss & Rewriting the Narrative Through Creativity - with Vicki Broadbent

In this rich & energising conversation, I'm joined by writer, multi-award-winning blogger & long-time flexible working campaigner Vicki Broadbent - known to many as @honestmum - whose digital career began after leaving her role as a screenwriter & TV director when motherhood collided with an inflexible industry.The author of Mumboss and Greek Myths, Folk Tales & Legends, Vicki has built one of the UK’s most recognisable digital platforms while raising her three children - & advocating for mothers’ rights, visibility & creativity along the way.We explore how guilt showed up in Vicki’s early years of motherhood, how identity loss & creative reinvention shaped her path, & what 15 years online has taught her about women’s voices, misogyny, stigma, & the pressures mothers still carry today. What we cover:✨ The early career pivot that wasn’t really a choiceVicki shares how the TV & film world made it almost impossible to combine directing with raising a baby - & the subtle (and not-so-subtle) stigma she faced for becoming pregnant at 27 in a male-dominated industry. ✨ The constant undertow of mum-guiltWe discuss guilt as the “side dish of motherhood” - from being physically separated from your child for work, to trying to work around them at home, to the emotional whiplash of being endlessly stretched, responsible & tired. ✨ Flexible work: blessing or burden?Vicki shares how working digitally gave her more presence with her children - but also came with increased expectations & mental load, reinforcing gendered roles even when both partners wanted equality. ✨ Fathers, stigma and the pressure to “provide”We discuss how stigma, financial norms & patriarchal expectations also constrain fathers - keeping equality stalled & mothers overloaded. ✨ The mental load and the quiet crisis of modern parenthoodFrom crying in the car after drop-off to the exhaustion of juggling kids, care, work, after-school clubs & emotional labour - Vicki names the hidden strain so many parents carry. ✨ The culture of comparison & social media’s influence on maternal guiltWe talk candidly about how curated feeds, beauty standards, pressures on girls, & toxic masculinity messages shape how children grow up - & how mothers feel. ✨ Creativity as the thread back to yourselfVicki shares how blogging, writing & storytelling helped her rebuild a sense of identity after traumatic birth & career upheaval - & why creativity is still her anchor. ✨ Her new book: Greek Myths, Folk Tales & LegendsVicki explains the emotional & ancestral pull behind retelling Greek stories for a modern audience, how she researched & reimagined characters, & why writing this book was unexpectedly grounding & healing. LinksBuy Vicki’s book: Greek Myths, Folk Tales & LegendsConnect with Vicki: @honestmumBuy Belinda’s book: Challenge Your GuiltApply for a free Motherload Breakthrough CallSubscribe to the Flourishing Mother newsletterSupport the show✨ If this episode resonated, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a mother who needs to hear that guilt was never hers to carry.