I have quite the episode for you today! You'll meet Michelle Bernsdorf Jensen, a French-speaking Canadian from Ottawa who is now raising three multilingual babies in Germany while building her own business (and somehow making it all look effortless)! Michelle is the wife of Nicholas Bernsdorf Jensen, a 13-year professional hockey player from Denmark, and their story is one of the most fascinating and layered ones I have had the pleasure of hearing on this podcast.

We talk about what it really looks like to raise three kids in four languages, how Michelle dealt with postpartum depression while her husband was off living his hockey dream, the career she put on hold and is now building back on her own terms, and why after 13 years in Europe she has absolutely zero plans to move back to Canada.

This one had me laughing, nodding, tearing up and genuinely in awe from start to finish. Michelle, thank you so much for joining me to do this!

Did something in this conversation I had with Michelle resonate with you? We'd love to hear about it, so let us know over on Instagram, @wereinonepod, and we'll see you back soon for another hard-hitting episode!

Just some of the highlights you'll hear:

• The story of how Michelle spotted the new Scandinavian guy on the roster at Plattsburgh, introduced herself on the spot and never looked back

• What her dad said the moment he found out she was following a Danish man to Europe and why her mom already knew it was coming

• The two things nobody warns you about in year one when your husband plays in Denmark

• How Michelle navigated postpartum depression while raising babies abroad without family nearby, and the honest conversation that had to happen

• The four language household that leaves dinner guests completely confused, and the three year old who somehow speaks all four fluently

• Why buying a house in Bremerhaven was the best decision they ever made and how Michelle turned it into exactly the home she wanted

• The brilliant idea that became her business, Be All In, and why the hockey rink was the perfect place to launch it

• What she says to people who think the hockey wife life is all "travel and glamour"

• Why Michelle says she has zero interest in her husband becoming a coach when he retires from playing professionally

• The Danish Christmas tradition she has fully embraced and the one Canadian tradition she absolutely refused to give up
  
  

LINKS:

Michelle's Instagram

Nicholas' Hockey Profile

Today I am sitting down with Madison Gildon (Gil-DON, not Gil-DAN), which was apparently a whole thing at her wedding and I love that for her! Madison is the wife of professional hockey player Max Gildon, and her story is one of the most unique and fun ones I have had the pleasure of hearing on this podcast so far.

As you'll get to hear, before she was a hockey wife living across Europe, Madison spent 7 years as a flight attendant with American Airlines, living in New York City, Charlotte, and Dallas and flying to some of the most beautiful cities in the world. So when Max signed his first contract overseas and said 'hey, I'm moving to Germany', Madison was perhaps the one person on the planet who was already perfectly groomed for exactly this kind of life. She just didn't know it yet!

Today she shares what it really looks like to build a career and an identity for yourself in this lifestyle as a hockey partner living across the pond in Europe.

Madison is warm, funny, thoughtful, and genuinely one of those people who just figures it out, and I just know you are going to love her too!

Did something in this conversation I had with Madison resonate with you? We'd love to hear about it, so let us know over on Instagram, @wereinonepod, and we'll see you back soon for another hard-hitting episode!

Just some of the highlights you'll hear:

• How a flight attendant from Oklahoma ends up living on a vineyard in the Italian Dolomites, and why Madison's background actually made her more prepared for this life than most

• The summer they fell in love, the phone call that changed everything, and how she and Max built something real from a relationship that barely had time to start

• What it was like to work two weeks on and two weeks in Germany just to stay close to him during that first season

• How Madison finished her university degree online from Slovakia while Max's team went on to win the championship that year

• What planning an entire wedding from Europe looked like and how Madison's "Say Yes to the Dress" moment was different than she imagined it would be, but was still special

• Why she thinks people romanticize the hockey wife life, and what holding it down at home actually looks like day to day

• The culture shock that nobody warned Madison about and that has now become one of her favorite parts of living in Europe

• Her advice for any girl in this lifestyle who is struggling to find her footing, plus why building community is the thing she considers non-negotiable

• The new full time remote job she just landed that actually lets her work flex hours so she never has to miss a game
  
  

LINKS:

Madison's Instagram

Max's Hockey Profile

Welcome back for the conclusion of my conversation with the incredible Carlin McCrimmon Phillips, and I have to say is this half of our talk gave me just as many goosebumps as the first. If you haven't listened to Part One yet, go back and start there first, because Carlin's story is one you really want to hear from the beginning.

In this episode, we pick up with the lighter side of Carlin's hockey journey: how she met her now-husband Adam, the on-and-off love story that spanned years, cities, and a whole lot of growing up. We talk about finding your own identity in this lifestyle, what it looks like to build a career when you're always one trade away from starting over, and how Carlin went from substitute teacher hopeful in Odessa, Texas to running the entire front office of a hockey team (all while a mass shooter was on the loose a block from her house, which yes, really happened).

We also get into what it was like for Carlin to come back to this life as a coach's wife rather than a player's daughter, the full circle moments that keep showing up in her family's story, and some of the most honest, beautiful answers I have ever heard to the question of what hockey has truly given her.

Carlin, thank you again. This was truly one for the books and I am honored to have the chance to bring our conversation to my listeners.

Did something in this conversation I had with Carlin, including the first part that aired last time, resonate with you? I'd love to hear about it, so let us know over on Instagram, @wereinonepod, and we'll see you back soon for another hard-hitting episode!

Just some of the highlights you'll hear:

• The story of how Carlin met Adam and why she knew from almost the very beginning that he was going to be "her person"

• How their relationship survived long distance, two breakups, and one of the worst days of her life

• What living full-time with Adam during his playing days actually looked like, and the unofficial role Carlin found herself in that nobody warned her about

• How boredom in Orlando accidentally led to one of the best things that ever happened to her

• Why Adam's decision to retire didn't surprise her even a little, and what she had already been watching quietly for years

• A scary night when an active shooter was a block from their house on Adam's very first road trip as a coach

• How Carlin walked into an empty front office one day and ended up staying for four years

• The full circle moment that finally felt like home for her and all the grown-up things that came with it

• Carlin's favorite memory of her dad that has nothing to do with a game

• What hockey has truly given her and why after everything, she still considers this life one of the greatest gifts she has ever received

LINKS:

Brad McCrimmon's Hockey Profile

Plane crash kills KHL team in hockey's 'darkest day'

26: Growing Up a Hockey Daughter and Finding Her Own Path in the Sport with Carlin-McCrimmon Phillips [Part One]

20: From the Crease to the Flower Field: Carrie Martin on 22 Years of Hockey Life