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