🏳️‍🌈Dive into a Rainbow Romance!

🏳️‍🌈Dive into a Rainbow Romance!

Author: Anne-Marie Zanzal 1ac1f670-c17c-11f0-806a-ef1502adef07 June 27, 2025 Duration: 1:08:11

Wing Women Weekend, October 15-18, 2025, Provincetown, MA - a conference for women/non-binary persons who are new to the LGBTQIA+ community! This conference is all about connection, finding queer community, and having a whole lot of FUN! For the full conference schedule and to sign up, visit https://wingwomenweekend.com/ and use the coupon code PRIDE in June to receive 10% off.

"Maybe I'm Not Straight" and "When the Catalyst Relationship Ends" are do-at-your-own-pace courses for women who are reconsidering their sexual orientation and overcoming the end of their first lesbian relationship. Accessible, information-packed, and easy to do, these courses represent many years worth of experience working with women who come out later in life. Purchase your course and receive your first month subscription to Authentically Us, a safe online space for women who are coming out and beyond, for free! Learn more at https://annemariezanzal.com/courses-from-anne-marie-zanzal/

This week on Coming Out & Beyond: LGBTQIA+ Stories, we revisit an episode from season 3 where Anne-Marie Zanzal and Tonda McKay revisit the story of their journey in love and marriage. With the conversation facilitated by Anne-Marie's collaborator, Anna Empey, Anne-Marie and Tonda retell the story of how they first met, explain the nuances of a newbie and long-out lesbian courtship and relationship, and reflect on what they've learned along the way. As you listen, you'll discover how theirs is a partnership based on equity within the relationship, how they navigated complicated feelings as Anne-Marie went through the coming out and divorce process, how they resolve conflict, and what it means to them both to find love later in life.

The songs Anne-Marie and Tonda mention in this episode are "She Keeps Me Warm" by Mary Lambert https://youtu.be/NhqH-r7Xj0E?si=3dz8Uc6b7tNhXmOS and "This is Me" from the film "The Greatest Showman" https://youtu.be/CjxugyZCfuw?si=YiMI9dHJUUgADcIO.

❓ What to Expect in This Episode:


🏳️‍🌈A vulnerable and engaging story of how two people overcame past hurts to find connection.

🏳️‍🌈Thoughtful reflections on the later-in-life experience.

🏳️‍🌈A real life-account of why some women put their sexuality on the back burner until later in life.

🏳️‍🌈Inspiration that you, too, can find love at any age! And laughs, lots of laughs!


 Why This Matters:

In a world where there is so much negative media about the LGBTQ experience, it is heartwarming to hear positive stories that reflect real life queer happiness and love.


💬 Join the Conversation:

Did you find love later in life? How did it happen for you? Tell us in the comments!

🔗 Visit our website:

Anne-Marie's : [ annemariezanzal.com]


🔗 Follow us on social media:


💠 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amzanzal

💠 Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/annemariezanzalcoaching/

💠 Twitter: twitter.com/annemariezanzal

💠LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/annemariezanzalpurposefulempowerment/


You can also tune into this episode of Coming Out & Beyond: LGBTQIA+ Stories on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.


Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/coming-out-beyond-lgbtqia-stories/id1569859569

Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/27kocr4llm6syHKaeX1x9e

👉 Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more inspiring stories and advice on navigating life, love, and everything in between!



It can feel incredibly isolating to question your sexuality after years of living a different story. Coming Out & Beyond Support for Women Questioning Their Sexuality Later in Life is a companion for that specific journey, created for those who find themselves navigating these waters from a place of established life-perhaps within a marriage, after a divorce, or while building a family. Host Anne-Marie Zanzal brings her perspective as an ordained minister and hospice chaplain to conversations that gently unravel complex layers of identity, faith, and fear. This podcast delves into the real, often unspoken challenges: confronting compulsory heterosexuality, processing religious or spiritual conditioning, and managing the anxiety of how a personal revelation might ripple through your closest relationships. Episodes offer a blend of personal reflection, insightful interviews, and practical support, focusing on emotional and mental well-being without offering simplistic answers. It’s a space where you can hear stories that resonate with your own, fostering a sense of clarity and community. Tuning in, you’ll find a resource that honors the full spectrum of this experience-the confusion, the liberation, and everything in between-always grounded in compassion and deep understanding.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Coming Out & Beyond  Support for Women Questioning Their Sexuality Later in Life
Podcast Episodes
I Had Been Waiting For Something My Whole Life [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:16
In this week's episode of Coming Out & Beyond, Anne-Marie traces the winding, decade-long road that led her from a single paragraph in an Oprah magazine to finally saying the words out loud — and finding the woman who wo…
Red Flags, Love Bombing & Listening to Your Inner Voice [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:00
You're finally dating women — and maybe dating in general for the first time in decades. The apps are confusing, the feelings are big, and it can be hard to know when to trust your gut and when you're overthinking it. In…
Too Gay to Fit In, Too New to Feel at Home [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:14
Coming out names something true. But it doesn't hand you a place to land.In this episode of Coming Out & Beyond, Anne-Marie sits down with returning guest Anna Empey — LGBT coach, business development consultant, and com…
🤔So... Are You Actually Ready to Date? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:32
Are you ready to date — or do you just want to be? There's a difference, and this episode of Coming Out and Beyond is here to help you figure that out.Anne-Marie is joined by the wonderful Barbara Rowlandson — dating coa…
The Losses No One Talks About When You Come Out [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:23
Coming Out & Beyond has evolved.This season is now exclusively for women questioning their sexuality, coming out later in life, and creating a life beyond—at a human pace, with honesty and community.And if you found your…
What Heated Rivalry Gets Right About Coming Out [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:58
What Heated Rivalry Gets Right About Coming OutYou wouldn't expect a steamy male hockey romance to hit so close to home for later-in-life lesbians — but Heated Rivalry on HBO Max did exactly that.In this episode, Anne-Ma…