The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Almost Famous OG: Reality TV Star Virgin "No Mo" with Christy Carlson Romano

Episode Date: January 16, 2025

Christy Carlson Romano has officially popped her reality television cherry and she's here to spill all about what it took to finally make it happen, including taking care of Trista during her terrifying hypothermic shock situation and why she's now Denise Richards' #1 fan. She also opens up about her personal life and why she made the decision to move her family to Austin in 2020.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Let's start with a quick puzzle. The answer is Ken Jennings' appearance on The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs. The question is, what is the most entertaining listening experience in podcast land? Jeopardy-truthers believe in... I guess they would be conspiracy theorists. That's right. They gave you the answers, and you still blew it.

The Puzzler. Listen on the I-Heart. radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, my name is Enya Humanzor. And I'm Drew Phillips. And we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom. If you're a crime junkie and you love crimes, we're not the podcast for you. But if you have unmedicated ADHD...

Oh my God, perfect. And want to hear people with mental illness, psychobabble. Yes, yes. Then Emergency Intercom is the podcast for you. Open your free IHeartRadio app. Search Emergency Intercom and listen now. I just normally do straight stand-up, but this is a bit different. What do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club?

Answer, a new podcast called Wisecrack, where a comedian finds himself at the center of a chilling true crime story. Does anyone know what show they've come to see? It's a story. It's about the scariest night of my life. This is Wisecrack. now. Listen to Wisecrack on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, it's Honey German and I'm back with season two of my podcast. Grasias, come again.

We got you when it comes to the latest in music and entertainment with interviews with some of your favorite Latin artists and celebrities. You didn't have to audition? No, I didn't audition. I haven't audition in like over 25 years. Oh, wow. That's a real G-talk right there. Oh, yeah. We'll talk about all that's viral and trending with a little bit of cheesement and a whole lot of laughs. And of course, the great bevdas you've come to expect. Listen to the new season of Dresses Come Again

on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. This is the Almost Famous Podcast with IHartRadio. Hi, everybody. This is Trista and Bob. We are so excited for today's Almost Famous OG podcast. We are talking to the Christy

Carlson Romano. She is one of my angels from this season of special forces. And of course, the Disney princess, Kim Possible, Cadet Kelly, all the things. She's amazing. She's now one of one of my good friends. And I'm so excited to welcome her to the show today. Hey, hi, Christy Carlson Romano. Hi, sir. How are you? I'm Bob Guinea. Nice to meet you. Hi, Bob. How are you? It's nice to meet you too. Great. Thank you. Oh my God. We're so excited to have you. And I'm Trista, obviously. What's your number? You don't have a name. Lucky number 13. Lucky number 13. Maybe. Anyway, thank you for joining the almost famous OG podcast. We're so excited to have you. Obviously, this is Bob. He was on my season of The Bachelorette and became a bachelor's afterwards and has done lots of stuff.

you know but for you um miss disney princess and um cadet kelly and all kinds of other stuff and obviously instagram i love your post by the way you make me laugh all the time thank you well trista as as you know i think that's what brought us together in a different way um there would be times that i would look at trista and i'm and and somebody said something that was like a little bit like that's what she said and she and I would just cackle laughing just we were like moms off the leash is what happened I think we were like this is fun right for now that's awesome she's always good with a laugh that's what I love her I always when I was on trista's season of the bachelorette before before I was the bachelor guy I was like oh my god

this show's so fun because every time I say something they everyone just laughs because trista would laugh and her laugh is so contagious. just that everybody else would just start laughing. I love her laugh. She's the best. You have the best love. We're just going to talk about you like you're not near her. Oh, okay.

Okay, great, great, great. Okay, so obviously special forces. It's on tonight. I hope everyone will watch the third episode, I guess they're calling it, even though it's the second episode, technically. Yeah. Yeah, the third and the fourth, essentially, right? Right.

Yeah, it seemed like two. it's basically two aired the first night essentially so yeah two hours long i mean it's it's gripping i i will tell you this christie because we've never met before watching the show and seeing trista on it and seeing you on it and seeing all these people that i feel like i know even though i don't and i was literally emotional like watching what you guys were going through it was like a weird response for me i was like oh my god like how are they doing all this and then when they take you guys in and talk to you guys in the kind of the breakdown room and the mirror room, I guess it's called.

And it was just, it was stressful as a viewer to watch people that you do know and then even people you don't know going through this kind of thing. So I can only imagine when it had to be like for you going through it. I mean, that's a great, that's a great jumping off point, I would say,

because I have a production background just having grown up in the biz. So it's like, this was my first reality show. I'm a reality show virgin, no mo. The cherry hath been popped. No, mo. But it was wild. And I have some really good friends out in Austin.

Kayla Quinn, who's also part of Bachelor Nation. And then Amber Diamond, who met her husband on, I think it's, are you the one or something? And that was an MTV back in the day. But they're married in love, just like you, Trista, and like have kids. And they're have another one on the way. So I've been leading on my friends from the reality world to be like, okay, am I the villain? Am I going to be? Like, how are they going to edit?

So the edit, to me, as sort of a traditional, like, editor, I have my degree from Columbia in film. And so I was like, this is, I couldn't stop. I was looking around at all these guys dressed just like the DS, carrying massive cameras on their shoulder and running up the hill as if they were just as fast, sometimes faster than the DS. And I was like, this is a feat on the other side from our angle, seeing just what it takes to get this reality show made. And it's what I think, Bob, what is it's the credit of the editing and what was caught. But there's a whole other show that Tristan and I were chatting about last night

that we experienced that didn't make the edit. Right. Yeah. So much on the country floor, we always say. You know, and that's the thing. Yeah. You figure there's 16 recruits, each of you going through. the exact same thing

but with your own little wrinkles and they're documenting all of it and then they've got to go through and kind of create a story. Yeah, there's a lot that goes into it for sure. I mean, you know, they always say there's not much reality in a reality show, but I do feel like this one, you know,

this is different, right? We talked to Q the other day and talking to him about, you know, his experience on it and how, you know, they basically said, we're not going to make this like a normal reality show where you can pull aside and, you know, sit down in the, it's craft services

And, you know, Denise Richards even said, she was like, I kept looking for craft service table. Like, I'm hungry. Oh, my gosh. We were fighting for corn nuts in the back of a military-grade vehicle that had no heat, no air. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, they really put you guys through it. I mean, I am fascinated, though, with your story, obviously, you know, an actress and a Disney kid and all that. But then what I'm specifically excited about, my father was a Marine.

Oh, that your husband was a Marine. Yeah. And so like how you prepare for this show had to be so different. But I mean, I'm sure there's a lot, you know, to it. I mean, how you were approached to go on the show, all that kind of stuff. But, you know, your husband's saying the mental is more important than the physical. I was like, wow, that is so, that is huge because, you know, that's kind of what Q alluded to the other day, Tristan, when we were talking to him and how he was like, my job is to get inside of your head. And basically, you know, like Trist always talks about the angel and the devil, you know, really kind of get in there and stir. up the sauce and make you think. I mean, your husband kind of prepared you for it, right? He prepares me for that every day of my life. That's, you know, having a parent that's very good at getting in your head, I'm sure. Oh, yeah. I can't even imagine our poor girls once they come of age and start to date, like,

the hell that's going to be unleashed. Poor guy that comes over to pick him up. It's going to be like, you know, crazy. I have to laugh because I had a dad that was this, his name was Tony Romano, and he would sit outside acting like he was like he was like he was like, like a part of Goodfellas or something, and he would have a silk kimono with a bat in his hand when my older sisters would come home late from a date. And so I feel like there's a certain kind of masculinity that I grew up with. And it was portrayed, you know, in a very like mob boss way.

But when I met my husband, I was like, this is next level. Like these people are certified badasses. You know, I think with submarines, like their hands are technically like registered as like weapons. Lethal weapons, yeah. Yeah, so it's kind of cool. For real. That's crazy. So going back to your husband, you said in one of the clips that you, you know, when we did our pre-interview, that you wanted to connect more with those parts of your husband that weren't accessible to you before.

Do you feel like you guys connected more through the show? Yes and no. Yeah. I was, I was intrigued to see how we would connect. when I came back. And he even told me, like, Christy, if you finish election, you'll have experienced a lot of what I experienced. But what I realized is that, you know, all along my journey,

I'm talking about him, sometimes to the point where I have to shut myself up because I'm like, people are going to start to, like, be annoyed by me. Although he was that source of inspiration for me not to be intimidated by DS. He was like the blocker. He was like the angel for me in the DS clothing. So it was like, I know that I can keep going. And so I don't know. I mean, I came home thinking, okay, well, first of all, I was thinking of myself because

even Tristan will tell you, like, when you get home, your endorphins are all over the place. And I remember the therapist on our way out was like, you're going to be very on edge for a little while. And I was, you know, it was really hard. I just wanted to keep, I wanted to smoke cigarettes, right? Because I don't drink. So I was like, I need to smoke cigarettes. He's like, okay, you have like a week to be able to smoke cigarettes.

And then you have to try to knock it off. But it's, it's, it was hard to acclimate. So I wasn't really focusing on him. And what I think happened was is I think he saw what happened to me. And a part of him connected in a way where he was like, oh, no, I have to like take care of her now. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, it was almost like you go slip the script a little. Yeah. A little bit, a little bit. And, and I do, I do think when he watches it, he's like, I'm very visual. So like when we did this huge screening here in Austin, boy, was he, he was so proud. that was like, oh, finally, I made it. That's awesome. That's awesome.

Who was tougher on you? Was he tougher on you or were the DS on the show tougher on you? Honestly, Q ended up being the sweetest to me because, yeah, he did. And he ended up not being sweet. I wouldn't say sweet, okay, guys. I would say. Okay, maybe. Yeah, back out.

Back up. Tolerent. Tolerent. And then when you, my goal was to get them to like me because that's my tragic flaw. And I was kind of like, can I make him smile? And there was things that would happen where I would try to, you know, I don't know. Somehow I got through to him a couple times during very crazy moments. So I think it's like when you take them off guard, it's like Trista, this first episode, I'm on this boat.

I'm about to jump off the helicopter and I'm so quote unquote focused and locked in that Foxy's trying to talk to me. And it took me until yesterday. that I was watching it on repeat because I was like, I didn't realize he was asking me what I did as an actress, was I this, and I was like, I'm going to get on that boat. And he's like, no, but what do you do? And I was like, I'm going to get on that helicopter. You're going to see.

He's like, okay, he asks three times. And I'm like, the helicopter, like an idiot. You were like so focused. That's awesome. A foot washed up a shoe with some bones in it. They had no idea who it was. Most everything was burned up pretty good from the fire that not a whole lot was salvageable. These are the coldest of cold cases, but everything is about to change.

Every case that is a cold case that has DNA right now in a backlog will be identified in our lifetime. A small lab in Texas is cracking the code on DNA. Using new scientific tools, they're finding clues in evidence so tiny you might just miss it. He never thought he was going to get caught. And I just looked at my computer screen. I was just like, ah, gotcha. On America's Crime Lab, we'll learn about victims and survivors. And you'll meet the team behind the scenes at Othrum,

the Houston Lab that takes on the most hopeless cases to finally solve the unsolvable. Listen to America's Crime Lab on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. My name is Ed. Everyone say hello, Ed. I'm from a very rural background myself My dad is a farmer

And my mom is a cousin So like it's not What do you get when a true crime producer Walks into a comedy club I know it sounds like the start of a bad joke But that really was my reality nine years ago I just normally do straight stand-up But this is a bit different

On stage stood a comedian With a story that no one expected to hear Well 22nd of July 2015 A 23 year old man had killed his family. And then he came to my house. So what do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club?

A new podcast called Wisecrack, where stand-up comedy and murder takes center stage. Available now. Listen to Wisecrack on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, and in session 421 of therapy for black girls, I sit down with Dr. Afea and Billy Shaka to explore how our hair connects to our identity, mental health, and the ways we heal. Because I think hair is a complex language system, right, in terms of it can tell how old you are, your marital status, where you're from, you're a spiritual belief. But I think with social media, there's like a hyperfixation and observation of our hair, right?

that this is sometimes the first thing someone sees when we make a post or a reel is how our hair is styled. You talk about the important role hairstylists play in our community, the pressure to always look put together, and how breaking up with perfection can actually free us. Plus, if you're someone who gets anxious about flying, don't miss session 418 with Dr. Angela Neil Barnett, where we dive into managing flight anxiety. Listen to therapy for black girls on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

The U.S. Open is here, and on my podcast, Good Game with Sarah Spain, I'm breaking down the players from rising stars to legends chasing history, the predictions, well, we see a first-time winner, and the pressure. Billy Jean King says pressure is a privilege, you know. Plus, the stories and events off the court, and of course the honey deuses, the signature cocktail of the U.S. Open. The U.S. Open has gotten to be a very fancy, wonderfully experiential sporting event. Listen, the whole aim is to be accessible and inclusive

for all tennis fans, whether you play tennis or not. Tennis is full of compelling stories of late. Have you heard about Icon Venus Williams' recent wildcard bids or the young Canadian, Victoria Mboko, making a name for herself? How about Naomi Osaka getting back to form? To hear this and more, listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain, an IHeart women's sports production in partnership with deep blue sports and entertainment on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. So I have to give props. So you, nobody saw this. And that's kind of what's frustrating. You know that whole disconnect and returning back to life. And now we have, we were watching it. And I think we were talking the other day. And you kind of made a light bulb moment happen for me.

and that is that you deal with, like, the actual filming. So cameras in your face, you know, knowing that you're going to be portrayed, you know, looking probably the worst you've ever, not you, but I'm talking about me. The worst I've ever looked, you know what I mean? And thinking about that and trying to get that out of your mind. And then you get home and you try to decompress and get all those thoughts out, but that's impossible. And then the show starts airing.

And they put, they do put a little. lot, a lot of it ends up on the cutting room floor, right? So like we, it's a, it's a frustrating thing and, uh, and hard to swallow. Like, I feel like I'm not getting sleep, um, since the show started airing because all I'm thinking about is like replaying moments in, in my head of what truly happened. And one of the things that was major for me and, and, and it was a moment for you but for me it was um pretty important and that was when i after the beach got back to the vehicle and and you know ended up in hypothermic shock and you just you were like okay get over here and you and cam just put me on your lap wrapped me up and she bob she like took care of me

i was like i was like her little baby bird you know and like i mean seriously she was christie was blowing hot air into like, like my shirt just trying to get my body temperature. Was it the top of your head? Was it the top of your head? Yeah, like, I don't know. Oh my gosh. I mean, you were like right here. Yeah, maybe it was the top of my head. But we were desperate because the medics weren't showing up very quickly. And we didn't know what was. Can I tell you the story then? Because I feel like Trista is so humble about this and how brave she was to just even get out of that vehicle and like hold her head up high after what happened. So she was turning blue. Her lips were turning blue. Cam was kind of hunched in the corner of the vehicle.

He was cold and he really doesn't like water. So he was kind of in his own place. But I and you know what's crazy? You were the one who looked at me and I was shaking at first. But then I think for whatever reason, Trista started getting into a more aggressive hypothermic shock. And when I saw that, I really realized she was in trouble. And we started to ask them, like, hey, can you turn the heat on? And the vehicle that they have us being transported in, they're not allowed to speak to you. So they have the cameras set up. And then the drivers are one driver who does not speak to you. The other person in the other seat is a producer or like a smaller producer. And they're WhatsApp texting. The people in charge, because they're not Wi-Fi connected

to our feet. So Trista is getting worse and worse. And they give us our dry kit or dry clothes. And so our job at that point when I realized is let's change her clothes. But she started getting really lethargic and slow. And I was like, I have toddlers, right, at home. And they don't want to take their clothes off. That was me. So I was like, we're taking the clothes off. We're taking it all off. Cam, I think he was a gentleman and he got out of the vehicle because we had all stopped. Turns out Marion, which they totally didn't show, was also very sick in another car, and it was also passing out. And they were having their own drama. So the poor producers were like, we don't know what to do. We're far from a hospital. We're in the middle of the day of shooting, right?

And I think DS travels before us. So they were already like not around to evaluate us. And it was kind of like, it was a very critical time. And so the only thing that I could do was take her dang clothes off. So I took her dang clothes off. And we did, I still remember touching your cold feet with the sand and doing your little footies and putting your little socks on. And the only thing I could do is thank God you're so short is because I could like get her in there. And I was like, I sang to you. Like I just, I mean for my kids. Oh my God. When you were saying your little feet, it's like you're talking to a little kid. It's crazy. I love her. I love her. We bonded in that way, I guess. We trauma bonded.

Yeah. She says you were one of her angels. You've said that more than once, Trista. Yeah. You are. Trista has called you an angel. Yeah. Thanks.

You are. I mean, for real. Like, you took such good care of me. And I am so grateful to you because I really was, I couldn't lift my head. And like you said, my lips were turning blue. And I was, it was really freaking scary. So you got to. And this is what's good about this show, I will say typically, that it depends on the

contestants, the people who are out for themselves, like, I love Stephen. I had a really good experience with him, but I think clearly he didn't know what he signed up for, Stephen Baldwin. Yeah. So I do think, like, those people end up leaving for those reasons. And it's fascinating to see when people have to leave, right? And it's like, and why and how they manage it. From what I was told by another producer after was like, the people who have medical leave have a lot more regret than the people who I think quit yeah I bet yeah I could see that I mean I thought that way too like watching that first episode and how Stephen was at the end of that first episode we had actually just interviewed him prior to that and I was so disappointed you know I was like what's he doing

you know like quit you know I didn't like that whole spiel that got him off the show but then you watch other people who they're like you know that's it you're done like like I'm thinking of Allie in particular with her finger on that kind of stuff and it's like oh she definitely did not want to go. And so it's such a bummer to see that situation kind of play out, which I know we'll probably get more of that tonight when we get to see how that second episode goes. But yeah, you've gotten huge props from T-Bone Sutter as to being- T-Bone Sutter. I would do it again. I hope I never have to do it again. But she's just, but we connected before that is my point. And I saw it into her. We connected in a way that

It was like, girls, girls, moms, you know, having fun on this crazy adventure, just really receptive to everyone around us in a way that was very wholesome. So I think that I saw that interest in and I missed her. I really kind of got, you know, very emotional about our connection. That's all I'll say. Yeah. That's amazing. I love it.

Yeah. I love it. Well, having just gotten to know you, it's easy to see that between both of you. So, yeah. Oh, thanks. Yeah. Forever friends. Um, so I feel like we need to get into like the nitty gritty of the show and, um, would love to know if you feel like the D.S. picked any favorites.

No, I don't think D.S. did. I think production does. I think that. I think that production does. But I also think there's free will. I think that they cannot know when a person is going to break. And you know, they do a lot of psyche vows with us before. and therapy before not during but after and i think that production has a lot of storytellers like like script type people watching our truman show in the background and i think they're like okay if then if a happens then b happens if this happens then this happens so i i mean there's a lot of money on the line that i really wonder how many i want to ask like minnow films who is our production company like how many cameras were actually there capturing everything i wonder it's got to be like thousands thousands of like high quality you know we don't need any artificial light like it was wild just how beautiful bob if you can see it it's so cinematic like when you watch it yeah so no it was

really beautiful i was blown away by that you're absolutely right and even just the aerial shots when you guys were just arriving and getting pushed off the boat and all that kind of stuff. You know, that whole thing, just the aerial shots alone. I'm like, oh, my God, that's beautiful. Well, I was shocked. I mean, this is, I'm sure your husband wasn't shocked by this, but I was. I was shocked that they seemed to be shoving the women the same way they were shoving Cam Newton. Like, I'm like, watching Cam, this is beat. And I'm watching you guys just get like two hands shivered off the boat. I'm like, what the hell is he doing? Like, it immediately makes you want to like go, hey man, but I realize they can't treat anyone differently, right? and I get that whole thing.

But man, it was hard to watch some of that stuff. Trista, well, do you still remember the sound you made when they pushed you? Because I do. I was like, huh? Totally. Well, gosh, I mean, I went from being like, you know, they didn't show me doing this. But he said, okay, what's your name? And I was like, Trista Sutter, like really quietly.

I guess I get really quiet when I'm nervous and intimidated. And he was like, speak up. Who are you? Why are you here? You know, and I'm like, I don't know, blah, la la. And he goes, he asked you the same question, I think. He said, do you know where you are? And I said, I said, I think, whales, I think. And he goes, ugh. Like, I'm so frustrated with you. I'm done. Yeah, I feel like they had some lines scripted for them. I think that I remember them holding like you cards. And I think there were stories that maybe they were instructed to share with people. Back up. You saw them holding cue cards? Yes, as they were walking out. So when we were on parade and they would walk out, they were not big cue cards. I think they were notes. No, yeah. They were very small, tiny pieces of paper that could have been, you know, what they're about to do. I mean, I'm not going to, I'm not going to say I know what was on the DS's QR. Right. I'm in there good graces right now. I don't want to piss them off. But I think it's possible. that on a production side, that, you know, they had these important stories that

authentically happened to them, right? When they were operators, when they were in the field. And they impart that knowledge to us before we go tackle the day. And it gets more and more personal, as everyone will see. And they really start to connect with you. And even the folks that didn't stay long, I think that they have a lot of respect for Denise. You know, like she, I have a lot of respect for Denise. I didn't, you know, she was probably one of the only people that I knew outside of Kyla and Trista and Allie.

And I've seen the memes of Denise where she was messy at dinner or whatever that was, right? Like that was the thing that went viral where it seemed like she was drinking too much or something. And she's beautiful to me. But I thought she'd be this, you know, beautiful blonde with this perfect baliage and just kind of come in a different mindset. But she didn't. She was classy. She was down to earth. She was helpful, sweet, kind, inclusive.

Not the person you'd think a housewife would be. No, I agree. I feel like she got a bad edit on the housewife sometimes, too. Like when I watch some of that stuff with her, because she's always been really sweet to me as well. So I agree with you. I think that was not reflective of who she is at all. Yeah, I'm a big fan.

Big fan. Yeah. Yeah, well, Q's seemed to be too. Do you remember that Trista? Q did say, like when we were talking about something that happened with Denise, and he goes, I have a lot of respect for Denise. He's like, she did not want to quit. And he's like, and I kind of saw like a, it's almost like the thread on the sweater.

He started to pull it and it was, you know, that was kind of her undoing. But, you know, it's, he gave her the option. I feel like they give you, because he very well at certain points in the show, you'll see them be like, you're gone. That's it. Right. So they either know that you've hit your limit or with Q, it seemed like he wanted to see the best in Denise.

Because when your breasts pop, because her implant, had popped. I can imagine it hurting pretty badly when she was going down and coming up from the water. I can't even imagine what, you know, what that felt like for her, but probably painful. And Q can't relate to that. No offense. No, no, no, no, no man's going to tell you. I know exactly what she was going through. Yeah. A foot washed up a shoe with some bones in it. They had no idea who it was. Most everything was burned up pretty good from the fire that not a whole lot was salvageable. These are the coldest of cold cases, but everything is about to change.

Every case that is a cold case that has DNA right now in a backlog will be identified in our lifetime. A small lab in Texas is cracking the code on DNA. Using new scientific tools, they're finding clues in evidence so tiny you might just miss it. He never thought he was going to get caught. And I just looked at my computer screen. I was just like, ah, gotcha. On America's Crime Lab, we'll learn about victims and survivors. And you'll meet the team behind the scenes at Othrum,

the Houston Lab that takes on the most hopeless cases to finally solve the unsolvable. Listen to America's Crime Lab on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. My name is Ed. Everyone say hello, Ed. Hello. From a very rural background myself, my dad is a farmer and my mom is a cousin, so like, it's not like...

What do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? I know it sounds like the start of a bad joke, but that really was my reality nine years ago. I just normally do straight stand-up, but this is a bit different. On stage stood a comedian with a story that no one expected to hear. The 22nd of July 2015, a 23-year-old man had killed. oldest family. And then he came to my house. So what do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club?

A new podcast called Wisecrack, where stand-up comedy and murder takes center stage. Available now. Listen to Wisecrack on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Dr. Joy Hardin-Brand-Brandford. And in session 421 of therapy for black girls, I sit down with Dr. Athea and Billy Shaka to explore how our hair connects to our identity, mental health, and the ways we heal. Because I think hair is a complex language system, right? In terms of it can tell how old you are, your marital status, where you're from, you're a spiritual belief.

But I think with social media, there's like a hyperfixation and observation of our hair, right? That this is sometimes the first thing someone sees when we make a post, or real. It's how our hair is styled. You talk about the important role hairstylists play in our community, the pressure to always look put together, and how breaking up with perfection

can actually free us. Plus, if you're someone who gets anxious about flying, don't miss Session 418 with Dr. Angela Neil Barnett, where we dive into managing flight anxiety. Listen to therapy for black girls on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The U.S. Open is here,

And on my podcast, Good Game with Sarah Spain, I'm breaking down the players from rising stars to legends chasing history, the predictions, well, we see a first time winner and the pressure. Billy Jean King says pressure is a privilege, you know. Plus, the stories and events off the court and, of course, the honey deuses, the signature cocktail of the U.S. Open. The U.S. Open has gotten to be a very fancy, wonderfully experiential sporting event. I mean, listen, their whole aim is to be accessible and inclusive. For all tennis fans, whether you play tennis or not? Tennis is full of compelling stories of late. Have you heard about Icon Venus Williams' recent wildcard bids?

Or the young Canadian, Victoria Mboko, making a name for herself? How about Naomi Osaka getting back to form? To hear this and more, listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain, an Iheart women's sports production in partnership with deep blue sports and entertainment on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. sports. Okay, so you grew up as a Disney, Disney actor and an actress and commercials and, you know, movies, and you decided in 2020, I believe, to move to Austin. What went into that decision? And are you thankful about your move? Have you thought about moving back to California? How's it? filling. So I moved down to Orange County when I had kids, my husband's from there originally,

and we wanted more space and it was still in proximity to, you know, if I was going to continue to do auditions at the time, I didn't really do podcasts or YouTube and I ended up doing that. But it was more or less, huh, this is going to be a new adventure for us to raise our kids somewhere close to this business, but like far enough away to get the best of both worlds. I grew up in the East Coast going into Manhattan for auditions as like a kid and ended up doing, you know, Broadway and stuff. So I would commute. And so this just seemed like an extension of that lifestyle of like, okay, I can, I can be in L.A. But then I just have to go.

I'm confused why more people don't live there. A lot of people live like up the 101. They go to like Calabasas and they go to all those areas. But O.C. is still really great. And you're in the traffic about the same amount of time. to be honest. Honestly, Trista, the reason I left was fires. Really?

Yeah, because O.C. gets fires and they get the Santa Ana wins. And I was listening to a podcast in between one fire. And that's when we were deciding Nashville or Austin kind of thing. And it was 2020 and nothing was open and everyone was just chaos. And I have a newborn. Not a newborn. She was about one years old. And my other one was like turning three.

And I was just like, there has to be more to life than this. experience. I've been in L&A, you know, trying to work my whole life. And I'm just not happy. And, you know, 2020 was a weird time, you know, the idea of Austin. I'd only been there one time. I had no idea what it would be like to live in the South. I'm a Yankee. So, right? And then the fires kept hitting and I listened to a podcast that was like with the human imprint in places that they're not really supposed to be because they keep gentrifying areas that are more and more rule, that tends to cause more and more, uh, you know, impact and, uh, chance of fires. So I, I just said to myself, this is a problem. And we literally saw smoke and fires billowing

as we're pulling out with our moving truck. So that was one of the big reasons I left. Um, and Austin is singularly the best move I've ever made for my family. That's amazing. That's amazing. I love that you're saying that. I mean, I love Austin. It's such a great city. And I love that you guys had that, like, thought process because, gosh, what's going on right now is just heartbreaking. Yeah. I'd actually be surprised to people after literally the smoke settles if they don't sort of move again.

Because Austin has a big tax incentive for film and TV and... Really? Yeah. And they call it a very, they're like all these Californians coming to Texas kind of thing, but it's true. I mean, Austin in particular has the food scene, the music scene, the arts scene, the festivals. And so it's growing. And so we'll see. It would be interesting to see because the real estate market kind of went, it's on the decline at the moment after our big 2020 boom. Yeah. Yeah. I left L.A., well, the West Coast around the same time as you. it was like and it was kind of for the same reasons i was like well god i feel like i can work anywhere i mean i fly in and out of everywhere i work anyway what's the difference you know and um move back to my hometown which is the detroit area and um at the time they were doing a bunch of movies and stuff here too and now i don't think they're doing as many now but

yeah in the michigan you know yeah michigan has a really good tax credit they've had good tax credits for a long time and it's beautiful there so yeah it is i love austin too though you're right it's like keep Austin weird. I love the whole thing. And South by Southwest is amazing. It's like, you know, it's so much more into film and stuff. But yeah, that's awesome. That's awesome. And now I read too somewhere that you're you're working on a memoir now as well, correct? Ooh, I am. This is cool. This keeps coming up. We had like a satellite media tours we've been doing. And when people say it, I'm like, ooh, I guess I'm going to talk about it. So I am writing it. It's not done. And it's with a really great publisher. And they don't necessarily want me

make the announcement until it's pre-order you know time so but i i i would say it's okay to talk about just because you need to let people know what you're up to and uh it's it's happening and also it's a way of me committing to it right where it's like oh god i really got to got to do it now serious this show this show is giving me a little bit of uh intuition into how i want to be perceived right and like how i want people to see the strengths the resilience the growth, the joy, some of the levity, like with Tristan and I having levity at those times. So, yeah, we'll see. It's in the works, hopefully for fall.

Fallers. That is so exciting. I'm so proud of you. I don't know if you know this about me. I wrote a book and it was a way to, like, leave a legacy, you know, of who I am. And so I love that you said that. I might have to call you then. I might have to call you.

Any time. You know that. And I want your book. Speed dial. Oh, well, yes, I'll send you one. Okay, so during, for Kim Possible, I hear that you came up with the catchphrase, what's the sitch? Is that, is that true? Yeah, it's pretty accurate. They were sort of working a couple different things. They're like, you know, how would you say what's up in a way that's, you know, because I was the age of the character. And so because I was the age, they were kind of casting me because they

They were like, well, she gets the vibe of this modern girl as long as she can be these two types of characters. So with Kim, you had to be, you know, fun, basic average girl is her whole thing. But then they wanted to know that I also had this stealth side when she went into her stealth mission mode. Because you know, me in mission mode. They go, hand in hand. Hand and hand. Okay. So what would be the catchphrase that you come up with for Special Forces?

Because I have to share a little tidbit also before you answer that question. Please. And like, Christy is like our little creative genius over here. She, we're, you know, we're on this text thread with everybody. And all of a sudden she's like, so by the way, guys, you know, I just had some time on my hands. She didn't say that, but, oh, I just have some time on my hands. So let me just type into chat, GPT, the songs that come up for everybody. Like, you put in the prompt, like, create a playlist.

Oh, she said create a playlist, I think, for all of the recruits. And all of us have different, um, different songs. I cannot remember what mine was. Yours is your, yours is your wedding. What is, it's not a wedding song. It's a song that you said in an interview. It's like a hometown, like Kelsey Ballerini. No, the one in the interview that I said was legends, but, um, but this one is too.

It's like hometown, something hometown. I was like, oh, I love being the hometown girl. That makes me happy. But, okay, so she is truly like our little creative, you know, sending us like, oh, Joe, go check. Yes, you're the creative mascot. Okay, so what would be your catchphrase for coming up or for special forces? Oh, my God. Yeah.

It depends on the tone of it. If it was funny, it would be different. But it had to be, it had to be don't quit because or maybe you can't quit or, yeah, you can't quit. You can't quit. Can't quit because that was my husband basically telling me that the whole time. He's like, nope, quitting is not an option. And he said, you know what he told me to, Trista, that I wish I would have said to you even earlier or something. But I should have shared it with some of the girls, except I just didn't know.

I was kind of quiet these first two episodes. Yeah. I'm realizing just how I think I was trying to lay low. I mean, and part of when you and I connected was when I realized, oh, maybe I can have some fun too while I'm here. Maybe some of these people will make me smile. And even though there's strangers, like maybe I should be more open. And so Trista kind of helped me feel that, feel that levity and that joy off the bat. But he basically was like, you can go slow, but keep going.

Yeah. So maybe that's it. Maybe that's the tagline. Go slow, but keep going. You can go slow, but keep going. That's so great. because I remember when they threw the rucks off of the cliff and we had to go run and get them,

like as punishment for Golden and Cam. And we're running down like this creek where all these slippery rocks are. And Kayla's right behind me. Yes. Kayla's right behind me. And she was like, just go slow. It doesn't matter.

Just take your time. But just keep going. You know, do you remember her saying that? And I was like, thank you for validating that I'm really freaking scared of these slippery rocks. And I don't want to bust my head open, even though we have a helmet on. Like, or maybe at that point we didn't have a helmet. I don't remember. Anyway, I don't either.

I mean, there's a lot I don't remember. File it away. Yeah, of course. So anyway, I feel like that is a good, a really good catchphrase, you know? Just keep swimming. Just keep going. Exactly. Exactly.

Literally, literally, just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Christy, you mentioned that in the beginning you were laying low. Was that something that your husband had kind of given you an indicator too, like to stay off the radar as much as you can? Or was it something where, or was it just something you were doing just as like a, you know, almost like a protective mechanism? Yes, both.

He had told me, lay low. He said, lay low, mind your business. Don't talk too much. Don't be annoying. Don't become a target. Yeah. said that, yeah. And I noticed that Nick Vile did that. Am I saying his last name

right? I feel like, is it Vial? I think so. You don't really know. I don't know of you. Vial, Vial. I'm like, it's Italian. Yes, it is. It is Vial. It's Vial? Vial. I think it's Vial. Vial. No, Vial. Vial. Okay. Yes. So I remember watching the other seasons and trying to pick up on people's

social cues and people like Nick were like smart about the way they didn't engage, didn't give people too much info. And and that's how I was. but I do think that DS catches on soon and they're like, you need to enjoy every day that you're here.

And so I remember there's one thing. I'm not sure if it's made it into the whatever yet. But you know what I'm going to say it? Because I feel like they didn't put it in. D.S. Rudy said to me, he goes, no matter how hard the training gets, listen for the birds. What's that mean?

Oh, interesting. So there was birds like all around our camp. Yeah. They would like squawk. And if we were on the beach, they would be like squawking and there was lots of birds. And so it was a really beautiful thing. So much so that I was like, I'm going to get a tattoo of just like a couple birds like on my arm or something. No kidding.

I didn't do it yet. But I feel like it would be really beautiful. And yeah, it's one of those things, no matter how hard training gets or even life, right? Yeah. Listen to the birds. So get in. Listen, listen to what's around you. Rudy is such an icon, such a hero.

Yeah, I agree. He's a recon Marine, and he's very, very, very, I don't know if your dad knows him, but the younger Marines know him from Generation Kill. He is an icon to them. He's very legendary. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. I mean, he is legendary, to us included.

You know what? We have to go. I'm so sad. that we have to end. I want to keep this up for, I mean, please, I'd love to have you back. I was just going to say. We would love it.

I'd love to. That'd be great. Oh, my gosh. We would love that. This is going live. I want everyone to know, I don't look my best. And me and Trista are roughing it. You're roughen it.

That's so true. No, no glam squads out there in the whales. Uh, no. So, Christy, thank you so much for everything on the show, for everything that, you know, we've been through afterwards. And I just, I love you so much. Thank you for coming on the Almost Famous OG podcast. Everyone, please check out Christy on Instagram.

What's your handle? It's the Christy Carlson Romano. There you go. There you go. I already followed you today. I'm so excited. I'm following you now too. Okay, fine.

Oh, awesome. Thanks. I love it. What a pleasure meeting you, Christy. Thank you so much for making time for us and joining us on the Almost Famous Podcast. We love it. And I'm very excited to watch you on the show tonight, too.

Thank you, guys. Thank you. Thank you. Have a great one. Love you. Oh, I love you too. Bye, guys. Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, everybody.

Let's start with a quick puzzle. The answer is Ken Jennings' appearance on The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs. The question is, what? is the most entertaining listening experience in podcast land. Jeopardy Truthers believe in... I guess they would be conspiracy theorists. That's right. They give you the answers and you still blew it.

The Puzzler. Listen on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, my name is Enya Umanzor. And I'm Drew Phillips. And we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom. If you're a crime junkie and you love crimes, we're not the podcast for you. But if you have unmedicated ADHD... Oh my God, perfect.

And want to hear people with mental illness, psychobabble. Yes, yes. Then Emergency Intercom is the podcast for you. Open your free IHeartRadio app. Search Emergency Intercom and listen now. Hi, it's Honey German and I'm back with season two of my podcast. Grazias. Come again. We got you when it comes to the latest in music and entertainment.

with interviews with some of your favorite Latin artists and celebrities. You didn't have to audition? No, I didn't audition. I haven't auditioned in like over 25 years. Oh, wow. That's a real G-talk right there. Oh, yeah. We'll talk about all that's viral and trending,

with a little bit of achievement and a whole lot of laughs. And, of course, the great vivras you've come to expect. Listen to the new season of Dacus Come Again on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. I just normally do straight stand-up, but this is a bit different. What do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? Answer, a new podcast called Wisecrack, where a comedian finds himself at the center of a chilling true crime story.

Does anyone know what show they've come to see? It's a story. It's about the scariest night of my life. This is Wisecrack, available now. Listen to Wisecrack on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.