'I'm raising my daughter with a single mum I met online. I'll never live with a man again.'

Jenna had just put her seven-month-old Maia down for a nap when the idea struck.

Her ex-husband had not long moved out of their shared home.

The mother-of-one couldn't afford the rent by herself, but she'd grown attached to the place. She'd lived there since she was pregnant, and her twin lived right around the corner.

With Maia sleeping, Jenna took in the layout of the apartment. Three bedrooms and bathrooms on either side.

"I was like, this is perfect for two mums to share," Jenna told Mamamia.

So, she made a post on a Facebook group for single mothers looking for house shares.

After forgetting about the post for a week, Jenna opened Facebook to find two missed messages from a woman named Priscilla.

Priscilla was interested in moving in with her two-year-old son, Leo.

"We arranged for her to come over to the house," Jenna said. "She rocked up with tons of beautiful food and a bottle of red and white wine, because she didn't know what I liked."

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As the kids played together, Jenna, 39, and Priscilla, 36, got to know each other.

"It was like I'd known her forever, like she was meant to come into my life," said Jenna. "We'd gone through a separation at exactly the same time. We both had this idea at the same time. She is a relationship therapist and I studied counselling. We've just got so many similarities."

There was no question about it, Priscilla and Leo were moving in with Jenna and Maia.

"We dove in really quick, we just both intuitively felt that it was the right fit," Jenna said. "We really fell into a completely organic pattern."

Without any pre-planning, the housemates decided to open a shared bank account, split their food evenly, and alternate dinners and childcare responsibilities based on their schedules.

As for the kids, they love each other like siblings. 

"They are obsessed with each other," said Jenna, adding that they struggle to go a few days without seeing each other.

"When we're back together as a family, they just want to be together like glue.

"They get into Maia's cot and play with all of her toys, or they spend hours playing in the paddling pool together. They just absolutely adore each other. They act completely like siblings."

When it comes to parenting each other's children, both Jenna and Priscilla have identical methods. 

"We've got exactly the same gentle parenting style," said Jenna. "We're also both vegetarian, but we both agree with letting our children eat meat."

The mothers also constantly check in with each other to make sure they haven't crossed any lines.

"When you're looking after someone else's child… it's just so much communication, like, 'How did you feel when I told Leo this? How do you think my tone of voice was? Is there a way you would have preferred that I'd handled that?'"

For the two years they have been living together, there have only been minor challenges.

"When we first moved in together, Priscillala was very flexible with Leo's bedtime and I really needed to know I was going to have a few hours kid-free before I went to sleep," Jenna said. "But we worked that out, and now we've got a great routine that suits all four of us."

Through healthy discussion, Jenna and Priscilla always land on the same page.

Jenna (right) and Cil (left) got on right away. Image: Supplied

"Priscilla got back to dating much quicker than I did," Jenna said. "She has an extra kid-free night a week based on our care arrangements, so she checked in to see how I felt if she had a guy she was dating over for an evening or to stay the night when I had Maia.

"I expressed that I'm not okay with that, and she was like, 'That's totally fine.' We are super respectful of each other's needs and boundaries."

As a relationship therapist, Priscilla has also "been very supportive" of Jenna dating again.

"It was hard for me to get started after how upsetting my marriage breakdown was," Jenna explained. "I lined up a date but then was too scared to go, so Priscilla took me to the pub, bought me a few drinks, and chatted with me while we waited for my date to arrive. The support Priscilla gives me really has no limits."

When Jenna came out of her marriage, her loved ones told her that it was unlikely a man would "meet [her] needs in terms of communication."

"Everyone just thought I was going to end up with a woman," Jenna said. "And I did, in a way."

Jenna, personally, has certainly found co-parenting with a woman to be "easier than it was with a man."

"It's not just about gender, but I think naturally women can pick up more on what is needed in an environment," she said.

"We're constantly asking each other 'How can I be a better support to you?' Whereas I don't really see that in many heterosexual relationships."

While Priscilla is hoping to live with a man again, Jenna doesn't see that in her future.

"Priscilla is definitely a monogamous heterosexual woman who wants that life and that's beautiful. But I honestly can't imagine living with a man again," Jenna said.

She added: "I think it's always important to have an open mind because things change. But there's no part of me that wants to get into a relationship and live with a man again. Like, none."

Her desire to live with women, however, is "only escalating."

"As much as I love living with Priscilla, the only change is I want to live with more women," she said.

"I think women were designed to be living in a community, raising children or spending time together."

"I think women were designed to be living in a community," Jenna told Mamamia. Image: Supplied.

Building a community.

Since going public with her story, Jenna has been approached by women who are leaving their spouses and following in her footsteps.

This inspired the 39-year-old to build a community for single mothers, called The Lioness Den.

"The Lioness Den social enterprise is partnering with developers, architects and social impact investors to create a custom-built co-housing community designed by single mothers for single mothers," Jenna told Mamamia.

Residents will have their own apartment for privacy, along with a communal kitchen, dining room, playroom, and gym. There will be a community daycare, wellness and self-care activities, and weekly shared dinners.

The goal is to create an affordable "built-to-rent community where single mothers can live together and save to buy in the area of their choice."

Jenna is also working on a separate type of accommodation for women escaping violent situations.

"I'm partnering with an amazing contact of mine who has a lived experience of extreme family violence and needed to escape to ensure her and her daughter's safety," Jenna said.

Together, the women are hoping to raise enough money to buy an apartment block in Melbourne, with a similar set-up to the co-housing community.

"The intention is to create a safe stepping stone for women who need to leave relationships, or who are at risk of homelessness but are not yet eligible for traditional support services."

Women who live in this accommodation will receive "emotional and practical support" through connections to relevant social services as they rebuild a life away from violence.

"The goal is for them to save a deposit and move into The Lioness Intentional Community or another property of their choice."

To "support single mums on their pathway to homeownership," Jenna is also working with an all-female team of mortgage brokers, money coaches, and housing specialists to create something called Lioness Loans. Single mums will receive tailored support to get to a point where homeownership is within their reach. 

All women living in Lioness accommodations will "pay an affordable rent, with a portion going into a savings account for a house deposit."

For Jenna, ensuring every single mother has a safe and supportive environment is the driving force behind The Lioness Den.

"The other aspect I feel passionately about is the joy and healing benefits of sharing the mental load, cooking, childcare, with other single mothers, and the fun it brings to children's lives," she said.

"I believe that women were not meant to raise children alone, and it really takes a village; living together literally creates the village that so many women tell me they desperately want."

You can check out Jenna's website here.

Feature Image: Supplied