TEA WITH JULES

A proper heart-to-heart.

In this solo episode, Jules goes deep on something she's been thinking about a lot lately: letting go of the things that define us. The stories we carry, the pressure we put on ourselves, and whether the version of success we're chasing was even ours to begin with.

Jules opens up about a belief she carried for almost her whole life, that she wasn't smart, formed in year four over a struggle with fractions, and how that single story quietly shaped her decisions, her confidence and the way she walked into rooms for decades. It's a powerful reminder of how the labels we accept about ourselves can become an identity we never actually chose.
From there, Jules explores the beliefs so many of us carry without questioning. I'm too emotional. I'm bad with money. I'm behind in life. I'm only valuable when I'm productive. She talks about where these stories come from, how repetition turns them into truth, and the gentle, everyday ways we can start creating evidence against the lie.

Asking if whether "having it all" is really the goal, or whether we've confused having it all with doing it all. Because a life that looks full from the outside can still feel empty inside. Success, she reminds us, looks different in every season. Sometimes it's ambition. Sometimes it's healing. Sometimes it's simply resting.

This is a warm, gentle, permission-giving episode. Put the phone down, take a breath, and let yourself just be for a little while.

CHAPTERS
00:00 — Welcome In: Wherever You Are, This Moment Is Guilt-Free
01:32 — Today's Heart-to-Heart: Letting Go of the Things That Define Us
02:09 — The Question That Changes Everything: What Beliefs Am I Carrying That Aren't True?
03:41 — Smartness Comes in All Kinds of Ways: Rewriting the Story
05:41 — Healing Starts With Awareness: Creating Evidence Against the Lie
06:37 — Jules Gets Honest: The Instagram Scroll That Took Her Out for a Day
08:12 — Spotting the Pattern Behind Anxiety and Sadness
10:21 — Just Because Something Is Normal Doesn't Mean It's Healthy
11:41 — Why Women Are Conditioned to Seek Approval, and the Cost of It
12:44 — Is Having It All Really the Goal?
14:09 — Define Success for Yourself, or the World Will Do It for You
15:09 — Share, Subscribe & Come Say Hi

Connect with Jules
Get Jules' Newsletter – a letter each week with personal anecdotes, recipes, fashion, cocktails and podcast episodes
Watch Tea with Jules on YouTube
Follow Tea with Jules on Instagram
Follow Jules on TikTok

Credits
Produced by ME Entertainment
Producers: @lisajohnston_, @julessebastian, @Eggoau
Sound Engineer, Video, Editor & Music: Mathew Eggleston – @Eggoau
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Content note: This episode includes discussion of suicide and mental health. Please listen with care. If you need support, Lifeline is available 24/7 on 13 11 14.

Some conversations change the way you see everything.

In this episode, Jules sits down with Leah Ashton, the founder of Hand in Hand in Ballarat, an organisation dedicated to supporting people experiencing mental health challenges and social isolation. The story behind Hand in Hand is one Leah tells here with extraordinary honesty and courage. It began with a chance conversation on a flight. Then, at the end of 2023, Leah's world fell apart. A phone call in the early hours of the morning. Her 21-year-old son, seven hours away in South Australia. Her husband overseas. What was first thought to be a car accident turned out to be something else entirely, and it was her son's best friend who finally told her the truth.

Out of that came a truth she now shares with every parent who will listen. You cannot fix your child. They do not want to be fixed. They want you to be present. Just sit with them, in it.
Jules and Leah talk about why mental health does not discriminate, why the conversations we are most afraid to have with our kids are the ones they most want to have, how loneliness and disconnection are quietly hurting communities, and the simple, small ways any of us can reach out to someone who might need it.

Connect with Leah Ashton and Hand in Hand:
Hand in Hand: https://www.handinhand.org.au/
Sebastian Foundation: https://www.sebastianfoundation.org/

If this episode raised anything for you:
Lifeline — 13 11 14 (24/7) — https://www.lifeline.org.au
Beyond Blue — 1300 22 4636 — https://www.beyondblue.org.au
Kids Helpline — 1800 55 1800 — https://kidshelpline.com.au

CHAPTERS
00:00 — Introducing Leah Ashton and the Work of Hand in Hand
01:16 — All the Way From Ballarat: A Community That Rallied
03:16 — A Chance Conversation on a Flight That Started Everything
04:43 — Hand in Hand Begins, and Then the World Falls Apart
05:15 — The Phone Call in the Early Hours of the Morning
06:20 — Forty-Eight Hours in a Hospital, and the Truth From a Best Friend
07:48 — "He Had a Loving Family, a Job, Friends. It Doesn't Discriminate."
10:52 — The Voicemail, and the Longest Twenty Minutes of Her Eldest Son's Life
12:08 — The Ripple Effect: How It Moves Through an Entire Family
14:55 — The Questions That Haunt a Parent: Was There a Reason? Did I Miss Something?
17:44 — "You Can't Fix Everything. Your Child Doesn't Want to Be Fixed."
19:19 — Letting the Whole Family In, and the Phone That Stays on Override
20:32 — The Burning Building: Understanding What That Moment Feels Like
21:42 — Living With the Demons: Why Mental Health Isn't Ever Simply Fixed
23:53 — Turning Pain Into Purpose, and the Cost of Reliving It
26:40 — Putting the Smile Back on the Dial
29:33 — The Talk at the School and the Student Who Ran Across the Room
31:49 — It's Not About Saying the Right Thing. Just Be There.
32:39 — The Stories People Carry, and Why Sharing the Load Matters
34:19 — Feeling Alone? Practical Ways to Build a Community From Nothing
36:03 — The Friday Night Cocktail Hour That Sparked Its Own Communities
37:21 — Why the Person You'd Least Expect Might Be the One Struggling
38:40 — Why a Generation That Can Handle Their Emotions Changes Everything
41:07 — One Thing For Yourself: Forgive Yourself
43:09 — One Thing For Someone Else: Never Assume
43:57 — Leah's Pearl of Wisdom: "Life Doesn't Get Easier, But We Can Be More Honest About It"
45:25 — Wrapping Up Tea with Jules

Credits
Produced by ME Entertainment
Producers: @lisajohnston_, @julessebastian, @Eggoau
Sound Engineer, Video, Editor & Music: Mathew Eggleston – @Eggoau
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if your home already knew things about your life that you have never told anyone?

In this fascinating episode, Jules sits down with Feng Shui master Kelly McCloskey, one of Australia's leading voices in the ancient art and science of Feng Shui. Kelly left a dream job selling real estate in Melbourne to study this 2,000-year-old practice, a decision so unexpected her own father asked her mother if she had joined a cult. Fifteen years later, she has guided thousands of people to transform their homes, their health, their wealth and their relationships, simply by understanding the energy of the spaces they live in.

Jules and Kelly deep dive into what Feng Shui actually is, and what it is not. This is not lucky cats and red ribbons around your taps. Kelly explains the real thing: how the front door, the bedroom, the fridge and even a single open window can be quietly shaping your life, and how one client's jaw hit the floor when Kelly predicted a serious health issue just by reading the energy of his home. His response, how did you know that, might be the most chilling moment of the episode.

Along the way you will learn why the artwork behind your bed matters more than you think, how Kelly has manifested everything from a husband to a beach house to an actual kitten, why decluttering is one of the most powerful things you can do for your energy, what to look for when buying a home, and the simple, practical changes any of us can make this week to invite more calm, clarity and abundance into our lives.

Connect with Kelly McCloskey:
Website: https://kellymccloskey.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellymccloskey_fengshui/

Link to "Decluttering Episode" with Anita Birges
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-secret-to-a-calm-house-anita-birges/id1468288374?i=1000738117133

CHAPTERS
00:00 — Introducing Feng Shui Master Kelly McCloskey
01:01 — "Is She Going to Know Everything About Me?": Jules' Feng Shui Nerves
02:07 — Why Your Feng Shui Is Different to Your Neighbour's
02:36 — What Feng Shui Actually Is: Wind, Water and the 24 Sectors
03:32 — "How Did You Know That?": The Health Prediction That Stunned a Client
04:26 — What It Means to Be Out of Luck, and Your Power Sector Explained
05:20 — Leaving Real Estate for Feng Shui: "My Dad Asked If I'd Joined a Cult"
06:54 — The Three Lucks: Earth, Heaven and Human
08:18 — Why Some Restaurants Thrive and Others Fail
09:50 — The Houses That Made Her a Believer: Cancer, Separation and Forced Sales
10:33 — Her Own Home: Why Even a Master Lives in a Work in Progress
12:36 — Order and Clutter: Why a Messy Home Blocks Clear Thinking
13:27 — Broken Things and Great Aunt Mary's Artwork: What to Get Rid Of
14:01 — Behind the Bed: The Manifesting Spot That Brought a Husband, Kids and a Kitten
15:17 — Jules Confesses What Is Actually Behind Her Bed
17:31 — Light Up Your Front Door: The Simplest Energy Fix
19:01 — Water, Wealth and Activating the Right Sectors
20:31 — How Everyday Taps, Basins and Toilets Activate Energy
25:08 — Reading a Home Before You Buy: Feng Shui and Property
26:13 — Trusting Your Instinct: Why Some Spaces Just Feel Wrong
30:11 — The Fridge: A Surprising Big Activator in Your Home
31:00 — Red Ribbons in Bali: Why Feng Shui Gets a Bad Rap
32:23 — Classical Feng Shui vs the Western Version
33:19 — You Don't Need to Bulldoze: Small Tweaks, Big Shifts
34:55 — How to Get a Reading With Kelly
39:08 — Cactuses, Pointy Plants and What Not to Put at Your Front Door
40:04 — Guy Takes the Floor: "Be Brutal"
41:23 — Declutter Time: The Final Word
42:04 — Wrapping Up Tea with Jules

Connect with Jules

Get Jules' Newsletter – a letter each week with personal anecdotes, recipes, fashion, cocktails and podcast episodes
Watch Tea with Jules on YouTube
Follow Tea with Jules on Instagram
Follow Jules on TikTok

Credits
Produced by ME Entertainment
Producers: @lisajohnston_, @julessebastian, @Eggoau
Sound Engineer, Video, Editor & Music: Mathew Eggleston – @Eggoau
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kate Reeves and We Don't Have Time For This:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katerevz/
Know Thyself Live Show: https://www.wedonthavetimeforthis.com/knowthyself
Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/we-dont-have-time-for-this/id1544178687

In this episode, Jules sits down with Kate Reeves, co-founder and co-host of the wildly successful podcast We Don't Have Time For This. Alongside her best friend of more than thirty years, Gemma Peanut, Kate has built one of Australia's most loved podcast communities, turning honest conversations about modern womanhood into sold-out live shows and a thriving business. But behind the laughs is a woman who has navigated real and significant change, including divorce, co-parenting, and rebuilding her life in ways she never expected.

Jules and Kate go deep on what it really takes to keep showing up when life does not go to plan. They talk about the vulnerability hangover that comes from sharing your life publicly. Kate opens up honestly about her divorce, the word she made peace with, and the enormous decision to step outside the lines of the life everyone expected her to live. She shares what co-parenting has taught her, the things our children pick up whether we like it or not, and the hope she carries for the kind of relationships they will one day build.

There is a beautiful theme running through this conversation about getting quiet in a noisy world, why silence has become the new luxury, and how life speaks to us first in whispers and then in shouts until we finally listen. Kate and Jules also explore the magic of building something with a best friend, the cruelty women can show one another online, why no woman is confident as a baseline, and the single most powerful feeling of all, which is not simply being seen but being truly known.
Wise, warm, hilarious and deeply moving, this is a conversation about reinvention, friendship, and giving yourself permission to change.

CHAPTERS
00:00 — Intro Kate Reeves of "We Don't Have Time For This"
03:50 — Best Friends Since Eleven: The Origin of Kate and Gemma
06:21 — How the Podcast Was Born Out of Covid and United Mothers
09:34 — The Vulnerability Hangover and Why 40 Means Giving Fewer F*^%$
15:34 — When the Dads on the Sports Field Have Heard Everything
20:09 — "You Were Married to One": Talking Openly About Her Divorce
22:12 — Finding the Word She Felt Comfy With and the Mountain of the Decision
25:27 — What You Resist Persists: Life Speaks in Whispers Then Shouts
26:53 — Silence Is the New Luxury: Where a Mum Finds Space to Think
29:23 — Co-Parenting, What Kids Witness and What They Pick Up
33:52 — Building a Business With Your Best Friend on a Very Small Team
36:29 — Love What You Do: The Hours, the Hustle and the Why
40:55 — Is It the Truth? The Only Guiding Light Behind Every Episode
41:46 — "This Feels Like Church": The Live Shows and Feeling Known
42:51 — Know Thyself: The Meaning Behind This Year's Show
46:05 — The Mean Instagram DM and How Kate Handled It
49:36 — No Woman Is Confident as a Baseline
53:35 — Stronger as a Duo: Why You Don't Have to Do It Alone
55:02 — Every Seven Years You Become a Whole New Person
56:11 — Goals Are Allowed to Change: Permission to Evolve
58:25 — The Know Thyself Live Show and Wrapping Up

Connect with Jules
Get Jules' Newsletter – a letter each week with personal anecdotes, recipes, fashion, cocktails and podcast episodes
Watch Tea with Jules on YouTube
Follow Tea with Jules on Instagram
Follow Jules on TikTok

Credits
Produced by ME Entertainment
Producers: @lisajohnston_, @julessebastian, @Eggoau
Sound Engineer, Video, Editor & Music: Mathew Eggleston – @Eggoau
Welcome to Tea with Jules hosted by Jules Sebastian. Here we spill the tea and learn life lessons from honest conversations with experts, celebrities and friends.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do you do when your whole life falls apart at 50?

In this deeply moving and genuinely uplifting episode, Jules sits down with Kylie Jones, the founder of Fifty & Fearless, a platform and movement helping women over 50 rediscover their confidence, identity and purpose. But Kylie's story did not begin with inspiration. It began at rock bottom.

In the space of just twelve to fifteen months, Kylie lost both of her parents and was suddenly retrenched from the 30-year career that had defined her. Completely broken and unsure how to even get out of bed each day, she opened her laptop one night and started an anonymous Instagram page. She didn't show her face. She simply began writing the words she needed to hear. Slowly, other women started to find her, and a movement was born.

Jules and Kylie talk about what it really means to come home to yourself in midlife, why so many women wear busy as a badge of honour, and how to release the guilt that comes with choosing yourself. They explore why society teaches us to fear ageing, and why Kylie believes the opposite is true, that women become more powerful, clearer and more qualified for life with every passing year. They also dig into the small, doable changes that reconnect you with the things you used to love, the importance of sitting quietly with your own thoughts, and why your next chapter might just be your best one yet.

Whether you are approaching 50, already there, or simply navigating a season of change, this conversation is a permission slip to stop shrinking and start living.

Connect with Kylie Jones and Fifty & Fearless:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fiftyandfearless/
Website: https://www.fiftyandfearless.com.au/
Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/fifty-and-fearless-with-kylie-jones/id1829344250

CHAPTERS
00:00 — Introducing Kylie Jones and the Fifty & Fearless Movement
01:38 — "Maybe Midlife Isn't About Starting Over": The Instagram Post That Started It All
03:06 — Rock Bottom: Losing Both Parents and a 30-Year Career in Months
03:41 — The Night She Opened Her Laptop and Started an Anonymous Page
05:15 — When Friends and Family Realised the Page Was Hers
06:43 — Coming Home to Yourself: What It Actually Means
08:11 — The Wheel of Life and Why Women Put Themselves Last
19:42 — Wearing Busy as a Badge of Honour
20:09 — Choosing Me: Releasing the Guilt of Putting Yourself First
24:36 — Why Brands Still Aren't Speaking to Women Over 50
29:33 — Why Are We Taught to Fear Ageing?
33:21 — The Fifty & Fearless Community and the Women Inspiring Each Other
35:53 — It Doesn't Have to Be a Grand Gesture: Start Small
41:11 — Sitting With Your Own Thoughts in a World That Never Stops
44:28 — Overwhelmed by Information: Why We Need to Switch Off
45:36 — Kylie's Advice: Don't Be Scared of What's Next
47:32 — You Are the Most Qualified You Have Ever Been
47:44 — "You Want to Turn 50 Now, Don't You?"
48:06 — Wrapping Up Tea with Jules
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.