If you’ve ever dimmed your light to fit in or keep the peace, here's your reminder: it’s time to stop playing small.

So many women aren’t playing small because they lack confidence. They’re doing it because they were taught to. In this episode of Girl, Wake Up!, Amy Polacko sits down with Erin Gallagher, author of Hype Women, to unpack how patriarchy thrives when women stay quiet, compete with each other, and shrink to be liked.

Erin explains why being a Hype Woman isn’t just about encouragement. It's about strategy, survival, and collective power. This message matters for single women, married women, and everyone in between.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why “playing small” is learned– and who benefits from it.

• How patriarchy pits women against each other through competition and comparison

• The truth about adult mean-girl culture and internalized misogyny

• Why being a Hype Woman is a political, professional, and personal act

• How women can take up space without apology-in work, relationships, and life

• Why this movement matters for all women, regardless of relationship status

This isn’t about toxic positivity or empty empowerment slogans. It’s about women recognizing their power, transferring it to each other, and refusing to shrink... TOGETHER.

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Erin's Bio:

Erin Gallagher is a founder and disruptor who launched the global Hype Women Movement. She is the host and producer of the HYPE WOMEN podcast. She is also the CEO and Founder of Hype Women, an inclusive ecosystem unlocking women's access to human, social, financial, and political capital. She's an expert in helping women heal, build generational wealth, and move into positions of power and influence– and as one global CMO succinctly put: "Erin is the not-so-secret weapon so many leaders use to drive real change."

Here’s how you can find her:

Website: hypewomen.com

Instagram: @erin.gallag.her

Buy her Book: Hype Women: Breaking Free from Mean Girls, Patriarchy and Systems Silencing You (*Available wherever books are sold)

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Learn more about Amy Polacko's work and free 15-minute Coaching Consultations here.

In the launch episode of Girl, Wake Up!-released the same day her book drops-we go inside the real story of Dirty John with Tonia Bales, the first wife of the man who would later become infamous as one of America’s most notorious con artists and predators.

Long before podcasts, Netflix series and headlines, Tonia lived this story from the inside. Her book with Amy Jauman, When You See It: How I Outsmarted & Outlasted Dirty John, shares this incredible backstory.

In this powerful conversation, Tonia reveals how predators hide in plain sight-using charm, credibility and coercive control to quietly dismantle a woman’s sense of safety and self. Together, we break down the early warning signs women are often conditioned to ignore, how con men gain control inside intimate relationships and what it takes to escape and heal after psychological manipulation.

This episode isn’t just about Dirty John.

It’s about how these men operate, why strong women are targeted, and how awareness saves lives.

We cover:

1. The red flags Tonia didn’t yet have language for
2. How coercive control slowly takes hold
3. Why leaving is far more complex than “just walking away”
4. The hidden aftermath of psychological abuse
5. Turning survival into purpose-and helping other women now

Today, Tonia uses her voice to help women trust their instincts, recognize danger sooner and reclaim their power.

If you’ve ever dismissed a gut feeling, minimized a red flag, or wondered “Was it really that bad?”-this episode is your wake-up call.

📘 Tonia Bales’ new book is out today! Get it here.

Her website: www.toniabales.com

Find her on Instagram: @toniabales

Find her on Facebook: Tonia Sells Bales

Learn more about Amy Polacko's work and free 15-minute Coaching Consultations here.

Girl, Wake Up! is for women who’ve realized the systems were never built to protect us. Join award-winning journalist and divorce/life coach Amy Polacko as she moves past feel-good empowerment and into what actually works: strategy, clarity, and self-reliance. We talk honestly about relationships, money, divorce, power, and self-preservation. Because waiting to be saved isn’t a plan.

Premiering January 13th, 2026