Normal Gossip - Normal Gossip Live in Seattle with Josh Gwynn

Episode Date: January 21, 2026

We've got a surprise for you! Here's the recording from our September 2025 live show in Seattle, featuring Josh Gwynn!For more of Josh and Rachelle gossiping, here's Rachelle on Josh's show Back Issue. Subscribe to our newsletter for writing from Rachelle, Se'era, Jae, Alex, and Kelsey, plus blog recommendations and secrets!You can support Normal Gossip directly by buying merch or becoming a Friend or a Friend-of-Friend at supportnormalgossip.com.You can also find all kinds of info about us and how to submit gossip on our Komi page: https://normalgossip.komi.io/Episode transcript here.Follow the show on Instagram @normalgossip, and if you have gossip, email us at [e-mail] or leave us a voicemail at 26-79-GOSSIP.Normal Gossip is hosted by Rachelle Hampton (@heyydnae) and produced by Se'era Spragley Ricks (@seera_sharae) and Jae Towle Vieira (@jaetowlevieira). Alex Sujong Laughlin (@alexlaughs) is our Supervising Producer. Justin Ellis is Defector's projects editor. Show art by Tara Jacoby.Normal Gossip is a proud member of Radiotopia. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

What's up, rich people? It's me, Haley, aka Mrs. Dow Jones. Money is juicy. That is why I have taken upon myself to start a new podcast called Financial Tea. Every single week, I will break down what is happening in money right now. Plus, I'm going to bring on experts, entrepreneurs, and influencers to spill their financial tea. Think of it as your new weekly financial gossip column. Financial Tea is out now, wherever you got your podcast or watch. on YouTube. Hello and welcome to normal gossip. I'm your host, Rachel Hanpton, and in each episode of this podcast, we're going to bring

you an anonymous most of gossip from the real world. Today's episode is an extra special one. If y'all can remember all the way back to September of last year, listen, I know it's hard because the first three weeks of this year have felt like a decade. But if you can remember all the way back to September of last year, you might recall that Sierra and I went on our very first live tour. It was an absolutely incredible experience and we wanted to be able to share it with those of you who couldn't make it out to a show or for those beautiful souls in Austin, we had to cancel on because I got sick. I'm so sorry, Austin. So to make it up and to give y'all a sneak peek of the next tour we go on, we recorded our tour.

were stop in Seattle, which was a real full circle moment for me because I was the guest for Kelsey stop in Seattle all the way back in 2023, back when the thought of hosting this show would have felt like an impossible dream. So I cannot say how surreal it was to be back in the more theater where in a way it all kind of started for me. This is also the point in the tour where I started getting comfortable on stage. I don't know if I've set this. My memory is not what it used to be. But I had no stage experience before I started hosting this show. I had done some talkbacks and Q&As. But the New York stop of normal gossip at Town Hall on Broadway was my first time being in control of a stage. So shout out to New York and Boston because I was shitting bricks the

entire two first nights, but y'all really kept me going. All to say, if you have heard this tour story, it might be fun to hear it again, not least because my guest for Seattle was none other than Josh Gwyn. You will hear more of Josh's bio on the live show audio, but way back in March of 2023, Josh had me on his incredible show back issue to talk about gossip. I know. I honestly forgot that we had talked about that until I went looking for the episode, which is a reflection in my memory and not how much fun I have with Josh, which y'all will hear in just a second. We will link that back issue episode in our show notes. But without further ado, let's jump right in.

I hope you enjoy. Hello, Seattle. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I've been waiting to say that for a long time. I was an OG Al City fan. If you get that joke, you're too old. Our guest tonight is an audio producer, host and creative who has created work for Pineapple Street Media, The New York Times, Netflix, Nike, Higher Ground, and more.

Please welcome to the stage, Josh Gwynn. Hello, Josh. Hey, how are you doing? Hey, Seattle. How are you doing me? Hey, Seattle. How y'all doing? How are you feeling?

Good. I'm here. Yeah, yeah. I ain't got a job. Higher Josh. I heard you have some gossip for me. neighborhood gossip counts, right? Oh, certainly.

So, I live in Atlanta. Shout out to the egg. Shout out to the egg. And I live in this neighborhood that is idealic. Like, it's, I live in Decatur. And I love, where it's greater. And I love my neighbors.

Like, I don't know any of their first names because next to me is Ms. Clark. and Mr. Miller lives across the street. There's someone that's closer to my age, and her name's Tara. She lives to my left. These are all really important to the story. So I move in, and there's a house. All of these neighbors are older and retired,

and they have nothing to do but be in your business, which is great, because nothing bad happens. So maybe like six months after I move in, there's a house that's like four houses down the road that falls down the road. that falls into disrepair, like the gutters fall down, and again, everyone is unemployed, including me now. And so they all call code enforcement, and they fix it up, new tenants move in, and weirdly they have a U-Haul truck in front of their house for like a month. And everyone in the

neighborhood's like, that's weird. So one night I'm coming home late, and maybe like 11 or 12. There's cars up all up and down the street, and blue and red lights coming from inside the house. I'm like, oh, that's cute. Like, they just moved in. They don't have furniture. They probably had their friend DJ, a party. Like, who hasn't done that? That's exactly what I think.

So I don't think about it. Maybe, like, a month later, my mom is extremely handy. Like, she, like, built my crawl space door from hand handy. She's amazing. She's amazing. So I had her come for a month. I was like, there's a bunch of shit I need help with. And we need to put, like, new doors on my paddy.

and that sort of thing. So we need to go to Lowe's and Miss Clark, who's my next-door neighbor, was like, I want you and Tara to take over. We don't have an H-A, but we have like a community association where you pay like $25 a year and like get to have breakfast at her place. She makes like bacon egg and cheeses from scratch with maple like sauce. It's amazing. That is a phenomenal deal. It's great. And she can cook her butt off, but I couldn't go because I had to make it appointment to get a U-Haul. So me and my mom go and get the U-Haul, and she couldn't help me lift it, was really heavy. So she's like, I see a guy over there cutting his grass. I'm going to go pay him $10 to help you move this door. And I'm like, okay, so she hops out. I pull up to my house,

and I see all of these old people coming out of Ms. Clark's house towards the U-Haul, and I'm like, what is going on? My neighbor, Tara, the one that's closer to my age, runs across her yard, runs up to me, and goes, girl, they thought you was moving stuff into the stripper house. I said, bitch, what? What? What is a stripper house? And she said, every room in this house

has a stripper pole, they have a bouncer. It's a stripper house. I'm like, that is the most Atlanta shit I've ever heard in my life. And at first I'm like, get out you living, you know, like, be creative. Like, I get it. I don't yuck anybody's yum.

Whatever. And she was like, no, girl, they were shooting in the stripper house. I said, y'all can't be strutting in the shirper house. I was trying to take your side. So I don't think about it for like another month, but then all of a sudden, the strip house is turnt. I wake up from a panic dream at 3 in the morning. Yeah, ooh. It looks like magic city outside.

I was like, what is what is going on? waking up from a panic dream to magic mic on your front door is a lot that is a lot so i wake up one morning and tara texted me she goes girl come outside they got the strippers so me and me and every other person on my block pretends to do yard work at seven a.m or it's like like nine 8 am on a Tuesday. All of us are out there just... A little nail clipper by the lawn. It's like, girl, are we on Mysterio Lane? What's going on?

They put all their shit out on the front lawn, right? So we're standing at the corner by the mailbox. And my neighbor Tara, she's like this tall. She's like waving at the officer. She's like, sir, sir. He's like, I see you. You're in the street. I'm coming. So she goes, was it a stripper house? And I will remember what he responds until the day I die. He goes, ma'am, I can't tell you whether for sure they were strippers, but I could tell you they were in there working. I said, what does that mean?

So he's explaining that there's not only stripper poles in each room, there's a menu on the wall with the different food that they're selling. They're making tacos, bitch. I was like, I didn't get a taco. I bet their wings are fire. I bet they were probably. So then he asked my neighbor on a date, and she was like, whatever, and then leave me alone. So he calls her back the week after, and he's like, oh, where are we going to dinner? She's like, we're not going nowhere.

Leave me alone. But also, when are they going to come get their stuff? Because it's still on the front lawn. And he was like, probably never because the lease that they gave us was fake. And they had been there for a year, just squatting. Just squatting in the stripper house? In the stripper house. And the thing is, if they hadn't been turning donuts and turning up so crazy, nobody would have said a word.

So I get pissed, right, because I'm like, why are y'all taking advantage of, like, you know, like most of my neighbors are like older black folks that have lived there since the 70s? Like, why are y'all doing this? So I just Google Atlanta Stripper House. It's just an epidemic. It's an epidemic. It's an epidemic. There's this woman who lives in like the north suburbs of Atlanta that's like the bougier area. I'm, it's past Buckhead.

This woman that's deployed, her house is like 3,500 square feet. They turned it into a stripper house. And I'm like, Atlanta's like the stripper capital of America. Like, bitch, go down to Magic City and have some wings. Like, what's really going on? The money that they must be saving on rent has to be incredible. This has to be working out some way in the end. Ms. Clark did say my other neighbor.

She was like, but the money they were saving on. I'm worried. They could have at least got their hair done. Southern Shades, you can't beat it. Josh, that was incredible. I'm going to be thinking about, I don't know if they were stripping, but they were certainly working for a long time now. Wow.

Thank you so much. Of course. Also, your story somehow manages to intersect with ours. What? I'm not going to tell you how. Okay. But are you ready for some gossip? I'm ready. Are y'all ready?

Buckle up because today's story is about a bachelorette party. And not just any bachelorette party. We are talking the bachelorette party. Think mandatory matching silk robes. Think themes every single night. Think Dick Straws. Yeah. Josh, have you ever seen a bachelorette trip in the wild?

You're in Atlanta, so I'm assuming. Yeah, yeah, yeah. How would you describe the vibe? I mean, is it one that's happening at a gay club? Or is it one that's happening anywhere else? Go in the gay club. Obnoxious. I'm drunk.

They tend to take up a lot of space. But they seem to be like, you know, good times. I love any sort of thing that goes into, like, the commitment for a theme. night. Like everyone, especially if you've traveled, because I mean everyone packed their luggage, like thinking and committing to the theme. So I appreciate that. There is something about committing to the bit that's really, yeah, yeah. Our bachelor's trip is definitely committing to a bit because it's a Bachelorette weekend and the Bachelorette Capital of America.

Vegas? Nashville. I know, I just know. I just know. I just know. At some point, they got on one of those bikes where everybody's biking at the same time. Like, I got an exercise in order to have my drink. What the hell? Josh, you might be psychic. And the weekend our bride has chosen for her bachelorette is none other than Memorial Day weekend. Because everyone has off, you know? How do you feel about spending a holiday weekend at a bachelorette party?

Do I like the people? Like, is this like a day one, but if it's like I'm tangentially related, like, girl, you're not special enough to get my barbecue day? It's like somewhere in the middle of those two things. Then I think it's brave. It is. It's a brave choice. I want to hear from y'all. All of y'all have beautiful little glow sticks.

I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to raise your bracelets in the air depending on your answer. So if you feel really good about spending your holiday weekend at a bachelor's party, raise your glow stick. I'm seeing like six, six glow sticks max. Okay, now put them down. If you feel bad about spending your holiday weekend at a bachelor's party, raise your glue. Okay. They look like a Taylor Swift concert. Seeing a lot more.

Yeah, yeah. Okay, put them down. Our friend of a friend is low-key on the fence about this entire enterprise, even though she is the maid of honor. Tonight's friend of her friend is named Remy. Remy is in her late 20s. Remy is low-maintenance. Like, she's the kind of girl who wouldn't even have a bachelorette party or even a wedding. She just had, like, a big party in her backyard with all of her closest friends and call it today.

Yeah. Yeah. Are you, like, a big wedding proponent, or are you just taking your ass to the courthouse? I love other people's weddings because we're eating other people's money. I like, for me, do you remember on Netflix there was that show where it was like house or the wedding and they had the couple? Marriage or mortgage? I love that show.

There's only been one season and it's a crime. Yeah, how's the question? But then so many people chose marriage. Remy is low maintenance, but her best friend is not and her best friend is our bride. Okay. who will be referred to as the bride. Rimmie and the bride have been friends since high school. They stayed friends through college and postgrad.

Remy studied pre-law, and she's now a lawyer for a non-profit. And if we're being totally honest here, her opinions about big weddings or mostly about the fact that she can't afford one. But it's okay. Remy is laboring for love, not for profit. Anyone here have any familiarity with that? Whose retirement plan is climate collapse.

But the bride went to a big state school in the South. Her major is not important. What is important is that her freshman year, the bride rushed a sorority. Omega Theta Pi. Is that a real sorority? No, I'm not catching that kind of smoke. Okay.

By the time the bride graduated, she was president of her school's chapter, which looked great on her applications for grad school, where she studied, actually, Josh, I want to ask you, what do you think our bride studied? Big state school in the South, president of her sorority chapter. What do you think she's doing for our master's? Nursing.

Communications? Nursing. Nursing? Yeah. That's a popular one. Nursing. Do you all have any guesses? Sociology.

Okay, I've heard sociology, communications, and polysy and nursing. Elementary, these are all such good guesses, none of them are correct. Our bride studied library and information science. Wow. That's right. She's a hot librarian. I love this. You love her?

Yeah. You're on the bride's side? You like our hot librarian? I just love the idea. that you have to like, like, what do you have your seminars in, like, the Dewey Decimal System? Exactly. What? What are you learning in-

in grad school? Yeah, in these classes. Yeah. The bride had it all planned out. She was going to take four years to party, and then it's time to buckle down in the library. Yeah. Loki, the bride, has her whole life planned out, and not just her life. Like, Remy knows the bride is the kind of person who has had a,

draft of her own will ready since she was 23 because she doesn't trust anyone else in her life to plan her funeral. Like, what if they get the playlist wrong? Wait, what is on this? Dautry? I've ruled a mean I can do that. Wow. I was just defending her. Just defending dotry? Doughtry. Gone too soon. It should have been it's not over. Knowing this about the bride, Remy knows what kind of energy the bride is going to be bringing to her bachelorette. And the bride has had a lot of time to think about her bachelorette. Because she was president of her chapter of Jamaica Theta Pye, by the time she gets married in her late 20s, which is a little late, if you ask her sorority sisters. Well, by the time the bride starts planning her wedding, she has already been a bridesmaid in 10.

weddings. 10.10. The bride does not feel any type of way about that at all. Mm-hmm. Mm-mm. Uh-uh. Besides, the extra experience

means that by the time the bride's wedding rolls around, she's already prepared, she knows the common pitfalls, she's been on unending email threats about etiquette that mostly come down to who's going to pay for what. And our bride is a benevolent bitch.

She knows some of her friends like Remy come from less comfortable backgrounds. So our bride takes it upon herself to plan her own bachelorette party. She books everything herself, and that way she can just divide the cost among the 11 other women invited on this trip. Wait, you said divide the cost? Yeah. Is that usually how it works? Yeah. What?

Yeah. Why do I have to pay for your life decisions? I'm single for a reason. Do you see any problem with this plan besides the general unfairness of bachelor's at parties? Well, if that's just like generally how it's done, I'm, you know, I'm not aware. But like if that's generally how it's done, whatever, I like the fact that if you're a control freak and you know that you're a control freak, then control it freak. Like, take the initiative. I can't stand somebody who expects people to read their mind.

I know. Like, girl, speak up. Yeah, stand up, girl. Yeah, the bride spoke up and everything is already booked. Here's the invitation that Remy receives. This invitation goes out to 11 other women. Does that say here's the dealio.com? Yeah, it does. So this bachelorette weekend, including the bride, will have 12 women total. Is it the 30 dozen? Is it the 12 apostles? Will there be a Judas? We're about to find out. There's Remy, the bride,

five girls from Remy's undergrad sorority, Omega Theta Pi, and then five girls from the bride's graduate cohort who are also aspiring librarians. I have made you a beautiful graphic, like I am Tyra Banks, and this is America's Next Top Model. Wait, I want, okay, I want that at my funeral.

But of me. Different photos of you? And then I just fade out like on top of America's next hot model. And that music plays, da-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-da. That's what I want. Okay, I'm writing that down from whoever plans your funeral. But first, Sierra, is there anything I've forgotten? Maybe the money?

Oh, you're right. On that on that invite, it said it's going to be expensive. She's speaking up. How much do you think is fair to make someone pay to come to your Bachelorette weekend? Thank you. Someone in the audience said zero dollars. Yeah, zero. I don't think that's like in this economy?

I know. Inflation? So you're telling me, I just didn't know. this. So if you are a bridesmaid and you go to the bachelor's party, you have to pay to go to the party. Yes. But you also have to pay for the dress. Yes. And your dress to the wedding. Yeah. And your dress for the wedding. How much do you usually, if your friend gets married, how much are you usually thinking like you're going to end up like a grand? Like a grand. Everyone's saying a lot. I even like him.

Usually you don't. All right, I want to ask y'all. So raise your wrist if you think $100 is fair to ask someone to come to your bachelorette party. That, okay. $100? Okay, yeah, I'm seeing a good, I'd say like half. Okay. How about $300?

Okay. Still seeing some. But it's also like, what are we doing? We'll get to that. Okay. Okay, okay. A thousand dollars. Seeing some glow sticks still in the air.

Okay. I want to hear from the people who think $1,000 is enough money. I'm so sorry. I have like a lot of long distance friends, so I feel like flights kind of just cover and get you up to a thousand and then a bit for like a hotel. That's real. That's real.

Thank you for being brave. To take part in this trip, Each of the 11 women, because the bride doesn't pay, obviously, it's just proper etiquette. Each of these 11 women must fork over. Drum roll, please. $800. Does not include... Okay, $800 plus one round-trip flight to Nashville during Memorial Day weekend.

Oh, so it's going to be even more expensive? Does this seem like a normal amount to you? No, it sounds like a scheme that Todd set up. Does it change anyone's answer to know that $800 does not include any booze? Okay, okay, okay, okay, but, but, but, hold on, the $800 does include the Airbnb, which is a duplex condo in downtown Nashville, all the activities for the weekend, which includes but is not limited to a drag brunch. See? Those are the people that end up in the gay club.

A pedal pub ride and a party bus. Of course. The bride has even booked a private chef for one of the evenings. But can he cook, though? That's not important. And the bride has promised that the only things anyone should have to pay for on the trip are a couple of mules out, any Ubers, and the booze, and the airfish. Do you believe her?

Okay. Raise a glow stick if you believe her. Damn, it's dark in here. Y'all don't believe women in Seattle, huh? Oh, my God. Well, you're right not to believe this specific woman. Because one thing that I would like to draw your attention to that is also not included in that upfront cost

is something a little unorthodox. something this group is calling the bribery fund. What the fuck is right? Our bride is a smart girl. She knows Nashville is a bachelor at battleground on a good day, so instead of just picking

a non-holiday weekend or God forbid a weekday, the bride comes up with the bribery fund, and it is exactly what it sounds like. Every lady, minus the bride, obviously, contribute about $100 in cash. I can trust y'all to do the math.

And this cash will be used to grease any palms that need to be greased. Because the bride will not be caught dead waiting outside any clubs. She will not be double-fisting drinks to avoid the bar line. And she will not be waiting in a bathroom line. This is the bride's weekend.

So, just so I understand, they're supposed to pull their money so that if they go to the club, they can slip the bouncer. That's what that's for. Yes. Who's this bitch, Olivia Pope? What the hell is what I?

Do you think the bribery fund will work? Do I think it will work? Yeah. Yeah. People like money. And things are, you know, like it's easier to get a table. It's easier to, you know.

Everyone speaks the language of money. I'm not paying for it, though. That's someone else's bride. Right. Well, it's time to head off to Nashville. You ready? God damn. Yeah.

You all ready? Day one, Saturday. This is our incredible little schedule. Everyone is arriving at various times on Saturday. Sunday is the all-day party. Monday everyone flies back. So day one and day three are travel days. So everyone's going to get in, going to get a little drink,

going to get a little gossip, going to have a little dinner with a hot chef. What can eat cook? We don't know. But then we're going to go bar hopping. So as made of honor, Remy is flying in on the earlier side. She's flying into Nashville on the same flight as two other girls who live in her city, who are also going to this bachelor's party.

Both of these girls are from the bride's grad cohort, so they are fellow librarians in training. One is named Jesse, and the other is named Peyton. I'm gonna ask you all to be really judgmental. All you know about these women before you board a flight with them is their names. Whose name do you trust more? Raise a glow stick if you're on Jesse's side.

This is always shocking to me. Okay, lower your glow sticks. Raise your hands if you're on Peyton's side. Fascinating. I have a question. Do you have a question, Sierra? Yes. How are these names spelled?

That's a great question, Sierra. It is Peyton with an E, as in P-E-Y-T-O-N. Okay. And it's Jesse with a Y. Wow. Does anyone want to change their answer? Well, Jesse with the Y had suggested picking seats in the same row, which met paying extra to select their seats. And Remy hates paying extra to pick seats.

But as made of honor, Remy's entire vibe this weekend is not just team player. It is coach. It is counselor. It is confidante. Okay. So Remy's like, sure, whatever, sounds great. Jesse picks a window seat in aisle 17, and Remy pays an extra $100 to get an aisle seat in the same row.

Remy's rationale for this is that Jesse and Paden know each other from school, so they probably want to sit next to each other, right? No. So this doesn't seem like good logic to you? No. In Nashville for, like, let me get my aisle seat because I'm claustrophobic on the plane to begin with. And let me sit where I'm going to sit. I'm not paying no extra money so I can sit next to you. Insert whoever into you. No, me specifically.

Rimmie gets to the airport where she meets Jesse and Payton for the first time in person. And unfortunately for Remy, both Jesse and Payton are nondescript brunettes wearing slick back buns. and tiny tasteful gold hoops and aloo leggings. It's not until they're boarding the airplane that one of the nondescript brunettes walks right past aisle 17, and the other one is like, wait, I thought we were sitting together. Remy assumes this is Jesse,

which means that it's Peyton, who's like, yeah, I'm not sitting, I'm not paying extra to sit in a middle seat. I'll see you guys when we land. Thank you. Okay, as objective observers, we're all on Peyton. side, but if you were Remy, how would you feel? You couldn't have texted me, girl? You couldn't let me know before here?

Just let me know. Just let me know. Yeah, Remy is immediately annoyed by Payton, who from this point on, we'll be referring to as fucking Peyton. Fucking Peyton. You can maybe guess why. You'll definitely know by the end of the story. Remy can tell Jesse is also annoyed by fucking Peyton.

Like, Jessie even offers her window seat to a stranger so that she and Remy can sit next to each other. They've just taken off when Jesse says, I'm sorry about Peyton, and then she sort of glances around before continuing. And Jesse is like, honestly, I'm not surprised, though. One of the other girls told me she paid for her plane ticket with afterpay.

Wait, can you do that? Yeah. You can buy anything on afterpay. Girl. Are you familiar with after pay? Or not all of them. I've never used them. But I just think it's interesting that you can like, you know, anything online.

You're just like, let me put it in an installment plan. It's so weird. So she's gossiping about the fact that she had to put it on layaway. She had to buy her plane ticket on layaway. Yeah. Yeah. For those who are unfamiliar, after pay is layaway. It's a buy now and pay later service.

except now instead of your Christmas presents, you can use it for Sephora. Remy is a messy bitch, as I assume most of us are here. So she says something like, it's so easy to get caught up in that by now, pay later stuff. Which is all it takes for Jesse to start dishing, not just about Peyton's financial situation,

but about all the other library, including the bride. Jessie tells Remy about all the times in grad school when they would be trying to plan like a cheap weekend getaway and the bride would suggest like Aspen or Tulum. By the time they land, Remy has mentally started referring to her seatmate as messy Jessie. Jessie. And she's also made a mental note to not reveal any sensitive information this weekend. Yeah. Yeah.

And Remy is also already facing her first crisis as made of honor. You remember the private chef that the bride booked? Well, as soon as Remy lands and turns off airplane mode on her phone, she gets a series of increasingly panicked texts from the bride. The private chef has canceled. Apparently, Jojo Siwa came into town and offered a lot of money. But that's not what raises Remy's cortisol levels. In that very last text, the bride's like,

I've been telling all the girls what a great chef you are. Maybe you could cook for us. To Remy? No pressure at all. You think this is a fair request to make of a maid of honor? No. I got to pay and cook? For 12 people?

No. Short notice? No, y'all better, we better hit up Waffle House. Absolutely not. Can you imagine this bride fighting in Waffle House? Call Jojo Siwa. Kerm is a bitch. You should have known better.

Remy's eyes starts twitching. Yeah. And she hasn't even seen the Airbnb yet. Remember how I said the bride had booked the Airbnb? she had really wanted it to be a surprise. So this is the first time all the ladies are seeing where they're staying for the weekend. Wait, so there was no group chat. There was an email saying everything's booked.

So they're walking in sight unseen. Yeah. So the bride did say it was a duplex condo that she rented both sides up for the weekend, which is true. Okay. Half the ladies will be staying on one side and half on the other. On the right side of the duplex are Remy, the bride, and all of the bride's Omega Theta Pi sisters. On the left side of the duplex are Messy Jessie, fucking Peyton, and the rest of the librarian ladies. What the bride has failed to mention is that while each side has two bathrooms, only one of those bathrooms has a shower.

Do you see a problem with this layout? A couple. Yeah. Tell me. What problems do you see? Literally, every real Housewives Bravo trip that's ever existed on Bravo. Like, first of all, I'm kind of uncomfortable with the way that it's segregated. You don't like them being split up? I just think it fosters the wrong culture. That's real.

You should be supporting integration. But like, you know when you go to weddings and they'd like have the like forethought to like mix the tables with people that they want to me? That's a good wedding. It's just like, why are you going on this trip to not talk to people? I don't know.

Yeah, that's real. Remy also sees some problems with this layout. She's like, it's not really a question of if the one shower per six women is going to become a problem. It's more a question of when. But that's a problem for future Remy because current Remy has got to get dinner started. Current Remy ain't got to do shit. Remy gets her bag situated in the room she's sharing with the bride. Someone had thankfully gotten the bride a glass of wine so she's mellowed out. So they hug. Remy takes one of the rental cars to the nearest whole foods. And it's as she's walking out the door that the bride is like,

Wait, Remy, I thought of one more thing. The bride's like, you know how the party bus tomorrow is B-Y-O-B? The party bus? Is B-Y-O-B? Remy is like, no. Right. And the bride's like, it would be so great if you could pick up some alcohol too. She's like, save your seat, we can settle up later.

So, you know how you got, I'm like, I'm Remy. You know how you got that bribe fun? Mm-hmm. No, you're right. Remy should have been like, let's use that. It's now an emergency. Yeah. The thing is, I haven't even mentioned the dietary restrictions. When Remy had asked the group chat about any food allergies on a rate of whole food,

she expected like a nut allergy, maybe a dairy intolerance, and they're definitely those. But there are also three people who are gluten-free. Yeah, expected. One who is currently only eating raw food. one who isn't eating garlic or onions. And another one who just sends Remy a TikTok about hormone balancing foods with a text like, I'm easy though. What's hormone balancing food?

Hot-depth. With all of these restrictions, Remy somehow manages to come up with a Mediterranean-inspired menu for the night because she knows the bride has just returned from her pre-hunting honeymoon to Ibita. That she had the money to go on. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Well, she's not paying for a bachelor trip.

Oh, yeah. With the help of some of the other bridesmaids, Remy managed to get this Mediterranean dinner on the table by 6.30 p.m. Let's clap for Remy. I don't know if I want to class for Remy. I feel like an enabler. But girls, stand up. Yeah.

One of the Omega Theta Pye sisters does manage to slice her hand open on a vegetable peeler. Of course. But luckily, another sister did go to nursing school. So they stopped the bleeding pretty quickly, and Remy is like, you know what? One injury in the first six hours and we didn't have to go to the hospital. A win is a win. A win. Josh, are you someone who cares about your friends being friends?

I think that's fun. Then I don't have to, like, think about who's going where. You know what I mean? It's like less mental math, I guess. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The bride is kind of like this. So she suggests some icebreakers while they pregame for their night of bar hopping. In order to get them to be friends?

Mm-hmm. I don't agree with that. Well, the bride's already had three glasses of wine, which Remy knows means that the bride is at that stage where she's just looking at her friends with tears in her eyes because friendship is so beautiful. So first, the bride makes the Omega Theta Pye sisters teach the library. And Remy, the Omega Theta Pie drinking song.

Oh. Sierra, can you teach them the song? Take a shot. Take a shot. No one drinks like Omega's. Take a shot. That feels easy, right? Do y'all have it? All right. Take a shot.

I knew they had it when I heard someone say, it's not melody, it's rhythm. I'm proud of y'all. I'm proud of y'all. Congratulations, you have been initiated into Omega Theta Pi. How'd that make you feel, that little drinking song? Um, somewhere in my reptile brain I got scared, but... That's the exact vibe we wanted.

After learning this song, the librarians are low-key like, so y'all were in a cult? We read about that. But before this can start an argument, the bride decides to start basically going down that list of 36 questions to fall in love, with a few extra added in. Like, how did you lose your virginity? Do you still think about the first person you fell in love with? What's your biggest insecurity?

Things of that nature. Traps, basically. It's that last question, what's your biggest insecurity that says things off? messy Jesse clears her throat before admitting that her biggest insecurity is her feet I would have been like

my biggest insecurity is my likelihood to beat a bitch's ass that I don't like you see despite being 5 5Messie has size 11 feet it's her biggest lot in life it is so hard to shop for shoes mean girls in high school called her Sasquatch

Oh. Messy Jessie actually starts tearing up as she recounts the trauma of once accidentally leaving a hookup in the guy's sneakers, which looked like hers and fit her perfectly. But that means

there's a chance he never found out. She's certainly not going back. How tall is she? Five, five. How much sympathy is welling up in your chest right now? Do you have sympathy? She should have got a soccer scholarship or something.

Use those feet for something. Our girl, Remy, is less than impressed. She's like, if your biggest worry in life is having size, love, and feet, I don't have too much sympathy for you. Wisely, Remy decides not to say this. But one of the brides Omega Theta Pye sisters does speak up. Her name is Jules. And Jules is objectively Remy's favorite of the bride's other friends. She can shotgun a beer in under a minute.

She's in school to be a cardiac ICU nurse. And she's a stripper. We call that we contain multitudes. Jules is a sorority sister that Remy put in charge of the bride fund because if the money doesn't work, then Jules almost certainly will. I know that's right. Jules is like, I have had size 11 feet since I was 12. And then she's like, I love it.

Jules is like, I feel like a big, beautiful horse. Not Jules the Stallion. What's going on? Like a stallion even. That was good. Remy is straight, but at this moment, she's no better than a man. Okay. Like, it's giving a wuga.

Say it again. I love to eat where the accent is. Remy's like, you know what, hell yeah. But Messi-Jessie goes quiet. And this is when the bride decides to say, okay, pre-game's over. The bride keeps everyone up bar hopping until 2 a.m. And Remy is honestly kind of impressed

by how smoothly that first night goes. Like, by the time they get back, Remy is like, should I have bribe fun for my personal life? Because despite hitting up five bars and four hours, our ladies don't have to wait for anything. Everyone's in a great mood, everyone's laughing, and as she's dripping off to sleep that night, Remy's like, maybe there won't be in disasters this trip. Maybe it'll even be fun.

Are you also feeling optimistic? No. Not at all. Sorry, I hate to interrupt, but we'll be back with more details of this deranged Bachelorette weekend right after the break. You know those pop culture scandals, you still can't. stop thinking about. Yeah, us too. So we made a podcast about all the ones we can't forget. I'm Sadda and I'm Sarah. We're journalists and self-identified historians of celebrity gossip. On our podcast, The Reheat, we dive into the biggest celebrity scandals of the past and re-examine

them with fresh eyes and a whole lot less shame. I never thought I would be a Samantha, but I really, really connect with her now. And I have learned to empathize with Marvel executives at this point, having done this much research and I believe it. It's like pop culture therapy with your smartest, funniest friends. What do you wear for that important historic moment? What do you wear for that moment? I do love that. See, now what you're doing is dangerous.

You're making me like Kate Middleton and I never thought that I would get there. I feel like the two you could hang out and have fun. We probably could have a very good time. A very good time. Listen to the reheat wherever you get your podcasts. Day two. Sunday. How do you feel about matching outfits?

Are you providing them? There's a link to buy them. Girl, do I like it? Like, is it cute? I prefer, I prefer you to tell me a color. And me bring what I'm going to tell you that green is giving, and then all of us can look like a salonge picture. You know what I mean?

I like that vibe. In our own individual way. Yeah. Well, if there's anything I know about a reformed sorority girls that they love a matching outfit. Remy is like, honestly, librarians aren't wrong. It is low-key-giving cult. But it's the bride's weekend.

So Remy puts on her denim shorts and her pastel pink t-shirt that says the bride's last ride and her Adidas Sambas because, yes, the bride did specifically request they all purchase Adidas Sambas if they didn't already. We own them.

Everyone looks like middle schoolers except for Jules. Remember, Remy is straight. Mostly. But she can't help noticing that even in the dumb matching outfit, Jules somehow manages to look like a 90s era video vixen. Oh. Jules also has a special job that morning. She has been tasked with handing out $10 and singles to everyone

to tip the queens at the drag brunch. So that morning, she was running around with not just one, but two envelopes of cash. I actually appreciate that. The singles and the bribery fund. Luckily, the bribery fund is not necessary for drag brunch because the bride booked the reservation a whole 10 months ago. So as soon as they show up, they're shown to the best table in the house,

which is right in front of the stage. They sit down, and the bride immediately demands that everyone take a shot, which of course means they got to sing the song. Sisters, are you ready? Take a shot. If you were at a drag brunch and you heard that, how would you react? They found us! Yikes!

So wait, they're like among the people. Yeah. That's homophobic. Yeah, I had a feeling the drag performers are wishing for the sweet release of death at this point. Not least, because our girls are only about a pitcher and a half of mimosa's in, and this brunch is bottomless. Right is the first drag queen, taking it. to the stage, Messy Jesse gets up from the table.

Josh, if you have to describe how someone's face looks right before they vomit. How would you? Actually, kind of funny. You know, they get that look. It's like, I don't know what's happening. Girl, we all know what's happening. Go to the bathroom. Yeah, you just described Messy Jesse's face.

Apparently, Messi Jesse had been in an Uber with some of the brides Omega Theta Pye sisters who wanted to make sure that she felt welcome in their car. They had all heard about her foot trauma the night before, and they were like, this girl clearly needs sisterhood. So they shared they floss with her. What they had not accounted for was the fact that Messy Jessie has spent most of her evenings over the past few years learning about the Dewey Decimal System, not how to hold her shots. So before the first drag queen even takes to the stage

Messy Jessie wobbles away from the table and throws up right into a potted plant right by the stage Nobody had even got nothing Yeah Drag brunch has not even started and we're already down One librarian and a Monstera plant What do you do? What do I do?

What do you do? Someone has said, a shot. What I do? Yeah. Two of them need to take one of them back home, put them in bed and come back. Yeah.

Jules, a baddie with the heart of gold, immediately gets up to help hustle Jesse to the bathroom. Meanwhile, literally none of Jesse's grad school friends even get up from their seats. Like, Remy's honestly pretty sure she even saw fucking Peyton rolling her eyes. The manager of the restaurant tells Remy that for health reasons, Jesse cannot stay for the show,

which means Jules and Jesse missed the drag show. But a little vomit never stopped the party. Immediately after drag brunch, our girls have to run across town to catch their petal pub. Exercising and drinking at the same time does not sound like my jam. This is also the moment in our story when the divide between the groups really starts to come out.

Remy ends up in the very backseat of an Uber Excel with a bunch of the librarians. This car includes Bucking Payton. When they get in a car, Bucking Payton says, oh, good. All the cool people are on this car. But then she turns and sees Remmy way in the back. And before Remi can even say anything,

fucking Peyton rolls her eyes and says, Never mind. Oh, never mind. How would you react to this? If I were Remy. If you were Remy? I don't know. It's hard for me to put myself inside a RIME.

because that bitch cooked everybody dinner. I know she probably just stood there and act like she couldn't hear her. Remy does decide that the Ian Payton stands for Enemy. Okay. But Remy is also like, this weekend isn't the last time I'm going to see any of these women. And she's like, I just want to make sure the bride is having the best weekend possible. So I'm just going to kind of like grip my teeth and bear it. So they hang out on Broadway.

They head back to the air maybe to start getting ready. for evening activities, and this is the moment Remy remembers the shower situation, which, if you will recall, is one shower per six women in this house. The shower hunger games have begun. At this point, Remy is thinking about her own beautiful home, the way soldiers at war think of their wives. But Remy's not just any soldier in this war. She's a general. She's got to rally the troops. It's the brucees. ride's last ride, God damn it. And so Remy rallies beautifully.

She listens to Rachel Platton's fight song in the humid bathroom. This is my fight song. Yeah. She gets dressed. The nice theme is disco. Remy, along with the bride and her sorority sisters, go all out. Everyone is wearing bright, sparkly outfits and shiny mirror. When you say all out, you mean bought something new?

Yes. Okay, I'm not doing that, though. Yeah. Yeah. Jules even has on these incredible silver pleasers that make her look 10 feet tall. And for those who are unfamiliar, these are pleasers. I didn't see that one coming. That was good.

It's my favorite part of the show. Jules walks in her pleasers like their Adidas sambas, which Remy, a well-known bisexual, can help but notice. Remy also can't help but notice. I noticed that half the librarians do the absolute minimum, like fucking Payton is wearing a silver belt on a black dress, and honestly, the belt is kind of ugly. But fucking Payton's ugly belt is overshadowed

by the return of Messi Jesse. She's rallied! And she's wearing the sparkliest pair of pants Remy has ever seen in her entire life. She's also really bonded with jewels in the interim, like before they get onto the party, Remi sees messy Jesse teetering around in Jewel's size 11 pleasers. She looks like a freshly born giraffe. But she's also clearly having the time of her life. Sisterhood. Mm-hmm.

What are your opinions on party buses? In the right context, it could be fun. Yeah. And they've provided for some of the best reality television. Our ladies have the party bus for two whole hours. Every half hour, everyone is required to take a shot. I don't think we're at that point right now, bro. I think we need to calm down. What that means is that by 9 p.m., the party bus driver has already heard the drinking song twice, and there is a whole hour left. But before vehicular manslaughter can be committed, the bus stops in a random part of Nashville. Is the FBI coming?

The lights on the bus turned down low. The bride is looking around like, what the fuck? As are half the ladies. One of the Omega's squeals? Jules grins. And this is the moment when everyone finds out the party bus has a fog machine.

The door to the bus opens. Sierra, can I get some music? On to the bus walks the hottest man Remy has ever seen. His chaps are certainly the most assless she has ever seen. I heard someone's taking their last ride tonight, he says. His name is Benson Bone. Oh, God. And he's ready to get this rodeo started.

Some of you might have guessed this is Jules doing. She is the only one on this trip qualified to hire a stripper. Benson Bone takes after his namesake. He's flipping. Our ladies are tipping. Our man is a professional, though. No brides are harmed in the course of his show. He does his routine, and then Jules is like,

now try that in my shoes. The pleasers? The pleasers. Oh, because she wears a big-sized shoe. Benson Bowen is not one to turn down a challenge. So our ladies get two shows for the price of one. When it's time to say goodbye, Benson returns his silver pleasers,

but he leaves with some new tricks and Jules' number. Remy isn't jealous at all. Josh, how seriously do you take karaoke? Karaoke is for the layman. Karaoke is for the everyday person. stand when a singing ass bitch goes to karaoke and you just got off a stage, if you know, like, if you know, like, the harmony and, like, this is not for you. No. This is for me. Yeah. This is for the tone deaf bitches in the road. Me. Correct. The bride takes karaoke really fucking

seriously. She can't sing, but she does take it really fucking seriously. It's fair. She has scouted out the most famous karaoke bar in Nashville. She has made everyone learn choreo to single ladies and by choreo, I mean like a shoulder shimmy. Except there's just one little problem. At this bar, the emce sings a song between everyone else's. So if the line is 10 people deep, it's actually more like 20 and the karaoke bar is packed because it is Sunday on Memorial Day weekend and no one has worked tomorrow. Jules is deployed from the bus. But when she comes back, she not look victorious. She tells them that the MC is a dictator. He will not be bribed. He will not be

skipping any of his songs. And he will be singing Celine Dion's all coming back to me now at least twice, even though it is eight minutes long. He tells Jules that there are 30 people ahead of the bride's party. Around one in the morning, fucking Peyton finally gets fed up. Fucking Peyton is like, I'm sorry, but I have an early flight tomorrow, and the librarians start, like, mummering in agreement. And in the end, all of the librarians except Messi Jesse decides to leave and go back to the Airbnb. Remy's honestly pretty relieved, because the girls who are leaving are objectively the ones who suck the most. And Jules gets fucking paid in the remaining bribery fund to take home since they no longer needed, and Remy could tell Jules was getting

a little stress about having hundreds of dollars on our person at one in the morning, because because Remy actually finds really easy to pick up on Jules' emotion because they're so similar, you know. They're going to be really good friends after this. Remy just knows it. But when fucking Paden leaves, the bride turns to Remy and she has the drunk, watery eyes of a girl in a club bathroom. And she's like, should we call it?

Finally, half an hour before the bar closes, our girls are called up to sing. It's 2.30 in the morning. but our ladies bring the house down. Their performance of single ladies is so good that the bartender even gives them free tequila shots for the road. And this is when Jesse pukes again. Poor messy Jesse.

But now it's day three Monday. Half the girls have already left Nashville on early flights by the time Remy wakes up, which is great because someone threw up the shower on the librarian's side. Who could it be? We could never guess. So now they're down to one shower total.

And for the whole morning, the librarians are coming in and out of both sides of the duplex. Jules and Remy are cleaning up their half of the Airbnb while the bride takes a shower. The Airbnb owner has asked the girls to run the dishwasher, sweep the kitchen, strip the used beds of all the sheets, start a load of laundry, take out the trash and her

cycling and leave a tip for the housekeeper. But, honestly, Remy's just thrilled to get some time alone with Jules, who looks incredible in the morning, by the way. They're chatting about the weekend when Jules sort of looks around to make sure they're alone. And then she's like, Remy, you seem really cool. Can I ask you for some advice? Okay.

Remy is like, what advice could Jules possibly need? She's perfect. Remy's like, yeah, of course, you can ask me anything. Jules takes a deep breath. And then she's like, I think someone stole the bride money. Jules is like, I'm not sure whether to tell the bride or not. And Jules is also like, I'm also not entirely sure when the money went missing. Like, she is pretty sure she had seen it on top of her makeup bag when they got back to the Airbnb after karaoke.

You said somebody stole it. You're saying right now, what you're describing is you losing it. That's different. Remy's like, how much was left in the envelope? And this is when Jules admits that besides that first night out bar hopping, she actually hadn't spent a whole lot of the bribery fund because the bride had done such a good job of booking everything. So the envelope had about $900 in it.

That's why I don't carry cash. Remy immediately goes investigation mode. She would do anything for Jules. Remy's like, did any of the Omega Theta Pye sister see it? And Jules is like, I already asked my sister, She's like, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't steal from me, or at least, like, they tell me if they did. One of them has a skirt from like three years ago

that I'm still trying to get back, but whatever. And this is when Jules is like, I don't want to be messy, but the librarians were using our bathroom this morning because their shower was clogged. And the last time I saw was on my makeup bag when I got back from karaoke. We're almost at the end of our story. Who do you think stole the money?

Hearing a lot of fucking pain. Is that your answer? My brain, like the pattern matching, like I'm thinking it's Peyton. I feel bad for thinking it's Peyton because the evidence is from someone, like a source that I don't like. Remy is like, do not tell the bride yet. She's like, remember, we still. She'd be annoying if she knew, no. And also they still have a whole wedding to get through with this group of women.

And so this is what Jules does, which means Remy doesn't hear anything about the money for money. Like the bridal shower comes and goes nothing. Wedding comes and goes, nothing. The wedding actually goes surprisingly smoothly. Like Remy learns that when a librarian started a book club with some of the Omega Theta Pi ladies, where they all read Monster Smut. But it's not until almost a whole year later that Remy finally learns more about the theft. Y'all can buy these books, by the way, they are real.

Well, Josh, do you want to know what? Josh, do you want to know what happened? Yeah. Do you all want to know what happened? Remy visits the bride for a long weekend. It's actually Memorial Day weekend, so it's literally been exactly a year since the Nashville trip. Yeah, yeah.

They're catching up. They're chatting about the last year, the wedding, the honeymoon, the pre-Honeymoon, honeymoon, when finally the conversation turns to the Bachelorette trip. At this point, Remy does not even know whether or not the bride knows about the missing money. And so she's like, I think the easiest way to bring this up is to be like, man, Jules was a lifesaver on that trip. It was such a good idea to put her in charge of the bribery fund. Jules is so good at everything.

Smooth. And this is when the bride is like, yeah, except for keeping a secret. Jules apparently had not been able to live with the idea of the bride having a thief in her wedding party, and so she had told the bride about the missing money a few weeks before the wedding. The bride says that she asked every woman, went on the trip about the money, just to be fair, and the Omega Theta Pi sisters told the bride the exact same thing they told Jules. Meanwhile, the librarians are all like, yeah, we saw Jules give the money to Peyton when she left karaoke. Remy's like, fucking Peyton. The bride's like, yeah,

I thought it was her too, until Jules told me about the pleasers. What about the pleasers? Remy's like, the pleasers? Jules pleasers? The bride's like, yeah. Apparently, when Jules got home from the trip and unpacked her stuff, it wasn't just the bribery fund that was missing. She was also missing her favorite pair of silver pleasers. Her size 11 silver pleasers. Remy told us, while it has never officially been confirmed who took the money in the shoes, I clearly have my assumptions because there's only one other bitch on that trip with size 11 feet.

Messy, Jesse. Thank you for listening to Normal Gossip. If you have a gossip story to share with us, email us at NormalGossip at DeFector.com or you can leave us a voicemail at 2679 Gossip. If you love this podcast, want to support us, become a friend or a friend of a friend at support normalgossip.com. You can follow the show on Instagram and TikTok at Normal Gossip. You can follow me on social media at Hey Dene, H-E-Y-Y-D-N-A-E.

This podcast was produced by Sierra Spragley Ritz and Jay Tolviera. Our audio engineer is Samantha Gatsick. The co-creators and Dowager Queens of Normal Gossip are Kelsey McKinney and Defector's Supervising Producer Alex Tujan Loughlin. Justin Ellis is DeFectors Projects Editor. Jasper Wang and Sean Coon are Defector's Business Guide. Tom Lay is our editor-in-chief. Dan McQuaid runs our merch store, which you can find at NormalGossip.

Tara Jacoby Designed Our Show Art. Thank you to Brandy Jensen. David Raw, Catherine Shoe, Serena Imbler, Chris Thompson, Dave McKenna, Patrick Redford, and Ray Rotto for your help on this season. Thank you to the rest of the DeVector staff. The Fector Media is a collectively owned subscriber-based media company. Normal Gossip is a proud member of Radiotopia. I am your host, Rachel Hampton, and remember, you didn't hear this for me.