The Anything Goes Podcast

The Woman Who Made Me: Mum & I chatting DV, Motherhood & Reinventing Yourself at Any Age

This week I got to not only interview a woman I’ve admired my entire life: my mum, it was also my FAVOURITE interview I have had the privilege to do.

She turns 70 this year and has lived more life than most people could dream of or survive, and she’s only just getting started.

We covered everything: From her own domestic violence stories, to divorce (twice over), religion, motherhood, step-parenting a man 20 years older (my dad), having five kids (including me - lol), going back to university in her 50’s, buying her first home after 50 (and paying it off), and why “I’m too old” is the biggest lie women tell themselves.

My mum is equal parts earth angel and rebel, a soft heart with steel bones and the woman who taught me what it means to leave, rebuild, reinvent, and refuse to die small.

If you’re a woman who’s been through some shit, or a woman who secretly worries you’ve missed your moment, this episode is a permission slip.

FIND ME ON SOCIALS: 

Me: @thereal_annarose

This Podcast: @anythinggoespodcast_

TAW Collective: @taw_collective

Self-Love School: @selflove_school

The Dream Haus: @thedreamhaus_studio
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If you love what you get from me for free every week on this podcast, imagine what’s possible inside my monthly mentorship. My Inner Circle is where women work with me more intimately, to grow, to heal, to build, to become - and it’s only $47/month.

See you on the inside! https://annarose.co/myinnercircle 

Nothing Left Unsaid: Our vulnerable pre-IVF therapy session.

Trying to conceive isn’t just a physical journey, it’s emotional, relational, and spiritual. Before our first IVF cycle, we sat down with our fertility coach Dee Zibara to make sure nothing was left unspoken.

Ryan takes the lead in this session (which I loved), and we unpack fears, identity shifts, expectations, communication, and how to create a safe foundation for a future child.

If you’re preparing for IVF, thinking about TTC, or simply curious about what it takes to intentionally become parents, this episode is a powerful listen.

This wasn’t about medical timelines or protocols, it was about us. About becoming parents. About what we’re carrying, what we’re afraid of, and what we’re ready for. And it was the most important conversation we’ve had before welcoming a baby into our world.

If you’re TTC, doing IVF, or just thinking about parenthood someday, this episode might surprise you. It definitely surprised us.

Dump the Job, the Boyfriend & the Mask: The brutal truth about what you’re tolerating in 2026.

Welcome to 2026 loves! It's good to be BACK!

In this solo episode with yours truly, we kick off with a spicy bang, but this is NOT another “new year, new me” pep-talk, it’s a full-blown energetic hard-reset.

In this raw solo episode I drop the 5 questions that torched every remaining tolerance, performance mask and outdated goal still draining my life-force after the brutal 2020-2025 nine-year cycle.

With starting the biggest year of my life this year in 2026 (including turning 38 and being weeks from our first IVF cycle), I share why I'm deleting the word “goal” from my vocabulary and replacing it with non-negotiable STANDARDS for health, love, money, time and freedom.

Expect spicy truths on: quitting the job you dread, dumping the boyfriend you keep “working on,” deleting the good-girl syndrome, and defining freedom on your terms, before the world decides for you.

Hit play, grab a journal, and finish the episode knowing exactly what you’re no longer available for in 2026.

9 Critical Questions Every Couple Should Answer Before Having a Baby - With Ryan

This episode is raw, unscripted, wildly honest and one of the most important conversations Anna has ever recorded.

In this deeply intimate follow-on episode, Anna puts her partner Ryan on the spot with 9 revealing questions every woman should ask her partner before having a baby - especially about postpartum support, emotional safety, boundaries, intimacy, and mental health.

Ryan hasn’t seen the questions. There’s no prep. No polish. Just real answers about what it actually looks like to support a woman through birth, postpartum recovery, and the identity shift of becoming parents.

This is not about parenting styles.
This is about how a woman is held after birth.

 

WHAT THIS EPISODE IS REALLY ABOUT

Most couples talk about how they’ll raise a child.
Very few talk about how the woman will be cared for while she heals.

This episode opens the conversations many women wish they’d had before pregnancy and when they still had choices.

Together, Anna and Ryan explore:

• Postpartum recovery (physically, emotionally, hormonally)
• How relationships change after a baby and how to protect connection
• Why communication matters more than ever
• The difference between “helping” and actually holding
• Boundaries, visitors, and protecting the postpartum bubble
• Baby blues vs postpartum depression (and what to look for)
• Masculine leadership, emotional safety, and shared responsibility
• Why women aren’t “too much” - they’re just tired, touched out, and asking for help

This conversation is vulnerable, funny, confronting, and deeply grounding.

 

THE 9 QUESTIONS COVERED

These are the questions Anna believes every woman should ask her partner before having a baby:

1. What do you think my role is in the first weeks after birth and what do you see yours being?
2. What kind of dad do you want to be now, and what kind of partner do you want to be to me once the baby is here?
3. How will you care for me while I’m healing - not just physically, but emotionally?
4. How do you feel about co-sleeping and breastfeeding?
5. How will we protect our relationship and intimacy when everything revolves around the baby?
6. When I say I’m struggling, what does support from you actually look like?
7. Do you know the difference between baby blues and postpartum depression?
8. How will we handle visitors, boundaries, and overwhelm in the early weeks?
9. Are you willing to learn, together, about postpartum healing and matrescence?

These questions change everything.

 

WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR

• Women considering motherhood
• Couples thinking about having a baby
• Partners who want to support better (but don’t know how)
• Mothers who wish these conversations had happened earlier
• Anyone who believes women deserve to be held, not just expected to cope

 

FINAL NOTE FROM ANNA

This conversation isn’t about doing it “right.”
It’s about being honest enough to ask the questions that change your future.

If you’re a woman listening - save this episode.
If you’re a partner - listen without defensiveness.
If you’re already a parent - you’re not late… you’re just learning.

 

LOVED THIS EPISODE?

• Follow Anything Goes on Instagram - @anythinggoespodcast__
• Share it with a woman who needs it
• Leave a review - it helps this podcast reach more people
• Follow or subscribe so new episodes land straight on your phone

Want deeper conversations and live coaching?
✨ Join Anna’s Inner Circle 

 

Your Urgent Warning for 2026 (Astrological Forecast Ahead) with Luke Balcke

Today’s episode is the one you’ve been feeling in your bones.

I brought astrologer Luke Balcke back into the studio, my personal astrologer of three years - because what is happening in 2026 is unlike anything we’ve lived through in our lifetime.

Luke doesn’t deal in fluff.
He deals in cycles, history, patterns, and the cosmic “clock” that has predicted every major shift we’ve seen across cultures, governments, economies, and consciousness.

And the message is clear:

A once-in-forever astrological event is coming.
A collapse of old systems.
A collective awakening.
A reset of how we live, lead, earn, trust and move through the world.

This episode is not fear-based.
It’s awareness.
It’s preparation.
It’s perspective.
It’s the reminder that you were born for this moment in history.

Together we unpack:

• What the Saturn–Neptune conjunction at 0° Aries actually is

• Why this point is literally called “The World Point” in astrology

• What historical events have happened under this same conjunction

• Why 2025 was “the trailer,” and 2026 is “the movie”

• The potential collapse of financial, political, religious and health systems

• How to prepare yourself and your family without spiralling into fear

• Why so many people are turning to religion and why others are waking up

• How to stay sovereign, centred and grounded in uncertainty

• And why your soul chose to be here, now, for this exact timeline

This episode is big.
It’s bold.
It’s paradigm-shifting.
And it might just be the most important conversation you listen to before 2026 arrives.

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What We Cover

• Why astrology is not “predictive magic” - it’s the language of cycles

• How religion demonised astrology to keep power

• The transition from the Age of Pisces (belief) to the Age of Aquarius (knowing)

• Why the 2026 Saturn–Neptune conjunction is unprecedented in human history

• The Berlin Wall, civil rights, world wars and their astrological signatures

• What February–March 2026 is likely to trigger globally

• Economic bubbles, AI, currency collapse, political upheaval

• How to prepare without panic: food, cash flow, community, consciousness

• Why 2008–2023 babies (Pluto in Capricorn kids) are the rebuilders of society

• Why fear is useless, and personal leadership is everything

Previous Episode

Youtube: How astrology is a fundamental blueprint of your life with Luke Balcke

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Connect with Luke

YouTube: Luke Balcke - Astro Awakening

Website: lukebalcke.com

Instagram: @lukebalcke

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Connect with Anna

Instagram: @thereal_annarose
Podcast: @anythinggoespodcast__
Inner Circle: Monthly mastermind & live coaching — $47/month

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If this episode expanded you…

Please leave a review, share to your Instagram stories, or send it to a friend who you know is ready to awaken.

This is the kind of conversation that ripples.

The Court System, Coercive Control & Why Women Don’t Report — with Michelle Faye

In this follow-up to one of the most powerful episodes of Anything Goes, Anna welcomes back domestic violence advocate Michelle Faye for another raw and unfiltered conversation that every woman needs to hear.

This time, they go deep into the court system, systems abuse, coercive control, and the real reasons so many women don’t report. Anna opens up about her own court experience - from safe rooms and police prosecutors to the moment her perpetrator’s lawyer finally said, “It’s over.”

Together, Anna and Michelle pull back the curtain on what happens after you leave - the legal trauma, the “invisible prison,” the shame, and the strength it takes to keep going.

Trigger warning: this episode contains discussion of domestic violence, coercive control, physical assault, and trauma.

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💬 What You’ll Hear

• Why the court system can be another form of abuse

• How perpetrators manipulate hearings, delays, and legal loopholes

• What actually happens when you apply for a protection order

• The difference between police vs. private DV applications

• What “systems abuse” really means

• The truth about coercive control and how to identify it

• Why women don’t “just leave” (and why asking that question can hurt)

• Real stories of survival, safety planning, and reclaiming power

• How to support a friend in a DV relationship - safely and without judgment

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This episode discusses domestic violence, physical and emotional abuse, and suicidal thoughts.
If you or someone you know needs support in Australia, please contact:

• 1800 RESPECT (24-hour confidential counselling) 1800 737 732

• Lifeline 13 11 14

• DVConnect Womensline 1800 811 811
  If you’re outside Australia, visit findahelpline.com for international resources.

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💫 Connect

• Guest: michellefaye.com.au | Michelle Faye Instagram

• Host: Anna Rose | anythinggoespodcast__

• Join Anna’s Inner Circle: Monthly live coaching & community ($47 AUD)

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🧠 Episode Themes

Domestic violence advocacy • Systems abuse • Coercive control • Empowerment • Survivor psychology • Trauma healing • Justice reform

Domestic Violence, Survival & The Window to Leave – with Michelle Faye

This week Anna sits down with domestic-violence advocate Michelle Faye for one of the most vulnerable conversations she’s ever recorded. They speak openly about coercive control, survival psychology, and the “window” where women can finally leave. Together they unpack guilt, trauma bonding, and healing after abuse - so that no woman feels alone or ashamed for what she endured.
Trigger warning: discussion of domestic violence, physical abuse, and suicidal thoughts.

Together they unpack:

• What coercive control actually looks like (when it’s not physical yet)

• How abuse slowly erodes autonomy through “a thousand paper cuts”

• Why women can’t “just leave” until they physically and psychologically can

• How trauma bonding and love-bombing create the illusion of safety

• The systemic failures that keep women in danger – and what must change

Anna also shares, for the first time in full, her own story of survival and escape - how she planned her exit, the moment she thought she would die, and the truth about what it takes to leave a narcissistic and violent partner. This conversation is raw, confronting, and deeply validating for any woman who has ever asked herself, “Why didn’t I just leave?”

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⚖️ CONTENT NOTE & SUPPORT

This episode discusses domestic violence, physical and emotional abuse, and suicidal thoughts.
If you or someone you know needs support in Australia, please contact:

• 1800 RESPECT (24-hour confidential counselling) 1800 737 732

• Lifeline 13 11 14

• DVConnect Womensline 1800 811 811
  If you’re outside Australia, visit findahelpline.com for international resources.

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💫 CONNECT

• Guest: michellefaye.com.au | Michelle Faye Instagram

• Host: Anna Rose | anythinggoespodcast__

• Join Anna’s Inner Circle: Monthly live coaching & community ($47 AUD)

 

Behind Closed Doors: The Reality of Our IVF Journey

We promised you the real talk, and here it is. In this heart-on-sleeve update, Anna and Ryan walk through their February IVF start date, why they moved it from January, and the exact day-by-day protocol (hello, three shots in the morning). They unpack the emotional whiplash of being “pregnant until proven otherwise,” why they’re doing a fresh transfer (no genetic testing), and the surprisingly heavy consent decisions (what happens to embryos, and what if one partner passes).

They also share the ‘why’ behind going public: community, transparency, and refusing to gaslight their audience for three months while silently waiting. If you or a friend are IVF-curious (or supporting someone who is), this is the episode to save.

What we cover

• Why January didn’t align (retreat energy vs. implantation)

• The full IVF timeline: period day 1 → scans → stim injections → trigger → retrieval → day-5 fresh transfer → HCG test

• Choosing quality over quantity (AMH, follicle growth, embryo grading)

• The consent-form realities nobody talks about

• Sharing publicly: boundaries, privacy, community support

• How we’re designing February for rest, ritual, and regulation

Gentle disclaimers

This episode reflects our personal experience and choices. It is not medical advice. Please speak to your clinician for your unique situation. Content includes fertility procedures, needles, and mention of a chemical pregnancy.

• Share this episode with a friend who’s IVF-curious or supporting someone in treatment.

• Leave a review if this conversation helped you feel less alone — it genuinely helps the pod reach more women.

• Join Inner Circle for monthly live coaching with Anna (AUD $47): deeper conversations, more support.

• Follow Anna on IG (account currently private) to follow the February journey in real time.

Pick ONE Asset & Go All-In. The #1 Investing Lesson No One Tells You!

Fresh from a whirlwind week (and minutes before going live to 1,200+ for her masterclass), Anna drops a solo episode distilling the real lesson from her Asset Class Series. After interviewing heavy hitters across property, shares, Bitcoin/crypto, Dubai real estate, and fractional hotel ownership, one truth stood out: it matters less which asset you choose and more that you choose one that aligns with your values - and then back it with conviction.

Anna unpacks:

• Why smart, credible experts can totally disagree - and all be “right” in their lane.

• How to stay grounded when opinions are loud, numbers are noisy, and inflation is real.

• The mindset shift that turns confusion into strategy: know, trust, back, and love your asset.

• Why she personally leans into shares (incl. micro-investing) + Bitcoin, and why your answer might be different (and that’s okay).

This is your sign to ditch paralysis, pick your lane, and start compounding.

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Key Takeaways

• Conviction over consensus: Every expert can dismantle another asset class. Your job is to pick the one that aligns with your values, risk tolerance, and goals.

• Beat inflation or get eaten by it: Cash at 2% won’t outpace a real-world ~10% squeeze you feel at the checkout. Investing is no longer optional.

• Depth before breadth: Nail one asset class first. Then diversify within it or add a second.

• Self-leadership = portfolio leadership: Know yourself AND know your asset. Trust yourself AND back your asset.

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Resources & Links

• 🎓 Anna’s Masterclass: Find the replay/details on the website (check “Masterclasses”).

• 💬 Inner Circle — Monthly mastermind with live coaching: $47/month.

• 🎧 Past episodes in the Asset Class Series — browse recent episodes for deep dives.

Disclaimer: Nothing in this episode is financial advice. It’s education + personal experience. Do your own research and make decisions aligned with your situation.

Blockchain Freedom with Tony Swantek

This week, Anna sits down with Tony Swantek - a self-made entrepreneur, blockchain pioneer, and the visionary behind R-Link, the blockchain-powered video conferencing platform set to rival Zoom.

In this conversation, they dive deep into the future of decentralisation, digital sovereignty, and how blockchain is rewriting the rules for how we connect, work, and build wealth.

Tony shares his story of building billion-dollar companies, meeting the creators of Gala Games, and discovering how blockchain could bank the unbankable and return power to everyday people. Together, Anna and Tony unpack the R-Link ecosystem - how users can own the platforms they use, get rewarded with tokens, and become early pioneers in a new Web3 economy.

This episode is equal parts visionary and practical - perfect for anyone curious about where the internet is heading, how decentralisation changes business forever, and how to start taking part in the new digital revolution.

“Blockchain isn’t just a buzzword — it’s the next evolution of ownership, reward, and freedom.” - Tony Swantek

“Everything’s a risk - but so is dating a dickhead. I’d rather take mine on the blockchain.” - Anna Rose

 

💡 What You’ll Learn

• The real difference between crypto and blockchain (and why it matters).
• How Tony built billion-dollar companies before entering the Web3 space.
• Why blockchain will bank the unbankable and make financial freedom global.
• The philosophy of decentralisation and why sovereignty is the future.
• How R-Link was born, what it does, and how it’s disrupting platforms like Zoom.
• How users can own nodes, earn tokens, and be part of the network infrastructure.
• Why Tony believes Web2 companies will disappear if they don’t evolve.
• How everyday people can participate in this new economy - even without tech skills.
  
  

 

🔗 Resources Mentioned

• R-Link - Decentralised video conferencing built on blockchain
• Connect United Ecosystem - Infrastructure supporting R-Link, Grow, and Galvan projects
• Nodes - How to buy, own, and earn from supporting the network - https://web.connectunited.com/video/r-link-ground-level?r=092882&p=m11m1t9s97crr62w77&sid=5
  
  

👥 Connect

• Guest: Tony Swantek
• Host: Anna Rose - @thereal_annarose
• Podcast: @anythinggoespodcast__

⚠️ Disclaimer

This conversation is for educational purposes only and not financial advice. Always do your own research before investing.