Childlessness and Changing Relationships
When childlessness enters a relationship, it can feel like an invisible third wheel — always present, rarely spoken about. In this deeply moving episode, counsellor and author Meriel Whale joins The Full Stop team to explore how couples can navigate love, loss, and identity when their dreams of parenthood end.
Meriel reflects on her own journey and her work with couples, reminding us that “childlessness changes us as profoundly and permanently as being a parent changes people.” She encourages honesty, empathy, and brave communication: “There’s nothing more painful than being unseen and unheard within a relationship.”
Together with Berenice, Sarah, and Michael, the conversation moves through loneliness, intimacy, failure, and the courage it takes to ask for help. Meriel’s advice is simple yet profound: “Talk about the ball before you talk about how you feel about the ball.”
It’s an episode about rediscovering connection, rebuilding trust, and learning to really listen.
Meet Meriel
Meriel Whale is a compassionate, qualified, and experienced counsellor who works supportively with people experiencing significant distress, helping them move forward with their lives.
She holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Person-Centred Counselling from the University of Brighton (2010) and completed additional training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) with Dr. Adrian Hemmings in 2016, on a course titled CBT with Heart. In 2018, she trained with ACTO-registered trainer Jane Evans to provide counselling effectively and safely via webcam and telephone.
In 2024, she completed couple and relationship counselling training with The Counselling Academy, further broadening her therapeutic practice to support individuals and partners navigating complex relationship challenges.
Her experience spans a range of professional settings, including:
General counselling services (Counselling Plus, Hastings)
Domestic abuse services (CGL Hastings and RISE Brighton)
LGBTQ+ counselling services (LGBT Switchboard, Brighton)
Schools and colleges across Brighton & Hove and East and West Sussex
Her own private practice
