'I had to parent a newborn all on my own' with Michelle Battersby
4/29/202656 min
Hello! We’re back with our monthly Life Lessons episode, and this time we’re joined by Michelle Battersby. Michelle is a business leader, President at Peanut, previous co-founder of Sunroom, and mum to two boys, Bobby and Alfie. In this conversation, Michelle opens up about the raw reality of early motherhood, including how isolating it felt being on the other side of the world without her support system. She speaks candidly about the unexpected feelings of regret she experienced with her first son, and how she’s navigated the ongoing juggle between career ambition and raising a family. We also dive into tall poppy syndrome and why Michelle believes in never choosing the safe option when it comes to your career. Finally, we touch on what it means for Michelle to be back in Australia this Mother’s Day, partnering with THE ICONIC, a full-circle moment that reflects both her personal journey and the season of life she’s in now. This interview touches on experiences of post-partum depression. If any of the themes in this episode raised any concerns for you, support is available at BeyondBlue.org.au. Thank you so much to Pandora for supporting this episode of Inherited. Sometimes, the most meaningful gifts are the ones we buy ourselves. Find a gift in-store or online at Pandora. And a shoutout to Moonpig. Every Mum deserves a Moonpig card! Our Inherited listeners get 50% off all cards. Just head to moonpig.com and use code SHAMELESS50. Your host today was Ruby Hall (@rubytuesday2.0), and the guest was Michelle Battersby (@michellebattersby). Inherited is produced by Monica Vantilburg and executive-produced by Lucy Hunt. If you enjoyed this episode, click ‘follow’ on your favourite podcast app! We’re also on Instagram and TikTok @inheritedthepod. We’ll be back with another episode next Tuesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsRuby Hall· Host0:00
This episode of Inherited is brought to you by Pandora. Celebrate yourself with jewelry that tells your story. [gentle music] Michelle Battersby, welcome to Inherited Life Lessons.
Michelle Battersby· Guest0:15
Thank you for having me.
Ruby Hall· Host0:16
Thanks for coming on. You've been in Australia for about a week now. How does it feel being back?
Michelle Battersby· Guest0:20
Ooh, it's the first time I've been back, and I'm finding it hard to justify why I live in LA.
Ruby Hall· Host0:29
Re- yeah So, it's the first time I've come back, and I'm thinking, "All right, I, I feel like I need to put a timeline on this now," and I wanna get my little kids back here to experience the lifestyle.
Michelle Battersby· Guest0:39
So yeah, it's great, but it's also conflicting.
Ruby Hall· Host0:43
[laughs] How long have you been in LA for?
Michelle Battersby· Guest0:44
Five years.
Ruby Hall· Host0:45
Five years?
Michelle Battersby· Guest0:46
Yeah, which is- That, yeah, that's a really good stint ... quite long.
Ruby Hall· Host0:49
Yeah.
Michelle Battersby· Guest0:50
And I'm, whenever, when I moved over there, I remember saying to myself, "I'll be there for seven years." It was just- Mm-hmm ... this number in my head.
Ruby Hall· Host0:57
Yeah.
Michelle Battersby· Guest0:58
I think it's because I felt like I would have kids over there, and then I would wanna bring them back to Australia for school, and so for some reason, I just manufactured this seven-year number. So maybe my prediction will end up being, being right, but I do feel like I moved for career.
Ruby Hall· Host1:15
Yeah.
Michelle Battersby· Guest1:16
Having little kids at the moment, I do feel like I can kinda continue to prioritize career, and they can come with me. I think that'll become a little bit harder as they get older, so I'm- Yeah ... just gonna keep winging it for now and see what happens.