Road To Divorce
Andrea Rappaport’s marriage was not the fairy tale ending she imagined it to be. Instead of becoming a happy wife and mother, she was having constant panic attacks which often landed her in the ER. After a while, she realized that she needed a divorce to free herself from the emotions.
“It was a relationship that should have never materialized into a marriage. There were thousands of red flags, all of which I ignored because I wanted a family,” Andrea tells Love What Matters. “There was never romantic chemistry. There were tons of toxic behaviors and mental abuse and emotional abuse.”
With two little boys, Andrea decided she wanted to be the best mom possible. That simply wasn’t possible with the marriage she had. So in 2020, she and her ex-husband officially separated.
“I got divorced via Zoom from the floor of my sons’ closet. After my divorced my finalized, I wiped my tears, exited the closest, and went right back into helping my kindergartener with his virtual math class. I give that experience 0+0 = 0 stars.”
Self-Love
Since the divorce, Andrea has continued to work on herself and peel back the layers of emotion that were blocked before to more truly understand herself and her mental health.
“I understand my anxiety a lot better now. My marriage was not good for me. It was abusive and toxic and it clouded my thinking,” she says. “I am STILL unpacking experiences that I suppressed years ago. I’m happy. Like, actually happy. And I’m in a relationship with someone who looks at me the way a woman deserves to be looked at.”
Creating A Podcast
Working through her emotions and going through the divorce weren’t easy for Andrea, and she recognizes that she’s not alone in her feelings or experiences. To help other women, she has started a podcast, How Not To Suck At Divorce, with her friend Morgan.
“People need guidance. People are afraid to make mistakes in the divorce process and some parts of divorce feel so daunting,” Andrea tells Love What Matters. “Also, we have found that people are searching for a community. A divorce can feel so isolating and it’s important to know that you have at least two women out there who are there to support you and guide you.”
With her podcast, Andrea hopes to help people through a tough time in their life with compassion and laughter.
“My favorite part of our podcast is cracking jokes with Morgan, or seeing how long it takes until I can get an eye roll out of her,” she says. “Also, hearing back from listeners about how we’ve helped them. That part will never get old. It makes everything worth it.”
Andrea’s life now looks much different than it did a few years ago, but she’s so much happier now than she was before. Her divorce wasn’t just the end of something, but the beginning of her new life where she can be successful, confident, and loved.
This article was written exclusively for Love What Matters by Anna Steingruber. You can follow Andrea Rappaport on Instagram and listen to her podcast, How Not To Suck At Divorce. Submit your own story here and be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.
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