Everybody talks about leaving, but not enough people talk about what happens after you finally do.

What happens when the relationship ends, but the emotional, mental, and financial consequences don’t? What happens when choosing yourself means starting over in ways you never imagined?

In this episode of MyCurlsSpeak with Key, I’m joined by Cupcake from Piece of Cake Conversation for an honest and necessary conversation about life after domestic violence.

We’re discussing the parts of survival that don’t get talked about enough. The grief, the guilt, the healing, the setbacks, and the process of rebuilding a life after experiencing abuse.

I also open up about the reality of surviving an abusive relationship, only to find myself in another one in my 30s. The age when I thought I should have known better. We’re challenging that very idea, because recognizing abuse from the outside and recognizing it while you’re experiencing it are two very different things.

Sometimes choosing yourself doesn’t immediately look like peace, happiness, or a fresh start. Sometimes it looks like losing everything familiar, grieving the life you thought you would have, and learning how to trust yourself again.

This episode is a reminder that leaving doesn’t mean the healing is finished, and starting over doesn’t mean you’ve failed.

Because leaving is one chapter. Learning how to live again is another.

Whether you’re still finding the courage to leave, recently walked away, or are years into your healing journey, this conversation is for you.

Welcome to MyCurlsSpeak with Key, where we give a voice to the conversations that too often happen behind closed doors.

Y’all, this episode got a little more personal than I expected!

For episode three of MyCurlsSpeak with Key, I’m joined by my friend Jones from The Music Jones Podcast, and we’re having an honest conversation about fatherhood, co-parenting, accountability, and the relationships we’re still learning how to navigate.

Jones opens up about repairing his relationship with his son, what that journey has looked like, and the importance of taking accountability and making the effort to show up differently.

We also get into healthy co-parenting, and this is where the conversation took a little turn because somehow we ended up in MY business!

I share some of my own struggles with co-parenting because, while we can all agree that putting our children first is important, that doesn’t mean navigating those relationships is always easy.

Sometimes you know what the healthy thing to do is, but actually getting to that place takes patience, growth, and a whole lot of self-awareness.

This isn’t a conversation about being perfect parents or having all the answers. It’s about recognizing where we can do better, understanding how our decisions affect our children, and being willing to have conversations that aren’t always comfortable.

We’re talking about repairing relationships, breaking unhealthy patterns, and learning that growth sometimes requires us to look at ourselves, too.

Because at the end of the day, our children deserve the healthiest versions of us, even when we’re still figuring things out.

Grab your coffee, get comfortable, and come have this conversation with us.

Some things are difficult to talk about, but that doesn’t mean we should stay silent.

In this episode of MyCurlsSpeak with Key, we’re having an open and honest conversation about domestic violence. We’re talking about what it can look like, why leaving isn’t always as simple as people make it seem, the warning signs we sometimes overlook, and the importance of extending compassion instead of judgment to those experiencing abuse.

We’re also talking about the lives behind the statistics. The women, families, children, friends, and communities forever changed by domestic violence.

With October being Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I wanted to use this episode to create space for a conversation that is uncomfortable, emotional, and necessary.

This episode is for awareness.
It’s for understanding.
It’s for the voices that have been silenced.
And it’s for every survivor who is still finding their way forward.

In loving memory of every life lost to domestic violence. You were more than a statistic. You were someone’s daughter, mother, sister, friend, loved one, and so much more. Your life mattered. Your story matters. Your memory matters.

May we continue saying their names, sharing their stories, and doing our part to create a world where fewer lives are lost to domestic violence.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. In the U.S., you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1 800 799 SAFE (7233), text START to 88788, or visit thehotline.org.