Off The Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe - Leah Van Dale | Carmella No More: Motherhood, WWE & Starting Over!

Episode Date: September 18, 2025

#877. She was Carmella for over a decade — the moon-walking, trash-talking Princess of Staten Island — but now Leah Van Dale is finally ready to share who she really is. From NFL cheerleader to history-making WWE Superstar, Leah takes Kaitlyn through her unbelievable journey — including the shocking moment she was released during maternity leave. She opens up about identity shifts, the guilt of missing her “old life,” and how she’s learning to separate herself from the character fans knew for 11 years.Leah gets raw about postpartum truths no one talks about — from postpartum rage to living with Drop Foot — and how those struggles inspired her to launch Snatch, a new community for moms. Plus, she shares what it’s really like being a stepmom in a blended family, why this pregnancy has been even harder than the first, and the surprising dream she’s still chasing outside the ring. Tune in NOW! 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 deals!Booking.com: Booking dot YEAH! Find exactly what you’re booking for. Book today on the site or in the app.Chewy: Right now you can save $20 on your first order and get free shipping by going to Chewpanions.chewy.com/OFFTHEVINEPODCASTPura: This week only, subscribe to two premium fragrances per month for twelve months and they’ll send you a Pura Plus starter set free—that’s a $70 value! Head over to pura.com now and grab your free set before the offer ends.Figs: If you're in healthcare—or shopping for someone who is—you can get 15% off your first order at wearfigs.com with the code FIGSRX.Better Help: Off the vine listeners get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com/vineEPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: (3:10) Behind the scenes of being a professional cheerleader and the insane weigh-ins.(15:30) WWE shocker: Leah was let go during maternity leave and how she handled it.(23:40 The unexpected birth injury that changed her postpartum journey.(25:45) Launching Snatch: why Leah created a community for moms and what’s next for the brand(41:40) Leah’s dream beyond wrestling: Broadway!!!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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get 10% off their first month at BetterHelphelp.com slash Vine. You're listening to Off the Vine with Caitlin Bristow. Hey, Vino's, real quick, if you are listening right now, which obviously you are or you wouldn't be hearing this, can you hit the subscribe or follow button on whatever platform you're on? Please, that one simple thing helps more than you even realize it allows me to keep growing on this podcast and making these episodes. the best they can possibly be obviously for you. That's the only

favorite I'm going to ever ask, okay? It truly means the world to me. Thank you. Now let's get into it. Hey, everybody. Welcome to Off the Vine. I'm your host, Caitlin Bristow. And today we have Leah Van Dale on the podcast, who is a total force. She is a former WWE superstar,

a new mama, a stepmom, a businesswoman, and just an all-around badass. I know you probably know her in the ring as Camilla, but today she is here as herself. Leah Van Dale, and she is sharing her story from cheering in the NBA, the NFL, to getting in the ring, the highs and lows and heartbreaks of pro wrestling, to becoming an advocate for moms and launching her own wellness brand. So here is Leah. I always like to take things way back

from before anybody was anybody and, like, figure out how you got to where you got to. So tell me have you always been, like, since you were little, I had Ashlyn Harrison yesterday, who's like a soccer all-star and she said since she was little she's been like a daredevil a badass jumping off here into sports trying to prove herself so have you always been active and athletic yes yes i would say since you were like out of the womb yes i love dancer started dancing when i was three i love being in front of the camera when i was a kid really i was so shy i'm still i feel like i'm still pretty shy um but as a kid i was painfully shy but i felt like when there was a camera around it was like that's when i came out oh interesting like when i was dancing i'd be on stage and

And then that's when my personality would come out and then get off station. I'd be like Little Mouse again. I always think that about Carrie Underwood. So Carrie Underwood, I've met her a few times and she is really shy in person. But you see that woman on stage. Oh, my gosh. And she's just an absolute beast and talent and strong and confident. And like her voice is so powerful.

But it's interesting that that really is like me on stage, I'm the exact same person as me in my house by myself with my dogs. So I'm just like, I'm consistently crazy and somewhat normal. And I just, I am who I am. But that's so interesting to me when you have this alter ego. For sure. I mean, and I spent 11 years in WWE. So when people see my character on TV and then they meet me in person, they're like, this is. What was your character?

So my name was Carmela. Yes, yes. She's the princess of Staten Island. Yes. She's so like in your face, the moonwalking, trash talking. Just she's a lot. And I guess that's me a little bit, but like turned out. way up. Yeah. But yeah, so not like that in real life. Did you grow up in a household where

like, because I always talk about how I grew up where my parents were like, let Caitlin be Caitlin. Were you like always free to be who you were? Yeah, my parents were always so supportive. And they're so not surprised that I ended up in wrestling and in the entertainment industry. Yeah, because I mean, you were also a Laker girl, weren't you? Yeah. Were you a cheerleader as well, like in NFL? Yes, the Patriots. Oh, cool. Yeah. What was that life like? It was fun. I mean, it's funny because I have two stepdaughters now and we watch the America's Sweethearts on Netflix and it's I get PTSD. I'm watching it and I'm like, oh my God. It's like me trying to watch a bachelor I can't do it. Yeah, sure. So it's very, it's just like what you see on that. It was a lot. It's a

big time commitment. I did it for three years. I was also in college when I was doing it. So it was a great part-time job with a full-time commitment. But a little bit like I always think of it's a mixture of intense, glamorous, miserable, I suffer from body dysmorphia. And where my body dysmorphia comes from is standing in a studio of dancers where we'd all just stand in a line and compare our bodies. And I'm sure that happened there too. Oh, we had weigh-ins every single week. Yeah. Get weighed in. And like some girls would be like stripping down like their underwear because they were worried about the one pound that it might make. What if they were the one pound that made a difference? I mean, when I was on Lakers, there were several girls who got cut.

because of their weight, which is wild, is it? I hope not, but I look back and these girls look amazing. So it's crazy to think that that's why that they got caught. Do you think NFL or NBA is harder? I mean, the NBA for the Lakers was a lot more competitive. There were a lot more girls who tried out. But I think NFL was harder because we cheered outside. I was in New England.

We're like hail on our faces. Yeah, because that weather is no joke. It was awful, awful. So what drew you to that world just because you danced? Do you like to perform? It was a stage. So much you can do as a dancer, you know, beyond like your studio. Once you graduate high school, you can't really like do much with it. So it's either you go to Broadway, you go in the NFL, the NBA, or you're like a backup dancer. I mean, that was literally my goal. I moved to Vancouver to be a dancer. I started cheerleading in the Canadian Football League. It was my dream to like go to the NFL, be a backup dancer, dance for like Janet Jack. Yeah, that was like the goal for the dream. So how did that shape you into going into WWE?

Because it sounds crazy, but it's actually not if you break it down because it's performing. It's a dance in a sense. It's choreography. It's a whole thing. I never, ever in a million years thought I would be in WW. Really? My dad was a wrestler growing up and I watched it with him. Your dad was a wrestler?

Yes. Who's your dad? He fought a lot of the big names, but he was kind of the guy they brought in to make everyone look good. Oh, cool. And so, like, but back then it was a bra and panty matches. I never wanted to do that. A what? So you were in bra and panties?

No, I wasn't. Oh. That was what was popular back then in, like, the 90s. When you watched, that's what the women did. They didn't really wrestle. They just were eye candy. Yeah. So when the opportunity came for me, I think it was back in 2013 to have a tryout.

I was like, I don't know if this is what I want to do. But they're like, no, it's different now. It's not like that. So when I tried out, I made it. And then just kind of the rest was history. Oh my gosh. That's really crazy because I know how I was just talking to Charlotte Flair. Oh, okay. The other day in Nashville. And I'm like the toll it takes on your body, the amount of training you have to do. I mean, you grew up dancing. So your muscle memory was there. But like I just feel like at all end, you're being a second generation. She was too of like a wrestler. So did you feel pressure or were you kind of like once you got in it? You were like, oh, I'm supposed to be here. Well, for me, I didn't come from wrestling. I didn't like my dad was a wrestler. But again, very, very small doses.

And he wasn't Rick Flair. Right. Yeah. So nobody's Rick Flair, but yeah. But I just felt like I knew I had my, like a lot to prove because I didn't come from wrestling. I didn't, a lot of people train on the independent circuit, which is kind of like the minor leagues before you get to WWE, I never had any training.

So I felt like I needed to come out of the gate with something that would set me apart. And so for me, was more my character. I just relied a lot on my character, being over the top and being able to talk on the microphone because I felt like if that was good and I had that going for me, then I wouldn't really matter so much about what I could do in the ring. That's fair. I mean, characters are everything. Yeah. But people to this day still believe that that is really who you are. Like, who you are in a ring, who you are as a WWE wrestler, your character, people believe is who you are. How do you separate or how do you explain to people that? Because people, and then you have

the other side where people are like, it's not real. Like, what do you, how do you explain it? It's, it's just a crazy world. And until you're in it, it's so hard to explain to other people. But it's like with anything on social media, people can attack you and people can say whatever. But I think the good part about it, the positive is they're attacking Carmela, which is my character, they're not attacking me. They don't know who I am. So you take it as personally. So it's not as personal. Yeah. But I think that sometimes people have a hard time differentiating, like their character from who they are. Yeah. So I think it's hard for some people. Yeah. I've heard from, I know a few people in that industry who just, yeah, they either totally can separate it or it's very hard for them to

separate. And it's almost like an identity crisis, which I feel like I would struggle with because when everyone knows you for your character and no one knows you for you, I almost like can't handle that thought because I want everybody to know me for me. That's literally what I'm living right now. I retired at the beginning of this year. Yeah. And I've been Carmela for 11 years. I did reality TV. People knew me as Carmela and it's like who's Leah, right? Who am I? Like, I feel like I know who I am, but I'm also kind of rediscovering and trying to figure out where I fit into the world, not as Carmela. And it's trying to like almost reintroduce myself like that I, I'm separating myself from WWM. Separating myself from the past 11 years of my life. So if you are separated,

who would you say Leah is now? It's a great question. And in the midst of all of the I became a mom and I'm pregnant again and it's like this huge identity shift and almost identity crisis and just trying to like like not having the career I had becoming a mom now being pregnant again. What is my life? What is in my career? Who am I? It's it's been a lot and I'm still trying to figure that out. And that's okay. I mean, how old are you? I'm 37. You can still figure out who you are when you're in your 60s. Right. You know, like, I was talking about this with some girls from Sports Illustrated of rebranding and re-identifying who you are. And, like, that can happen every few years. For sure. That can happen every year. Right. As you change as a woman and you go through

these different experiences and career changes and life changes, like, you don't have to always know. Totally. This is my path. This is who I am and this is who I'm going to be. No, you don't have to. It's such a warp, I feel like, especially because you're supposed to feel like you have it all figured out and especially being in the public eye. It's hard and you go through different seasons of life and even

if I still have the same career, I'm still going to change as a person. I need to figure out who I am and where I'm going and I think everyone is kind of in that about whether you want to admit it or not. Some people are just kind of acting like they have their shit together, but they don't have their shit together. Even the people who have their shit together don't have their shit together. Totally.

On paper they might. Mentally they might not. mentally they might on paper they might not like we're all so different but nobody i always tell that to people because you might even have your shit together one day and oh yeah life can crumble the next you know this episode of off the vine is brought to you by booking dot com booking dot yeah i never sound as cool as a guy who does it in the actual commercials but here's the thing i am particular when it comes to where i stay i really am i need a bathroom with good lighting because if i can't see what i'm doing while getting ready it's a disaster i'm dramatic okay and it's a disaster and i need a big cozy bed that I can sprawl out on at the end of the night. It's a non-negotiable for me.

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So go find exactly what you're booking for. Booking.com, booking dot yeah. Book today on the site or in the app. Okay, I'm always trying to give Pinot and Ramen the very best. We all know that. The good food, the good fun toys, all the care that they deserve. And if you love your pets as much as I do, you know life can get very hectic and chewy. It makes it so easy to keep them happy and healthy.

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So first ever women's money in the bank winner? What does that mean? So I'm so grateful because I was in WW at a time where the women were making all of these first. For a long time, only the men were allowed to have Royal Rumble matches or Money in the Bank ladder matches. And I was a part of the first ever women's money in the bank ladder match, which it's basically like so ridiculous when you talk about it in real life. But there's a briefcase hanging above the ring. And there's a contract in there. you win that contract, you have an opportunity at the women's title at any time you want.

So you have to climb all these ladders and be the one to grab that briefcase. And I was the first woman to win that match. And I am grateful no matter what happens from here and I'll always be the first. Yeah. So it was a lot of fun and crazy and just a wild experience. Would you say that was like your like break in in WW, your big break is when you were making history? Yeah, for sure. Because I, when I went on to the main roster, basically we have what our minor leagues is called nxti and you go through there for a couple years to train and learn the business and then i was drafted to smack down and i was the very last draft pick so i felt like i had a chip on my shoulder i had something to prove because

everyone's like oh she's this kind of like an afterthought she was the last person to be drafted and so from that point on i just felt like i really had to prove myself and winning that match really solidified my spot in the division and i'm just catapulted the next phase in my career. I always like hearing because, or not so much that I like hearing, it's fascinating to me to hear that people who go into wrestling have such a competitive spirit. They've either done competitive dancing or sports or something like that where they have that grit in them to get into that world. And I feel like you need that to be there. For sure. It's, if you don't love that business, you're never going to last because it's such a hard business. The wrestling part is the easy part. And that's what we always say. the travel, you're on the road, 300 daysy, like, yeah, 300 days of year. You're on the road all the time. I'm like, wait, I have that number right, but I do. Which is crazy.

52 weeks a year. There's no off season. How does somebody maintain that? I mean, not only physically, but emotionally. It's so hard. I look back now that my life is finally slowed down. And I'm like, what? Like, I had no time to process the last 10, 11 years of my life because it was just go, go, go

on to the next thing. They went by so fast, too, because you're in the moment probably when you're in that ring but everything else is just like a whirlwind you get to the you get to the arena you wrestle you get back in your car you're driving to the hotel you're on an airplane you're on the road four or five nights a week and hard i also saw that you were let go from that world so my contract expired okay um that's how i tried i'm framing it but yeah basically i was on maternity leave yeah i was on maternity leave do you think that had anything to do with it for sure because i got unfortunately i got injured when i had my son i was in the ring for 11 years i never

got hurt. And then I had my son and I got hurt. Oh, God. I had some nerve damage on my leg from pushing my son out for three hours. So it was a hard recovery postpartum and I wasn't able to get back into the ring. Yeah, because they can't renew your contract if you're injured, right? I mean, that's like, or can't. I could have maybe gone back and been more of a manager or more of a speaking role. Yeah. And I offered to do that. But unfortunately, it just didn't work out that way but ultimately it all works out the way it's supposed to and yeah i just wasn't meant to be back there and this is my journey now so do you feel like you were given a proper explanation no there was no explanation the explanation was talk to legal really that was the explanation yeah i mean

i was saying this on the last podcast with charlotte it's like that's a that w w is such a business it is and that makes it a little bit hard because it's also family it's also your life it's almost your livelihood it's everything everything and so to not have an explanation or like see it coming or not know that that's what was the transition like for you it was hard to leave yeah um i hadn't been there obviously for a while because i was pregnant and then i was postpartum so it had been about a year and a half um since i had been there but i was just not expecting that it really did come out of nowhere and it was my life for 11 years so it's still been in a process i'm again trying to figure out what this next step looks like and

but I'm just honestly really embracing a slower pace of life. Like it was so much and I didn't realize how much it was until it started to slow down. Yeah, because for people like I'm kind of similar where I'm just so, I like being busy. I like going. I am competitive. I like to like always be doing something and what's the next thing to do in my career. And it is hard to slow down and pause and be in the moment and say, okay, this is a season of my life where I can enjoy slowing down and not. But I find it hard.

Do you find it hard to like? Yes. Yeah. For sure. Because, again, used to just go, go, go and always have somewhere to be and something to do. And it's kind of like, like, some days I'm like, I've been in my pajamas for three days straight. I'm a mom and I'm just like at home doing my thing. So it's definitely different. But I just feel like it's almost like I'm forced to slow down and enjoy this phase. And I know there'll come a time when things get busy again. And would. Would you ever go back to wrestling? Everyone always asks that. I think eventually I would. Not full time. There's no way. ever go back into that full-time schedule. It was so much. But I might go back for like a little run or something. A little cameo. Yeah, a little cameo. Eventually. Yeah. How did you feel about the fans? Because they are so invested and dedicated and they know everything about everything. They're insane. Like, yeah. And the best way possible.

Yeah. We have the best fan base in WWE wrestling fans are so hardcore. They're so ride or die. And I'm so grateful for them even now. Like, yeah. Post-WW.E., the fan that are still supporting me. They're just the best. Well, I mean, they're part of why you have the platform that you have. Exactly. And so you probably still get recognized for that all the time. Yeah.

And it's great. I just feel like, obviously, it's something that I can't escape sometimes. It's like, oh, that's Carmela. I'm like, I'm not Carmela. Yeah. And like, it's just not who I am anymore. But it's so weird to not be. Right.

Because you almost have to, like, grieve her. For sure. I feel like that's kind of, I'm almost out of that grieving phase, I think. Well, phase you in the angry one. I feel like we all go through the grieving phases of like, but yeah, that's a crazy thought to think that you have to grieve like who you are as a character. Yeah, yeah, because I created her. She was like my, she was me. Yeah, you part of me. Yes, your baby. She was my first child. Yeah, she was. Truly. I think that's, I mean, and speaking of having children, I feel like, you know, from the Outside motherhood always looks so beautiful to so many people and we see it on social media.

But I like that you've been real about the hard parts too, especially physically. I feel like your first pregnancy you said was not easy. Obviously, you got injured with that. What were the biggest challenges you faced going through postpartum? So my first pregnancy was amazing. Like, I loved being pregnant. Everything was great. And then I had my son and I was in labor for three days.

It was so difficult. Days? It was, girl, it was awful. Like literally. I have videos. I made my mom take a video of me saying like, never let me do this again. I'm never having another kid because it's the most miserable. And here we are. But it was so hard. But having that injury postpartum was difficult. I had postpartum depression, postpartum rage, which I didn't even know was a thing, which is basically me hating my husband for no reason. Like you would walk into the room and I would be like, you're like me. Why are you breathing? Yeah. What are you doing? But that is such a real thing. It is. I don't know because I've never had a baby. But tell me. if you know anybody who has not experienced that. And if they haven't, is it just because they're not talking about it? Because I find from what I know of childbirth, my best friends have all done it, my sister and what I've seen and what I know is that you're in such a different state of mind of like depleted. Like you don't have the nutrients that your body needs.

You're giving all your nutrients. You're not sleeping. Your body's gone through trauma. You're trying to take care of this new precious life that you have birthed. And I love men, but they're useless. useless in that time and they know they're useless and their brains don't work like ours so then you go why can't you see what I'm seeing and why aren't you doing and it's got to create some resentment that takes time to get over plus you're in a different whole state of mind with hormones literally like

you nailed it like on the head it's so accurate and it's so it's such a mind warp to be in and I feel like I look back and I wish I could give the version of myself before I had myself like a hug going to be like you're going to be okay because it's it rocks your world going from no kids to one kid like I just felt like my life was turned upside down and that's okay like it's okay now I look back but I felt so guilty at the time being like well I miss my old life I miss not having any or I miss having time for myself I miss doing anything that's not just taking care of this new child and I feel like I felt so shame because I felt that but looking because then youth have to God we feel so many things at once, don't we? So annoying. You're like, you're like, how lucky am I? How beautiful is this? How

hard is this? How miserable is this? Poor people who can't do it. Exactly. Where do I find the community that has? Like, every experience is so different. Like, you feel a million different emotions at once and we're not supposed to be overwhelmed. No, you're just supposed to be happy and grateful and perfect. No. It's so annoying. Do you like having a platform to be like more raw and honest and open about these kinds of things? Or do you find like it's challenging because you feel a responsibility and people have things to say. Both?

Yeah, fair enough. Both. I feel like having the platform that I do is why I had two miscarriages prior to my first son. So I felt called to talk about that because I do have a platform and I didn't want to just act like life is perfect

and like, look how cute I am on Instagram when really I just lost two babies and I just felt like I needed to talk about it. So then when I did, the floodgates kind of opened. A lot of women reached out to me and said they went through the same thing, but they never told anybody. And so it really started a conversation.

And I feel grateful that I know why I went through that because now I can at least talk to other women and help other women and be more open and honest in this world that is so not real on social media. Yeah. It's so hard. It's so hard to navigate. And I mean, going through what you've gone through then to be pregnant and be grateful and love being pregnant. But then what is drop foot? That's what I got when I had my son. So you got it from pushing.

Pushing. I was pushing for like three hours. At that point, it was my third day in the hospital. And I got what's called deep fibular nerve damage. So this nerve behind my right knee was compressed for so long that it affected the way the muscle lifts your foot when you walk. So I was basically dragging my foot for months after I had my son. And I got what's called drop foot. So again, something nobody talks about. I've never even heard of it.

Me neither. Not until I had a baby. And I'm like, I wrestled for 11 years. I never got hurt. Right. I'm getting hurt having a baby. He probably went in and like, I can do anything. Yeah.

Literally. Yeah. And it was just. How long did that last? Honestly, up until the beginning of this year, I was still dealing with it. And at this point, I still can't really like run properly. It's supposed to heal on its own. But it's been almost two years.

Yeah, I've never heard of that. And I feel like that's something so unexpected, which again, you're like, nobody talks about it. What are more unexpected things that people go through that you, would have wished somebody said to you. I think, because again, you don't want to scare people that. Well, and that's the thing. I don't want to, like, I know that whole Chaparone had like that whole thing where she's like, all my friends are miserable.

I have kids. And like, I'm not trying to scare anyone. But it's, it's so amazing, but it's so hard. And it's okay to have both. Like, it's okay to be grateful to be a mom and love your kids, but still feel overwhelmed and feel like my girlfriend, it's the best thing she's ever done in her life. She wouldn't take it back. And she also talks about how hard it is.

Why isn't it allowed to be able? It is. You are allowed to be both. Like you can be two things at once. You can feel two opposing feelings at once and it's okay. But again. How do you do you feel like being grateful but also grieving your body or certain things that you've been through? Like how do you just give yourself permission to feel both? Yeah. And I think having a good support system people to talk to. I have an amazing husband who lets me like vent him 20 times a day about the same thing. I'm like constantly beating a dead horse and he lets me. Um, so that's great. And I started a community called Snatch, which is a community for women to talk about all of these things and normalize all of these things. Okay. Yeah, because I cut you off about the unexpected things. Oh. So yeah. So you have a community that you can talk to these women about. Yeah. How do people find that? It's, uh, it's on an app. It's just called, you can go on the Instagram, snatch for her or snatch.com online. And it's a platform for women. We educate women on different things like this. I have experts like lactation consultants and postpartum experts. Just really talking about all of these things that nobody talks about and normalizing it and knowing it's okay. Like going on there to like, bitch, if you don't have a support system, you can go on there and talk about your hard day or the fact that you haven't pooped in three days when you're pregnant. That's a real thing too. Like there's so much that goes on that nobody talks about. And it's okay in there because it's a safe space for women to just normalize a lot of this stuff. That's awesome.

I love that you started that. Even my own Facebook group for Off the Vine, I've been like, wow. I love being a part of this family because everyone has just embraced normalizing things that we are unsure of. And they go, well, I'll go to Off the Vine Facebook group and ask a question. And there's zero judgment. And it's just like the most beautiful community. And that's, you know, that happens from you starting this for people. And I'm sure so many people's lives have like changed like that. I know that sounds dramatic, but it probably has changed so many lives. But also like just for people to feel seen goes so far just everyone just wants to feel seen no matter what stage of life you're in no

matter what you're going through everyone wants to feel seen i think that's why there's trolls oh 100% they're not getting enough love obviously they just want to be seen yes they want to be seen and they want to be the herd and they are but yeah i don't take you seriously but i hear you yes for sure but how do you i was thinking about this with um somebody said something terrible in my off the vine group one day and i was like how'd you get in here do you ever get scared or like do you Do you have someone monitoring? I monitor all of it. Every single day I'm on there making sure, because I have to approve everyone myself.

Yeah. Because you have to, like, put in your email address or whatever. It's free, but I just want to make sure that people are joining our women and they're not trolls. Like sometimes a troll like, like, oh, my God, it stresses me out. No, it's actually scary who can get in there because you're like, what are your intentions with my page. And we all know what are your intentions with my daughter? You're like, oh, my God. I know.

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this time like mentally and physically. It's honestly been awful. Like so awful. I hate it. I hate being pregnant this time. And you loved it last time. I loved it. But this time has just been so miserable. I'm like, get this baby out of me. Do you know what you're having? Yes, a boy. Oh, boy. Usually it's a girl that makes you feel like shit. I know. I know. I thought for sure it would be a girl just because of how awful I felt. Yeah. Was your first one a boy? Yes. Yeah. And they're both so completely different. Again, something nobody talks about like every pregnancy is so different. Every postpartum, experience is so different, even with the same person. Yeah.

So I was not expecting to feel like this. It's just been so miserable, honestly. Oh, I'm so sorry. How far long are you? I'm not sugar-recoating it. I'm, like, towards the end. Oh, yeah. So it's, like, I'm talking to my midwife.

I'm like, why do I still feel like shit? Like, I was going to be blowing and living my best life right now. Oh, my gosh. That's tricky. Miserable. Oh, I'm sorry. But it is what it is. Yeah.

Sure. But it's allowed to be both as we can say. Exactly. That's what I'm telling myself. So what makes it miserable? Like you feel like shit. I'm nauseous all the time. I can't eat. I have no appetite. I am still getting sick and like throwing up and just like what is happening. I've never got sick with my first son. And it's just, yeah, it's been miserable. But a lot of people say, including my, because I'm going to my midwife, I'm like, can you run my blood work? Like what is wrong with me? What something has to be off? Right. She's like, you have a toddler. And I'm like, oh. What do you mean? Like, because you have one at home? Yes.

So it's because you're not able to, like, get the rest of the way down when you want to. You're still going. Oh, yeah, I didn't think about that. That's great. But you're also a stepmom. I am a stepmom. And I know a lot of listeners have blended families, too. There's so many out there and they're so beautiful.

What has that journey been like for you to blend a family? It's been amazing. Yeah. Honestly, like it really has. In the beginning, I was trying to figure out where I fit in. What is my role? I didn't want to act like I'm coming in like, I'm your new mom, guys. Yeah, yeah.

Love me. Here we go. Um, so it was just like a slow build and really just trying to figure out where I fit in and what my role was. And there's no rule books. I'm really proud of my husband and I for how we handled it and how we navigated. And we just have kind of handled it, I think, to the best of our ability. And we have a great blended family. And I love those kids so much. How long have you two been together? Six years. Six years. How old are as kids? 17, 15 and 11. Wow. So we have like, oh, they probably love like, like, oh, I probably love like, you two years. that you're pregnant and having to do this. Yeah.

My stepson's 17, he could care less. He has a girlfriend and a job and a car, so he could care less. But my stepdaughters are amazing, and they love my son, and my son's obsessed with them. So, yeah, what are like the challenging parts of being a step-parent? I think, and I say this to my husband all the time, like, the most difficult part for me is having a say, but, like, not having it really matter, right? So, like, I can give him my opinion, but at the end of the day, him and his, ex-wife are the ones that have the say that they're the parents, right? And a lot of times I'm like,

oh, I just don't like that this is happening or like, should we do this? And it's like, well, I don't really have a say. Like my youngest stepdaughter, she got a phone when she was nine. And I'm like, I would never allow that. But like, I can't. Yeah. What do you want me to do about? Like, I told my husband several times, like, why does she have to have a phone? But yeah. So how do you and your husband navigate those kinds of conversations? I give my piece and I say, And a lot of times, he's really good with listening to my opinion and taking it into, he's not like, oh, you have no idea what you're talking about. They're not your kids. Like, it's never like that.

So I'm so grateful that he is open to my opinion. But again, sometimes it only counts for so much. Yeah. Are you guys in therapy? Because I love therapy. Oh, yeah. We're in therapy. Yes.

We are in therapy. And it's the best thing. Isn't the best? The best. I feel like everyone should be in therapy. Everyone should be in couples therapy. If we didn't have couples therapy, I don't know. I mean, it's just helped so much, so much.

Yeah, I mean. And you don't need to be on the brink of a divorce to be in therapy. Like, I think everyone can be in therapy. I was talking about this the other day with somebody, I think it was yesterday, maintenance sex. Oh. Maintenance therapy. Maintenance sex. We don't make those things look sexy in the movies.

We don't talk about them. It's like, oh, you don't. It's an effort. It's putting in something that you don't always want to do that is for the health. Like, I'm not saying go. you know, have sex when you don't want to or if you have trauma or like, you know what I'm saying. Like, I'm just saying if you are in a healthy marriage and like nobody talks about the maintenance of it. Right. Well, if you want to be good at baseball, you're not just going to like show up to a game every now and then you're going to go to the practices.

You're going to put in the work. You're going to. And that's what marriage is. And that's what working on yourself and all of it is. You have to work on yourself. It's literally a choice and a commitment and it's not, you know, this beautiful, easy. No. Loving thing. No. Not at all. so much work you have to want to do the work with somebody for sure this episode is brought to you by better help when life gets messy who you're going to turn to your friends the group chat random strangers online i've definitely tried all of this but here's the thing talking to a licensed

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Please play responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connix Ontario at 1866-531, 2,600, to speak to an advisor free of charge. But MGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming, Ontario. Let's talk about balance for a second, because business, marriage, pregnancy, step, step, parenting, still being you rebuilding yourself after,

to WWE, having this online platform, how are you, I don't think balance really exists, to be honest with you, and whoever has found it, tell me everything. But like, how do you attempt to balance this life? I don't. I really don't. Like, even hearing you say it out loud, it's exhausting. Yeah, you took a bit of breath. I was like, wait, it's true. Like, this is why I'm so tired. But I feel, I feel like I'm going to contradict myself. I feel like you can have it all, but I also feel like something's always going to suffer. Like, you can't give 100% to everything. Like if my marriage is amazing

and my relationship with the kids is great, my career is probably on the back burner right now, right? And I think it's okay to... Like a balancing, juggling act which is taking priority. Yeah.

Like priority right now and it's okay to have it change and have it shift. And that's just kind of, like I know when my husband and I are great and my kids and I are great, then I know my career is like,

oh shit, I have to hurry up and like get back onto that. And then that's good and then like, oh, I haven't had sex with my husband. and however long because I've been so busy on this

and I'm exhausted because of it. That's a whole schedule. It really is. It's trying. There's so like, yes, you can have it all, but not everything is going to be flourishing all the time. Plus, you have to know what phase you're in of your cycle at certain times and now you're pregnant and like, God. So in, I'm going backwards for a second to snatch because the name is cheeky and bold and I love that. What does snatch mean to you?

Like the business or the name? Like snatch is snatch. And the best part is when people are like, especially the trolls, are like, do you know, what snatch means. I'm like, obviously. That is the whole point? Bagina. Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's like a snatch. Right. Yeah. Do you have one? You can be a part of this. Yeah. You don't have one. So you get to shut up or you don't get to say. But that's the whole point. Get people talking. Let it be like a little in your face and a little cheeky. But that's what snatch is. It's just about being uncomfortable. Being comfortable with the uncomfortable.

Yeah, because there's such a gap in the wellness space. Everybody's so obsessed with wellness and what we do for what wellness looks like. And it's like putting on a face mask. and like getting like, but wellness, like I said, there's this gap, especially for moms, I would say, of what wellness might look like. So it's cool that you have this community to be like, like that is, to me, that's wellness is giving back. For sure. And having a community and having this group of women who can come together and talk and share their struggles or their ups and their downs and like find other people who are going through what they do. Feeling less alone, feeling seeing. I was being educated on our own bodies as well. I was dying because I saw one of your envious you did recently with Jesse from Secret Lives in Mormon.

Yeah. And she was talking about her labia plastic. And I was reading the comments and so many women are like, oh, she's screwed when she goes through menopause. And I'm like, wait, what? Apparently your vagina shrinks when you go through menopause. That's what so many of the comments were on that video you posted. And I'm like, I'm a woman. And I feel like I'm very educated.

I'm trying to learn more and more about my body. Yeah, you probably need to study the vagina. If your name's going to be snatched, we've got to learn all about the vagina. How is the vagina shrink? I didn't know that that happened either. You're a woman. A woman. Did you know that that happened?

Emily, yeah. Like, this is where I use chat. G.P.T. Like, your vagina apparently shrinks when you go through menopause. Vigina shrink. You go through men. I should have just asked my mom. We're so open like that.

Maybe she doesn't even know. Yeah. Let's see. Great question. And you're not alone in wondering about it. this. Here's the honest answer. When you go through menopause, your estrogen levels drop. Estrogen is important for keeping the vagina. Caitlin, learn how to read. Vaginal tissues, thick, elastic, and well lubricated. Without it, the vaginal walls can become thinner and less

stretchy. This is called vaginal atrophy. Atrophy. Thank you. Can't read. So the opening of the vagina may feel tighter and the canal itself may be shorter or narrower. So it can feel like it's shrinking. Huh. So technically the vagina itself doesn't shrink away, but it can lose elasticity and volume, making it smaller or tighter than before. That's wild. Sounds more internal, though. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like she did it externally. Sure. But like all the comments are like, she's so screwed. I'm like, how, why? And like, it's not even that she's like, I don't think she needs to worry about her labia at all. I just think it's wild that that's something that so many women were commenting about that I had no idea.

Yeah. Why don't we know this? Again. Again, another thing that people don't talk about that. You're like, wait, we're all doing women. Like, why doesn't anything happen to men? Like, they get hotter, the older they get. They literally, I just said to Connor in this last podcast, I was like, men start thriving at 40. Yeah. In their career. In their looks. My husband's gone hotter since I've been with him. Oh, gosh. So did you two meet in the wrestling world? Yeah. Yeah. What's next, I guess. Like, what are you? And you don't have to have an answer or a plan or anything. It's just. I'm just always curious of like what are you going to like expand on snatch? Are you going to like build something else? Like what do you have a plan? You don't need to. I guess. I really, I'm still growing snatch. Like that's something I'm very passionate about. And I think we need again to learn more about. Yeah. In general. So I definitely am working on that. My goal like dream job is to be on Broadway. I've always wanted to do that. I do live here. No. I live in Pittsburgh. But it's close. Oh, you're so close. It's like a cool. It's like a. quick flight and I would definitely move here if I had to for like a role but oh my god that's my dream like always do you sing and dance I was a kid I know dance duh I mean I'm not the best singer but I know that there's a lot of people who've done it and yeah don't necessarily have a little like what would your dream role be on Broadway roxy heart oh of course like and I'm saying that because my mom and my grandmother went to Chicago off Broadway when I was a kid and they brought home a tape that's

dating myself I know no like they brought home a cassette tape and I remember listening to I memorized every single word of every single song since I was like eight. So I just love that musical. Oh my God. I same. I actually auditioned for it. Didn't get it. That's amazing though. Yeah. I literally sent in a whole video of me singing but I same thing. My mom was obsessed. My mom was in musical theater. Her whole life she taught theater. She was a dancer. And so I grew up doing theater and I loved Chicago and I used to lie to people at the bars when I was 18 years old because that was the legal age in Canada, I'd go to the bars and they'd be like, what do you do? I'd be like, I'm a dancer for the musical Chicago. And I would

like sing at the bar for them and like do a dance. I'd be like, I'd really commit to the bit because that was also my favorite. That's amazing. I always wanted to do. Yeah, that's just like the goal. I mean, dream world. Yeah. Whether that happens or not, like it is what it is. But I mean, well, have you tried? Dream and made that. No, I don't even know how. I don't even know how I would do it. You've just let's start looking. I mean, I can give you the contact that I had and then if you do get it, you can be like, now you have to have Caitlin because she helped me. Yes, we can be Belma and Roxy in Chicago. That would be amazing. No, because I will not take anything other than Roxy. We both want the same role.

I'll be your understudy. I'll gladly be your understudy. I'll be your understudy. That's so fun. Oh, yeah, I bet you can, I mean, if you danced at the level that you danced, you, it's been a while though. I'd have to really like, break out the tap shoes or something I feel like it's it is and it isn't like riding a bike but it kind of is only because your brain like can understand counts choreography like you've just got that

and that's fair yeah more than a lot of people have the battle have but yeah people who are on Broadway just pure talent it's just unbelievable I've seen so many times I've seen so many shows I just I'm in awe every time I'm at a Broadway show I'm amazing where can everybody find

you and snatch and and all of the things. So snatch for her on Instagram. And then my Instagram is the Leah Van Dale, which I sound like a magician, but my name was taken when I, because I used to be Carmela from WWE on Instagram. And then I went to go change my handle

and someone stole my name. And they won't give it to me. And you have the, so I keep wanting to say snatched. It's snatch. Snatch. Snatch. And it's on your Instagram where people can find everything. Yeah.

Everything, all the links and everything are there. That's what, and just last thoughts. you want people to take away from it when they are part of Snatch? Just to feel seen, I've heard, and know that they're not alone, no matter what it is that are going through. Because I think a lot of times we're going through something, whatever it is in life, it feels isolating. It feels like you're the only one in the world that this is happening to. And Snatch is proof that it's so many of us going through the same thing. Well, and it's also proof that when you build, like a village.

Yeah. That an online village is definitely a thing. When you build that, it's actually proof in like people's mental health getting better for sure it actually is a real thing so thank you for doing that and I hope so many women that are listening who are feeling like they need to feel seen can be a part of it and you can help them too because I mean there's just so much nastiness out there so many awful people and I do feel like women a lot of times feel like I can do it alone and they don't realize what toll that's taking on for sure you need a village whether it's one person even on social media that you can talk to like just one person makes you feel better yeah I agree Well, thank you so much.

You are so cute, and I can't believe you're pregnant. I can't believe that's 20, what, nine? 28. 28 weeks in there? You're so cute. Summer might be wrapping up, but Pluto TV's Summer of Cinema is still going strong with hundreds of free movies.

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breakouts and the drops that were cemented in pop i'm talking benefir tyra versus naomi tom cruz jumping on that couch and so much more so please rate us subscribe to us on apple podcast spotify or anywhere you get audio related content we also take memo and cash app or credit card number as well we're malleable you know we're gay today