

How Not To Suck At Divorce: Divorce Advice and Relatable Humor
Morgan Stogsdill and Andrea Rappaport
How Not to Suck at Divorce guides anyone who’s divorcing or even just considering divorce. Hosted by Morgan Stogsdill and Andrea Rappaport, the show delivers equal parts strategy, empathy, and humor.
Morgan Stogsdill is a powerhouse family law attorney and head of family law at the largest firm in the United States. She’s seen every curveball, knows the difference between drama and strategy, and helps clients avoid costly mistakes. Andrea Rappaport is a comedian, marketing pro, and divorced-then-happily-remarried mom who has made the exact painful mistakes we beg you not to repeat. Together, we’ve built a podcast that blends courtroom-level insight with compassionate, practical moves you can use the second the episode ends.
Our community is loyal, our guests are leaders, and our episodes are packed with value. In short: listening to How Not to Suck at Divorce will help you avoid major divorce mistakes.
We launched this show to fill the gap between “funny but fluffy” podcasts and “useful but soul-crushing” legal jargon. The goal: actionable empathy. With scripts, checklists, and boundaries ready, you’ll make fewer panic decisions and save money, time, and sanity.
What We Cover
Should I stay or should I go? Decision-making frameworks, acronyms, and step-by-step exercises for clarity.
Co-parenting and high-conflict personalities. We unpack narcissist dynamics, manipulation tactics, and non-reactive communication. (We even created a framework called “WTF” to help you remember it when your brain is on fire.)
The BIFF method and conflict de-escalation. With Bill Eddy of the High Conflict Institute, we translate his tools into real-world texts and emails you can send without blowing up your case.
Tech safety and AI mistakes. Steven Bradley, former FBI agent and digital safety expert (“Tech Cowboy”), explains how tech evidence, AI hallucinations, and smart device trails can help—or hurt—your case.
Prenups, financial transparency, and power dynamics. Guests like Katie Post share what to include, what to avoid, and how to start the conversation before things go off the rails.
That’s our recipe: expert interviews + practical tools + humor that keeps you breathing. Episodes are short enough for a dog walk but deep enough to change your next decision.
Who You’ll Hear
We curate guests who’ve sat in every chair—lawyers, therapists, digital forensics pros, financial planners, safety advocates, and survivors who turned their mess into a roadmap.
Bill Eddy (High Conflict Institute): BIFF and EAR techniques, parallel parenting, and communication guardrails.
Steven Bradley (former FBI “Tech Cowboy”): Digital breadcrumbs, evidence handling, and how AI can backfire in divorce.
Dr. Nadine Macaluso (therapist, trauma specialist): Love-bombing, trauma bonds, and healing after divorce.
Joanna Strober (Midi Health): Resilience, perimenopause, career pivots, and financial autonomy.
Core Topics
Divorce Strategy & Family Law: prenups, mediation vs. litigation, custody agreements, relocation, settlement strategy.
High-Conflict & Safety: coercive control, gaslighting, DARVO, BIFF vs. gray-rocking, protective orders, tech hygiene.
Co-Parenting & Parallel Parenting: calendars, school/holiday schedules, and communication protocols.
Money & Power: financial disclosure, tracing assets, budgeting, and managing fees.
Mindset & Mental Health: compartmentalizing, trigger management, boundary scripts, and choosing the right therapist or coach.
Our show is both resourceful and entertaining. You’ll laugh, take notes, and walk away feeling less alone. With 160+ episodes and weekly updates, How Not to Suck at Divorce has become a trusted resource worldwide.
Whether you’re in the middle of a divorce, just considering it, or rebuilding afterward, this podcast helps you breathe easier, protect your sanity, and avoid the mistakes that cost people the most.
You’ll get through this. We promise. You’ve got this… and we’ve got you.
Morgan Stogsdill is a powerhouse family law attorney and head of family law at the largest firm in the United States. She’s seen every curveball, knows the difference between drama and strategy, and helps clients avoid costly mistakes. Andrea Rappaport is a comedian, marketing pro, and divorced-then-happily-remarried mom who has made the exact painful mistakes we beg you not to repeat. Together, we’ve built a podcast that blends courtroom-level insight with compassionate, practical moves you can use the second the episode ends.
Our community is loyal, our guests are leaders, and our episodes are packed with value. In short: listening to How Not to Suck at Divorce will help you avoid major divorce mistakes.
We launched this show to fill the gap between “funny but fluffy” podcasts and “useful but soul-crushing” legal jargon. The goal: actionable empathy. With scripts, checklists, and boundaries ready, you’ll make fewer panic decisions and save money, time, and sanity.
What We Cover
Should I stay or should I go? Decision-making frameworks, acronyms, and step-by-step exercises for clarity.
Co-parenting and high-conflict personalities. We unpack narcissist dynamics, manipulation tactics, and non-reactive communication. (We even created a framework called “WTF” to help you remember it when your brain is on fire.)
The BIFF method and conflict de-escalation. With Bill Eddy of the High Conflict Institute, we translate his tools into real-world texts and emails you can send without blowing up your case.
Tech safety and AI mistakes. Steven Bradley, former FBI agent and digital safety expert (“Tech Cowboy”), explains how tech evidence, AI hallucinations, and smart device trails can help—or hurt—your case.
Prenups, financial transparency, and power dynamics. Guests like Katie Post share what to include, what to avoid, and how to start the conversation before things go off the rails.
That’s our recipe: expert interviews + practical tools + humor that keeps you breathing. Episodes are short enough for a dog walk but deep enough to change your next decision.
Who You’ll Hear
We curate guests who’ve sat in every chair—lawyers, therapists, digital forensics pros, financial planners, safety advocates, and survivors who turned their mess into a roadmap.
Bill Eddy (High Conflict Institute): BIFF and EAR techniques, parallel parenting, and communication guardrails.
Steven Bradley (former FBI “Tech Cowboy”): Digital breadcrumbs, evidence handling, and how AI can backfire in divorce.
Dr. Nadine Macaluso (therapist, trauma specialist): Love-bombing, trauma bonds, and healing after divorce.
Joanna Strober (Midi Health): Resilience, perimenopause, career pivots, and financial autonomy.
Core Topics
Divorce Strategy & Family Law: prenups, mediation vs. litigation, custody agreements, relocation, settlement strategy.
High-Conflict & Safety: coercive control, gaslighting, DARVO, BIFF vs. gray-rocking, protective orders, tech hygiene.
Co-Parenting & Parallel Parenting: calendars, school/holiday schedules, and communication protocols.
Money & Power: financial disclosure, tracing assets, budgeting, and managing fees.
Mindset & Mental Health: compartmentalizing, trigger management, boundary scripts, and choosing the right therapist or coach.
Our show is both resourceful and entertaining. You’ll laugh, take notes, and walk away feeling less alone. With 160+ episodes and weekly updates, How Not to Suck at Divorce has become a trusted resource worldwide.
Whether you’re in the middle of a divorce, just considering it, or rebuilding afterward, this podcast helps you breathe easier, protect your sanity, and avoid the mistakes that cost people the most.
You’ll get through this. We promise. You’ve got this… and we’ve got you.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 11, 2022 • 35min
Bonus: The Parenting Agreement
Season 3 drops next week! And it's so good. To get everyone back in the divorce game, we've decided to drop some of our most popular episodes from Season 1. (cue time travel music) Today we're talking about the parenting agreement. You won't want to miss this one. This is one of the toughest parts of divorce and Andrea gets really real and almost didn't want to record this episode. Anna helps make sense of this agreement and how to get through it in one piece. We'll talk about: What is a parenting agreement? What should I include in the parenting agreement? Should we get a mediator? Holidays during and after divorce Visitation during and after divorce Who pays for the kids' things when you get divorced Cohabitating during divorce We make it easy to understand. Be sure to stay until the end for our favorite segment: Wild divorce stories that are a lesson in what NOT to do. Hopefully we'll make you laugh and feel less alone. Remember, you got this and we got you. See you next week for an epic Season 3! Be sure to catch our little sneak peaks on IG: @divorceattorneychicago @theandrearappaport

Aug 4, 2022 • 46min
Bonus: I Think I Need A Lawyer
Season 3 drops in a few short weeks! To get everyone back in the divorce game, we've decided to drop some of our most popular episodes from Season 1. (cue time travel music) Today, we're talking about how to find a divorce lawyer. Andrea shares how it all went down when they decided to file and what it was like to find an attorney. It's overwhelming and emotional but we can help and make it less scary. What we talk about in this episode: How to find a divorce attorney What questions to ask a divorce attorney or a divorce lawyer Where do you find a divorce lawyer or attorney Should you google "tough divorce lawyer" How do you vet a divorce lawyer or divorce attorney What steps do you need to take if you don't have a financial advisor How much do divorce lawyers charge and what's included What is a divorce mediator This is a lot but we promise you, we make it easy to digest and we'll make you laugh. Be sure to stay until the end for our favorite segment - wild divorce stories that are a hilarious lesson on what NOT to do. Be sure to hit follow so you don't miss Season 3!

May 19, 2022 • 42min
26. Bill Eddy Heals High Conflict Divorces...and the world
We are ending season 2 with the beloved Bill Eddy, LCSW, Esq. and continuing our discussion of high conflict divorces. Bill teaches us a simple tool that has the power to not only change the whole vibe of your high conflict divorce and how you deal with conflict with literally anyone....but we think it could heal the whole damn world. We are hard at work planning Season 3 and it's going to be a big one! Stay tuned, we'll be back soon. In the meantime, please slide into our dms and let us know what topics you'd like us to highlight in S3: @theandrearappaport Morgan's IG was hacked (she didn't leave law to sell "cloths") so send her an email here: mlstogsdill@beermannlaw.com You can learn more about Bill Eddy and his work on high conflict divorce at www.highconflictinstitute.com and www.conflictplaybook.com where you'll find a parenting class and other resources for parents who are going through divorce. You can buy Bill's book "Calming Upset People with EAR" here: www.amazon.com

May 12, 2022 • 46min
25. How to Survive a High Conflict Divorce with Bill Eddy
Today on How Not To Suck At Divorce, Morgan is recording from a beach, Andrea is learning kung foo, it's a typical day over here. We are so excited to have the legendary Bill Eddy on the show. Bill is a lawyer, therapist, mediator, keynote speaker and the author of over 16 books on divorce. Not only does he specialize in high-conflict divorces that involve people with personality disorders like narcissistic, borderline, anti-social, and histrionic, he has also trained over 500,000 professionals on managing high conflict disputes. Morgan is fan-girling big time. Today we're going to dive deep into high conflict divorce with the master himself and learn how to use Bill's BIFF technique if you're going through one of these messy divorces. Order Bill's books on Amazon here and here or at your favorite independent bookstore. His latest book has been #1 in the divorce category the last 18 months. It's a must-read-now. Connect with Bill at www.highconflictinstitute.com If you'd like to see a reel of Andrea doing her kung foo moves please flood her dms: @theandrearappaport

Apr 21, 2022 • 32min
24. Sex, Drugs & Dr. Daly
Today we're back with Dr. Meaghan Boston Daly to discuss if divorce can kill you. We'll talk about the impact of long term and short term stress when going through a divorce and what sex, drugs and tacos have to do with it. If this sounds heavy, don't worry, we know how to bring the levity. Be sure to stay until the end because we have roped Dr. Meg into playing the game you all love (we hope), Decline to Comment. Bonus...Morgan shares what your lawyers talk about when they go out for drinks together ;) You can find Dr. Daly here: www.harper-health.com And you can slide into our dms here: @divorceattorneychicago @theandrearappaport

Apr 14, 2022 • 39min
23. Can Divorce Kill You Or Can NOT Getting A Divorce Kill You??
Andrea is in pain and Morgan got pooped on by an iguana in a palm tree. It's been quite an exciting week. But today all is right with the world because we're here with Dr. Meaghan Boston Daly to talk about divorce and physical wellness. Dr. Meg is a concierge internal medicine doctor in Chicago and has quite the resume. We're so excited to be able to pick her beautiful brain. We'll discuss how being in an unhappy marriage really wears us down. Dr. Meg will tell us all about the subtle physical symptoms of emotional stress, Morgan will answer if your spouse can find out if you're on medication for your mental health during the divorce process, and Andrea will share about the connection between her body pain and being in a toxic marriage. By the way, we're scouting closets across the world. If you have a closet we can record our podcast in AND you live in a climate with predictably warm weather patterns, please invite us to your home. We've had it up to here with Chicago "spring". We love you Wyoming, thanks for telling your friends! Where to find Dr. Meg: www.harper-health.com Friends, slide into our dms, we love love love hearing from you. We are always here to listen and help in any way we can. You've got this and we've got you. @divorceattorneychicago @theandrearappaport

Mar 31, 2022 • 33min
22. Listener Divorce Story
Today, a dear listener is sharing her divorce story with us. Welcome to the show, Zoe! Zoe talks about how she stayed in her deteriorating marriage for 6 years. She recalls the control her ex had over her, how finances and religion played a role in her staying, and the moment she knew it was finally over. Morgan shares some great tips if you're overwhelmed by all the paperwork and Andrea talks about finding the humor in a family therapy session over zoom with her ex-husband. We know divorce is hard and draining, and that’s exactly why we are here. We are a part of your community now, and we got you. DM us your stories and questions, we are here to help you. @divorceattorneychicago @theandrearappaport Check out our shiny new website and let us know what you think! https://www.hownottosuckatdivorce.com

Mar 24, 2022 • 32min
21. The Roadmap To Divorce
This week on How Not To Suck At Divorce, we're having wine at 2:00. We're also listening to you, the best audience ever. Many of you have asked us to break down the steps to get a divorce so today we are diving in. Listen in to find out about the 10 main steps needed to get divorced. We will answer: How many lawyers should you meet with before deciding to move forward with one? What information do you need for the financial affidavit? Who should you consult when filling out the parenting agreement? What's it like that final day in court when your divorce is finalized? Plus, Andrea shares her own story of getting divorced over zoom during the pandemic with her kids e-learning in the next room. Spoiler...it was bizarre. We LOVE hearing from you so please dm us with your questions, stories or if you just need to be seen and heard. Morgan on Instagram Andrea on Instagram You can also reach us on hownottosuckatdivorce.com You got this, and we got you.

Mar 17, 2022 • 44min
20. Divorce Finances, Forensics and Fraud
Out of all the podcasts in all the world, we’re in the top 5%! What?! How did this happen?! Thank you so much to all of our listeners, especially the 6 of you in Wyoming. Today's episode is like divorce meets CSI as we welcome Tracy Coenen. You may have seen her on CNBC On the Money, CBS, NBC, and in the Wall Street Journal. Tracy is a certified public accountant, certified in financial forensics, a master analyst and fraud investigator. If you're wondering what all this means, Tracy finds money. Money that has disappeared that you want back. Tracy breaks down: -When is hiring a fraud investigator or forensics accountant necessary? -Common red flags like when a spouse is having an affair. -How to trust your gut during your divorce. -What to do if your spouse is telling you “we have no money”. -If you should be concerned about the spouse who is quiet about finances or has changed passwords. -If you should you confront your spouse about missing money or being suddenly locked out of accounts. -What is a lifestyle analysis? -Would Tracy rather wave a red flaeg or a white flaeg? You will also hear Tracy's story about the infamous Instagram investigation. This is a don't-miss episode for sure. Tracy knows not everyone can afford to hire a private forensic accountant or investigator so she has developed a tool people can use to do it themselves. Be sure to sign up to be notified when Tracy’s tool launches at sequenceinc.com You can also connect with Tracy on LinkedIn Slide into our dms and tell us what you thought of today's episode! Have you found red flags with your finances? @theandrearappapport @divorceattorneychicago Hownottosuckatdivorce.com I know anything having to do with finances during a divorce is scary, but remember, you got this and we got you.

Mar 10, 2022 • 44min
19. Your Questions, Answered
Today we’re doing something a little different; we’re answering listener questions. And they are good. This podcast is for you and so we love when you dm us your questions and stories. Thank you for being vulnerable with us. Just a few of the questions we answer are: How do you support a friend who is going through a divorce when you’re happily married? What’s the best way to organize your documents for divorce? How do you answer the dreaded question from acquaintances “how are you”? We’ll also hear one more way Andrea sucked at her divorce. Learn from her mistake-this is a don’t miss episode. Wyoming, are you out there? Slide into our dms! @divorceattorneychicago @theandrearappaport


