Episode Details

One of the most disorienting parts of leaving a narcissist is watching them rewrite the story, to your friends, your family, sometimes the court. Narcissistic-abuse expert Tracy Malone joins Lisa to explain how smear campaigns work and how to keep your footing when the lies start spreading.

The cruel trick is that a smear campaign forces you to defend yourself, and the more frantically you defend, the guiltier you can look. Tracy walks through the false narrative, the "flying monkeys" who carry it, and the isolation that is the point. She and Lisa get specific about false allegations in custody and family court, and why calm, boring documentation does far more for you than an emotional denial. It's honest about the toll, and hopeful about the way through.

✅ WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
✅ What a smear campaign is, and why narcissists run them
✅ Why frantically defending yourself can make the lies spread faster
✅ How false allegations show up in custody and family court
✅ Why calm, consistent documentation beats an emotional denial
✅ What "flying monkeys" are, and how to handle the people carrying the story
✅ Why the isolation is the goal, and how to start breaking it
✅ The real physical and mental health toll of a sustained smear campaign
✅ How survivors come out the other side with their reputation intact

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS (+1:00 for the bumper)
0:00 Intro
1:00 What a smear campaign actually is
7:00 How the lies start, and why they spread
13:00 False allegations, and how they show up in court
20:00 Why documentation matters more than you think
27:00 When the people you need don't believe you
34:00 Flying monkeys and isolation
40:00 The toll, and finding your way through

CTA (spoken): Caught in a smear campaign or facing false allegations? Book a free discovery call at beentheregotout.com.
Books: Been There Got Out — https://www.amazon.com/Been-There-Got-Relationships-Circumstances/dp/194627495X/ · When Your Ex Turns the Kids Against You — https://www.amazon.com/Been-There-Got-Out-Against/dp/1967674183
Tags: smear campaign, narcissist, false allegations, tracy malone, flying monkeys, narcissistic abuse, documenting abuse, custody, high conflict divorce