The Femme Cast
Welcome to The Femme Cast—the podcast for women who are truly ready to break free from toxic relationship cycles, choose themselves, and become a magnet for the love they deserve.
I’m Maria — Master Energy Healer, Radical Self-Love Leader, and Relationship Mentor.
I work with the women who are cycle breakers, grid shakers, and truth layers — the brave souls who came here to dismantle the inherited beliefs that told them they had to chase love, prove their worth, and beg to be chosen.
I help them break free from the karmic cycles and generational patterns that keep them stuck in toxic relationships and self-abandonment — so they can unapologetically choose themselves, reclaim their inherent worth, and become magnetic to soul-aligned love, expansive opportunities, and the liberated life they were born to lead.
Without ever shrinking, settling, or self-abandoning again.
I’ve been where you are, stuck in cycles of chasing love, begging to be chosen, and abandoning myself again and again in the name of love. But I turned my pain into purpose, and now I’m here to help you do the same.
Each week, I share personal stories, actionable insights, and a blend of spiritual and practical tools to help you heal from past wounds, reclaim your self-worth, and rewrite your love story. You’ll hear everything from vulnerable truths about my own journey to breaking toxic patterns to empowering lessons that will guide you toward creating the healthy, loving relationships you crave.
Join me as we say goodbye to self-abandonment, people-pleasing, and unhealthy dynamics, and hello to radical self-love, emotional freedom, and true empowerment.
It’s time to reclaim the version of you who never had to beg to be chosen.
You ready?
Let’s do this.
The Femme Cast
Betrayal Healing & Post-Breakup Glow Up | How I Healed After Betrayal and Turned Pain Into Power (Post-Scandoval Edition)
When infidelity shattered my world, I thought I had hit rock bottom. Actually, it was worse than that. It was like Rachel Green said on Friends, “but today, it’s like there’s rock bottom, 50 feet of crap, then me!”
I was consumed by shame, rage, and the crushing belief that I wasn’t enough. What I didn’t know then was that this devastation was actually preparing me for a powerful post-betrayal transformation I couldn’t have imagined.
Because here’s the truth: betrayal is often the wake-up call we never wanted but deeply needed. It exposes the ways we’ve been betraying ourselves, forces us to reevaluate our lives, and cracks us wide open for betrayal healing and self-discovery.
In this raw and empowering episode of The Femme Cast, I share how moving through betrayal led me to a complete heartbreak recovery—from someone who couldn’t even eat dinner alone to a woman who traveled solo through Southeast Asia, started a successful coaching business, and created a top 10% podcast.
We’ll explore:
🎤 Why betrayal often happens when we’ve abandoned our own truth
🎤How to heal after betrayal by reconnecting with the passions you left behind
🎤The affirmation that expanded my vision beyond what I thought was possible
🎤Why Ariana Madix’s Scandoval story is the ultimate “post-breakup glow up” and what it teaches us about turning pain into power
This episode isn’t about glorifying betrayal—it’s about transmuting it. It’s about realizing that the pain you’re going through may actually be preparing you for something extraordinary: a new chapter filled with freedom, radiance, and possibilities you never dared to dream of.
If you’re standing in the ashes of heartbreak, let this be your reminder: you are not broken—you are being rebuilt. The universe is about to show you how good it can get.
Are you ready to follow the gold crumbs?
Are you healing from cheating? Betrayal? A heartbreak that not only broke your heart but broke your life?
If so, join me for She Rises: A FREE & LIVE 90-minute healing and activation experience for the woman ready to alchemize the pain of lies, betrayal, and being cheated on into unapologetic power, radiant confidence, and the woman she was always meant to be.
Betrayal doesn’t get the final word — you do.
https://thefemmecast.kit.com/masterclass
Hey guys, what is up? And welcome back to the show. I am so excited and grateful that you guys are here. Welcome if you're new.
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:Today we're going back to betrayal and talking about, for me, the transformation that being cheated on and healing from cheating was really preparing me for that, I can honestly tell you, I did not see coming and I would not have even an ounce of an inkling, a clue of what was coming for years to come, like it was just so far beyond anything I could have ever imagined or ever thought was possible. And that's one of the affirmations that I shared on a recent post. You know it's become one of my mantras as I move through difficult times, because oftentimes, when we're moving through challenging situations and challenging experiences and painful experiences, oftentimes we don't see where it's leading and oftentimes we can't see how things are going to work out, like it seems impossible that things could work out. And this is coming from somebody who has suffered, you know, betrayal, loss of home, financial collapses. You know relationship breakdowns, you know marital breakdown, divorce, like you know. You name it. I've been through it right, and so the one belief that has gotten me through all of it is everything is working out so much better than I can even think is possible. That is even like it goes back to what's even like within my realm of possibility, you know, because sometimes what we think is possible is so finite and limited, right. And when we can start to think that you know, because sometimes what we think is possible is so finite and limited, right. And when we can start to think that you know everything can work out beyond what we think might be possible, right, we open ourselves up to a whole lot more.
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:So, going through this experience and going through the betrayal in my relationship when I did, and having it be as painful as it was, you know it was preparing me for something that I did not see coming that if you had told me in that time what I was going to accomplish afterward I would have said you're fucking crazy, like you're fucked, like. No, that's not me. I don't do these things. I don't go to movie theaters by myself. I ain't going to I'm. I am not going to go bum around Southeast Asia by myself for six months. That is just not happening. You know, I am not starting a business Like you know, like I'm not. I'm not speaking publicly on a podcast, are you crazy? I top 10% podcast. I don't fucking think so. You know so many things, so many things that happened as a result of going through that betrayal. That would not have happened had I not gone through that.
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:And that's really what I want to open your eyes to, because I know it doesn't feel like it when you're in it and I know it doesn't feel like it after you've just gone through it and I know it feels like you're standing at, like you're like, like Rachel said in Friends I can't remember exactly her, the words that she used. It was like well, here there's rock bottom and then 50 feet of crap and then me Right, that's kind of what you know. Moving through betrayal felt like for me, you know, is there's a rock bottom, 50 feet of crap, and then somewhere underneath all that crap is you, you know. Moving through betrayal felt like for me, you know, is there's a rock bottom, 50 feet of crap, and then somewhere underneath all that crap is you, you know, was me. It feels awful and you have. There's not an ounce of you that believes that this is happening for your highest good right. Not an ounce. In fact, it's the furthest thing from your mind. You probably feel like you're being punished, you probably feel like you suck and you're a failure and you couldn't keep your partner interested in you enough and he had to go someplace else to get his rocks off. And there's so many things that go through your head, so many fucking things, and all of them, all of them, are so painful and hurtful to you. All of them, and they're all lies. All of them are lies.
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:So what I wanted to start with today, you know how. You know, going through this experience was literally what catapulted me into this whole other version of my life, a version of my life that not only did I not see coming, I couldn't have planned for, I didn't even think was a possibility, it was outside of my realm of possibilities. Okay, and I think that you know, again, going back to what I talked about in the last episode, cultivating that self-trust was so important for me in order to make this all possible. So it literally gave me the wake-up call that I needed to stop betraying myself. It gave me the healing that I needed to become solid in my own self-worth and self-trust and it gave me the building blocks for what was going to help me create this new life for myself, this new version of me, this new experience, this new chapter of my life. And if you don't believe me, I'm going to, because y'all know I love me. I love me some good reality TV trash, okay.
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:And my favorite my favorite of all well, not favorite of all time, my favorite, my favorite of all well, not favorite of all time my favorite of all time was probably the Laguna series. So Laguna Beach, what was the other ones? The City, and, oh my God, I always forget, help me out here, guys. The one where they moved to Hollywood, right, where Elsie moves to Hollywood, then slowly, after Kristen comes oh my God, help me out here. I can't believe I can't remember the name of that show the Hills. So Laguna Beach, the Hills, the City, right, those were my all-time faves. But close second to that will always be Vanderpump Rules.
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:I loved Vanderpump Rules. I was so shamefully addicted to Vanderpump Rules and I remember when, actually, I didn't even start watching it till much later I started watching it. Oddly enough, I started watching the Vanderpump Rules after Skandoval happened, right. And now suddenly this affair is all over mainstream news. It's created this media frenzy. So now obviously, you know, okay. So betrayal creates media frenzy. Obviously, I have to start paying attention, like obviously. So I start watching the show and before I, before I even realized that I am totally hooked, right, and now I'm watching like a Scandival unfolds in real time. While I'm watching it, right, and I literally I think I binge watched like all the seasons within like a matter of like a month or so. Right, like I just binge watched it like crazy until I finally caught up. It was like it was a long running show. I think there was like eight seasons or something that I caught up on seven seasons, I can't remember anyway, but it was a lot. And so you know, I'm watching this unfold right.
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:And now I'm a huge fan of Ariana unfold Right. And now I'm a huge fan of Ariana, like huge, like I fucking love Ariana actually. And and I mean I, I have, I have choice words to say about Sandoval Um. I mean, like there's so many things I can say about Sandoval Um and all I could say is um, one of my he. I think he. He sang one of my favorite songs on America's Got Talent I think that was the show he was on and he sang one of my favorite songs and I love that song and now I can't unhear him singing it and it's like it gives me the ick. I should make a post about that because, it's true, I love the song and I would listen to it on repeat all the time and now when I listen to it, all I can see is Sandoval singing along to it and I just want to like cringe. I'm like oh so much, anyway. So I'm a huge Ariana fan.
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:I love, I love everybody on that show. Actually, there's nobody that I don't love show. Actually there's nobody that I don't love. And even in this last season, where I felt like, you know, ariana probably made some moves that I probably didn't think was in the highest, in her highest expression, you know. But I think everybody on that show really did their fair part of that.
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:But, you know, coming out of what she had come out of, I could understand where it was coming from, you know, because I can remember being being in that situation and you know, kind of, how everything unfolded in the in the months and years that followed. So what I will say is holy transformation as a result of going through that right. So, and this is just like, if you don't believe my story, like like, this is. This is something that unfolded in real time, like in front of all of us, like in the media. Right, we see this girl join the show who's you know got these big goals and big dreams and big aspirations right, and she's making her way through Hollywood as a bartender. Also, she gets involved with Sandoval. They hook up, they start to create a life together. Now it's all about you know, you can see it happening. You can see it happening where you know.
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:Suddenly her dreams, her goals, her ambitions start to take a backseat. It starts to become all about him and his goals and his dreams and his restaurant and, and, and you know, like she just starts to. You could, you could almost see it happening to her Physically. You could see the longer she stayed in the relationship. It started to impact her outlook on life. It started to impact her energy and the kind of energy she was bringing into a lot of her interactions. It was even starting to like, it was even starting to.
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:I don't know if you noticed, but like towards, like, right before the affair happened, you could actually see like, where it was, like almost like taking away from her radiance, because she was always a very radiant person. She was a very radiant woman, you know, she kind of came on this, sat with all this zhuzh, right, and suddenly was just not diminished but just felt like you know, there was, like there was like her, her, her zhuzh was gone. You know, her zhuzh was gone and it felt like you know it was it was probably because she was, you know, pouring so much of her energy into into working with this relationship and trying to create a life with this person and she kind of got lost in all of that, right? And so when the betrayal happens, right, you see it Like. You see her pain, you see how it felt for her partner to do this to her. You see how it felt, knowing that it was with her best friend, and how she found out, like the whole thing was just so, like, oh my God, and it's funny, as I was watching this unfold, I'm like, oh, I could feel it, like, I could just feel it in my body, like as though it was happening to me.
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:And then what happens? Right, so she goes through this period of where she, you know she lets it all out, like she just moves through all her rage and all her anger and all her pain and you just see her start to move through all of it and then what do you see? You see her create the most phenomenal, like, publicly witnessed glow up that you've ever seen in her career, in her looks, in her friendship circles, in her body, in her relationships. Like everything her finances, everything everything gets injected with this good feeling, radiant, sparkling, just like this diamond glow up right that she experiences as a result of moving through this betrayal. She gets opportunities that are out of this world. She gets first, she gets the spot of Dancing with the Stars. Then she gets to be like the spokesperson on Love Island. She gets to play in Chicago, which is like a Broadway musical. Like, she gets to do so many amazing things. She writes her book, right, and that's you know. She has an amazing launch with that and she's really able to kind of, you know, move on, move on and get, go into this next chapter of her life looking more radiant and more empowered than ever, right.
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:And so this is the perfect example of when and why betrayal often happens. Number one, we're betraying ourselves and it's trying to wake us up to how many, all the different ways we're betraying ourselves. And number two, we're meant for more, and I don't know about you guys, but I know I would not have left Even if you had told me I was meant for more. I would not have left. Right, there was too much love, there was too much commitment, there was too much, there was just too much. And I would need a really solid reason to leave too much. And I would need a really solid reason to leave, something that would be like a kick in the butt get the fuck out there and go, do your thing. Kind of reason, right, and the only thing that could have done that would have like that. That would have moved me enough to be able to walk away and say, hell, no, I'm leaving this in my rear view and I am choosing myself, moving forward and I'm going to see what the fuck I can create out there in the world. When I do that Like it would have to be, like betrayal would have been the only thing that could have gotten me to that point, you know, and it gave me the skills and the tools that I needed in order to successfully navigate this next chapter that I was heading into.
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:So it's all purposeful, it's all serving, even though we can't feel it, because I can guarantee you, I did not feel it when I first found out. I did not feel it in the years of oscillating between denial and anger and hatred and rage, and then acceptance, and then back to denial again, like in that whole period. None of it felt like it was good for me, none of it felt like it was happening for me, none of it felt like there's something really good and powerful and magical was going to come out of this. And I can guarantee you it probably didn't feel that way for Ariana either when she was going through it, but it did for her and for me. After moving through this, like I said, like it was preparing me for a life I never even thought was possible.
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:If you had told me then hey, honey, listen, you're actually going to leave your nine to five. You're going to start a healing practice and coaching practice. You're going to travel through Southeast Asia for six months by yourself. You're going to climb volcanoes. You're going to learn how to salsa dance. Oh, you're also going to be performing salsa dancing, like all these things that if you had told me then I would have been like dude, I don't go have dinner by myself. I don't go watch a movie by myself. I don't know who you're talking about, but that is not me, right no idea what it's preparing you for, no idea.
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:So if you can hold this one intention, no matter how painful it is right now, no matter how shitty it feels, no matter how you know there's rock bottom, then 50 feet of crap, and then there's you, no matter how much deep in that crap you might be feeling, if you can hold the intention that this is in some way shape or form serving me, this is in some way shape or form serving me. This is in some way trying to show me how I've been betraying myself, number one and number two, what it is that I am capable of when I stop betraying myself, even though I might not be able to fully see or comprehend what that really is yet, because it's so out of the scope of what I think is possible in my mind Just hold those two. Hold those two intentions and make sure you join us in the masterclass on September 15th if you're watching this before September 15th 2025. It's a free, live, 90-minute healing and activation where we are going to move through and really transform the pain and hurt and heartbreak of betrayal and use it to transmute and create something truly powerful and extraordinary for you in this next chapter in your journey. I would love to have you there.
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:But if you can start with looking at why this betrayal happened, right, how were you betraying yourself up until this point, right? What parts of yourself did you leave behind? What parts of yourself did you leave on the back burner? Um, and what this might possibly be preparing you for? And I will tell you one thing I will. I can't speak for ariana, because I didn't know ariana when she was growing, but I can say for myself the clues are in the things that you love to do or dreamed about doing as a child, because I could remember, as a child, always pretending that I was up on a stage and talking to people, or singing to people, or performing for people. And here I am talking to you guys, right, I can always remember having this ache and this urge to travel, which I did. And I can always remember locking myself up in my room and dancing for hours, which I also did, right when I started Latin dance, which was also a very healing experience for me.
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:I strongly recommend that for anybody moving through healing and transformation, especially if you're a woman. Something about, honestly, something about shaking your hips activates that feminine sacral. I'm telling you it is one of the most healing things you can do. But, all that to be said, I know it doesn't feel like it when you're in it and if you're still in it, maybe you're not ready to do this part of the work yet, and that's okay. You'll know when you're ready. And when you're ready I'm here.
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:But if you've moved through the betrayal and there's a part of you that is aching, that is like you've been putting things on the back burner. You've been wanting to do things that you've just been kind of deprioritizing in your life because you've been too busy prioritizing this relationship. Now is the time to pay attention to those things, because you have no idea what they're leading you to until you let them lead you. You have no idea what. These little nuggets, these little magic trails that the universe leaves for us, these little, not yellow brick roads, but like little treats, little shiny things that the universe leaves in our path to, just to get us to oh, what is that oh and what is that oh?
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:And we pick up one, and then we pick up the other, and we pick up the other and then the next one, and the next one, and the next one, and we have no idea where it's leading us until we can pick up each and every one of these little, beautiful, magical moments that the universe is putting down for us, and only then will we actually see what it was trying to create on our behalf, when we let go of worrying what we were supposed to be doing, or where was it taking us? Or is this even logical, or does this even make sense? Or blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Or is this even logical, or does this even make sense? Or blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and all the things that go through our head, when we can just trust the little trail, one little nugget at a time, that the universe leaves in front of us, and trust that each thing that we pick up leads to the next thing and the next thing, and before we know it, it creates this beautiful new version of our life and who we are in it. Like that is a magical process and that that is where I truly believe a lot of the alchemy actually happens.
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:And that's where I feel that sometimes betrayal is so Like it does move the ground beneath your feet. It does make you lose your footing. So you almost have no choice but to trust in the little breadcrumbs. Not breadcrumbs, not to that we're settling for breadcrumbs, but we won't call them breadcrumbs. I don't like breadcrumbs. Let's call them gold crumbs, right? Only then can we trust the little gold crumbs that the universe is leaving in your path and trust that, as we pick up one and as we pick up the next and the next and the next, that something truly, truly magical is unfolding for us.
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:But we won't know what that is until we get to the end of the trail, right? We won't know, as we're picking up the little gold crumbs along the way, what they're leading to. All we know is that we get to pick them up and we get to enjoy them, and we get to appreciate them and move on to the next, and that's it and that's kind of how this next phase gets rebuilt is when we let go of all the ideas and the beliefs that we had, the picture perfect future that we had painted in our mind for so long. That is now gone and where this like blank canvas, right for the universe to come in and create something truly magical. I mean, it feels like crap when it first happens. But, oh my God, like there's so much magic to come out of that moment if you let it, and that's not to say that it might be with the same person.
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:If again and I say this on every episode go back to my episode called should I stay or should I go? Um, what to do when, when you've been cheated on in a relationship or something like that I can't remember the exact name um, as to whether or not, like, those are my best guidelines and again, everything is so nuanced, so take everything that I say with a grain of salt, but that gives you some pretty solid guidance on when is a good time to stay versus when is a good time to go, you know, because there is times when relationships can survive betrayal. Absolutely there is, of course there is. There's no like. Yes, people work on these things all the time. This happens in relationship all the time. It is not a black or white issue, you know. It all depends with how people come to the relationship and the energy and the attitude that they bring to the experience and how you move forward from that experience together.
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:Right, that's really what is the main, like the deciding factor as to whether or not you should stay or you should go, so go ahead and listen to that episode. If you deciding factor as to whether or not you should stay or you should go, so go ahead and listen to that episode. If you're in doubt of whether or not you should stay or go. But either way, regardless, regardless of whether you choose to stay or leave this connection, let this be the moment that you stop betraying yourself, that you truly focus on what you want and what you need in life, in this connection and in your life in general, and what this?
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:Just be open Again. Just be open to that affirmation that everything is working out so much more miraculous than anything I could have ever even thought was possible I could have ever even thought was possible, so that you open yourself up to things happening that are beyond what your mind thinks is even a possibility out there. Okay, and I promise you things will unfold in magical ways. Use that affirmation Everything is working out. I trust that everything is working out so much better than anything I ever could have thought was possible. The universe is literally about to show me how good it could fucking get, and I don't even know or have a clue what that looks like yet and just be open to be surprised and to have things turn out in ways that you never could have imagined, ways that you never could have imagined. But and I say this again now I can go back to childhood and say, yeah, actually, all the things that I loved to do when I was alone in my room and nobody was watching are exactly the things that I'm getting to do right now. So, fuck, yeah, maybe there was some clues. You know, it wasn't a complete surprise. I was just completely detached from it. Childhood wonder man is such a powerful thing.
MARIA @THEFEMMECAST:Okay, that is it for today's episode, you guys. So, as always, wherever you're seeing this, if you're seeing this on socials, leave me a comment, send me a DM at the femcast on Instagram. If you're seeing this in your emails, reply, hit that reply button and let me know what resonated for you, what didn't and what you take away from this episode. And make sure, wherever you're seeing this on iTunes or Spotify, just please leave me a positive rating and review. It really helps these episodes and this podcast get out there and get seen in front of more people, and I do think a lot of women need to hear a lot of these messages, so please, if you could do that, that would be great. Until next time, you guys, massive love.
