VIRGIN.BEAUTY.B!TCH

Dr. Beth Hedva was our obvious first inviter for our Year of the BITCH series. Dr. Hedva is a renowned psychologist, author, and expert in transpersonal therapy, whose groundbreaking research on betrayal, trust, and forgiveness is recognized by governments and the United Nations, which call on her to help individuals heal from deep emotional wounds. Betrayal, we’ve all experienced it, sometimes as the perpetrator, sometimes as the victim; either way, the word comes loaded with pain, anguish and suffering. However, Dr. Hedva points out that betrayal is also a necessary experience that can lead to self-discovery and personal empowerment. How that can work in your life is a must-listen. It’s important to know that Dr. Hedva is a pioneering psychologist and the award-winning author of Betrayal, Trust and Forgiveness, which delves deeply into the concept of betrayal and its profound potential to foster healing. For women, this can manifest as newfound resilience, strength, and agency. This conversation invites you to know betrayal beyond the perpetrator or the victim.

Sarah Tunstall is a Girl Named Storm. At 15, she became a victim of human trafficking and was indoctrinated into the sex trade. Her memoir, A Girl Named Storm, inspired this powerful, emotionally charged conversation that will both break your heart and inspire you. Storm, aka Sarah, bravely opens up about her journey from surviving sex trafficking as a teenager to reclaiming her life and helping others find their own strength as an active anti-human-trafficking consultant and public speaker. Here, we explore themes of betrayal, identity, trust, change, and healing, themes at the heart of both Storm’s story and VBB’s ongoing mission to redefine what it means to be “defiantly different” as a woman or miscast as a bitch.  This is a brutally intimate conversation that captures the courage it takes to bare one's darkest, most shameful truths, the complexities of personal transformation, and the power of vulnerability in the ongoing process of healing. This one hurts so good.

Dr. Kerry Kerr McAvoy is a retired psychologist and renowned expert on narcissistic abuse. In this intensely candid conversation, Kerry shares not only her professional expertise but also her hard-earned personal experiences on breaking free from the grip of a toxic, narcissistic relationship.How is it that intelligent, self-aware women end up partnered with deceitful, sometimes dangerous, narcissistic men? And why does it often take so much time and emotional energy to break these bonds, even after the truth about these men is revealed? Well, it’s complicated.Kerry explains the psychology and subtle social pressures that leave even the strongest, self-aware women vulnerable to the dynamics of betrayal, manipulation, and gaslighting. She unpacks the evolutionary and cultural roots of our need for connection and for being "chosen," which challenge women to reckon with self-betrayal as the deepest cut of all. This episode confronts the real-life erosion of self and the powerful journey to reclaim identity, agency, and healing. It will engage, challenge, inform, and empower.

Jennifer Sack is known for her bold approach to self-love, which began with sobriety and evolved into a holistic healing and well-being practice. Jennifer unpacks the hidden traps of self-negotiation and challenges women to embrace change in their journey to rebuilding self-trust.  This conversation also explores the kind of addiction that goes beyond just substances; it’s about the importance of listening to our inner GPS, rethinking self-care as “selfish," and finding practical techniques to help women ground themselves while moving through stress and discomfort anywhere and at any time. If possessing powerful tools to create a Focus - Driven life is your priority, consider this your gift.

She is Jesse Susannah Karnatz, aka the Money Witch, a financial educator and coach who brings wisdom, realness, and a touch of magic to the conversation about women and wealth, and the deeply rooted systems that try to keep them mutually excluded.From shame to savvy, Jessie reminds women of the historical and systemic forces that have shaped their collective money wounds and what it takes for women to stand at the very edge of their financial sovereignty.Whether you’re just starting your journey toward financial independence or live in a reality of overwhelm when it comes to money, this episode will challenge your perspective, validate your experiences, and offer practical wisdom for healing, empowerment, and transformation in ways you might not anticipate. All of it, including a little money magic from the Money Witch herself, is yours for free.

Dawn Thompson has been where so many women who want success and work for it find themselves: building a storybook-perfect life on the outside, only to realize something essential is missing within. For her, it took more than one near-death health scare or an embezzlement scandal in her business to alter her life path; it took a question from her three-year-old daughter, who wanted to know why her seemingly happy and successful mother never laughed. Today, Dawn Thompson is the mastermind behind I Deserve It Now, known as the “soul CEO activator,” a master at helping women and high achievers uncover hidden patterns of betrayal and blind spots that keep them stuck, working in circles, and seeking something that money, success, or being busy can’t replace.If you believe you deserve success and peace of mind, and that you deserve them now, this conversation is a roadmap, crafted by a woman who’s been there, done that, and found peace and joy enough to laugh out loud.

Lindsay Jacobi is a transformational mentor, speaker, and founder of Glow Up Collective, helping women who have lost themselves reconnect with their confidence, beauty, boundaries, pleasure, and power. Her work blends deep inner healing with real-life transformation, helping women become more sovereign, regulated, peaceful, and fully expressed in their lives and relationships. With her signature 90-day Glow Up experience, Lindsay supports women in areas such as personal style, beauty, relationship reconnection, vision mapping, and anti-burnout lifestyle shifts, with a focus on real follow-through, not just inspiration. Her approach is rooted in the belief that the glow-up is not just about appearance. It’s about finally feeling like yourself again and creating a life that reflects the woman you know you are meant to be. As an entry in our VBB Year Of The BITCH conversations, we talk openly about Bitch, a word most women, for understandable reasons, reject outright. For us, Bitches aren’t only venomous women but bold women who defy social stereotypes to reclaim narratives and embrace the full spectrum of their innate identity. It’s a conversation about self-empowerment and living authentically, regardless of how others want to shame or control you with a word. If you’re up for open dialogue with a woman who leads by example, jump in.

Ashley Jordan is a role model for Good Girl defectors. She shares her deeply personal journey from living as a high-achieving, approval-seeking “good girl” to reclaiming her authentic, badass, bitch-inspired self. Ashley calls it “unbecoming,” a rejection of trying to become what others expect or demand. She explores what it means to shed layers of societal conditioning and return to one’s true essence.Ashley, a licensed attorney, nationally recognized journalist, sought-after speaker, and author of Unhappy Achiever: Rejecting the Good Girl Image and Reclaiming the Joy of Inner Fulfillment, draws on personal experience to lay out the hidden costs women often pay for “good girl” behavior, including the addictive rewards of external validation. She speaks candidly about the systemic pressures and cultural conditioning women face and is brutally honest about what it takes to prioritize your deepest desires, your holy of holies, and to take on all obstacles, even those that feel unbearable, that eventually lead to a life defined not by achievement but by liberation and self-trust. This is a very candid conversation with a woman who is rooted in helping other women break free from the constraints of an often misunderstood “Good Girl” identity. 

Elizabeth Flock is an Emmy award-winning journalist with bylines in the New Yorker, the New York Times, Foreign Policy, the Guardian, the Atlantic, and many other publications. She’s also an author who leads us through the dark, murky waters of women and vengeance.Her book, "The Furies: Women, Vengeance, and Justice,” unravels what happens when women are betrayed by systems set up to protect them. When, on average, 50,000 women and girls are killed by intimate partners or family members annually, often because police, courts, and politicians failed to act on complaints and protect them, sometimes justice for women becomes an act of desperate vengeance.It's said, Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned,” but when that fury isn’t just anger, and becomes deadly force, can it be justified, or forgiven?  Elizabeth bravely explores the roots of systemic, societal, and familial betrayals that can erupt into deadly force.

What does it mean to be chumped? It means the person you trusted most has a double life and has cheated on you. In this episode, we explore the meaning of betrayal, how it often shatters lives, and can strike so deeply that it feels like a living death. But it doesn’t need to be your epitaph. Our guest and guide is Tracy Schorn, a woman who’s been chumped but rose up to become an award-winning blogger, cartoonist, and bestselling author of “Leave a Cheater, Gain a Life: The Chump Lady’s Survival Guide.” As "Chump Lady,” Tracy specializes in helping people, especially women, process the trauma of infidelity and reclaim their lives. In this episode, you’ll hear Tracy’s signature blend of tough love, raw candor, and biting humor. Tracy's mission is to challenge toxic narratives around cheating, empower those who have been chumped, and spark real conversations around identity, trust, and healing. If you or someone you care about has faced a devastating betrayal, has been chumped, this conversation will leave you feeling seen, inspired, and ready to reclaim your life.