Dear Chelsea - My Love Language Is Vasectomy with Ashley Graham
Episode Date: May 26, 2022This week, Chelsea and Catherine are joined by Ashley Graham in NYC to talk about the elusive nature of body confidence, how Ashley’s children seem to be multiplying, and what to do if romance m...akes you cringe. Then: A new mom is crushed when her best friends avoid meeting her baby. A singleton wonders if she should lose weight before looking for love. And a bartender is haunted by the consequences of cheating. Do you have a question and you need Chelsea's advice? Email us at dearchelseaproject@gmail.com * Executive Producer Nick Stumpf Produced by Catherine Law Edited & Engineered by Brandon Dickert * * * * * The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the Podcast author, or individuals participating in the Podcast, and do not represent the opinions of iHeartMedia or its employees. This Podcast should not be used as medical advice, mental health advice, mental health counseling or therapy, or as imparting any health care recommendations at all. Individuals are advised to seek independent medical, counseling advice and/or therapy from a competent health care professional with respect to any medical condition, mental health issues, health inquiry or matter, including matters discussed on this Podcast. Guests and listeners should not rely on matters discussed in the Podcast and shall not act or shall refrain from acting based on information contained in the Podcast without first seeking independent medical advice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Hi, Catherine.
Hi, Chelsea.
Oh, the last time we saw each other
was at the Wiltern at my show in Los Angeles.
It was so exciting to see you actually doing your thing.
Did you come to the first show or the second show?
The second show.
Okay, good.
The second show was an A++.
Amazing.
You were fantastic.
Oh, that was so fun.
Thank you.
It's always nerve-wracking in L.A. because I have so many friends and family and industry that come that you're just like, oh, fuck, fuck, fuck.
And we did two shows in one night, and then we went to San Francisco the next night and did two shows there. By the end of that, I was like, oh, fuck, fuck, fuck. And we did two shows in one night and then we went to San Francisco the next night
and did two shows there.
By the end of that, I was like, I can't think anymore.
Spent, I'm sure.
I'm spent.
But I want to promote my Nashville show.
Oh, I just announced a whole slew of new stand-up dates.
Yeah, I announced 25 more dates
to the Vaccinated and Horny Tour.
So if I haven't come to your city,
check my website, chelseahandler.com for new dates. And
there are tickets available for my second show in Nashville, where I will be taping my special
on June 10th at the Ryman. So we also have merch for sale. Yes, we do. At chelseahandler.com,
we have Dear Chelsea merch and Vaccinated and Horny merch. And that is all really cute.
We're not selling flip- flops, contrary to popular
belief. We thought about it just to say, fuck you, but we did not do it. We did not pull the
trigger on that. Yes. COVID shipping delays really made that not possible. Yeah. Yeah.
One other thing I was going to tell you about your show is that totally randomly, my husband
accidentally bumped into a woman and And then the person she was
with said in a fun, jokey way, do you know who this is? This is Chelsea Handler's housekeeper.
And I was like, Ma Bell? And gave her a huge hug in this huge crowd of like thousands of people.
I'm like, of course he steps on Ma Bell. Oh, fucking Ma Bell. Ma Bell is so funny.
I went to a pet psychic.
I'm hosting Jimmy Kimmel's show the week of June 27th.
And we were doing some pre-taped segments, right?
So one of them was me taking Bert and Bernice to a pet psychic.
And the pet psychic told me that Bernice loves me more than anyone,
that she's just upset that I leave all the time,
and that she loves me the most and that she's always playing hard to get, which has been my suspicion. I've always been suspicious because Bernice is tricky
and just like a girl, right? She comes in, she'll come into my room, come right up to my bed,
sniff around. And when I put my head down to scratch her nose or her face, she runs out and
hauls ass like I'm accosting her. I'm I'm like bitch you fucking came in here and but I know
that that's it's her she's insecure and she's just trying to like get my attention and then she wants
me to come out and play with her yeah so the psychic confirmed all of those beliefs for me
and I told my bell and ever since then my bell has been treating Bernice differently oh yeah she's
definitely she sent me two pictures of them at the park this weekend.
Bert was on a blanket and Bernice was in the dirt.
So is Ma Bell jealous now?
Well, she should, yeah, she was jealous when I told her that.
She didn't smile or laugh.
She takes her ownership of Bert pretty seriously.
Yeah.
And when I came home from filming that bit,
I said to Joe Coy, I was like,
so I went to this pet psychic and she said this,
and then Joe goes, well, did she,
he goes, do you think she looked you up beforehand? I'm like, Joe, went to this pet psychic and she said this. And then Joe goes, well, did she? He goes, do you think she looked you up beforehand?
I'm like, Joe, it's a pet psychic.
I don't give a fuck what she did.
Like, I'm not going there for some real information and feedback.
Even though the one piece of information I did like, I decided to take with me.
Yeah.
Keep what works for you.
Get rid of what doesn't.
Right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's very exciting to be in New York City together.
Juntos, as they say in España. Yes. I can't believe it. It was this weird thing where you had today available. I was randomly going to be here in New York and I'm heading to a plane
in a few minutes after this. But there was like a one hour and a half window where we could come
and also our fabulous guest today could be here. I know. We're very excited about
our guest today because we've been trying to do this, but in person only because she's the type
of person you only want to be in person with because she's that kind of girl. And we made
it happen here in New York today. She is a supermodel, a body activist, an entrepreneur,
global ambassador for NYX. She just launched a new lingerie campaign
with NYX, and it's called the Big Strong Woman Campaign. And she just joined a skincare brand
where she's an investor and partner, and it's called Fig One. Please welcome Ashley Graham.
Thank you for having me.
Oh my God. Thank you for coming because, well, we're in New York today.
Yes.
And we wanted to do this in person. And I know that you have been a baby-making machine for what seems like—
She's had about eight babies in the last six months.
Seriously, though.
No, but seriously.
It's what it feels like.
And every time I look at them, I'm like, there's more of you.
And it feels like they're just—they're growing and growing and growing.
Anyways.
Good?
Yeah, we're good
thanks baby
love you
thank you Joe
are you leaving?
no
he's just supervising always
it's like
now you're like
really working with
people that you're sleeping with
I love it
why would there be
any other way
to do things?
the guy who was just
on screen there
he's my husband
so we're all sleeping
with everyone
oh wow
now that women are allowed to is that your mom? yes The guy who was just on screen there, he's my husband. No. So we're all sleeping with everyone. Oh, wow. It's very incestuous.
Now that women are allowed to.
Is that your mom?
Yes.
That is my mom.
Oh, yeah.
Hi.
And my sister.
Oh, she looks just like you.
How cute.
Oh, it's a family affair today.
I love that.
It is.
Yeah.
Now, did you dye your hair and have your eyeshadow in the same tones on purpose?
Of course.
It's a vibe.
Of course.
I was telling my mom.
We used to have to tell her, not matchy-matchy. It's not in anymore. Like after the 90s, it's over.
And, you know, we were just talking about it. I'm like, I'm sorry, mom, matchy-matchy is back
in again. She's like, I just learned to stop doing that. Like it's called monochromatic now.
I love a monochromatic moment. Yes. You look cute. Thanks. your mother must be stoked though okay so there's you know she's
like there's grandma and then there's caretaker grandma and she's caretaker grandma so she really
likes her days off oh yeah it's different it's different like being granny who like just comes
in and like sees the babies and like leaves she's like okay another day of work. Great. Love you guys. You know.
I had Isaac in 2020.
And then I had my twins the top of this year in 2022.
And it's like right when I stopped breastfeeding, I got pregnant with the twins.
It was just boom, boom, boom.
My body, I've given it up to love.
That's what Justin said.
You gave your body up to love.
I'm just, I'm ready for it to come back, like to see myself again. But I look at my little angels
and I say, I did it for you. So were you planning on getting pregnant that soon after or did you?
We talked about it. Yeah. We said, okay, if we're going to do this again, let's do it.
And it wasn't like a hard decision because we knew we wanted a second, but I didn't know it
was going to happen that quickly. And I did not know it was going to be twins. If I would have known it was going to be twins, I probably would have waited maybe another year.
I am glad I got it over with.
I always wanted three kids.
I didn't want a middle child.
I didn't know how that was going to work.
Why do you say that?
Are you?
I'm the oldest.
And I am the bossiest.
I'm the loudest.
I run the show.
And I have seen how my baby sister acts and my middle sister acts
and I just never wanted a middle child.
Didn't want anyone like your middle sister?
Yeah.
I'm a middle child.
You are.
And do you feel like you're a handful?
Maybe less so than my sister
who's in the other room right now.
Love you, Diana.
It's hard when your family's listening
to the podcast in the next room to be quite frank. I love my sister who's in the other room right now. Love you, Diana. It's hard when your family's listening to the podcast in the next room, to be quite
frank.
I love my sisters, but I have met so many middle children and I just, that was my one
request.
So I feel like God was on my side and he said, boom, you get twins.
And they're two hours and seven minutes apart.
Two hours and seven minutes.
Oh God, that sounds like, what the fuck happened in those two hours and seven minutes oh god that sounds like what the fuck happened in those two hours and literally
laboring in a tiny ass New York City bathtub because I was having my birth pool set up and
it just wasn't happening fast enough and then boom Roman was like I'm coming out mom oh my god yes
so yes I have been pregnant for two years breastfeeding for freaking two years I'm on
they're four months now I'm looking at six
months and I'm going to check in mentally with myself, see how I'm doing and then either stop
or yeah, but I'm supplementing with formula. So it feels like there's no formula shortage. So don't
worry about that. It is such a thing. But yeah, it's a tough situation right now for all those
families that need formula. Yeah, absolutely.
Well, tell me a little bit about what your experience has been, because it's not just
like you had one baby.
It is kind of like you had three babies and you're done now because you know the statistics.
If you have three boys in a row, you automatically get a girl.
Oh, what?
Yeah.
Well, no, everybody keeps telling me, you know, you're going to have a fourth and it's
going to be a boy.
Oh, no, no.
Once you have three of one sex, the chances are higher that you're going to have the opposite sex.
My mom and all of her sisters had three boys and then girls.
Wow.
Yeah.
My mom had three boys and then three girls.
Okay.
So you're telling me maybe I should try it again?
Well, if you want a girl, you know, I mean, unless you're counting on one of the kids to transition, you know what I mean?
Right.
You have to hedge your bets.
Like, if you really want a girl, I think three is a great number for kids in a family.
I do, too.
But four is also a great number.
I come from a big family.
How many are there?
There's six.
And you come from, like, you either make what you had or you abstain altogether.
You have a sister.
Yes, but we're two of four.
So we have brothers on either side. And
my brothers are actually 14 years apart. Same parents, like same mom and dad. We're really
spread apart. But yeah, we all like each other. So I could just wait another 10 years, maybe.
Exactly. Have a caboose. How does Justin feel? What are his thoughts about?
He got a vasectomy. Oh, well, I guess that answers that. Well, then I guess you're
not having another baby. You can reverse it. The doctor who gave it to him said he's done as many
reversals as he's done actual vasectomies. So that's like where we're standing right now.
I knew I loved Justin for a reason. You know, it really takes a real man to get a vasectomy.
Yes. I think that it's important to have that conversation in your relationship,
but he didn't have to have the conversation with me. He just told me I'm going to do it. I think that it's important to have that conversation in your relationship. But he didn't have to have the conversation with me. He just told me, I'm going to do it. I don't want you've done enough. He said, you carry these children, you push them out. And I saw what you went through. I can get a vasectomy. I know I I mean? That's a real man. And you guys have a beautiful,
beautiful relationship that anyone who's ever met either one of you or even watched you on
social media can glean. He's such a sweetheart. I feel so blessed to have him as my husband.
We're about to celebrate 11 and a half years. So I guess, no, we're about to celebrate 12 years.
Yeah. And three kids later, I mean, I don't know what we're going to do for that 12th year celebration, but it's going to be something fun.
I mean, you're about to have one year celebration.
One year celebration, which is a lot different.
You have to celebrate one year.
Oh, Joe will want to celebrate one year. He's all about celebrating.
Is he the romantic?
Yes. Yeah, he's the romantic.
So is Justin. I have a hard time.
Oh, well, actually, you know, the first time Joe and I got together, I went to Nashville.
I was performing in Nashville and I was staying at a friend's house and I got there and my
assistant called me.
She goes, walk outside.
There's a delivery for you.
And I went and I saw three dozen long stemmed roses.
And I immediately, my first instinct was like cringe, like roses.
Don't send me roses. And then I thought, no,
Chelsea, Chelsea, that's the old you. You've been to, this is a man who's demonstrating love.
Accept it. He loves you. I had to say it like in my head three times, like, this is a nice thing.
You like, and I was like, okay, okay. I love this. And then I embraced them. And thankfully I did
because he kept sending them over and over again. And then we started sending them back and forth to each other before each other's shows and performances.
And then finally I was like, hey, can we put a pin in this?
It's getting really expensive.
It's like fucking $500 every time.
I'm like, this is a waste.
I'm like, we're not taking them with us.
We leave them at the venue.
Have you figured out what that thing is in us?
Because my mom has it too.
And it's like she's not a romantic.
So, and then I feel like I picked it up from her.
Like, I don't, I feel like there's a part of me that wants the romance, but I don't,
but I don't want to see it overtly in my face.
And I'm more like acts of service, right?
We all know the five love languages.
No, no, no, actually.
What are they?
Because I always forget the fifth one.
Okay.
So acts of service, physical touch, time spent, gifts, and words of affirmation.
And mine is definitely acts of service and maybe words of affirmation.
Like I don't need to hear that I'm great because I know I am, but it is nice to hear it from my husband.
Like I'm really proud of you or you did a great job.
Or getting a vasectomy.
Right.
That's an act of service.
That's why I was like, wow, you're amazing.
There is like this period after you get a vasectomy, though, you have like 16 ejaculations that you have to go through before the sperm is dead.
So.
So we're literally like we have one, two, three.
So during those 16, you can still get pregnant?
Pregnant, yes.
Oh.
Yeah.
And did you freeze any eggs just in case you want to?
No.
He actually put some sperm in a bank.
Oh, well, there you go.
Yeah.
He's not making me do anything.
I'm telling you.
It's amazing.
He did all the hard.
He did that part.
I did my part.
I was going to say he did the hard part, but his part was definitely not that hard at all.
Yeah. That's so interesting that hard at all yeah that's
so interesting that you get 16 that's what the doctor said time it's like a number he said it's
like 16 or like three months something like that yeah so i guess it's like in three months maybe
people have sex 16 times that's what i was like whoa uh. We have three kids. That's not happening. So.
Chelsea's face.
Anyways, back to the love languages.
Yeah.
That's where I am so confused at myself.
Like Justin is like, Joe, he's Mr. Romantic. And now what I have noticed and my mom has had to train herself with her boyfriend is to accept the love.
Right.
Accept the romance.
Otherwise, we train our partners to not be romantic. And then we start looking for it. And we're like,
wait, you're not being romantic anymore. Why aren't you? Where is that? So I've actually had
to reel back my like hard shell and accept it and then try out to step outside of my comfort zone
and send him flowers or like,
you know, just write little cards and like put them under his pillow.
You know, like things that you think of people in their late teens do.
Right.
Maybe in their early teens, whatever.
I like late teens.
I like that distinction.
I just didn't really have a boyfriend in my early teens.
No, I think that's, it's, it's really all about accepting, you know, like Joe has melted
me.
Everyone says it.
Everyone like sees it.
And I usually I would be resistant to that.
I'd be like, stop it.
You know, like, but I've just given in because why not?
Why fight it?
Right.
And but I think it's just being a tough chick.
You want to be a tough chick and you don't you know, it's a very common thing for anybody
who's independent, fierce and really successful.
You don't show a lot of vulnerability
because that's not what it took to get you where you are. This is true. So I think that bleeds over
to our relationships. Once you know somebody means what they're saying and it's not bullshit,
I think what irks me a lot about that is that it feels insincere many times. And when it is
finally sincere, then you can be like, oh, like I had a boyfriend. He was a real asshole.
And he would send me flowers like anytime we got into a fight.
But I hated that.
It's like, don't send me flowers.
Say you're sorry and mean it.
I'm not just like some chick on the side.
We're together.
So when flowers are coming from an act of love and it's just saying, oh, here, I'm demonstrating more and more love to you, then it's easier to receive, I think.
I agree.
I agree.
Yeah.
I always wondered if it was a learned behavior from my mom, but I like your explanation way better.
But I'm sure it is learned from your mom because your mom's a tough cookie also.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yes.
Yes, she is.
You're a gem.
You're a gem.
You are.
And Joe is such a sweetheart.
The two of you together,'re a gem. You are. And Joe is such a sweetheart. The two of you together.
I love it.
And I know everybody's expressing it on social media like, oh, my God, you guys are so like,
ah.
It's so true, though.
It's so sweet.
We were walking through the city last night.
And I mean, a dozen people must have run up to us.
They're like, you don't understand.
We love you together.
We love you.
And I'm like, we're like, oh, thanks.
You don't understand.
And we're like, we do. We understand. We you together. We love you. And I'm like, we're like, oh, thanks. So like, you don't understand. And we're like, we do.
We understand.
We're together.
But it's nice because women, especially, you know, like that are my age are like, oh, wait,
if you melted and you found someone, I was the ice queen.
No.
Then anybody can, you know, it could happen.
It is such a big deal.
And it also makes me believe in that for everyone.
I believe everybody, as long as you don't settle and you say, like, these are my standards, these are not moving, regardless guys. I was like, listen, I have no more juice left for you guys. It's too much. You know, you're married to a black man.
I know. Did you have a non-negotiable list? Like, this is my non-negotiables. And if he doesn't have this, like, I'm not even going to see him. No, I made a list once with Sarah Silverman. She and I and my sister actually all made lists because somebody had told me that they had made
a list and they had met their person. That's what I did. You did? A hundred percent. Before you met
Justin? Yeah. It was important. I had just broken up with a guy and then I realized that if I didn't
make a list, I wasn't going to meet the person that I wanted to. And then I also wanted to be
single. And I got basically everything on that list. I don't remember the list because it was over 12
years ago, but I wish I still had that list. Oh, yeah. Now you probably wrote yours in your phone,
right? Mine's in my notes section in my phone. So my list, everything I put was skiing. I mean,
it's like you have to be a skier. But I made it, it was a really long list, but it wasn't shallow at all. Like it was deep stuff, like values, morals, la la la.
You have to be willing to like stick your neck out for people. Don't be an idiot. You know,
the interest in traveling and the ability to make it happen and the desire to make it happen. But
the one thing I put on my list said a man with a full head of hair. That was the one shallow thing that I wrote.
And so I fucking circled that.
And I was just like, I sent it to Joe.
I'm like, that is so funny that I sent a full head of hair.
Like, I don't even think that that was important to me.
And then obviously it's not,
which is why we're making Joe a hairpiece.
Oh, no, you're not.
No, we're not.
It's the 80-20 rule. It's the 80-20 rule. You get 80% hairpiece. Oh, no, you're not. No, we're not. No, okay. We're not. I would never do that.
It's the 80-20 rule.
It's the 80-20 rule.
You get 80% of what you want, 20% you can live with.
I only date bald Filipino men from now on.
That's my thing.
But he looks good bald.
I know.
I know.
He has a good head for it.
Yeah, exactly.
Well, you'd have to.
And he has some hair that grows in, but he just shaves it, which is exactly what I would
want a man to do
you know just once things start getting dicey
just shave it off
yes agreed
okay so Catherine
tell us what we have in store today
Ashley you know we take callers
some are live
some write in
and then we just give them life advice
I love it
it's really good
I think you guys are really good at this by the way
oh thank you
likewise
oh well we all try right
yeah right You're really good at this, by the way. Oh, thank you. Likewise. Oh, well, we all try, right? Yeah, right.
Well, we have some extremely exciting cheating questions.
Oh, interesting.
We have two people from the Midwest calling in.
Some mom stuff, dealing with friendship.
Oh, God.
We have some weight loss stuff and some beauty stuff.
All kinds of questions. But we'll take a quick break and we'll come back and some beauty stuff. All kinds of questions.
But we'll take a quick break and we'll come back with some callers.
Okay, sounds good.
I'm Jason Alexander.
And I'm Peter Tilden.
And together on the Really No Really podcast,
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And we're back.
Actually, let's talk a little bit about NYX before we go in, because I know you have a partnership with NYX and you're promoting your new lingerie line with them.
Yes.
Tell us a little bit about that.
First of all, your box is in the mail.
I cannot wait to shoot that lingerie ad on my hotel room bed.
Oh, baby, it's coming.
Kelsey, please.
I mean, talk about rocking body and your such goals.
Your boobs. You don't even know the conversations I've had with my mom about your boobs. Really? No, you are such goals. Your boobs.
You don't even know the conversations I've had with my mom about your boobs.
Really?
No, you have no idea.
Oh, I love that.
No, seriously.
It's just like the perfect handful.
Anyways, NYX and Ashley Graham.
Yes, we just launched my collaboration.
NYX is really an amazing company.
They actually started with the period panty.
And it's like a leak-proof panty.
And they turned it into then leggings. and they've got amazing bras and underwear.
But everything is supportive. They go up to 5X and they go down to an extra small. So we're very inclusive.
But it really like I wanted to have something a little bit sexier because they're very performance and solution based.
So this is their sexiest line yet, but also my most intimate line, because this is one of the first times I came out after shooting three kids out.
First lingerie campaign, embracing my stretch marks, embracing my postpartum body, but also just excited to have something that feels sexy and cozy.
You can wear it wherever.
Yeah.
I mean, you have done so much for women in promoting your body
and accepting your body and loving your body.
And it's inspiring to me, to women everywhere.
I mean, you really have opened the door for people to really be themselves
and to embrace all their little shortcomings
or anything that they think
isn't deemed worthy by a man. Joe once said to me, he said, we were in Hawaii and I was putting on a
bathing suit and I said, how bad is my cellulite? And he's like, honey, cellulite is what makes a
woman a woman. The more cellulite, the merrier. Well, I don't think he said the merrier, but he
said something like that. And then I, and I was like, honey, I didn't even know that was a
sentence. I said, I said, every woman needs to hear that because who doesn't have fucking
cellulite? I mean, there are anomalies out there, but the stretch marks, the cellulite, the, you
know, we all fluctuate up and down, you know, and what we see isn't seen by the world. It's all like
an inside job. So you really are. I know, you know that already, but I wanted to tell you that
personally because, yeah. It's good to hear it now, especially living in my postpartum body and
trying to get out of my head. Even today I showed up and I wasn't supposed to wear these pants with
this shirt and I was running out the door and they're really baggy on me. And my stretch marks
are just hanging out today. And that was not the plan. And I called
my stylist and I said, meet me outside of Chelsea Handler immediately with new pants. And he said,
babe, I'm not in town. And I did not realize that. So I just sucked it up and I embraced it. And I'm
just like, here we go. And it's probably something neither of you even notice, but it's in the back
of my head. And that's the whole thing
with body confidence, with body neutrality, and just loving where you are in your life is it's
in your head. It's not in the person's head that you're speaking to or that you're around.
Yeah. Something I've done more recently, and this is partly influenced by you, is when I'm looking
through photos for approvals for some shoots, you know, or press photos. When they send me a selection, I don't even look anymore, like, to go and pick through them.
I just let my publicist pick what they think the best one is.
And I don't go nuts, like, over if I don't like a photo of myself and it's out there.
It's like, who cares?
Who gives a shit, you know?
So that's important.
And I think that also comes with age.
It must.
I mean, for me, it definitely has. I can only imagine like walking into my 40s,
how much more confident I'm going to be. I'm kind of excited. I'm not one of those girls that's like,
oh, I'm going to be 35 and I'm going to I'm going into my 40s. I don't care. I'm so excited to to
get older. Yeah, I think that's the right attitude to have because I'm 47. And I was like, I keep
thinking I'm going to be 50 soon. And I'm like, I can't fucking wait to be 50.
How I feel about 60 is going to be a different story.
But I'll get there.
I'll get there when I need to get there.
If I make it that long, then I'm going to be fucking happy I'm alive.
Hashtag blessed.
Hashtag blessed.
Okay.
So should we take a caller or a letter?
Well, our first email, the subject line is, we both cheated.
It's from Maureen.
She's a bartender in her 20s.
She says, Dear Chelsea, a couple years ago when I was 21, I was bartending at a big bar where I live.
As on brand as ever, I hooked up with my manager for a while.
Later, I found out he was still dating his girlfriend who he had told me he'd broken up with. I did have my speculations, but I honestly wasn't serious about him and wasn't thinking about her enough to find out.
I was selfish.
She found out.
Fast forward to now.
They have a kid, are engaged, and he's almost two years sober, which I'm sure had something to do with it.
I'm happy for them.
My problem is she goes to my gym now.
It's awkward and obvious we both know who the other is, and sometimes I wonder if I should confront her and apologize for the whole thing.
Complicating things, she started a blog and in one of her posts discusses his alcoholism and their relationship story. I support the blog, but it's hard because I'm the undertone as the
toxic person in the posts while he's seen as the alcoholic boyfriend that was just, quote,
going through so much. I'm willing to admit that I 100% fucked up, but what are your thoughts on
the narrative that I'm the monster? Do I reach out? Her whole blog is based around kindness,
and it doesn't make
sense how she can give so much forgiveness and understanding toward him, then paint me to be
toxic and horrible all in the same post. We both cheated. In respect for her, I've often not gone
to events I know she'll be at since we have mutual friends. I'm no angel, and I've made lots of
mistakes in my 20s, but I'm also willing to admit them, especially if they hurt someone.
I finally want to stand up for myself, but then again, a part of me wonders if I'm being selfish and just want to defend myself.
I can't be the only one out there that's felt this.
Maureen.
Do you want to go first, Ashley?
I actually really want to know what you think.
I've never cheated and I've never been cheated on, I don't think.
Yeah, I've been cheated on. I don't think I've cheated, but maybe, who knows.
First of all, no, don't do anything because it's all in your head. Like you're having this whole
narrative. You're letting her dictate how you feel about yourself and just let her go do her blog.
First of all, stop reading her blog, you know, block yourself from that blog and don't try to
correct the situation because that's ego
and that's any sort of defense is ego like you don't need to be bigger than that that was a long
time ago it doesn't matter what the circumstances were it doesn't matter that he was an alcoholic
or was going through an alcoholic phase or however she wants to frame it and however she wants to
frame your relationship she's just trying to make herself feel better about that period of time.
And there's nothing you can do to change her narrative.
So the only thing you can do is demonstrate that you're also a different person and act like a bigger person and then be a bigger person.
I think sometimes when you start acting like a bigger person, it naturally happens that you become that.
You know, it's kind of like fake it till you make it.
100%.
It works like that.
So, yeah,
you don't want to go and correct the story. That's only going to result in more icky behavior. And I
think it's good that you don't show up to parties that she's at, but that also shouldn't be your
rule of thumb. She's irrelevant kind of to you. You've moved on. You both had a past and that's
not the present. I 100% agree. I think that I would just erase the blog, never go back on it. She's
tormenting herself. I don't even know how to read a blog. How do you find blogs? Wait, is it a blog
or is she like posting this on Instagram? It says blog. I didn't know people still did that, right?
I know. Is that on MySpace? It's GeoCities. I mean, it definitely feels like this is my problem
and I'm 20 years old because as you get older, as you mature, this is not going to become your problem.
Right.
And also, it's not her problem.
It's his problem.
If she really wanted to talk about it, she should go to him, not her.
Yeah.
She knew what she was doing was wrong.
But, like, I kind of take umbrage with the phrasing of we both cheated because he's the one who cheated.
She wasn't in a
relationship, you know? Right. She knew what she was doing, but the phrasing is a little funky for
me. And anytime you want to go correct a situation where you screwed up and so much time has elapsed,
all you're doing is reminding people what you represented during that time instead of setting
new impressions on those people, which it sounds like you have the
opportunity or it sounds like she has the opportunity to do between the gym and mutual
friends parties. It's like just go in there and be your new self and so that they know that's not
who you are anymore. And you don't have to correct any of that narrative. I was talking to a friend
the other day and she's like, oh, I should apologize about this thing that happened like
three months ago. I'm like, don't bring it up again. You know, you're just kind of doing the opposite of what your intention is.
So, yeah, zip it, get off her blog, and then find out why she still has a blog.
Exactly.
I'm Jason Alexander.
And I'm Peter Tilden.
And together on the Really No Really podcast,
our mission is to get the true answers to life's baffling questions like
why they refuse to make the bathroom door go all the way to the floor.
We got the answer.
Will space junk block your cell signal?
The astronaut who almost drowned during a spacewalk gives us the answer.
We talk with the scientist who figured out if your dog truly loves you
and the one bringing back the woolly mammoth.
Plus, does Tom Cruise really do his own stunts?
His stuntman reveals the answer.
And you never know who's going to drop by.
Mr. Bryan Cranston is with us today.
How are you, too?
Hello, my friend.
Wayne Knight about Jurassic Park.
Wayne Knight, welcome to Really, No Really, sir.
Bless you all.
Hello, Newman.
And you never know when Howie Mandel might just stop by to talk about judging.
Really? That's the opening?
Really, No Really. Yeah, Really opening? Really? No, really.
Yeah, really.
No, really.
Go to reallynoreally.com.
And register to win $500, a guest spot on our podcast, or a limited edition signed Jason bobblehead.
It's called Really? No, Really?
And you can find it on the iHeartRadio app, on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Well, our next question comes from Shannon, and she is calling in from Iowa.
She says, have come to meet my baby. I'm stuck wondering whether or not it's my responsibility to schedule
these meetings or if my friends are being kind of shitty toward me by not making an effort to
meet her. Salem is now five months old. I have a very small group of friends, two from high school
and three from college. They were all either in my wedding or in attendance, and they all attended
the baby shower. One lives five hours away. Everyone else is a one to three hour drive.
The two from high school come home every couple months,
sometimes more.
All of these friendships are pick up where we left off types,
but I regularly Snapchat all of them
and send pictures of Salem.
I sent everyone a message when she was maybe two months old
saying that I was sad none of my friends have met her yet
and I hope they get the chance to meet her soon,
even if it's just for a quick lunch. Everyone responded, of course, and that they were so
excited to meet her, and yet nothing has happened in the three months since. I told myself that
that message would be the last time I would try to force meeting her on them, and if they chose
to not try to see us, then it's their loss, but I'm still sad that the people I consider my friends
haven't shown up for me. I understand
that we're in different phases of life, none of them having kids and only one being married,
but I'm confused as to why I haven't had any support. Not everyone is excited about kids,
but this is such an important part of me. My husband says I need to drop them, but I don't
want to do that and be left with no friends, and I do care about these people. I hate that this is
negatively affecting my mental health during such a special time in my life. Lots of love, Shannon.
Hi, Shannon.
Hello.
Hi, Shannon. This is our special guest, Ashley Graham, today. You have got two of us. Well,
you've got three of us because Catherine's here, and she's running the whole operation.
Yeah. Good morning, everyone.
Good morning.
Oh, I'm so sorry to hear about that.
Yeah, it's been kind of tough.
I totally understand where you're coming from.
Sorry to jump in here, but this is exactly what happened to me.
Just FYI, I had a very, very, very small friend group.
And the people who wanted to meet Isaac, they came over and they met Isaac.
And they said, when can I come?
I'm coming.
And the few people who didn't really reach out, they're just not a part of my life anymore.
And it's really bizarre how these big life moments can cut out the weeds.
And when I say the weeds, I mean the people who really aren't
in it for you. I will say I did have to put it on myself and say, hey, hey, if you want to come over,
like here's your parameters. I would give everybody like two hour windows because when you have,
when you know you're a new mommy, you're exhausted, your baby's tired. People like to
overstay their welcome. So I definitely gave people two hour windows. But the few people that were excited to come over made an effort. Some people even flew in. It was some of the local people that didn't make an effort. And I will also tell you, I only speak to two people in my wedding and I had six bridesmaids just to put in perspective for you. So that also happens. It sucks. And it feels so isolating.
You feel like you have no one. You feel like there it's kind of this place where how am I going to
get out of this? Who else can I speak to? You will get out of it. You just have to stay strong. And
I started journaling, like actually like pen to paper journaling instead of on the computer. I mean, you're in such a transitional part of your life.
I know when I lived in a different city than my friends, it was like when you're home and you have just a couple days or a week,
it's really harder than you think to see everybody.
You know, I mean, I think I would say like giving them that specific time of like, you know what?
Why don't you come over on Tuesday? We'll have a little brunch, come over for mimosas or whatever. Giving them those specifics, I think might make it a little more accessible for them to take you up, like anyone who is meaningful to me, I would make the time.
There definitely have been friends of mine that have a baby and it's all consuming, which it is.
It totally is.
But it doesn't feel like there's going to be any friend time.
So I feel like everything we do is always going to be around the baby, right, which is totally reasonable.
I mean, your baby's five months old, right? So obviously that is going to be all
consuming. But I think for your friends that don't have babies that maybe can't relate to that,
you can offer them up like, hey, I want to see you guys regardless. I want you to meet the baby. We
don't have to spend the whole day with the baby, but I want, it's meaningful to me as you guys are
my close friends for you to meet the baby.
And then we can have a nice group lunch or do our own thing, you know, and you can have the baby.
If you have a babysitter, your husband can watch her for a couple of hours so you guys can go to lunch and catch up.
But, you know, so that you can get both of those things in so that you still have your individuality within that group.
And they're also paying you the respect of meeting your child, which is an important thing for you to have them do.
Because it's important for you to have your own individuality outside of mommy world, too.
Yeah. I think sometimes single women who aren't parents are sometimes overwhelmed by people when they have babies because of their inability to relate to that.
So just keep that in the back of your mind and just try to, like, give them specific options.
Like, when can we do this?
Let's set up a time.
You guys can come over and meet the baby and then we can either have lunch at the house
or we can go out, do our mimosas, whatever you and your girlfriends like to get up to.
Yeah.
I mean, that sounds good.
I have just been struggling with the fact that I have reached out and I have been like,
please tell me when you're in town so we can try to schedule
something. And then they never say anything. That's specifically like my high school friends,
my college friends, on the other hand, they don't have a reason to be here other than for me.
And, you know, they all say that they're so excited to meet her and then just nothing ever
happens. So it's kind of a weird predicament that I'm in whether or not I need
to be the one stepping out all the time or if they need to take this on their backs too.
I feel like, I mean, speaking from experience, it's going to be on you because you're the one
with the gift, right? Your child was a gift to this world and you want to share your gift with
the people that you love so much.
And the people around you are going to be so excited, but they also don't understand what you're going through.
They don't understand the sleepless nights.
They don't understand what you're going through with formula, breastfeeding, whatever's going on in your relationship.
And so they can't see that.
So you really have to put yourself out there in a way that feels maybe uncomfortable for
you right now. But if you are so adamant about these college friends meeting your gorgeous
little daughter, which I love her name, by the way. Yeah, that is truly going to be on you to
show your gift to the people that you love so much. And then once that door is open, then you
will see who really like wants to be a
part of her life and still be a part of your new life because your life is completely changed now.
And there are probably some people in your life or that were in your life that you don't want in
your life anymore. And this is just showing you everybody's cards. And I don't think you should
be offended by it. I think that you're young and you're figuring it all out now and you should actually be grateful. Yeah. Yeah. It definitely is going to be very eye-opening to see who is
wanting to stick around in our lives and who just really doesn't care anymore. And that's what my
husband's been saying to me, but I think it's just been kind of hard to come to grips with the fact
that those people who have always been here for me so consistently just haven't made the effort.
And that's just been hard to come to terms with.
Big life events, big life events, weddings, kids, divorce and funerals.
That's where you figure out who your real friends are.
Yeah. And, you know, I like that you said that, Ashley, that you're not speaking to half of your bridal party anymore because I think that's so true.
It's so true.
And it's like it's definitely true for me.
I have friendships that have ended throughout my entire life and I always have new ones sprouting up.
So there's always a revolving door in my life.
I have some very old friends, but a lot of my friendships, you know, are for short periods of time or 10 years.
And then we kind of drift off or something happens and we get into an argument or, you know, are for short periods of time or 10 years, and then we kind of drift off
or something happens and we get into an argument or, you know, who knows. And but I think you
should just I know it hurts, but it's also the cycle of life. Like people come in and out for
different reasons. And you should be open also as a new mother. I'm sure you're doing lots of
things that involve other new mothers. You know, you have the opportunity to meet new friends and make new relationships and cultivate those things. And there's going to
be exciting relationships within those relationships as well. So you're holding on to kind of holding
on to the past in a way. And you can definitely call them out and say like, hey, this is it. I
really need you guys to step up. And then now's time. And just be prepared for some of them not to be able to do
that. Yeah. I'm definitely prepared for my heart to be broken a little bit by those friendships.
And I guess this is just kind of where we're at in life. I'm just in such a different place,
I think, than everybody else. And they go out and they go party and everything like that and
take trips and enjoy, you know, not being tied down like this. And I'm, I'm at home and I'm
really content doing that. I just wish, you know, I had a little more support, but I have a great
family system around me. My husband's parents are in town. My parents are really close by. So
we do get a lot of time with them.
And that's been really supportive over, you know, these past five, almost now six months.
That's what you have to focus on.
Yeah.
Be grateful for the things that you do have.
So many people don't have their parents, right?
When you're raising a child, you have two sets.
I mean, that's really lucky.
So focus on the positive, you know?
Yeah, that you like your in-laws.
Wow.
That's really great.
Yeah. So focus on the positive, you know, that you like your in-laws. Wow. That's really great. Yeah, no, they're they're an awesome support system for us. And my mom takes her multiple
days a week. And, you know, I couldn't ask for anything better. They really are the best.
And also these phases, they go away, like enjoy this phase. And then the next phase,
you know, it's it's all about the phases. That's what I keep telling myself, at least. I'm in a phase. And always remember, like, whenever you're going
through a difficult time, there's sunshine around the corner. Like, you don't know how quickly things
are going to turn and who's going to show up for you surprisingly or what new people are going to
come into your life. No, like, bad phase or feelings hurt last for that long. It's always
just a little moment. It's ephemeral and it will move on
and then something else is just around the corner.
Yeah, I definitely try to keep that in perspective.
It's kind of hard right now,
losing all the people that I was so close to,
but that's great advice
and I hope I can really remember that going forward.
I wrote a farewell letter to my one friend.
I didn't give it to her, but I wrote a farewell letter to my one friend. I didn't give
it to her, but I wrote it to her and it was heartbreaking. It was actually on Thanksgiving
before I gave birth to the twins and it was really hard for me to write it. And it was like almost
20 year relationship. And I will say like, it's, it's important to write this out. It's important
to get it out of your body because you're storing
trauma right now. And it's not that big of a trauma, but it's trauma that's going to build.
And that's not something you want to pass on to your kids because it's little now,
but it's going to be bigger later. So get it out of your body.
That's a great that's great advice, actually. I'm going to take that because I have a friendship
that ended a long one and a close one. And I have so much I want to say. You get
all this stuff stored up and you just keep recirculating in your brain. And like, who wants
that energy inside them? No, no. And also, you know, when you write an email, like I would suggest
writing an email to all these girls. You can CC them all or do it individually and just put your
heart on your sleeve and just be very honest without being necessarily needy in that.
You're more making, yeah, you're making a statement, not accusatory, but this is how this
makes me feel. This is what happened. This is, I'm so disappointed. I really hope that you guys
would have more interest or, you know, stepped up to meet my baby. But I understand if this is,
you're not in this place in your lives. I get that. But I think you should show them,
let them know that you're hurt, most importantly. Yeah. I definitely don't want to make anybody feel like I'm being accusatory or super mean or anything like that, because I genuinely am sad.
And that's what I kind of told them a couple of months after was born is that I was just sad and I said it in a nice way, but maybe I didn't say it directly enough and I might need to go out of my way to say it a little more direct to them.
People cannot read your mind. I have learned that one.
Yeah, it's back to what Ashley said about putting yourself in a kind of like uncomfortable zone, you know, just put yourself in a situation that may not be you, but you got to stretch your
legs a little to get your point across so that you can feel good about it 10 years down the road
or five years down the road. I mean, I think that's the key about getting older is when you
have these kind of confrontations or conflicts to handle them with grace and dignity so that
when you look back, you're not mad at yourself for acting childishly. Yeah. Cause I'm kind of mad at myself right now for not saying stuff sooner and not
being direct enough. So yeah, I think the email and maybe reaching back out again and giving them
more specifics is going to be helpful. You just tell them you talked to your therapist, Chelsea
and Ashley, and then maybe you'll get an email back. Yeah, I think that'll be super helpful.
It's basically like talking to Dr. Phil and Oprah. Yeah. Hello. Pretty much. Yeah.
Thank you, Shannon. Thanks, Shannon. Good luck with everything. Let us know how it goes. Okay.
Follow up. Yeah. Thank you so much, guys. I appreciate it Follow up. Yeah. Thank you so much guys. I appreciate it. Congratulations.
Yeah. Thank you. Bye. Thank you. Bye-bye. That must feel so solitary, like so lonely. Yeah. You
feel isolated. It's a disgusting feeling, but at least she has her husband. And like she said,
her family, like that's a big deal, but having that outside community also makes a big difference.
She just sounds like she needs to go out with some friends. Yeah. She needs to join a mommy and me group or whatever the new version of those.
No, she needs to go out with all the kids. One night. Just one night.
Right, right, right. So when you wrote that letter, were you planning on just writing it
for yourself or did you think maybe you were going to send it to your friend?
So I worked with my midwives. I did home births. And one of the biggest things in doing a home
birth is trusting your body. And my midwives actually make you go through this thing.
It's therapy session called havening.
And it's touch therapy where you bring up past traumas that you deal with in the moment before you walk into home birth.
And this is for any part of your life.
It's not just surrounded by birth, but it's surrounded by traumas.
But you do it on the day you're going to give birth.
No, you do it beforehand so that your body is in full trust mode and that your baby,
which epigenetics, they can feel everything you're feeling also is in full trust mode.
So my twins were both head down and then one of them went head up breach and he kept flipping
and they were like, are you going through something? And I'm like, what do you mean going through something? And they were like, you going through something and I'm like what do
you mean going through something and they were like is everything okay at home like what's up
with your family and then Justin kind of looked at me and he said my friend's name and I was like
it's not that and she looked at me and she said so it's that and I just started crying and she said
these things happen like big life decisions or changes in your life, like having a baby, are going to move people in and out of your life.
And she said the only way to get around this and for you to have a successful, not unsuccessful birth, but like an even easier birth is to get this out.
And that's why I told her, I was like, this is like in you and it needs to come out so that you're not passing this along.
And that's what I did.
That's when I wrote the letter to her.
And it was all on Thanksgiving.
And it was surrounded by the holidays because we always spend the holidays together.
And my intention at the time wasn't to send it to her.
It was just to get it out.
I've been thinking about maybe sending it because I want something like, I want a door closed because it
still feels really wide open, but I feel so good that it's out of my body.
Yeah, I'm going to do that. I have a similar situation and I think I'm going to do that
because yeah, anytime I think about it, it's just those thoughts that circulate, like how hurt I am
about this and how I can't believe that. And it's like, God, I know better than to have those kinds of toxic thoughts circulating in your body.
You're just doing damage.
Everything you would say and all those little things.
It's like high school thoughts.
You know, I can only compare it to that kind of like small mindedness when we let those ideas corrode our kind of like being.
And it builds up in your body.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I'm Jason Alexander. And it builds up in your body. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm Jason Alexander.
And I'm Peter Tilden.
And together on the Really No Really podcast,
our mission is to get the true answers
to life's baffling questions like
why they refuse to make the bathroom door
go all the way to the floor.
We got the answer.
Will space junk block your cell signal?
The astronaut who almost drowned during a spacewalk
gives us the answer. We talk with the your cell signal? The astronaut who almost drowned during a spacewalk gives us the answer.
We talk with the scientist who figured out if your dog truly loves you
and the one bringing back the woolly mammoth.
Plus, does Tom Cruise really do his own stunts?
His stuntman reveals the answer.
And you never know who's going to drop by.
Mr. Bryan Cranston is with us today.
How are you, too?
Hello, my friend.
Wayne Knight about Jurassic Park.
Wayne Knight, welcome to Really, No Really, sir.
Bless you all.
Hello, Newman.
And you never know when Howie Mandel might just stop by to talk about judging.
Really?
That's the opening?
Really, No Really.
Yeah, really.
No Really.
Go to reallynoreally.com.
And register to win $500, a guest spot on our podcast, or a limited edition signed Jason
Bobblehead.
It's called Really, No Really, and you can find it on the iHeartRadio app on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Well, our next caller is Quinn. She says, Dr. Quinn, medicine woman. Let's hope so.
Better be. She says, Dear Chelsea, I've recently struggled with losing weight and all its
implications. I've been overweight or at least perceived to be overweight most of my life. She says, my current body and let the lifestyle changes follow. Dating also plays a part in all of this.
Where currently I haven't had much luck dating, I fear that if I lose weight, I will in the back
of my head always think, would they have dated me when I was overweight? I know no matter what,
I need to be healthy and make these lifestyle changes, but I know that's not going to happen
until my mindset is in the right place. Quinn. Hi, Quinn. Hi, how's it going?
Good, how are you?
Hi, Quinn.
How are you?
Good.
Well, we have the body positivity guru in studio today.
So I'm going to let you take the lead on this.
I was just thinking, God, I've totally been in your shoes.
And I've always wondered, God, if I lost weight,
would he be with me because I lost the weight? Or, you know, it's like, should I get even bigger and then start dating? And, you know,
just out of spite for whoever I end up with. And then I realized, God, I'm really going at this
the wrong way. I totally hear you. And I know how your brain is going a million miles a minute and you go to sleep thinking about
your weight. You wake up thinking about your weight. When you go out and you're eating,
you think about your weight. You think about your weight when you're getting dressed. I know that
feeling. And the best thing for you to realize is that it's not going to go away until you face it head on. And
there's so many different ways to face it head on where you can actually write out your affirmations
that I have done and I have preached about a million times, you know, have them on your mirror,
have them on notepads, have them recorded into your phone about how you feel and how you want to feel. I always say, like,
don't lie to yourself. Give yourself attainable goals in your affirmations. But, you know,
this is something that's either going to plague you for the rest of your life or you can actually
meet it where you are. And I had to do that. And I have to say, even now, like I just popped out a few kids and I'm 40
something pounds up. And I think about that number and I don't get on the scale because of it. I
don't put on certain clothes because of it, because it's like this like looming thing in the
back of my mind. Like, when is it going to go away? Will it ever come off of my body? Blah, blah, blah.
You know exactly what I'm talking about. But it's something that, A,
you're doing a great job in coming here and talking about it because this is going to feel
really good when you get off of this call. And B, you just have to start an action,
like whatever that action is for you, whether it's the writing it down and actually seeing the words
or having the out loud conversations with yourself or making
sure that, you know, you're not changing who you are for somebody else. I think that's really
important to remember. But by the way, like no matter what, your body is your temple. So take
care of it. Don't change it because of somebody else's perception or even the perception of
yourself. Yeah. And I think, you know, your goal
really is to be healthy and strong, right? Like that's what we all want out of life. We want to
be durable. We want to last a long time and we want to be healthy and strong. So taking those
steps to get there is going to help you feel better about yourself because you know that you're
actually, you know, eating clean food and healthy food and not bullshit. I read this quote from Barack Obama
once how he was he he's like, I eat for fuel, not for, you know, like, and I was like, fuck you.
You're a fucking guy. You know, not everybody's eating for fuel. I don't understand people like
that. But but but there's a variation of that where it's like, what are you putting into your
body that's going to help you be strong and fit?
And, you know, that doesn't mean being a certain weight.
It means being healthy-minded about yourself and your appearance, knowing that you're taking care of yourself.
You know, I didn't drink water for the longest time, so I just hated the flavor of it because there is none.
So I now have to doctor up my water with my little lemon packets every morning like a psychopath in order for me to drink a liter of water every day. But every day I'm like, every time I take a sip of water, I'm
like, you're helping yourself. You're, you know, you're hydrating your body. You're hydrating your
body. Like it's whatever your bad habits are. If you can flip those, the mental game that that
plays gives you a lot of self-esteem and a lot of self-respect. But that takes a lot of work,
I will say, because I'm at a place where like I am a rewarder. Food is a rewarder for me. I don't know about you guys, but like this is how I was raised. And so the plate has to be clean. And if I did like a good job for yay, whatever that thing was that day or week, it's like, what am I eating? So I hear you, but I'm still working on that because it's like, oh, fuel my body. Yes, I can feel my body all day long. I've got like a charcuterie board in the car waiting for me when I get out of here. However, however, it's like, am I going to treat myself to a handful of peanut M&Ms later? Yeah, probably. So it's all about balance. Everything is balanced and it's a hard place to get to.
Yeah, and you're not going to be perfect all the time.
I'm not.
I mean, I was just telling Joe in my hotel room this weekend,
I went to go open a bag of potato chips
and I couldn't even be like a normal person about it.
I had to bite it open
and then the whole thing fucking exploded all over my room.
And then I was like, oh, fuck those.
I'll go get a chocolate.
They had this chocolate toffee bar and I did the same thing. I ripped it open. The whole thing
crashed open on the bed and I just looked like a revolting pig. And I'm like, well, see, this is
what you get for like eating in haste like that. You know, when you still eat it. No, no. I had to
clean it up. It was all over the place. I still would have ate it. That's my problem. I've eaten
things. Listen, I've eaten things out of the garbage. I still would have ate it. That's my problem. Well, I've eaten things. Listen, I've eaten things out of the garbage, okay?
Let's not pretend that I haven't.
I once had an Egg McMuffin in my glove compartment overnight and ate it.
So I'm not going to pretend I'm above that.
But I think as long as you start to cultivate little healthy habits, they don't have to be a mandate for your life.
Little healthy habits.
You know, like you're going to end your day with this meal or you're going to start your day with this meal. And just think about nourishing yourself and
giving your like last night we were at sushi and the last thing I wanted was spinach. But I'm like,
no, I want something green at every meal. Like I have to do that for my health. You know, it's a
good people have said instead of taking away add to the plate. Right. Yeah. And when you eat all
that stuff, you know, if you fill up on good stuff for your body,
your body doesn't crave all the bad stuff after a while.
So you just have to just start cultivating healthier habits and, you know, it will get
easier and it will do the thing for your mind that all the things that Ashley's talking
about work in conjunction with that, you know, giving yourself positive affirmations, reminding
yourself that your body's here to carry you through. So take care of it and treat it with respect.
And also just get out there, start dating.
Right? Like, it doesn't matter what size you are. There is somebody who will be like
into you for who you are if you're ready to start dating and you're feeling good with yourself.
Yeah. And then once you start fucking somebody that you like, you're not going to have that
much of an appetite, okay? Anybody who falls in love knows that they lose 10 pounds right off the bat because you're just like, all I want to do is have sex.
Yeah.
How much weight did Joe lose?
Joe's lost 30 pounds.
So now he's the hot body in the relationship.
And I just keep putting on weight.
I'm like, but back the fuck up with your body, buddy.
Then you start eating.
Yeah.
Yeah.
In a relationship.
Yeah.
Once you get happy, then you start eating.
That's where I'm at now.
I'm like, when can we eat again?
I'm already thinking about food.
You're talking about it.
I'm like, what am I going to have for lunch?
But anyway, you know what I mean?
Yeah, definitely start dating.
That's going to be fun.
You want to go have fun with guys or girls or whoever you're into.
Yeah, I think in listening to you guys and stuff too,
I've realized too, that anyone that
I want to be with is also just going to agree with like the values I have and like my lifestyle.
I'm like, I'm not going to choose someone who's like, no, you look bad. Or, you know,
I want you to get to this point. I obviously would just day one, that's a red flag and I
wouldn't dive with them. Yeah. I think, yeah, this stuff, very helpful.
And I will definitely start to do some of that.
Are you on any dating apps, Quinn?
Yeah, I'm on, you know, like the typical three,
Bumble, Tinder, and Hinge.
And I go through waves, you know, it gets kind of boring.
Going through the same questions over and over again.
Like, oh, what do you do?
How are you doing?
You know, what have you been up to?
And I also get kind of loyal for if I'm talking to someone, I'll just
like, oh, I'll just keep talking to them and then I'll fizzle out. And then I'm like, oh,
I just lost out on all these other matches or, you know.
No, you have to talk to like 20 people at the same time. This is what I learned. My mom,
like four years ago, she finally started online dating and she did a car ride from California to New York.
And she had her bumble on and went on dates throughout the country and met and ended up meeting the guy she's with now.
And they've been together for three years.
And I have to say, like, you have to talk to everybody at the same time because that's what everybody else is doing.
I don't have any experience in this.
This is all watching my mother do this.
I love that.
That's a great idea for any woman.
I could do a road trip across the country and just meet up with different guys.
She was with her friends.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Perfect.
Well, thank you so much, Quinn.
I appreciate having you on.
Thank you.
And congrats to Ashley on your twins.
And Chelsea, I saw you in December
I believe in Madison here
So it was a great show thanks for that
Thanks for coming Quinn I love that
Yeah thank you bye
Bye
Everyone just needs a little confidence booster
That's right
Madison Wisconsin I love it there
You're from Nebraska
Yes Midwest
That was another great place.
I performed in Omaha.
I was just in Birmingham, Alabama.
I saw.
And I was like, it was one of the best shows I've ever had.
Another one was Omaha.
And the other one was Louisville, Kentucky.
Places where you think you're going to go and you're just like, oh, God, this isn't going to be.
And every time it was awesome. Yeah, because there's those liberal pockets of people there that are dying for it.
Right. They need togetherness and progressiveness. And they're living in a state like those cities
are all always like Democratic and it's just the rest of the state that has issues.
Anyway, anyway, what's next? Well, so our last question comes from Travis.
Travis says, Dear Chelsea, I'm a 37-year-old guy who got many of the gay genes, design, decor, theater, etc., but not the skincare gay gene.
In short, I could give a shit about skincare.
I use a moisturizer with SPF but do nothing else for my face beyond an occasional splash of water in the shower.
My skin is pretty normal, nothing problematic except my behavior. I recently heard someone
complimented on his beautiful skin and thought how nice it would be to receive such praise one day.
Do you have any products or regimens you'd recommend to stop my uncared-for face from
falling off or bursting into flames or whatever else is eventually going to
happen as I slide into my 40s. Travis. Well, I'm going to let you go to the skincare thing because
you have, I'm sure, more tricks than I do. I was going to say, don't you have like skincare?
Like, aren't you like into it? Your skin is always glowing. Oh, well, thank you. But I would
want to say to Travis, this is why you have everything to look forward to. I didn't start washing my face. I still don't wash my face. Let's be honest.
Are you serious? the habit because I never had it. So if you start taking care of your skin now, Travis, you're going to see such a difference because you have so many layers of like of dermis that you
have not exfoliated. So all you need is a good exfoliator to wash yourself at night and then put
on a moisturizer. I use a serum and moisturizer in the morning and at night. And that does the trick.
I have to say, first of all, just go get a facial. Like, you're going to feel the difference from, like, when you, before you had it and then after.
And then secondly, I am such a fan of this new line called Fig One.
I invested in it.
I'm not a celebrity endorser.
I invested because it actually works.
We should send you some, by the way.
Yeah, send me some.
It's scientifically proven to work on so many different skin types, whatever your quote issue is. And you can take
an online test for free. There's dermatologists that'll send you the whole regimen, but like
they play nice in the medicine cabinet. So whatever you're already using, you just add
this into the mix. But it sounds like he just needs like hyaluronic acid and maybe... Is hyaluronic
acid good for everybody? I think so. All skin types? It's not terrible foruronic acid and maybe... Is hyaluronic acid good for everybody?
I think so.
All skin types?
It's not terrible for most people.
Oh, I thought some people don't react well to that, but I could be misinformed.
I mean, I use it twice a week and Justin uses one once a week.
So that's two completely different skin types.
Justin's skin tone is like uneven and he wants it to become more even. And then also being black on top of it makes it harder to figure out what products are right for him.
And he's been using Fig One.
So anyways, Travis, I don't know what your actual skin type is, but it just sounds like he just needs a little TLC.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Once you start a little bit, you're going to notice like if your skin is OK now and you start taking care of it, it's going to be good.
And then you're going to get that glowy, dewy feeling.
And also, if you have dry skin, you can use a serum and a moisturizer.
If you have oily skin, you shouldn't use a serum.
You should just use a moisturizer.
And then get the hyaluronic acid from Fig One.
Hello.
But also, like, props for using the SPF.
That's, like, the most important thing to keep your aging.
It is so important.
It is.
Well, let's take a quick break, and we'll be back to wrap up with Ashley and Chelsea.
I'm Jason Alexander.
And I'm Peter Tilden.
And together on the Really No Really podcast, our mission is to get the true answers to life's baffling questions like...
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And we're back.
Welcome back.
Hi, girls.
Well, Ashley, I wanted to ask if you have any advice you'd like from
chelsea parenting do you want some parenting advice for me okay so my biggest thing right
now staying motivated in the gym it's hard because i'm breastfeeding and i know you like
to smoke weed and like i'm sure that doesn't get you motivated to go to the gym so like what's that
motivator for you because my crutch right now is breastfeeding.
What just keeps you going?
Because your abs, I mean, they're amazing.
Oh, you're so sweet.
No, they are.
I mean, I really do work out hard
because I like to be strong.
And I like to be fit also and look lean.
But I just love, it's like addicting.
You know, now even I'm on the road, I hit the gym and I
just do my own stuff with weights and stuff. And what I've realized so much about after 40 is that
cardio is not the thing that keeps you lean. It's weights, heavy, heavy weights. And I think my
motivation is just seeing the results. I know it works. I used to think weights were going to make
me bulky. Even when I was heavier and not as muscular, I thought, oh, I'm just I have to lose the weight first and then do the weights. And it's like, no, I just started weight training and the fat kind of came off. So I know there's a lot of people think you have to do so much cardio and it's like don't kill yourself with cardio because it stresses your body out, especially when you're breastfeeding and you're like your cortisol want to keep them down, not up, because that makes you hold on to your weight.
And the other thing that I think motivates me is I can do things that a lot of people
that I know who work out a lot can't do.
So when I keep getting stronger like that, I'm just like, oh, I'm fine.
Plus, I'm older.
I'm the strongest I've ever been at 47.
I'm stronger than I was when I was 35. So like, you know, I can kick ass and I fucking like that.
You know, that's, it's like a part of me now. So it's the results that keep you moving.
The results. Like once you get, yeah, you know, like you just feel like,
yeah, it feels good. Have you done Pilates? Are you into that?
Yeah. I've done a lot of Pilates. Yeah. There's a class in LA that I love,
Forma. Have you tried it yet? No, no. You'll have to have to go. I'll send it to you. Okay, yeah, yeah,
but I guess that's my motivator. I just like, I like to feel, yeah, the results, and I like to
feel like a badass when I get in there, and I go no matter what. It doesn't matter what shape I'm in.
That's how I was before with babies, and I think, I think I'll get back there, but it's like nice to
hear it again. Yeah, you know, once you start seeing results, like you're saying you're up 40 pounds.
I would not have known that.
But if you're, you know, once you start getting closer to what you want, you're like, oh, then you get really on the train.
But I mean, you have little babies, so it's a different situation right now.
Life is different.
Yeah.
So there you go.
That's my, those are my two cents and you can suck on that
pipe. Okay. Well, all of our callers and writers in, please keep in touch with us because we love
follow-ups. We love progress reports and follow-ups. I didn't pay attention in school. So
that's why I feel like I like a curriculum and a structure now with this podcast. I like reportings
after the fact,
after we've talked to you.
I want to find out what happened.
And we've had so many positive outcomes come out of this.
It's just like we're freeing the whole world.
Yeah, I love it.
Thank you, Ashley Graham.
We love you so much.
I love you.
I adore you.
I'm so glad we got to see each other.
Me too.
I love in person.
I know, I know. It's so good.
I'm so thankful to see you too.
Yeah.
Come out to Jersey. I will. I definitely will. I'm performing in Montclair. I know, I know. It's so good. I'm so thankful to see you two. Yeah. Come out to Jersey.
I will.
I definitely will.
I'm performing in Montclair next week at the Wellmont.
I have two shows in Montclair.
I'll be in Jersey.
Fantastic.
Bye-bye.
So if you'd like to ask Chelsea a question,
email us at dearchelseaproject at gmail.com.
I'm Jason Alexander.
And I'm Peter Tilden.
And together, our mission on the really no really podcast is to get the true answers to life's baffling questions like why the bathroom door
doesn't go all the way to the floor what's in the museum of failure and does your dog truly love you
we have the answer go to really no really.com and register to win 500 a guest spot on our podcast
or a limited edition sign Jason bobblehead the The Really Know Really podcast. Follow us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you get your podcasts. Welcome to Decisions Decisions, the podcast where boundaries are
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as we dive deep into the world of non-traditional relationships and explore the often taboo topics surrounding dating, sex, and love.
That's right. Every Monday and Wednesday, we both invite you to unlearn the outdated narratives dictated by traditional patriarchal norms.
With a blend of humor, vulnerability, and authenticity, we share our personal journeys navigating our 30s, tackling the complexities of modern relationships and engage in
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