Drinking Wine and Talking Shit - S1E5: Wine About It: A Comforting Merlot & Surviving Family Drama Without Losing Your Sanity

Episode Date: January 11, 2025

Family—they’re equal parts love and chaos. This week on Drinking Wine and Talking Shit, we’re spilling the tea (or wine) on dealing with difficult relatives, from the One-Upper to the Drama Magnet.We’ll share hilarious personal stories, read your jaw-dropping write-ins, and dish out survival tips—like mastering the strategic bathroom break and replying like a politician. All this, paired with a comforting Merlot and a charcuterie board, because what’s family drama without good snacks?Tune in for laughs, relatable chaos, and the reminder that family dysfunction is universal. Cheers to surviving it all! 🍷Find us on Instagram and Tiktok @DWTS_Shit. And you can follow @only_aamy & sadie.cubitt on Instagram too. Let's laugh with wine together!

🎵 Well hello, hello, hello Sadie. Welcome to another episode. How are you today? I'm good. I've had a nice holiday break. Have you? I have, actually. It was actually really nice.

I felt like, at first, I was a bit overwhelmed. I was like, oh, my God, we've got plans twice a day for every day. And I was really overwhelming, but I booked for extra time off. It was lovely. Got to relax. Then got really poorly but luckily it didn't last too long. I think people have probably

had it way worse than I have. Yeah. On New Year's Eve, okay, so we were supposed to go and see Gok Wan DJing on New Year's Eve obviously with Amy and Chris. It was banging.

It was banging. And our cousins and I was so looking forward to it. Woke up New Year's Eve, felt like absolute shit. Dog shit. And I was like, right, I can power through. It was the day before as well, but on that New Year's Eve, I was like, no, I can power through.

I'll be fine. Ran rear. I was like, I'm still coming, but I'm not very well. Just wanted to make sure that was okay, because obviously obviously other people were going that are a bit more vulnerable and she was like how are you on codeine?

I was like I can't really drink on it she was like me, I had these paramol she was like I'll bring you some I had two of them and two martinis and I was loving life and I was like okay brilliant so all day I was like just wait for the paramol it's cool just wait for the paramedics wait for the drugs and all day I was like you can do this and then we had to go and see Aaron's family and I was in

waves I was like will be it was all right the next week then I'm all right we'll be sick and like anyway we we got back I got changed, we were ready, we were halfway there And I was like, I've got a thing called I can't do this I've got a thing called Alright I was a bit annoyed, I didn't know how bad she was I thought she was just like, it was just a flu or something

It was, but it was But like, no, I just mean a cold, that kind of flu So I was a bit disappointed at first, and then I could hear how bad she sounded So I was like, no, I just mean a cold. Yeah. That kind of flu. So I was a bit disappointed at first, and then I could hear how bad she sounded. So I was like, right. I know. I'll let you off. But yeah, so I didn't get any parable.

I kind of wish I'd still got those. In the spirit of Christmas, though, and obviously I was all going out on New Year's and everything like that, we obviously had to spend a lot of time with our family members um which i'm sure all of you did which is what this week's topic is all about yeah families family and family for you the actual uh um title is what is it whine about it

surviving family drama without losing your sanity let's whine about it surviving family drama without losing your sanity let's whine about it cheers so guys today uh families they're like wine some age age beautifully and others are better left in the cell uh welcome to today's episode of drinking wine and talking shit uh where we're tackling the ultimate endurance test dealing with family drama. We've all been there. Awkward holiday dinners, unsolicited advice, or that one relative who is always two drinks ahead of everyone else. So today we're diving into the hilarity and headache of difficult family dynamics while sipping on a Pinot Noir, not right now, but we will be, and snacking on a charcuterie board. So let's laugh, vent, and figure out

how to survive the madness. I'm laughing because... You sound so snotty. I'm so bunged up. I'm still poorly. You're still a little snotty. That's fine, yeah, you do sound very bunged up. So, yes, that is what our topic is today.

We've got some great writing, some great stories, so please stay tuned. But let's first kick off today with this week's Pick Your Poison questions. We've changed the title. This was Would You Rathers? But we like to put a drinking wine and talking shit spin on it. And we've decided to change it to Pick Your Poison because obviously we love wine and poisoning our bodies with alcohol. So therefore, guys, pick your poison.

So what I'm going to do is ask Sadie two questions. She's not going to answer them. She's going to ask me two questions. I'm not going to answer them. Join us at the end and make sure you stay tuned for the answers to our Would You Rather questions. We're going to take it in turns. So my first, Would You Rather, Sadie.

Okay. Would you rather spend two weeks in the most beautiful place in the world, but with both children and just Aaron's mum as help? Let's add a bit on there. Your two children and maybe you've got to look after Aaron's niece and nephew as well. So four kids. Which niece and nephew? It don't really make any difference, actually, to my answer.

I was going to say Cush and Cash. Okay. And their mum. So that's the family part in the most beautiful place in the world. Or spend two weeks in Butlins with just your two children and our mum. Well, in paradise, Aaron's probably really helpful. Like, the kids would be great. I didn't ask you to answer it.

Oh, sorry. Sorry. Can't help that. Okay. All right, so hold that thought. Think about it. But you're in paradise. You've only got Aaron's mum there.

You've got no other family members. You said of the kids. All the kids. Oh, yeah, and's mum there. You've got no other family members. You said of the kids. All the kids. Oh, yeah, they're older. Okay, they're five. They're not adamant. It's not really a conundrum. Stop.

I forget that they're grown up now. Sorry, I said stop because we keep putting each other out on mics. Sorry, it's not really a conundrum when they're grown up. Definitely not. So they're a bit grown up now. I forgot about that. They're still five. They're five.

I guess she's 18. I'd be like, baby cool like okay take it back rubbish the children are five is sensi there no you've got just aaron's mom the four children are new in paradise okay or in for two weeks so two weeks think about that the length of that yeah and then two weeks in botlands now botlands can be hilarious when you're giving the right people with just your two children and our mom right so hold that thought answer is coming at the end and when she tells answers she'll give us the reasons why yeah etc first would you rather for me okay so why would you rather my first one is would you rather be on a reality TV programme showing your life 24-7

cool that's a really good start or live alone in isolation yeah think about it I think I know which one to pick

but I'll answer at the end last one my one sorry my last one would you rather have married

the first person you were going to marry and still have two lovely children now or would you rather be single and alone? I'll think about that. Think about that

and answer it at the end. Okay, and then... So, sorry, it's all about families and relationships. Mine is, would you rather travel back in time

to meet your ancestors or forward in time to meet your descendants such good ones no i'm not lonely that's good you're not lonely this is gone two minutes i was in the toilet trying to help guys okay brilliant okay so we'll come back at the end some cracking crash questions there but guys the best the best part of the program the best, guys, the best part of the programme, the best part of the programme, the best part of the show, or the podcast, is here.

And Sadie's, it's Sadie's bit. Okay, so we are now going to do our, I think, the best part. The moment you've been waiting for. The moment you've been waiting for. The wine and the why. So, we've chosen a classic. Merlot, actually yes um it is uh quite smooth and comforting but also it goes really really well with these miniature check how cute oh check out

these little cuties cuties charcuterie or charcuterie boards that I created I don't know if this is how they're meant to work but they they will sit on the glass they sit on charcuterie or charcuterie boards that I created we will send a photo I don't know if this is how they're meant to work but they will sit on the glass they sit on our glass because they have

like a little lip inside so we can literally go like and then drink wine yeah so Amy can you pour the wine so I'm just going to

put my white wine down because I am a white wine fan it's lovely pinot we're going to try the Merlot and I am a big Merlot fan and Sad lovely Pinot. We're going to try the Merlot and I am a big Merlot fan. Emerson said he loves a red wine so I will get the glasses if you would like to do the honours.

Okay. Look, just show the camera the black label Merlot. Yes, we've tried the black label Merlot today. It says, bottle four, oh no, it hasn't. It says,

this is a soft and flavoursome wine with white fruit flavours of raspberry, cherry and plums integrated with subtle oak. It is the perfect accompaniment to lamb stew or tomato based pasta. But we have kind of got like a tomato, no, also with meats. With meats. And we have some dried tomatoes, some olives and some little cheeses. So. Do this thing. Wait, wait, wait. Yeah, we're gonna do that.

Oh, we're gonna do that oh my god do that thing do that do that thing well it's actually it actually just to quickly add on here i was in paris it's in paris the other day and uh on the last day i had a goat's cheese oh my nose sorry a goat's cheese salad and they chose me this really nice red wine. And I should have found out what it was called. Because it was very, you could always apparently tell a good red by when you do this, it sticks. So you can kind of see how well it sticks to the salad. Okay.

I can't smell anything. So Amy, can you just give it a big fat sniff? I'll give yours a big fat sniff. And I can pick one. It makes me gag. It makes you gag? It's the smell of red wine. Just sniff it.

But sometimes I have tried red wine and I haven't hated it. So I'm really willing to try it. And it does look quite crisp and clean. It's just so strong for me, but it smells like it would be nice to smell. That's very good. But this red wine I had in Paris, it was the... Even Aaron tried it and said that doesn't even taste like a red wine

I had in Paris it was the even Aaron tried it and said that doesn't even taste like a red wine it was so nice and crisp and clean

and fresh but all the wine was no that's not I can't remember but let's give it a yeah I'll give it a little try

because I'd say I'm happy to try I mean you can go back to my white wine it's quite dry throughout and again

the one in Paris I always find that with wines that you buy from supermarkets, they're really dry. Whereas this wine, again, was not dry at all. What one did we try not long ago that was red? That was okay. This is quite strong for me.

Really? Yeah, let's get that. But yeah, that one in Paris, it was so fresh. It wasn't dry like this this is a dry red don't get me wrong if you like red wine I'm sure that you would love this

I'm just not the hugest red wine person I do like the Merlot but when I've tried a wine that's not necessarily really expensive but a bit more of an expensive wine I don't think it's about

the money either I just think for me like I have tried some that are fine but for me I'm just not a huge red wine fan but also in Paris everything was so expensive there but I had two glasses of wine, we had two meals, everyone had a beer, and it only cost us 56 euros.

Okay. It wasn't that expensive of a wine. So I'm going to try it with some of this prosciutto and olive. Me too, I'm going to shove an olive in there with some cheese as well. A bit of cheese, yeah. Shove that all in. Can't breathe. Mmm.

See, you can't eat with a mouth shut like you can with a mouth. I know, she can't breathe. Mmm. I do think that, again, and I'll try it again with a few. It's okay, it's just not my thing. But guys, here we go. It does go really well. To be honest, now I'm tasting it, the cheese with it, it goes.

I'm just not hugely into it. It's insane, you can drink it. And because I had this goat's cheese salad I said to the waiter can you choose me or wine and he said yeah something light and fresh I was like yeah sure

whatever yeah sure I'm a connoisseur you know I do a podcast about wine it was lovely as well and Aaron was like

I don't know why you speak in French because everyone speaks really good English but that's not that's so accolade I said that I said one I want to

practice and two they find it more polite if I go in straight the way he's trying to speak French we had a much better response from people than if I didn't try at all there was one particular waiter who was very rude but other than that we had very good experiences with everybody

I said the same because I've always tried to learn Spanish, I'm not fantastic at it but when we went to Spain before Christmas again, similar situation. And I remember being at a restaurant and this lady came over and she didn't look very happy. She might have been fine, you never know. She didn't look very happy, but I think that's just generally the way she probably looked at the time. Looked at the time, yeah, yeah, yeah. Right, but she served us and still when she was talking to us,

like when she came over the first time and put things down on the table, we hadn't really ordered anything then. She still looked very, she didn't smile at all. It was fine, I'm not complaining. But then I got the courage to use a bit of the Spanish I didn't know and asked for some wine and what food we wanted. And the minute that I did, her expression completely changed. She was lovely.

She was dead nice. Two waitresses were coming over. We went back and tipped them later because we had no cash on them. Yes, that was the thing. We hardly had any cash. Well, we did have cash, but when we got to the airport,

the exchange rate was rubbish. And he says, you might be better off going. You might as well just use your card or take out the cash for him. Obviously, we did use our card, but I mean for tips. Oh, yeah.

So, obviously, we had £75 that we wanted to change into euros for tips. But anyway, at the airport in Manchester, they said, you're better to get to Terrace and do it. Well, we got there and it was even worse.

56 euros for 75 pounds. We can, it's normally, it was like, in the airport it was 0.96 euros to a pound. So we should have

just done it then. It was actually, it was better. But we had no cash. I've never exchanged money. I always use my Monzo or use my phone and pay. Or I've used my exchanged money. I always use my Monzo or use my phone and pay. Or I've used my bank card.

I've used my Monzo card on the cash machine abroad all the time. Yeah, but we already had the cash. Everyone had mostly cash. Oh, he had money on him. Sorry, English money on him. He already had the money.

He hadn't changed it before. So luckily, we just said to him, send us a 25 card and we'll give you the cash. So he's got the cash now. But obviously, we were going to use that

for tips, which is why. Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah of course but yeah so we felt a bit bad but but anyway worked out fine in the end so that is the wine of the wine

that's the wine of the wine guys um I'm going to I'm going to contact Le Casagade and ask for the wine find out what it is also

each each week I will try and start posting which wine we've drank and what it went with so that you guys can like try it together if you like yeah

but let us know if you know if you've tried it you know if you liked this wine also we will try more red wine I'm not a huge fan but I bet you anybody we can find

some red wines that I really like yeah and also because I know you're not going to drink any more of that I'm going to save that and I'm actually making a lamb stew tomorrow

no what day is it Sunday so I was thinking you can drink a bit more of that later and I'll drink a bit more of the wine later well I'll put a bit of that in I'm going to save that and I'm actually making a lamb stew tomorrow. Oh, what is it? Sunday? So, I was thinking you could drink a bit more of that later and I'll drink a bit more of the wine later. Well, I'll put a bit of that in my lamb stew and then have it with it and I'll make you a little extra real on my lamb stew and my Merlot.

Lovely. Yeah, that'd be good. Yeah. Brilliant. Okay, so, that's the wine and the wine. Right, guys, so now it is time to go into the talking shit part of the episode. So, as we've mentioned already,

today's episode is about family feuds, family dramas, those family members that just get on your nerves and in-laws, outlaws, the families that you join in, friends of family friends,

everything like that. So, let's take a roll call of family members who we think probably make the most annoying types of family members. So, first of all all we have the one-upper so obviously last week you know uh you got a promotion and they invented the internet that kind of person you know they've always got to have one up on you they've always got to be either more poorly than you or better than you or have more things than you or their child spoke before yours things like that especially

where children are concerned because although i don't have children the best stories i've had that have been written in this week are from people who have children and then they've got someone else who also has children and like the friction or you know the mum guilt is real like i'm so kind of clouding away in that sense that i've not got children because i can go and judge everybody else's parenting not really um but yeah so you've got the one-up have you got an example of the one-up not that i can say on screen what else we got um okay so we've also got the gossip so it knows everyone's secrets but their own i think i know someone who's who's like yeah definitely know someone okay who no we both know someone yeah but you need to give an example so like we've got somebody who's like i'd say in our family who

is it can be a bit jealous about things but can also like but also because that's the case this person i won't say he or she um i think sometimes it makes them come across the wrong way because they're quite jealous of things. So it makes them then have to point out things. Even when you're not pointing something out, you could just have happened to do something. Or you wouldn't have even noticed it, but they've pointed it out.

But we also do have someone in our family who is a bit of a gossip. We do. I'm not going to say who it is. You can guess later. But we do. And this person again will not say he or she but this person very much loves to know gossip so if something's happened in a

group chat or if this person is immediately they'll text me or they'll they'll call me what what's going on here then i don't know I don't care Also Okay I'll give an example yeah So A friend of mine Split up with their partner And It was obviously on Facebook

And then immediately This family member Is texting me What's happened? What's happened with these? I'm not sharing Any details Yeah

You can see what you can see on Facebook That is as far as it is going I am not going to gossip that's not me anyway we gossip between ourselves and it goes nowhere else so if we have an opinion we'll say it to each other but

yeah I wouldn't go any further and feel and also unless you've done something to piss me off I won't talk about you also, unless you've done something to piss me off, I won't talk about you. So, like, unless you've done something to upset me on purpose to me, to directly to me,

I have nothing to say about you. Yeah, yeah. And also, you... People could be telling me things about you and I won't believe that until I see it from you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Which is what annoys me about other people. I've heard things from people that,

oh, don't be friends with her because of this. And I never if i've not experienced it i won't i won't take that on board i will wait because people's opinions are very different to what my opinions might be and i used to think oh don't worry like when i was younger i'd be like oh don't worry i'm sure if say if i thought i'd upset someone for example i'm sure they'll be understanding because that's how i am i'm like oh i'm sure they'll be understanding because that's how I am I'm like oh I'm sure they didn't mean it that way

oh no people aren't like that and then as I've got older I'm like I just have to accept that actually no one is like that and we're only like that

and we don't hold a grudge and if someone apologises I'm like okay it's fine let it go now whereas other people are like I'll hate you for a bad moment

and then I'll forgive you and just make you really suffer I'm like alright well I mean you can try I will not care enough no I know but all right. Well, I mean, you can try and make me suffer. I will not care enough. No, I know, but the point is,

some people are like that. They'll try and hold that grudge against you. An example of that, so the other day, somebody was telling me what to do and how to do it. But I know this person really well. And even though it was annoying me at the time, I was like, but I know this person and I know that they're not like that.

And I know they're not trying to be rude or trying to tell me that I'm not good at this or I'm not. So I use your own judgment. I know this person is a wonderful, beautiful soul. So I know that their own intention, their only intention is to benefit me, to help me. It's not to be annoying. Not that they were being annoying necessarily but do you know what i mean like i use your own brain like it's like when someone says something about you and you're like but you know i'm not like that so why believe it

yeah yeah absolutely yeah move on to the next so obviously then you've got the drama magnet um can turn a missing spoon into a national crisis now i'm not saying I'm a drama queen or anything like that, but I must say if I lose something, I freak out. Yeah. I am dramatic about it. Oh, God. Because when I lose something, it usually is lost for good. So now...

But, okay, but how many examples are there? Where I've found it. Where straight away I've said to myself, she'll find it in a minute. Even today, today, right, I was sat upstairs. I was honest about it, weren't I? I sat upstairs doing my eyebrows, right? And she's like, I was honest about it, weren't I? Set upstairs, doing my eyebrows, right? I can hear her.

Fucking, can't find the fucking cable. You fucking lost it. I spent a lot of money on the podcast. And I'm sitting in front of a mirror. I'm like, fucking wait, because I know exactly where it is. I'm like, I don't know. She shouts at us. And I was like, what?

What is it? What? I was like, bless him. He was that worried. He was trying to find is it what I was like bless him he was that worried he was trying to find the cables he was trying to find

the cables to replace it because we were we were like shit shit we've lost one of her bits I'm going

I've seen it but she can't hear me and I thought she can fucking hear me I'm doing it my fucking eyebrows however that is usually the only time

I probably overreact as such nowadays yeah when she hears something but I tell you now usually she's found it found there probably are other people as well who are very dramatic um within our family and and wider and others yes and then the last one which i feel like is a bit me because not not now but anyway the political warrior who brings up politics at every gathering because peace and quiet are overrated we'll have a good debate though like i am i'm terrible for bringing up politics.

Again, not so much now. We have to make her stop, stop, like, listening and watching because she would get, one, during COVID and all the shit, she just gets her hooked and then obsessed and then upset and scared. I'm like, no, this is not how you live your life. Just ignore it.

It's a load of bullshit. But if we're that right, let's forget COVID. The news, I mean. Let's forget COVID, right? American politics, politics british i would sit and i would watch the political debates in the house of commons i know why i was addicted and it was really bad it was playing on my mental it was bad for my mental health i had to stop myself so when people say now have you heard this i'm like no i don't i don't watch it because the minute I start I will be hooked again I've done it I did it

I put LBC on did you recently and I was like I've got to turn that off because I'm shouting at the radio say Aaron turned it off no I did it myself I chose two people because you're going to actually move.

I chose positive mental health. Good. This probably. Good, good. All right. Well, I'm sure some of that sounds familiar to you guys. And if not, you might be the difficult one. No, you're joking.

But don't worry. This episode is a judgment-free zone. Mostly. Obviously, we're going to take a piss out of you. And you can take a piss out of us. And it's all a big,free zone, mostly. Obviously, we're going to take the piss out of you, and you can take the piss out of us, and it's all a big, fat laugh. Yeah. So, moving forward then,

obviously based on family views, that's really, really funny, and we've got a couple of stories that we want to share with you about what's happened to us and our experiences, but also we've got some great writings from you guys that we want to share. So, a couple, i suppose i'll um

i can i can tell a story um so this one for me um is very in law related but it's not with my current partner so years ago i had a boyfriend it was probably probably my second ever boyfriend when i was in school at leave just left school should i say it's about 17 and his mom was like you know those mums you're all probably one of them. You're all going to be one of them. I am going to be one of these mums. I am. Who loves their sons,

and their sons can't get any better. When I tell you now, you can't get any better. Because I'm fantastic. Actually, I'm not too worried about Kaizel. But he was also a knobhead, so... I just want Maria to find a good man. Yeah, yeah.

That's the hardest part, finding a good man. But, so basically, I had this boyfriend, and his mum was, like, just so annoying. She was just so annoying. Anyway, we moved in together very, very briefly. We moved in together very, very briefly. It did not last long.

However, she was one of those people who just always thought she was right. So she was just really annoying, and she thought everything that, you know, the way she did everything was right, and, you know, she'd do what she'd do. So we she thought everything that, you know, the way she did everything was right. And, you know, she did what she did. So we moved in together very, very briefly. And whilst we were living there, she came round one day and I'd obviously got the curtains on.

I was 17, 18. I was very, very young. You were, yeah. Yeah. And I'd put some curtains up in the living room. And she proceeded to tell me how wrong I'd done them. And that they need, you know, how you like poor curtains, don't get the top and gather the well. I didn't know that.

So brilliant, fine. Anyway, the main thing that annoyed me the most was she came round one day and she told me that her son looked a bit pale. I was like, he always looks like that. Because he drinks too much, smokes too much weed and never goes to sleep because he stays up playing a stupid computer game all night and then goes to work. So she goes, are you feeding him enough veg? Am I? Oh, she said this. This is true goes are you feeding him enough veg am i oh she said this this is true are you feeding him enough veg i said sorry i said if he wants to eat vegetables for dinner it can make sense can't he i said also i don't always make a dinner i'm at work as well

and i was like and if i do make a dinner it'll be easy and yes he has vegetables but to be honest not my problem i don't know what year it was it would have been around 2007 so sorry i know it's 2025 now but i was fucking pretty much back then i was like i am not a kept i am i am not one of those women who's i am just not a housewife i never was gonna be and i never will be and i will be a housewife i'll be a wife but i won't be a housewife who stays at home and fucking does your fucking cooking cleaning and washing like my partner now we have a fucking tag team cleaning day that kid is not that guy is not getting out of cleaning we both work full-time we both fucking have a job and that is fucking that

and like she just do it all the time she make very good big comments about whether or not i was looking after him well enough no i'm not because i don't want to does he look after me no so so that really does annoy me I was so I think sometimes when you moan about your partner because I rarely moan about Aaron yeah yeah same

and if I do it's just to you yeah you don't moan to everyone else no because obviously people will judge him yeah

and we know deep down he's a great guy it's just happening to me I'm a knobhead yeah I am and like but like yesterday

so we were going to boxing right and we take the kids with us on a Thursday. So I've just started to exercise after having the last child. So like now I'm going to get back into it. So it's Tuesdays on my own, which is great. Really hard work on a Tuesday because there's no children around to deal with. So she actually has to exercise on a Tuesday.

Really hard work on a Tuesday because I don't have a child but like Kat really puts me like she really put me through her paces we were doing those pull

and push things oh my god good yeah it was great I felt great after last night we went to the gym the same gym

but we take the kids which thank god we're allowed to do not many kids are allowed to go to gyms but we had to take them Norea slept she was fine

Kaizel had fell asleep in the car and I told Aaron do not let Kaizel fall asleep in the car Not many kids are allowed to go to gyms, but we had to take them. Nerea slept. She was fine. Kaizel had fell asleep in the car. And I told Aaron, do not let Kaizel fall asleep in the car. Sit in the back. Talk to him. Obviously, straight away, he just kind of forgets. And he puts his game on the phone. And he says, well, I thought he might be watching me.

And as much as he was for a bit, Aaron then just forgot and got engrossed in the game. And then he's asleep. So we got there and he's tired. He doesn't want to go to anyone. He just wants to sit with me. And I was like, just put him down. He'll be fine.

Just let him cry. I can't let him cry. It breaks my heart. I can't do that. It's not going to happen. Anyway, after about 20 minutes, he was fine.

He was running around. He was boxing, going on the bag of Kinear, jumping up and down and I could get my workout in. So I at least got 40 minutes and then we were doing the sit-ups and he was fine. He was helping. He was like, I can't do do that i'll go over there to rhyme uncle okay you go to

he is the cutest he's only three and he's doing the little he's got one little tiny bar oh he's got a little bar oh god have you got a photo i need a photo no i didn't take any because i was obviously doing my workout. Take a damn photo, bitch. Next time. I want to see him going like this. Got a muscle face. Because then I was like,

on my mat doing my abs because the last 10 minutes is abs. Sorry. And he's then on the, again, on another workout machine with Raya doing his pull downs. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm smiling like, but yeah, like, I was just like, why did, yeah, yeah. And I'm smiling like, but yeah, like,

I was just like, why did you let him fall asleep? And then everyone's like, you can't bring him because you're not going to get your workout done. I'm like, look, if everyone had let him fall asleep,

we wouldn't be having this problem. So that's not my fault. But at the same time, it's like, you can't really blame the man because it's not their fault, is it? You know how it is

with some people. Don't get me wrong. No, no, no. I don't get it. with some people. Don't get me wrong. No, no. I don't get it. That's funny. But anyway, sorry. Move on. Okay, sorry.

We're just a little bit strapped for time today. So I just wanted to move forward because we wanted to... Obviously, these are a couple of stories that we've got and we've got plenty more. But it's over to you guys. And we've had some brilliant writings this week and I just wanted to share a couple of stories.

One in particular that I personally love. And if you don't mind, Sadie, I may go first in this instance. And then pick the one that you want to use. I've got one. Yeah, ready? Okay, so this was an anonymous writing. Now, I do know the person who wrote it in,

but she's asked me to do it anonymously. Brilliant story. Okay, so my partner's family where do i start lovely people most of the time but oh my god his sister-in-law and her partner are on another level they're into they're into this gentle parenting thing which i respect except it's only gentle for their kid for each other they're one argument away from throwing plates which in turn the daughter copies and thinks it's fine to speak like that to everyone as well as her parents.

Anyway, they have this little girl, she's three, and let's just say she's spirited. For Christmas, I got her a lovely themed doll. I won't go into the theme

because I don't want to give anything away, but she's got this beautiful doll. It was absolutely lovely because I really put thought into it. It was a particularly

bespoke type doll and it wasn't like one of them weird ugly ones, by the way. So, I literally put thought into it. Well, particular bespoke type doll and it wasn't like one of them weird ugly ones by the way um so i i literally put thought into it well this kid opens it takes one look and says i don't like this which fine kids are pretty honest right absolutely fine which her at the time her mom praised her for said oh well she is honest at least she's honest she's such a good girl she's honest right but then even days after christmas her mom kept saying oh yeah she really saying, oh yeah, she really doesn't like that doll.

She really doesn't like that present. Over and over. Like she was dropping some kind of hint that I should go and exchange it for something else. Sorry, am I Santa? Because I missed the memo about taking requests. Fast forward to dinner, a few days later, we're at a nice restaurant and their daughter is everywhere. Fast forward to dinner. Slow down. That's what I wanted to do Slow down

Leave it We're not going to be 10 more minutes Yeah but what I'm saying is You've got alarm Doesn't matter I'm turning my alarm off Yeah that's what I'm saying It's not off

That's not off Call again Are we here? What is it? What is it? Fast forward to dinner. We're at this nice restaurant and their daughter is everywhere. Climbing on the chairs, the table table and I swear she nearly scared the server.

Meanwhile, I'm sitting there having a mild heart attack thinking about all the hot plates flying around, people walking around the restaurant and the children getting hit by them. Trying to keep my own 18 month old from joining the circus. When my little one tried to copy her, I told her no, that's naughty, we sit nicely at restaurants. And let me tell you, the look I got from her mum if looks could kill I wouldn't be texting you right now but here's the kicker

as we were leaving their kid was walking behind my daughter and out of nowhere bam she just pushes her over my daughter's 18 months old she's basically a baby

and do you think anyone said anything an apology we don't push our friends nope nothing not a word it was like it didn't even happen i was so mad i couldn't could have flipped flipped the table myself

but i thought better not don't want to give a three-year-old more ideas so yeah fun times with the in-laws next year i'm giving everyone parenting books and noise cancelling headphones yeah and let me tell you although i know this anonymous i know the i know the person who wrote this in and the way it was actually described before she because she sent it to me like on an email um when she was actually talking about it like i felt so bad for her she's such a lovely person and she would say the same as we would say no that's not acceptable whether it's my child or someone else's child and um you know we wouldn't allow that behavior and we wouldn't treat our child any differently any other child any differently if it wasn't our child. Always tell Kaizel

when he's doing something, it's just not nice. Yeah, it'd be nice to be gone. And also, the doll thing. Like, what did he say?

He said, at Christmas, he had so many presents. He was like, I want some more, I want some more. I was like, you've had so many presents.

You should be fair to me. People pay for these. People work hard to earn this money. Teach them. People don't tell their kids that. No. Santa isn't bringing you those toys. I was like, so many presents you should be very pay for these people work hard to earn this money teach them people don't tell their kids that no santa isn't bringing you those toys i'll say santa delivers them santa organizes it mommy and daddy pay for that yeah and if we don't go to work because he says i don't want you to go to work i don't want to have a meeting if i don't do these meetings

we can't go out to do nice things we can't go on holiday you want to go to the beach and build sand castles and watch too many too many episodes of Peppa Pig maybe fucking Peppa I quite like Peppa Pig I don't know those people no I don't like Peppa

on a personal note on a personal note Peppa it's not the programme it's the pig it's the fucking little girl do you know how snotty she's not though

yes she is how many episodes shut up George I watch Peppa Pig all the time and I only watch anyway we're Shut up George. I'm on a Peppa Pig all the time. Anyway, we're not going to an all-star conversation about Peppa. People say this a lot though. Me and Peppa, we don't get on.

I haven't started talking. Right. People say this all the time, Peppa Pig's a spoiled brat. Actually, I've probably seen one time when she was rude and... Did mummy and daddy pig tell her off? Or did they do gentle parenting? Yeah, yeah. And also there was one time when she called her friend

because she was upset because she didn't know how to whistle. So she called her friend and said, I don't know how to whistle. And she was like, oh, how do you whistle? So she had the phone and it was so... I thought it was really funny. She had the phone and she was like, you just put your lips together and blow.

And the friend goes, what, like this? And she just goes, oh. And the phone. Yeah, that one isn't one I've seen, is it? She's mean to her little brother. Yeah, she is. Well, again, I've watched a lot of episodes. It ain't that bad, mate.

Sorry for not watching too many series of Peppa Pig when I want new children or something. Just because I can watch the odd crime drama. Okay, because we've got Bluey. I saw a video the other day and it said, it said, I've been watching Bluey and it makes me feel like I'm never going to be as a good a parent as two dogs.

I told you that. No, you didn't. I literally told you that. Well, I didn't hear it. I literally told it to either the other day and then you must have seen it i must have seen anyway we are really about time wait a minute yes you do your story and then we're gonna give you some quick coping strategies and how to deal with family members and then we're gonna ask you would you rather and then we're gonna go

right go okay is this a writing is Is it anonymous? It's an anonymous writing. Okay. So, I'm 30 and I have a sister who's 22. We've been really close, but despite our age difference. But obviously, clearly, we aren't full-on besties, but still very close. So, she recently started dating a very toxic guy and it's put a strain on our relationship. My husband and I welcome our fourth child into the world this year when i announced my pregnancy to the family uh my sister was so excited uh she went on to talk about uh how she's going to plan a really nice gender reveal and my 40 year old daughter yes i was a teen mom um has called dibs on that job so when when she spoke up to say, sorry, I'm already doing it, my sister called her a bitch.

She's 14! I know. This was completely uncalled for and my husband and I were in the kitchen and didn't hear the exchange. But apparently, others who were there did say that this did happen.

My sister did later apologise. She's still young though, maybe she just, she wouldn't have said it, reacted badly. But still. After my daughter did tell me about it, I did talk to my sister and had a really blunt discussion with her and said it was really appropriate and she did say sorry um sorry inappropriate uh and she did say sorry

uh leading then up to the gender reveal uh she made comments about how she's more excited than anyone even the parents about the new baby um and how she's going to cry because she's so excited to find out what the baby what her new baby is going to be um that's a bit strange yeah she also started to refer to her current boyfriend as uncle who they don't like and she's not they've not said that but yeah well probably he's controlling so i bet they don't like him i'm still really empathetic that she's excited but obviously I've tried to kind of, like, push down on these comments because it's not her baby. Anyway, the day of the gender reveal,

and she texts my mum and me a message saying that she will be making a TikTok for the gender reveal, but she won't post it. So I then message her to say I won't, to ask her about this and make sure she doesn't post it anywhere, and she says I will not post it anywhere, to which I replied with a heart. The gender reveal then comes, and we decide to post about the baby not the gender on Facebook on Christmas day. I work Christmas night and get home the next morning

and go to sleep to wake up to a bunch of notifications on Facebook with people texting me congratulations. My sister has posted a Christmas post including my gender reveal video and tagged me in it. I call her and I ask her, how could you do this? Why would you ever think it's okay to do that? I told you not to do it. You said you weren't going to do it before I even asked. Yeah, you said you weren't going to do it. She started crying and just said, I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking.

And you already made a post about it, even though she hadn't said the gender. So her sister had. Maybe that was an easy misunderstanding maybe. She did take that part out of her post immediately but according to my mum she felt really bad and she's really sulking around

because I'm mad at her. I can't seem to get over this whole thing. I'm taking some time away from her, some space but I don't want to see her or talk to her at all

any time soon. And my mum keeps trying to get me to talk to her and reminded me that she's a really good auntie and that she loves my kids so much. And she just wished to get over and fucking talk to her at all anytime soon. And my mum keeps trying to get me to talk to her and reminded me that she's a really good auntie and that she loves my kids so much. And she just needs to get over it and fucking talk to her. Yeah, of course. Sorry, we'd talk to each other.

I'd be like, oh, you're a dickhead. Okay, sorry. I wouldn't do that. I would not do that. No, and she really has overstepped the mark here. She has, yeah. And I don't agree with my mum. She is a good auntie,

but you wouldn't swear at your niece. No, I would never. Even if I was 22 and someone was 14 and that was my niece even at 22 we were teaching namae as 22 teenagers yeah we just know how to handle you know we just never would do that no especially to my niece and also namae had grown up and be calling her a bitch even if i was 22 but also she felt like she'd stolen her moment yeah um but then obviously she feels like she's very consumed with mr toxic to even bother her out with my kids for the last six months or so so why do you care why do you care and this one i kind of get why of course i get why she's annoyed

why the mum's annoyed um she's a 22 year old girl i think she's being immature stupid and she's in love happens yeah i would have totally told her off i'd have told her off quite harshly and then i made friends with her straight away i would never have held a grudge i wouldn't have made my if you want time have a couple of days mate do you live together no no so you're fine it's like me and sadie and i know it's easy for us to say this between us if we fall out it probably lasts about 10 minutes we will be livid at each other walk out the room come back in 10 minutes later laughing. Yeah. Because that 10 minutes, yes, I get it. I get it.

Yes, we are mad at each other. But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter. We are not going to fall out. We love each other so much. That's just not going to be a thing. Whereas I don't think other sisters are quite as lucky as us

to have that kind of relationship. But yes, brilliant story. Yes, I know. Brilliant story. Okay, real quick one, guys. Just for you lot lot there are some coping strategies as this week we did actually do our research so i will put the um sources and everything in the youtube um description at the end however um a couple of things so the first

one is if you're ever at a family party or things start happening where you kind of get a bit overwhelmed or you know you're just getting pissed off it's like when you're a kid and they tell you to count to 10 just go and have a 10 minute bathroom break get out there or sneak out on the shed another quick ciggy have a glass of wine or whatever it is that's your poison um you know and just get out of the way because i think sometimes family can be hard to deal with but you know they're not you can't just cut ties with more can you um also you could possibly try to reply like a politician i love this one so you could nod and to reply like a politician I love this one

so you could nod and smile and give a really vague non-commissal answer like that's an interesting perspective Susan someone's trying to tell you how to parent your child you don't have to listen to their views or you could just lower your expectations whereas

Sadie for example loves talking about conspiracy theories. However, if you know that Uncle Gary is going to bring up conspiracy theories, don't expect a TED talk on personal growth. Just let yourself know that that probably is going to be a really annoying conversation. And, you know, just own it. Before you even go to the fucking party, you know that you're going to go with people who are probably maybe the in-laws, maybe they're another part of the family, maybe whoever it is, you probably know at the point oh i'm dreading it a

little bit just lower your expectations saying oh this is gonna be shit you might get there and be pleasantly surprised yeah um also uh if somebody does pick out just start talking about conspiracy theories i quite enjoy it because there's some some crazy ones no there's those that's flat we'll come back to that on another episode. But Amy, let's do the Pick Your Poison ads. We will. Can I just quickly say before we do go to

Pick Your Poisons, if you are interested guys and you just want to have a little gander, there are a few things that you could watch that are also very, very interesting and

relevant to family feuds. So a few things that we find really interesting are things like, you know, and going back to Sadie's Would You Rather, which we'll come back to in a

minute, the Kardashians, TOWIE, the Valleys, things like that, family drama, friendship drama. They've made their money off family drama. They've made their money off drama and family feuds. So why not try recording yourselves and making a fantastic YouTube show out of your family feuds? Because obviously it does well.

And then, yes. Obviously, if you would like to look at anything in a bit more depth and there are certain things that you feel are relevant to you or you just love a good drama

or a good thing you could watch the documentary called A Raising Family which explores the impact of family court decisions

on familial relationships which can be very difficult for children maybe going through a divorce court

and things like that and I don't think we've quite touched on that during this episode because we like to keep it like hard and fun but obviously

we all do know that it can be quite a serious thing having these um big families and having situations that you know can also go awry yes um also you can watch the podcast end or sorry the podcast episode end or mend managing difficult family relationships with nedra tauab so she offers insights into handling challenging family dynamics. So if you feel like you have got things going on that you can't quite control or understand or maybe deal with, then that's a fantastic episode to watch. And it's by Dr. Alexandra Solomon. And finally, there is a really good YouTube video which talks about,

sorry, which is Eckhart Tolle's talk on dealing with difficult family members, which also provides spiritual guidance on the topic. So, you know, that might be something for you if you really feel like that is something that you need to deal with. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And we'll put everything in the show notes. Yeah. But just to finalise the episode now, guys, on a nice high, let's quickly go back to those Would You Rather questions, answer them and let you guys go. Okay. So, Sadie, my first question to you was can i do mine first please my iPad's gonna die okay yeah okay would you rather be on a reality tv program showing your

life 24 7 or live alone in isolation i'd rather be on the reality tv show yeah same yeah because i'm sorry at the end of the day do do you know why? Because, and again, I can't say this for everyone because everybody worries and we worry every day. Everybody worries about the way they look, the way they are.

Social media doesn't help. But you die. No one will give a shit about you. Now, would you rather live a life in isolation, bored out of your mind? You'll probably die early

because you're that bored you'll commit suicide anyway because you've got nothing better to do. Or, yeah, you can spend it all online. But at this point, am I rich? Am I rich in this scenario?

What? I mean, showing your life 24-7? I'm going to pretend I'm rich in this situation. I'm going to pay you. So I can just, yeah, just do what I want. Okay, so then the next one, would you rather travel back in time to meet your ancestors or forward in time to meet your descendants?

Forward in time because, one, I won't have descendants, personally, most likely unless I adopt which is on the potentially maybe on the cancellation of life however I'd like to go forward

because I'd like to see what the world has become I can look back in history although I know it may not all be true I can look back at history and look at what's happened I would love to know

the future in a way because if I did ever go to look at the future and come back I'd fucking warn your kids not to do and make sure they were safe and things like that

so yeah so yours would you rather spend two weeks in paradise with your two children and your two nieces

your niece and nephew who are five at this point so just yourself and your partner's mother so you two for two four weeks with four children

two of which are only your own the other two are five so bear in mind that you know they've had a good five years on the earth they're there to disrupt yeah

um or in paradise you're in paradise okay yeah Beth in paradise um

you will be when you get stressed out uh I do get stressed out it's hard or two weeks in Putlins with our mum and just your two kids. It's a really different one. Is it?

I don't think it's that. I know, it's actually Margie, isn't it? Because if you're in Paradise, the other two kids are five. That's quite a nice age. They can all play together. So the only one really to look after is Nerea. And I've got Des. So Des is good.

Like she's chilled. Do you know what I mean? She's calm. She'll have a bit like do you know what I mean? Whereas Two weeks it's not about

it's not even about I don't think it's actually at this point in the story about Aaron's mum. I think it's more about my point is you've got was it two weeks in Butlins?

Two weeks in Paradise with four children and Aaron's mum. I thought that was what I was saying but like or two weeks in Butlins with you and our mum. Yeah, but you underestimate the power of having other children around. Not at five years old, I don't. Yes, you do.

I can leave Arthur and Kyzel. They'll fucking pay for time. I ain't got to do anything. I'm standing in the kitchen. Smoking my meat. Washing pots. Hurry up. You're late.

I am late. I'm going to have to ring them. And it's in paradise yet in Butlins have you been? not for a long time but bear in mind, you're with our mum and your two children

so basically you'd have to do fuck all and you'd have alcohol on tap and you'd have to do literally nothing you could find paradise there, I'm sure. I'm sure bookings will do a makeshift man island. Probably bookings because I've only got two kids to worry about. And also, yeah. Mostly no children because mum will just take them.

Death doors. She's just dead calm. So yeah, probably bookings then. You don't have to pick mine up. There's only two kids. There's only two kids. I ain't got a deal with four. Or five.

I was like, if you chose a cashmere cushion now, I'd 100% go for that. Yeah, of course only two kids. I ain't got a deal with four. I've got five. I was like, if you'd have chosen a character I'm good now, I'd have 100% gone for that. Yeah, of course, of course. That was a bad question. Okay, so, the other one was then, would you rather,

quite a depresso one, I'll come up with better ones next time, would you rather have married the person you were originally going to marry years ago? Be alone. 100%.

With two children, or just be a spinster forever. With his children. Or be alone forever. Forever. Yeah, forever. Forever. Forever.

Could divorce him. Yeah, you'd be alone as a spinster right now. You'd have no partner, no children. You'd be old. That's a really horrible word. I'm sorry, I know. You'd have wrinkles. You'd get in towards that time.

No, I meant that time of menopause. Yeah, I know.'d have wrinkles you're getting towards that time no I meant that time of menopause yeah but you can divorce him yeah you'd have to not mediocre looking children why god

you I don't know can't answer that I wouldn't I don't want it either you don't have to you're in forever can I meet Emma

when I'm 40? Yes. Oh, I'm allowed. I'll make it up to you. Apparently I'm testing, I'm creating things. I can't live my life, as much as Aaron does me, I can't live my life without him. No, Chris does my head in, but God, it helps me. It's my best day as well.

Sometimes I'm like, baby, be in a milk right now. I don't know if I can deal with this, but I'll let you go and I'll come home and be nice to you later. I'm always so nice to Aaron on this podcast. I bet you know he I can deal with this, but I'll let you go and I'll come home and be nice to you later. I'm always so nice to Aaron on this podcast, but I bet you know he never fucking listens to one episode every. Chris listens to everything

and I've just talked the piss out of him. Right, we're going because I've got to go. Gotta go. Babe, I love you really. You're absolutely fantastic. Aaron, you're smashing. Smashing.

Great episode, I thought, personally. Yeah. Absolutely fab. Please join us next time. I don't know what the episode's going to be on, but thank you for joining us and we'll join us next time don't know what the episode is going to be on but thank you for joining

us and we'll see you next time on Drinking Wine and talking shit Thank you. Outro Music