Finding fulfillment in helping people in relationships thrive

Aug 20, 2023 Features / Columnists, News, Special Person, Waterfalls Magazine

---

Special Person

Guyanese-born coach, Michelle Cumberbatch is a Special Person

By Rehanna Ramsay

Waterfalls Magazine – The road to finding fulfillment in a job or career is not always easy, sometimes a person’s professional journey will take them along a path with several twists and turns, before they find exactly what they are supposed to be doing.

This is precisely the case of Guyana-born American Relationship Coach, Michelle Cumberbatch.

“Coach Michelle,” as many in her circle call her, indulged in other types of vocations before she embarked on what she now refers to as her true calling.

She told the Waterfalls that she went from being a professional chef to working as the Human Resource (HR) Director for the American Fast Food Franchise Chick-Fil-A for several years, before she realized that she had what it took to successfully help people achieve their relationship goals.

Today, Coach Michelle is a published author and relationship expert who offers advice and training to numerous men and women struggling in relationships.  She comes highly recommended by her clients.

She told this publication that from a young age, she was fascinated by adult relationships and intimacy. However, she couldn’t explain why. She always wondered why adults were inclined to share their most intimate and vulnerable information with her.

“Back then, I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t have a name for it I just knew that I felt at home helping people to come together, communicate better, and have loving relationships… It took me years before I could put a name or label to it” Coach Michelle said.

After migrating to the US at the age of 12, she said everything remained the same regarding her desire to serve others in their relationships. This desire she said, basically followed her throughout her life.

Coach Michelle said that it was after completing her education in the US that her own relationship problems caused her to develop a deeper understanding about what she was supposed to be doing with her life.

“I was married quite young and that marriage fizzled pretty quickly. Then I met my current husband and our relationship problems started. I did some real soul-searching…I had hit rock bottom that is what led me to understand relationships, the way I do today,” she said.

She stressed that what should have been a bad experience turned out to be a blessing not just for her own life but for many other people whom she now coaches. “Divorce and relationship issues are horrible; nobody wants them, but mine turned out to be a huge blessing,” she said.

GUYANESE VALUES

Though she migrated quite young, Coach Michelle held on to many of her Guyanese traditions and values.  She shared “I come from a big family many of them still live in Guyana. My parents, Lynette and Elton Fraser lived on Regent Street in the heart of the city but on weekends we went to Victoria on the East Coast of Demerara to spend time with my extended family.”

The Relationship Coach said of all her memories of living in Guyana, how the people related to each on a day-to-day basis stayed with her.

“My parents were always big on having manners and respect. Coming from Guyana to the States was a bit of a culture shock for me because I was so accustomed to greeting random people on the street with a bright Good Morning!!! Or salutation for whatever time of the day it was, but over here it is quite different everybody just goes about their day not caring about those they pass by,” she said.

However, rather than being conformed to the American norms, Coach Michelle held unto the tenets of her Guyanese upbringing.

“It was not until I became the HR Director for the Chick-Fil-A branch in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania that it really bothered me.  I would go into the office and say Good morning and no one would answer me. That really bugged me until I resolved to myself, I will not conform to their standards I will keep doing it,”

She said adding that gradually, the employees around her began to greet each with the warmth that she is used to.

“I can safely say that I was able to change the culture of that place for the better,” she added.  She said that it was evident because even after she resigned from HR, the fast food company kept her on their payroll as a consultant.

BECOMING COACH MICHELLE

Coach Michelle said before she became a professional relationship coach, she experienced heartbreak and separation. She had married her Guyanese childhood sweetheart. “I was young and he was running with the wrong crowd. He promised to change but he didn’t and so we separated shortly after the wedding,” she revealed of her previous marriage.

The Relationship Coach eventually found her true love in Nigel, her current husband.  However, she said that it was through this relationship, she discovered her insecurities, strengths, resilience, and the importance of maintaining herself.

“It was on the heels of our relational challenges she found her miracle.  It was my defining moment I was at a crusade and I just knew I had to dedicate my life to God. Within six weeks, I was baptized. That crusade changed the trajectory of my life,” she said.

Shortly after, Coach Michelle stumbled upon a book written by Christian authors Steven and Alex Kendrick titled “The Love Dare.”

“That book changed my life and saved my marriage. To this day, I hold it 2^nd to the bible,” she declared

The relationship coach said that the authors of the book invited her to take a challenge.

“There is a 40 days relationship challenge in the book which I took part in that became a catalyst that made me push into the business of relationship coaching,” she revealed.

Coach Michelle noted after finding her authentic self and realizing that loving her encompasses love and all the flaws, and the weaknesses as much as the strength, she started to share that with everyone that came into her path.

She started coaching in 2009 but it took about five years before she did it professionally.  The chef pursued her Bachelor of Science in Leadership and found herself after that going after her certification for coaching.

“In 2017, I registered the business for professional coaching.  All I wanted to do was seminars with couples and help them,” Coach Michelle said.

Since then, she has worked with countless people and a number of couples to help to them achieve their goals.

She said her running joke is that God used life as the classroom for the people she now serves.   Through her professional experience, she has developed strategies to help people foster better relational skills through courses like, First Love Yourself; Date With A Purpose; Becoming His Wife, Premarital; and Relationship Rehab.

Her new book “Who I Am? Whose  I Am?  I Am… is all about self-discovery and a journal on the importance of loving one’s self unconditionally.

SERVING GUYANA

Coach Michelle has many clients in the US and the UK but it wasn’t until a year ago, when she came home to visit her mom that everything seemed to shift. She said she was having a conversation with a young lady who follows her on social media.

“We decided to continue the conversation later that day. To my surprise, that afternoon, she got the neighborhood church as the space to continue the discussion, only this time; she brought her close friends and family with her.  That afternoon she turned into a three and half hours session. I went home exhausted but excited. The next day she received a phone call asking if she would return because everyone didn’t get to ask their questions. I returned eager to help but soon realized they needed help and that it could not be done in two afternoons,” she explained.

This session alerted Coach Michelle to the need.

As a result, she said, “Something was birthed in me.”

She noted, “I couldn’t go back to life as usual, so I decided to take all of my birthday money and then some and return home to hold a seminar where I shared the importance of applying—the relationship Trinity, of aligning with God and finding your authentic self then others.”

“The seminar was a success. I was able to bless women with a care package and lift their spirits. However, my spirit was heavy because she wanted to do more. It was within these weeks that I got my first four Guyanese clients.”

Over the next few months, after countless conversations between herself and her husband, she decided to move her business from the US to Guyana, where she shares her message of self-love and the power of healthy marriage empowerment.

Coach Michelle is now fully transitioned to Guyana and the Caribbean. She said over the past ten months, she has witnessed hundreds of families impacted by her coaching.

Coach Michelle is hosting at the Pegasus Hotel on August 27 a conference called: ‘Manifesting the Relationship You Want’.

Ms. Sophia Dolphin, a popular radio personality and CEO of Glosee Media, is so passionate about the conference, that she is adamant that every woman should enter the room.

She says this conference will help participants foster self-worth and develop their passion, while cultivating healthy relationships, choose partners intentionally, and learn healthy communication skills.

“It is the perfect opportunity for businesses in the professional arena to buy. This event was organized to empower individuals with actionable insights on building successful professional and personal relationships by tapping into their potential. It’s time for your team members to elevate their creative confidence and unlock new avenues of growth,” Dolphin said that her recent Brunch with the Bosses event.

Coach Michelle will lead interactive sessions combining personal growth with professional strategies. These carefully crafted sessions will provide employers/employees with the tools needed to attract and maintain healthy relationships, boosting their creativity and performance within the workplace.

The conference is designed to focus on issues: Changing Personal Perspectives On Relationships; Cultivating Authenticity And Vulnerability; Embracing Self-Love And Self-Worth; And Aligning Desires With Relationship Goals.

Through the event, Coach Michelle hopes to transform the lives of women and their families, reminding them that they are worthy of love and capable of achieving their dreams. The conference also includes panel discussions, workshops, and a Master Class.

---

• husband, Michelle Cumberbatch, Nigel Cumberbatch, Rehanna Ramsay, Special Person

---