Ep342 – Divorce Like a Boss with DianaEp342 – Divorce Like a Boss with Diana
Untoxicated Podcast
Family lawyer Diana Romanov talks with Matt and Sheri about ending an alcoholic or high‑conflict marriage with clarity, safety, and realistic expectations. The conversation covers custody, tech tools, AI, money, and the emotional cost of divorce while stressing education and self-respect over revenge.
1:00:52•6 Apr 2026
Divorce Like a Boss: Diana Romanov on Ending an Alcoholic Marriage
Episode Overview
- An informed client is better able to partner with their lawyer, make conscious choices, and avoid paying for explanations they could access for free.
- Before deciding on divorce, gaining clarity on finances, patterns of behaviour, and personal safety is more important than turning into an amateur detective.
- Alcohol misuse can shift custody away from a default 50–50 split, with tools like no‑alcohol orders, Soberlink testing, and supervised contact used to keep children safe.
- The “cost of winning” needs honest discussion, weighing legal fees, opportunity cost, emotional strain, and the long‑term impact on co‑parenting relationships.
- Traditional wedding vows can be weaponised; choosing each other “moment by moment” and maintaining self‑respect may matter more than clinging to phrases like “till death do us part.”
““Boss doesn’t mean aggressive. This is where being in charge, being in the driver’s seat, making conscious decisions, being a leader of self comes in.””
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol when the marriage itself has become unsafe or unworkable? This conversation on the Untoxicated Podcast sits right at that crossroads, where addiction, family life, and the harsh reality of divorce all collide. Family law attorney Diana Romanov joins hosts Matt and Sheri Salis to talk through what it really looks like to “Divorce Like a Boss” in the context of alcoholic and high-conflict relationships.
Diana cares deeply about educating people before they step into court, sharing how her YouTube channel and book grew from a desire to stop repeating the same explanations and instead help clients arrive informed, calmer, and ready to be partners in their own case. You’ll hear her break down practical questions people in alcoholic marriages often face: Do you need to gather evidence before deciding whether to stay or go? How does problem drinking impact custody recommendations?
What tools exist to keep kids safe, like court-ordered alcohol monitoring and co‑parenting communication apps that capture every message for the judge to see? Diana also talks frankly about the “cost of winning” and why spending £20,000 in fees to chase £20,000 in settlement makes no sense, especially when the emotional toll and long-term co‑parenting relationship are on the line.
She shares why she sometimes tells clients to pause, question whether they’re truly ready for divorce, and even consider legal separation instead. There’s humour here too – from staged Vegas annulment videos to talk of pink book covers – but the heart of the episode is serious: informed choice, emotional safety, and refusing to let shame or weaponised wedding vows trap anyone in a harmful situation.
If alcohol has damaged your relationship and you’re quietly asking, “Should I stay or should I go?”, could a more informed, less fear‑filled approach to divorce give you the clarity you’re craving?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.
Related Episodes
Similar episodes from other shows in the catalogue.