Why Do We Stay in Relationships That Hurt Us? Heartbreak, Self-Worth & Starting Again | Nikki Allen

Some podcast interviews feel like interviews. This one felt more like a night out. 😂

I genuinely could have spoken to Nikki Allen forever.

Nikki is the author of Loved You, Hated You, but her story goes far beyond the book. She has lived through heartbreak, betrayal, relationships that changed her, and some genuinely crazy experiences along the way. But rather than allowing those experiences to become the end of her story, Nikki has taken them and turned them into something else entirely: a rebirth.

In this episode of AuDHD and Then Some, we talk about losing yourself in relationships, emotional betrayal, starting again, reclaiming your identity, choosing yourself and finding the courage to turn painful experiences into something creative.

We also talk about how Loved You, Hated You began as a song, became a screenplay and eventually found its home as a novel, allowing Nikki to tell emotional truths through fiction.

But this conversation is definitely not all serious.

Nikki is hilarious, candid, down to earth and completely herself. We laughed, we went off on tangents, and at times I genuinely forgot we were recording a podcast at all.

What struck me most about Nikki is that she hasn’t allowed the difficult chapters of her life to define the rest of the book. She keeps reinventing herself, keeps creating, keeps getting back up and, quite frankly, keeps going and going and going.

And she’s amazing.

This is a conversation about heartbreak, relationships, emotional healing, self-love, identity, resilience, personal growth, women rebuilding their lives and what can happen when the ending you never wanted becomes the beginning of something completely different.

Nikki, I wish you every bit of luck and success with Loved You, Hated You and everything that comes next.

Here’s to the next 27 years. ❤️