Deconstructing Religious Identity to Embrace Authenticity with Bekah Slider

If you love the show and you'd like to support it directly you can tip the host here https://imperfect-adulting.captivate.fm/support In this episode of The Art of Imperfect Adulting, Amy Stone speaks with Bekah Slider about the journey of deconstructing and rebuilding personal identity after leaving evangelical Christianity and a decades-long marriage. Based in Ohio, Bekah shares her path from corporate America to church leadership, and later, her transformations through coaching and creating adult content on OnlyFans. This episode does not ignore the tough questions. We go deep into themes of authenticity, the cost of belonging, overcoming shame, and ultimately, learning to refuse self-abandonment in the search for external validation. About Bekah Slider: Bekah Slider is an identity coach, speaker, and creator of The Inevitable Woman methodology. After deconstructing her faith, leaving a 22-year marriage, and rebuilding her life from the ground up, she went on to become a top 1% OnlyFans creator—one chapter in a much larger story about choosing herself before her life made sense. Today, she helps high-achieving women stop renegotiating who they've already decided to be and trust themselves before the evidence arrives. Her work challenges the belief that clarity comes first, arguing instead that self-loyalty is what changes everything. Main Topics Covered: Deconstructing faith and identity after growing up in conservative evangelical Christianity. What it means to stop negotiating with yourself and start asking hard personal questions. Navigating the complexity of sexuality, shame, and coming out as bisexual after years of compartmentalization. The ripple effect of major identity shifts: leaving church leadership, ending a 22-year marriage, and finding autonomy. Exploring creativity, empowerment, and stigma as a top 1% OnlyFans creator. Real talk on the skills gained from preaching, coaching, and content creation—and how they overlap in unexpected ways. The pain and liberation of losing relationships (including family) in order to live authentically. Practical steps for reconnecting to one’s body, intuition, and self-trust after living under external authority. Quote from the Episode: "I would rather live true to myself even if that meant losing people than continue to fragment myself in a way that I had been doing my entire life at that point." — Bekah Slider Timestamps:00:18 Meet Bekah Slider—origins, nature-loving in Ohio, and generational identity02:10 Bekah’s path: corporate work to lay church leadership to pastor03:21 What being a (female) pastor in a nondenominational evangelical church meant06:27 Growing up in conservative Christianity—strict home, questioning faith in adolescence08:06 What does “stopping negotiating with yourself” really mean?11:36 Identity bricks: reconciling sexuality, faith, and harmful constructs13:25 The ongoing, painful choice of releasing old identity—fear of hell and the unknown15:33 Timeline: leaving pastoring, deconstruction, ending marriage, and exploring sexuality17:51 Coaching, speaking, open marriage, then the decision to become an OnlyFans creator20:57 The decision process: sitting with potential stigma, honesty with children21:40 First baby steps: reconnecting to body, unshaming mistakes, intuitive self-trust24:33 OnlyFans Q&A—creative intentions, what content Bekah created, and surprises26:02 Stigma versus reality: intimacy, connection, and authenticity on OF28:06 Pre-deconstruction self—sexuality, shame, and differing conceptions of “freedom”31:28 Skill overlaps: how being a pastor shaped Bekah’s OnlyFans and coaching persona33:09 Wrapping up OnlyFans, why Bekah walked away despite financial success35:58 The high personal cost—losing family, refusing to abandon yourself for others41:24 Book & podcast recommendations: "You Are a Badass" and The Courage to Fully Live43:22 Recent online purchase: rainbow-colored mini mic windscreens for creative joy and self-expression44:32 Final reflections: the journey from external validation to feeling at home with yourself ABOUT THE SHOW: The Art of Imperfect Adulting shares authentic conversations with and for women about the choices and decisions that shape a life. These are the choices that nobody gives you an instruction book to handle. Topics include: career reinvention, divorce and starting over, caregiving for aging parents, getting sober, menopause, and healing from abuse and trauma and more. These are stories of lived experience, not advice because there's a difference between being told what to do and hearing how someone else actually navigated a similar crossroads. CONNECT WITH THE GUEST: https://theliberationlounge.netlify.app/ GET BEKAH'S SPECIAL OFFER: "Almost" A workshop for women who are done living one decision away from the life they want. Value $33 - free, link: https://theinevitablewoman.myflodesk.com/almost Note from the show: Guest offers are almost always limited-time and limited quantity. If you have any trouble redeeming the offer please reach out directly to the guest for support. Never Miss a Moment of Imperfect Adulting We invite you to join our email community and let us bring the podcast directly to you! As a subscriber, you'll receive notifications about new episodes, exclusive offers from our amazing guests, and easier access to any of the important links mentioned on the show—no more scrambling to write down websites or remember special codes. Why subscribe? Stay up-to-date without checking your podcast app Get guest offers delivered straight to your inbox Access all important links in one convenient place Catch the highlights even when you don't have time to listen Are you ready? Join us at https://www.imperfectadulting.com If you have a story to share and you'd like to be a guest on The Art of Imperfect Adulting, here are the steps for how you can make that happen. Pitch yourself at https://www.imperfectadulting.com/be-a-guest Here are a few resources that Amy uses to make all this great content. These are affiliate links :-) For livestreaming and recording ECamm https://www.ecamm.com/mac/ecammlive/?fp_ref=amy69 Podcast hosting and distribution: Captivate FM https://www.captivate.fm/signup?ref=ntczmwi Website hosting with Siteground https://www.siteground.com/?referrer_id=9115590 Ai Transcription Tool: Castmagic https://get.castmagic.io/ugrmjjrt8ofj For Email I recently switched to Beehiiv https://www.beehiiv.com?via=Amy-Stone before that I used Kit. Books I like and books written by show guests on Bookshop.org https://bookshop.org/lists/podcast-guest-authors