Call Her Daddy - Abby Wambach and Glennon Doyle: Intimacy, Cheating & Starting Over
Episode Date: May 7, 2025Join Alex in the studio for an interview with Glennon Doyle and Abby Wambach! Glennon and Abby discuss their incredible love story, risking everything for each other, and why they believe it’s so im...portant to never settle. They also discuss intimacy, childhood insecurities, overcoming addiction, cheating and how they’ve changed each other’s lives for the better. Enjoy!
Transcript
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What is up, daddy gang? It is your founding father, Alex Cooper with Call Her Daddy.
Abby Wambach and Glennon Doyle, welcome to Call Her Daddy. We made it. I'm like thinking
about your daughter right now and we're like, yeah, they made it. Yeah, they made it. Okay,
so she's a fan?
She is freaking out today. This is the best day.
She thinks we're finally cool.
She said, mom, so you know that that's where cool people go.
She said, just tell them that you'll be their aunties.
That's what she said.
I love it.
Well, I'm happy you're here.
I was gonna say like to anyone watching,
we've virtually met because you guys obviously came
on my Paris Olympics show virtually. So this is the first time we're meeting in person and I'm honored to have you guys obviously came on my Paris Olympics show virtually.
So this is the first time we're meeting in person
and I'm honored to have you guys here.
How are you doing today?
Who are you?
I'm great.
I'm having a good day.
I didn't have to work other work
because this is the work.
And so that this is the best kind of work
where you don't have to sit in a computer
and make calls and get on meetings.
So I'm so happy to be here.
You know, being not just a fan of you, and make calls and get on meetings. So I'm so happy to be here.
Being not just a fan of you, but watching you kind of blossom and grow
and you began from the soccer world,
it's just, I don't know, you're doing incredible stuff.
And I just wanna acknowledge that Unwell,
the sponsor of the NWSL,
were owners of the Angel City team.
So just good job.
You're doing great.
I really appreciate that.
I think it was almost like a part of my life
that I never really got to bring forward
when I got into media because it didn't make sense.
The Call Her Daddy girl, when I was talking
about sex and relationships, also played soccer
and was a competitive athlete.
I'm like, those aren't making sense,
but I knew at one point I would be able
to bring that part of my life forward,
because the honest truth is I did that way longer
than I did Call Her Daddy.
Like, since I was so young playing soccer,
you know how it goes.
And so it's a part of your identity that feels weird,
I'm will to get to, but like when you retire
and when you're away from it,
you're like, who am I without this thing?
So it's been incredible to get back into it.
And I feel like, I literally called my mom,
I was like, I feel like a part of me is back.
Like I feel like I'm alive again and it's just, it's amazing.
And to be sitting with you, I mean, Abby, like, no,
your kids think I'm cool.
Growing up, are you fucking kidding me?
Sorry for my language.
I just wanted to be you.
And you are so fucking talented in all
the things and so yes, bow down to you soccer fucking god. That's sweet, thank you.
You guys, your book, first of all, congratulations. I know obviously you've written numerous books, but like we can do hard things doing it together.
Congratulations.
What inspired you guys to do this?
We had a doozy of a year.
Within the year, Abby lost her brother, Peter.
I was diagnosed with anorexia,
which I've been dealing with eating disorder
since I was 10, so this was just the latest round.
And my sister, who does the podcast with us,
was diagnosed with breast cancer.
And I think we just, we depend on each other so much,
the three of us, and you know how when you have
a small group, you usually, one of you keeps your shit
together when the other two are losing it, right?
So real, so real.
Like you have somebody who has a clue,
but we just all lost it at the same time.
And to survive, we started sending each other
like little clips of things or little quotes,
and then we started keeping them in files,
and they just became like these really helpful anchoring places.
And we sent it to a friend.
And she wrote back and said, can you
make this sort of file for every category of life for me?
And we were like, huh.
Because it feels like sometimes the harder life gets,
the more you forget everything you know,
like it's a really bad system.
Like you should remember then.
But there's a little bit of dissociation that comes with trauma. And I think that's
what we figured out.
One, I'm so sorry. Two, beautiful, because I feel like the hardest moments in life is
really when you have to look inward. And like you said, you lose your way. You're like,
what am I doing? And what is happening? But there's a recalibration that happens because
you have to go so deep inner strength
and then you know who's the closest person to you.
You're like, oh, wow, I really know I'm in love
or I really know this person, my sister, my family,
whoever it be that's there for you,
if they really stand up, you're like,
that is such an incredible support system
that I've built for myself.
And some people then come to realize like,
well, fuck, I don't need this person in my life.
They weren't there for me in a moment
where I really needed them.
So much of the wisdom you poured into this,
I think is so applicable to my audience.
So I kind of wanna just like go through it all.
Let's go back to the beginning though,
cause I wanna get to know you guys better
and through that we're gonna obviously get the wisdom.
Abby, growing up, you were the youngest of seven kids.
Can you describe your personality as a kid
when you were younger?
Great question.
So being the youngest of a big family,
for me I had seven, six older brothers and sisters
who all were very sports centric.
My two oldest sisters played all the sports.
My brothers played all the sports.
And so I grew up like watching, like observing them.
I was a pretty athletic kid.
I was like jumping off the diving board at like two
and I scored 27 goals in my first three soccer games.
And it's because I was competing against like older people
my whole life, you know, like I was playing
against my brothers, playing against my my sisters and they never like just let me win.
They were just like always like blocking the ball from me and like being their
age, not just like bowing down to the little kid.
And I think that part of like what made me so good is this desire, this like insatiable desire to win, to prove myself that I was like one of them.
And with that also came a lot of probably not healthy behaviors.
But I do think that there was a part of me that as a kid, I was just like pretty risk taking, I was fearless.
Like they would call it Abby alert.
I would just like run away.
I would like hide.
I didn't like have a ton of fear that troubled me.
So, and then I had athleticism.
My brothers and sisters even now tell me like,
you were ripped, like you had triceps and quads
and stuff at two.
And I'm like, is that possible?
And they're like, yes.
So I guess I was just like this rambunctious kid who,
and now after much therapy and looking back,
was just really vying for the attention of my mom.
Really like seven people were vying for that attention of my mom. Really, like seven people were vying for that attention.
Not possible.
I mean, I'm glad they had seven kids
because I wouldn't be here otherwise, but it was hard.
It was hard emotionally for, I think, a more sensitive kid
than I think I was allowed to be.
Would you say that that, I know you don't,
you didn't know me then, but you know enough.
I dissociated after you said,
I did not have a lot of fear that troubled me.
I cannot understand that sentence.
Glennon's like, honey, what?
The hell, what that must be like.
I only have fear that troubles me.
Glennon, we're getting to you, hold on.
Go back, go back, I'm sorry, carry on.
I think that's beautiful.
You're like, oh my God, it's so beautiful.
I hate you, what?
Give me some of that.
No, that's so, because I was thinking,
even when you're saying that, two things.
One, I think whenever we just have these,
I have these memories of you on the field
and these just iconic, historic moments
of you pushing through where so many people
must just have been like, how the fuck is she still standing
and alive on this field and still going
and still bringing it and then getting that backstory
of you being like, oh, I've literally been doing this
since I opened my eyes and could walk and breathe. And I'm the youngest. And I think about I only have two
above me. I'm like, thinking about you being the youngest, that's what I was gonna ask you is like,
how much of what you were doing was you just trying to get attention from your parents?
Because a huge family and being the youngest, you're kind of just like getting tagged along
a lot of the times. And you're never getting the first backpack, you're getting the hand me down. So you're not, you know what he means? So there's a lot of,
you're just kind of having to go with the flow. Do you think that that has impacted
your personality as an adult? Yes. And it's, it's actually, I, I've called myself a recovering
professional athlete for the last 10 years. Granted, I'm also sober, so I'm a recovering alcoholic as well.
But having the experience that I had in my childhood,
it gave me, I think, an edge in a way,
being a professional athlete.
But I think it was like a maladaptive way of living
as a normal person.
And the way that I've been thinking about it recently
is I thought being extraordinary was the way, was the path to getting the quote-unquote mother's
love and attention that I think I was seeking. And with that approach, I was able to win gold
medals and I was able to win world championships for our country.
But I got to the top of that mountain
and there was no there there.
There was no more, like I could get no more attention
for what I was doing, literal.
And maybe you have experience with this that,
oh, I was seeking this extraordinary life,
this extraordinary effort, gold, Olympics.
And honestly, like I gave myself the anthem to value it, however long it takes for the
national anthem to play.
And the gold medal was just put around my neck and I would step off the podium.
And my first thought was like, I wanna do that again.
Like there's the repetitive nature of professional sport
and the new season and the next thing
that wasn't conducive to true peace.
And I think that when I met Glennon and I got three kids,
the drive towards the ordinary has allowed me
to actually experience extraordinary coming into my life
because it's being, the extraordinary is coming in
in a foundation that's built on true ordinary.
That's incredible.
Yeah, and I think, and I assume that you probably have a lot of
relatability to this, given where you're at in your life and in your career.
It's just something to explore.
Like, what am I actually driving toward?
And when I get there, assuming you've gotten there,
Alex, will I, like, am I asking myself the right questions
to live a life that I really want?
Like, what's the end game here?
And that's something that Glennon was really good at
helping me craft, like, what is enough?
What are we doing here?
And in and of itself, like this book that we've made
asks ourselves, it's written in 20 different questions
and 20 different chapters,
so that you can start asking yourselves these questions,
like what am I doing?
Like what is the whole point?
Why are we here?
All of it.
Everything you just said, I relate to, yes, you're right.
You're like seeing right through me.
I'm like, we just met, but I can, I feel it out.
I so relate to so many things you're saying
and I agree with the athlete thing
of like there's an identity crisis,
but you're also made to feel as though
if you are going for something so big and so valued
and so many people are going to look at you
in this high regard
and you just keep doing it and you just keep winning
and it's so addictive, like it is, it's an addictive thing
that then when you are sitting at home
and really what you learn is it's actually
kind of more beautiful when you have just people around you
and it's longevity and love and care and kindness
and all that in the house, but you're like,
why is it quiet, Why is this boring?
What's wrong?
Like I'm a loser now.
I'm just sitting here and all my athletic ability
and what, and then it's like, no, no, no, no, no.
This is actually peace and this is beautiful
and it's not normal to every waking day be like,
I have to one up with myself.
I have to one up myself.
I have to keep doing it.
That can drive you insane
and can also drive you to be depressed
because then you're like, I need that high. Like, where is it? Where is it? And then you start to look for it elsewhere.
Pausing on us, Glennon, then I'm thinking about you. Like, how was your family dynamic growing
up different than what Abby is describing hers was? Oh, I mean, we were a small family,
which is my sister and I and my parents. How is it different? There was a lot less going on. We were a small family, which is my sister and I and my parents. How was it different? There was a lot less going on.
We were like kind of a little island.
I was raised by a football coach though.
So I do know more about sports than I let on.
Yeah.
Yeah, but my sister and I were just,
I mean, sometimes when I go to Abby's house,
it's actually quite hard for me because I don't,
it's, I'll say to Abby, I talk to everyone,
but I didn't get to know anyone better at all.
And I don't understand.
We're just like saying things to each other,
but we're not like learning about each other.
It's so chaos.
So I just feel like I go in and then it's a swirling
and then I leave.
Yeah, welcome to a big family.
You're like, what am I doing?
Your head is spinning and you're like, this is normal.
Abby's like, what are you talking about?
We got so deep.
We got to know that this one's dating this one.
Like what?
Like you all you're like,
but we didn't get into like the mental, like emotional.
We didn't sit on the couch and talk for an hour
and get deep.
Like I get it, I get it.
What insecurities, I know you kind of mentioned obviously
this past year that you recognize that you were diagnosed
with anorexia, but back when you were in high school,
can you talk to me about the insecurities
that you struggled with?
I don't know, I just remember feeling completely exposed
and confused in high school.
Like I didn't know who to sit with or how to be.
And I actually ended up, I became Bleeck when I was 10.
By the time I was a senior in high school,
I ended up leaving school to actually go spend time
in a residential treatment center.
Now they have excellent eating disorder clinics.
But back then it was like,
you just are in sort of a mental hospital.
And I really felt like the mental hospital
was much saner than high school.
I did, I felt like, you know, I felt like,
oh, this is where we're allowed to tell the truth
and we do art and we talk about feelings
and we're all, there's rules about how to be kind
to each other.
Actually very much like 12 step meetings now.
I love a 12 step meeting.
I need a 12 step meeting.
I need like a moment of truth
where everyone's telling the truth about how hard
and messy life is before I go out into the world
and like adult and act like everything's fine.
I know you were so young,
but do you remember the first time you remember feeling
like uncomfortable with your body?
Yes, I've my whole life I've spent uncomfortable my body.
When Abby and I first got married,
I would get dressed to go out and I would say,
do I look comfortable?
And she would say, I think that's something people
have to answer for themselves.
But really, I think I have spent a lot of time dissociated, like not in my own body.
I live in my mind a lot.
And this last eating disorder recovery has been a lot about living in my body, which
sounds so weird, but has been an interesting process for me.
I know. Sometimes I'll walk into the bedroom
and she'll be like in bed and she'll be in like
the most uncomfortable position that a body can be in.
And I'm like, are you comfortable?
She's like, I don't know.
So she walks over and like arranges all the pillows
in a different way.
She's like, oh yeah, that feels much better.
Yeah.
And you're changing your clothes like 15 times
just to feel more.
I do that.
For yourself, yeah.
I do that like 10 times a day.
It's very interesting, I don't know.
When you're able to look back at like dissociating
and obviously the bulimia and everything,
like do you, have you recognized the through line
of what was going on in your life at that young age?
Yeah, so I think the difference between this round
of eating disorder recovery and all the low
so many other ones I've been part of is that I think
I kept my recovery in my head, which means that I said,
obviously it's culture, it's misogyny,
it's this world we live in. And I kept it very intellectual.
And I think for the first time, I'm actually doing
like family of origin work this time.
And I think that there was just a lot of anxiety
and anger in my home that manifested
in very controlling, angry energy
that for a sensitive kid like me,
I think my body and my environment
wasn't a safe place to be.
And so I just decided that my mind
was a safer place to live.
Wow, this is what happens.
If you can send me this recording,
I'm gonna get it right to my therapist.
Cause I feel like we're nailing it.
Alex.
We are, we're nailing it.
Um, yeah, I think that's what happened.
And so my mind not here is my safe place.
And that's why I can't tell when I'm not comfortable or I, you know, so.
Reminding myself that I am safe now, like I think half of being a grown-up is just reminding
your nervous system that you're in a different environment now and you are safe and you've
created a life for yourself where there's safe people around you and you can just relax.
And that's what, I mean, honestly, that's what my marriage to Abby has been.
It's been the opposite of everything that I learned when I was little.
It's just like absolute peace and safety.
That's so beautiful though,
because so many people are not even fortunate to say that,
to be like a lot of times we repeat patterns.
And there are so many people like,
oh my God, I did marry my dad, fuck.
Like gotta redo this one now.
Like that's odd, this is not working.
And you being able to recognize like, there was this one now, like, this is not working. And you being able to recognize, like, there was this feeling in your home that was unsafe,
and it made you not want to be in your body.
And I think a lot of people, like, obviously with eating disorders, I have a lot of people
in my life, like, a lot of it stems from control, and that was the one thing you could control.
And so now that you're able to explore this,
I think it's beautiful and having a partner
that's sitting next to you that's like,
I'm going to be there every step of the way for you
so you feel safe because going through therapy
and uncovering things from childhood is,
I don't even have a word for it.
It's like you're rewatching for some people,
like a nightmare that you don't wanna open up
and for you to have
someone that's just like there to guide you and even as cute as is you walking and being
like, are you comfortable?
Can I adjust the pillows?
It's no, it's, it's, you need someone like that.
You can't, no one can go through this shit alone.
And that's what's so beautiful about this.
Did you though, Abby, when, you know, I'm talking about it with you, Glenn, and like,
I'm thinking about being an athlete and there's such a fixation on our bodies as athletes
and at every different stage,
whether it's the early days to then, obviously,
when you get later on,
did you struggle when you were younger at all
with your body?
I never had, like, I ate too much.
That was my problem, which I know is a form I ate too much. That was my problem.
Um, which I know is a form of an eating disorder.
Um, I have a healthy case of body dysmorphia though, in that I'm sad that my
body doesn't look like it used to all the time.
So I do, you know, I have to, I have to very,
be very careful on what I eat and work out and walk
because I can no longer run
because my ankles are all messed up.
So I've never really, I haven't experienced
what Glennon experiences on a daily basis.
And I think it's important that, like what you said
around her having an environment
where she feels safe to explore this stuff.
And I think one of the things that a lot of us
really run into almost all the time
when we think about going back to our childhood
is that now if we go back to our childhood,
now I'm deeming my parents awful people,
people that are unlovable, and it's just not true.
You can love your parents and appreciate for them trying their best, because I do believe
that there's a lot of our parents out there, mine included, that they did their best and
it was just maybe not enough.
And they are people too.
And they had parents that might not have had the education
or understanding that we have now.
And so don't let that fear of blaming
or pointing towards a childhood prevent you
from exploring that part of yourself.
It's so real, because I'm like, oh, I don't have kids yet,
but I can imagine you guys feel this way.
You're like, oh, I can't wait to find out
how we fucked them up.
Exactly.
They're going to come, no one's life is perfect.
Everyone feels, and again, it's, I love that you're saying that,
because there are some parents where it's like, whoa,
this is like objectively you fucked these people.
But then there's also parents where it's like,
yeah, you did your best.
And I still have things from my childhood
that really affected me as a human being
that I can say that out loud.
And it doesn't mean that you are this horrible human being.
Yeah, both things can be true.
Did you though, Abby, like in your high school days,
like did you have any insecurities that you were dealing with that
you felt like you weren't able to be open about with people? Yeah, I mean, I was a queer kid.
I wore backwards hats, flannels. I went to an all girls Catholic high school and played sports.
girls Catholic high school and played sports.
So, but I was straight.
I had a boyfriend in high school.
Um, really, really scared.
I grew up in like a smaller town in Rochester, New York.
And you know, yeah, it was, I was really struggling because I had sat so many days of my life in the church pews.
And my mom was, she's a very big church person, I was born and raised Catholic.
And I was just like soaking up all of this energy towards what I knew that I couldn't
say out loud.
And I spent a lot of my time in the closet, not only for my family, but for myself.
And I think it's almost laughable now, because when I look back at my teenage high school self,
I was like the most butch lesbian you've ever known.
I mean, if I could have-
I could tell I have no gay dark.
Yeah, if I could have had this haircut,
then I would have, but no, I had like the long ponytail
and only wore it in a ponytail,
slick back ponytail all the time.
And then another thing ended up happening
where we have queer kids and one of them came out to us.
And it was like the most special thing
that ever happened to me in my whole life,
because instantly what happened is I got scared. And I had this panic, this fear inside of me.
And it made, we talked ad nauseum about this, Glennon and I, like, oh, it made me understand
that my mom wasn't afraid of me. She was afraid for me, because the world, especially in like the late 90s, was not what it
is today. Queerness was not cool, especially being a queer lesbian was not cool. It was like this
underground mysterious place that you had to like go find. And now I understand like, oh, as a parent,
we want our kids to have a good life and not feel afraid of things. And I think that,
and now I've gotten over that fear because like our kids are just happy and they are proving that
acceptance is truth and acceptance is the way forward. I, the Catholic Church, I agree, there's
like, there is growing up when you're so young
and you're watching something and you're hearing something.
Like I remember like hearing about sex
as I'm sitting in those pews being like,
okay, so I'll basically die if I do this before marriage.
Got it, like, whoa.
And then like after I did it, I was like, am I gonna die?
I'm alive, whoa, this is great.
Yeah, God.
Can we talk about, you guys both kind of talked about it earlier, but you both talked about
like using alcohol to cope in ways.
When did you realize, oh, I think I have a different relationship to alcohol than my
peers and my friends around me? You both talked about like using alcohol to cope in ways.
When did you realize, oh, I think I have a different relationship to alcohol than
my peers and my friends around me? I always had that thing in me that there was never enough.
Never am I. I remember seeing people leave a beer, a half beer or a half glass of wine and like,
what is wrong with that? Like, how is that? How is that humanly possible? And then I just, you know, they say about,
it's not how much you drink, it's like how you drink.
Like I just had a situation where every time I drank,
which was all every night, my whole life fell apart.
Like I would, I remember just sitting in my dorm room
just waiting for someone to call to return my keys,
my wallet, my, just every day it was like, it was how I drank.
Like I noticed that my friends didn't,
their lives didn't fall apart, they didn't do crazy things,
they didn't lose everything.
It was a way of being around alcohol
that I knew in the back of my mind this isn't right.
Abby, what was the moment for you
that you knew you needed to get sober?
Well, I had many.
Being a professional athlete, I had a kind of a secret personal life
that not many people knew about and this was totally a part of it. And I think being an athlete
too, I just took on that persona that I went hard all the time in every aspect of my life except school. I was the athlete,
I went to parties, that's what I did, I went to college and then I became a soccer player and
started playing on the national team and so then I started to like create these time periods where I could do it, like my time's off.
So I would never really drink in camp,
but when I'd have the weekend off or a week off,
I would rage for five of those seven days.
And throughout a whole career of doing this,
15, 20 years, it starts to take its toll,
and then I start getting more injured, getting older, starting to use
prescription meds, those get kind of out of control.
Um, I'm leading towards my retirement from sport and then I get the, a DUI.
And that was the most important thing that ever happened to me.
I get a DUI, my mugshot is on the ESPN ticker
for like seven straight days.
And it was like the thing that woke me up.
And I was like, whoa, my life is way worse
because of alcohol.
And for a lot of my life, it was what I was telling myself,
it was way better.
Having all this fun and doing all this fun things and hanging out with all
these amazing people.
And I have not had a drink since that night I got arrested.
And it's one of the things I've been sober for almost nine, for nine years.
Now I just hit nine years and everything really powerfully good in my life has happened in my sobriety.
And I won gold medals as a high functioning alcoholic.
And a lot of professional athletes struggle with this stuff and they don't do it publicly.
And I get that. And there's more support for and mental health support for pro athletes now than
there was when I was going through. But I was just, you know, I was just really kind of suffering,
not knowing if I was doing life right. Like, there was that, like, I didn't know,
I thought that that was like, that was the only way. And I didn't literally know a single sober
person until I met Glennon. Like, I didn't know a single person that was sober in my life until I met Glennon. Like I didn't know a single person that was sober in my life until I met her.
And now I think, wow, I'm so proud that our kids will never ever see me intoxicated.
I'm so proud that I have built a life that feels not boring. My biggest concern was like,
it's going to be so boring. What the fuck am I going to do? And the truth is when you have three children, there is a lot to do all the time every day.
I think you're.
And so, and then we're both full-time working people.
And so there's a lot that I wouldn't be able to have the life that I have now had it not
been for me getting sober.
I wouldn't, I would have probably missed Glennon.
This whole thing would never, you know, so it's like, when I look back, it's like my
life just got exponentially better. And I would have probably missed Glennon. This whole thing would never, you know, so it's like, when I look back,
it's like my life just got exponentially better
being sober.
I think that's also really helpful to hear
when you say like you didn't know anyone that was sober.
I think there's a lot of people that probably
are having the same exact experience as you
in terms of struggling with
alcohol, but like that fun factor, they genuinely believe life won't be fun. And am I going to be
like the odd man out where people are going to look at me and I'm the only one that doesn't drink?
And I feel like, yes, that is fair to think. But once you start living it, like your testimony being like, wait, you guys,
it's literally great, like I'm totally fine.
And of course it's hard, it doesn't mean it's not hard
when you're going through this,
but the social element I also think people are way more
loving and giving in moments
where we think we're gonna get judged,
also depending on who you're hanging out with,
there can be assholes that are pressuring you,
but for the most part,
if you're around people that are good people,
people just want the best for you.
People are going to meet you where you're at
if you're around the right people.
And I'll just say this, like, first of all,
you spend so much less money.
I couldn't believe how much a dinner was without alcohol.
It was insane.
I was like, this is great.
Big bonus.
And then I think too, like just go home
a little bit earlier.
Like once your friends start to get louder
and they repeat their first story,
that's your Irish goodbye moment. Like, buh-bye, get out of there. They'll never remember and they repeat their first story, that's your Irish goodbye moment.
Like, buh-bye, get out of there.
They'll never remember and they'll be like,
we're so-and-so, oh, whatever.
And then repeat that story that they had just repeated
to you that made you wanna walk out.
So real.
They won't care, they won't care.
Do you feel like any of your teammates
were kind of catching on?
Cause I know that there's a big secrecy element,
but it only can last for so long.
Like how do you think it impacted your relationships?
Yeah, I definitely know
that my teammates were worried about me.
One of them got the phone call
that I got arrested from a friend and or a text.
Did you hear about Abby?
And they thought that I died.
Oh, I didn't know that.
Yeah.
And they, that was their first thought that Abby got in an accident or something
happened, she's dead.
Um, and I wasn't far off.
Like I wasn't far off from that happening.
It's actually super, I'm very, I feel very lucky that I'm still here.
Um, I think that they all, and this is the problem of being a veteran and being the person that I was,
is I was kind of a senior captain. I think that there was this element of Abby's going to be fine,
she'll take care of it. And yeah, like it has, it definitely has changed a lot of my relationships
and friendships from that time.
I had to create a whole different life for myself.
I had to, I had to, to save my life.
I had to leave a lot of that behind.
But it's really awesome that when I get to reconnect
with some of my teammates who I'll be friends with for life,
they get to see this different, more grounded, present,
not always thinking about, what are we
going to, like, how are we going to, what are we going to do? Like, let's go, let's party. Like,
I was like that person that they kind of knew and they have to kind of get more acquainted with the
new me, which is a little bit more quiet, a little bit more subdued. I still like to tell a good
story. In fact, one of my former teammates,
we got together, it was one of our 40th, one of our former teammates 40th birthday.
And we were at dinner and she just looked at me and she's like, I like this version of you.
And it meant so much to me, like I kind of got emotional at the table because like,
that's a fear. Like when you change your life so dramatically, you change your
relationships because of it. If you change yourself so dramatically, your relationships shift. Of
course they do. And you wonder like, will they like me as this person? And so it was nice to get
that affirmation from her. And at the end of the day, like we've built a life as a family together that, you know,
if you were to have children one day, like your family and your kids become your,
your source of everything.
And so yes, your friends and their opinions of you, like it matters on some level, but
like also like the things that matter the most is like that matter the most is what does my wife think?
Am I doing okay?
Am I doing okay?
I think I'm doing okay.
You're doing great, sweetie.
You're crushing.
You know, in speaking about your wife,
can we talk about how the two of you met?
Because when I was doing my research,
I was like, wait, this is a fucking epic story, you guys.
No, this is like, it's hot and cute and I am obsessed.
Okay, so you release a book, Miss Glennon,
you release a book and this book is about
your husband at the time, he had cheated,
and you write about finding out he cheated
and you're gonna stay.
Yes.
And you go to a book event, tell me the story, what happens?
So, yeah, so I have just gotten sober.
I'm also releasing my first book, my memoir.
And this is a librarian's convention event.
And essentially what happens,
and people might not know this, I did not know this.
Librarians come together in a convention every year,
and then authors come up and kind of pitch their books
to sell their books to all the libraries
of the United States.
And so that's what this event was.
So I walk in and I'm a little bit late,
which never happens, and so I'm like a little bit flustered.
And I walk into the back room of this convention
where the rest of the librarians
or the authors were eating dinner.
And I walk into this room,
and on the way to the event, I should say,
I checked out who the other authors were gonna be
so I could like know their names and you know,
and I saw Glennon
and I knew nothing about Glennon
and I just read her little blurb
and it was like sober, mother of three.
The book was about the redemption of her marriage
through infidelity, et cetera.
And I was like, oh, perfect, she's sober.
Maybe she'll know how to do sobriety.
I wish. I've never met a sober person, literally.
And so I walk in this room and all of a sudden I look up
and Glennon is standing, everybody else is sitting.
She has stand, got to her feet
and stretched her arms like this.
She's all the way across the room.
And I'm like, okay, well, that's Glenn
and the one I wanna meet.
This is great.
She knows me, she thinks I'm cool.
So we'll get to have a conversation.
But she's around the table.
So I have-
And it was weird.
It was weird.
Everyone was like, why is she standing up?
It was bizarre.
It was really weird.
Yeah, it was bizarre.
Well then I-
And then, yeah. I didn't know what to do because now I'm stuck up here
and I so let me let me do you're standing here to hug her
at a long table full of authors and I stood up like this. Like
and then she's awkward. And she goes, I thought maybe if I bow
people will think I just bow when people walk in rooms, I
lost control of my Glennon. Glenn, Glennon, wait, Abbie,
she's basically standing up like the fucking lion king
and then she's bowing.
What are you thinking?
What are you thinking in this moment?
And what are you doing?
Yeah, it was something.
I think it was one of the weirdest moments of my life,
but I think it was a moment where I was in my body.
Like I really do, I thought of this a million different ways
because it's so weird and there was a lot of writers
at the table who still talk about it
and try to get me to explain what happened.
I didn't know Abby, of course I did not follow the soccer,
I did not, but she walked in the room
and I was like, holy shit, like something just took over my body.
And I called it at the moment, love at first sight,
but I don't think that's what it was.
I think it was desire.
And I think for somebody who lives in their head,
I had never, I just had relationships with people
who I thought made sense to have relationships with.
Like, that seems like a good, like I just never felt it in my body.
And so it was the, the best way I can explain it, it was that it was just a
moment where my body was like, there she is.
You better get your ass up.
This is an important moment.
In your body was at all romantic way.
Like I just never was like a very sexual, because I just felt like I used to think of sex
as something you do, like, like, how you have to get
the oil change.
Like, you just, you just do it so the car doesn't break down
and people don't start to say,
why aren't you having sex with me?
And, like, you just have to do it
to, like, keep things running smoothly.
I know.
So I didn't before that moment even know
what it felt like to be like sexually
alive. So I think it was a moment, my first moment of sexual aliveness, although I would not have
had a librarian's touch. I know. I'm like, damn, Lenin, you're like, I'm getting turned on a
convention. It was an inconvenient time. Like, the fuck is she doing? I don't know. I'd never kissed a girl.
I'd never had a relationship with a woman or kissed a girl.
I'd never, you didn't know any sober people.
I didn't know any gay people.
Yeah, yeah.
Right?
Yeah, basically.
I was a Christian, I was a Sunday school teacher.
And it was so interesting because this moment happens
and I have to go over to hug her
cause she's standing makes it so awkward.
And now she's bowing. Okay. So I hug and then I have to go over to hug her because she's standing, makes it so awkward. I'm like, okay.
So I hug and then I have to go sit in my seat,
which is like around the table, not next to her.
And I'm just like, there's something happening
that I can't fully explain because I keep looking at her
and I'm like, huh, like that's something is happening here. And then we get seated next to each other on the dais on the, on the platform.
What is it called?
Yeah.
The dais.
Yeah.
And the woman who was working for me at the time, I have to sign some autographs
after the event, she unbeknownst to me because the whole time when Glennon got up to
speak, I was like,
I can speak in front of a crowd of people, no problem. And I was like fumbling my words. I was
like nervous. I was like, Oh my gosh, get me out of here. And Glennon gets up and she speaks and
she's like so eloquent and perfect. And I was just like looking at her like the whole time. And so
after the event, I'm like meeting with some booksellers and my assistant at the time
went up to Glennon and said,
I don't know why I'm saying this
and I don't know what is going on,
but Abby needs you in her life.
I was like, got it, I'm in.
I'm not hard to get.
Like I have been sexually awoken, put me in.
First of all, did you feel at all,
like at this point she's married to a man.
Are you like wondering at all, like could this even be,
like would she even be interested
or are you not even thinking romantic yet?
I am curious.
Okay.
And as a lesbian woman who grew up even thinking romantic yet. I am curious. Okay. Okay.
And as a lesbian woman who grew up in the 90s,
80s and 90s, where a lot of the people
that I have been with in my life were previously straight
and then went back to being straight.
Just the way it goes for some of us.
I was side-eyeing her around like, what's going on here? Something was happening. I felt it. And so then I went back into
my hotel room that night and I read her book. And I got to the end of that fucking book and I was like,
you fucking stay together? That can't be. I was like, heartbroken. I was like, oh fucking stay together? That can't be.
I was like heartbroken.
I was like, oh, and I, by the way,
I'm the slowest reader in the whole world.
I read from like 10 PM till 3 AM
to try to figure out what was gonna happen with this.
And I was like devastated.
I was like, oh my gosh.
And then a few days later, she emails me.
What does this email say?
Give me the gist.
Okay, so I think, so on the dais,
Abby had told me that her people wanted her
to write her memoir as like a Captain America story,
like shiny, no problems, here I'm Abby Wambach.
I hadn't finished it yet.
And I was, yep.
And then she said, but I feel like maybe
I wanna tell the real truth.
About the DUI and the drinking
and the prescription drugs, yeah.
And she was so upset.
Like she felt like her drinking was like this big,
dark secret that no one could know.
But she's from like shiny sports world
and I'm a writer and an artist.
I'm like, so what?
Everyone is an alcoholic.
You know, like that's not, and I remember I said,
you're leaving that world and you're entering the real world
and in the real world we like real people.
So of course you show people who you are.
And-
Great advice by the way.
So the email that I sent,
I think I was like pretending
that I just would be your like spiritual guide.
I was just like, you need some help?
Like, hey, I'm the one you met from the library.
Although I do remember that when we reread
the first sentence of the email, it said,
I don't know much about you.
I do know a little bit about men's soccer
because my husband is a fan,
but I do feel like I'm over men in general.
So that was not hiding.
That was not subtle.
God, remember how much I just just scoured all of those emails.
Looking for clues, for clues.
What is she trying to say here?
Wait, you say you're over men
as you're married to this man?
Abby's like, huh, interesting.
So when throughout this email process,
do you think each of you recognize this is turning romantic?
Good question.
Well, it's weird because at the time,
she was going on her book,
she was about to go on like this,
the whole giant book tour,
Oprah just picked it for a book club pick
as like the marriage redemption story.
That's how it was being sold all over the place.
And I guess we went from email to like started texting.
And honestly, like instantly when we started started texting then we had like a phone call
and I think this like honestly and this is the God's honest truth the second we felt like
that we communicated that there were real feelings happening she said I gotta talk to Craig.
We this I can't do this. Well, first I went to a therapist.
My therapist, I sat down with my therapist
and told her the whole thing.
I said, I think I'm in love with this woman.
She had been with me through the marriage.
I said, I cannot have sex with my husband again.
Something about my body,
we hadn't even been in the same room together besides that,
but I just couldn't do it.
And she said, I understand what you're saying
about not being able to have sex with him anymore.
Have you considered just giving blowjobs
because many women find that to be less intimate.
My therapist said that to me and Alex,
that was the moment I was like, as God is my witness,
I will never give a blowjob.
I don't know much, but I freaking know that much.
And so it was something about that woman looking at me
and saying, squash this, it's not real,
just give blowjobs the rest of your life
where I was like, oh no, thank you.
No, no, no.
But then right after that,
you were like, I have to talk to Craig.
Yes.
Okay, yes, what did you say?
I just said, I mean, we had been through so much
and this man is an amazing father
and we married each other
because it was the right thing to do,
not because we were right for each other
and we both knew that.
And in retrospect, when I think about how we got married,
I really railroaded it.
Like, I was scared, I was freshly sober, I was pregnant,
and I thought, we gotta do this.
Like, we need to become a family.
And I ignored every terrified look in his eyes.
Like, I can... We weren't ready, but he did the best he could.
And I, and there was infidelity and it was messy. But I just remember thinking,
I don't owe this man the rest of my life, but I do owe him the truth about now.
So I just said, I am in love with a woman. And there was a lot of silence.
And then a week later, we told the kids,
and we had not even tested, we had not been together,
except for that one night we blew it all up.
Just talking.
Just, we never-
Like you had never even kissed, you had never-
Okay, hold on.
No.
You blew up her whole life.
Did that freak you out a little?
No.
No.
Yeah.
You were like, let's go. You were waiting for a girl,
a straight girl to blow up her whole life and choose you.
I was.
And not go back.
Yes, I was waiting for it.
But like, here's the thing.
Everything about this story,
a sane person would be like, this is not correct.
You should probably slow down.
This is, you should do this a different way.
And I totally get that,
but there was everything in my total body and knowing.
And I think it was true for you, Glennon too,
that it was like, this is where I'm supposed to be.
This is the person that I'm supposed to build a life with.
How did your family react to you being like,
I'm with a woman now?
So I remember texting my sister, who was my person,
we are inseparable, from a dressing room at the mall.
And I just said, I am in love with Abby Wambach.
It's just like dropping sentences.
It's so good.
It's just like hard to,
there's no lead in that's gonna make it better.
So just, and then. She's like. It's so good. It's just like hard to, there's no lead in that's gonna make it better.
So just.
And then.
She's like, yeah, we all are.
Yeah, we all are.
Like, join the club.
I'm just kidding.
I'm just kidding.
No, but like if I got bad texts,
I'd be like, oh yeah, like you're getting into soccer.
Right.
Cool.
Like it's about time.
Like, no.
Finally.
Yeah.
And I said, I'm in love with Abby Wambach and I will never be able to be with her and
I am brokenhearted.
And she wrote back and it was like, you know, when you're like staring at the dots, like
what is coming?
And she said, well, you have spent too much of your life brokenhearted.
And it was just like her immediate way of saying, all right, let's go.
No, we're not going to land on just brokenhearted. Like all right, let's go. No, we're not gonna land on just brokenhearted.
Like let's, that's hard.
Let's choose the other hard.
So she was just, there was a lot to work through,
but she was just immediately like, let's do this.
Can you share with me once you guys got
into this relationship, everyone brings a little bit
of baggage from
their past, obviously, and you having gotten cheated on.
How did that impact your guys relationship with?
Okay, I hit the mother load.
You're like, okay, how did it impact your guys relationship with trust.
Everyone brings a little bit of baggage from their past obviously and you having gotten
cheated on.
How did it impact your guys relationship with trust?
So I have never been in a relationship
that I wasn't cheated on, okay?
Every single one of them, all of them, and I never know.
I never know until I know.
So I went into this relationship having part of myself
know that it was gonna happen again.
And I don't think I would have been able
to explain this at the time, but I think I felt like,
okay, well, I can't control whether it's gonna happen,
but I can control whether I'm just totally annihilated by it.
Like I can control whether I'm surprised by it.
I just won't be surprised by it.
Cause that's the part I can't handle.
So a lot of things happen, but one day Abby was
in the shower and she got out too fast,
like faster than her normal shower.
She got out too fast or too fast for you.
It was her fault.
And she opened our door and I was on her phone in bed on her phone, looking through her phone.
And I really, I really like having the moral high ground. I don't know what to do in that
exact sort of situation. I wanted to die and we just both stared at each other for a second and She says, oh honey, what else do you need?
Do you need my email passwords?
Like what else do you need to feel safe?
Wow.
I've also been cheated on.
And so like, it was this moment that I was like, huh,
okay, this is not about me.
I know what I'm doing and I'm not doing anything weird.
I'm like the most boring person in the whole wide world.
I can confirm that based on my soap.
You're like, what the hell?
Shit's boring, come on.
And I think like, I don't know.
I just think that it's really in that moment,
it's really, she's trying to soothe something,
a fear that's happening, and I recognize that immediately.
And of course you have that fear.
I can't be mad at you for being scared.
Yeah, I was really scared.
That's something that has happened in your life.
And one of the vows that we have made,
especially since we've gotten married
because we did actually make vows,
is like we don't wanna use each other's weaknesses
against each other.
Like that's something that is a tender spot.
And it's a tender spot to me too. So like, when these things
kind of come up, we can't use it against each other. Cause like I could have, and I know I've
not been like this in my life. This is probably sobriety really helping me be like, what the fuck?
Like when you're not sober, you're keeping secrets. Like they might not be cheating secrets,
but you're keeping secrets. Like that's how you stay alcoholic.
Like it's the secrets that take you down.
So in my sobriety, I was just like, yeah,
like what do you want?
You want my email passwords?
Luckily I can never remember passwords.
So that wouldn't have helped me.
And I didn't need all of that.
It was just that moment of like such kindness and such.
I think it got just better after that, did it?
Yeah, I mean, I don't know. Have you been looking at my phone?
Not since Tuesday.
But now, but now we have every, each other's passwords to everything.
Like, like I can open her computer with my fingerprint, like the whole thing.
I also love what you guys talked about with the phone and the trust thing,
because I have had so many people
come on and it hasn't been the reaction that you've given.
Abby, which I can imagine there is a level of anger
for sure someone has where it's like, you don't trust me,
why are you going through my stuff?
But to be met with such grace and love,
that makes now sense why Glenn, then you're like,
oh, and then I never need to do it again.
Because when they also blow up, it does give you even more
pause as the person looking through being like, well, what
are you freaking out about?
And what is there to hide?
Not that there's always something to hide, but that moment,
I do think is a defining moment for a lot of relationships
based off of here have everything.
Not that you need to give them everything,
but it's a nice gesture to be like, I have no, I go on my Candy Crush account. Like there is literally nothing on
my phone that I feel like I need to hide. Well, you have to think about it because like
there's, there's the defensiveness that shows up, right? And what is underneath the defensiveness?
It's like, okay, they don't trust me that then that's like the next level. And then
you have to go deeper than that. It's like, why don't they trust me?
And then it has literally probably nothing to do with you.
So it's like, if you can do that equation
and process that really quickly,
look, I have been the one that's like,
what, you don't trust me and I'm defensive
and I'm like standing in the trust part of it.
It's like actually go one step deeper and honesty,
like being honest with yourself,
because if you have untrustworthy behavior
that would kind of propel somebody
or make them wanna look through your stuff in a way
to like figure out where you are or like find my whatever,
like of course that you will,
yeah, it's just important to do that process
and to realize it's not necessarily,
a lot of stuff in relationship isn't about you.
No, I was thinking I can't trust myself
to make a good decision.
That's what I thought, right?
That's all the research and whatever,
like I cannot trust myself to know if something's going on.
I think I do trust that now.
I think that is like what getting back in your body is about too.
It's like starting to pay attention and not gaslight yourself.
It's a great point because I think a lot of people listening, and specifically women,
like we're always kind of taught to question ourselves.
Like we're not supposed to be confident and know what we want.
It's like, question yourself and don't be so confident.
And you talking about being in your body
and how your life is changing
by starting to be more cognizant of where you are
and who you are in your relationships.
Again, then having a beautiful relationship
that you guys are building together, it makes it easier,
but it still is gonna show up.
And then it's about how you guys handle those moments
that then, if anything, they get you even closer.
Like that moment, like you just said,
we've never had something like that
except for last Tuesday, I'm just kidding.
You're like, Tuesday?
But those moments make it so much easier
to be light and free and in your body
when you feel that safe.
Where you're like, oh, I don't even care about your email.
Don't give me the password, I'm too busy.
Can we talk about intimacy?
Because I think a lot of people,
when they think about relationships,
and kind of like how you described it, Glennon,
sex for you, you were just like,
oh, I thought it was something you did,
oils change, boom, bye, we're done.
And I think a lot of people think about sex and intimacy
as like, the way to equate how good our relationship is,
is how much we're having sex.
Like if someone is craving more intimacy
in their relationship currently,
like what advice do you have for them listening and watching?
I guess just even saying that is a good start.
Yeah, I think that something that works for us
is to like know what makes each other feel like that that intimacy connection is there. Because we've been together for 10 years ish.
Almost yeah we're almost like we're in our ninth year.
Oh my god.
And we've gone through ups and downs of, not just like the actual act of like sex,
but like we've gone through ups and downs
of feeling really connected and so in line
and so on the same page.
And then, you know, stuff happens, people die,
diagnoses happen, and it forces you kind of away
from like this homeostasis line in a way.
And it's not my dream to be living at the high, high, high of the in-love-ness,
because I don't think that that number one, chemically, is just not sustainable.
Like that happens for the first couple of years and you're just like infatuated with each other
and you can't keep your hands off each other. But then you fall into a sense of loving,
of complete partnership and intimacy.
And you're kind of like here, like, you know what I mean?
Yeah, I mean, that was so scary for me, you remember?
I was terrified,
because she had never been in love before.
And I had been in love before.
And so I know that when you fall off that
love train you're like I want to go back there and so you find somebody new and
then so that's what I did my whole life I just wanted to the love the love
chemicals the love chemicals. Same as it's like same as the success yeah
striving yes success yes it's the same it's the whole conversation it's same as
booze yes it's the same as the's the whole conversation. It's same as booze.
It's the same as the falling in love part.
They're all like these fake versions of the thing,
but they're easier to access
because they give you the adrenaline.
And then there's like these real versions of the thing,
right, that are harder.
It's like when you're sitting around with your friends
and you're like, is this boring?
Or you're like with your wife on the couch,
you're seven and you're like, is this boring?
Because the drugs are gone.
Yeah.
But I mean, I remember you saying, you telling me
that it was going to change.
Like when we were in the obsessive, just
obliteration of early love and you saying this is
going to end.
And I said to you, I feel like you're saying we're
not going to love each other as much.
And you said, I'm telling you, we're going to have to love each other more
because the drug of it is gone.
And then you land, it's like the falling in love and then you land and you're
like two people again and you're like, what?
Yeah.
We're just two people.
Yeah.
You know?
Yeah.
So I think that's intimacy.
The falling in love is not intimacy.
Like that can happen to any fool, right?
Full, the full in love.
That's just something that happens to you,
but then you have to happen to each other,
which I think that's intimacy.
It's like, it's not a we thing.
It's like, here I am.
And you're like, here I am.
And then the more intimate you can be with yourself,
I think it's our therapy, it's our work we do individually
that makes us able to connect deeply as two people.
Yeah, it's like when you're falling in love,
you're trying to enmesh, you're trying to become,
you are one, you believe that you are the ones
that have it.
Remember we used to walk around and be like,
look at all these normal people. And that have it. Remember we used to walk around and be like, look at all these normal people.
Yeah, and that have it forever, right?
It's only you and this other person.
It's me and Glennon and nobody else knows
what we're talking about.
We were insufferable.
But then when you start landing in love,
you become two individuals again
that hopefully are along the exact same path.
And you know, like things happen where the path
goes a little bit further away from that center line,
but our goals in our life, at least mine,
is to get as close to that center line as possible
so that we're like, you see this?
This is crazy, this is amazing.
Like, okay, cool, cool, and we're headed
in the right direction.
And the work that we do, the therapy and the, even our podcast is like a therapeutic thing
because we have to like do a lot of research and thinking and feeling and talking about
really hard things.
And it's such an important like avenue for us to not only be intimate with each other,
but to explore our own intimacy with ourself and that deep desire for the two of us
that we both have to wanna know ourselves more.
And then we get to have like beginners mind with each other.
We get to be new people every day.
And it's so fun and also exhausting at times,
but fun for the most part.
I can tell you two, it's just, you're talking so much.
Like, you're like, oh wait, remember the other night
that we were up late talking, like,
I think that every time you hear people give advice,
like communicate, it's like, shut up.
But it actually, when you start to really dissect
what is communicating in a relationship look like,
it is literally after the in love portion,
you come down and it's reality.
Are we compatible in what we want in life?
And so many people, there's usually one person
in the relationship that's kind of vying
for the other person's attention,
being like, do you like this?
And then the person's like, no, I don't know.
And then like, okay.
And then they kind of mold to that person
because the person that cares least in the relationship
has all of the power.
And so it's like this uneven thing
that when all of a sudden you find that person
that feels like you're genuine equal.
Yes.
And you are compatible,
doesn't mean you're not gonna disagree on things,
but it's just this like one step forward each time
and you're in lockstep,
and there's nothing more beautiful
than having a partner like that.
But it's rare to find. I feel like you can both now, like you've having a partner like that, but it's rare to find.
I feel like you can both now,
like you've having been in previous relationships, me too,
it's so rare to find.
And that's why I want for all the women listening,
like if you're not sure, if you don't have that feeling,
it's probably that's your answer, it's not there.
Because like what you guys are describing,
yes, maybe you're not gonna meet someone that stands up
and gravitates in the air towards you,
but that feeling of like, no,
I wanna do the hard work with this person,
that I feel like if it's missing, if it's not there,
you kinda know it's not the right person
because when it's right, you fucking know it's so right.
And I think you know it's right because of how you feel.
Like, it's not even when sometimes, you know,
that moment of there she is looking at Abby,
like for so long I thought that was about Abby.
But I think that there she is was internal.
Like, I loved who I was in that moment.
Like, she brought something out of me,
but I was in my body.
I was weird.
I was arms open.
I'm like not making sense.
I like who I am with Abby. I sometimes feel like the way that you know if a person's compatible
for you is how you feel about you when you're with that person. It's not necessarily that person,
because so much of love the way we've been taught, especially for women,
is like we have to disappear or get small or mirror
or become whatever that person wants us to be.
So we don't even know who we are.
So like, there's a version of love
that doesn't make you disappear, but makes you expand.
Up here. Up here.
In a way that that's what you get, you fall in love with.
Is like this version of me that I get to be on the earth
because this person allows me to be that space.
No, and like everyone watching this right now,
because I have so many people that write in every day
and they're like, is this the right person?
That's it.
How do you feel when you're with this person?
And if you don't feel like your best version of yourself,
you probably have the answer.
Okay, wait, I wanna play a quick game.
Yay, love games.
Because now that you just said
that you're getting to like 10 years,
we need to play a little who's more likely to.
Okay.
Who is more likely to start a deep, personal,
intimate, emotional conversation at 11 p.m. at night?
We've never been awake at 11 p.m.
No, no, okay, late night.
7 p.m. 7 p.m.
So 8 o'clock p.m. would be very, very late. Just make it realistic, Alex at 11 p.m. No, no. Yeah. Okay, late night. 7 p.m. So 8 o'clock p.m. would be very, very late.
Just make it realistic, Alex.
7 p.m.
That's a bonus of being sober.
You go to sleep early.
Who do you think, this is a tough one for us.
You and lesbians.
I think it would be me.
I think it would be me.
You, I do too, yeah.
Thank you.
Because at 6 p.m. she starts to power down.
There, and you're like,
honey, one thought I had, she's like, go to bed, go to bed.
Okay, who's more likely to send a steamy text
during a work meeting?
That's so good.
I feel sad, I never send you steamy texts.
Yeah, it would be me for sure.
I'm so sorry, it's you, I'm gonna do it.
I'm gonna do it tomorrow.
Do it tomorrow.
Oh my God, this is so fun.
Thank you, Alex.
So good.
Okay, who's more likely to get a spontaneous tattoo?
Her.
Really?
Yeah, I love a tattoo.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Believe it or not, I don't have a single one.
You don't?
No, and it's only because I was terrified as a child
and we were told that if you got a tattoo,
you would be kicked out.
That still lives in me.
And I think the day after,
I would want something different so far.
That's what it's for.
It's for regret. Regret is fun. Regret is proof would want something different. So fair. So.
That's what it's for.
It's for regret.
Regret is fun.
Regret is proof you did something wild at some point.
Like you were wild and crazy.
It's-
Yeah, those are the years.
Tomorrow, your spontaneous texts, honey.
Okay, who's more likely to get too competitive
at board games?
Me.
I knew that one.
Who's more likely to suggest skinny dipping on vacation?
Ooh, for sure it would be me. Yeah. Yeah. Who's more likely to suggest skinny dipping on vacation? Ooh, for sure it would be me. Yeah.
Yeah.
Who's more likely to turn a small moment
into a metaphor for life?
I mean, she only talks in metaphors.
That's my jam, Alex.
I only understand metaphors.
Oh my God.
Wait, can you think of one
that you've been like saying recently?
Well, right now I'm thinking this really feels
like a bubble of love,
and I was gonna talk to you about it in the car,
but I'm glad we got to bring it up now.
It does.
Wait, tell me, what are you thinking?
It just feels really good in here.
Like, you are wonderful and this conversation has been great and I don't know, it just feels
really-
It's good vibes.
A bubble of love.
Bubble of love.
I love this bubble of love.
Okay, love.
Who's more likely to get on stage at karaoke?
Well, we have a story around this.
My wife is.
Look at your face, Glenn.
Girls Just Want a Weekend,
it's a weekend that Brandi Carlile
puts on, a music festival weekend.
And because we're friends with Brandi,
she allows Glennon to go on stage and perform a song.
I performed Share, If I Can Turn Back Time,
very seriously, Alex.
I was not joking, okay?
It was not a joke.
It was not a joke.
And I wore a full wig and hat and fishnets and a G string.
My kids were, our kids were like,
are you sure, mom?
If I could turn that child.
And she doesn't sing.
No.
She's not a singer.
And got in front of 5,000 people
and performed the song,
made me be a sailor.
In my body, Alex.
In my body.
You were in your body.
Yes.
You were in that G string.
Yes.
What were you thinking when she was on stage, Abby?
Well, I went out there as like,
I was like. Sailor. Well, I went out there as like, I was like...
Sailor.
Well, she got me this sailor outfit
because it's part of the music video that Cher put out.
But nobody knows that, so it just looked like Abby
was gonna run the sailor outfit.
It was bizarre.
But I was out there as like her comfort,
like support person,
cause she's gotta go do this thing.
And we go out there and Brandi is also on stage,
singing back up to make sure that
Glennon can get through the song. Well instantly we realize Glennon doesn't need any backup she's
crushing it and now I'm just like loitering. I'm like what am I doing up here this is I look
ridiculous Glennon is like all over the stage and sliding on her knees and the crowd is going wild.
I was like, I was laughing with Brandy
in the back part of the stage.
And then all of a sudden Glennon comes and jumps
into my arms and I grab her, my hands are on her ass,
total ass, fishnet ass, and she goes, take me off stage.
I got scared.
I got scared like three minutes in,
I went back in my body, was like,
oh, this isn't a good idea.
And so I just said, get me out of here.
Get me out of here.
Yeah, but it was the best.
I'm so proud of you.
Thank you.
That takes confidence.
Yeah.
And I can only imagine Abby as you're saying that,
being like, that's my wife.
It was amazing.
And she had a little bit of a vulnerability hangover
that night, and then we got to the airport the next morning
because that was the day we were leaving.
And all of the concert goers were coming up to her
like, you were amazing.
That was the most, it was amazing.
That's the best though, that you got that feedback
because I get what you mean when you're laying there.
You're like, wait, was I being kind of cringe?
Was it okay?
Did I sound okay?
And then everyone's like, baby, you crushed.
Alex, I was in the fetal position in the bed,
in the hotel going, did I humiliate?
Was that the best moment of my life
or the worst moment of my life?
It was fun.
It was amazing.
Okay, who's more likely to sleep past noon on a weekend?
I would sleep longer.
Who's more likely to start a hobby
and forget it two weeks later?
Me.
Okay, it's okay.
But first to buy all the gear for it.
Yeah, oh I'm a gear person.
Oh, I'm the same way, like I will go and buy things
and be like, I'm doing this, and then I'm like, oh.
And then Matt loves to be like,
remember when you said you were gonna get into Pilates
and I bought you a Pilates machine
and you've used it two times?
And I'm like, please, this is enough.
He's like, remember when you tried tennis?
And I was like, shut up, okay?
I'm gonna get back to it at some point.
Who's more likely to suggest staying in
instead of going out?
Ooh, both of us.
Okay, love that, same.
Who's more likely to say I have a new idea
for a book slash podcast slash project?
That's all we say.
That's all we talk about.
I've had 12 ideas just during this conversation.
I can't wait to go download. We're doing work. We're working
today, ladies. We're putting in work. Okay, who's more likely
to give the other unsolicited advice? Oh, I recently learned
that unsolicited advice is criticism and I should stop so
I go to Al-Anon now. I go to Al-Anon five times a week so I
can stop giving advice. Do you feel the difference?
Yes.
Oh, that's good.
Yep, for sure.
I'll report back to my meeting.
Yeah, no, it's great.
You guys, I had the best time with you.
I like don't want this to end.
I think something that is like my favorite part of my job
is when I get to sit down with people
that I obviously like see on social media
or I'm a fan of, fan of, and then getting to actually speak to you guys like we are in my living room
and we're just talking about things that we clearly talk about in real life.
It was such a pleasure to get to hang out with you guys because seeing your relationship
up close and personal, it's so beautiful and inspiring and I hope so many people take from
this like the work you both have done from childhood,
all the things you guys have gone through
to get to this point
and then to make this beautiful marriage work.
And it is work, but it's fun work and it's good work.
Like I just thank you guys for opening up to me today.
Cause I know we got a little deep in moments,
but it was really fun and it was a pleasure.
So thank you.
Love bubble.
Love bubble. We love you. Love bubble.
Love bubble.
We love you.
Thank you. I love you guys.
You guys are the best.