Rebecca Thomson | The Wine O'clock Woman
64 episodes listed below
When wine stops feeling like freedom.
The Wine O'Clock Woman is a reflective sobriety-and-parenting show for women questioning the role alcohol plays in their daily life. Solo episodes and guest conversations frame drinking less as a process of understanding patterns, not proving willpower.
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The Wine O'Clock Woman is a sober-curious mental health show focused on women who feel caught between a functioning life and a drinking pattern that no longer feels free. Its episodes are built around the ordinary pressure points where alcohol becomes useful. The evening arrives. The day has been full of decisions, family logistics, work, stress, or loneliness, and a drink becomes the reward, the switch-off, or the line that says the day is over. The show keeps returning to that moment because it sees the habit as meaningful, not random. It asks what the drink is giving someone before asking them to remove it. That gives the series a calm, investigative quality. It is direct about shame, secrecy, broken promises, binge drinking, and the exhausting mental load of thinking about alcohol. It is also careful not to flatten every listener into a single label. Solo episodes explore ideas such as self-sabotage, the split between daytime self and evening self, and the point where a clear decision becomes negotiable. Guest conversations widen the lens. Anita McKenna discusses empty-nest change, duty, expectation, and the chance to choose a new version of life. Elizabeth talks about motherhood, social drinking, family reactions, and what it feels like to choose sobriety while other people still drink. Jane Clayton brings grief, menopause, health, and coping into the conversation. Vicky O'Farrell is referenced through a conversation about behavior and alcohol as a bridge between parts of the day. Across these episodes, the show’s strongest idea is that women often stay stuck because they keep trying to fight the behavior without understanding its function. The tone is warm, serious, and practical. It does not glamorize drinking or dramatize recovery. It names the quiet forms of distress that can hide inside an otherwise capable life. For PlayNext listeners, it works best as a thoughtful companion for women questioning wine culture, motherhood pressure, midlife transition, and the private wish to trust themselves again.
Made for: For women who are drinking more than they want to, especially around evenings, parenting, grief, stress, or midlife change. It also suits sober-curious listeners who want reflection without harsh labels.
What sets it apart: The show focuses less on alcohol itself and more on the job alcohol is doing in a woman’s life. Its strength is the repeated move from shame and willpower toward pattern recognition, identity, and practical self-trust.
The Wine O’Clock WomanNew episodes every WednesdayMonthly guest conversationsThis is a podcast for women who are drinking more than they'd like, but are unsure about going sober forever. It names the pressure, the mental load, the constant responsibility, and the quiet ways women keep going while losing who they are.I’m Rebecca Thomson, Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist, former teacher, and mother.I support women to step back from alcohol long enough to break the pattern and decide whether it has a place in their lives at all.Alongside solo episodes, I host conversations with women who have changed their relat...
Rebecca asks what the wine was doing for you, then stays for the answer beneath it.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A clear-eyed talk about empty-nest shifts, nightly drinking, and the choices hidden inside both.
Anita McKenna's conversation tracks a shift from duty and expectation toward choice, tying that turn to empty nest feelings and the way a child entering high school can reshape a woman's sense of self.
A quiet, personal look at sobriety, motherhood, and the confidence that was there all along.
Elizabeth Davies, a life coach for mothers, talks through overwhelm, confidence, and the pressure to slip back into a drinking culture once the baby is asleep.
A calm, plainspoken look at grief, drinking, and life after alcohol.
This conversation keeps grief, alcohol, and midlife in the same room without hurrying any of them along. Rebecca's welcome is steady and open, and Jane Clayton answers with plainspoken honesty about loss, shame, and the long delay before she reached for grief counseling.
Jonquilyn Hill chases one listener question per episode to the experts who can answer it.
Hard conversations, patiently held, with room to laugh.
Fearne Cotton interviews guests like Boy George and Bryony Gordon about mental health and identity.
Dr. Joy Harden Bradford pairs therapy insight with Black TV recaps, maternal health, and history.
Julie Smith, founder of Miller Side Therapy and Coaching, tells The Wine O'Clock Woman host that changing drinking behaviour fails when it ignores the 95% of the mind she calls the subconscious.
The Wine O'Clock Woman host reframes “I need a drink” as a possible wish to escape demands, a noisy mind, difficult feelings, or an ordinary evening.
On The Wine O'Clock Woman, Rachel Teeling connects the "party girl" identity with alcohol, heartbreak, and dating after a long relationship.
Rebecca interviews Jo Hans about retirement as a psychological transition involving identity, caregiving, structure, and questions about what comes next.
Gilly Baker describes drinking “too much, too quickly and too often” after starting wine at 21 and becoming a mother with a job.
This episode explores how quiet, unstructured evenings—rather than stress or busyness—can drive drinking habits, particularly among women living alone or experiencing life transitions.
The Wine O'Clock Woman talks with Anita McKenna about empty nest, identity, and how wine can become "like a friend like a comfort" in the gap.
This episode explores why women who abstain from alcohol during the week often binge drink on weekends, arguing it's not about lack of control but about the timing of permission-giving decisions.
Elizabeth Davies, a life coach for mothers and toddler mum, tells The Wine O'Clock Woman how she left the social drink-after-bedtime routine behind.
This episode explores how alcohol serves as a bridge between the capable, organized daytime self and the tired, unsettled evening self, based on a conversation with behavior expert Vicky O'Farrell.
Jane Clayton tells Rebecca on The Wine O'Clock Woman that she is now three and a half years alcohol free after using wine to cope with grief.
This episode features a conversation with Kelly Harman, a trauma-informed breathwork facilitator and positive psychology coach, discussing her journey from a corporate education role to focusing on well-being and sobriety.
This episode explores the connection between motherhood, alcohol use, and the nervous system, focusing on how self-judgment and emotional overload lead to coping mechanisms like drinking.
This episode features an interview with holistic menopause practitioner Caroline Woolley, discussing how alcohol use changes for women during perimenopause and menopause, and exploring holistic approaches to managing this life stage.
This episode features an interview with Donna Elliott, a virtual assistant specializing in mental health support for women and neurodiverse clients, discussing her personal journey and work with Ebb and Flow to promote well-being.