Unveiling the tales of trailblazing women.
Steph Douglas - Founder and CEO of Don’t Buy Her Flowers - chats frankly with a guest about LIFE and staring down the ‘rush hour’ that many of us feel we’re living in. The day to day overwhelm, juggling careers, relationships and families, parenthood, not looking like a dog’s dinner, the expectations and the big, tough bits that come with being a grown up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Business special: Business, leading and burnout with Alex Depledge, MBE
41:38
41:38
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
41:38
Steph chats with businesswoman Alex Depledge for a Business Special episode of the podcast. Alex is undoubtedly a brilliant entrepreneur, having co-founded, grown and sold first business Hassle.com for €32m, before starting another tech platform – Resi.co.uk – the UK's largest and only nationwide residential architectural platform. Alex’s ‘thing’ i…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
New To Mum Hood? Illiyin Morrison and Sophie McCartney talk us through it
57:51
57:51
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
57:51
Steph speaks with Illiyin Morrison and Sophie McCartney (AKA Tired and Tested) about those early days and months of motherhood, as part of the Lost For Words series. Rather than gloss over it, Sophie and Illy both have careers that centre on being reassuringly honest about motherhood, and in turn offering support to women who may be finding it toug…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Business Special: March Muses founders Alison Burton and Natalie Duvall
37:55
37:55
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
37:55
Each month, the DBHF podcast will speak with founders for a business episode, to find out how they’re doing it. The strapline for Alison Burton and Natalie Duvall’s business March Muses is ‘Celebrating Diversity by Diversifying Celebrations’. It begun from a search for Christmas decorations that represented the black community, and opened up a worl…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Lost for Words; Cancer with Emma Campbell and Leanne Pero
51:29
51:29
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
51:29
Continuing the Lost For Words series, Steph speaks with Leanne Pero and Emma Campbell about Cancer. Both women have been diagnosed with breast cancer – Leanne is in remission and Emma continues with regular treatment after her third diagnosis in 2019. Both women are incredibly honest about their experience, struggles and the mental health impact. S…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Baby Loss: with ‘The Other Mothers’ Caro, Elle and Jen
1:02:54
1:02:54
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:02:54
For the second episode of this Lost For Words series, Steph spoke with podcast hosts The Other Mothers AKA Caro Tasker, Elle Wright and Jen Reid, three women on a mission to talk about Baby Loss, pushing through the discomfort people feel, to better support those going through it. Through their tragic experiences of baby loss, which include stillbi…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Grief: You Are Not Alone with Cariad Lloyd
55:24
55:24
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
55:24
This series of the Don’t Buy Her Flowers podcast is about those events that can leave people Lost For Words, kicking off with Cariad Lloyd talking about grief and death. Cariad is a comedian, actress and writer and the woman behind the award-winning and brilliant podcast Griefcast, where she speaks with guests about their own experience of grief. A…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Sex, Relationships & Motherhood: What have we learned? With Zoe Blaskey
50:32
50:32
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
50:32
Zoe Blaskey from The Motherkind Podcast joins with Steph and the Don’t Buy Her Flowers podcast for this end of year special! Steph and Zoe have each chosen three guests they spoke with on their own podcasts in 2022 to discuss and see what each other took from the guests. The conversation centres around motherhood, identity, relationships and sex. Z…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Bums, Mums and 2022 with Laura Belbin and Victoria Emes
53:34
53:34
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
53:34
Steph chats with Laura Belbin AKA Knee Deep in Life and Victoria Emes, two brilliant comedians who separately have taken social media by storm, leading to hundreds of thousands of followers, books, a stage show and then together, they have created the Podcast ‘No Holes Barred’, where listeners write in with their frankly disgusting stories. Obvious…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Opening and closing a retail business with Beth Huett
28:31
28:31
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
28:31
After studying Design at London College of Fashion, Beth Huett opened her clothes shop Dolly Rock in St Margarets in 2011. Beth talks with Steph about getting started and the challenges of being an independent retailer, Brexit, and the Pandemic. Beth closed her shop after almost ten years at the end of 2020, and tells Steph about how she made the d…
Yvonne Telford is the founder of clothing brand Kemi Telford, which she started in 2017 with £60 and some tote bags. Yvonne tells Steph about her founder story and how the business evolved into what it is now – a highly regarded fashion brand with partnerships with John Lewis and Tate, celebrity fans and featured in Vogue. Yvonne talks with Steph a…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
How to survive in hospitality with James O’Hara
29:03
29:03
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
29:03
Steph spoke with James O’Hara about his life in hospitality as a serial business owner - the challenges, the peaks, managing a team and the lessons James has learned along the way. James also talks about how young people don’t drink like we did in the 90s/00s, Covid’s legacy and how belligerence has helped him as a founder. James’ career in hospita…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
The business of running a charity with Emma Cantrell
28:36
28:36
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
28:36
Emma Cantrell is the CEO of Children’s Charity First Days. Emma explains why she started the charity in 2013 when her two children were very small, initially to redistribute kids’ clothes and toys from people who didn’t need them anymore to those that did. Since then, Emma and her team have added more services including advising families on where t…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Knowing your product with Abi Selby from Spabreaks.com
29:20
29:20
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
29:20
Abi Selby founded Spabreaks.com in 2008, a spa booking service working with more than 700 spa destinations in the UK and a team of 65. Abi’s aim was to make spas accessible to every body as well as spotting the business opportunity of matching customers with vacancies in spas that needed filling. Abi talks with Steph about realising the opportunity…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Navigating your relationship after a baby with Zara Arshad
43:51
43:51
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
43:51
Steph speaks with Psychotherapist Zara Arshad about what is really going on for couples after a baby arrives – the common feelings of anger, disappointment, resentment, loneliness, and feeling underappreciated. From her own experience, Steph found it tough and was also surprised to feel this way as no one had really mentioned it prior to having a b…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Laura Danger – That Darn Chat on saving your relationship
1:06:32
1:06:32
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:06:32
Laura Danger AKA That Darn Chat has amassed a massive 350k+ followers on TikTok and an Instagram account growing by thousands every week, creating videos about the mental load, with the strap line ‘Domestic labour is labour’. The reaction she gets shows that Laura’s is a voice people are wanting to hear from, and as one of Steph’s favourite topics,…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Dating, Double Standards and Demanding More with Aileen Barratt
1:01:57
1:01:57
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:01:57
Aileen Barratt is the woman behind the hugely popular Instagram account Tinder Translators, where she translates the awful bios in dating apps to explain what they really mean. ‘Looking for fun’ means ‘looking for sex’, ‘girls that look after themselves’ means only thin women should apply, and we learn how to spot if a man is, in fact, married. Aft…
Anna Mathur is a Psychotherapist, mum of three and best-selling author of three books all aimed at helping women manage anxiety, self-esteem and calm after having children. With 180k followers on Instagram, Anna’s drive to take therapy out of the therapy room and support more women comes from a trickier experience with her second child, when she co…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Vibrators, the 80s and 'summer bodies' with Natalie Lee
55:47
55:47
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
55:47
Natalie Lee AKA Style Me Sunday talks with Steph about her mission to ‘free’ people from shame when it comes to our bodies, sex and fitting in, and answers some questions from listeners agony-aunt style. Natalie has undergone a lot of change in the last five years, on her view of her body and sexuality as well as ending her marriage. Steph and Nata…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Penis Beakers and PG Tits with Sarah Turner
1:04:42
1:04:42
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:04:42
Steph chats with Sunday Times Bestselling author Sarah Turner AKA The Unmumsy Mum. From launching a blog in 2013 after having her first baby and feeling she’d been missold motherhood, Sarah’s authentic voice has amassed a huge following; currently over 400k on Instagram and over 700K on Facebook. Steph and Sarah met on the ‘blogging scene’ back in …
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Fatherhood and Goat’s Testicles with Matt Coyne
49:27
49:27
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
49:27
Matt Coyne, AKA Man Vs Baby, has made a career writing and talking about being a dad (after a stint as ‘the worst graphic designer in Yorkshire’ among other things), amassing a huge following across social media. As a Stay at Home Dad, Matt shares his insight in to men being praised for showing up, with expectations on women so much tougher, and th…
As part of the Don’t Buy Her Flowers fatherhood series, Steph speaks with food critic and journalist Jimi Famurewa about the role of men in parenting, how fatherhood has changed and the influence of his matriarchal upbringing. Jimi talks about the nostalgia of learning Nigerian cooking with his mum over Zoom during lockdown, the bizarre feeling of …
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Jonathan Kirkby on Surrogacy and being a gay dad
48:10
48:10
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
48:10
Steph speaks with gay dad, husband and business owner Jonathan Kirkby about surrogacy and fatherhood in the lead up to Father’s Day. Jonathan explains the complicated process of surrogacy, discrimination he’s experienced, and what he would like to see change in people's understanding of surrogacy. They also discuss the impact of becoming a dad on J…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
This is How Your Marriage Ends with Matt Fray
50:03
50:03
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
50:03
Steph talks with Matthew Fray, a relationship coach and author of ‘This is How your Marriage Ends: A hopeful approach to saving relationships ’. After his own experience of divorce, and after some soul searching, Matt had a kind of reckoning where he realised that how he had behaved in the marriage – mostly the every day little things that cause th…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Sex in Long Term Relationships with Dr Karen Gurney
1:10:00
1:10:00
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:10:00
Dr Karen Gurney AKA The Sex Doctor is on a mission to help us understand how desire works, particularly in women, because it is NOT the spontaneous desire that we see in the movies. In fact, she says ‘It is normal to never feel like sex, out of the blue, ever, in a long term relationship’. As well as female desire, Steph and Karen discuss how sex c…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Maternal Mental Health with Dr Caroline Boyd
51:31
51:31
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
51:31
During Maternal Mental Health Week, Steph talks with Clinical Psychologist Dr Caroline Boyd about how challenging that first year can be, including feelings of isolation and rage, and feeling disconnected from a partner. They also talk about the Supermum Myth, parenting perfectly and how an expectation of motherhood coming ‘naturally’ impacts hard …
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Let’s talk about dying, with Anna Lyons and Louise Winter
40:01
40:01
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
40:01
As an End of Life Doula and a Funeral Director, Anna Lyons and Louise Winter have more experience of death and dying than most. They talk with Steph about why it is their mission to get people talking more about the inevitable, and share what they’ve learned through their work about life and living. Steph talks with Anna and Louise about why their …
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Kate Lawler on The First Year with a Baby
1:02:36
1:02:36
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:02:36
The Don’t Buy Her Flowers Podcast returns for season three with Kate Lawler - DJ, broadcaster, Big Brother 2002 winner and hugely honest author in her recently published book Maybe Baby. Steph spoke to Kate during what was a crazy week of book promo as well as her partner Boj getting Covid, which meant that as well as being crazy busy, their usual …
Em Smyth went into the Pandemic with no children and is living and breathing the Rush Hour, as less than two years later she has two kids under two and a half. Em is keen to address the misinformation that seems to be rife around adoption, talking Steph through the adoption process (top tip: don’t joke about worrying your kid will become a serial k…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Rosie Ramsey on Sex, skids and being a mum
49:29
49:29
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
49:29
As well as just bagging a National Comedy Award for Best Comedy Podcast and completing a record-breaking arena tour, Rosie Ramsey is about to host a TV show on BBC One with husband Chris, and talks with Steph about her background as an entertainer via Pontins in Somerset, holiday repping in Faliraki and as a radio presenter. Rosie describes the pha…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Annie Macmanus on Change and Redefining Success
50:00
50:00
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
50:00
Steph talks with the artist formally known as Annie Mac about Motherhood, her career and the huge change she made leaving BBC Radio 1 in 2021 after 17 years. As an internationally renowned broadcaster, DJ and events curator, Annie has added Author to her CV with the publication of her debut novel Mother, Mother. Steph and Annie discuss social media…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Loss, grief & finding joy with Sarah Gwonyoma
54:40
54:40
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
54:40
TW: includes discussion about baby loss, death and grief. Sarah Gwonyoma, founder of @WhatSarahReadNext talks honestly about what happens when life throws a lot of grief your way, coping when life is turned upside down, and making big career moves when she stopped to work out what she really wanted. As part of our Motherhood series, Sarah talks wit…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Comedy, babies and new mums with Ellie Taylor
45:37
45:37
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
45:37
Steph chats with Comedian, Actor, Presenter AND Author (phew) Ellie Taylor about her career. She’s come a long way since playing Nancy in Oliver aged 17 and they discuss the terror/joy of Stand Up Comedy and some of Ellie’s recent projects including what it’s like to be in the multi-award winning show Ted Lasso (Emmys! SAG Awards! Golden Globes!) a…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Mothering four boys, disability and ableism with Nina Tame
46:07
46:07
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
46:07
With four sons ranging from early school age to teens, disability activist Nina Tame talks with Steph about family dynamics, introducing a Step-Dad and how her mothering has changed since having her first aged 25. Nina was born with Spina Bifida; she educates her followers and advocates for people with disabilities on her Instagram as well as displ…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
The Fourth Trimester, burnout and the toll kids take on marriage with Dr Kiran Rahim
45:55
45:55
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
45:55
Oof, Dr Kiran Rahim - a paediatrician and mum of three - is here with some cracking truths. Steph asks Kiran about her experience of the fourth trimester, and how it differed after her third baby compared to her first and second, when she finally listened to her mum and focused on looking after herself, letting others look after her and staying in …
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Love in relationships, friendships and as a parent with Natasha Lunn
45:38
45:38
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
45:38
It may be Valentine’s Day, but Natasha Lunn, journalist and author of Conversations on Love, is talking about ALL the different kinds of love. Steph and Natasha talk about romantic relationships and how we might maintain a them once the initial lust has gone and also after having kids (when you might sometimes not be your kindest self…!). They also…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Break ups and Divorce with Samantha Baines
51:15
51:15
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
51:15
After going through her own divorce, comedian, actress and author Samantha Baines started The Divorce Social podcast talking to a different guest each week about their break up experience. Sam and Steph talk about losing yourself in a relationship, and the ‘phases’ after a marriage ends. Sam gives some excellent advice on how to support a friend (a…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Overwhelm, Cancer and Grief with Stacey Heale
58:50
58:50
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
58:50
TW: cancer, death. Steph talks with Stacey Heale four months after her husband Greg died of Bowel Cancer, having been diagnosed five years ago aged 39. Greg was the lead singer of indie band Delays, as well as a phenomenal artist and poet. Stacey, a writer, mother of two, and academic in her ‘previous’ life, shares how seeing your partner diagnosed…
Steph talks with bestselling author, journalist and speaker Helen Russell about how and why so many of us try to bury sadness, and the harm that causes. After eight years of researching happiness, Helen realised that most of us desperately want to avoid sadness, but all the experts have said we can’t, so we need to work out how to be sad, better. H…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
Podcasts, Pregnancy & Poo with Jessie Ware
44:54
44:54
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
44:54
With a critically acclaimed career in music that has been going for more than ten years, a chart-topping podcast, three kids aged five and under and a batch-cooking obsession, Jessie Ware is definitely in the Rush Hour, juggling it all and sometimes questioning whether she’s doing it right. As a self-confessed oversharer, in this episode Jessie tal…
T
The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast


1
New Year, Mental Health and the Pandemic with Dr Emma Svanberg
46:07
46:07
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
46:07
It may well be the New Year, but not everyone is feeling pumped for it. Psychologist Dr Emma Svanberg chats with Steph about New Year resolutions and why they might feel particularly challenging this year after almost two years since the pandemic began. Emma and Steph talk about why some of the last two years is a blur (in particular the homeschool…
Well-being coach Tamu Thomas talks with Steph about toxic productivity and our inability to stop, the enormous energy we put in to keeping going to make us feel safe (including some classic Tamu quotes through the lyrics of Chumbawamba and Bananarama). Tamu recommends a 17 second practice to help slow your body and mind and ‘take in the good’. They…
Ellie Gibson and Helen Thorn, AKA comedy duo The Scummy Mummies talk with Steph during their Christmas tour. They discuss the love story of the Scummy Mummies, and the evolution as their babies have grown up, Fishfingergate of 2017 and competitive mumming. In 2021 Helen got divorced, giving them a whole heap of new material as she familiarised hers…
Ahead of the MADNESS of Christmas and as we feel our stress levels start to rise, Steph chats with Psychotherapist and author Emma Reed Turrell about People Pleasing. Emma explains the four different types of People Pleaser, and they discuss how it can impact friendships, relationships and parenting. Steph also learns it’s not just about being ‘nic…
Steph Douglas founded thoughtful gift company Don’t Buy Her Flowers in 2014. Prior to running the business, Steph worked in Brand and Marketing and then started a blog, writing honestly about motherhood, relationships and trying to be a grown up while never feeling quite like she knew what she was doing. Posts included ‘When New Mums Get Angry’, ‘W…
How Stanford drop-out Caroline Spiegel harnessed her healing from her health struggles to make moves in the multi-billion dollar sex-tech industry by starting Quinn, an audio erotica platform for women. We discuss how Quinn is placing women's pleasure at the center and changing the status quo of the porn industry.…
H
Heads & Tales


1
V: Rebecca Bender & Deshae Wise, CEO of RBI Initiative & NCAA Athlete
36:53
36:53
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
36:53
Mother-daughter duo Rebecca Bender and Deshae Wise share their stories of surviving nearly six years living in human trafficking. Rebecca shares with us her story of surviving human sex trafficking and how her experiences have allowed her to become an advocate, activist, and one of the foremost authorities on human sex trafficking. Rebecca has trai…
Romanian-born supermodel Andreea Diaconu joins us to discuss the realities of modeling in the digital age and the importance of trusting her intuition and allowing her moral compass to guide her to find inner peace.
H
Heads & Tales


1
III: Lida Orzeck, Co-Founder of Hanky Panky
37:34
37:34
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
37:34
From Toothpaste to Panties: How Lida Orzeck’s innate entrepreneurial mindset led her to create “the worlds’ most comfortable thong,” made by women for women. From selling a thong a second to keeping production made in the USA, Hanky Panky’s Lida Orzeck explains how her empire came to be.By Elissa Markowitz and Nina Alhadeff
H
Heads & Tales


1
II: Maggie Holladay, Founder of Claude Home
31:15
31:15
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
31:15
Trend forecasting: Maggie dives into her journey with turning an Instagram page into a business and the process of monetizing Claude Home, which started as a passion project and quickly turned into an interior design sensation. We discuss the Summer of 2020 and how being a part of the uprising of the Black Lives Matter movement in New York City mov…
“The heart of a nonprofit but the head of a business:” Co-founder Ally Svenson explains the success in MOD Pizza’s achievement of conscious capitalism. From a $72 Million acquisition by Starbucks to employing those who need it most at MOD Pizza, we discuss Ally’s 20+ year-long entrepreneurial escapades.…