Is It Just Me? - GUEST: Jess Rowe 🐱

Episode Date: October 16, 2024

The fabulous Jessica Rowe joined us to surprise her biggest fan (and Mitchell's mum) Jane Coombs 🫶 More in episode #240 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is it just me? The rude shocks of young adulthood. Okie doke, time to hear from today's guest on the podcast, the one and only Jessica Rowe. We're big fans of her work. She's been on our TV screens for years and now on our TikTok. She's a bloody hoot. She's the best. We spoke to her the other day and I decided to organise a little surprise for my mother, Jane.

Who is here with you. Who is in town, yeah. She was staying with me. She's a big fan of Jessica Rowe, so I brought her in to meet her. So cute. Wait till you hear the reaction. Yeah, yeah. Honestly, it was so over the top.

I wasn't expecting. I didn't know that my mother was that melodramatic, but it was adorable. We loved having Jess in the studio. You'll love it. If you don't know who Jess is, TV icon, been in the media in the country for a long time, a very funny, very enigmatic, eclectic woman. Very much herself. One of a kind.

Loved it. Here we go. This is Us with Jess Rowe. Good evening. I'm Jessica Rowe. Peter Heiderson and Jessica Rowe. They're everywhere at the moment. This is a moment that we've been waiting for personally, Mitchell, for such a long time.

Bucket list moment. Bucket list moment. As you know, the show's terminal. We're in our dying months. So what we're trying to do is tick off some items from our bucket list. Many things live on that bucket list, but I was only talking last week about how I hate having guests on the show. Yeah, I don't know where that came from.

No, not at all. Surely our next guest is not one of those people. That is my next point. No, this guest is the exception because they are so talented. They're one of the warmest people in the industry. We adore them, Mitchell, since before we even had a show. One of my favourites of all time. Oh, hilarious, fun.

She's a mum, TV presenter. She's one of the hottest couples in Australia. She's a cat lover. It is Jess Rose! Welcome. I just feel so lucky being here. I instantly feel cooler. I do.

I feel like if there's such a thing, my cool radar is like gone up. Aura, that's what they say. Yeah. You've got aura points from being here. I mean, as far as outfits go, you take the cool cake. Yeah, definitely. I feel so underdressed next to Jessica Rowe. Yeah, Jessica, where do you even buy tulle?

Is that tulle? Well, this is my confetti jacket, and I had to bring the confetti, the party, for all of you. I love it. I love an outfit. I normally, as you know, like to incorporate a cat something in my outfit, but I haven't today. I'm sorry.

Okay, now we need to address this romance because Mitch and I walk up and, you know, a couple of Mitch's, Mitch and Mitch, people go, oh, we love the Mitch's. And we walk up, Jess pushes us to the side, tackles Jenna to the ground and goes, it's you. Forget these two clowns, it's Jenna, Jenna. Forget these two clowns. It's Jenna Benson. Totally.

She thought we were the assistants. What is going on here? Yeah. I'm so excited to see Jenna in this, guys, because we bonded over pussycats. We're crazy cat ladies. And when I was doing a fill-in shift for Jonesy and Amanda, filling Amanda's very big shoes, Jenna and I got chatting. And we were talking about cats.

And I've got cat suits, boxes of them at home, merch. Of course you do. Yeah. And as soon as I saw photos of them, I was like, I have to. Because I love Pilates. Yeah. And I love cats. And I love Jess Rowe.

You're not going to wear it to Pilates, are you? I've not seen this cat suit. Is it Pilates appropriate? It's very Pilates appropriate. Absolutely. It's a onesie, so it's all in one. And why it's great for Pilates or any kind of exercise, really, is it covers everything.

So nothing hangs out. Oh, I love that. And it's got pictures of smiling cats all over it. Wow. Very cute. I've just had a Google. It's not at all what I was picturing. I was picturing some furry shit, you know what I mean?

I was picturing furries too, like Mardi Gras, you know. Or like a Furby. Oh, no. Yeah, kind of. Oh, but they're, it's a kink. They like, okay, that's right. It gets them going. It's not this.

No, it's not. No, it's not. But it does get me going wearing cats. In a very different way. Yeah, we are very excited to have you here because Mitch and I, and Jenna, I suppose, we are like TV nerds. I remember, surely you guys remember too, like the golden days of Channel 10. It was Jess Rowe and Ron Wilson on the news, The Simpsons, Neighbours.

You were just glued to Channel 10 back in the day. First at five. Yes, first at five. There's something so nostalgic about it. But I reckon now you'd kind of be glad that you're not in a newsreader job, right? Because you're not able to show a lot of personality in something like that, are you? Not at all. And I loved at the time being like a news presenter in a vertical.

I mean, you were bloody good at it. So good. Oh, thank you. But that was not the true Jess that we know. No, but also the point is it wasn't all of me. And I think when I began as a journalist, I was very, you know, I thought I had to be serious. And I had these ideas of I was going to be an overseas correspondent.

And I was very, and it was at a time when you had to just be one thing. I'm going to be a serious journalist. I'm a news presenter. So therefore I have to always be one thing. I'm going to be a serious journalist. I'm a news presenter. So therefore, I have to always be serious. But my favourite story every night was the panda story. I'm obsessed with pandas. And that was forever my goal that we have to see. We need a panda story.

As in literally a panda story specifically or just the term they use for something light and fluffy? Or it could be the cat up the tree story. But I know was legitimately we need a panda story. So every night that was one of the producers' jobs and we'd come up with all the different, you know, pandemonium and all of those kind of cliches. But that was my highlight because I could show a bit of my personality.

But then how did you go? And this is, you know, good for the young listeners who are in their one line of work and they're in their early 20s and they go, but I kind of want to do this. Is that your advice to start having little moments where you're doing exactly what it is you want to do and then does that lead to more of that? I'm always hesitant to sort of give advice.

Yeah. Because it's different for everyone. And I think the key for all of us, though, having said I won't give advice, I'll give some advice because I am a mum after all, is back yourself and have a crack. Go for it. What is the worst thing that can happen? I've had plenty of very public failures, but I don't regret them because I gave it a go. So I think don't be afraid. Don't be afraid of tapping into what is it your heart is telling you or ignore the logical part because sometimes we can logic things away.

Oh, no, no, no. But just go for it. And it's when I've had those leaps of faith that I've learnt the most and it's been the best thing of all. So I think if the people listening, don't be afraid and just go for it. Yeah, literally my therapist is always encouraging me, don't forget to be playful. Just because you're an adult now doesn't mean you can't be playful. Yeah, yeah.

Have fun. And that is the point though. I think the older I get, because I'm now 54, my Botox though, that helps me look a little bit smoother. But the older I get, the more playful I am. We've noticed. Do you reckon that all started on Studio 10 where you were allowed to have a bit more fun? It wasn't serious journalism. You got to show the true quirky Jess. I think that was definitely the more public side of people seeing the more playful me,

whereas there'd always been that part of me that my friends knew that would love a costume and dress up and be silly. Like I remember many years ago a friend of mine for her hen's night, she was like, I don't want a hen's night. We're not doing it. I said, no, you have to. This is really, you've got to do it. And she was like, no strippers, none of that. I said, I promise you there'll be none of that.

There'll be no silliness. But her name was Georgie and it was like, we have to come as something dressed as G. That was my idea. So I went as a gorilla. And it was the best costume. And she and her now husband, he picked us up to drop us to the restaurant where we were all going. And she just her now husband, he picked us up to drop us to the restaurant where we were all going and she just saw this gorilla and she started going, no, no, because she thought it was like a gorilla gram or something. Oh, she didn't realise it was you.

She didn't realise it was me. But then she looked down and she saw my leopard print stilettos and then went, that's Jess. That's got to be. That is. So I think there's always been that playful part of me. But what, yes, what I loved about doing Studio 10 was that I could be truly myself. Yeah.

And so I could be silly and like dress as a fart. I mean, I dressed as a fart. I do remember that. I remember that. How? How do you do that? What was the reason? There was some dress up situation.

It was Halloween. That's right. Yeah, a fart. It was Halloween. That's right. Yeah, a fire. It was Halloween and, you know, and craft. I've always loved craft. Since I was a little girl, I liked to fashion a costume or a hat or something. And I crafted this amazing sort of headdress on a headband. And I had brown tulle and yellow tulle and green tulle.

And Petey, my husband, he's lying next to me in bed and he's saying, what are you doing? And he calls me, bed and he's saying, what are you doing? And he calls me pussycat, pussycat, what are you doing? And I said, I'm making a fart costume. I bet he wasn't even that shocked. Well, no, he wasn't because he basically said, you get more eccentric the older you get. And I went, yes, I do.

So he rolled over and went back to sleep. So I'm stitching away. And so the next morning, and I wanted to surprise everyone. So I scurried out at the end. And I remember I sat next to Ida Buttrose and she just looked at me and she was like, who are you? What are you? And I said, why don't you come dressed down? And I went, I'm a fart. And she looked at me and she was like, why? And I said, why not? And to me, though, I think that's a really great philosophy for life.

Why not? When people come at you for certain things, they'll say, why would you do that? And I just thought, well, why not? When am I ever going to get the chance to dress as a fart on national television? You're so right. And have a laugh. And now you can say you've done that. Exactly. How many other people can?

Exactly. Oh, I need a photo of the fart. That's incredible. I'm going to find one. Yeah, it's online. I need a photo of the fart. Jess, does it upset you to see where TV is, you know, TV ratings and traditional TV, and that's where you come from?

But then looking at me, Studio 10 no longer with us, RIP. Sorry to interrupt, but that's the far question. See, look. And I made it. And look at the green. There's the green. Because I was so excited. Oh, God, the green.

That's brilliant. Oh, my God. As you were saying. Sorry. You should auction that off. No, but how do you feel with our state of TV? I mean, it's sad, don't you think? It makes me sad.

Plus data TV. I mean, it's sad, don't you think? It makes me sad. And why it makes me sad is that there's so many fabulous creative people who work in television. And because it is changing so much, it's sort of, well, where can we all go? But I suppose what makes me sad is the lack of imagination when it comes to free-to-air television. It's let's recycle same old formulas because people don't want to take a risk and it's expensive. So that's the part that makes me sad.

Oh, I feel that. I mean, but then you've got influencers and you've got social media like you. You have Skyrocket. What are your social numbers? I mean, they'd be through the roof, right? You've become a bit of a TikTok star, haven't you? You are. You're so good on TikTok.

Oh, thank you. I love it. I've got to get back onto the TikTok-ing. So good. Have you stopped? Well, no, I haven't stopped, but it takes time. So I've got, like, people will look at my phone and they'll go, how come you have got, like, a thousand unread emails

and pictures and all this stuff? So I've filmed all these things, but I need to sit down and my daughter's teasing me because I need glasses and I'm all these things, but I need to sit down and my daughters tease me because I need glasses and I'm there like breathing heavily through my nose as I'm like scrolling and then cutting little clips on my phone to put onto things. And then I'll say, what's the music? And they're like, mum, if you even have to ask that question, don't put music on it. And I was like, well, what's the trend?

No. No, don't ask. Because if you're asking for the trend, it, what's the trend? No. No, don't ask. Because if you're asking for the trend, it's gone. Yeah. It's past. A moment's happened. It's gone. But I enjoy, what I like about TikTok is it's another form of storytelling.

Yeah. And very much sort of what you all do around the microphone, you're sharing stories. And that's really how we connect with people. So even though you asked, Mitch, you know, how do you feel? Do you feel sad about what's happening with telly? Is, yes, there's a part of me that is, but there's still all these really exciting ways of storytelling,

which is far more accessible to a whole lot more people. Yeah. And that's great. Yeah. My, though, for you page or feed, whatever you call it, it's a lot of blackhead extraction. Oh, yeah. I'm obsessed with that.

It's so satisfying. Isn't it? Yes. You just look at it and go, oh. Do you and Pete, because some couples love to pop each other's pimples. Like my partner will love to pop my pimples and I think it's a bit gross. Yeah, I do too. Yeah, I've got some friends who are like,

I don't want to touch my partner's pimple. Would you ever, if Petey had a blackhead, would you get it for him? Well, no. Not now. There's a difference between watching and doing it. And also there's, you see, we're older, so we don't really get the blackheads. We have the larger pores, as my daughters like to remind me.

When I left here to talk to you all, they're like, Mum, you need some powder. Really? Yes. But I didn't put powder on because I think it accentuates pores when you get older. Well, anyway, thank you. I'll say that to my girls. They're like, mum, your pores.

But yeah, with Petey and I, we don't really have the blackheads so much anymore. I wish I had that problem. That's great. I know, right? No blackheads. Oh, hello. Look at all of your youthful skin. All three of you.

Yeah, it's the powder, Jess. I've powdered it on. And you're so smooth, hello. Look at all of your youthful skin. All three of you. It's the powder, Jess. I've powdered it on. And you're so smooth, Mitchell. And your hair. Like, it's so glossy. It's a wig, Jess. It's not. I've got to say, I look at people like you with short hair and I go, fuck, your life must be easier than mine. It is. Every day, it crosses

my mind. Should I just bloody chop it off? Do you have to blow dry it every day? Not every day, but sometimes it's just a lot of work it's too high maintenance sometimes especially in washing it well i can't yours is down to your ass crack you need to find a middle ground it is lovely but i would never have the you see the patience for long hair i've had short hair oh since i was i reckon 18 or. Same hairdresser for over 30 years. I won't let anyone else touch my hair and I've followed him to all the different salons he's gone to

and we have this ongoing joke where every time I sit in his chair, I say, can we have the hair talk? He's like, okay, but what is there to talk about? You just want the same. Same thing. Yeah, and also what I like to do now is, although it's a bit boring at the moment, is to mix it up with the colour. Yeah.

You had pink hair for a little bit, didn't you? Yeah. Pink. I've done pink. I've done coral. I quite like the coral. Yeah. Coral's nice.

Or a pale rock melon. I did a pale rock melon. But Petey, my husband, was like, oh, pussycat, I have to take you to the retirement village. He hated it. He didn't like it. No, because he was literally like, oh, this is like a blue rinse. It's just something old ladies do, right? Yes.

Because that's the only colour that attaches to grey hair. Yeah. Oh, is that real? I didn't know that. Yes. Blue and purple. I see a lot of purple. Yeah.

Which is why they do it. Yes. I didn't know that either. I just thought it was a big colour for the oldies. I know they love purple. No, no. Your hair looks great. Oh, thank you.

But I do need to mix it up again with a bit of colour. Yeah. So whenever I go to the hairdresser, Petey looks at me like, what colour are you doing? I say to him, all right, Petey, I'm going boring Labrador colour for you. Crazy colour next time. That's love. I do love hearing all the stories about Petey being so patient with you, Bring Labrador colour for you. Crazy colour next time. That's love.

I do love hearing all the stories about Petey being so patient with you, especially all the crap housewife stuff, because not only have you made it no secret that you are a crap housewife, but you've completely embraced it. It's actually genius. You're like, it's my brand now. It's smart. I can't be expected to be good at this shit. Exactly.

And what I had not expected was that by embracing being a crap housewife, by embracing my imperfection, that it would resonate with so many other people. Yeah. And for me, because I had terrible postnatal depression after the birth of both of my girls, and it was particularly bad after I had Allegra, who's now 17. girls. And it was particularly bad after I had Allegra, who's now 17. And so much of that was tied up with thinking I had to be perfect, that I had to be the perfect mom. I had to keep the house looking perfect. I had to know what to do. And for me being able to, with a lot of help, with a psychiatrist, with my medication, able to learn to go, you know what? You don't have to be perfect. Embrace your imperfection. And then having a laugh at myself. So calling myself a crap housewife, posting to socials with the hashtag crap housewife, it then resonated with

a whole lot of other people. Because often when we're going through really hard times, you feel like it is only you. And all it takes is often to hear someone else also struggling to go, oh, I'm not alone in this. It is, isn't it? The weight that you feel off your shoulders. Incredible. And that was what happened with me. So with Crap Housewife, I remember it began with social media through conversation as often things great things can come from conversation and i was talking with a friend and our kids were the same or were of a similar age and we were both really struggling we were bored like it's really boring with little kids oh i can only imagine it's like

keeping them alive and changing a nappy are you and then when they're toddlers it's like they're bloody annoying I don't want to go to the park and sit in the sandpit yeah this is really boring and um and so this particular friend was similar like-minded to me and I was like have you seen these perfect meals and perfect lives that people are posting and she's like oh my god yes and I said but that's not me and I there was a part of me that was thinking, oh, no, I'm not good enough. And then there was another part of me that got angry and thought, no, this is crap. I'm going to start posting to socials with the hashtag Crap Housewife what I, in fact, cook for my family each night. Even if it's a bit burnt, it's not quite right. Lots of burnt brown food.

Mints in all sorts of different guises because you can never stuff up with mints. Mints, that's great. And then also to my messy house and my laundry baskets that would forever be an explosion of clothes that would just be at the bottom of the stairs. It is interesting that someone who's a self-proclaimed crap housewife has now become the ambassador for Vanish Laundry Powder. Can you believe it? I know. Do they realise that they've backed someone who doesn't even like washing? Do they follow you? Are they across? They are. And this is what is so spectacular is that being able to team up with Vanish, their packaging is all this wonderful bright pink.

Yeah. And they have this terrific new Vanish Gold Pro, which you can put in the wash, 30 minutes, 20 degrees Celsius. That's the one I've got. It's good shit. It is good, isn't it? It removes any tough stain. Can you do black and white?

Well, you've got to separate it. Yes, of course. Yes, yes. Obviously. Sorry. I'm shaking here. This isn't my domain. Sorry.

It's not really mine. Sorry. Here am I saying. Is that bad, you. Obviously. Sorry. I'm shaking here. This isn't my domain. Sorry. It's not really mine. Sorry. Here am I saying. How dare you, Jess? Exactly. How dare I laundry shame you? The only reason, Mitch, that I actually know that is because Petey, my husband, he is a whiz in the laundry.

Really? So it's actually, it's his job. So he's pretty excited by all the Vanish Gold Pro pink buckets everywhere because he is just on fire with the laundry. And what is also wonderful is he has passed that trait onto our eldest daughter, Allegra. Proud of that one. She loves doing the laundry. You are living the dream.

You've lucked out big time having people to do it for you. Exactly. They both have it covered. Giselle, who's 15, even though she's very organised, she's messier like me. She's someone who sort of just drops things, you know, when you sort of drop as you go. Yeah, my undies off.

My undies go down and they stay down. Wherever they land. That's it. That's where they are. I hate that. I hate that. No, no. Yeah, in my pyjamas every morning, I go to bed every night,

I go, where the hell are my pyjamas? And they're always in the shower because I get up in the morning, I just drop my pyjamas and I get straight in the shower and they stay on the floor. It's bad, Jess. No, it is not bad. It's real. It's you.

And I think for all of us, what's so important to recognise is embrace who you are. Don't feel like you've got to fit into someone else's idea of what having a good life is all about or being in a good relationship or whatever it might be. Just do you. Is it just me? A podcast by a couple of Mitches.

So Jess, what was it like for you when you were in your 20s like we are and you first moved out ofs like we are and you first moved out of home because you say that you're messy, you hate chores and so when you first moved out and you're fending for yourself, how did that go? I'm looking at you wincing right now. Well, I was a shocker. I mean, I was of the generation where the minute we could leave home, we left home. Yeah. And so I left home at 18 and then I moved away to go to uni and I lived on campus for my first year, which was great because we had to eat campus food.

It was pretty bad food, but I didn't have to cook. Perfect. Yeah, perfect. And then I moved into a share household, which was just the pits. Like it was so grotty. I could not do it. Even for me, like there was was just the pits. Yeah. Like it was so grotty. I could not do it. Even for me, like there was mould on the tiles. But that's a rite of passage, isn't it?

Of course it is. Of course it is. We've all got mould inhalation from our share house days. And I was lucky enough that I had some beautiful, generous friends who were far more responsible than me, who would actually use their money to buy food, whereas I'd use my money to buy shoes. And I'd sort of go, oh, my God, because I had off-study at the time,

which was sort of the allowance that you get, very meagre amount from the government, but it was still great. But I'd blow it on a pair of shoes and then I'd go. I'd do the same. Oh, my goodness. What am I going to eat for the next week? You look good. But my lovely friends, they feed me.

So I sort of learnt via osmosis. But there is still that tendency in me not to be irresponsible but to splash out. And thank goodness for Petey because he makes sure the car register is paid. Insurance. Insurance. But all of those practical things. And is your license up to date?

Like all of those sort of adult things. The yin and the yang. Yeah. He does all that. Whereas I do like the show. And he's like, no, this is not funny. We don't need the after dinner show. Like there's no, you might think it's hilarious.

We do. Instagram live, the after dinner show, Jess. We all want to see that. And your jokes. My mum jokes. Yes, your mum jokes. I actually bought my mother that joke book for Mother's Day. Oh, no way.

She is a huge fan of yours. Jane Coombs, Mitch's mother, is one of the biggest Jess Rofer, even I know it, that she adores you. I don't want to put you on the spot, but she's staying with me at the moment. She's in the building. Is she? Yeah. Can I bring her in to meet you?

Oh, my God. Is she seriously here? Yeah, she's staying with me at the moment. Okay, I'll go get her. This is Jane. Oh, my God. She's from Bougainvillea, rural Australia. Yes, which I've driven.

I've been there at Bougainvillea. Put a pin in Bougainvillea, Jess. Oh, my God. She's coming in. Here we go. This is Jane. I'm we go. This is Jane. I'm so excited. This is Jane.

Get in here. Can I come and give you a hug? Yes. Oh, Jane. Yes, yes, yes. Hello. Oh, she's stoked. I can't believe it.

That's the woman I wake up to every morning. Oh, the woman I wake up to every morning. Jane. Oh, she's crying. Oh, Chewy. Oh, you make I wake up to every morning. Jane. Oh, she's crying. Oh, Chewy. Oh, you make my day every day. Oh, that's so special. Do we leave?

Your honesty and you're just beautiful. Oh, Jane, go on the microphone. You can have a chat. I want to actually ask you, Jess, because mum lives in Bogengate. That's where I grew up. And mum got the shock of her life when she saw you post on Instagram, lives in Bogengate that's where I grew up and mum got the shock of her life when she saw you post on Instagram you in Bogengate and I told you didn't I said oh my god she's near the sign and I didn't know I would have been in there what the hell were you doing there

she was going to condo CWA was it mum knows I was I was on my way there and I had the best time there. But I wish I'd known you then, Jane, because I would have loved to have stopped off. You would have come to the Bowdoin Gate Park. Yes. Or out to the farm. Yes. Jess, you need to check your car for an air tag. I think Jane's placed it in there.

Oh, this is great. I've got to go back to the microphone, but I just want to keep giving you hugs. That means so much to me. They're so cute. You must be so proud of your son. I'm not going to go back to the microphone, but I just want to keep giving you hugs. That means so much to me. They're so cute. Aww. You must be so proud of your son. Oh, I am so proud.

Yeah, but the boy from Bogengate and these guys, they just amaze me every day. But what a beautiful mum you are. Tell me then what's, because my daughters, they're 15 and 17 now. I was a bit of a nightmare at that age. What was my? Yes. Mitchell's always been my special one. Yeah.

Okay. You can just say queer. No, no, not at all. Yeah, I just love seeing your daughters doing so well. They were doing a modelling and just looking so stunning. Thank you. Yeah, I don't know why. It just sort of makes me really happy.

And she loved the joke book I got her. And the clothes. I know, I know. I'm this complete bogan. No, you're not. You've got your fabulous country road, which is so cool. Yeah. Country road.

I'm usually in my grotty farm clothes and you in your beautiful, bright, colourful clothes. But you don't have to compare, Jane. You're completely different people, you know. And look, you can still connect over being mothers. But I think you know what it's about too. I believe, Jane, and I was chatting earlier, like I love getting older and I find the older I get, I care less about all the naysayers out there. Definitely.

And I'm more and more keen to tap into joy. Yes. What is it that brings me joy? What makes my heart sing? Yeah, and it's so true. Like you just don't care as much as you used to about what people think about you, what they say about you. And to me, that's the only good thing about getting older.

But it's a good thing, though. Apart from being a nana, like, that is. Yeah, both Mitch's will tell you that, yeah, nanas love being nanas. We're both uncles now. I just had a niece. Mitch just had a niece as well. I've been an uncle for ages. That wasn't the first.

And is it different? Because I'll often hear people say that being a grandmother is different to being a mum, that the sort of love you feel is different. Or is it the same for you? I guess it's a different sort of joy. Maybe it's a more relaxing one because with the grandchildren, it's just, oh, you are so cute. What? They've got a problem because with the grandchildren, it's just, oh, you are so cute. What? They've got a problem? Deal with that, parents.

They're just cute. Because that is the thing, isn't it? And I hadn't realised this until I became a mum, was that you never stop being a mum in the sense of you're never there yet. Your kids are never there yet. And each step that my girls go through, I'm along with them. And I want to, if I can fix something, I'm a terrible helicopter parent. I still, I try not to be, but I do hover. What's that mean? It means. Like I hover around.

Like I hover around them. Maybe a bit too much. A bit on them. Yes. I'm like there. Yeah. And like I shout at people on escalators. Yes. I'm like there. Yeah. And like I shout at people on escalators.

No, I don't think. Well, once I did. What do you mean? No, because there was one time, like when people and I'm sure Jane, you could relate to this, when people are unkind to your kids that is like. Oh, mama bear. Oh, look out. She gets more riled up at the TikTok comments than I do.

Yes, but exactly. And there was this particular time when I was on the escalators with my daughters. We were going up the escalators and then there were some kids at the bottom of the escalators, similar age, but I could see that they were talking about the girls and giving them not very nice looks. So we went up and then I turned around and I went,

I hope everyone's being kind down there. And my girls are going, oh, mum, what are you doing? But I'm like, no, like I'm not going to have that so obviously people being mean in that way. Yeah, you definitely have that mama bear protective thing, definitely. I'm going to let you keep chatting motherhood off the cloud. Sorry to kick you out of the show. No, it's all right. The show's ending and at this rate we won't have any time for any other episodes.

Can I just say one thing that I'd like all my children to hear, and then I'll let you get on to other things, that they will always be the first people we think about when we wake up. Where does this come from? And the last people we think about when we go to sleep. Forever. Yeah. And am I in that?

Or no, I'm sort of on the periphery of that. She thinks of you around lunchtime. But Jane, beautifully said, and you're so right. Yeah. When they grow up and leave home and you'll have that sad, hard part to deal with. Well, it's that silver thread, isn't it, that forever connects you to your kids and that can never be broken. That's right.

Yeah, even though I'm in Bogengate and they're miles away. Sorry to keep bringing that up. No, no. Let's finish this episode and you can have a hug. Give Jane another hug. I'll get a gorgeous photo of you two once we're done here. Once we're after, yeah. Aw.

Aw. Right back at you, hey. That's so funny. Aw. Yeah, all right, bye, Jane. See you, Jane we're done here. Aww. Right back at you, hey. That's so funny. Bye, Jane. Your mum is heaven. For me, though, my heart is full after meeting your mum because life is all about connection

and if we can connect with one another, it makes such a difference. That, to me, is the stuff of life. So that's made my day, my week, my everything. I'm glad. You have to bill her though, like with telehealth or something. That was very therapy towards you.

It was beautiful. I wasn't expecting that. Mum was so blasé. She goes, oh, I'll talk to Jess. I might come see the studio. Oh, Jess will be there. Interesting. Okay.

And then basically cries in here. So good. So good. Can we do one more thing with you before you go? Oh, yes. This feels bloody stupid to do this now because we just got real deep and it's not that deep. No, but you see, I love that though.

I like to have the big, deep and meaningfuls, but then we've got to have a laugh. All right, so what we're doing now is it's silly and stupid. Yeah, because you are the vanish ambassador and also a crap housewife. We just want to see, okay, how well do you really know washing machines and the whole laundry process? Are you an expert? You know that there's two kinds, the top loaders and the front loaders, yes?

Ah, yes, I do. Okay, great. So we're going to play some audio of washing machines and you have to guess top or bottom. So this, everyone, is top or bottom with Jessica Wright. Are you ready? I'm ready. Okay.

Okay. A game about laundry. This is laundry. Top or bottom? Jessica Rowe, top or bottom? That's top. Correct. She did it.

Wow. I was thinking bottom, just the wetness. Oh, Mitchell. No, I'm just... No, because the top machine, it's noisier. There's a drum. Yes. What about this one?

Top or bottom? That's bottom, I reckon. Correct. Oh, my God. Jessica Rowe. An expert. Vanish are going to be thrilled. Vanish have chosen the right ambassador.

Absolutely. What about the next one? I reckon that's top. Oh, that was the bottom. That sounded like the water going in from the top. You know what that is, though? I think that's a power bottom. I think because it sounds like it's got a bit more, you know, guts.

More drum in it. Yeah, I was picturing the drum too, Jess. What about this one? Oh. Top or bottom, Jessica? That's top. Bingo. Yeah, she's right.

She's done it. That sounds like my childhood top. It does. Yes. Because when I was a kid. And when you'd put too many towels or something in there and it would like they get all stuck and you'd have to

I mean so far you're doing pretty bloody well. We've got one more. Top or bottom? I'm going to say bottom. Nah. That's a top. Hey three out of five, that's a pass. That's a bloody pass.

You get to keep the vanish check. Thank you so much. And thank you to Vanish GoPro. Yes, get it in there, Jess. Now, one more thing before you go. Oh, of course. I know that you don't like smut a lot, but we ask every guest the same question.

They add to our list. It's just a little thing in life you appreciate, something that brings you joy because our younger listeners, we don't want them going down that path of debauchery. Dark path. We don't want them obsessed with partying and boys. So it's like a good crunch of an apple. Yeah.

Stepping on a crunchy autumn leaf, something like that. Angela Bishop said her waterbed. That's what she put. Yeah, she loves her waterbed. Kate Langbrook said eating streaky bacon in bed. The reason that I'm reluctant to bring it up is because it's called The List of Things Better Than Drugs and Dick. Anyway.

Come on. Jess is an adult. A Chiquito bar. Oh. I love a Chiquito bar while I read my Kindle at night in bed. Oh, a Chiquito bar. I don't know if I know what a Chiquito bar is. It's black and orange.

The wrapper. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know that. It's black with orange font, orange writing. Yes. I don't know if I know what a chiquita bar is. It's black and orange. The wrapper. Yeah, I know that. It's black with orange font. Orange writing. Yes. I love how you go font. It's not what I mean, but you know what I mean.

No, but that's like so young person. Is that font? Yeah, like all the font. I mean, I get all excited over the new font on like Instagram. I'm like, oh, look at that one. Look at that font. Oh, that confuses the hell out of me. Me too.

Why do we sound old now? I'm like, oh, look at that one. Look at that font. Oh, that confuses the hell out of me. Me too. Why do we sound old now? I'm like, oh, why do they keep changing things? Yeah, they go, do you want to put the photo behind or the photo in front? I'm like, this is Instagram. The font says a lot about who you are. It does. Oh, what font do you use? I think Jess Rowe is like Windings. You know, like on, do you ever, the font.

Like Mitchell, you're not Calibri or Ariel. I'm talking fonts here. All the graphic design. You're Comic Sans. Yes, I'm Comic Sans. Very Comic Sans. See, Jenna, you are a gorgeous, I think, like an Ariel, like a classic. You're a timeless classic. Yes. You know, and then

I think Jess is Windings. Windings is that font which is just eccentric and eclectic. See, I can't see. I haven't got my glasses on. I'm doing that squinting old person. What? Yeah, she is. She is.

This is incredible. Jess Rowe. You've been a hoot. Thank you so much. I want to keep talking. It's funny. I mean, Jane's waiting outside. You'll be talking a while.

Don't you worry. You're not going anytime soon. Jess Rowe, we adore you. Also, the Jess Rowe Big Chat Show. You can get Jess, obviously, your podcast. Yeah, wherever you get your podcasts. Is it the Big Talk Show, not the Big Chat Show? Oh, sorry, Jess.

Big Talk Show. Here's me. I'm just nodding at you. Going, yeah, Big Chat Show. I'm such a radio presenter. I just speak. Big, big. The Jess Row Big Talk Show.

That's your podcast. Oh, I said Big Chat Show. Yeah. Sorry, Jess. You put in big and then it'll come up. Yes, you're right. Jess Row Big. Oh, God.

That's after too many Chiquita bars. See, that's the issue. I'm glad we finally did that, Mitchell. That was beautiful. Yeah. Thanks so much. Oh, God. That's after too many Chiquita bars. See, that's the issue. I'm glad we finally did that, Mitchell. That was beautiful. Yeah, thanks so much. Thank you. Thank you all. I love this.

Is it just me? A podcast by a couple of Mitches. Make sure you hit follow on your podcast app.