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When Loyalty Breaks: Betrayal, Self-Preservation & Rising Anyway

There’s a quiet kind of heartbreak that doesn’t come from a breakup or a layoff.

It comes from someone you trusted… choosing themselves over you.

That sting?

Yeah—it’s betrayal. And it happens to all of us eventually.

Even, apparently, to Taylor Swift.

Let’s talk about the rumored Taylor Swift and Blake Lively fallout.

Two women who were bestie goals. Seen at football games together, parties, red carpets.

Now? No birthday posts. No photos. No mention of each other. Just silence.

And while we’ll never know the full story, the speculation is a wake-up call:

Even the closest friendships can unravel when fear, pressure, or self-preservation kicks in.

🎙 This Week’s Episode: “They’ll Throw You to the Wolves”

In this new episode of Rise to More, I’m sharing something raw and personal:

A betrayal I didn’t see coming.

It wasn’t cinematic. It wasn’t explosive. It was quiet. Calculated. And devastating.

But it taught me something I needed to learn:

Most people won’t throw you to the wolves… until it benefits them.

Here’s what I dive into:

* Why betrayal almost always comes from someone close

Not enemies. Not strangers. Friends. Mentors. Business partners. The people you believed in.

* Self-preservation bias

When fear creeps in, most people will act in their own best interest—and justify it later.

* How to spot the signs early

(The silence, the distancing, the rewriting of history.)

* Why loyalty is beautiful—but leverage is essential

You can be a good person and still protect your position.

* Four strategies to protect your peace and integrity

From documentation to detachment, I lay it all out.

A Truth We Hate to Admit

People will protect their own reputation before they protect your relationship.

And when betrayal happens, the worst part isn’t the loss of the connection.

It’s that gut-wrenching voice that whispers,

“How did I not see this coming?”

You’ll question your instincts.

You’ll replay the last conversation over and over.

And if you’re not careful, you’ll start believing you can’t trust anyone again.

But here’s the thing: you can prepare without becoming paranoid.

You can be loyal without being naive.

You can build trust and still build a backup plan.

My Challenge to You

This week, take stock of your world:

* Are you too reliant on someone?

* Do you have leverage—or are you just hoping people do the right thing?

* If someone pulled the rug out tomorrow… would you be okay?

If the Taylor & Blake fallout taught us anything, it’s this:

Fame, success, and years of history don’t always protect you from disconnection.

So let’s stop pretending that loyalty alone will keep us safe.

Let’s start learning how to rise anyway.

-

🔗 Share this with someone who’s rebuilding after betrayal.

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This week on Rise to More, I had the honor of sitting down with a guest whose story moved me to my core.

Anne Ahmed is not just a chef. She is a memory-keeper, a storyteller, and a bridge between worlds. A former refugee from Laos who arrived in the United States as a child, Anne's life and work now anchor some of the most celebrated dining experiences in Minneapolis. Her restaurants—Kaluna, Gai Noi, and Laat 14—are more than destinations. They are sanctuaries of flavor, memory, and culture.

What unfolded in our conversation was not just a culinary tale, but a deep and layered exploration of:

* The invisible strength of refugee women: Anne shared how she was raised by three widowed women in a refugee camp, arriving in Minnesota with nothing but their will to survive. As a refugee myself, I felt an ache of recognition in her words.

* Finding belonging between worlds: Not Lao enough for Laos, not American enough for America—Anne spoke so vulnerably to the in-between space that so many of us immigrants inhabit.

* Why food became a language of care: Watching her grandmother reinvent recipes with unfamiliar ingredients, Anne learned that nurturing others begins at the table. That simple act of care, of creating comfort, resonated deeply with me.

* Rising above resistance: From recession to pandemic, from critics to self-doubt, Anne walked us through her journey of perseverance, reminding me of the strength we all carry beneath the surface.

* Reimagining authenticity: In her words, "It may not taste like your grandma's cooking. But your grandma isn't here. What you're tasting is the memory we create today."

* Honoring lineage while raising the next generation: As a mother in a bicultural family, Anne reflected on the quiet choices that keep heritage alive. It was a conversation that mirrored my own hopes for my children.

* The power of taking up space: For women, for immigrants, for dreamers—Anne's advice was both grounding and galvanizing.

We connected not just over our shared refugee backgrounds, but over our profound belief in the resilience of women, the healing power of beauty, and the audacity to rise beyond what the world expects.

Anne reminded me—and all of us—that "when you want something so badly, it will find a way." Her journey from the margins of survival to the heights of culinary acclaim is a living embodiment of that truth.

If you listen to one conversation this week, let it be this.

For those who have ever felt othered, unseen, or unsure of their path—this episode is a gentle hand on the back, a permission slip to take up space, and a reminder that your roots are not something to shed or overcome. They are the very foundation that makes you steady, grounded, and whole.

Ann Ahmed’s Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/chefannahmed/

Her restaurants:

https://khaluna.com

https://www.gainoimpls.com

https://www.lat14.com

Link to Ann’s trip to Laos in January 2026

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🎙️ Welcome to the First Episode of 'Rise to More'

This is the official rebrand of the podcast formerly known as Uplevel Together. I’m excited to step into this new chapter with you. If you’re wondering why I made the switch and what “Rise to More” truly means, I break it all down in this article:

Now, for our first episode under the new name—it's a big one.

Podcast Recap: Are we drugging the magic out of our kids?

I don’t know about you, but as a mother and a concerned citizen, I am becoming very frustrated with the mental health of our children - our future!! Today’s episode is deeply personal—and deeply needed.

We explore a growing crisis: the over-medicalization of childhood. It’s not just a parenting concern; it’s a cultural shift that’s replacing trust in intuition with reliance on labels, diagnoses, and prescriptions. Inspired by Abigail Shrier’s controversial but courageous book Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren’t Growing Up, this episode calls parents to reclaim what we’ve outsourced: our ability to see and support our children without panic.

Here’s the truth: being loud, curious, sad, or restless isn’t a problem to fix—it’s childhood. When we intervene too quickly, we don’t help our kids—we teach them they’re broken. And that belief follows them for life.

We discuss:

* The real cost of misdiagnosis and overmedication

* Why therapy isn’t inherently bad—but overuse is

* How parental intuition is being dismissed in favor of systems and checklists

* The power of letting kids be wild, emotional, and fully human

* Steps parents can take to reclaim sacred childhood

Timestamps:

* 00:00 – Opening monologue: Are we drugging the magic out of our kids?

* 01:20 – “Kierkegaard said, ‘When you label me, you negate me’” – What we’re missing when we pathologize childhood

* 04:00 – Review of Abigail Shrier’s Bad Therapy and the book’s core arguments

* 11:20 – Step 1: Trust your knowing before you diagnose

* 14:07 – Healing the inner child by raising yours with freedom and trust

Closing Thoughts: This episode isn’t a takedown of therapy—it’s a wake-up call for overreliance. When 90% of a classroom is medicated, that’s not healing. That’s crisis. Let’s get back to basics. Let's trust ourselves—and our children—again.

Call to Action: Share this with a parent who’s been questioning the system. Comment with your thoughts—especially if you're in education or mental health. And remember, trusting your child isn’t radical. It’s ancient.

Have thoughts or want to share your story? Drop a comment or reply directly. This isn’t just my voice—it’s ours.

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