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)

I have quite the episode for you today! You'll meet Michelle Bernsdorf Jensen, a French-speaking Canadian from Ottawa who is now raising three multilingual babies in Germany while building her own business (and somehow making it all look effortless)! Michelle is the wife of Nicholas Bernsdorf Jensen, a 13-year professional hockey player from Denmark, and their story is one of the most fascinating and layered ones I have had the pleasure of hearing on this podcast.

We talk about what it really looks like to raise three kids in four languages, how Michelle dealt with postpartum depression while her husband was off living his hockey dream, the career she put on hold and is now building back on her own terms, and why after 13 years in Europe she has absolutely zero plans to move back to Canada.

This one had me laughing, nodding, tearing up and genuinely in awe from start to finish. Michelle, thank you so much for joining me to do this!

Did something in this conversation I had with Michelle 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:

• The story of how Michelle spotted the new Scandinavian guy on the roster at Plattsburgh, introduced herself on the spot and never looked back

• What her dad said the moment he found out she was following a Danish man to Europe and why her mom already knew it was coming

• The two things nobody warns you about in year one when your husband plays in Denmark

• How Michelle navigated postpartum depression while raising babies abroad without family nearby, and the honest conversation that had to happen

• The four language household that leaves dinner guests completely confused, and the three year old who somehow speaks all four fluently

• Why buying a house in Bremerhaven was the best decision they ever made and how Michelle turned it into exactly the home she wanted

• The brilliant idea that became her business, Be All In, and why the hockey rink was the perfect place to launch it

• What she says to people who think the hockey wife life is all "travel and glamour"

• Why Michelle says she has zero interest in her husband becoming a coach when he retires from playing professionally

• The Danish Christmas tradition she has fully embraced and the one Canadian tradition she absolutely refused to give up
  
  

LINKS:

Michelle's Instagram

Nicholas' Hockey Profile

Today I am sitting down with Madison Gildon (Gil-DON, not Gil-DAN), which was apparently a whole thing at her wedding and I love that for her! Madison is the wife of professional hockey player Max Gildon, and her story is one of the most unique and fun ones I have had the pleasure of hearing on this podcast so far.

As you'll get to hear, before she was a hockey wife living across Europe, Madison spent 7 years as a flight attendant with American Airlines, living in New York City, Charlotte, and Dallas and flying to some of the most beautiful cities in the world. So when Max signed his first contract overseas and said 'hey, I'm moving to Germany', Madison was perhaps the one person on the planet who was already perfectly groomed for exactly this kind of life. She just didn't know it yet!

Today she shares what it really looks like to build a career and an identity for yourself in this lifestyle as a hockey partner living across the pond in Europe.

Madison is warm, funny, thoughtful, and genuinely one of those people who just figures it out, and I just know you are going to love her too!

Did something in this conversation I had with Madison 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 a flight attendant from Oklahoma ends up living on a vineyard in the Italian Dolomites, and why Madison's background actually made her more prepared for this life than most

• The summer they fell in love, the phone call that changed everything, and how she and Max built something real from a relationship that barely had time to start

• What it was like to work two weeks on and two weeks in Germany just to stay close to him during that first season

• How Madison finished her university degree online from Slovakia while Max's team went on to win the championship that year

• What planning an entire wedding from Europe looked like and how Madison's "Say Yes to the Dress" moment was different than she imagined it would be, but was still special

• Why she thinks people romanticize the hockey wife life, and what holding it down at home actually looks like day to day

• The culture shock that nobody warned Madison about and that has now become one of her favorite parts of living in Europe

• Her advice for any girl in this lifestyle who is struggling to find her footing, plus why building community is the thing she considers non-negotiable

• The new full time remote job she just landed that actually lets her work flex hours so she never has to miss a game
  
  

LINKS:

Madison's Instagram

Max's Hockey Profile