Later in Life

About Later in Life

Later in Life is a podcast with Jackie Faber and Tori Nance about relationships, healing, sexuality, identity shifts, and all the chaos that comes with figuring yourself out later in life. What started as two online friends turned into a real-life relationship neither of us expected. Now we’re navigating love, partnership, nervous system healing, queer identity, midlife reinvention, and everyday life together in real time. Some episodes are deep. Some are hilarious. Most are both.

Publisher

Jackie Faber

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

18 May 2026

Latest episode

28 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

11 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   28 Sept 2026

   Ep 11: After Decades of Healing, This Was the Missing Piece

   Kelly had spent decades doing the work. Therapy. Trauma healing. Recovery. Spiritual practices. Nervous system work. Then chronic illness changed her life almost overnight. In this episode of Later in Life, we sit down with Kelly O’Melia to talk about what happened when she began applying self-safety and the Recognition Framework not only to her physical symptoms, but to the emotional patterns she had been carrying for years. We talk about fear, hypervigilance, people-pleasing, chronic illness, addiction recovery, trauma, and why some of the healing work Kelly had tried before never fully clicked until she could recognize self-abandonment in real time and bring choice back to herself. Kelly also shares what has changed in just a few months: reintroducing food, reclaiming parts of her life, walking with both headphones in after years of constantly scanning her surroundings, and beginning to experience something she says she never really knew before — liking and trusting herself. This isn’t a story about finding one magical cure. It’s a conversation about what can happen when you stop organizing your life around fear and begin reclaiming agency, authorship, and your relationship with yourself. The Missing Piece: After Decades of Healing is a conversation about survival mode, self-safety, and learning how to actually live. Jackie Faber (https://stan.store/jackiefaber) Tori Nance (https://linktr.ee/torinancemusic)

2. 

   16 Sept 2026

   Ep 10: We Got Married… and Then Everything Got Weird

   We’re back — and a lot has happened. In this episode of Later in Life, we catch up on getting married, our chaotic adventure wedding, adjusting to life in Canada, and the very different ways we each move through the world. From hiking in wedding shoes and culture shock to self-safety, relationships, chronic illness, nervous system healing, and learning to trust your own lived experience, this conversation goes in a lot of directions — which, honestly, is pretty normal for us. We also talk about what it means to stop organizing your life around fear, obligation, guilt, symptoms, other people’s expectations, and the constant search for safety outside of yourself. If you’re interested in self-safety, autonomy-centered relationships, chronic illness recovery, nervous system regulation, emotional healing, self-trust, brain retraining, or reclaiming your agency, this episode pulls all of those threads together through real-life conversation. Topics include: marriage and relationships, self-safety, nervous system healing, chronic illness recovery, mold illness, brain retraining, self-trust, autonomy, fear and obligation, lived experience, emotional healing, and learning to relate differently to yourself and your life. Connect with us Jackie Faber (https://stan.store/jackiefaber)Tori Nance (https://linktr.ee/torinancemusic) Cozy Up Stays (https://cozyupstays.com/)Kate Mercer (https://kmercerphotography.com/)

3. 

   5 Aug 2026

   Ep 09: We're Getting Married

   We’re getting married—so we decided to put our relationship under the microscope with a completely unplanned wedding Q&A. In this episode, we talk about who fell first, who said “I love you” first, what surprised us about living together, the biggest differences between us, and why our relationship moved much more slowly than people assume. We also get into the parts of our relationship that are harder to explain: having separate space without taking it personally, allowing each other to have bad days without performing reassurance, disagreeing without turning it into conflict, and why neither of us believes love should require controlling the other person. This is a lighter episode, but it may also be the clearest look yet at what our relationship actually feels like behind the conversations about self-safety, nervous system states, chronic illness, and relationships. Plus: wedding planning, vows, missed turns, empty gas tanks, morning coffee, and the possibility that Tori may have to sing her vows. Connect with us Tori Nance (https://linktr.ee/torinancemusic) Jackie Faber (https://stan.store/jackiefaber) relationship Q&A, lesbian relationship, getting married, wedding planning, healthy relationships, self-safety in relationships, nervous system regulation, relationship independence, unconditional love, authentic relationships, relationship conflict, emotional responsibility, chronic illness relationships, LGBTQ podcast, lesbian wedding, marriage podcast

4. 

   28 Jul 2026

   Ep 08: I Don't Need You To Be Different

   What if love is not asking someone to change so you can feel better? In this episode, we talk about why we rarely experience conflict, even when we disagree. Not because we avoid hard conversations, but because neither of us needs to control the other person’s perspective, behaviour, emotions, or healing. Tori shares what it was like to be in relationships where people were waiting for her to get better—and what changed when I told her I would still choose her if she never did. We also talk about emotional responsibility, chronic illness, MCAS, mold, trauma, self-abandonment, and the possibility that the thing keeping us stuck is not always the external environment, but our relationship with it. This is a conversation about loving the person who is actually in front of you instead of relating to the wounds they trigger inside you. Jackie Faber (https://stan.store/jackiefaber)Tori Nance (https://linktr.ee/torinancemusic) relationships, emotional responsibility, differentiation, internal safety, conflict, acceptance, attachment, chronic illness, MCAS, mold exposure, trauma, nervous system regulation, self-abandonment, healing, and identity.

5. 

   21 Jul 2026

   Ep 7: Nobody Talks About What Happens Next

   Last week, Tori shared how she changed her relationship with her symptoms—and how that changed everything. This week, we're talking about what happened next. No one prepares you for the moment survival ends. The burnout that follows. The grief. The boredom. The uncomfortable realization that your worth may have been tied to productivity for years. Or that the life you built around staying safe no longer fits the person you're becoming. We also explore: Why getting your life back isn't always the relief you expect. The difference between discernment and hypervigilance. How fear-based communities can unintentionally reinforce the very patterns people are trying to escape. Why safety can't live entirely in your environment. And what it actually means to build a life instead of simply surviving. Whether you've experienced chronic illness, burnout, anxiety, trauma, or any season where your life became organized around fear, this conversation is about what comes after. If this episode resonates with you, our new book Your Relationship With Your Symptoms expands on many of these ideas and offers a different perspective on fear, symptoms, and internal safety. 📖 Available here: https://stan.store/jackiefaber/p/your-relationship-with-your-symptoms Connect with us Jackie Faber (https://stan.store/jackiefaber) Tori Nance (https://linktr.ee/torinancemusic) MCAS • Mold Illness • Nervous System • Burnout • Emotional Safety • Fear • Trauma • Productivity • Personal Development • Healing • Chronic Stress • Relationships • Self Awareness • Recoverychronic illness, MCAS, mold illness, nervous system regulation, fear loop, burnout recovery, healing journey, chronic stress, trauma healing, productivity, emotional safety, internal safety, hypervigilance, brain retraining, relationships, personal growth, Later in Life podcast, Jackie Faber, Tori, recovery after illness

6. 

   10 Jul 2026

   Ep 6. I Thought I Was Keeping Myself Safe

   For six years, Tori believed she was doing everything she could to stay safe. She was diagnosed with MCAS and CIRS, survived on one food, carried EpiPens everywhere, sold her house, sold her car, avoided restaurants, and slowly watched her world become smaller. She wasn't just living with symptoms. She was organizing her entire life around avoiding them. In this episode, we share the moment everything began to shift—not because she found another protocol or supplement, but because she started relating to her symptoms differently. We explore the role of fear, attention, identity, hypervigilance, and the nervous system, and why reclaiming your life sometimes begins before your symptoms disappear. This is not medical advice or a substitute for working with qualified healthcare professionals. It's a conversation about one person's lived experience and the perspective shifts that became part of her healing journey. Resources How My Nervous System Learned Safety PDF (https://stan.store/jackiefaber/p/youre-not-alone-n7l8xouf) @JackieFaber (https://stan.store/jackiefaber) @Tori Nance (https://linktr.ee/torinancemusic?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=72df716e-be3f-48e7-837f-189dc6bc1ced) chronic illness, MCAS, mast cell activation syndrome, CIRS, mold illness, chronic inflammatory response syndrome, nervous system, brain retraining, chronic illness recovery, hypervigilance, chronic symptoms, food sensitivities, chronic inflammation, trauma and chronic illness, nervous system regulation, identity, fear, symptom anxiety, chronic illness mindset, healing journey, emotional health, health anxiety, mind body connection, recovery story, attention, internal safety

7. 

   17 Jun 2026

   S1 E5: The First Hotel Room in Six Years

   One of the strange things about loving someone is that sometimes you get a front-row seat to their healing. Not the Instagram version. The real version. The setbacks. The accommodations. The fear. The determination. The tiny victories that nobody else understands. This week on Later in Life, we talk about our trip to Toronto, Tori's first hotel stay in six years, the challenge of navigating severe allergies and sensitivities while traveling, and why getting a cup of coffee back felt like such a big deal. Along the way, we find ourselves talking about nervous system safety, the differences we noticed between Canada and the U.S., and what happens when life starts opening back up after years of getting smaller. Because sometimes progress doesn't look like a breakthrough. Sometimes it looks like a hotel room. A cup of coffee. A piece of bread. And realizing just how far you've come. Jackie Faber (https://stan.store/jackiefaber) Tori Nance (https://www.torinancemusic.com/) later in life podcast, relationship podcast, friendship, personal growth, self discovery, conscious relationships, nervous system healing, chronic illness, mold illness, food sensitivities, recovery journey, queer relationships, late bloomer lesbian, authentic living, self trust

8. 

   8 Jun 2026

   S1 E4: The Relationship Is the Point

   What do mattresses, chemical sensitivities, friendship, and getting engaged have in common? Apparently... us. In this episode, we share the continuing mattress saga (yes, there are more mattresses), the story behind our engagement, and why our friendship became the foundation for everything that followed. We talk about what it felt like to "just know," moving quickly without feeling rushed, navigating challenges together, and why acceptance has become one of the defining characteristics of our relationship. More than anything, this conversation explores a simple idea: The relationship isn't built around solving problems. The relationship is the point. In this episode: ✓ The mattress saga continues ✓ Living with chemical sensitivities ✓ The engagement story ✓ Knowing before it made logical sense ✓ Friendship as the foundation of love ✓ Why acceptance matters more than perfection ✓ Learning not to see each other as problems to fix Later in Life is a podcast about friendship, love, identity, healing, and building a relationship that feels like home. Hosted by Jackie & Tori. Jackie Faber (https://stan.store/jackiefaber) Tori Nance (https://www.torinancemusic.com/) friendship before romance, friends to lovers, healthy relationships, emotional safety, relationship podcast, lesbian relationship podcast, queer relationships, wlw podcast, nervous system healing, attachment styles, conscious relationships, later in life love, midlife relationships, engagement story, relationship advice, friendship in relationships, emotional intimacy, healthy love, secure relationships, self safety, authentic relationships #LaterInLifePodcast #RelationshipPodcast #FriendsToLovers #HealthyRelationships #EmotionalSafety #WLWPodcast #QueerLove #ConsciousRelationship #AuthenticRelationships #LoveLaterInLife #FriendshipFirst #EmotionalIntimacy #SecureAttachment #NervousSystemHealing #SelfSafety

9. 

   1 Jun 2026

   S1 E3: I Had a Jackie Box

   This week on Later in Life, we finally tell the story of how we met. What started as a coaching call turned into a two-year friendship, daily conversations, voice memos, songs, album releases, failed attempts to create distance, and two people having completely different experiences of the same connection. In this episode, Tori shares what was happening behind the scenes long before Jackie realized how important the relationship had become—including the moment she realized she was in love, the songs she never admitted were about Jackie, and the mysterious "Jackie Box." We also explore why some relationships feel fast from the outside, but feel like catching up on the inside. Jackie Faber (https://stan.store/jackiefaber) Tori Nance (https://www.torinancemusic.com/) later in life podcast, friendship to lovers, queer relationship, relationship podcast, emotional intimacy, online friendship, falling in love with your best friend, healing podcast, identity shifts, self discovery, women loving women, lesbian relationship, late bloomer lesbian, authentic relationships, nervous system healing, personal growth, friendship turned romance, life transitions, modern relationships, emotional connection, long distance friendship, online friends to lovers, queer love story, healthy relationships, relationship stories

10. 

    25 May 2026

    S1 E2: We Wrapped the Mattress in Plastic

    This week on Later in Life, we attempt to solve a mattress crisis caused by chronic illness, detergent allergies, a crumbling 15-year-old bed, and what can only be described as lesbian survival mode. What starts as a simple Marketplace inquiry quickly turns into U-Hauls, plastic-wrapped mattresses, emergency cleaning missions, asthma attacks, and an unexpectedly emotional conversation about patience, safety, and what it feels like to finally be chosen in a relationship. Also… we may or may not be sleeping on what looks like a serial killer mattress. Follow our socials Jackie Faber (https://stan.store/jackiefaber) Tori Nance (https://www.torinancemusic.com/) later in life podcast, relationship podcast, lesbian podcast, queer relationship, friendship to lovers, emotional intimacy, healing podcast, lifestyle podcast, mattress story, chronic illness journey, nervous system healing, healthy relationships, queer love story, online friends to lovers, women loving women, relationship dynamics, authentic relationships, couple podcast, late bloomer lesbian, emotional safety

11. 

    18 May 2026

    S1 E1: We Lost the Cat and Ended Up in the ER

    Welcome to the first episode of Later in Life. What started as a plan to tell our relationship story quickly turned into a conversation about the absolute chaos of our Mother’s Day weekend — losing the cat, meeting the parents, accidental allergic reactions, emergency room visits, cuddle alarms, laundry detergent wars, and what it actually looks like to build a relationship later in life. This episode is messy, funny, intimate, and probably the most accurate introduction to us possible. Jackie Faber Socials (https://stan.store/jackiefaber) Tori Nance Socials (https://linktr.ee/torinancemusic) later in life podcast, lesbian relationship podcast, queer podcast, healing podcast, relationship podcast, sexuality podcast, late bloomer lesbian, women loving women, self discovery, identity shifts, midlife reinvention, authentic relationships, nervous system healing, couple podcast, lifestyle podcast, queer love story, friendship to lovers, emotional intimacy, modern relationships, podcast for women

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

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Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.