How being child-free can lead to burnout
How being child-free can lead to burnout
It was 7pm on a Friday night. I was on yet another Zoom call. Not because of any deadline or emergency, but because our CEO was in New Zealand and he NEEDED an update before the weekend.
When I pushed back as I had plans that evening, the response was “We’ve had to put you last because the others all have kids”.
Pardon?
Is my life less important because I don’t have children?
Do my plans not count because it’s not reading bedtime stories?
Since when did the value of a person’s time outside of working hours depend on what they were doing with that time?
I’d never really questioned my career until this point. I got GCSE’s, then A-levels, then went to University, then got a Graduate job and worked my way up, because it had been instilled in me through school that it was just what you did.
What women before me had fought for meant I had to make them proud, and make them proud is what I would do! Prove that I could do what men can do... Stake my claim in the Corporate world…
And I’d done it; with a senior role within a male dominated industry, a six figure salary, international travel ‘perks’ and a team of people that I was responsible for. But in that moment it hit me - I’d ticked off the status and the salary, but it was an existence that didn’t align with my ambition for life.
My work- life balance was pretty non-existent, I was miserable and anxious all of the time, and the money I earned was going on paying for a house in an area of Manchester that we didn’t even need to live in anymore as my husband and I both worked remotely. I was spending my weekends in recovery mode trying to prepare for the next week at work. Not what I had envisaged when I left home at 18 for my big career adventure.
It was at that moment that I questioned myself:
Why am I doing this?! What am I trying to prove? And to who?
And that was when I decided:
I. Am. Done. Done trying to live up to society's impossible expectations of women.
Because Let’s Be Honest: ‘Child-free’ is seen as the easy option
As a woman without children, you’ve probably heard some version of this:
“Well, you don’t have kids, so you’re more flexible, right?”,
“You’re stressed?! You don’t know the meaning of the word… try doing all this AND having kids at home”
or maybe:
“Must be nice to have all that free time.”
It’s this unspoken belief that if you don’t have children, you’re somehow less deserving of rest, boundaries, or a life outside work. And if you do assert yourself or ask for a break? You’re labelled difficult. Aggressive. Selfish. Lazy.
If you don’t have kids there’s this subconscious need to prove yourself in other ways, and for me that manifested in putting ridiculous pressure on myself to achieve a high flying career, a place where the fact that I didn’t have kids was taken advantage of.
No matter what we do, society finds a way to make it wrong.
And I’m done with that. Aren’t you?
Ambitiously Unapologetic Was Born Out of Rebellion
This isn’t just a brand — it’s a movement. A space for women like us who are tired of being compared, categorised, or questioned simply because we chose a different path.
I don’t have children - That doesn’t mean I have less on my plate. That doesn’t mean I exist to work more, give more, or be available 24/7.
It means I’ve made choices based on my life, not society’s checklist. And it’s time the world caught up with that. My priorities are different, not lesser.
Ambitiously Unapologetic is for the women who are tired of shrinking themselves. Who are done biting their tongue. Who are building lives, businesses, and careers on their terms and want community, support, and honesty along the way.
This Is For You If…
You’ve ever felt judged for saying “no” because people assume you should be available
You’re ambitious, driven, and exhausted by the double standards placed on women
You’re craving a space where you don’t have to justify your stress, your rest, or your goals
You want more than just hustle culture and comparison; you want meaning, boundaries, and real connection
You don’t need to have it all figured out.
You just need to be ready to stop apologising for wanting more, or for wanting something different.
Let’s Rewrite the Rules — Together
I’m building something bold: a collective of unapologetic, child-free women who are done trying to achieve other people’s definition of success.
Through a powerful membership community, and straight-talking support, we’re going to reshape what success, wellness, and womanhood really look like, for us.
Because life isn’t about ticking boxes. It’s about owning your path.
And if you’re nodding along to this? You’re already one of us.
