Former Team GB handball Olympian and sports sponsorship expert Louise Jukes on becoming a mum at 39, a step mum before that, and why choosing the right co-parent might be the biggest career decision you ever make.

Full Show Notes

Louise Jukes has one of the more unusual routes into working parenthood on this podcast – the journey started as a stepmum before having her own daughter at 39 and got there via a genuinely wild career detour: playing hockey for England U18s, qualifying as a physiotherapist, then giving up work entirely for four years to chase a spot on the Team GB handball squad for London 2012.

From there, Louise moved into sports marketing and sponsorship, spending close to a decade at Liverpool FC before moving client-side to TeamViewer. In this episode, she and Hannah talk about what it's like blending a stepfamily with a new baby, why Louise's own hobbies have quietly disappeared from her week (and why that's more common than people admit), and the deceptively simple idea that choosing who you have children with might be the single biggest decision of your adult life.

Trigger warning: this episode covers baby loss and fertility issues so please listen with caution or skip this one entirely.

Topics covered:

• Becoming a parent through stepparenting first, then having a biological child later in life
• Leaving a stable career to chase an Olympic dream - and what that risk looked like
• Choosing to be more intentional with your career and the sacrifices we make as parents building careers
• Why "my job is my hobby" is something more working parents feel than say out loud
• Why choosing a partner isn’t just a romantic decision, it’s a lifelong consideration
• Finding your “lane” in your relationship
• The size of the mental load, even in a genuinely supportive partnership
• Baby loss and fertility challenges

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