I've been wanting to get Hannah Combs on the show for a while now, and I'm so glad we finally made it happen. Hannah and I actually go way back to Romania in 2020, so sitting down with her felt less like an interview and more like catching up with a friend I haven't seen in far too long. And she did not hold back in this one!

From multiple miscarriages to two full rounds of IVF, Hannah shares the emotional and physical reality of fertility struggles with a honesty and warmth that I know is going to resonate with so many of you.

What strikes me most about Hannah's story is how much the hockey lifestyle shaped every decision along the way, from choosing to do IVF at home rather than overseas, to finally planting roots in their St. Louis hometown after 15+ years of chasing contracts across North America and Europe. Jack's now in his fourth season as assistant coach at Lindenwood University, and Hannah recently launched her own esthetics business, Hannah Combs Beauty, a dream that survived years of spray tan machines in hockey bags and makeup gigs squeezed between moves.

With three kids, a business she built from scratch and a husband she's watched go from player to coach, Hannah reflects on what it means to finally have a life she doesn't have to pack up, and why she still misses the chaos a little bit anyway!

Did something in this conversation I had with Hannah resonate with you? We'd love to hear about it, so let us know over on Instagram, @wereinonepod, and we'll see you back soon for another hard-hitting episode!

Just some of the highlights you'll hear:

• How Jack built his 15-year career across the ECHL, AHL, DEL, DEL2, VHL, Allsvenska and Swiss leagues before retiring in 2023 and moving into coaching

• Why Hannah chose to stay home for fertility treatment rather than follow Jack to Europe, and what that year of long distance actually looked like

• The way multiple miscarriages led them to pursue IVF, and what the process looked like the first time around

• How Hannah's third IVF cycle to conceive Cutter pushed her body and emotions to their limit

• A way to think about IVF when the numbers feel overwhelming, and why she says the best thing you can do is stop focusing on them

• Why Hannah became more vocal about her fertility journey the second time around, and how she's helped other women navigate the process

• What happened to pull Jack away from a near-done deal to play with his brother in Glasgow and into his coaching role at Lindenwood University

• Hannah's story of building her own business from a quiet side hustle into her own esthetics suite, one hockey city at a time

• Why she says the hockey lifestyle never really leaves you, even when you're finally home for good

LINKS:

Hannah's Website & Instagram

Jack's Hockey Profile & Coach's Page (Lindenwood University Athletics)