Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Renee.
Hi Michelle, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
At the end of an almost 20-year marriage, I found myself on a journey of self-discovery. I got married at 20, and suddenly I was close to 40 with two kids, newly divorced, and coming out of years as a stay-at-home mom. I needed to find myself again and build a career.
What surprised me was where that search led. I found my passion in human connection and sexuality education. For the first time in a long time, I had a direction.
In 2015, Cuddlist, one of the first organizations to offer cuddle therapy training, launched, and I was one of the first practitioners listed on their website. At the time, I thought professional cuddling would be a short stop while I figured out what I really wanted to do. Instead, it became the foundation of my life’s work.
Over the last decade, my work has expanded into trauma-informed intimacy coaching and consent-based, body-centered support. I help people rebuild boundaries, nervous system regulation, and “safe enough” connection, especially folks healing from trauma, touch aversion, or long periods of feeling alone.
Today I’m based in San Diego. I’m a co-owner of Cuddlist and continue to grow my private practice, Human Connection Lab, where I support individuals and couples who want to feel more at home in their bodies and more confident in how they relate, communicate, and connect.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not totally smooth, no. Building a career in a field that many people misunderstand has come with a unique set of challenges. Early on, one of the biggest hurdles was learning how to talk about my work clearly and ethically. Trauma-informed, consent-based touch and intimacy coaching can be deeply healing, but it requires strong boundaries, careful screening, and a lot of education so people understand what it is (and what it is not).
There were also the very real challenges of building a business while rebuilding my life. I was starting over professionally as a single mom, learning how to run a practice, find clients, and trust my own voice. Like many small business owners, I’ve had to balance the heart-led part of the work with the practical side: pricing, marketing, consistency, and avoiding burnout.
Another challenge, and also an unexpected gift, was that I was learning in real time. Through my colleagues and the Cuddlist community, I was surrounded by people practicing the very skills we teach: boundaries, consent, honest communication, and repair. That shaped me personally as much as it shaped my professional path. I wasn’t just teaching healthy connection, I was learning how to live it.
Today I’m grateful to say I have a healthy marriage, and I don’t share that as a “perfect ending,” but as proof of concept. These skills are learnable. With support, practice, and the right environment, people really can change the way they relate and connect.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Human Connection Lab?
Human Connection Lab is a trauma-informed intimacy coaching and somatic healing practice based in San Diego. I support individuals and couples who want to feel safer in their bodies and more confident in the way they relate, communicate, and connect. Many of my clients are healing from trauma, touch aversion, “skin hunger,” anxiety, or relationship patterns that keep repeating.
I’m known for creating a consent-based, “safe enough” space where people can practice boundaries, communication, and nervous system regulation in real time, at a pace that feels respectful and doable. I’m also very clear about ethics and boundaries, and I often collaborate with therapists when that support is in place.
What I’m most proud of is that my brand is built on integrity, inclusion, and humanity. I want readers to know: you’re not broken. Connection is a skill, and with the right support, it can be rebuilt.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
One of my favorite childhood memories is my mom helping me paint rainbows all over my bedroom. I was obsessed with rainbows and unicorns, so she made a stencil and we turned my room into this bright, magical space. Looking back, what I love most is the feeling underneath it. She was telling me, “You get to take up space. You get to be you.” As a mom now, I really understand what a gift that was.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://humanconnectionlab.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meetmichellerenee/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cuddlemichellerenee
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/meetmichellerenee
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MeetMichelleRenee
