Exclusive: The Evolution of Mikhaila Peterson—How She Found Love, Faith, And The Diet That Saved Her Life

Mikhaila Peterson has become a household name, not just for being the daughter of world-renowned psychologist Jordan Peterson, but for forging her own path as a podcast host with over a million subscribers, a businesswoman, and an unapologetic advocate for taking your health into your own hands.

After a painful divorce and life as a single mother, Mikhaila found a second chance at love with Jordan Fuller. They welcomed their son, George, this year, joining big sister Scarlett and marking a new chapter in their lives. At the same time, Mikhaila's influence is reaching new heights.

Carmen Schober: You and Jordan Fuller were married in 2021 by Elvis. How did you know that he was the right man for you?

Mikhaila Peterson: I think the major thing I noticed about him is he made me feel safe. I don't think I'd been in a relationship where I had felt this kind of overwhelming vibe of "safe." You date people, and you're excited, and there are other vibes going on, or maybe there are danger vibes that you ignore when you're young, that kind of thing. But he's the first person I met that I was like, "Wow, you've got this aura of safety."

So I noticed that, and that he's incredibly driven. He's extremely competent. He has an amazing moral compass. He's a Christian, and I wasn't as familiar with Christianity at the time. But I think I was also picking up on that in his safety vibe. He wanted kids. He wanted to get married, and he made that clear very quickly, which was super romantic. He's funny. He's smart. And then he's gorgeous, so that helps.

CS: Yeah, that helps.

MP: He was basically everything I was looking for, I guess. So it was pretty obvious, and that's why we got married so quickly.

CS: When did he propose?

MP: I think he realized he wanted to marry me three days into knowing each other. And then it was fast. A couple of weeks later, we were on the phone, and he asked me if I wanted to get married. I was driving, and I almost crashed my car. I went off on a list of reasons why it was a bad idea.

I was like, "You don't know what you're getting into here. First of all, we've known each other for two weeks. Second of all, I'm working all the time. I have a very close relationship with my dad, which is weird. I don't want to do your laundry." I told him that right off the bat. Things have changed, though. But initially, I was like, "I don't know if you want me to be some...

CS: Tradwife?

MP: Yeah, tradwife. If that's what you're looking for, and I was like, I'm not doing that. But I did want kids and all these things, but I was like, "I do work. I'm not just going to switch to a stay-at-home mom." So I tried to give him a bunch of reasons. I was also like, 'I'm divorced." That was a big one. "I have a kid." Another big one.

When I got divorced, I didn't know how easy it was going to be to get into another relationship. I think I was 29 at the time, and I'd kind of given up, I guess. So I gave him a whole bunch of reasons why it was a bad idea. And he was like, "Yeah, I know. It's okay, though.”

CS: He knew that fast?

MP: He knew. You couldn't stop him. There was nothing that could stop him.

CS: That is fast. And it doesn’t happen to everyone obviously, but if people were honest, isn't that kind of the best-case scenario? To know quickly?

MP: I think so. I was at the point where I didn't have to hide who I was at all. And he, for whatever reason, told the truth, maybe that has to do with Christianity, but he knew what he wanted. So both of us were being blatantly honest with each other. I think you can cut out a whole bunch of time getting to know the other person if they just tell you who they are.

CS: That's true. A lot of modern dating is just trying to guess what the other person might want. And you're both like, "Well, I want this, and you want that. Are those the same things?”

MP: Yeah, exactly. It cuts out a lot. We got married pretty quickly, but we also saw each other like 24/7 leading up to that. So it wasn't like casually dating for a couple of years to get to know the other person. We saw each other all the time.

Both of us were being blatantly honest with each other. I think you can cut a whole bunch of time getting to know the other person if they just tell you who they are.

CS: What made you decide to get married in Vegas?

MP: I was so taken aback by being asked to be married after two weeks, but I really liked him, so it seemed to be a good idea. I think I was kind of testing him too, like a How badly do you want this? kind of thing. I also think getting married by Elvis is pretty funny. And then we ended up having this big wedding with family and friends later, but he wanted to get married fast too because he's a Christian. We didn't want to be doing things wrong. We figured it was better than going to a courthouse.

CS: Well, the pictures are iconic. You're in that beautiful iridescent dress, and you've got Elvis. I just wondered if there was a special reason, like are you a huge Elvis fan?

MP: I love Elvis. That definitely played a role. I listened to Elvis growing up and in high school all the time. I know all his songs. So that was an element, but I'm not a big enough fan that I would have been like, "I need to get married by a fake Elvis."

CS: Did you like the Elvis movie with Austin Butler?

MP: I thought the role of his manager was interesting. I didn't know that he basically couldn't travel out of America and was kind of under the power of his manager. It was sad. I didn't realize his manager had that much control. Like, you already know Elvis's story is tragic, but that was definitely dark.

CS: If you had to distill down what you've learned about love, what would be your best dating advice for women who want the same thing?

MP: Don't rush into sleeping with anyone. That's the biggest one. Don't sleep around. Don't rush into sleeping with people, and make a list of what you're looking for. My dad taught me when I was young to write down a list of what you need in another person to have a good relationship. That could be whatever you want, but make that idea clear in your head. And then trust your instincts. I think that's more important when you're younger and you don't have as much experience meeting people, even just working with people. Trust your instincts.

And if you're having trouble finding people or attracting people or something like that, work on yourself. Get healthier, get your sleep organized, educate yourself, improve yourself, and people will be attracted to you.

My dad taught me when I was young to write down a list of what you need in another person to have a good relationship. That could be whatever you want, but make that idea clear in your head.

CS: What would you say to somebody who's not convinced that casual sex is a bad thing?

MP: I don't think you have to look very hard within yourself to know that it doesn't feel good. Especially as a girl, I'm not sure how it feels to a guy, but as a girl, it just doesn't feel good. And I think you should pay attention to those things. There's also the risk of pregnancy, which is something to take seriously, especially if you're not on birth control, which you shouldn't be.

But mostly, it just hurts your soul, and it doesn't make people take you seriously. It doesn't make people like you more. As a young girl, you think, "Oh, if I sleep with a guy, he'll like me more." I don't even think it works like that. It might work the opposite way.

It's also a good boundary to have to see if somebody's actually interested in you, because if they're actually interested in you and you put up some boundaries, like "I want to wait," that shouldn't be what dissuades them from dating you. If that's what dissuades them, then they weren't that serious. So, just logically, it's not a bad boundary to have.

CS: I've been wanting to talk to you about the lion diet because it's getting more popular, but, for many people, it's still a crazy concept. Can you set the record straight about what it entails and what prompted you to try it?

MP: The lion diet is just ruminant meat, which is any type of animal that has hooves and four stomachs. Cows, lamb, bison, stuff like that. So just that kind of meat, red meat, salt, and water. That's the diet. I've popularized it as an elimination diet to help people figure out food sensitivities.

The reason I got into that is because I had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis growing up. I was diagnosed when I was 7, and it was l crippling. I forget to bring this up in interviews, but there were periods of my life when I was in a wheelchair. I don't mention that because they were shorter periods, and I guess they didn't really mentally impact me, so I forgot about them, but I was thinking about that last night. There were two periods of my life when I was in a wheelchair. I ended up with my hip and ankle replaced when I was 17.

I'd been treated through mainstream medical treatment from the age of 7 to 23, when I started to look into diet, and I was just getting sicker. By the time I was 23, I was on antibiotics for this chronic skin rash. I was on antidepressants for crippling depression, and the depression was way worse than the arthritis. I had idiopathic hypersomnia, which is a fancy name for chronic fatigue. I was head-to-toe itchy all the time. Then I had arthritis on top of it, and it wasn't going away, and I was on a bunch of medications.

Then one of my second cousins died from an autoimmune disorder, and her rashes looked similar to the rashes I was starting to get, and I thought, "This is going to kill me." People with autoimmune disorders die younger. A lot of them can't have kids. It can be really brutal. I was in that camp, and I was like, "I think if I don't figure this out and fix this, it's going to kill me." And that was kind of the prognosis from the doctors as well.

I started looking into diet just on the off chance it would help. I cut out most foods, and I went to a paleo diet, which was mostly meat, vegetables, and some fruit, and that turned my life around. A bunch of my arthritic symptoms went away, and my skin started to heal. Three months later, I had more energy. This was because of an autoimmune paleo diet but more restrictive. I started getting off all my medications just a month after that diet.

After a month, I lost like three pounds but I went down three pant sizes from not being bloated. I had abs show up. They just showed up because it was all bloating from food sensitivity.

Then, fast forward a little bit, I ended up getting pregnant with my daughter, Scarlett, and, unfortunately, all of my autoimmune symptoms came back. They started creeping back in. I wasn't on any medications at that point, but I was horribly depressed. I was starting to get chronic fatigue again.

And I was like, "It's got to be diet. It's got to be diet. I got it under control with diet, so it has got to be diet." So I cut everything out over like eight months, and the number of things I could eat just kept getting smaller. And I was just like, "I know meat doesn't make me sick." I got to only eating meat and was like, "I'll do it for six weeks. I'll try to get the arthritis under control." And then I did that and the arthritis got under control. Everything cleared up again, and reintroducing foods brought back the symptoms. So I've been eating this way for seven years in November.

People with autoimmune disorders die younger. I was in that camp, and I was like, "I think if I don't figure this out and fix this, it's going to kill me."

CS: Have you tried to reintroduce other foods?

MP: I tried to reintroduce pressure-cooked, peeled, organic apples, basically like baby food, to see if that worked. Eventually, my arthritis would come back, and some skin symptoms, so I stopped with the fruit. I've tried chicken, like the healthy chicken, where the chickens are fed the right things. Chicken is not terrible, but it doesn't make me feel that good. Fish is not terrible, but it doesn't make me feel that good, either. So no, over the years, I've periodically tested carefully, but nothing is as good as just staying on the diet.

CS: Is it hard to stick to? Or are you just like, "This is my life, and I feel good, and I got this?"

MP: I mean, after you've been doing it for that long, other food stops mattering. In the beginning, it was really hard, and it was isolating, and I thought I was crazy, and I was kind of worried I was going to die from a vitamin deficiency. It wasn't ideal at the beginning.

But they're starting to do studies on it. There's a doctor named Chris Palmer from Harvard, who's doing studies on ketogenic diets for mental illness, so they're actually starting to study this. They're not studying this diet specifically, but at least they're looking into ketogenic diets now. I think it works so well that people who get healthy tell everybody because they're like, "Isn't it crazy?" Like, you have to tell people if you can feel better after all of that, you have to.

And the cravings after about three months of eating this way go away entirely. You just eat to be satiated, and then you're full, and then that's it. There isn't a lot more to it. I missed the social aspect of going out for sushi or going to cute little restaurants, but I go out to fancy steakhouses, so it could be much worse.

CS: I saw in your Stories that you went to a steakhouse and you asked them not to put anything on the steak, right? They just cook it, and then you put your seasonings on it that are good for you?

MP: Yeah, we just usually order a bunch of steaks and go, "We have allergies, autoimmune issues, so no butter, no oil, no salt, no pepper, no seasoning, no garnish." Honestly, in steakhouses, people usually recognize the diet or know about the carnivore diet because it's a steakhouse. So a lot of the time they go, "Oh, the carnivore diet."

CS: If you didn't have dietary restrictions, what would be your ideal menu?

MP: If I didn't have to stick to this and health didn't matter at all, I would be pretty much surviving off bento boxes like tempura and maki rolls and shrimp, wonton soup, and maybe vermicelli noodles.

CS: Really, your whole family has had to struggle against pain and illness in different ways. What have you learned from that?

MP: I think the biggest lesson is if you have a problem in your life, including health, it's on you to fix it, and you can fix it. Even when I send people to liondiet.com to start looking into their health, the biggest thing they have to do is say, "I'm going to do whatever it takes to solve this problem." And then they have to be willing to do whatever it takes, which could be a lot.

It's a personal responsibility. And you have to get over the mindset that the medical establishment pushes on people, which is you don't have control. That's something I was told as a kid, "There's nothing you can do. We can give you these medications. They kind of work. There's nothing you can do, though. Nothing."

You have to get rid of that mindset. There are always things you can do to improve your life and to make you healthier. Then have faith that you can figure it out and then work at figuring it out.

CS: I think a lot of people need to hear that. We are often conditioned to think we need more "permission" to do whatever the thing is, but sometimes it's just you fighting for you.

MP: And the sad part about being ill is it's your life. It's not this doctor's life. They might care and they might want to help you, but you're the one suffering, so you need to figure it out. That might involve going to a bunch of different specialists, but don't just go to one who says, "I know everything. You don't have to go to anybody else that doesn't solve your problem." Always keep looking.

And then I urge people to do an elimination diet just to check it off the list. I know there are tens of thousands of people who have done this now, which is insane, but it can put crazy chronic issues, serious chronic issues, autoimmune disorders, and mental illnesses into remission. A lot of them have been able to reintroduce food too, and just identified what was triggering it. You go down every rabbit hole until something clicks.

You have to get over the mindset that the medical establishment pushes on people, which is that you don't have control.

CS: Did your mom use this diet during her cancer treatment?

MP: She's on the diet. So is my dad. I've been looking for root cause for a long time. Why does my whole family have all these problems? And we couldn't find a genetic problem. Our current theory, and I think it's accurate, is mold exposure in a house in Toronto for a very long time. The research I've done on mold is alarming. We assume that all the autoimmune issues that kind of have sprung up in my mom, my dad, and me were from mold exposure. So, perhaps, in the future, I'll be able to eat foods again without having random reactions. But for now, the diet keeps everything in check.

CS: Did you follow the diet when you were pregnant?

MP: So when I had George six months ago, I did it throughout that pregnancy. It was not fun. I cried a number of times, like, "Why can't I eat like a cucumber without getting arthritis?" Like a cucumber, like give me a break. I don't think I know anybody who's actually stuck to the lion diet, specifically, throughout pregnancy, because it's really hard, but I tried eating other things and then felt worse than just having cravings. So, I stuck to it throughout pregnancy.

CS: Your postpartum transformation was incredible. I saw a picture of you two weeks after George was born, and you look amazing. Do you think it was the diet?

MP: Oh yeah, definitely. It was crazy. Like, I have a 6 year old, right? So, I was pregnant seven years ago, and I didn't recover as easily as I did this time. Like, this was nuts. The diet definitely helped, but it's not something I would necessarily recommend because the cravings were so severe. I don't think this is what women should be doing during pregnancy. And I had a meat aversion. I was so sure I wasn't going to get one because of my diet, but it was brutal. But I didn't gain excessive weight at all. And then I discovered belly binding, which I didn't do with my first. So, the diet and belly binding made a huge difference.

CS: Switching topics, but I also want to talk about your cute outfits. Do you have any fashion icons?

MP: If I had to choose one person, it would probably be Marilyn Monroe. I'm sure everyone chooses her. It's such a typical response, but Marilyn Monroe. Twiggy had a cool style too, but Marilyn Monroe is just iconic. I've liked her since I was a little girl.

CS: I think lots of women gravitate toward her. Does your dad have any fashion icons? He's got some iconic fashion looks.

MP: I know. There are some outfits that I'm like, "Dad, this is getting really out there. I don't like this, this is out there. This one might be too far." But I don't think he's ever mentioned anyone.

CS: He's just doing his own thing, then. It's all him. That's even more impressive.

MP: I mean, he's a pretty impressive guy.

CS: What were your birth experiences like?

MP: I did two home births. I was so turned off by the medical system. After I got the illness into remission with diet, which my doctors had always scoffed at, I was so angry for about three years. I was livid. I was livid talking to other people with autoimmune disorders who were like, "There's nothing I can do. I'm stuck on these medications for life." And I was like, "No, you can change your diet, and it works."

So, first I got really mad, and then I got a phobia of hospitals. My dad said, "Honestly, from what you've been through, that's kind of reasonable." I'd had so many surgeries and things that if I went in there, I started panicking. And I was still in that period when I had my first baby. And then, I started doing research about the safety of home births and all the things that can happen when you're in the hospital. And I was like, "I think it's just safer if I'm at home." And there's less risk of medical intervention if you're young and healthy and you think you're going to be doing okay with the pain and you're okay psychologically because you need to stay calm.

But I love it. I'll do it again. It just hurts because there's no epidural, but I mean, women give birth multiple times. You forget the pain. And if you do give birth, it's going to hurt anyway. If you give birth at home, then you're at home with your baby right away.

CS: A lot of people want to hear more birth stories like that. They want to know that they have more options than just the hospital option.

MP: I did a bunch of research to make myself feel better about doing home birth. Your oxytocin levels go up, your contractions get stronger, and the baby comes out. If your cortisol goes up, it down-regulates your oxytocin. So, if you get stressed out while you're in labor, your labor can be extended. And for me, I knew the place that would be less stressful would be at home as opposed to a hospital where there are weird beeping noises and smells and people prodding you.

CS: It seems like many women are becoming really anxious about motherhood, whether it's body image or finances or "losing" their independence or just fears about the state of the world. What would you say to that?

MP: Well, I can say with my first, the situation I was in was not ideal at all. It was really stressful because I was quite ill and I didn't have any money. I was in university. But Scarlett gave me more joy than anything I'd experienced before. There's something so magical about having kids that you can't replace it with anything else. It's crazy. And I'd say for people who are worried, the biggest thing you need to focus on if you want to have kids is getting into a good relationship. You need somebody to support you when you have a baby, so your focus should be finding a good man. That's the hardest step. But as I said before, people can do that by trying to improve themselves and making themselves more likable, healthier, dressing well, being graceful, and working towards something. Because if you get a man, a proper man, then having babies shouldn't be an issue. Usually, you should be able to work through things.

Scarlett gave me more joy than anything I'd experienced before. There's something so magical about having kids that you can't replace it with anything else.

CS: Obviously, you have a lot of fans but critics, too, whether it's Marxist types who want that genderless dystopia and super "trad" red pill dudes. How do you function and thrive with all of that criticism?

MP: I don't care at all, so it doesn't bother me. I remember getting irritated at things on Twitter and YouTube around 2019, so it used to bother me, but it's been so long. I posted this photo on Mother's Day with George, and Jordan had taken the photo, so I put it on Instagram and everyone was like, "Oh, happy Mother's Day." I put it on X, and then I went on X the next day, and it was everywhere. I was like, "Wow, people were so angry that it was this." It was like a strapless sundress. I was like, "Wow, these people suck." But that didn't bother me either. I was just like, "That's funny."

CS: You just got to a place where you were like, "This is just the nature of being online."

MP: Yeah, that, and I also don't want to be like the people doing that to other people. If anything, it's coming from resentful, jealous, low-status people. So I don't know why I would care what they think.

CS: I think there are lots of people online who want to use their platforms for good, but they're scared of being attacked all the time. What would you say to someone feeling that?

MP: Well, I definitely get it. Especially, I think it depends on what's on the line, like is your job on the line? And if so, say you're stuck in a super woke establishment or something and you start fighting back, I would probably say, try to figure out something else to do if that's your line of work, because it's either that, or you're kind of sacrificing your soul to lying all the time. You're just living a lie. If you're in this political atmosphere that you really don't believe in, figure out a different way to make money, if you can.

For people who just have an online presence and are worried about pushback, there's always going to be pushback, but it's never as bad as you think. Usually, if you're telling the truth, then good things happen to you. People will come out and support you. Other people will be like, "Oh, I didn't want to say anything either, but I'm thinking exactly the same thing." But most importantly, if you continue not to say things that you know are true, like they're still in you, it'll just hurt your soul. It's like getting into an argument, not saying what you want to say, and just being like, "It'll go away." It never goes away.

That's why we're in the state we're in now because it didn't just suddenly appear. It slowly crept in over the years, mostly due to people not saying anything. Then it got to the point where you assume everyone silent around you agrees with the people who are yelling about something, which isn't true. And now we are where we are. If you don't tell the truth and you don't act courageous, you end up with lies and chaos.

Usually, if you're telling the truth, then good things happen to you. People will come out and support you.

CS: Your mom recently converted to Catholicism, and you became a Christian in 2021. I read that you used to have a psychological approach, similar to your father, but something changed for you. What was it?

MP: I can try to come up with a logical framework for how my mind changed, but I think it just changed on a spiritual level. Like, I really got saved. In 2021, I met Jordan and he was a Christian. And I was like this, "I think it was a Holy Spirit glow." I was like, "You have this like glow. Something's going on here that I'm really into." And he basically told me it was the Holy Spirit.

And I was like, "Wow, that's cool." I want that, but for whatever reason, you can't just want it and then get it whenever you want. So in, in 2021, I thought I believed. I was praying, I was reading the Bible, and everything. I think morally I was doing better, but it wasn't until much more recently that I had this spiritual experience and felt a relationship with Jesus, which I hadn't felt before.

I haven't talked about it online because I'm still trying to figure it out. I don't know how much of that was under my control or what wasn't, but it wasn't until recently when I was like,"'Wow, okay, this is what Christians mean when they say they got saved." It was more like my heart was changed. I'm still trying to figure out if I was doing something that contributed to that, or if that was just something spiritual out of my control. I don't even know if I'm going to get an answer to that.

I think Jordan helped, too, but I finally recognized at a deeper level than I had recognized before that I needed help. I was sinning in a bunch of different areas, things that you would write off as small, but I wasn't even able to recognize those as flaws until I got this heavenly perspective. Suddenly it was like, "Oh, these are all the areas of my life where I'm contributing to evil actively."

Just, for example, negative thoughts you have about somebody or scoffing at somebody when you really shouldn't. For me, a big one was looking down on housework, which I did look down on for a long time because I was like, "I like working and I like doing the intellectual stuff," but I realized there was something sinful there. But about four months ago, I was just shown everything. It was like, "Here, look how awful a person you are." I was like, "Oh wow. I didn't know that." And then I felt this overwhelming sense of forgiveness. And it was just like, "Oh, that's what they mean by saved." There's a huge difference there, but I need to wrap my head around a little more if I can, and then I'll make a video and tell people more about what happened. But it was just very spiritual. My entire world just turned upside down.

CS: Christianity has been said to be the pessimistic view of yourself but also the most optimistic view of yourself at the same time. That awareness of sin but also knowing the depth of love and forgiveness. Weightiness, lightness, pessimism, and optimism, all rolled together.

MP: There was a depth. And joy. And peace. It was like, "Look how terrible a person you are, but I love you anyway. And everything's going to be fine."

CS: What do you think Christians can do to be more persuasive to their skeptical friends?

MP: Most of my friends aren't Christian, especially from Toronto. I didn't even know what a Christian was. I had my dad, but he never identified as a Christian. I learned about the Bible from a psychological perspective, but I didn't even know what a Christian was.

I think the most effective way to get through to people who aren't saved is to be so full of the Holy Spirit that you glow when you talk to them. I've had people come to me now being like, "You have a really good vibe." I think it's a vibe, which I don't think it's me naturally, but through being saved, I've got a good vibe going on. Especially for people who don't understand and really don't have a Christian perspective, speaking like a Christian to them, maybe it works on some people, but I don't think it spoke to me. I just didn't get it. I didn't know what it meant to be saved. It's hard to know when you're on the outside.

So I would just say, have such grace and loving presence that people are like, "I like you, what is it?" And then you can say, "You know what? I know it sounds crazy, but this is what it is." And they'll take you more seriously than if you're trying to spitefully convince them of something. I think that's the best way to do it.

Closing Thoughts

You can follow Mikhaila's work and wisdom by tuning into her podcast, where she dives deep into conversations about health, wellness, and personal growth. Stay connected with her on social media for the latest updates on her transformative journey and the highly anticipated launch of Peterson Academy, an affordable education alternative for all, taught by the best.

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