Jono, Ben & Megan - The Podcast - Our no filter chat with Gin Wigmore

Episode Date: April 30, 2026

Gin chats about being back in New Zealand (even if she doesn’t love calling it “permanent”), parenting two kids after years on the road, and her knew Kingsland delicatessen with extremely intimidating sandwich names! She gets real about breakups, dating disasters and major life changes, and how all that chaos turned into her new album Beautiful Mess, written between LA and Joshua Tree. Plus Jono absolutely kills Gin's vibe during the reverse singing challenge...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Jono Ben and Megan podcast, thanks to Dilma. Goodness really does taste great. Dilma, making the world a better tea. Jen Wigmore with us in the studio. I love to see you. I'm going to see you too. We've caught up with you a couple times over like Zoom and Skype and stuff for the last couple years, but nice to have you here.

Yeah, in the flesh. Yeah, very cool. And move back to New Zealand as well. Yeah. I know. It sounds scary we say like move back. I don't like permanence too much. I'm here right now.

Right now. Next week, who knows? Who knows? Exactly. Well, because I moved around. In Los Angeles, we moved around 12 times in like 11 years. Oh, wow. Yeah, sometimes every six months.

The more you move, does it become any less painful? I actually quite like it. It's like a purge, you know? Like you get rid of stuff. Yeah, got you. It's harder with kids, for sure, because there's, you know, it can't quite purge everything that they have the same way. But, yeah, I quite like it.

You must have really streamlined all your belongings. I have. Yeah. I have. I moved everything back, though. time to New Zealand. So it does feel a little more long term. Last time we spoke to you, you were running a motel, hotel?

Don't downgrade it. It wasn't a motel. It was a motel. It was like, rotte, cast, last the hours, and her atop. Not a mo, it was a mo. Okay? It was a home. It was in Palm Springs and it was awesome.

And then I sold that because COVID happened and that was Nali. And then was pregnant and going. I need to go back to Los Angeles. And then I ran a hotel in Santa Monica for a minute. What's the biggest pain in the ass about running hotels? Like what's the, like as customers and guests of yours, what are we doing all the time that really just ruins your day? Just like dissatisfied with their life in general customers.

Okay. And then they actually want to take it out on the hotel. So like they'll be sad because maybe their husband's having an affair or they didn't get the job they wanted or they just hate themselves. Right. And then they'll blame it on like the bedspread or the fucking breakfast or the way the eggs were done. Or just how you walked into the room. And they were like, and it was you.

And did you know what the reason? Is that what you said to them? Is it? Don't blame me for hating your life. Oh, yeah. Oh, it's therapy. It's mainly like as a manager of a hotel, you're just being a therapist. Wow.

And you're sitting there and you're giving them space to just vent and be like, oh my God, yes. You're right. That shower spray is bad. The reason, it's the reason for your divorce. Yes, it's the reason for the divorce. I'm not even going to fix that. You're quite business minded. Yeah.

What does business gin look like? Because, yeah, because we're going to get into the album. Pretty much. It's the same. But you're also, a sandwich shop right now. It's a deli. I mean, you guys are really downgrading everything I'm doing in my life. Motel sandwich.

You got a subway. Have you? It is a bombat. Deli. It's a delicatism. Oh, thank you. Okay, sorry. It's a dialogue of don't store.

Okay. Can I say, well, are they sandwiches or not? Yeah, but you kind of just, it's the tone. Okay. The sandwiches. You can say, sunfishes. The sandwiches, they look incredible. I'm just looking and stalking the Instagram.

I'm surprised you haven't come yet. Oh, need to come. Yeah, they're great. Yeah, well, yeah. My favorite thing is what they're called, though, the names of the sandwiches. Now we're all scared how to say it. The baddie, the baddie, the feisty, the prosciute how? The bashed hoe.

The best. I guess when people come in and they're like nervous to say, Prishoot How? They're just like, prosco, where is you doing? It's in Kingsland. Oh, awesome. Yeah, it's wicked. Jeez, you've done some stuff.

Yeah, I know. I bought the whole building. So then now in that building, I've got a recording studio, a delicatism, and a flower shop. Do you run a flower shop as well? I'm like, yeah, my tenants got the flower shop. Kendall flowers, shouts, shouts out, Kensal flowers. And yeah, it's wicked. I love it.

It's like a full competition. Like a creative compound. That's pretty cool. I've got drums set up, keys set up, guitars we play. We're playing album release out there as well, so it's going to be cool. So you've been back a year and you've got your own business, a delicatessen, which is full on, and you're recording music and you've done all this in a year. Yeah.

Yeah, cool. Okay. Yeah. I'm doing, yeah, kicking goals, aren't you? And you've got two kids. I'm doing this. And yeah, and I'm in the middle of divorce. So that's also fun.

Yeah, so it's just another layer. Yeah. And I found out. The dude I'm being saying is actually a player. Oh. I've never experienced this. What do you mean? Like, I've experienced a player.

Not like a sports team. No, no, no. I wish. Oh my God. I wish. I wish. A prosciutto. A pro shoo.

A real life. How? Oh, wow. Just recent news. Breaking news. Breaking news. Like breaking news, that hot, cold thing. That's what I'm getting.

It's quite. It's probably the shower heads. It sounds like the shower heads fault. It's the show. I think it's that showerhead from that. It's the way they were cooked. That motel that you ran. Oh, that's not what I thought you ran.

That's also running hot and cold, the shower head too. I thought you were, yeah, okay. All right, let's talk to your music, because I know, yeah, that's very exciting as well. Yeah, beautiful mess is the name of the album. Country Diamond is the first single from the album as well. Yes. Do you write some of it in the desert? Is that right?

Yes, well, some of it. Some of it I wrote in Los Angeles, and then we recorded it all out in the desert. Oh, wow. But we did. It's a really polar sort of album. It's called Beautiful Mess. And the beautiful part was all done out in the depths of Joshua Tree out in the desert. And then the mess part was done mainly in Los Angeles.

But that's really upbeat and rock and roll. And when they come together, it sort of completes the whole snapshot of the last five years for me, which has been beautiful and really messy. Yeah. Yeah, it's kind of, it's cool. It feels very true to where I'm at now and where I'm at now and where I've, come to be at peace with everything. So it's important to get this out.

Well, good on you. Cathartic, is that the word they use? It's cathartic, yes. It's been very cathartic. Artist talk. The people in your life who, you know, you've had situations with, are they really worried about an album coming out? My ex-husband might be a little wide.

He's got some, do you get a few shout-outs? He gets a few shout-outs. And this prosciutto. as well. Yeah. There's a few shoutouts. Yeah. He's, yeah, it's got a little bit of a Lily Allen.

Oh, wow. Oh, that's cool. Yeah. But it's not, I mean, it's, you know, it's poetic. I'm still, I can still, you know, not ruining people's lives. Yeah. And his phone number is.

I know. I'm telling him he's a dick. What are your kids think? You know, because you've got kids as well. Do they care what mom does? Not as much as what they care what dad does. All right. It's way cooler in their eyes.

Oh, really. He jumps off stages of. way more rock and roll. Yeah, but you're like, you know, doing lots of stuff. I'm doing, I'm okay. You know, kids never think you're that cool. Yeah, yeah, it's true. You know, here's my eight years already said,

like, I never want to get tattoos because you've got them. Oh, so you've got the other, yeah. Yeah, okay. Yeah. But I think he's, yeah, they're stoked. They're stoked, but they sort of don't really care. They kind of care about soccer and, like, what their friends are doing. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Can they get, yeah, burger rings or Doritos. So like that's. Have they, because obviously growing up in America, that would be a real gear change for them in New Zealand. Yes, very much so.

Yeah, they do. I mean, I think kids, though, they're really, especially my kids, they're really resilient. I mean, they've been out on tour since they were six weeks old and buses and traveling the world. And so they're very adaptable. And I think now, though, they're really wanting to put down roots and have friends that they don't move away from every five minutes.

So they're stoked to have that. And I actually think my oldest, Pascal, he's such a key. Kiwi sort of at heart. He's really mellow and peaceful and loves nature and I think this environment is way more conducive for him to be his true self. Yeah, I was going to say, is there anything in particular that they like about moving here? Just like the clean water, clean air, clean like parks, you know, like we'd be sifting through all kinds of trash and living in Venice Beach. I mean, it's amazing. You've got this world's collide of all these different people, cultures, food, music, everything. But it's, it's.

When you're raising kids, you kind of just want simple things, like a safe space to go and play and kick a ball around and swim in the sea and not feel like you're going to get sick for the next two weeks, you know? Yeah. Like simple stuff like that, which New Zealand really provides. And I feel very grateful that we have, I have got access to this and can also give that to my kids. So it's pretty cool. I think I told you this before, but do you know your song I do? Yeah. It was my, when my firstborn, Sienna was, it was the song that we had a CD in her room.

And every time she'd get upset, we'd just play that song and hold her. Really? Oh, my God. And it's one of the most beautiful songs. Yeah, I love that. Yeah, it was a beautiful, beautiful song that we would have and we'd play to her. And, you know, we'd sort of settle there. And it's just every time I hear that song of yours, you know, it takes me back to that moment, being a new dad. And having this, yeah, this newborn and not knowing what to do.

But that was just the song that we'd play. It was a CD that was in there. I love that. I should come in with my you can play that for you. Yeah, she probably doesn't remember it now. It's probably one of those songs today. It'll be an, it'll be an. Yeah, you should play it to her again.

Yeah. Oh, that's gorgeous. Sorry, I've made that weird. Did I make that weird? No. No, you can't have real. Yeah. Finns do some royalties from you.

Yeah. I was only just playing to myself. Actually, that's why I came here, I am. There's a lot of streets. You've got to pay me with my money, man. Yeah. All right, it's lovely to catch up with you. Congratulations on all the busyness going on.

Thank you. Thank you. Should we try the reverse game? Are we going to try this? Oh, yeah. This is just an excuse for. to hear you sing real quick. Oh, okay.

We do this little thing that we try and get people that can sing to do. You've got to sing just one line of any song you want. You can sing one line. And then this thing will play it to your back in reverse. And then you've got to see if you can mimic the reverse to flip it back around the other way. It's very hard. And I probably explained it to really. But it's fun.

It's simple when you get, you might seem to come over here. Sorry, mate. Don't do too long. Like, like even like, oh, my God. Yeah. Just just just would be quite, would that be easy? I don't know. One line maybe from any of your songs,

it doesn't matter what song, it'll be new one, oh one, whatever, it's just one. Yeah, but the less, the better. The less, the better. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Okay.

So can you hear yourself? Cry, cry. Yeah. Okay, yep. Okay, really? Oh, sorry, I'll just stop it. I do I do. Did I cut you off?

That's it? I was like, can you get a minute? She was like, just a more. Just fucking getting started. So I'm a cow. I'm like, I've heard enough, like, eh.

He's like, no, my can fail, get out. Get out of me. You're not through the bootcab. Wow. That was harsh.

She's like, here you don't. I think he's trying to save you though. Yeah, well, it's for the purpose of the game, but would you like to sing more?

Okay. Well, I'm just getting one. That's too slightly more. It's going to make it harder for you, but that's right. You get your fucking fingers away. Beautiful.

But you've got too long. She's right. That was just for you. That was really good. Okay. So now it'll play it back to you and this is going to be really hard. See, this is why John I cut you off. Why don't you cut me off?

Why are you looking out from me? I was trying to help me out, though. Okay, so let's go back to Jono's first attempt. Yeah, go to my first one. Yeah, so maybe we'll have to get a record. Isn't this a turn out for the box? Yeah, okay. I do I do.

Okay, done. Okay. Now we'll reverse that. We'll reverse that back. He's refraining from doing, I told you so. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Right?

So, yeah. It sounds legit. Uh-huh. Are you ready to go? Yeah. Okay. Wait. What am I doing?

Oh, so you. You just need to sing that, yeah, backwards on. Yeah. Oh, is now. Always-no. Okay, now we'll play it back into. How close do we get to the original? This is it.

Oh, always now. Always-o, always-no. No. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. That's human era. It's human era.

Oh, God. Oh, my God. And you and you. Oh, not bad. Kind of? And you and juan. Yeah. And do and juan.

It just sounds sootry. And so wet. That was great. Wow, this is very intensive for a very little game. All right, mate. The payoff is not enough. Chinwin more. Turned generous Jim Wigmore's microphone off now.

Beautiful mess, beautiful mess. Yeah, yeah, okay. Awesome, that was great. You're hilarious, mate.