The Love Spectrum, Coming Out, and Sexual Fluidity with Anne-Marie Zanzal

Sherry and Carla kick off this week talking about if it’s really that sexy dating someone with an accent, or if we just romanticize it. Then they take a Love Fix Question about how to break the habit of lying in your relationship and welcome guest Anne-Marie Zanzal. Anne-Marie is a coach, ordained minister, chaplain, and author. She came out later in life and shares her journey from tucking away her sexuality while raising a family, to stepping into her true authentic self. She talks with Sherry and Carla about her work specializing in women coming out later in adulthood, why there still is a stigma around being gay, and how we can face our own internalized homophobia.   What You’ll Hear In This Episode: A Love Fix Question — what do you do if you find yourself lying and constantly being dishonest in relationships? What are the main reasons people typically lie, and how can therapy help? Anne-Marie is known as the Coming Out Coach — how did she know she was gay? What are the ways that she hid it, and how did she decide to step fully into her truth? Is being gay as widely accepted in America as we think it is? Want Coming Out Coaching from someone who has walked the path before? Here’s how to Contact Anne-Marie, along with how to work with Sherry and Carla on overcoming codependency, dating, a break-up, healing from toxic relationships and gaining confidence. Anne-Marie talks about being brushed off by her own (lesbian) therapist! What does Anne-Marie appreciate about dating women more than her past relationships with men? Is there an age where it’s too late to come out? What about if you want to come out, but you have shame and another type of life already in place? What are some of the reasons women may know they are gay but don’t come out until later in life? What is internalized homophobia, and how does it show up in ourselves and other people?   Tweetables: “Because there's visibility in the media and there's representation out there, I think people are less afraid to come out than they were in the past.” - Anne-Marie “The truth is, the truth is going to come out.” - Sherry “I really believe that sexuality is fluid.” - Carla “All of a sudden, I was with women who understood, and we're talking about things that I had never said to another human being.” - Anne-Marie “There’s a lot of shame about a woman being a good girl. We want to live to a standard that is set by our families and our parents and our churches and our communities. When we don't do that, we feel like we've done something wrong.  - Anne-Marie   Connect with Us! The Love Fix | @thelovefixpodcast Become a Member - Codependency Special - Wake Up Recovery  - $1 trial membership Join the Narcissistic Abuse and Codependent Relationship Transformation Challenge FB group  The Love Fix Relationship Quiz   Sign up for a Connection call with Sherry https://sherrygaba.com/coaching/life-coaching/    Find Out More:    Sherry Website | Instagram | Facebook | Love Smacked | Wake Up Recovery for Codependents and Toxic Relationships | Sherry Gaba’s Coaching Packages   Gain access to Sherry’s FREE ebooks for codependency, love addiction, or narcissistic abuse. https://relationship-quizzes.com/    Carla Website | Instagram | Facebook | Contagious Love | Online Dating Bootcamp   Anne-Marie Website | Instagram | Authentic Peace | Coming Out Later in Life Resources    Today’s episode is sponsored by Carla’s book Contagious Love: Break Free from Codependency for Damn Good and Sherry’s book Love Smacked: How To Stop the Cycle of Relationship Addiction and Codependency To Find Everlasting Love.  Thanks to Contagious Love and Love Smacked for sponsoring this episode.