More Than Friends - A Podcast for WLW
More Than Friends is a podcast about the lives of women who love other women, focused on queer content by and for gay women in Malta. Each episode features interviews with local queer women who share their coming out stories, their achievements in life and love, and the winding road that brought them to where they are today. The show aims to give visibility and voice to the WLW community in Malta through candid personal conversations.
Episodes
Queer Therapy, Sex & Self-Care with Nicola Falzon
In this episode of More Than Friends, Diane is joined by Nicola Falzon, a psychotherapist with a special interest in sex therapy and a commitment to working through a queer-informed lens.Together, they explore:How heteronormativity continues to shape queer relationships and identitiesWhy therapy is a powerful tool for queer self-care and healingCommon myths around queer sex and why they need to go
From Convent to Connection: A Queer Love Story with Martine & Daniela
In this episode of More Than Friends, Diane sits down with a couple whose relationship began in the most unexpected of places — a convent.What starts as a shared spiritual journey soon unfolds into something deeper. Together, they open up about the timeline of their relationship, the personal and spiritual crossroads they faced, and what it meant to navigate queerness within a religious environmen
#16 Partying with the Peach Girls
In this episode of More Than Friends, we sit down with the founders of Peach, the party series that has been making waves in Malta’s queer scene since 2022.Peach isn’t just a party. It’s a space where queer women and their friends come together to dance, connect, and feel at home. We explore how it all started, what it takes to build something from the ground up, and why queer joy and community ca
#15 From Pride Parties to Wedding Bells with Steph and Lisa
For the last episode of Season 2, I’m back to interviewing a couple, the super lovely and hilarious Steph and Lisa.
Together since 2017, Lisa and Steph share their story, from their first meeting at a pride party, Lisa’s romantic proposal in Italy, and their unique COVID wedding. We also talk about their decision to foster children, the emotional challenges they’ve overcome together and their pla
#14 Exploring Gender and Sexual Diversity with Beverley Abela
In this episode, Beverley Abela, a lecturer and social worker specialising in gender and sexual diversity, discusses her experience teaching students about complex topics related to sexuality and gender.
Beverly also reflects on her own journey and her role in the establishment of Rainbow Support Services.
In our conversation, we highlights the existing challenges and discrimination within the L
#13 Public vs. Private Lives of Queer Couples with Olivia Bilocca
In this insightful episode, Diane interviews Olivia, a warranted family therapist, about her dissertation on the lived experiences of same-sex couples and how societal factors such as religion and being an island nation affect these relationships.
We talk about the challenges same-sex couples face, including public affection, assumptions by straight people, and religious barriers. Olivia shares f
#12 From Tomboy to Trailblazer: Tina De Martino Talks about Sports and Identity
In this episode, Tina shares her remarkable journey from a young tomboy with a love for sports to becoming a trailblazing coach in Malta.
Tina discusses her personal style and image, her passion for basketball and other sports, and the pivotal role these played in boosting her confidence. She reflects on her experiences studying and living abroad, navigating her identity as a queer woman, and the
#11 From Activism to Politics with Mina Jack Tolu
In this episode, Mina Jack Tolu, a dynamic activist in green politics, shares their journey from being an LGBTQI activist to their current role with the European Green Party.
Mina Jack discusses the importance of representation in politics, the intersectionality of various social issues, and their work advocating for LGBTQI rights across Europe.
They also reflect on their personal experiences, c
#10 Rolling with Pride: The Honey Island Rollers' Journey to Inclusivity
Welcome back to another episode of "More Than Friends," the podcast that delves into the vibrant lives within the LGBTQ+ community.
We're strapping on our skates and rolling into the exciting world of roller derby with Malta's first and only team—the Honey Island Rollers.
In this jam-packed episode, I sit down with four fierce members of the Honey Island Rollers—Morina, Calypso,
#9 Putting the pride in EuroPride with Maria Azzopardi
We're kicking off season two with an exclusive interview with Maria Azzopardi, the newly appointed president of ARC, one of the foremost LGBTQ+ NGOs, also known as Allied Rainbow Communities.
In this episode Maria and I talk about her trajectory from local volunteer to ARC president, the pros and cons of living in top most gay friendly country in the world and the long-awaited Europride progr
Introducing Season 2
It is with great excitement and queerness that I present to you season two of More Than Friends.
This season I’ll be chatting not just to couples but to individuals and groups where the focus is going to be spread out across all facets of life and not just love.
The line up for season 2 features a fantastic range of queer women and non-binary people who will be sharing their unique experiences a
#8 Battling Gay Panic with Louise and Diane
Whether it’s holding hands in public, watching a gay romance on tv, or listening to your favourite podcast, seeing yourself mirrored in representation is incredibly empowering. In this special Valentine's episode, guest host Jo Caruana interviews Diane and Louise about how this podcast came to be, coping with "gay panic", who wears the pants in the relationship, and how online fandoms helped them
#7 Swiping Right and Falling in Love with Marie Claire and Raelene
In a MTF first, this our first episode that is entirely in Maltese! In today’s episode I sat down with Marie Claire and Raelene and they are, what I like to call, a tinder success story. After years of admiring each other from a distance, the online dating app finally brought them together when they both swiped right. Now set to be married in a few months, Marie Claire and Raelene talk about findi
#6 Queerness As A Superpower with Angie & Arianne
In this episode, I’m joined by the lovely Arianne and Angie, who both share a passion for mental health and activism. Over the course of their 7-year relationship, they’ve built their own rainbow family, and helped countless people through their work in the caring profession. Throughout our conversation we talk about the power our queerness holds - in making us more sensitive, empathetic and in tu
#5 Life as Mrs and Mrs with Christina and Elaine
In todays episode I sat down with my friends Christina and Elaine who very recently got married, and also became foster parents two years ago. A topic that kept coming up in conversation was how neither of them every imagined their lives turning out this way - in fact they didn’t think their relationship would blossom past a few dates. Joke’s on them, because 6 years, 2 dogs, 3 cats, and 3 foster
#4 Seeing is Believing with Chiara and Emma - Part 2
Carrying on from our chat about the power of storytelling, in the second part of my conversation with Chiara and Emma we’ll be talking about their roles as educators, the difference between TV shows like "The L Word" and "Heartstopper", and how theatre helped them find a sense of belonging.
#3 Finding your Safe Space with Chiara and Emma - Part 1
For Chiara and Emma, theatre has played a huge role in their lives - from giving them a safe space for self-discovery, to actually bringing them together as a couple.
Chiara and Emma met while working on a theatre production, and have been together for the past 7 years. Chiara is a director, actress, playwright and full-time drama teacher while Emma works in private sector but also teaches drama p
#2 Proposing on April Fool's Day with Martina and Emma - Part 2
This episode is the second part of my interview with Martina and Emma, where we discuss the stigma behind the word 'lesbian', Martina gives a full play-by-play of their engagement and we talk more about the importance of self-acceptance.
#1 Fear & Self-Acceptance with Martina and Emma - Part 1
Many of you will know Martina as a popular local radio presenter who recently proposed to Emma on April fool's day. Together Martina and Emma have taken on being one of Malta’s few gay couples in the limelight.
In the first part of this episode I’ll be chatting with Martina and Emma about their journey of self-acceptance, particularly their coming out stories - to themselves, their
Episode 0 - Introducing the podcast
This is more than friends - a podcast about the lives of women who love other women.
This is episode zero of the podcast where I’ll be introducing myself as your host. I’ll also explain what inspired me to start this podcast, and what you can expect from our guests in future episodes.
My name is Diane and I’ll be interviewing local power couples about their stories, their achievements and that win
