In this final episode of season two, Natalie & Katie openly discuss the coping strategies they've adopted since losing their husband's - the good and not so great habits formed while grieving. They discuss the guilt and embarrassment associated with forming bad habits, and the habits that have become integral to helping them cope since becoming widowed.
Natalie & Katie talk about the difficult process of going through and sorting a loved one’s belongings after they’ve died. They compare how they approached taking on the task, including timings, what they found the hardest, what surprised them, and how they ultimately made peace with the fact that they may never sort everything.
Last summer, Katie and Natalie invited their two widowed friends Phil & Ollie to join them on the podcast to tell their stories of the loss of their partners. They discuss how finding fellow young widows acted as a lifeline and offer advice to those who are looking to find friendships in the grief community.
Trigger warning - as always, the stories covered in this episode may be distressing to listen to, but we feel it's so important that they're shared.
In this episode, Natalie & Katie discuss what it was like returning to work while grieving. They chat about how their relationship with their jobs has changed since they became widowed, what it felt like returning to work after bereavement leave, and offer advice for those facing the prospect of going back to work after loss.
Kids vs. no kids - in this episode, Natalie and Katie compare their experiences of being widowed whilst bringing up children and being widowed without children. They cover coming to terms with not having future children with your partner, what it’s like solo parenting, and facing parenting guilt whilst grieving your person.
In this final episode of season 1, Natalie and Katie invite their closest friends Lauren and Sophie to join them on the podcast. They offer a raw perspective on what it's like to support a close friend through the loss of a partner, share their own experience both initially and in the time since Steve and Oli's deaths, and consider whether their friendships have changed as a result.
In this episode, Katie and Natalie discuss what it's like to live alongside different memories of their partners - the positive, and the difficult negative memories surrounding their deaths. They chat about different ways of remembering their partners in the everyday moments and sharing those with the people they love.
2 years and counting - Katie & Natalie take time to reflect on reaching the milestone of being widows for 2 years. They consider how their relationship with grief has evolved over time and discuss tips and strategies that helped them through the second year, and how their friendship has supported them through new grief experiences.
In this episode, Katie and Natalie discuss mental health and grief with counsellor Clare Gyde. They talk about their experience of mental health support prior to and after the death of their partners, and share tips and insights about the importance of prioritising self-care while grieving.
In this episode, Katie & Natalie discuss what they thought being a widow would be like, and the reality of becoming a widow in their 30s. They tackle the so-called 'stages of grief' and reflect on the different emotions they've been through since losing Oli and Steve.
In this very first episode of Those Two Widows, Natalie and Katie tell the story of how they came to be grief pals and what they hope to achieve with this podcast. This one is a bit of a hard hitter out the bat, so be prepared for a few tears as they share the stories of how their husbands died in their early thirties. Don't worry, there will be laughs along the way too!
*Warning - this podcast series contains swearing*