Life Uncut - Victoria Secret Bounce Back Bodies & Is Your Boyfriend On Tinder?!

Episode Date: October 20, 2026

There’s a Big Problem With 65% of Tinder Users & Should We Be Celebrating Postpartum Careers?  Hey Lifers! Look, apologies, the start of this ep is chaotic. We’re talking boob pains, nipple play (or no play) and then we get into the really entertaining headlines that have been written about the team. It’s a tangent that just gets funnier and funnier, b efore we find our way back on track. Britt has gone deep into US Dancing With The Stars after Julia Stiles recreated her iconic Save The Last Dance routine 25 years later. Sophie also has a very important unsubscribe: Coke Zero now looks exactly like regular Coke, and it’s just ludicrous. Then into the big stuff. A new study surveyed nearly 1,400 Tinder users and claims 65% were married or in a relationship at some point while using the app. Tinder has pushed back on the findings, but we unpack why so many people use dating apps for validation, Laura’s ex who reactivated his Tinder while she was travelling, and the friend whose partner was caught on the app “just trying to make friends.”  Then it’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show time. Barbara Palvin walked six weeks after giving birth, and Elsa Hosk walked at 12 weeks. Is casting someone six weeks postpartum empowering, or is it capitalising on bounce back culture? We compare it to Ballerina Farm competing in a pageant 12 days postpartum and Jacinda Ardern returning to work after six weeks, and ask why we celebrate postpartum career milestones but feel so uncomfortable when the milestone is a body. TIMESTAMPS 0:00 — Britt’s pregnancy symptoms & the massage table injustice 4:37 — Our most unhinged Daily Mail headlines 11:46 — Julia Stiles recreates Save The Last Dance on Dancing With The Stars 18:29 — Are 65% of Tinder users secretly in a relationship? 29:00 — Victoria’s Secret, six weeks postpartum & bounce back culture 48:22 — Sucks & Sweets! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

And welcome back to another episode of Life on Cut. I'm Brittany. I'm Laura. Hi, Laura. How are you? I'm well, thanks. How are you? I'm well too.

Actually, I am well, but my boobs hurt so much. Why? All I can do now is this, I said pregnancy wasn't. Come here, I'll hold them. No, I wasn't, I said pregnancy wasn't going to become a whole personality. I lied. I think it is. I think it's all I can do all day is Google if things are normal.

Oh, no. Is this feeling normal? Like, the stabbing, throbbing pains I'm getting in my boobs, the nipple sores. Oh my God. The nipple pain. Out of nowhere. They're like, do they, like, thing. Yeah.

Like that. When you're cold, I remember being, like, at the beach and I was obviously a bit cold, and it felt like someone had gotten a cabab stick and shoved it through my nipple. And I couldn't get the pain away. And it is such a sudden, it's like, I said to Ben last night, oh, we'll sit on the lounge. And I was sitting, like, what do you have to see that one video? Because out of nowhere, it's like someone has a knife and just stabs you in the tip.

Is it both nipples or just one nipple? No, so the nipples pain, but the stabbing is in the breast tissue all over. And I googled it. I don't know if you got that, but they were like, oh yes, that's normal. Like your boobs are getting ready for growth. And I was like, bitch, they're already grown. I was like, they can stop growing. I didn't have it.

No, I didn't have it all over the boob. I just had it directly through the nipple. Before being pregnant, nipples are just irrelevant. And they don't actually mean or do anything. They're just there for play to play. I was like, they're not exactly irrelevant. You can have fun with them. I don't know.

They totally change. And then as soon as you're pregnant, you realize, oh, actually these serve a greater good. And now my nipples are not for play. I hate my nipples being touched. And now they're just like things that fed the kids. I went to get a massage last night. So Ben booked me in for one, which is very lovely. And it was agony the whole time.

How did big girl boobies? How do you get massages? A genuine question. Why? Because you were lying down on your boobs? Because I've never had big boobs before. and I don't understand it. Where do they go?

Because I was in agony. I was the whole time I was trying to stretch it to the side so it would go off the side of the table. Then I was trying to squish it to the inside, up to my chin. I've never been more uncomfortable in my life. This is a new injustice we've just unleashed. Massage tables made for the patriarchy.

They need to have one hole for your face and two holes for your friends. No, Laura, you laugh. I'm putting some prototypes in. I spent the whole massage thinking about how I could make a massage table for big boobies and or press. pregnancy, because I know pregnancy's on the side and stuff, but like there's got to be a massage table that has three, four holes. I think that's got a glory hole.

There's just one at the bottom for a mask just in case. Yeah, glory holes. I think there is a pregnancy massage table. Well, where do the boobs go? I've hit F now. So where are they going? Sorry, I don't know. I can't help you.

I can't help you. I'm so sorry about your nipple pain. Are you coping in every other way? No. A real identity crisis this morning. I wasn't going to talk about this on the podcast, but I was like, I was like, today for about 20 minutes because I could not put an outfit on that nothing, like I know I said nothing fits me, but I understand now already, and I'm only like four months deep. I understand

where people say they don't know who they are or how to dress anymore. And I know often it's postpartum, it has hit me already. Just my body's changed already and nothing fits and nothing looks the same and I couldn't find anything to wear. And I've really went deep today. I've been jeans and a white tea. I've gone very basic. But I just had this whole thing and everything I put on. I was like, can I wear this? And I guess I'm Claire's boss, but she was like, yeah. She's like, that's, you could ask a trick question. You shouldn't, but you can. Anyway, I was like, tell me the truth. She's like, get changed. You need to be a bit kinder to yourself. And I know you say it's, it's most people feel

postpartum. I think people feel it throughout the whole of the pregnancy. It's like this weird period where you're trying to like still fit into old clothes, find things that fit you. Your whole body changes in every way. Like, nothing is normal anymore. No, and I get, and I am kind to myself. I'm not hating on myself at all. I just can't, I just, who am I? I don't know. I don't know who I am anymore, but how is your morning? Well, I am, I came across a news article when I was prepping for today's episode. You guys remember a few weeks ago, something that I said, and I want to preface this because I often get myself into trouble by saying things. We are an open book here. We share. We share. We

share too much sometimes. I often say things from the past thinking it's fine to say that because it's in the Do you guys remember we were talking about Chani Tatum having burner accounts? And I said it's something that people do in their 20s, right? Like I said that when I was younger and in my 20s, that I had a burner account and I would look at my exes. I don't even know if you was my ex at the time, but I would use it to stalk people. For surveillance purposes. When I was 20. Above board surveillance purposes.

When I was 20. That was 20 years ago. The headline, Laura Byrne admits to using burner account to keep tabs on ex-boyfriend after Channing Tatum. secret profile saga. We have all been there. And I read it this morning and I just thought, imagine my ex-boyfriend's reading that and thinking, what a loser.

I'm going to take a stab in the dark. I don't reckon your ex-boyfriends read the Daily Mail or listen to the blog. I could be wrong. They could be surveilling you in the universe. I don't think they care about me at all. But to make it worse, also with Daily Mail, who actually reads the article? Usually you only read the headline. I'd see that and go, okay, you're stalking your ex.

Exactly. Exactly. That's the problem. And like, you know what? I did it to myself and I just want to read you some of the comments. Oh, no. That's, please. Don't read the comment. Okay. There's four comments. Talk about an unhinged toxic psycho. This one's a bit mean. You and you're sorry, this one's a bit mean after you got called a toxic fucking psycho. No, but that's stance. She's always called that. You and your pathetic limp husband are far from normal. So really, me. So why did Macaporn? I don't. He's catching strays.

That's also checking on my exes with his burner account. Someone wrote Jesus dot dot psychomarch. And then someone wrote, okay then, totally normal, which is the kindest of all of them, to be honest. Dude, that's cool. I know, I know. I have a headline on my own. Oh, God. Can I read you?

Yeah. They took this from the podcast as well. I'm not going to name who they are. People can just Google the headline brand and find it for themselves. I went deep into arguing and getting into fights with people on Facebook. It says, Big headline, pregnant, Britney Hockley admits she's petrified to be single mom. Oh, gosh.

Oh, huge about being a single mom, making it look like my husband, Ben and I had broken up. He did leave you, stranded. After the IVF baby, he was like, fuck that. No, because I made the joke and I was like, I feel like I'm going to be living like a single mom for a while, for two months, if he's not here. That was it. The people just go to town. Whoa, he's me.

Why did you implant it? if now you're going to break up, why you're implanting a baby, all you do is complain. You can't have a baby complain. You've got a baby complain. You're a single mom. And I was like, whoa, Karen. I feel like I've reached. It is a really interesting place to arrive at because once upon a time I would read articles and I would get upset that I felt misrepresented. Whereas now genuinely, like, I doesn't bother me. I laugh. And I laugh at like how stupid I must look to people who aren't part of the inner circle. Like if you're a life up, I hope you don't think I'm that stupid if you've made it this far along. But genuinely, it's the lack of context that really changes the story,

that really changes the meaning behind it. I mean, I agree. And I usually don't care either, but when it makes it look like my husband left me when I'm a few months pregnant, I had something to say about it. I did have something to say. And there was someone from my hometown that commented on it. And I, oh, well, I commented back. And I said, disappointed. And I said, wow, disappointed. Anyway, sorry, guys, it was a little bit of a tangent, but I had a good giggle this morning. I felt like I needed to share. And if you did hear the original story, I want it to be known just in case the same Daily Mail journalist is listening.

I haven't used that burner account for a long time and I've forgotten the logins, okay? I almost want to make it a challenge because the Daily Mail, obviously one of you, listen, obviously one of you, subscribe to the pod, subscribe to the Patreon. Or do we send this stuff out? Are we sending this shit out? No. It's me on my laptop being like, so I was going to challenge them. Sophie, did you do this to me?

Sof said on the last episode, all publicity is good publicity. This is you, isn't it? I was going to say, I challenge you journalists of the Daily Mail and the unnamed Brittany article. Try and make the most rogue headline out of today's episode.

I want to see how far you can take something out of context. Yeah, talk about Sophie having nine fingers there. Sophie, if you're going to throw them to make a bit, a rogue headline from this epic can be on you. I've got one for you. It can be Laura's to life-uncut executive producer admits bisexual curiosity towards her boss. Did you? How's that?

Oh, you missed the off-cuts episode. The way that you just said that to me, Laura, when you said executive producer had a bi-curious moment with me, I thought you were trying to say like, Sophie, hit on you behind closed doors or something. And I was like, you can tell me that, Laura. Not on the pod, you can tell you. No, do you know what, guys, if you miss the episode, actually, it was, Sof and I, we hosted offcuts together, was a Freudian slip, whereas Sof was meant to say that

she was stalking my Instagram vicariously, but she said, bi curiously. And it was great. That was such a fun episode. If you haven't listened to it, go, it's a very good little giggle, and you'll learn nothing, but you'll feel good afterwards. That makes me feel better, because I don't know if we put in your contracts, we don't have interwork relationships here. Lord is married. No, Laws, if you had to be a headline then, because you have had some dozies. And you know the one that stands out for me, but if you had to pick one that you would prefer, would you prefer the angle of that you're a bit crazy and still stalk your exes? Or would you prefer the OG banger, which is that you like a pinky and the stinky?

Like if you had to choose one headline to live on, and yes, Sophie, you might have missed that a couple of years ago. There was a headline that said Laura Byrne likes pinkies and stinky. Someone wrote that. A journalist wrote that. Yeah. There will never, ever, ever be a better headline than this one. It was published in 2021 and I will read it for you.

It says, Maddie J. Johnson shares horror sex story about being busted with a bottle of lubricant by fiancée Laura Burns' friends after masturbating during a dinner party in their home. That is a singular headline. Oh, firstly, the grammar is terrible. It also implies that he was masturbating at the dinner party, like at the dinner table. I also just really want to reiterate for anyone who isn't aware of this. That story isn't true. It didn't happen. But 84 people in the comment section were absolutely.

horrified. Can I just sorry why we're here? I want to cast your mind back to 2021 for another one of my headlines. Brilliant. I'm loving this. The bachelor's Brittany Hockley admits she gets massages once a week just so someone touches her. That's that literally. I wanted to quickly brush over one of the most wholesome millennial moments that I have experienced in the last decade that I experienced on the weekend and anyone can go and experience it. I shared it on my Instagram. I have been deeply involved in the American version of Dancing with the Stars. If you didn't see what I shared or you're not following it, I just feel like everyone of our generation needs to go and watch it.

So Julia Stiles is competing on the US Dancing with the Stars. Do you know, you're looking at me blankly? 10 things I hate about you. Oh yeah. And she was also the main dancer in Save the Last Dance. I know exactly you're talking about her. Okay. So, do you remember Save the Last Dance?

Yes. Where she was applying for Juilliard and she did that dance with the chair. It was terrible. She was like a ballerina turned to it. She always got crucified for it. And she ended up in the interracial relationship. And yes. I know it.

I'm all about it. It was a big favorite of mine. So for Dancing with the Stars, she redid that dance. 25 years later now. She redid the entire dance. The chair is there. The flip, the ballet. She got her cast member from 25 years ago to come.

And he stood on the side of the stage like he did in the movie. It was, I've got goosebumps. Because it was good. Or it was terrible. It was amazing. The nostalgic moment that it brought back, it like took over the internet on the weekend, but the moment that it brought back, you cannot watch this without the biggest smile on your face. And an even better moment is about to happen.

So this week is Dedication Week on Dancing with the Stars US, where you pick somebody to dedicate your dance to. What she's doing is, she's doing the exact song from 10 Things I Hate About You, her really famous scene with Heath Ledger, and she's dedicating to Heath Ledger. and I can guarantee you, I am not going to be okay. And anyone that has from that generation, please go and watch Dancing with Stars so that we can all talk about it on Patreon. It's worth you going to have a Google Laws. It'll make you feel something and sometimes you don't feel things.

You'll feel it. I do feel a little bit dead inside sometimes. So it would be nice to feel things again. It was just, I feel like this week in the news was really grim, right? Every time I opened Instagram, everything was so, like, disastrous and horrible and so much crime in the world. it's just like political uprest in every direction I looked. And this was just this, I went down this deep dancing in the stars hole. And I just felt so good.

And you cannot watch it without feeling good. So I hate that this is where my brain goes. And maybe I am questioning, like, what is the markability of that choice? Do you know what I mean? Like, dedicating a dance to Heath Ledger who passed away how long ago, based off a movie that you were in how long ago. Like, obviously that's going to be an incredibly PRable moment for her in this competition. Just don't want an environment for a slow.

I don't know, but part of me feels like a little bit of a pessimist about it. Like I feel like it's almost like feels a little bit opportunistic to lean into that level of sentiment or emotion, the emotional attachment that people will have to it. And I, yeah, I don't know whether it comes from a place of being like, this is my genuine tribute dance or this is my tribute dance simply because it's going to garner the most attention. I think we just enjoy it for what it is. Brittany's like, stop unpacking it and just lean into the millennial love. Not everything used to be so deep.

been like disastrous. Maybe it can just be a beautiful moment. You watch it just be like best moment we've seen on TV this year. I'm so excited for it. Brett, I love that from you. Look, it's the hormones. I think it is. This kind of feels like a bit of a vibe for the week. And I know we don't do those on this episode, but I've been holding on to an unsubscribe that I've been wanting to bring you guys for weeks. And I feel like on the back of that, this could be the perfect time. I know you said things are deep, dark and heavy, but I have something that has been pissing me off so much that I need. I need to speak about it with you guys to unsubscribe. Coke Zero has changed their cans.

Have you guys seen this? I'm not a Coke Zero Gally. Oh my gosh. I'm Code Zero girly. Coke Zero has made the exact cans, bottles, marketing everything look identical to Coke. To regular Coke. Yeah, they have. Identical.

They've taken away the black stripe, the black writing. It is identical minus one word which says no sugar or zero or whatever it is. It says zero, no sugar. Zero no sugar. So you go to the supermarket, you go to a bar, you go to wherever, you look at the stand. There is no telling which one you pick. It looks exactly the same. Heavens forbid you have to ask them if they have a Coke Zero. I have a theory. I have a theory. It's because Coke Zero has taken off. It is what we call the Genzi cigarette. Your little afternoon. No, they call it a fridge siggy.

Fridgesig. A little afternoon, you get a little Coke Zero. It is such a vibe that I think the manufacturers at Coca-Cola have made far too many full sugar coax and they've gone, oh dear. We can't get rid of them. So let's make them all look the same. So people just grab and they don't know and it's anarchy. No, I don't reckon. I reckon that it has taken up so much market share that they no longer want to separate the branding. It's anarchy. It's frustrating.

It's a big unsubscribe. I mean, there's like a protest happening in France right now. That is what I would describe as anarchy. But like, you go off. I'm not a Coke Zero gal, but I get it. I get it. There are people who are like, you either are or you aren't. And people who have been facing the same thing.

They'll get me. They'll get the. unsubscribe. I have noticed. It just doesn't bother me. It fucks me off so much. I just feel you. I validate you. We are here to validate whose feelings and concerns. Thanks, guys. I appreciate the validation. Not sponsored by COVID. There is a study that has come out recently and it is, puts a real microscope on the landscape of online dating. So hear it out. This study says it's come from cyber psychology, social network. They've surveyed 1,387 Tinder. users. Now, I don't know the legitimacy of the number, but I do think it's worth unpacking.

So it says 65.3% of people that were surveyed, anonymously surveyed, came out and said that they were either married or in a relationship at some point in time whilst they have been online dating. So think about that. 65% of people that were surveyed is more than 50%. Wow, Britt, thank God we're unpacking this with the scientist over there. You know me. But basically, not necessarily, and if you look into this a little bit more, It doesn't mean that they have all been in a relationship at the time of this study being done, but that they had active profiles whilst being in a relationship at some point in their online dating. Yeah, that's a massive amount of people.

Yeah, it's a huge amount of people. And I think it really begs the question. Because, like, firstly, when you're online dating, it already feels as though it's an impossible feat. The constant scroll, the constant, like, seemingly endless options, but also knowing that the options are very finite. And then there is like a subset people on there who want to either in a relationship doing the dirty, have compromised values anyway, or are using online dating as a way of getting validation, even though they're already in a relationship? And that, I think, is the most interesting one to unpack. I just think if you're in a relationship and you're married and you are online dating

for an ego boost or because you are bored, you have bigger problems. I also think that is a load of shit bullshit excuse that you are using to your partner when you get found out. I believe this stat because I know personally so many different people over the years who have found out their partner is online dating. And I just don't know, like in what country or city are you in where you think that you can go online where you have no control over who your profile is shown to and not end up being discovered? Like how can you think that you're going to go online and your friends or friends or whatever or cousins not going to be like, hang on, you're in a relationship with my sister, whatever? One of my friends, she found.

out basically another friend was online dating and saw her partner, her friend's partner on there. And so she was like, well, fucking, I'm just going straight to the source. Not the source. I'm going straight to my friend. So she went to her and she said, hey, I don't know how to you this. I'm just going to tell you. I found Brad on Tinder. And so she approached her partner. And she was like, what the hell are you cheating on me? I've seen your profile. And he said, oh, I just wanted to make friends. Really? He's like, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, find it hard to make friends. And she forgave him?

Yeah. Stop it. They stayed together. I'm not here to judge that. People cheat and get through it as a relationship all the time. But there's something that feels markedly different when the cheating is so intentional and premeditated that you've had to sign up to an app, make a profile, put yourself out there, make a bio. Your interests, whatever else. Feel out those stupid prompts.

That's different to like going out on a night out and cheating and being. found out. There are people out there who are so devoid of attention or value in themselves. And this is in no way am I justifying. I think it is just like it's you have to have your wits about you in terms of like when you're dating. But there's people who use it purely as a way of gaining validation, knowing that they still have the options out there. Yeah, but I mean, that's a problem in itself. And it's not like. Of course. Oh my God. It was terrible. That's a real problem. I mean the need for how many people need validation. And it is a very normal human characteristic. It's a trait everybody has in some capacity, whatever it is. And because

we have so much access to so many people instantaneously at any time of the day, it's just gone a step too far because now people can say, oh, I just need the validation. But it's, it might start as validation. It might start as you're going onto an online dating app to see how many matches you get because then you feel good about yourself. But I can guarantee you it's not ending there. I don't think there is anyone that is going online to get validation that does not end up cheating. Because Even if it starts that way, eventually somebody's going to slide into your little app and say, totally. Let's meet up.

All of a sudden, you're having a full-blown affair. Even if it doesn't go to the physical level, for me, that's cheating. If I found out Ben had an online profile because he wanted to feel good about himself, I'd be like, go for it then. But I'm gone. That for me is it's not something that should be in a normal, healthy relationship. It's also just incredibly deceptive to the people who are online dating who are. single and who are looking for a relationship.

Like, there's already so much shit that people have to wade through, let alone waiting through the people who aren't actually genuinely single and looking for something. They're only looking for their own ego boost. Or available even for a situation ship. But it's the reality of it. I found this very interesting. I don't agree that it would be 65% of people. But I, and I think that there's been some information that's come out about this study saying

that like there's flaws in it. So basically tend to hit back and they said that the findings aren't wholly accurate and that there are inaccuracies in their. this reporting. But I think it's a good starting point for unpacking this idea that not only is there the hurdle of online dating for single people, but that it is and serves a whole separate purpose for some people. And that is that it's just the validation checkbox where they're swiping to feel good about themselves. They're engaging in light conversation, whatever it looks like, but it's purely because they need this ego boost for their insatiable needs and wants.

I don't want to say this. I want to be careful with how I say this. I did online dating for my friend the other day. We hung out at her dinner. She's single. She's been online for ages. And I was like, I want to see what the problem is here because she's like, the men are just terrible. And I thought, it can't be that every single person you meet on there is that bad. And I said, can I play your Tinder? And so she was like, yeah. So I played Tinder for a, Ben and I did it together. We were like, we're going to find you a date. So we went through for hours matching with people, then we were initiating conversation with them, but all with her. Nothing like she approved everything. And I could not believe how many of them immediately.

And like it's been maybe, what, five years since I've been online dating. And it was semi bad then. And I don't want to say this is a blanket statement because there are still amazing people out there. But I could not believe how many of the people that we started up a conversation with within two minutes took it to sex. Sex, just straight to being sexualized. And it was the first time I thought, oh, I believe you now when you. Not that I didn't, but I was like when you say how much of it is just straight down. the gutter and really forthcoming and off the back of nothing. Would you prefer that though?

Here's my question, right? So like if you are after a relationship and you want to date someone, but you know that someone's intention is purely sex, would you rather them not waste your time and just be forthcoming? Because I think we've created this culture now where it's like, if that's what you want, if that's what you're after, then just say it and that way we can not waste our time. Yes, but let me give you an example of what it was. It's not that it was just starting by the opening conversation saying, hey, nice to meet you, just want to make sure we're on the same page. I'm just looking to hook up. It wasn't that. It was the awkwardness of you were talking for a couple of minutes. And this is an example. I had written back to them. They had a big thing

at work, right? And I had said, oh, was that hard? Oh, God. Oh, not as hard as my dick. And then it goes, yeah, how hard do you want it? That depends. Do you want it to be hard? Just where I'm like, grow up. We're not even in the same. Like, how old are you? Go up. Yeah, I get it. And it was just that kind of conversation where you think like, I'm not even going to respond. And it was, I felt really disappointed. And there are some really nice.

I don't want anyone that's single listening now to be like, don't tell me how grim it is. I know. There are really amazing people out there too. And she has met some nice people. I guess what I'm saying is it felt like this statistic wasn't that out of the realm to me that so many people could possibly be in a relationship. Well, here's a question then in terms of, and maybe this is kind of for everyone who is currently in the world. of online dating and is like navigating the shitstorm that it is. Do you think that it is as much for entertainment for people as what it is for actually dating? Because I think like more people these

days are using dating apps, not just because they're wanting to meet someone or even because they're wanting to hook up. It's purely like something to just be on there and waste their time. It's like another social media app. It's engaging for the sake of engaging. It's validating. It's collecting swipes. It's collecting likes. I wonder whether the entertainment factor of online dating over ways for a lot of people or overshadows the actual like functionality of wanting to find someone or wanting to date someone. It is that time of year again, the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. And I feel like every single year, this creeps up.

And every single year we have something to talk about or something you say off the back of it. Well, they did rest it for a few years, remember? So we did have a break for a year or two and then they brought it back. Yeah, but then they brought it back and it was like they tried to rebrand who they were. Then they realized actually the rebrand of being like super diverse and inclusive wasn't working for them. So then they went back to the original Angel style. Like they've really, Victoria's Secret in a whole has gone through so many controversies over the last few years.

It's constantly lent into controversy for its marketing as well. I think it's become part of like the actual fabric of how they market the brand. But the Victoria's Secret shows in and of themselves always garner so many eyes, so much attention and people have a lot to say about them. I know and it's so unusual that every time we do this, the general conversation around it is, are we done with it? Are we still really watching it? Do people really still care? Apparently, more than 60 million viewers tuned in again. So, like, the answer is, yeah, people, whether you're hate watching it, love watching it, 60 million people are still putting their eyes on every single show. The big conversation that everyone's talking about, though, and it has to do

with, like, postpartum bodies. So Barbara Spruce, who is previously Barbara Palvin, she is a Victoria Secret model. She's walked in loads of the shows before. She has just had a baby, and it was announced that she was going to be walking the show six weeks postpartum. Now, the internet has had a lot to say about it. There's been conversations around whether this is glorifying bounce back body, whether or not we should be celebrating women putting themselves on the runway at six weeks postpartum. So the big question here is, do you think that casting someone six weeks postpartum is empowering or is it simply capitalizing on bounce back culture? She wasn't the only one. So Elsa Hosk is another Victoria Secrets model. Now, she had 12 weeks.

between this show and having her baby, but 12 weeks is still incredibly short amount of time to be not just returning to work, but returning to work where your work is your body. And I understand why it's a divisive conversation because even I feel divisive about it. Every year, I say in these conversations that we have, I say, I understand why people don't like to watch the show. I understand why it makes people feel bad about themselves. For me, I was always fine. I always felt like I can appreciate a beautiful body. I can appreciate I'll never look like that. Doesn't make me feel worse about myself. But it's just, that's me. I understand why other people feel that way. I felt slightly differently about it this year. Now, I don't think it's because I'm pregnant. I don't think it's

because I will be postpartum early next year. I think it's just because I feel like it's the first time we've seen in this context to women going back in their lingerie after having a baby and not to celebrate a postpartum body. I think that's the difference. It was, They look like they did before. They look like supermodels. And I find it, I find it difficult to fathom because it's not attainable for 99% of the population. And I understand Victoria's Secret Models' bodies in general is not attainable for 99% of the population. And I'm torn between, fuck yes, Queen.

Like, you do you. At the end of the day, everybody, or a lot of people have to go back to work after six weeks. That's pretty normal, right? In the US, you only get six weeks maternity leave. It's just that her job is her body. But I alternate on this pendulum between being like, God, there's got to be some people that are going to feel really shitty about themselves when they are six weeks or even 12 months postpartum and don't look anything like them.

Yeah, but I mean, I think two things can be true at the same time. I think that, yes, on one hand, both of these models are autonomous. They can make their own decisions. They can choose what they want to do with their postpartum bodies. They can choose when and how they want to go back to work. and they get to, I guess, like, celebrate postpartum in whatever way they want to do it, right? But it can also still be damaging in terms of bounce back culture. Those two things can be true.

Victoria Secret models are never going to be attainable. That's never been the brand of Victoria Secret. It's never been like, we are the women for all women. It's actually never going to be that. It's the women for the one percenters, right? It's beyond aspirational. That's always been what the brand stands for. And so I think it is very, like, reflective of the brand to cast someone who's postpartum,

but doesn't look like their postpartum. Yes. I understand why people are angry about it, but at the same time, I'm like, did we expect anything else? But I think that's what's so disappointing is surely at some point there will be a change. Like I understand that this has always been what Victoria's Secret has done. But if it is a conversation on body positivity, body acceptance and the pressure that these women also felt, because I think one thing we need to talk about as well is on Instagram,

particularly with Elsa, she has very much documented from birth. the intense regime that she has had to undergo in order to become a Victoria's Secret Angel again, in order to get that body, in order to get that job. It's just so entrenched that they cannot be in any state, and they must look a certain way because it is so entrenched. I think something you said earlier, Brett, when we were chatting about this, is how much more powerful it would have been if they came out and they were just postpartum. Well, I do think the pressure would be extrinsic.

I don't think it's come from Victoria's Secret. I doubt they would say, hey, we can have you in six weeks, but just so you know, if you don't fit into a size eight, you're not on. I think it was going to be a win-win for someone like Victoria's Secrets, because either they represented a pretty normal body postpartum, maybe they still had their belly, maybe they were still heavier than they usually are, and they weren't as tone, blah, blah, blah, and that would have been a win because it would have been celebrated by everyone saying, thank God, you are supporting mothers that have just had a baby, you are still platforming

them, you're not excluding them, etc, etc. Or they would put the pressure on themselves, which they have. And I think that that comes from just the pressure of being a model with so many eyes on them. And they're going to get back into their tip-top shape that they were before. And either way was going to be a win for Victoria's Secret. It's been very mixed responses. But do you think that there is an issue with people, I guess, like, policing the way that someone shows up in their postpartum body, i.e. the way that Barbara has showed up in her postpartum body. and I guess doing it under the guise of we need to protect other women. Is there a problem with saying you're not allowed to be like this?

You're not allowed to be on a catwalk, look this skinny, be this fit because of how it makes other women feel. Is there an issue with that as well? I think yes. Of course there's an issue with that, but I think that the woman couldn't have won. Like nothing that she was going to do was right. Either she gives up her job and something she's really passionate about and something that she knows is an opportunity that won't be with her forever because she is a model.

date, they have an expiration date. I hate to say that, but they all know it. The worry is that you're going to promote something, and I have nothing against her or what she's done if it was done safely, but from everything that I have read, it's like you're not even supposed to start exercising in that first month after you have a baby. So I have no doubt that she has done it with doctors guidance and she has done it with all the right trainers. They have everybody at their fingertips that they need, dietary, chefs, trainers, access to whatever they need. I want to celebrate her and say, well done. Like, well done for doing what you wanted to do and what you're passionate about and going back to work because it was a job that you want.

Because if a job that I really wanted came up after four weeks after I had a baby, I would probably want to try and do it as well. The difference is the pressure it puts on your body in the first couple of weeks. And what that says to the rest of the women watching it are like, oh, well, if she can do it, I can do it. And I just worry that more of the medical health side is going to be the flow on effect. I think the responsibility, and this is very much on the back of what you're saying, Brittany, is if what they are promoting inspires something that is medically dangerous. And this is the same conversation we had about Ariana Grande, where there is this huge conversation about your body, your choice,

until the point where you are that famous, that what your image represents is medically dangerous. And I think that is where it's so interesting, because in this case, Elsa has had no publicity for being 12 weeks, postpartum. Barbara at six weeks, every single article on the website is about this. I think it's because people are worried that in order to get back for that six weeks postpartum, is it medically dangerous for women to think that that is what they have to bounce back for? It's not just bounce back culture. It's like reducing the timeline of going, well, that's when people can be healthy.

It's the intensity of it. Yeah. And I think that's a big issue. I mean, this is not a new conversation. Do you remember this happening with Hannah Nealman? So she is, for anyone who is not familiar, ballerina farm, she has nine children now. But in 2024, she competed in Miss World 12 days postpartum. Which is insanity.

12 days. And like at that point in time, like assuming that she had a vaginal birth, like you're still bleeding. You're still wearing a pad at that stage. But it was the same response then. There was a subgroup on the internet that were like, oh my God, this is incredible. You are an incredible woman because you're doing this. That's amazing. And then there were also this group of women who were like, what the fuck are you doing?

Take care of yourself. The things you're prioritizing in a time when you should be nurturing yourself, taking care of yourself, and nurturing a baby and not worrying about the aesthetics or I guess the male gaze or any of the other things that are loaded into it. And I think that that's what makes people feel angry. I think that's what not only is it the bounce back conversation, but it's like people question what is your primary and most important thing in life at this point in time. I think it goes deeper. I don't think a lot of people do it for the male gaze. at all. I think we're in a generation now where we glorify hustle culture. We don't live in a society now where we encourage, the next generation is, but where we encourage normal slow days,

slow mornings, one job without having three businesses on the side, without having to work till midnight, without having to work a week postpartum. And unfortunately, a lot of people do have to do that, but I do think it's the glorification of hustle culture. Yes, but in saying that, there is a very different response when the conversation centers around body versus centering around work. And I say this because, I mean, you guys all remember Jacinda Ardern. She is the New Zealand Prime Minister, was the New Zealand Prime Minister, and she gave birth during term. She took six weeks off and she went back to work as the full acting Prime Minister of New Zealand. That was celebrated as being this amazing example of how motherhood can straddle success in business and success in the workplace.

the only reason why I think we feel so differently about this is because it is to do with the body. It really begs the question of like, why do we celebrate career achievements postpartum, but we can't celebrate body achievements postpartum? Like, where is the separation and why is one so heralded as an amazing accomplishment and the other one causes this much controversy? Well, it's because Barbara's are entangled with both. It is a huge career achievement, but her career is her body. So it's a body achievement.

It's a body conversation around career achievement. The difference here is purely it's the expectation of a woman to bounce back in the most vulnerable point of their life. You know, obviously, like, you're pregnant. You will be postpartum. Does it make you feel anything? Do you care? Do you feel as though it goes against standing up for women or, like, being a good representation for what a postpartum body should be? I mean, I absolutely don't think it's a good representation of what a postpartum body should be because I don't think it's a realistic representation.

Having said that, I have some people. people that pop into my mind that I know that did look like that six weeks after giving birth, but that's genetics as well. And we forget that models are models because they, yes, they work hard and yes, they put in the effort and yes, they do maintenance. They also have great genes. Like, it's DNA. And so some people's, if you looked like that before, generally you bounce back pretty quickly. They've also, we've already spoken about, they've got everything at their fingertips that they need to achieve that. I still think, like, hats off to you. Like if you have found a way to do it safely and feel good and like, who are we to say you shouldn't be going back to your job? Yeah, and I think

the reason why, like, I don't feel deeply enraged by it, but I do find it an interesting thing to unpack is simply because, yes, it's not a realistic representation of postpartum, but I don't look to Victoria's Secret models for a realistic representation of anything. Like, Victoria's Secret to me is like a fantasy land. I don't look to it for any kind of inspiration, to be honest, exactly what you just said. It is a fake fantasy land in my world. They have amazing artists that come perform, and I think that's the way we look at it. It's easy to say that, though, you know, when the highest spike of gym membership says, post the Victoria Secret Shows.

But it's not inspo, it's because it makes you feel so bad about yourself. But I think that's why people are pissed off about this, is because, like, medically, six weeks afterwards, it's putting the expectation out there again. It's continuing this narrative that women should look like this. That's what sucks. I totally get that. Yes, it's a job, and you should be able to bounce back. But I think it's just, it just perpetuates this concept.

thing that we are all fed looked at all the time on social media, that this is a certain way, this is what the best women in the world are, they look like this. And that you're a failure if you can't achieve that. At least this opens up a greater chat around the fact that like the expectations are unrealistic, that there is so much pressure on women already to bounce back in in a certain way, that going back to work after six weeks off is already an unfathomable task that a lot of women have to do, but it is also a reality for some people that they do have to go back to work six weeks. And I think that the way in which women manage their postpartum period is incredibly

personal and incredibly individual to whoever it is that it's experiencing it. The last thing I'll say is the only reason that I feel protective of Barbara is because I hate the idea of women talking about women's bodies when we don't quite know. We genuinely don't know her birth. We don't know what happened to her after. We don't know if she did anything unhealthy. She is a supermodel. She very well could have just been eating healthily and light walking and gone back to looking like that. That's the reason I guess as much as the broader conversation about the expectations and the way it makes the general public feel is one thing. The other part of this is that we just don't know she is an exception to the rule any way in life. And we don't know that this wasn't just her in a really good

place being like, fuck it, I am going to go tick off this career milestone at the same time. And so that's why I think you can have both of these conversations alongside each other. Well, it is time for suck and sweet. A highlight and a low light of the week, I will kick it off. My suck is I had to rush Delilah to the vet this week. She was been vomiting and then I saw blood in her mouth and I thought she had an infected tooth and I thought plaque and an infection got into her guts and, you know, all sorts. So I rushed her to the vet after hours and the vet was amazing.

And she does, she's okay, but she does have to be put under to have her teeth cleaned, which is not drastic. But that's normal. Like dogs get their teeth clean once a year usually. Well, no, not once a year, only from when they're five. Really? Yeah, well, Delilah's, I don't want to brag, but her teeth have been impeccable until now. But I, both things were wrong with her, but I thought they were tied together. So I thought the tooth infection had caused a gut infection.

And that can be really dangerous. But nothing was, nothing is going to kill her. Thank God. So she does have to go under and have an operation, maybe have one tooth pulled. Which is why she had all these blood in the mouth. And I thought, I was like, oh my God, who have you attacked? But it wasn't. A few weeks ago, you were vibing dog toothpaste.

Things have really gone south. So that's why I said to the vet. I said, but I brush her teeth every day. And she said, look, she's a dog. It's reality. That's why she had good teeth until now. But she's like, you've also got to remember at five and six years old, they're middle age. You're just going to get, you can brush them, which is still good.

but they are just going to get teeth. Poor Busters had so many teeth removed. He's such an old boy now. He's got like, he's got no legs, no teeth. We just roll him out like a sausage. Anyway, what is your sweet then? Oh, my sweet of the week. Okay, I had the best pasta I probably had.

I know. Last night, I went out to dinner last night with Ben. Very last minute, very unexpected. I had the best pastor I've had him probably. It was on par with the past you have in Italy. It was a special from, sorry everyone if you're not in. Sydney, but it was a special from Totty's. This is the most specific.

I love it. We ate this pasta. It was a spinach and ricotta in a pesto. And it was so good that we finished the meal and ordered another one. We had two back to back. You really are pregnant. It's good. It is.

Okay, my suck for the week is that Poppy has cut two extra teeth, which I know is a necessary part of human development, but very annoying, very unhappy small child. She was being really, really unhappy. she was getting sick. And then last night when she was crying, she flung her head back. And I was like, oh, Zaza! You're little, there's little fuckers. There they are. It explains everything. It really does. Okay, so that's my suck, but she's coming good. And my sweet is that we have just been through Matt and I, like this very intense work period. The juggle has been real, like, juggling work schedules and the kids and like just all of the things. And then it came to a real

point Friday last week was our last day of a job that we've been working on for quite a few weeks now. and the relief. I cannot tell you. I had the nicest weekend with the kids, apart from the fact that I swallowed a fly, but I'll tell you about that another day. That's giving my damper story. Sorry, the breadcrumbing of you eating a fly.

I will tell you about the fly that I ate on another episode, but like, no, I just genuinely had the best weekend with them. And you know, when you say yes to too many things and everything bottlenecks into one little period, that's what we've just gotten through. And so the anxiety lift when we came out the other side of that, I was like, oh. And I feel much better about it.

So yeah, anyway, guys, that's it from us. If you have any questions for Ask Uncutt, slide on into the DMs. You can also send us your dilemmas, your pickles, your confessions, your accidentally unfiltered, all the things you've got. Slide on in. I think pickles are having a moment again, you know? That's another conversation. A pickle dickle? No, a pickle, no, an actual pickle.

It's a trend. What do you mean? Pickles are a trend? Pickles have made a comeback. They're all over the socials. No, they're on... Sorry, pickles never left my household. No, they are like having a social.

It's a social movement, is it? So if you wouldn't know laws, you're not up with the cool kids. Oh, wait for Ask Gun Cut. We're going to start that off by talking about flies and pickles, everyone. You know the drill. See, Mum, Tea, Dad, T, Dog, T, Friends, should love and love. We love love!