Noble Blood - "The Princess with the Sad Eyes"

Episode Date: September 3, 2024

It should have been a fairytale romance: after a whirlwind courtship, Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary married the Shah of Iran and the two fell deeply in love. But their happiness would be challenged at every turn by the roadblocks that come from royal obligation. Support Noble Blood: — Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon — Noble Blood merch — Order Dana's book, 'Anatomy: A Love Story' and its sequel 'Immortality: A Love Story'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHart Podcast presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school.

Absolutely. A redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drinks. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they hit a bogo. Well, then you got them. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of IHeart Radio and grim and mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. Soraya S. Fandari Bakhtiari was the last passenger on the plane from Rome to disembark. It was October 7, 1950, and the sun was just beginning to set. behind the western skyline of Tehran. As soon as Soraya's feet hit the tarmac, she was quickly ushered into a waiting limousine. Soraya and her father drove through the city to the house that they would be staying at

for the duration of their trip to Iran's capital. Soraya gazed out the window and tried to imagine what her next day would look like. Despite the fatigue she felt, felt from the long travel day, she was too excited about being presented to the Iranian court and the Shah to quiet her mind. Just a few months ago, she was a normal German-Iranian girl who had just graduated from finishing school. Now she was a contender to be the Shah's wife, the Empress of Iran. Once at the house, Soraya began to unpack her trunks.

As she put her clothes away, she admired the dresses that she had bought in Paris. Which one should she wear tomorrow to be presented to the court? Maybe the blue one, but with what shoes? Oh, certainly the white kitten heels. Very classy. But would the Shah like this outfit? Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the bedroom door. Soraya opened the door to a servant delivering a man.

message. Would it be possible for Miss Esfandieri to visit the Dowager Empress this evening? She has arranged a small dinner at which only the innermost family will be present. With that generous invitation, which was more of a summons, really, than an invite, Soraya quickly got ready and left for the Dowager Empress's residence. Once there, Soraya was welcomed into the Dowager Empress's drawing room, where the Dowager and the Shah's siblings greeted their guests with pleasantries and polite conversation. But the room fell silent when it was announced, His Majesty the Shah, the man who had summoned Soraya all the way from London, strode into the room confidently. Muhammad Reza Shah, dressed in his favorite uniform of the general of the Iranian Air Force, went around the room, greeting his mother and his siblings.

In her second autobiography, Soraya recalled, quote, I found him imposing, magnificent, splendid. I was mesmerized. He was superb looking. He was handsome and knew how to smile. I freely admit that it was love at first sight. With the ultimate guest of honor now in attendance, the party moved into the dining room. Breaking protocol, the Shah beckoned Soraya to sit next to him.

Despite their over 15-year age difference, there was an ease to their conversation, as the pair chatted about their childhoods both spent at boarding schools in Switzerland. Saraya later recalled that, quote, without our having said anything of importance to each other, a confidence and tenderness had passed between us. There was certainly an unspoken connection between the two. Following after dinner, games and tea, Soraya was finally able to retire to her lodgings.

She longed just to close her eyes and finally lay down after an extremely long day. But at almost midnight, the doorbell rang. Soraya saw her father looking rather frazzled. Soraya, the Shah liked you very much. Are you willing to marry him? Astonished, Saraya asked, do I have to decide now? Her father affirmed, yes, he would like to announce your engagement tomorrow.

Surrying even herself, Soraya quickly replied, Tell the Shah that I accept, I will be his wife. The love between Soraya and the Shah, the love that first ignited that October night in 1950, was profound and blossomed quickly into a marriage and partnership. Their romance was like something out of a fairy tale. It seemed as though they were destined to be together. Unfortunately, the almost divine nature of, their love could not overcome the harsh reality they would face during their marriage.

No matter how idyllic their life together seemed, there was always something laying in weight that, once revealed, would send it all toppling down. In fact, this would be a theme of Soraya's life. No matter what happiness she seemed to achieve, it would all vanish in a matter of time. Unfortunate turns of fate would be perfectly encompassed by her nickname and the title of her second autobiography. Princess with the sad eyes was the nickname, entrapped in her Palace of Loneliness. I'm Dana Schwartz, and this is Noble Blood. Before I dive in, I want to mention that for today's episode, I relied on an uncommon collection of sources. Soraya wrote two separate autobiographies, one in 1964 and one, Palace of Loneliness, in 1992,

both of which spoke of her experiences married to the Shah, but through the lens of very different periods in her life. To have one autobiography to use as a noble blood source is unusual, but not terribly out of the ordinary. To have two is incredibly rare. So much of what I talk about today comes from Soraya herself. So be mindful of any potential biases that obviously come with one's telling of their own story. From the moment she was born in the summer of 1932, Soraya Asfandari Bakhtyari seemed poised to lead an exceptional life. Child of a German mother and Iranian father,

Soraya grew up with a dual identity. shared by very few. Soraya's father was a prominent member of the Bakhtari tribe of southern Iran, so her family spent many years living in her ancestral homelands of Isfhan. In her tween and teenage years, Soraya's family moved to her mother's homeland of Germany, and Soraya herself spent many of her most formative years at boarding schools in Switzerland. The duality of her heritage and her upbringing was difficult for the young Soraya, as she struggled to identify with either aspect of herself.

And while she certainly identified with her Iranian heritage, she did harbor Eurocentric tendencies and, frankly, racist views about Iran. As empress, she would later write, quote, The feeling of being both Christian and Muslim, but at the same time of being neither one nor the other has engraved in my flesh two divergent poles between which my existence unfolded. The one is methodically European,

the other savagely Persian. Ironic that Soraya would become the empress of Persia. Soraya was an undoubtedly gorgeous woman. Her piercing light blue-gray eyes were striking against her dark black hair and fair skin. Imagine young Sophia Loren and young Elizabeth Taylor combined, and you get Soraya. So it was no wonder that she received many a marriage proposal, especially from men from prominent families in Isfahan.

But her parents, themselves, an unusual love match, protected her from those proposals. At this point, Soraya had just completed finishing. school in Switzerland and desperately wished to become an actress. But her parents, like many, chafed at the idea of their daughter becoming an artist. As a compromise, 16-year-old Soraya set off for London, where she would stay with her cousins to better improve her English. It would be these cousins in London who would change the trajectory of Soraya's life forever. One of these cousins, named Guidar's, was obsessed with photography and asked to take Soraya's picture one afternoon. He had Soraya pose all over their flat, in front of their apartment building, in a nearby park, really all over the place.

A little suspicious, Soraya asked, What's going on, Guadars? Usually you don't waste so much film. Guadars, deciding to tell a half-truth, replied that, their aunt in Tehran had asked for some new pictures of Soraya. Who that woman was, Saraya had no idea. But who was she to say no to getting to act like a model with her cousin for an afternoon? Later that week, her other cousin, Malik Shah, asked her to accompany him to a dinner at the Iranian embassy there in London in honor of the Shah's sister, Princess Shams. Of course Soraya would go.

And no surprise to the self-important Soraya, Princess Shams took an immediate liking to her at dinner. They chatted all night. And before Soraya took her leave, Princess Shams squeezed her hand and asked, Do you want to come with me tomorrow evening to the theater? From that night on, the two women became inseparable. They went out on the town together, and Shams even brought Soraya along to Paris with her for a three-week stay. Little did Soraya know that the Princess Shams had actually been dispatched to London by the Shah specifically to meet and vet Saraya.

The photos that Guadars had taken were indeed for his aunt, but she had requested them so that she might show Soraya to the Shah's mother, the Dowager Empress. The Dowager Empress, looking for a wife for the Shah, liked Soraya's look and showed them to her son. Mohamed Reza Shah had been divorced from his first wife for three years now, and despite having multiple mistresses, he had been lonely and was looking for his next wife. Intrigued by the pictures of Soraya, he sent his younger sister to meet her. Although Shams had set out intentionally to evaluate whether or not the young woman was suitable marriage material for the Shah, she found herself genuinely enjoying Soraya and communicated her approval to her brother soon after arriving. Princess Shams officially floated the idea of marrying the Shah to Soraya on their trip to Paris. While talking about her brother one afternoon, the princess casually said, of course it would be fine if some young girl, such as yourself, were to be willing to share

Mohamed Reza's life. While Soraya, having been told the true motivation behind her cousin's photographs, had inklings that that might be a possibility, Shams's comment made it all real. Shortly after that Paris trip, Soraya's father called to tell her that the Shah had requested that he present Soraya at court. Clearly, the Persian royal family was wasting no time. It was decided that Princess Shams, Soraya, and Soraya's father would depart for Iran promptly. After stopping over in Rome for a few days where her father met them, Soraya and Princess Shams boarded their flight for Tehran early on October 7, 1950. As soon as Soraya stepped off the plane, as told in the introduction of this episode,

she was immediately swept up in the whirlwind of her new life in the Iranian court. Perhaps like most noble arranged marriages, Soraya and the Shah used their engagement to get to know each other. They would go on picnic lunches together and steal private moments at official functions. But unlike many, probably even most arranged royal couples, the two were genuinely quite enamored with each other. Their love was tested and ultimately proven when Soraya fell ill with salmonella poisoning just a few weeks before their wedding. The Shah visited his bedridden fiancé every day, bringing her a gift with each trip. Sometimes the gift was just a bouquet of flowers or a gramophone record to entertain her,

and sometimes it would be a stunning jewel or an exquisite piece of jewelry like, quote, a gold watch with a chiseled bird set with rubies and emeralds. These gifts and the Shah's consistent visits represented for Soraya the depth of her future husband's dedication, and it endeared him to her more and more with each day. Unfortunately, Soraya's illness was proving persistent, and their original wedding day came and went with the future empress still unwell. The Shah, hoping to get married as soon as possible,

sent the nation's best doctors and nurses to his betrothed's bedside. In January 1951, after multiple months of, of bed rest for Soraya, the doctors determined that the soon-to-be Empress was well enough to walk down the aisle and withstand the demanding ceremonies of a royal wedding. So on February 12, 1951, Soraya and the Shah were married. That morning, Soraya donned her wedding dress, which weighed half of Soraya's body weight, thanks to the 10-foot-long train and a necklace and a diadem borrowed from Iran's collection of crown jewels.

Doing her best to appear regal, the bride glided down a hallway decorated with orchids, cherry trees, and lilacs to join her fiancée for the ceremony. When the officiating imam asked the couple if they would like to take the other in marriage, Saraya could barely wait. Yes, she proclaimed, jumping in so fast as to almost speak over him. Yes, with the Shah's firm but delighted confirmation, the lovebirds were officially wed,

and the rest of their life together could begin. Soraya and the Shah's courtship and wedding had been almost storybook perfect, but the air of perfection and atmosphere of love had obscured for Soraya the tense political landscape that was developing in Iran at that very moment. As briefly discussed in our earlier episode entitled The Dinner Party at the End of the Iranian Monarchy, oil was a precious resource for Iran worth quite a bit of money. But from its discovery in the country up through the 1940s, the Anglo-Iranian oil company essentially had a monopoly on the oil in the country.

Because of how profitable oil was, many Iranians were upset that the British and not they were benefiting from their country's natural resource. The popular figurehead leading this movement to keep those profits in Iran and to nationalize Iran's oil was then parliament member Mohamed Mossadeh, who also wanted to bring democracy to Iran. Masade's push for democracy threatened the Shah's grip on the country, as did the communist Tudu party and the extremist Shia sects pushing for a theocracy. And the Shah didn't have the strongest argument for his own rule at that moment in the late 1940s, early 1950s, as the country was facing an economic downturn. because of the, let's say, uncertain political situation at home, Soraya and the Shah had to forego their European honeymoon,

spending only two weeks at one of the Shah's villas north of Tehran on the Caspian Sea. Even then, the Shah was receiving memos and updates from his aid every day while they were on their honeymoon. It wouldn't even be a full week after they returned from the sea for that honeymoon bubble to official. burst. Just three days after they returned, the prime minister was assassinated by assailants connected to conservative Muslim militants. On top of throwing the country into disarray, the prime minister's assassination made way for Mossadeh to rise to the seat of prime minister. Capitalizing on the moment, Mossadish set about initiating the nationalization of Iranian oil, which would eventually become one of the most consequential events in modern Iranian history.

Understandably, the British and American governments were not thrilled with the nationalization of Iranian oil. That move not only would result in a Western company losing out on profit, but was also too close to communist ideology for comfort, fearing that the nationalization of oil would facilitate the encroachment of the USS' are on Iran, the U.K. and U.S. tried to bargain with Masadi and the Iranian people. But Masaday wouldn't budge. It was nationalization or nothing. Simultaneously, the new prime minister moved to consolidate his power and maneuver the Shah out of any real role within the government.

After months of political back and forth and major opposition from, unsurprisingly, the Shah, Mossida succeeded in 1953 in assuming powers that were once held by the ruler. The Shah had been relinquished to essentially a figurehead monarch. His advisors no longer visited him, and no one asked for his opinion on matters of state. The Shah, who had been raised and trained his whole life, to be ahead of state only to have that taken away, sank into a deep deposition. While navigating her new role as Empress, learning to manage personalities with the neat Pala V family and trying to master the Farsi language, Soraya did her best to be a steadfast support to the Shah during this time. She saw her ultimate duty as her husband's well-being,

so she made it her mission to bring him some relief. But there was little she could do to assuage the Shah's paranoia and sense of hopelessness. She was stuck sleeping next to a man who barely smiled during the day and was always keeping a gun under his pillow at night. The Shah had warned Soraya during their engagement that being Empress was not all glit and glamour. On a walk before their wedding, the Shah had said to his fiancé, quote,

Don't imagine that I'm offering you an easy life, Soraya, the duties that you must. accept will be hard and wearisome. I hope you have no illusions on that score. Soraya didn't realize just how hard and wearisome it actually would be. In early August, 1953, the Shah tried to make one last move to reclaim his power, and with the support of the U.S. and the U.K., issued a proclamation calling for Mossade's resignation, that he sent loyal army officers. to execute. The attempted coup backfired, and the Shah had to flee the country immediately to

avoid being arrested. At 4 in the morning, the Shah shook his wife awake and told her to pack up. They had to leave right now. Saraya, the Shah, and two other close courtiers scrambled onto a small plane and quickly took off, fleeing Iran with no idea of when they would return. After stopping in Baghdad for a few days, the couple arrived in Rome, where, from the seclusion of their hotel suite, they grappled with the fact that they were no longer royalty. In the afternoons over their tea, they started putting together some sort of plan for a normal life. Maybe they could buy a bit of land in the U.S. and live there. Soraya was starting to accept their fate as normal everyday people. when the tide in Iran turned.

In late August, 1953, just a few weeks after the royal couple fled, the Iranian military, supported by the CIA, overthrew the prime minister and called the Shah to return to Iran and his throne. With that dramatic reversal of fortune, the royal couple returned to Iran more powerful than ever and finally began living the luxurious, courtly life that Soraya had once imagined for herself

when she first became engaged. Soraya threw masquerade balls and finally redid the imperial residence with the help of a famed Parisian designer. She bought an all-new wardrobe of the hottest styles and became the most important woman in Tehran's social scene. They were living the life she had dreamed of. They had weathered the storm,

and now they were home free. But the thing that would really deprive Soraya of her dreams had yet to rear its head. The chaos that had been Iran for the past three years had diverted attention from an important aspect of the royal couple's marriage, children. It hadn't been clear that the Shah would ultimately remain in power, so why bother worrying about producing an heir?

But since the monarchy, He had emerged in 1953, not only intact, but stronger than ever, it was time to get serious. And get serious, the Shah and Soraya did. When not working towards a child, the couple would fantasize about their baby, whom the Shah was certain would be a boy. Soraya wished the same, but she was growing worried as she remained without child month after month. It soon became clear to Soraya that the Shah was also becoming worried and a bit frustrated. The couple was scheduled to set off on a long overdue vacation across America and Europe

that included Hollywood parties, water skiing in Miami, and a dinner with Queen Elizabeth II. But the trip was not just for pleasure. Right before the trip, the Shah had made plans for Soraya to see specialists about her fertility. They would stop in both New York and Boston to meet with doctors for a, quote, checkup. As Soraya was eager to become a mother, she was more than ready to receive answers and hopefully reassurance that a baby was not far off. The issue of producing an heir became that much more important in October 1954 just days before they left for their trip. The Shah's younger brother, Ali Reza, the only person who could inherit the throne by Iranian law, died in a

plane crash. Now it was imperative that Soraya produce not just a child, but a son. The survival of the Pahlavi dynasty depended on it. In her autobiographies, Soraya reflected on her trip to the U.S. and Europe fondly. She spoke of the dresses she purchased, the amazing vener. they stayed at, the celebrities they met, and the gifts they received. She made only scant mention of the doctor's appointments in New York and no mention of her time in Boston. But it was these appointments that marked an inflection point in her marriage to the Shah, as it was in Boston that they learned she would never be able to carry a child. This would be the thing that would ultimately keep Soraya from her happiness. That which would prevent Soraya from living with her true

love in the royal court of her homeland. It had finally reared its head. Even if the two remained in love, the next three years of their marriage would always be tainted by the fact that Soraya could not produce an air. One day while out on a walk together, Soraya had had enough, and she beseeched the Shah to change the Constitution so that one of his half-brothers could become his heir, something that was previously outlawed. Her husband responded by saying that this change would have to go through the counsel of wise men who might not accept it. But what if, he offered, he took another wife solely for the purpose of producing an heir. That way, Soraya would still get to remain empress. Soraya was beyond offended and rejected that offer outright.

Instead, she offered to leave for Europe so that Mohamed Razat might convene the Council of Wise Men, and they might avoid any awkwardness that would arise from their decision. The Shah thought that was a smart idea. It was then that they both knew, whether or not they would admit it, that their marriage was over. The Shah would sacrifice his love for his dynasty, which in the end he wouldn't even keep. Seven years and one day after they first got married, Soraya left Iran for the last time. One month later, on March 14, 1958, the Shah would speak over the radio announcing the couple's divorce. And Soraya, even though she understood why the Shah had to do this, would never quite forgive him for it.

Perhaps letting the worst of her racist beliefs surface in her first autobiography, she called the Shah, fundamentally and oriental. She believed that he wasn't Western enough to give up his throne for love, like the Duke of Windsor had done for Wallace Simpson. Even though she knew how dedicated he was to his throne and knew that he expected her to know that, she still thought he would choose her over ruling Iran. But ultimately, Soraya and the Shah both had lost the loves of their lives. love that had burned so bright had flamed out through no fault of their own. Their circumstances and the reality that they lived in prevented them from living out their happily ever after. Soraya's life after her divorce was difficult. She described this period as a, quote,

free fall where she had to learn how to be a normal adult without the trappings of royal status. Forget living without your beloved. Imagine trying to learn from scratch how to tip waiters or follow road signs when you drive or pull in an electrical cord into the wall, all while being hounded by European paparazzi, who dubbed her Soraya Princess with the Sad Eyes. In fact, her divorce and the publicity over her sadness was so moving to the public, that French songwriter Francois Malagere was inspired to write the song, Je vu pleuré comé Soraya.

Sorry for the pronunciation. I want to cry like Soraya. Once she had regained some semblance of self, Soraya decided to finally pursue her dream of acting. She starred in the 1965 movie Etre Volti, the three faces, and, like many great performers, was credited with just her first name. It was actually on the set of that movie that Soraya met the second love of her life, Franco Indivina. She and the Italian film director began a love affair a few years later

and would live together just outside of Rome for almost five years. But just like her first love, her second love, too, was destined for heartbreak. In 1972, Franco died tragically in a plane crash. This loss sent Soraya into a tailspin from which she would never recover. Too devastated to return to their home in Rome, she moved to Paris. As part of her divorce, the Shah had bought Soraya a penthouse in the 8th Arandesmont, and that became her home for the rest of her life. While she did have friends there and did socialize in Paris, she never found another significant other.

She had lost two great loves of her life and still held a candle for them both, even though she knew, for different reasons, she could never have either of them. While she could never see Franco again, Soraya did keep in touch with the Shah. They would write letters to each other and in accordance with their divorce agreement, he supported her financially until the Iranian revolution. Soraya would see the Shah in person on multiple occasions after their divorce, but neither party ever publicly admitted it. Before the Shah's exile and death in the late 1970s,

which you can hear more about in the earlier episode of Noble Blood I mentioned, whenever he would visit Europe, he would make secret trips to see her. Although there were happy moments and joyful aspects of her life, Soraya remained alone and lonely until she died in Paris in 2001. She had relied on her few close friends and immediate family members for company, but the reality of her circumstance was captured perfectly by the title of her second autobiography, Palace of Solitude. That's the story of Soraya,

Empress of Iran, but stay tuned after a brief sponsor break to hear about how the Soraya and Shah's relationship mirrors very specifically that of another royal couple covered on this podcast. What's up, everyone? I'm Ego Wodom. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and the Big Money Players Network. It's Will Ferrell. Woo-woo, who, who, who, who. My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with him one day, and I was like, and dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place that come look for up-and-coming

talent. He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet. Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat.

Just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks Dad on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, everyone? I'm Ego Wadam. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and the Big Money Players Network.

It's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with them one day, and I was like, and Dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place they come look for up-and-coming talent. said if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet. Yeah.

He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be.

Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. While Soraya had wished that the Shah would give up his throne for love like the Duke of Windsor had for Wallace Simpson, the couple would, in actuality, come to resemble a different famous noble couple that we've covered on this podcast, Napoleon and Josephine. Not only were they an unconventional love match forced apart due to his need for an heir, but their stories of their connections at the end of each respective monarch's life is astoundingly similar. Josephine had tried to visit her ex-husband Napoleon when he was in exile,

but never got the chance to see him one final time before she died. But in the same way he had been on her mind, Napoleon's last word years later was Josephine's name. True love tragically kept apart. Just like Napoleon, the Shah was in exile when he died. After the Shah had been overthrown and exiled from Iran in 1979, word of the Shah's quick deteriorating health spread all over the world. When Soraya heard the news, she reached out through secret channels to the

Shah and expressed that she wished to visit him and see him one final time. Having kept a spot in his heart for his second wife, the Shah agreed to a visit, although he stipulated that it would have to be kept secret from his third and then current wife, Farah. So the Shah's entourage coordinated with the Egyptian government, the then hosts of the sickly exiled Shah to facilitate Soraya's inconspicuous visit to the country. Unfortunately, though, just before she was set to head out for Egypt, her trip was postponed. The Shah's health had taken a dramatic turn for the worse, and he was in no state to accept visitors. Alas, the postponed trip would never come, and the Shah passed away shortly thereafter.

Saraya had been denied her last opportunity to say goodbye to the husband she had been forced to give up so that he might produce an heir. Just as Josephine and Napoleon never truly got to say goodbye. Noble Blood is a production of IHeart Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Menke. Noble Blood is hosted by me, Danish Schwartz, with additional writing and researching by Hannahjohn. Johnston, Hannah Zwick, Courtney Sender, Julia Melani, and Armand Kasam. The show is edited and produced by Noemi Griffin and Rima Il K. Ali, with supervising producer Josh Thane and executive producers Aaron Manky, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick.

For more podcasts from IHeartRadio, visit the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart podcast presents Soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. This is my best friend, Janet. Hey! And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely.

A redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips. This is a podcast we're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drinks. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they hit a bogo. Well, then you got them.

Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an I-heart podcast, guaranteed human.