Kintsugi Heroes
Romina Lee · 44 min
For eleven years Romina silently endured a marriage that exploited her disempowerment — and her raw, courageous account of how she finally chose herself is a masterclass in what radical self-love can unlock.
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For eleven years, Romina lived a double life. On the surface, she was a devoted wife and mother in what looked like a stable family. But inside, she was disembodied and silent about a reality that violated everything she believed about herself: her husband had introduced the idea of webcam sex with other people early in their marriage, and she had agreed, despite her gut telling her no. She carried this secret alone, unable to tell her sister, her mother, her closest friends. In time, she met someone online, fell in love, and left her husband in 2017. But that relationship became toxic and collapsed when her partner returned to Egypt during COVID. Depressed and at one point suicidal, Romina hit bottom.
The turning point came quietly. In the last 12 to 18 months, she wrote a program on embodiment and shadow work for other women. In teaching it, she began to forgive herself. She worked with mentors and coaches who showed her a crucial shift: she could stop seeing herself as a victim and step into her own authority as the creator of her life. She realised she had spent over twenty years not loving herself, giving away pieces of who she was to keep others happy. That realisation broke something open.
Now Romina defines herself not by what happened to her or what she did, but by the woman she is becoming: someone learning to love herself deeply and helping other women do the same. Her message to anyone in a similar place is simple. Stop. Take a breath. Ask yourself honestly: is this serving me? Is this who I am? Then trust that intuition, even if others call you woo-woo or weird. You will be okay.
⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses domestic & family violence and suicide & self-harm prevention, which some listeners may find distressing.
If you need support, you're not alone. Help is available: • 1800RESPECT (family, domestic & sexual violence): 1800 737 732 · 1800respect.org.au • Lifeline (24/7 crisis support): 13 11 14 · lifeline.org.au
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Kintsugi Heroes · Registered Australian not-for-profit · kintsugiheroes.com.au ↗