Jen Rigley is the founder of Flourishing Over Fifty®, a mum of three grown daughters, a new grandmother, and a woman in a season of profound transition. She’s leaving behind the years of managing her children’s lives and stepping into grandmotherhood while also building a new career as a motivational speaker, which already tells you this chapter is anything but quiet. In this conversation, Jen speaks candidly about the moment so many women recognise in themselves, that sudden inner question: Is this all there is? She thought midlife would feel settled, figured out, complete. Instead, it brought loss, upheaval, and life-shaking challenges that forced you to rethink everything. What makes her story so powerful is not just what she’s endured, but the mindset shift that helped her begin imagining happiness and possibility again.
Who are you, and what season of midlife are you in right now?
I’m Jen Rigley, a mom of 3 grown daughters, a new grandmother and the Founder of Flourishing Over Fifty ®, a community to inspire and empower women in midlife. I am in that season of leaving behind managing my kids’ lives and leaning into being a grandmother (the best!) while building a new career as a motivational speaker, so lots of transition.
What surprised you most about midlife or menopause?
The fact that I woke up one day and thought to myself, “Is this all there is?” It feels like when we reach midlife, whether that’s 40, 50, or whenever you are ready for it, we are often faced with so many challenges that life can feel very difficult. Because I thought that when I reached midlife, everything would be settled and figured out. I did not account for the losses and challenges many of us, myself included, face.
What’s been the hardest part that people don’t talk about?
For me, it has been the number of challenges and losses I have faced. Some of this was when I was younger, when my father died when I was 10, and in my twenties and early thirties, when I lost my brother-in-law and then my sister. But then midlife came, and I lost my mother, was diagnosed with breast cancer and was laid off, all in the same year. For a while, I had a very difficult time just waking up in the morning.
What has helped you most (a habit, a mindset shift, support, HRT or no HRT, community)?
What helped me the most was a mindset shift. I was able to go from that thought of “Is this all there is?” to a place where I could begin to consider the possibilities of life, of happiness, again.
What are you unlearning?
I am unlearning the habit of trying to control every situation, especially with my daughters. I now step back and wait for them to discover their path on their own without me giving unsolicited advice.
What do you wish you could tell your 35-year-old self?
Take time to be in the moment and spend time on your overall well-being.
What do you want other women to know they’re not alone in?
They are not alone in this journey we call life, especially in midlife. You can create a new story for your life; it’s never too late.
What’s one small ritual or practice that’s keeping you steady in your daily life?
My non-negotiable, what I call The Daily Joy Practice. I spend 3 minutes every day on this. I sit in stillness for 1 minute, think of what I am grateful for, for 1 minute, and I spend 1 minute thinking about my intention for the day. Do this every day, and it will not just keep you steady but can change your life.
What stayed with me most about Jen’s answers is her honesty about how heavy midlife can be. So many women enter this chapter expecting ease, only to find themselves carrying grief, loss, illness, change, and questions they never saw coming. Jen doesn’t pretend that part away. She names it. And then she offers something deeply hopeful: the reminder that even after the hardest seasons, you can still create a new story for your life. That shift, from “Is this all there is?” to “What else might be possible?” feels like the heartbeat of her whole interview.
I also love the simplicity of her Daily Joy Practice because it proves that steadiness doesn’t always come from grand reinventions. Sometimes it starts with three quiet minutes: stillness, gratitude, and intention. A small ritual, repeated daily, that helps you come back to yourself. If you’re in a season of transition, grief, or quietly wondering what now, let Jen’s words remind you that you are not alone, and it is never too late to flourish.
This series exists because when one woman tells the truth, another woman exhales. If something in this conversation made you exhale, if you recognised yourself in her words, there is a space where that feeling has a home.
The Midlife Circle is where the deeper conversation lives. Not just other women’s stories, but yours. Bi-weekly essays and The Midlife Edit, a private podcast, tools across all five areas of this season of life, from £19/month or £149/year.
And if you’re ready to go all the way in, the Midlife Inner Circle at £297/year includes the Midlife Manifesto Audio Training, The Midlife Reset course, and four quarterly 1:1 calls with me. Real, personal support for the redesign you’re already beginning.
The idea of unlearning control really stood out to me. Sometimes creating space for a new chapter means releasing the need to have everything figured out and trusting that we can find our way as we go. There is so much freedom in remembering that it’s never too late to begin again. 💖