Live OUT Loud Podcast

Sunburnt Memories & Ice Cream Dreams

In this joyful and sun-soaked episode of Live OUT Loud, Michele and River take a trip down memory lane—and they’re not going alone. Joining them is their dear friend and radiant soul, Michelle Morganti, for a laughter-filled ride through the golden days of summer past.
Together, they unpack their Summer Starter Packs, share stories of childhood mischief, first crushes, mixtapes, and long, lazy days that felt like they’d never end. From the taste of watermelon on sticky fingers to the sound of a screen door slamming behind you, this episode is a celebration of the memories that shaped us—and a reminder that summer magic isn’t just for kids.
Tune in for quickfire nostalgia, a throwback playlist, and reflections on how we carry that summer feeling into our adult lives with intention and joy. Grab your popsicle, press play, and come feel the sunshine with us.

Love Bombing Unpacked

River + Michele unpack Love bombing this week. It is a form of emotional manipulation that uses overwhelming affection, attention, and praise to influence and control someone—especially in the early stages of a relationship. It can look and feel like a fairytale romance at first, but underneath, it’s often about control, dependency, and power, not genuine connection.
💣 What Love Bombing Is All About
🔥 1. Intensity Over Authenticity
It’s not real love—it’s a calculated performance.
Love bombers flood you with affection, compliments, texts, and promises to fast-track emotional intimacy.
🎯 2. Control Through Overwhelm
The goal is to sweep you off your feet so fast you don’t notice the red flags.
It creates emotional dependency. Once you’re attached, the dynamic can flip into manipulation, criticism, jealousy, or control.
🪞 3. Reflection of Their Needs, Not Yours
Love bombers often don’t truly see or value you as a unique person.
They’re projecting an idealized version of love, often to fill their own insecurity, loneliness, or narcissistic need for admiration.
⛓️ 4. The Trap: Idealization → Devaluation → Discard
Idealization: “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Devaluation: “You’re not who I thought you were.” (Criticism, withdrawal of affection.)
Discard: They ghost you or move on fast—or keep you hanging with crumbs while chasing new admiration.
⚠️ Why It’s Dangerous
Love bombing can:
Create trauma bonds, where your nervous system associates love with chaos.
Lead to emotional or psychological abuse.
Leave you doubting your worth, instincts, and reality after the crash.
❤️‍🩹 What Real Love Looks Like Instead
Paces itself.
Respects your boundaries.
Is consistent, not overwhelming.
Grows over time, not overnight.
Comes from mutual curiosity, not fantasy.
Bottom line:Love bombing isn’t love. It’s a manipulation tactic that disguises control as affection. Recognizing it is the first step toward protecting your peace, boundaries, and capacity for real, grounded connection.
💔 People Most Susceptible to Love Bombing
1. Empaths & Highly Sensitive People
Feel deeply, want to help and heal others.
May ignore red flags in favor of understanding or compassion.
2. People with Low Self-Worth or Insecurity
The intense validation from love bombers feels like healing.
They're more likely to believe they’ve finally been "seen" or "chosen."
3. Individuals Healing from Past Trauma
Especially those with childhood emotional neglect or abandonment issues.
Love bombing may mimic the attention or affection they always longed for.
4. People Who Crave Deep Connection or Romantic Idealism
Hopeless romantics, spiritual seekers, or people who deeply value “the one.”
They might interpret love bombing as destiny or divine connection.
5. Those Recently Out of a Relationship
Still grieving or raw, they may be more likely to overlook warning signs for the comfort of new affection.
The contrast to their last relationship feels intoxicating.
6. People Unfamiliar with Healthy Relationship Boundaries
Those who grew up in dysfunctional homes or never saw modeled emotional regulation.
May confuse intensity for intimacy.
7. Codependent Personalities
Feel responsible for others’ emotions and derive their worth from being needed.
They may fall into roles of "fixing" or "saving" the love bomber.
🧠 Also:
Love bombing thrives in transitional moments—a breakup, job loss, move, grief, or spiritual searching. These moments of identity shift can leave someone open to outside validation and connection that feels like a lifeline.
⚠️ Why This Matters
It’s not about blame—it’s about awareness. People who are kind, open-hearted, and hopeful are often targeted because of those strengths. The solution isn't to harden—but to learn the difference between love and control, intimacy and intensity, devotion and manipulation.
Love bombing is a form of emotional manipulation that uses overwhelming affection, attention, and praise to influence and control someone, especially in the early stages of a relationship. It can look and feel like a fairytale romance at first, but underneath, it’s often about control, dependency, and power, not genuine connection.
💣 What Love Bombing Is All About
🔥 1. Intensity Over Authenticity
It’s not real love—it’s a calculated performance.
Love bombers flood you with affection, compliments, texts, and promises to fast-track emotional intimacy.
🎯 2. Control Through Overwhelm
The goal is to sweep you off your feet so fast you don’t notice the red flags.
It creates emotional dependency. Once you’re attached, the dynamic can flip into manipulation, criticism, jealousy, or control.
🪞 3. Reflection of Their Needs, Not Yours
Love bombers often don’t truly see or value you as a unique person.
They’re projecting an idealized version of love, often to fill their own insecurity, loneliness, or narcissistic need for admiration.
⛓️ 4. The Trap: Idealization → Devaluation → Discard
Idealization: “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Devaluation: “You’re not who I thought you were.” (Criticism, withdrawal of affection.)
Discard: They ghost you or move on fast—or keep you hanging with crumbs while chasing new admiration.
⚠️ Why It’s Dangerous
Love bombing can:
Create trauma bonds, where your nervous system associates love with chaos.
Lead to emotional or psychological abuse.
Leave you doubting your worth, instincts, and reality after the crash.
❤️‍🩹 What Real Love Looks Like Instead
Paces itself.
Respects your boundaries.
Is consistent, not overwhelming.
Grows over time, not overnight.
Comes from mutual curiosity, not fantasy.
Bottom line:Love bombing isn’t love. It’s a manipulation tactic that disguises control as affection. Recognizing it is the first step toward protecting your peace, boundaries, and capacity for real, grounded connection.

Honoring Transition Moments

As the school year winds down and summer begins, Michele and River pause to reflect on the often overlooked magic of transitions. Whether it's kids finishing a grade, adults navigating new roles, or entire communities shifting into a slower season, these in-between moments are sacred.
In this episode, River and Michele explore what it means to truly honor the thresholds of life. From letting go with intention to creating rituals that mark a shift, we discuss how queer joy, chosen family, and spiritual presence can help us live more meaningfully during these times of change.
We also look to the stars—June’s celestial events, like the Strawberry Moon and summer solstice, mirror the emotional tides we feel below. We ask: How can we step into what's next without rushing? And what would it look like to make peace with the pause?
✨ Perfect for anyone navigating transitions—big or small—with heart and awareness.

Queer Joy as Resistance

🌈 EPISODE: Queer Joy as Resistance ✨
Michele + River chat about how Joy becomes a radical act in a world that often tries to dim our light. In this episode of Live OUT Loud, we celebrate the fierce, beautiful power of Queer Joy — not as an escape from struggle, but as a bold form of resistance. 💥
 
From chosen family to visibility, from ballroom floors to backyard gatherings, queer folks have always found ways to cultivate joy — even in the face of fear, discrimination, and erasure. We explore how living out loud isn't just personal expression — it's collective liberation.
 
🎧 Tune in as we unpack:
Why joy is not frivolous — it’s foundational
How chosen family strengthens our roots
The intersection of protest, pride, and pleasure
What it means to be visibly joyful in the face of hate
This episode is a reminder: our laughter, our love, our style, our dance moves, our truth — they all matter. And when we choose joy, we choose to exist on our own terms.
 
💬 Got a moment of queer joy that changed your life? DM us or tag @LiveOutLoudPod — we want to celebrate with you.
 
#LiveOUTLoud #QueerJoy #ResistanceIsBeautiful #Pride2025 #ChosenFamily #JoyAsProtest #LGBTQVoices #LiveYourTruth #RadicalJoy

Bonus - June Tarot Reading

River takes on a fun bonus episode today for all of us and brings the intention to a June reading. 
 
Take a listen and enjoy!!
Michele + River 

No More Dating Apps, and Why?

In this thought-provoking episode, River + Michele explore the psychological and behavioral impacts of dating app culture—and why stepping away from the algorithm may be essential for personal growth. We examine how apps shape our expectations, influence self-perception, and often prioritize volume over depth.
Drawing from real-life experiences, we discuss how taking a break from digital dating can create space for clarity, emotional regulation, and more intentional relationships. If you're feeling burnt out by the swipe or questioning what connection really means in the digital age, this episode offers a grounded look at what it takes to grow beyond the screen.
Let's go! Let's do life and enjoy staying present. Follow these easy steps to create the relationship you want. Check out this article here. 
 
Thanks for listening! We appreciate you.
Michele + River 
 

Divine Detours

In this heartfelt episode of Live OUT Loud, co-hosts Michele Flamer and River explore the winding, often unpredictable paths life takes us on—what they lovingly call Divine Detours. Together, they explore how unexpected twists, delayed dreams, and sudden shifts can actually serve as sacred redirections toward deeper purpose, alignment, and growth.
Through candid conversation and lived experience, Michele and River reflect on what it means to release control, trust timing, and stay open to transformation—even when the road looks nothing like you imagined.
✨ In this episode:
Embracing redirection without losing faith
Listening for wisdom in moments of uncertainty
Staying anchored during transitions
Reframing setbacks as spiritual reroutes
This episode is an invitation to trust the detours and lean into the magic that lives in the unknown. Wherever you are on your journey, you’re not lost—you’re being led.

When the Ex Brings Someone New

This week, River and Michele unpack how a wave can catch you even after a few years of divorce when you least expect it.
When your ex shows up to a kid's event… and they're not alone—it can stir up a surprising wave of emotions. Whether you're co-parenting peacefully or navigating a complicated past, seeing your former partner with someone new in front of your children can hit deep. In this episode, Michele and River hold space for the raw, unfiltered feelings that come up—jealousy, grief, insecurity, and even relief—and explore the process of these emotions with grace, boundaries, and self-awareness.
We discuss how to stay grounded in your own worth, protect your child’s emotional safety, and move forward without letting old wounds run the show. This is about healing in real time and learning to live out loud, even when it’s hard.
 
Thanks for listening, it means a lot!
Michele + River

The Whole Truth

River + Michele discussed the importance of speaking one's truth in various aspects of life, including relationships and social media, emphasizing the need for courage and authenticity when expressing oneself. They also explored the complexities of romance and relationships, highlighting the importance of open communication, vulnerability, and honesty. The conversation concluded with a discussion on the importance of discernment when sharing personal truths, emphasizing the need for considering the timing and potential impact of sharing those truths.
 
We hope this will encourage others to speak their truth as well. 
Thanks for listening!
Michele + River 

Initiating in Dating

"Initiating in Dating: Why It’s Okay (and Powerful) for Women to Make the First Move"In this solo episode, River is diving into the topic of initiating in dating — especially from the perspective of being a woman and challenging traditional gender roles.
We’ll explore how cultural, religious, and societal narratives have shaped our ideas about who is "supposed" to initiate, why those old scripts no longer serve us, and how taking a more feminist approach to dating can be both empowering and freeing.
I’m also sharing some personal reflections from my own dating life as I unlearn old patterns and step more confidently into initiating connections.If you’ve ever felt weird or hesitant about making the first move, this one’s for you.
We’ll cover:    •    Why traditional dating narratives often position women as passive    •    How cultural and religious values shape our ideas about dating    •    Why it’s powerful and healthy for women to initiate    •    How I'm personally unlearning the fear of initiating    •    Practical tips for reaching out with confidenceYou are not here to wait for someone to choose you — you are here to choose too.
#dating #initiatingindating #singlemom #beingchosen 
 
We thank you for choosing us week after week!
 
With gratitude! 
Michele + River