Kristina Mills, an educator and Survivor contestant, talks about living with grief while making room for laughter, family and new challenges. She joins Jed Chappell to explore what supportive friendship can look like, how the game changed her sense of identity, and why moving forward does not mean leaving the person you miss behind.
What this conversation explores
- Laughter and ordinary family life after loss
- How to share good news with a grieving friend
- Meals, practical help and messages that need no reply
- Identity beyond being a wife, mother, daughter and educator
- An unexpected moment on a Survivor challenge beam
Chapters
00:00 Opening and guest introduction
00:50 Life after Survivor
03:07 Finding laughter inside grief
13:14 Faith after loss
14:49 Why sharing a story matters
21:33 Making room for good news
23:11 Grief in the passenger seat
24:13 Supporting a grieving friend
27:27 Identity beyond familiar roles
29:23 The challenge on the beam
37:16 What comes next and connecting with Kristina
Guest bio
Kristina Mills is an educator and Survivor season 49 contestant. She describes herself as a wife and mother and discusses speaking to school audiences about her experiences.
Links and resources
Kristina Mills on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krismills64/
Kristina’s website: None stated; she says building one is the next step.
Survivor: https://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/ (official series page, verified separately)
The Price Is Right: [Link needed]
Unnamed grief platform and its New York creator: [Link needed; creator not named]
Unnamed Survivor alumni events, school speaking appearance and New York play: [Link needed; no specific event, school, play title or actor named]
Other named references: ChatGPT [Link needed]; Eeyore [Link needed]. No books, studies, sponsor or named guest employer mentioned.
Watch + Listen: https://www.voicesofokc.com/watch-listen/
Episode hub: https://www.voicesofokc.com/episodes
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@voicesofokc
Instagram: https://instagram.com/voicesofokc
Podbean: https://voicesofokc.podbean.com/
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/voices-of-okc/id1847725322
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3nUpFLOsHGVtrN8tZz6nlM
Jed Chappell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jed-chappell-7a745332/
VOICES of OKC on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/voices-of-okc/
City Center: https://okcitycenter.org/
City Center on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OKCityCenter
Contact: info@voicesofokc.com
Content note: Bereavement, parental addiction, postpartum depression, anxiety and a non-graphic discussion of police violence. Personal experiences are not clinical guidance.
Follow VOICES of OKC in your podcast app for future conversations.