Off The Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe - Kelsey Cook | Netflix, Newlywed & Not Afraid to Poop on Planes

Episode Date: August 27, 2026

#975. Kelsey Cook just had a very chill week: she dropped her first Netflix special AND married fellow comedian Chad Daniels within days of each other. Casual!Kelsey and Kaitlyn get into the very chic experience of getting married for a second time, how a foosball web series somehow led Kelsey to her now-husband, and what happens when two comedians fall in love and suddenly anything you do could become someone’s stand-up material. When the conversation gets deeper, Kelsey opens up about finding her place in an already-established family and how comedy has helped her navigate one of the hardest chapters of her life with her mom’s dementia.And then, naturally, things take a turn. We’re talking the very real phenomenon of needing to poop in a Blockbuster, an airplane bathroom experience so horrifying it earned a spot in her Netflix special, and why interrupting a comedian’s set probably isn’t your best shot at going viral.Listen to the episode, then go watch Kelsey do what she does best: turn the things that should probably traumatize her into comedy!If you’re LOVING this podcast, please follow and leave a rating and review below! PLUS, FOLLOW OUR PODCAST INSTAGRAM HERE!Thank you to our Sponsors! Check out these AMAZING deals!ASPCA Pet Insurance: To explore coverage, visit aspcapetinsurance.com/VINEBoll & Branch: Get 15% off your first order plus free shipping at BOLLANDBRANCH.com/vine20 with code vine20 Dose: Ready to give your liver the support it deserves? Head to DOSEDAILY.CO/VINE or enter VINE for 35% off your first month subscription.Nutrafol: For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners $10 off your first month’s subscription and free shipping when you visit nutrafol.com promo code VINE.Vinted: Ready to clean out your closet and make some extra money? Download the Vinted app for free and start listing. With no seller fees, you keep every dollar you earn.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode of Off the Vine is brought to you by ASPCA Pet Insurance. To explore coverage, visit ASPCA pet insurance.com slash vine. Bowling Branch, get 15% off your first order, plus free shipping at B-O-L-L-L-A-N-D-D-Branch.com slash Vine 20 with Code Vine 20. Dose, ready to give your liver the support it deserves. Head to D-O-S-E-D-A-I-L-Y, that's Dose-D-D-A-L-L-Y, that's Dose-D-D-D-E-O-C-V-E, or enter code Vine for 35 percent off your first month's subscription. Nutraful for limited time.

Neutraful is offering our listeners $10 off your first month subscription and free shipping when you visit N-U-T-R-A-F-O-L dot com promo code Vine and Vinted. Ready to clean out your closet and make some extra money? Sounds nice. Download the Vinted app for free and start listing. With no seller fees, you keep every dollar you earn. You're listening to Off the Vine with Caitlin Bristow. Hey everybody, welcome to Off the Vine.

I'm your host, Caitlin Brousseau. I always love having comedians on the podcast. Kelsey Cook is here. Get a load of this schedule that she has this week. She's getting married on Sunday to a fellow comedian, Chad Daniels, after her divorce that once had her questioning whether she'd get married again. And just days before the wedding, she's also about to drop her first ever Netflix special called Happy Hour.

She's also touring right now. I don't know how she's doing it all. She's also got two dogs and two cats. I'm like, how? So today we're going to get into what it's like marrying the second time around. And she's marrying a man who was once a friend, joining an already established family, finding humor in some of the hardest parts of her life, and just just a regular old catch-up about going into Blockbuster and why it makes you poop.

So get ready to have a giggle. Here is Kelsey Cook. I watched your story this morning, and I didn't realize it was a story posted from your grid. So, like, I could have just went to the full post and watch your full story. But I thought you were doing a bit, because you were like, and the title of my email said, and then it cut out and I was like, that's not fun. And I was like,

no, but then I went down through your, but it was such a funny story. So for people who don't know, Kelsey was, you were sending in 10 years ago, right? Yeah. You were sending in an audition 10 minute tape to Netflix. Yes.

And you're very type A person. And so you had spent so much time on the perfect pitch and why and blah, blah, blah. And you spelled Netflix wrong in the subject line. I spelled it net filks. Netfilks. Netfilks. Netfilks and I just like had a full,

Netfelks and Chile. Yeah. At a full mental breakdown, I like, truly at the time thought that they were going to take that and be like, wow, what a sloppy bitch. Like, like, she does not give a shit. She's just like said in. And it was, it just was so the opposite of who I am. I'm usually so careful. And anyway. But 10 years later, here we are with a Netflix special. So, full circle, timing's everything. Let's talk about how you got there. First of all, the fact that you're getting married this month, right? This Sunday. This week? It's all in the same week. And your special comes out tomorrow, which by the time this comes out,

people will be able to go watch it. But like, okay, Sunday. Yes. And you're promoting a Netflix special. Ma'am, who is running your schedule? This was not intentionally done like this. So, you know, when you set a wedding date, you kind of like set it far out. Yeah. And then found out I got the Netflix special. And then they were like, this is the date pretty much. And we were like, oh, okay. So it just, I panicked at first because, you know, it's like each of those things individually, even though they're both incredible, are both like stressful, like long to-do lists for each one. So at first I was freaking out a little bit. But then I just embraced it. I was like, this is going to be the greatest week of my life.

It is going to be a great week. I had plenty of time to like get things in order. It's been fine. Getting married and a Netflix special dropping is such a flex at the same week. I feel like that's... But you must be all the emotions. Emotional, stressed, excited, happy, just ready for it to be here, maybe. Yes, it has... It's such a buildup. Like, I shot the special back in October.

Yeah. So I feel very, very ready. I'm, like, itching for it to be out, you know? It's so hard to wait for that. Because I even... I filmed a show back in March. Okay. And so much has happened in my life since that.

And it's not going to even air in... till like February and I'm like, I'm a different person. In the special, I call my now fiancee, my boyfriend, and he will become my husband. It's so funny that, especially in the world of stand-up, it's like your jokes by the time they come out, then there's like all these updates since you recorded it. I need a new special. I mean, this is like your third special. Didn't you do one on YouTube, one on Hulu now on Netflix?

Yes. That is crazy in a good way. Thanks. What is one thing about wedding planning? Because this is your second wedding. Yes. Sheek, by the way. Thank you.

It is. I always said, like, kind of chic to get married again. Yeah, it is. I saw another person

talking about how they're so over the shit. They're like, wrap up the chic content. And like, this is so chic. They're like, wrap it up. This is annoying.

But I actually always say, I think a divorcee is chic. And like, you've got it figured out now. I love the rebrand. You're lovely. I love the, it's because I've been engaged twice

and I'm a hot mess. I like to rebrand everything into being a positive and, like, it's so sexy to be divorced. It's like, You know, especially if you meet young, it's like, it's okay. It is okay. You grow up, learn, and yeah.

The second one is always so much better, too. Well, especially the wedding aspect, we are so much more laid back. You know, it almost was like, God, like, can the courthouse do it over Zoom? Sort of a vibe. Like, we are having an actual wedding, but it's literally only 20 people. It's like just our immediate family. Special. Yeah, it's nice.

It's like we wanted to do something special, but try to avoid. as much of the unnecessary stress of wedding planning as we could. Well, that was going to be my question. What's the one thing about wedding planning for the second time that you, that you're shocked, you actually care again this much about? Oh my God. The dress, the goddamn dress.

You really, I told myself, I was like, you know that you wear this for like four hours and the second it's done. It's just either going to like rot in your closet or you have to try and sell it. I know. And so I was trying to be, I was trying to be very like cool girl chic. I was like, I bought a few online from Reformation. Yeah. And of course, every model online is like 6-2.

Yeah. Or the 60 is funnier. Between 5-10, 6-2. A giraffe, a Greek goddess, just like tan. Everything looks amazing on them. And then it comes onto me. I currently have a spray tan that's like curdling off my body actively because I live in Minnesota. Oh.

So you come out of the winter and you're like. I'm Canadian, so I kind of understand. Okay, yes, yes, yes. Yeah. So, like, doing press, getting married, I was like, I got to get some sort of layer on me, so I'm not translucent. And basically, it's just I could not look more different than the girls in Reformation. And so I put the dresses on.

I was like, okay, that's not, it's not going to work. And I ended up going into a wedding dress shop and, like, getting another legit wedding dress, which I did not plan on doing. But you put them on, and you're like, oh, that's the one. This is the one. You feel like a prince of. Do you have like a change of outfit? Are you doing two or are you just stick into one? I'm just sticking a one. Even though I like can't breathe in it, I'm like, once you spend all that money on it, you're like, I will squeeze every last drop out of this drop. Like I couldn't bring myself to change into something else.

Oh my gosh. I can't believe it's Sunday. I'm so excited for you. Where are you guys getting married? In Minnesota? In Spokane, which is where I'm from. We live in Minnesota together. But yeah, my mom unfortunately has dementia and lives in Spokane. so we wanted to be able to have for it and she can't travel. Yeah. Yeah. That's, I was watching another little clip of yours from, it's so funny that your soon-to-be

husband is a Chad, because we all make fun of Chad's. And Chad is such a, that's a brand in itself. That's like a douche brand, but he's not. Of course. But somebody in your audience was like so obsessed with him. And you're like, I've never had someone on my show who wants my boyfriend so bad. But it was so funny because they were like obsessed with him. So how did, because you and Chad started as friends.

Yes. He's also a comedian. This is why people love him and know him and think he's so funny. It wasn't just, he's some, like, that would be scarier if he wasn't. Right. But I feel like when you date a friend, was there always chemistry there and you just didn't realize it? Or how did this happen? Well, it wasn't like, we weren't like friend friend.

It really was like, we, it wasn't like your best friend. You're hanging out. No, no, no. It was like we met. So I used to have a foosball web series called Rissa Fury. You say that slower because you can't just brush past that. Oh, okay. So it's very bizarre.

My parents are like world champion footsball players. They met... Fusball people. Playing in a professional football tournament. So I like literally would not exist without foosball, which is so white trash. I'm obsessed with it. You know, it's like my Guy Fierry origin story. And like I play competitively.

I love it so much. So I used to have a web series where I would like play against other comedians. And so he was one of the comedians I played against. But I was married at the time. He had a girlfriend. I actually, the first time I met him, I thought he did not even like me as a person. He was like so standoffish. But he just told me later, he was just like trying to be respectful and all that.

And it wasn't a little crush. I don't know. And then it wasn't until years later that we ended up dating. So it wasn't like there wasn't really a friendship there. But it was like the first time we met, you know, was split. So it wasn't like an awkward transition where you're like, we've never hooked up before and you like start giggling when you like make out or something. Oh, no. I wasn't like that.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Who made the first move then? I think it's like debatable between us, but I think technically he reached out to me and then we hung out and then it kind of like went from there.

But although I invited him on Rist of Fury. So it's like it's both, I guess. That's so I just, I love the story that you're, well, your dad was what, a professional what? So they were both professional football players, but he's also an international yo-yo man and a slam poetry champion. I always say that my dad has like the sex appeal of a fany. pack, he's just like so, like, every weird thing, it's like a miracle I was conceived that he's, like, out there, like, throwing game down. Do you have yo-yo? What is it?

Swag? Do you have yo-yo game? I had to really, like, dial it in with just foosball because I, like, did want to lose my virginity at some point. You can't be, like, doing foosball and yo-yo. You got to really, you got to pick and choose a little bit. So, I didn't get into yo-yo. That's so funny.

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Because you're both comedians. So do you have like a conversation? I always ask comedians us who are dating other comedians. You have like conversations of where the, actually not even if you're both comedians. But when you're putting your relationship out as material, do you have boundaries there? For sure. I mean, so we have a podcast together called pretend problems and we're like very open on that show and and I love doing it together. And then when it comes to stuff on stage, I feel like we just make sure that if it's a topic that could feel like, oh, is this like too embarrassing to you or is this too revealing?

We just like double check with the other person. Sometimes we'll just kind of say like, oh, I'm trying this about this topic or this whatever argument we had both know. Knowing that it's totally okay to talk about, but then we save like the other person actually hearing the joke until they're there at a show. Because we still, like, he's my favorite comedian. And it still is fun to like get to see something live for the first time and like experience it rather than just being told it in the kitchen. You know, it's like fun to actually see it with a crowd.

Is a comedian, when you're a comedian, is watching another comedian even funnier because you know the like work and talent that it takes like, this is such a dummy. example, but maybe not. Like, going to a restaurant after working at a restaurant for 10 years, I love being served. I, like, notice all the things that, like, people do. Is that what it's like for you watching another comedian? Totally. Like, we, we both are definitely still such fans of comedy itself, even though it's our job. But, like, I watch comedy specials all the time. I still laugh out loud. I love, like, especially if it's, like, comic has a very different style from mine. I'm always like, oh, that's so cool that their brain took that route with that joke.

I just, it's, yeah. It's an art. It is an art. How do you explain your style of comedy? I feel like the longer I've been doing it, the more it becomes like storytelling for some of it. I still love to just like fully write out a joke based on a topic. But I think I've gotten better at if something like embarrassing. happens in my life or some weird, outrageous interaction, taking a second and being like, oh, like, I should write about it. Like, this is worth. Like the airplane bathroom incident? Yes, that exactly is one of the first things I was thinking of.

Yeah. Because I feel like when at a certain point, I always do confessions on my podcast if we get around to it. Sure. And it's so funny because now I'm like, I really, I want dumb things to happen to me because it's such good content. It's so much easier. I mean, and stories can.

up like five, six, seven minutes on stage. Like, it's a nice chunk of time that's eaten up as opposed to having to like really write out a whole thing. So I completely agree. Without giving it away with the bathroom thing. So I have to fly almost every week on tour. Yeah. And I know that some people feel very strongly against pooping on planes.

They think that's like a real... You feel this way? I am of that person, yes. But I also have issues. It's because I could never. Okay, okay. So you lean more on the constipated end. I have STS, safe toilet syndrome.

Like, it needs to be my home space. I needed the toilet to be safe space for me. God. I have shit anywhere syndrome. Apparently I have whatever the office. That's so freen. People got mad at me that I was yucky people's like pooping on plates and they're like, I have IBS.

I'm like, well, I'm saying I can't do it. So good for you. I do have IBS. I'm like a dog. It's like you take me on a walk. and I'm popping a squat. You know, it's so many about feeling safe. Growing up, we had a blockbuster in our town, R-I-P Blockbuster.

I know. I did too. They were so great. And my mom and brother and I used to go so often that my brother's butthole, like, synced up with Blockbuster. And the second we would walk through its doors, they would just start to like hand him the bathroom key because he always had to shit at Blockbuster. It was so strange. You was this little kid that was like... That's a thing, by the way.

Yeah. It's the smell of, I think it was Blockbuster, a library, there's something else. What? No, I'm not even joking you. That just like gets your nervous system in a calm place? Yeah, keep going, because I'm going to look this up while you finish your story. Okay, this is fascinating. I did not know that there was science behind this.

I just thought that maybe we needed to cool it on like the bunch of crunch and weekly rentals and like get this kid synced back up with his home base because that was a lot. But so I think if you're on an airplane all the time, at least for me with my stomach, it is hard to, like, I can't time out poops. People who don't poop on planes are like, well, just go before. I'm like, yeah, but I don't always have to go before. Sometimes it's like you get up in the air. And it's like you're 30,000 feet in the air. It's a lot of pressure happening on your bowels. Like sometimes that's just, it's just what happens.

So it's not like I enjoy pooping on a plane, but sometimes I do. just have to. And I happen to have this flight attendant who I'm pretty sure was like drunk. Oh, no. I have not seen him since. Oh. I really think he was either drunk or it was like he knew he was quitting at the end of that flight. And so he was like, we're burning this one to the ground. Like, we are taken no prisoners. And I won't give the joke away. But yeah, I had to, I had to poop on the plan that day and he let it be known in many. You guys have to just like watch the story on Netflix, but it was the most diabolical flight attendant behavior I have ever witnessed. Oh, I want to find him. It was crazy. If I saw him now, I think I would say something to him, but I was in

such shock at the time that it happened. Do you think he's going to hear about this through the Netflix special and realize it's him? God, I hope so. I hope so. I hope so. I hope he. I hope he he reaches out and apologizes? I doubt he will. I think he was in a blackout. I don't even think he remembers. But it was the craziest thing I've ever witnessed on a plane. And I mean, I'm on them all the time.

Wow. Yeah, that's like my biggest fear is having to and then somebody noticing. Somebody like publicly shaming. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, listen to this. The sudden urge to poop when entering a specific retail environment like a video rental or bookstore is a real widely reported, quickly known as the Mariko. something phenomenon.

Mariko, what was going on with his digesting? Mariko Ayoki. Okay. Phenomenon, while famously tied to bookstores, people frequently experience this exact same sudden digestive trigger in places like Blockbuster stores, hardware shops, and Target aisles. Yes. I am, I'm actually speechless. No, like when you said it, I was like, no, that's a thing.

I have to send this to my brother. We'll make this a clip about pooping and Blockbuster and we'll see who relates. My four brothers, probably like, can you stop talking about my bowels on the inner, please? Yeah, no, it's, there's certain, like a Reddit has all different opinions on why, but it is a thing. So, you can feel, this is for you. What's your brother's name? Rob. Rob, this is to validate you, not make you feel stupid, that you're not alone.

Oh, sorry, Rob. Yeah, that is true. There's, there's no shame in the poop game. But my God, it's, that's fascinating. I had no idea. There you go. You know, we learn a lot of fun. educational facts over here at off the vine.

Also, do you and your, I'm going to say husband, because when this comes out, he will be your husband. Oh, fun. Do you stand up together on a tour? Yes. Okay. How do you make sure you're still like Kelsey and Chad and not a two-person business at the end of the day? How do you shut it off? Because my, comedians, I would find it hard to shut off, like, in an argument with Chad,

do you want to just absolutely like take him down like you're doing crowd work? Would you be like? Not real. I don't know. I feel like we're pretty lucky. that it's not really something we have to think about. It just, like, is how we are. Like, when we're around each other and we're not on stage, we're not, like, on.

We, like, we'll make each other laugh throughout the day, every day, but it's not... You're not doing bits all the time. Yeah, it's not like that. And then we, so when we do our tour shows together, we both have separate tours, and then, like, we'll find certain cities that we want to do together. So we're doing, like, Europe together this fall. That's awesome. It's kind of, like, a honeymoon.

So that's really exciting. That's sweet. Yeah. A honeymoon tour? I know. You should document it and make it a Netflix deck. I know. I'm like we've got to monetize everything we're doing.

That's so great. But we like, so we know that one of us, let's say, like, I'm going to go up and tell my jokes about him, then he's going to go up, tell his jokes about me. And then we go on stage together and the other person gets to give their side to that person's joke about that. Which is so fun because, like, if you go to a. comedy show and somebody's talking about their partner, that's usually like, that's it. That's the side of the story you hear.

And it's fun to be like, oh, okay, actually, like, this is what was going on that day. This is what I was thinking. Yeah. I like that. And so we can kind of like go back and forth and it's, it was just so fun that other times we've done it. That's actually really cute. I also imagine, like, if you, I'm not assuming you guys are in arguments all the time, but if you were and you have to go out on stage together, it probably just like ends it because

you're like, ah, that's fun. Yeah, there's a one of my friends has talked about that there's this thing called acting as if that like if you and your partner get into a fight before you like are about to like walk into a party or whatever that the healthy thing to do is to just like act as if things are fine and then like resume the fight later or whatever. But most of the time if you have to act as if you don't want to go back. And yeah, exactly. It's this almost like natural way where it kind of gives the. fight a break. You can like just, I don't know, let how you usually are kind of come back in. It's helpful. Yeah, I agree. Okay, you know, when you're doing all of the things that normally make you feel good,

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in love with Chad also meant becoming part of a family that already existed. He has two kids who are older when you guys got together. So I imagine there's like a delicate balance between wanting to be part of the family and never wanting the kids to feel obviously like you're trying to replace anyone. So have you navigated that chapter? Man, you're such a good interview about it. Your questions are like so thoughtful and you're like taking so much time. I was like, not a lot of vodka.

You're great. Yeah, yeah. Thanks so much. Oh, yeah. Thank you. Thanks for like caring. I do care. I get a lot

That's why the net felks thing hit you Because you are also type A I want to be type A so bad But I'm so type A But I try really hard to be type A. I would never know Maybe I have type A with my work Yeah yeah

Okay totally We'll go with that Totally possible Um Yeah I mean They have an amazing mom And an amazing relationship with their mom So it's really not like

I'm not trying to Yeah It was never trying to replace it Also, you know, Chad had kids young. And so, and then Chad and I have a 14 year age gap. So it's not like I'm way, way older than his kids. You know, I'm like older, but just I knew that me coming in wasn't going to be this like natural mom vibe anyway. Yeah, that makes sense.

It's not like their newborn babies and you have to feel like nurturing to them. Yeah, they're adults. And so I feel like it's been something that we haven't. tried to rush, like, especially with me, he's very close with his daughter. And I think that relationship took a lot of time because, you know, it's like, it's a brand new dynamic. I've never been with somebody who has kids. So that was new for me to, like, share the time, you know? And for her, it's like this whole new person that's now, like, in your house and all of that. So I did post it was from my last special

It was like a sex joke about Chad and she had been following me and she promptly unfollowed I was like oh yeah I was like of course like no offense taken Oh just hit the mute button no I would be so sad Maybe she did maybe she muted and didn't unfollow but either way it was like she let it be known She like told Chad like just let her know like I'm not watching this anymore or And I was like, yeah, that's like how you make Christmas weird. Like, that's my friend. And like her, I remember my friends early on were like, oh, my God, like, don't be nervous around her.

She's going to love you. She's going to think it's like so cool that you get like all these views on your jokes online. I'm like, oh, you mean the one about me like blowing her dad? Like, yeah, that's not, she's not psyched about those going viral. You know what I mean? So it was like, I don't think you understand this isn't the flex to her. that you think it is. But anyway.

They're like, ah, touch. Yeah, I keep those jokes away from her now. Now you don't have to worry because she doesn't see them anymore. Yes, exactly. Exactly. Thank you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You said earlier about going to get married in Spokane because your mom's there.

She has dementia. Now, I feel like you've been very vulnerable about that in your comedy, which is, I think, sweet. Thank you. Because it is part of what's happening in your life. I always think like finding a way to talk about things that all are vulnerable in a setting that makes you, you know, be able to laugh but also share. Yes. I think it's really important.

Thank you. I feel like you found a good way to do that to talk about something incredibly painful without pretending it's not painful. You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah. So I feel like also dementia really creates a complicated kind of grief because you're kind of grieving different parts of different phases of someone who's. still physically here. 100%.

So what has that experience been like for you? Yeah, so that is an actual term. It's complicated grief, anticipatory grief. They have all of these specific terms for going through losing somebody with dementia because it is so like there is just no manual given to you at the start of this of like how to cope and your brain is not designed to handle your parent not recognizing you anymore. Like it's- I can't even imagine. It's the most chilling, like, devastating thing and it never, every time it happens,

it's like just as painful. Yeah. It never gets easier. So I, for me, one of the biggest things I learned is that being a type A person, I have a lot of like to-do lists and like love to just like cross things off. And I have learned that grief is not a thing that you can just cross off a to-do list. Like my mom got diagnosed five and a half years ago. And it's just been this learning process of like this grief is something I will feel for the rest of my life. It's not it's just not something that you like complete and are better.

It just like, it just is. And, you know, the type of dementia she has is called frontotemporal, and it hits people much younger than Alzheimer's. So she started showing symptoms in her, like, early to mid-60s. Oh, wow. And, yeah, it's just like, you know, the grief that people feel when they lose a parent, you only hope that your parent lives a long time and that you are much older so that the grief you experience. is like for a shorter portion of your life. Oh, that's just so heartbreaking. Yeah.

And so it's like you never expect, I've been so close with my mom my whole life. You just never expect that you are going to have to like spend the majority of your life grieving. Like you just picture that it's not going to happen until they're older and you're older. So it's like, yeah, it's, I like can't ever sugarcoat it. It just like is the hardest, is the most devastating. She's like the most incredible human. How do you realize when something so painful in your life is ready to become something you can be lighthearted about while also being in pain with? That's a great question.

Sometimes it takes me a while and I will like, I've tried saying certain things on stage and then realizing as I'm saying it like, ooh, like this is not ready. Like I'm not ready. The crowd's not ready. Like I haven't figured out a way to make this light enough or like digestible enough yet. And like I didn't speak publicly about my mom's dementia for the first two years of it because I just, you know, it's like such a

private personal thing and it was like the internet is its own entity where I was like do I want to let all these strangers in? And like the second I started to open up about it, it was such an overwhelming Oh, I'm sure so many people would come up to your shows and talk about it and you're probably helping people

through it. Yes, that was the thing that I was like, oh, this is not only helping me so much to like feel less alone, but it's helping other people. And so it just, it kind of depends. Now that I've been talking about it for a few years on stage, it's gotten, I think I've like learned more quickly how to get some of the darker stuff into a place that we can like find ways to like laugh through the hard shit because it's like one of the only things that you can to try to help.

Yeah. That's so hard, but it does, humor always helps everything, doesn't it? Yeah. It's like, well, it's not going to change. Right. Like, it's an incurable disease, but we can find things that are, like, my mom being, she's in the Fusball Hall of Fame, which is, like, wild. And every time she gets a new nurse, you know, they ask her about her life.

And my mom will be like, well, I'm in the Fuspaul Hall of Fame. And every nurse is like, hmm, sure you are. And then I'm like, no, I'm like, and like, and like, that's the sort of thing where my mom is never the punchline of my joke. It's like she's never the butt of the jokes. That is the sort of joke where it's like my mom is such a badass. It's like actually unbelievable. People are like there's no way that this isn't made up since people dementia like make things up sometimes. And I'm like, I swear to God, this is. You're like, I've got the papers. I'm literally on their trophies. So stuff like that where you can take a step back and be like this is worth

finding humor in. Well, you're also sharing her legacy in a way, too, you know? Yeah. It's so important. So this Netflix special, congratulations, by the way. I don't anything I've said that yet. Happy Hour. Obviously, 10 years in the making of you wanting this and believing in it, that's got to be such a big, proud feeling that you're like, I'm here. I'm promoting my Netflix special.

Yeah. That's so awesome. I feel like it's one of those milestones comedians have, you know, in their heads for when they're starting out. What made you call it Happy Hour? Oh, so I talk about that my fiance and I, we quit drinking like just over two years ago. Yeah. And in the special, I have a joke about getting diagnosed with depression and like going to happy hour in my pajamas and that that was like the cheesecake factory.

And then like, ew. You're like, I don't have depression when you're sitting there eating at cheesecake factory. Maybe it's time. Yeah. So I have some jokes about it. But I also felt like because I was talking about depression and my mom's dementia, which are obviously like dark things, but that I wanted to do them in ways that would bring light to them. And I just felt like I wanted people to leave watching the hour feeling like joyful and uplifted. So in my mind, it's still like a happy hour of jokes.

Yes. So it's kind of. I like that. I relate to the anxiety too. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. that I never I don't really get hung over like in a sense where I'm like throwing up or have a horrible headache I just get anxiety and it's so frustrating because again I didn't like I would still be drinking I think if I didn't start to have that mental emotional component to it but it like I just got to a point where I was like God I am making myself feel so much worse and it's frustrating because drinking can be so fun I know but the next day you're always like the older you get the more you go is that worth it I know I know I felt like I was like giving myself the flu. I was like, you're like, why am I participating in my own abuse? I know. It's like,

this is so silly, but it's tough. It's a complicated thing. That's so, and obviously it's an hour special. What is your favorite bit from the show? What's your favorite part of the whole show? Oh, um, I have a joke about Chad betting on football and how like moving to Minnesota, the, the sports culture out there and like the betting it's just like a very it's its own thing so talking about like sports superstitions and how I feel like that's kind of like men's crystals you know what I mean exactly what it is that's so funny like mental voodoo that goes on yeah in our house during football season is wild so that was one of my favorite jokes on tour to tell because I bet so many women relate to that oh yeah yeah can laugh at themselves over that kind of shit they totally can

Although some men, it's funny on tour when I would be like, basically like, yeah, there's like no way that like these things are really big. That is. That's, you ruined that game. I'm like, this, like you have a job. Like, you're like a grown adult with employment. There's something about a grown man like who turns into a zoo animal. Like wearing another man's name on their shirt and like acting like that. It's crazy.

It's its own thing. Like, I really love football now too. I mean, I am one of those guys with hockey. Oh, my God, yes. Dude, I had not even watched a hockey match until I moved to Minnesota and we were like the state of hockey, you know? Hockey match. And now I love the Minnesota Wild so much.

We like go all the time. It's so much fun. The hockey is so fun. Today's episode is brought to you by Vinted. I have a new rule with my closet. Okay, if I forgot, I owned it until I found it, shoved it in the back. I probably don't need to keep it because at some point you have to admit you're not saving it for something.

You're just storing it. And that's where Vinted comes in. Vinted is a secondhand marketplace app that makes it so easy to sell the clothes that you're no longer wearing and actually make some extra money from them. Listing on Vintage, it's quick, it's simple, and once something sells, Vinted creates the prepaid shipping label for you. Plus, there are no seller fees. So you just get to keep every dollar that you earn, which makes finally cleaning out your closet feel like a win. Now, I love the idea of clearing up pieces I'm not wearing, making some extra money and giving those clothes a second life instead of letting them collect a dust. So go see what's hiding in your closet. Download the Vinted app for free and start listing. With no seller fees, you keep every dollar you earn. And for a limited time, Vinted is also offering free shipping in the U.S. Your career also happened during this completely bizarre shift where you're being a comedian. It doesn't just mean you have to be funny on stage anymore. You also have to survive being funny on the internet. It's true. Comedians didn't have that back in the day. So your crowdwork clips have gotten millions of views. Has social media accidentally trained?

people to become comedy to come to comedy shows hoping you're going to talk to them i feel like that would be so annoying yeah you know they want to be in a viral clip so bad i know it really depends i feel very fortunate i feel like my fan base are like generally very like kind well-behaved respectful people i get told that constantly on tour which just like that's nice warms my heart because you can't pick your fans you know and i get told all all the time by stuff like, oh my gosh, your crowds are like so polite and they tip really well. They always say they tip really well. I'm like, okay, I love that. That's nice.

Especially as somebody who like, I also used to work in restaurants. Yeah, it does have. It's got to be something though. It's got to be a testament to you in a way like that you're creating that cool of a community. Thanks. Yeah. I just, it feels like good positive people. It's like good vibes.

Well, that makes me happy because I feel like comedians also get a very specific type of internet commentary. So do you get ridiculous people? I think I saw one on your page and I was going to talk smack back and I was like, Caitlin, reel it in it from four weeks ago. And then I looked and he follows me too and I'm like, but he said so, oh, because someone like interrupted and was like, tell your cat joke.

And you're like, oh, I don't really take requests. And this one guy commented and he's like, why didn't you just tell the joke and move on instead of being passive aggressive? And I'm like, passive aggressive is a form of comedy with crowdwork. and this man just interrupted her show. It was so ignorant to say, tell a cat joke.

Dude, it's so. Sorry, I just have fired up there. I love it because that is exactly how I feel. And it's so funny. I repost, so that joke, that clip like always goes viral. So I repost it every, like, maybe year or so. And it's, it is like my yonny laurel. Do you remember that thing?

Yes. I pass a coffee shop in the mornings all the time called Laurel, and I'm always like, yonnie. It's just like burn in our brains forever. And for. And for some reason, every time I post this clip, it is like perfectly divided 50-50 of people who feel like me who are like, oh my God, like what a dildo that guy was who just like clearly had never been to a comedy show, just raises his hand in the middle of one of your jokes.

He's like sitting in the front row, interrupts the show to request a different joke. Maybe it was that guy who commented. Oh, it totally could have. It's like to people who just like have common sense or have been to a comedy. show. You know that's not how you behave at a comedy show. And then it is great. It's like the other 50% of people are like, why were you being a bitch? And I handled it in the kindest. I literally was like, oh, well, I'm not a comedy DJ. So I don't really like have. Because also that joke is, the joke he requested is so old. I don't like just do that. Especially in the middle. You're like,

I've got a flow here, sir. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I was like very, I'm telling you. Like a lot of comics, if somebody did that to them, they would rip that guy a new asshole. I was like very gentle with him. And of course, but it's like if a woman is saying something to a man that is any form of like, hey, that's like not what we do here. People are like, just tell him the joke, clown. It's like this is, guys, what the fuck are we talking about? This is not how a comedy show works. It's like, I don't know.

It's just very funny to me how divided that one is. It is crazy. Men get so celebrated for being mediocre. And as soon as a woman's like hilarious or quick or funny or smarter intelligent, it's like, they're doing too much. It's, I don't know. Again, it's like I feel like I have a very wonderful fan base. And so I think the comments I get on that one are from non-followers. That's like great. That's how you know you're getting a reach.

That's when you know. But yeah, those are not my followers. I get stoked when people don't know who I am and they're making asshole comments. I'm like, ooh, my, going somewhere. viral. Yeah. Rogen. On followers.

Yep. Oh, gosh. Okay, I have a game to play with you. It's called, is this a joke or a cry for help? Okay. So I looked up some people's embarrassing stories, confessions online of what they think is like, they're questioning themselves. Like, am I okay?

Okay. You have to decide, is it material that's good for a comedy set or does this person need to just call their therapist? Wow. Okay. I love this game. Let's do this. This person said, I check who viewed my Instagram story specifically to see if one person

watched it. Is that? Oh, that's, that's just human. Everybody's done that. So, okay, well, then we have another category. Is it human? Is it a comedy set or does this person need to call their therapist? I mean, maybe people could make that funny if it's about like a specific thing, but that's, that's not therapy worthy.

I agree. It's going to look, I've talked about some embarrassing shit on stage. It's going to have to really be f***ed up for me to think it's therapy worthy. That's true. I've talked about pooping in a box. In a box? Yeah. You really do got to go where to go.

I'm telling you, I'm my dog. It's like out of my control. Does Chad have to carry poop bags? We have two dogs and occasionally I'm like, I mean, thank God we live in a house and multiple bathrooms because if we did not, if times were tough, he would have a poop bag. Someone said, I've rehearsed an argument alone in my car against somebody and I absolutely demolish them. Hell yeah.

Again, human. I actually do. I've done that. Yeah, yeah. Okay. I've stayed with someone because I didn't want them to become the better version of themselves for their next girlfriend. That is chilling. That just sent a chill down my spine.

That's therapy. Someone said I sometimes fantasize about getting mildly injured, so I have to go to a hospital and everyone can take care of me. I've heard mom say this before. I mean, did this come out around the time of the pit where people are just like hoping that they're going to run into Noah? Is it Noah Weil? How do you say his name? Noah Wye.

remember but I just think of mixed steamy and McDreamy. Oh yeah, yeah, okay. I mean, that's hilarious. I feel like that's a little bit like some sort of version of hypocondria, like just kind of wanting to be, like, have your boo-boo taking care of?

Yeah. I feel like to some people, it sounds nice to have a couple days off and just have people like, moms should just take care of you. That's very funny. I've imagined my own funeral just to see who would be the most devastated. Honestly, I respect the ego there. I respect the like ranking of friends essentially.

I love it. I have not done that, but I don't know that it's therapy worthy. I just think that's like an interesting. I think that's material. Okay, I think it's material too. I've considered breaking up with somebody because of the way they treated me in my dreams. No, that's, I mean, people, I think a lot of, of comics have jokes about like, I woke up mad at my person because they were whatever in my dreams.

Yeah, that's like very normal. But like, consider truly breaking up unless it's like, what's the word I'm looking for? A prediction of whatever. If it's like based on stuff that they've already done that's shitty, I don't know. I don't know. We're just going to say that's therapy. We're going to file that in therapy. Okay, before I let you go, you've got Netflix, the tour, you're getting married, a lot of big life events. With all this, like when it finally comes to an end and calms down for five seconds, what are you most excited about in the next chapter of your life? Oh, that's a great question.

Shoot. I just, I have, this is the first summer that I've taken off of touring. Chad always takes the summer off because he would want to see his kids when they were off of school. And I have like really loved having more down to. time. And so I would love to find ways to like have a better work life balance. I totally get that. I'm just like we have four pets. We have two dogs, two cats. We have like our dream house. Anytime we're all home together, it just feels I'm like, oh, I just, I love this. You want to sit in that. Yeah.

I love that. I love that. I love that. And I also have to ask because your tour is literally called the reasonable bedtime tour. What is Kelsey Cook's actual reasonable bedtime? Oh, I love like a, I love like a 10 to 11. ideally. I was just still a lot later, I think, than most people's. Yeah, I love it. Like an 830s. Yeah. That's not. I aspire to that. But that's usually when like my first show of the night is starting. And so I can't train my brain to get tired then. Do you sleep in? Um, e-ish. Like what do you consider? Like nine to. Yeah. So, yeah. Okay. That's good. Because yeah, if you're doing late shows. Yeah. Yeah. You have to. You have to stretch it out. This was so much fun. Thank you so much for. Thank you. Again, you're just like the best for an incredible interviewer. That's so nice. Thank you. Congratulations on everything. Netflix tour, wedding. I feel like you really did decide to just cram every major life event into one. I was going to say month, but maybe week.

Everyone go watch Kelsey Cook, happy hour, which it is out now on Netflix. On Netflix, go watch. And watch it twice. I've learned that. Oh, I was asking chat. I was like, is it based on account or is it based on the device? device. I don't know how it counts it. I think you watch twice from all accounts or from all devices. Just press play. Just go to work. Yeah, press play again. Watch it again later. Whatever. Leave it on for your cats. Yes. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast today. It was so fun. Also, where can people catch you on the reasonable bedtime tour? Do you have a website for dates? Go to Kelseycook.com. Get tickets. I'm at Kelseycook Comedy on all social media. Okay, that's easy. And to everyone listening, make sure you're subscribe wherever you get your podcast. I'm

Caitlin Brissau, so I'll see you next Tuesday. Welcome to Pluto phone. If you know the name of the movie you'd like to see, just stream it for free on Pluto TV, where all your blockbuster favorites are landing all summer long. Catch Anchorman, the legend of Ron Burgundy. Fantastic. The Matrix trilogy.

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