The invisible woman still leaves quite a gap when she disappears.

You might not have seen her smoothing your path this morning, ensuring clean clothes, full bellies, and petrol in cars. She paid bills, kept WiFi flowing, Netflix streaming, remembered gym renewals and doctor's appointments—putting herself last on every list.

Until she doesn't.

When the invisible woman packs her bags and buggers right off, suddenly her space becomes blindingly clear.

Meet Monique van Tulder—mum, wife, woman who forgot to live her life. She took a grown-up gap year, went to change lightbulbs, and didn't return for months. Her sons call it "the time mum got mad and took off." She calls it life-changing—saving her marriage by renegotiating it entirely.

You can find Monique's book A Grown Up's Gap Year here and her podcast here. 

THE END BITS: 

Mamamia wants to hear about your financial wellbeing and how you're feeling about the future. Complete our short survey here for a chance to win a $1,000 gift voucher in our quarterly draw! 

Share your feedback! Send us a voice message or email us at podcast@mamamia.com.au 

Follow us on Instagram @MidbyMamamia or sign up to the MID newsletter, dropping weekly here. 

CREDITS:

Guest: Monique van Tulder

Host: Holly Wainwright

Senior Producer: Tahli Blackman

Group Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Audio Producer: Tina Matolov

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

The invisible woman still leaves quite a gap when she disappears.
You might not have seen her smoothing your path this morning, ensuring clean clothes, full bellies, and petrol in cars. She paid bills, kept WiFi flowing, Netflix streaming, remembered gym renewals and doctor's appointments&mdash;putting herself last on every list.
Until she doesn't.
When the invisible woman packs her bags and buggers right off, suddenly her space becomes blindingly clear.
Meet Monique van Tulder&mdash;mum, wife, woman who forgot to live her life. She took a grown-up gap year, went to change lightbulbs, and didn't return for months. Her sons call it "the time mum got mad and took off." She calls it life-changing&mdash;saving her marriage by renegotiating it entirely.
You can find Monique's book <a href="https://www.moniquevantulder.com/">A Grown Up's Gap Year here</a> and her <a href="https://www.moniquevantulder.com/podcast/">podcast here</a>.&nbsp;
THE END BITS:&nbsp;
Mamamia wants to hear about your financial wellbeing and how you're feeling about the future. Complete our <a href="https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/8396145/NEW-Mamamia-Financial-Wellbeing-Study-2025">short survey here</a> for a chance to win a $1,000 gift voucher in our quarterly draw!&nbsp;
Share your feedback!&nbsp;<a href="https://help.mamamia.com.au/en-US/send-a-podcast-voice-note-467960" data-stringify-link="https://help.mamamia.com.au/en-US/send-a-podcast-voice-note-467960" data-sk="tooltip_parent">Send us a voice message </a>or email us at <a href="mailto:podcast@mamamia.com.au">podcast@mamamia.com.au</a>&nbsp;
Follow us on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/midbymamamia/?hl=en">@MidbyMamamia</a> or sign up to the MID newsletter, dropping weekly <a href="https://midbymamamia.substack.com/">here</a>.&nbsp;
CREDITS:
Guest: Monique van Tulder
Host:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/wainwrightholly/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;amp;ig_mid=74644078-8F28-485C-9065-97B07E9DEE99">Holly Wainwright</a>
Senior Producer: Tahli Blackman
Group Executive Producer: Naima Brown
Audio Producer: Tina Matolov
Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Welcome to MID - the grown-up conversations women deserve.

Ever wondered what to do when your ducks don't all fit neatly into the row they're supposed to?

Each episode we bring you handpicked compelling stories discussing relationships and wellness.

Fun, frank wisdom from an impressive line up of well loved names, in the second act of life who share it all.

MID goes deep on self-care with zero shame and rich experiences you can cherry-pick for wisdom to share, changes to make and attitude we can borrow.

In MID... we're anything but.

Welcome to MID - the grown-up conversations women deserve.
Ever wondered what to do when your ducks don't all fit neatly into the row they're supposed to?
Each episode we bring you handpicked compelling stories discussing relationships and wellness.
Fun, frank wisdom from an impressive line up of well loved names, in the second act of life who share it all.
MID goes deep on self-care with zero shame and rich experiences you can cherry-pick for wisdom to share, changes to make and attitude we can borrow.
In MID... we're anything but.

The Gap Year That Saved A Marriage

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/3ea926be-9be7-482a-8ac3-a44f016e43d1/clips/5b761c4e-a61b-4b74-bb64-b380001e8732/transcript

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