December 17, 2025 • 13 mins
Welcome back to Season 3 of Unapologetically Yours! This is a season that is starting off on the back end of massive transformation: a divorce finalized, a business merger, a beloved nanny’s goodbye, and a woman learning to trust that shedding can be sacred. In this solo season 3 opener, Ashley pulls back the curtain on the endings, beginnings, and wild timing that have reshaped her life over the past few months. 
Ashley Logan is a writer, storyteller, and spiritual wayfinder, as well as an entrepreneur, mother of three, and host of the Unapologetically Yours podcast. She spent years running Yakkety Yak, a Chicago-based content marketing agency that grew to 30+ employees and nearly $4M in revenue, serving purpose-driven brands around the world. After walking through divorce, parenting three young kids, and navigating a major business merger with The David James Agency, Ashley is redefining what leadership, motherhood, and creative work look like on her own terms. 
In this episode, you’ll hear about:
- What 2025 as the Year of the Snake is revealing about shedding, embodiment, and awakening
- How Ashley’s divorce process finally came to an end—on the same day as her business merger
- The emotional impact of saying goodbye to a nanny who loved her children like family
- Shifting from full-time agency CEO to a part-time role and more present everyday motherhood
- Creating space for writing, podcasting, events, and the creative work that feels most alive
- Welcoming change without bypassing the grief, fear, and tenderness that come with it
… and so much more!
A note from Ashley:
This episode is a love letter to anyone standing at the edge of a big decision. I won’t sugarcoat the chaos - there’s grief, rage, holy exhaustion, and a hundred tiny goodbyes baked into seasons like this. But I’m also noticing the quiet ways I’m being held: the extra toilet paper stacked, the kids’ laughter on weekday afternoons, the way my body exhales when I clear a closet or say no. My hope is that my story gives you permission to trust your own timing, your own body, your own knowing - especially when the path ahead doesn’t look “practical” from the outside. 
Connect with Ashley:
Instagram @ashleydlogan
Website https://ashleylogan.com/
Have a topic or guest you’d love to see featured on the Unapologetically Yours podcast? Send us an email: podcast@unapologeticallyyours.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This has been a time of great transition.
This has been a time of just so much change.
But with change, y'all, comes opportunity.
And we just have to look on the bright side of that.
(00:23):
Welcome to the latest episode of the Unapologetically Yours podcast.
I'm your host Ashley Logan.
I am so, so happy to be back here with you today.
Unapologetically Yours is a podcast for the dreamers, the doers, the changemakers.
Here we talk everything from the intersection from spirituality to relationships andconnection to business and belief systems because we're here trying to figure out what is
(00:50):
true, what rules were made for us and what
Rules were meant to be broken.
Life is meant to be lived.
And I want to discover what it's like to live a life that is unapologetically yours.
So we're back season three.
I am so darn excited.
Had to take a little break, but we're back.
(01:10):
We have so many incredible guests line up for the next season.
And I am back and ready to have honest, raw, real.
heartfelt, conscious conversations that will help make you think about the way that we'reliving life and the way that we're showing up in the world.
So let me tell you a little bit about me.
I am an entrepreneur.
(01:32):
I am a mother of three.
I am a divorcee.
I am a spiritual wayfinder.
I am a journalist.
I am a storyteller.
And ultimately, I am a multi-passionate.
person trying to make my way in the world where I can show up as my full self.
And it has been a journey.
(01:52):
And I talk a lot about that here.
This year, 2025 has been such a wild season.
And for those of you who don't know, in Chinese astrology, 2025 is the year of the snake.
And for me, the snake has so much great glorious energy.
For those of you who are more on the spiritual side, the snake can mean
Kundalini and that is a full embodiment, a full awakening.
(02:15):
And I view the serpent as a friend through lots of work and a quest to return home to mybody, return home to my truest self.
I felt very much guided by the snake because a beautiful thing about the snake is theenergy that is shed and obviously the snake with shedding of its own skin.
(02:38):
So the last couple of months was
wild in terms of shedding and cleaning out the closet and letting things go.
So what that looked like was in my home, clearing out the clutter, getting multipledumpsters and just getting rid of as many things as possible, getting organized so that my
house can really have that powerful energy and feel like I wanted to.
(03:01):
But had some other pretty major changes that was navigating.
So let me tell you a story about.
Thursday, September 25th.
On Thursday, September 25th, my divorce was finalized after 867 days.
There's a lot of reasons why a divorce can take so long and all of those reasons have todo with the attorneys.
(03:26):
And that's not entirely true, but the legal process is brutal.
And especially when you have two business owners and three little kids in the mix, it justtook time.
and presents and all of those things.
But it was finally signed on September 25th.
Also that day, I signed the papers to merge my business with another.
(03:48):
So this is really exciting.
I am an entrepreneur.
I run multiple businesses, but my primary business was called Yakityak, a contentmarketing agency based in Chicago.
At our biggest point, we had over 30 employees.
We were doing roughly
4 million in revenue and it was much more than a side hustle working with businesses allaround the globe, primarily purpose-driven brands and businesses in their storytelling.
(04:15):
And there was so much that I loved about this business and so much that helped made mefeel really, really, really tied down as a mom of three kids, particularly in those brutal
pandemic years where I had primarily Gen Z staff.
who was living in downtown Chicago and trying to figure out life and all of the things whowere looking to me for guidance and support while also raising three young kids.
(04:44):
My kids right now are five, seven and nine.
So I had a pandemic baby and some of those years were the hardest and most transformativeyears of my life.
So starting about 18 months ago, I had breakfast with another agency owner and we just hadso many synergies and they worked.
primarily in branding and event planning and PR.
(05:06):
And they were also by and large full service, but with those, that primary focus.
And over time we started to realize like, this could actually be a really, really, reallygood fit.
And this wasn't the first time that there was a merger or an acquisition on the table forYakity Yak.
This is the first one where it felt truly, totally aligned.
(05:27):
So I sign on the dotted line and that deal was totally effective on October 1st, but allthe paperwork started to be signed, the deal was finalized and pretty amazing the way that
the universe works, that this was all happening at one time, but that's what happens inlife sometimes.
And I've been working towards all of these big things for such a long time.
(05:50):
The fact that they landed on the same day was pretty wild.
But the other thing that happened that same day was that it was the last day that ournanny of nine years would be with our family before moving on to another household.
And this woman, she's who I want to talk about today.
She was ubiquitous around the area as a career nanny, knowing just everyone and treated mykids with so much love and so.
(06:17):
much tenderness for over nine years.
She started with us when my daughter was just about six months old.
And at that time in my life, I had opened up an office in the city for my company forYaketyak and she was there and I never ever one time questioned if my kids were safe or
loved or cared for with her.
(06:37):
And my God, what an absolute gift.
So she was there for the birth.
of my two sons and she loved my kids as if they were her own.
And in so many ways she is family.
And it's funny that even though my ex and I had started to live separately after theparenting agreement was signed in mid 2024, I never felt like a single parent because I
(07:03):
had her.
So once she left, I was just absolutely.
gobsmacked with so much emotion, feeling like the woman who had just like been by my sidefor so long, it just left such a big hole in my heart.
And then just recognizing how much she was actually also caring for me in addition to thekids.
(07:25):
And for weeks, I found little love notes from her, things like extra toilet paper stackedin the bathrooms and food that she had stocked up on.
And I want to tell you that this woman would show up at our house.
and with like extra strawberries and sliced ham that she would hide in her car just incase I didn't make it to the grocery store in time.
Like this is the type of person that she was just like absolutely magnificent.
(07:49):
So what was interesting too is that the timing of this transition was so divine andthroughout the process of all of the changes that I've been through in my life over the
last
couple of years I have felt so divinely guided and so divinely held and this timeline isjust one example of that.
(08:10):
So part of the deal with my merger with the other agency called the David James Agencybased here in the Chicagoland area is that I was taking on a part-time
role.
So that meant that now I had the capacity to take my kids to school to pick them up and toreally be that I hate the term full-time parent because whether you're working or stay at
(08:35):
home mom like you're still a full-time parent but to be the one who that actually got towear all of the hats and play all the caregiving roles for them is so darn amazing after
working my ass off for nine years since
They were little babies.
so my days have changed pretty dramatically.
But what does that mean for us?
(08:56):
Here's what I am so freaking excited about.
So mention the year of the snake and the shedding and the embodiment and coming into myfullest self and my fullest expression.
Well, for me, that is about writing and creativity and storytelling.
And now I have this amazing opportunity to lean.
(09:17):
more fully into the podcast, to lean more fully into my writing, to lean more fully intothe parts of me that make me from music and healing and events and storytelling and all of
those things.
So this is what I'm really excited about is bringing on guests who are compelling authors,storytellers, musicians, people who are making an impact in the world and hearing what
(09:42):
they have to say.
If there's someone that is peaking my attention, you better believe that I'm going
ask them to be on the show.
let me know in the comments or by sending me an email at hello at AshleyDLogan.com who youwant to see on the podcast this season and we'll see what we can do.
I am setting my sights on the stars and I cannot wait to see how far we go.
(10:06):
So this has been a time of great transition.
This has been a time of just so much change but with
change y'all comes opportunity and we just have to look on the bright side of that.
And I'm very, very aware of toxic positivity and that's like just brushing over all of thethings that are happening without healing, without tending to them.
(10:31):
And I sort of recognizing myself like, okay, there are so much spinning right now and somany things that have to be consciously put.
down to make space for what's next.
So a big part of the last couple months for me has been exactly that.
Cleaning things out, making space, and now it's time to allow what the universe hasplanned, what God has planned for me to come forward.
(10:56):
So I am ready for the first time in a very, very, very long time to have a little bit morespaciousness for creative ideas to come through, new partnerships to arise, and
to see what is coming next.
With all of that said, season three is going to be a doozy and I cannot wait to tell youmore.
(11:18):
For those living in the Chicagoland area, especially, I want you to visit my website,ashleydlogan.com and subscribe to my newsletter.
There is so much happening.
One, we've got lots of new events coming for men and women, sound healing, breath work,workshop.
more retreats, more action, and I cannot wait for you guys to be the first to know aboutall of the things that are coming locally.
(11:44):
We also have tons of virtual events that are coming up as well and stay tuned for morepartnerships and there is a lot of good reason to fear change and there's a lot of good
reason to welcome it because the shedding of the skin.
creates a chance to walk a little lighter, to be a little bit more embodied and a chanceto call in the things that are most aligned with who you are today.
(12:11):
So if I can leave you with anything today, if you are on the brink of a big decision, ifyou are thinking about leaving that job, if you are thinking about mixing things up in
your life, remember that you are going to be okay and it might just end up even betterthan you possibly
could have imagined.
Thank you so much for tuning in to this mini episode today as we tease what's coming inseason three.
(12:37):
And thanks for listening to the life update on my end.
Much more to come about all of the exciting things that have taken place over the lastseveral months and I can't wait for what's ahead.
Thanks for tuning in and until next time, I'm Ashley Logan and I'm unapologetically yours.
This has been a time of great transition.
This has been a time of just so much change.
But with change, y'all, comes opportunity.
And we just have to look on the bright side of that.
(00:23):
Welcome to the latest episode of the Unapologetically Yours podcast.
I'm your host Ashley Logan.
I am so, so happy to be back here with you today.
Unapologetically Yours is a podcast for the dreamers, the doers, the changemakers.
Here we talk everything from the intersection from spirituality to relationships andconnection to business and belief systems because we're here trying to figure out what is
(00:50):
true, what rules were made for us and what
Rules were meant to be broken.
Life is meant to be lived.
And I want to discover what it's like to live a life that is unapologetically yours.
So we're back season three.
I am so darn excited.
Had to take a little break, but we're back.
(01:10):
We have so many incredible guests line up for the next season.
And I am back and ready to have honest, raw, real.
heartfelt, conscious conversations that will help make you think about the way that we'reliving life and the way that we're showing up in the world.
So let me tell you a little bit about me.
I am an entrepreneur.
(01:32):
I am a mother of three.
I am a divorcee.
I am a spiritual wayfinder.
I am a journalist.
I am a storyteller.
And ultimately, I am a multi-passionate.
person trying to make my way in the world where I can show up as my full self.
And it has been a journey.
(01:52):
And I talk a lot about that here.
This year, 2025 has been such a wild season.
And for those of you who don't know, in Chinese astrology, 2025 is the year of the snake.
And for me, the snake has so much great glorious energy.
For those of you who are more on the spiritual side, the snake can mean
Kundalini and that is a full embodiment, a full awakening.
(02:15):
And I view the serpent as a friend through lots of work and a quest to return home to mybody, return home to my truest self.
I felt very much guided by the snake because a beautiful thing about the snake is theenergy that is shed and obviously the snake with shedding of its own skin.
(02:38):
So the last couple of months was
wild in terms of shedding and cleaning out the closet and letting things go.
So what that looked like was in my home, clearing out the clutter, getting multipledumpsters and just getting rid of as many things as possible, getting organized so that my
house can really have that powerful energy and feel like I wanted to.
(03:01):
But had some other pretty major changes that was navigating.
So let me tell you a story about.
Thursday, September 25th.
On Thursday, September 25th, my divorce was finalized after 867 days.
There's a lot of reasons why a divorce can take so long and all of those reasons have todo with the attorneys.
(03:26):
And that's not entirely true, but the legal process is brutal.
And especially when you have two business owners and three little kids in the mix, it justtook time.
and presents and all of those things.
But it was finally signed on September 25th.
Also that day, I signed the papers to merge my business with another.
(03:48):
So this is really exciting.
I am an entrepreneur.
I run multiple businesses, but my primary business was called Yakityak, a contentmarketing agency based in Chicago.
At our biggest point, we had over 30 employees.
We were doing roughly
4 million in revenue and it was much more than a side hustle working with businesses allaround the globe, primarily purpose-driven brands and businesses in their storytelling.
(04:15):
And there was so much that I loved about this business and so much that helped made mefeel really, really, really tied down as a mom of three kids, particularly in those brutal
pandemic years where I had primarily Gen Z staff.
who was living in downtown Chicago and trying to figure out life and all of the things whowere looking to me for guidance and support while also raising three young kids.
(04:44):
My kids right now are five, seven and nine.
So I had a pandemic baby and some of those years were the hardest and most transformativeyears of my life.
So starting about 18 months ago, I had breakfast with another agency owner and we just hadso many synergies and they worked.
primarily in branding and event planning and PR.
(05:06):
And they were also by and large full service, but with those, that primary focus.
And over time we started to realize like, this could actually be a really, really, reallygood fit.
And this wasn't the first time that there was a merger or an acquisition on the table forYakity Yak.
This is the first one where it felt truly, totally aligned.
(05:27):
So I sign on the dotted line and that deal was totally effective on October 1st, but allthe paperwork started to be signed, the deal was finalized and pretty amazing the way that
the universe works, that this was all happening at one time, but that's what happens inlife sometimes.
And I've been working towards all of these big things for such a long time.
(05:50):
The fact that they landed on the same day was pretty wild.
But the other thing that happened that same day was that it was the last day that ournanny of nine years would be with our family before moving on to another household.
And this woman, she's who I want to talk about today.
She was ubiquitous around the area as a career nanny, knowing just everyone and treated mykids with so much love and so.
(06:17):
much tenderness for over nine years.
She started with us when my daughter was just about six months old.
And at that time in my life, I had opened up an office in the city for my company forYaketyak and she was there and I never ever one time questioned if my kids were safe or
loved or cared for with her.
(06:37):
And my God, what an absolute gift.
So she was there for the birth.
of my two sons and she loved my kids as if they were her own.
And in so many ways she is family.
And it's funny that even though my ex and I had started to live separately after theparenting agreement was signed in mid 2024, I never felt like a single parent because I
(07:03):
had her.
So once she left, I was just absolutely.
gobsmacked with so much emotion, feeling like the woman who had just like been by my sidefor so long, it just left such a big hole in my heart.
And then just recognizing how much she was actually also caring for me in addition to thekids.
(07:25):
And for weeks, I found little love notes from her, things like extra toilet paper stackedin the bathrooms and food that she had stocked up on.
And I want to tell you that this woman would show up at our house.
and with like extra strawberries and sliced ham that she would hide in her car just incase I didn't make it to the grocery store in time.
Like this is the type of person that she was just like absolutely magnificent.
(07:49):
So what was interesting too is that the timing of this transition was so divine andthroughout the process of all of the changes that I've been through in my life over the
last
couple of years I have felt so divinely guided and so divinely held and this timeline isjust one example of that.
(08:10):
So part of the deal with my merger with the other agency called the David James Agencybased here in the Chicagoland area is that I was taking on a part-time
role.
So that meant that now I had the capacity to take my kids to school to pick them up and toreally be that I hate the term full-time parent because whether you're working or stay at
(08:35):
home mom like you're still a full-time parent but to be the one who that actually got towear all of the hats and play all the caregiving roles for them is so darn amazing after
working my ass off for nine years since
They were little babies.
so my days have changed pretty dramatically.
But what does that mean for us?
(08:56):
Here's what I am so freaking excited about.
So mention the year of the snake and the shedding and the embodiment and coming into myfullest self and my fullest expression.
Well, for me, that is about writing and creativity and storytelling.
And now I have this amazing opportunity to lean.
(09:17):
more fully into the podcast, to lean more fully into my writing, to lean more fully intothe parts of me that make me from music and healing and events and storytelling and all of
those things.
So this is what I'm really excited about is bringing on guests who are compelling authors,storytellers, musicians, people who are making an impact in the world and hearing what
(09:42):
they have to say.
If there's someone that is peaking my attention, you better believe that I'm going
ask them to be on the show.
let me know in the comments or by sending me an email at hello at AshleyDLogan.com who youwant to see on the podcast this season and we'll see what we can do.
I am setting my sights on the stars and I cannot wait to see how far we go.
(10:06):
So this has been a time of great transition.
This has been a time of just so much change but with
change y'all comes opportunity and we just have to look on the bright side of that.
And I'm very, very aware of toxic positivity and that's like just brushing over all of thethings that are happening without healing, without tending to them.
(10:31):
And I sort of recognizing myself like, okay, there are so much spinning right now and somany things that have to be consciously put.
down to make space for what's next.
So a big part of the last couple months for me has been exactly that.
Cleaning things out, making space, and now it's time to allow what the universe hasplanned, what God has planned for me to come forward.
(10:56):
So I am ready for the first time in a very, very, very long time to have a little bit morespaciousness for creative ideas to come through, new partnerships to arise, and
to see what is coming next.
With all of that said, season three is going to be a doozy and I cannot wait to tell youmore.
(11:18):
For those living in the Chicagoland area, especially, I want you to visit my website,ashleydlogan.com and subscribe to my newsletter.
There is so much happening.
One, we've got lots of new events coming for men and women, sound healing, breath work,workshop.
more retreats, more action, and I cannot wait for you guys to be the first to know aboutall of the things that are coming locally.
(11:44):
We also have tons of virtual events that are coming up as well and stay tuned for morepartnerships and there is a lot of good reason to fear change and there's a lot of good
reason to welcome it because the shedding of the skin.
creates a chance to walk a little lighter, to be a little bit more embodied and a chanceto call in the things that are most aligned with who you are today.
(12:11):
So if I can leave you with anything today, if you are on the brink of a big decision, ifyou are thinking about leaving that job, if you are thinking about mixing things up in
your life, remember that you are going to be okay and it might just end up even betterthan you possibly
could have imagined.
Thank you so much for tuning in to this mini episode today as we tease what's coming inseason three.
(12:37):
And thanks for listening to the life update on my end.
Much more to come about all of the exciting things that have taken place over the lastseveral months and I can't wait for what's ahead.
Thanks for tuning in and until next time, I'm Ashley Logan and I'm unapologetically yours.
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