The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - The S*** That Comes with Divorce and How To Deal

Episode Date: January 17, 2026

Jana continues her chat with real women who are sharing their divorce survival tips! Ever think you should ask to keep your phone number in your divorce?? One woman explains why you should! Email us at: [e-mail] or call us at 844-4-I Do Pod (844-443-6763)Follow I Do, Part 2 on Instagram and TikTokSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. This show contains information subject to, but not limited to personal takes, rumors, not so accurate stats, and plenty more. What's up, man? This is your boy, Nav Green,

from the Broken Play Podcast. Look, it's the end of the season, the playoffs are here. Guess what? It ain't the end of your season. You can always tune in with Broken Play Podcasts with Nav Green

on the Black Effect Podcast Network. Not a team who ain't going to the playoffs. They're cheese. It's time to rebuild. Listen to Broken Play with Nav Green from the, the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeart Radio app. Apple Podcasts or whatever you get your podcast.

Whether it is getting swatted or just hateful messages online, there is a lot of harm and even just reading the comments. That's cybersecurity expert Camille Stewart Gloucester on the Therapy for Black Girls podcast. Every season is a chance to grow. And the Therapy for Black Girls podcast is here to walk with you. I'm Dr. Joy Harden Bradford. And each week we dive into real conversations that help you move with

more clarity and confidence. This episode, we're breaking down what really happens to your information online and how to protect yourself with intention. Listen to therapy for black girls on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. You know Roll Doll. He thought up Willie Wonka and the BFG. But did you know he was a spy?

In the new podcast, The Secret World of Roll Doll, I'll tell you that story, and much, much more. What? You probably won't believe it either. Was this before he wrote his stories? It must have been. Okay, I don't think that's true. I'm telling you.

I was a spy. Listen to the secret world of Roll Dahl on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A man with Down syndrome tries the impossible, the grand slam in turkey hunting. Four, 53 hits, we're legal shooting light. And he gives us this one last test. And he pitches off. And when he pitches, he pitchers.

is off, he flies right into the gun barrel. I said to the cameraman, do you have it? He said, shoot him. I said, Justin, shoot. You can download this episode and others from Lines and Times with Spencer Graves on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey guys, it's Jana Kramer, one of your hosts of I do Part 2. And we're back with part two of our chat with some amazing content creators in their journey through divorce. They've got such great advice. So let's jump back in. Next up, we've got Shayla. Hi, Jana. How are you? Hi, I'm good. How are you? Doing good. Good. I love your Instagram. I was watching your videos and one where you're just like the perks of being divorced because I feel like a lot of, I mean, a lot of the stuff that I've done was like crying and like sad and then like and then you find

healing. But you're like, you made it so funny where you're just like, I don't have to clean up their beard hair. And I, you know, the trash is empty and I don't, and I was just like, yes, girl, like all, all of that. The enjoying that singleness of living in your own space and not having to, like, yeah, just highlighting that and I love that. Thank you. It did not always start that way. For sure. Yeah.

When you first had my separation, I had my sad girl phase, you know, eating chocolate, crying, watching the Barbie movie actually. that really got me. Yeah. And so it started that way. And I had a lot of self-blame that I had to work through that kept me from actually embracing the fact that this is a new start. And this is like a time for me to rediscover myself. So I have definitely progressed. We're all in that phase. But now I definitely hope to be that light to women to show that, hey, there's happiness in this. You're going to go through a lot of dark, a lot of hard times. but there's going to be a little happy moments and you should embrace those as they come. So yeah. Did you do anything new to your house? Because I remember when I got divorced, I sold all the the ring and the diamonds and there wasn't money. But like, you know, like there was a few. And I got all new furniture and I was just like I wanted to make the space how, you know, would be best fit for me and the kiddos. And it was the best revamping that, the whole energy of the house.

Yes. So I actually ended. up moving into a different place. So I didn't stay in the house that we were married in. But immediately, I have girly ties. I don't know what the word is for that. Made my house very feminine. There's lots of flowers. There's lots of pink. And I just was like, I want to come home and I want to feel like happy to be in a space. I want to have a reading nook. I want this. And it was like any dream I had in my head, I was like, I'm going to make it happen. And it's funny because I have a son. I have a three-year-old son. So it's not just a girl house. I like to say it's girl house, but there's a boy room in the house.

And he happens to love the pink room and everything. You know, he's young. So he thinks it's lots of fun. But other than that, I've just really embraced my style, learning about it, doing fun things that you normally wouldn't do in a house that would be like a marital home. So yeah, just kind of exploring, trying things that I never would have probably put in a house that I knew, you know, having a grown man live in, I would never do that. So I experimented a lot and added a lot of things that made it feel like I would be happy to come home to or relax in. And it was kind of my safe space. So yeah, no, for sure. I love that. What is something that you've learned about yourself through the, is divorce now or because you said separated at one point? So is it, are you still through the process or? So yeah, our process has taken a while. We in September of 2024. So.

We're going on over a year of the separation process. So yeah, it should be ending soon. But through that process, I did learn a lot. In the beginning, one of the best things that I learned was I was having a lot of self-blame. I was the one that initiated the divorce. We have a kid. And so I put a lot of that shame onto myself. And I immediately got in therapy, which is the best thing anyone can do going through this situation.

And what I learned there was to have empathy for myself and that to ask myself, what did I not know or what skills did I not have coming into the marriage that now I can have, now that I can learn and work on, which helped me empathize with myself. And then once I broke through the being down, blaming myself, then I hit this phase where I was like, look at all this time I have now that I was investing in another. person in trying to save a marriage that wasn't working. All this time that I have, you know, I've already spent a lot of time with my kid. What can I do with this time? And I put it back into myself. And that was a big unlock. I started learning so much about myself,

experiencing so many different things. And I started a fitness journey. And I started, you know, just like doing things I never would have tried. And I learned a lot about who I was. So there's definitely, a lot that you'll you'll have so many phases after separation, but the best phase is when you're willing to be a little more selfish and willing to reinvest that time back into yourself. Because it's really going to help you also protect your peace through that time. And it's rediscovering yourself too. And like what what do you want? You know, what do you want to be doing right now? And, you know, I love that. And that's one of my favorite pieces of my divorce too, was going to therapy and having that healing journey and truly figuring out, you know, who I am and what I want and what I want for the future.

And have you started dating or do you have to wait until after the separation? I did start dating. Yeah. And my ex is dating as well. Okay, great. Yeah. Dating is like, it feels like a rodeo when you've been in a marriage for a while. You haven't dated in a long time.

and it feels like so uncomfortable at first because I know at the beginning I was putting so much pressure on it and I felt like I couldn't mess up in the dating process. I had to be so careful. I was so highly critical and I approached it and I wasn't having any fun. It was like, it was I was like, why am I doing this to myself? And also I just had to learn what is dating again? because I've been playing wife. I've been playing mom. And like to shift into almost feeling like a teenager again or young again and dating, it's a weird thing.

But yeah, I have started dating again. I do have a boyfriend actually. Oh, cute. Last year. And, you know, there's a lot of duds out there. There's a lot of people that you're not going to mesh with. But there's potential to find someone out there. Yeah.

And I always tell my divorce friends, too, this is something that someone told me when I was, you know, dating. It's all gathering information. So it's like the next, the first person that you go out with, most likely isn't going to be the one that you marry. And then one after that, it's probably not going to be the one too. But each one, you gather information about what you like, what you don't like. And then within it, then you start molding like, okay, I don't like that. Okay, we're done. That's, I'm not going to continue on with trying to put you in this puzzle piece that you're not going to ever fit in. And, you know, I think there's so much that you learn about yourself through that process too. Like, oh, yeah, I don't know

how I was attracted to that back in the day. But I'm definitely not now and that's not the type, okay, we're going to move this way now. And it's just like every, every date, every time you meet someone is just gather the information and how do you feel, you know, at the end of the night, you know, you just keep, you want on their date. Cool. If not, you'll know. I was new second date. Like I may be like, all right, I'll give me like one more date. Yeah. It's like new. I love that. Did you ever struggle with, I had a big click through my dating process that I felt like I was being interviewed and I had to show. Okay.

Yes. Everything. So my therapist told me the best tip I ever got. And she goes, Jana, because it was this guy that I was kind of hung up on that I was dating. And she goes, would you please stop putting yourself on trial? She's like, you are the judge. They are on trial. She's like, you are being like, am I good?

enough am I this. She's like, no. She's like, are they good enough? Do they fit your pieces? Do they, you know, fit the box of this, that, and the other? She's like, you are the judge. You are putting them on trial. You're not on trial. And I was like, okay, I love that. Great. When I unlocked that, that like, I'm not the one being interviewed. In a way, I'm interviewing them. Do I want them in my life? And hopefully, if I do want them in my life, they'll want that back, but you can't control that. No. But I think that comes a lot to the piece for me. Like I was always like, I, my core wound was like, I'm not good enough. So I want them to choose me. And I had to flip that script when I got divorced to go, no, I choose myself and I'm going to choose them. Like they get to, you know, love me if I choose them,

you know? Yes. And I think that ties back into the being more selfish. When you truly love yourself and you know what you bring, you're not, you come into these situations and you think, what, what can you add to my life? Because you're not going to add chaos to the piece you've just created. You're not going to add something into your life that's going to destroy the bubble you've created for yourself. So the self-love, the selfishness, it, it unlocked a lot for me in dating. And I could tell the quality of men that I was dating and encountering was just continuing to increase as I continued to love myself more. Yeah. And I will say if you're, if, because I saw this if you, after divorces, if you're dating kind of the same men, you still have to do the work on yourself because.

Yes. There's something in you that's wanting, that hasn't healed yet if you're going to, if you're still attracting that same type of person. Yes. That is so funny that you say that the people I dated prior to my marriage, nothing like the people that I have dated post marriage. It's very interesting the differences. Back in the day, I was dating a lot of blue collar, very like manly men, you know, the stereotypes. And now I have found, you know, I work my own stay at home or I work a remote job. I work in corporate. And I actually do better with men who also work in corporate or work jobs very similar, who can talk to me about work.

I love that type of banter. So it was very interesting. And also a lot of my old dating preferences relied on unheeled wounds of things that I had encountered in my childhood. And therapy, before marriage, I thought, you know, therapy is for people who really need help. So not true. So not true. Now I am such a huge therapy advocate. And it really does help in the dating process to have someone to talk to.

Yeah, 100% agree. Where can our listeners find you? You're a sweetheart. Yes. TikTok or Instagram, Facebook as well, Shayla M. Harrington. I would love if you gave me a follow. It's a girl party on my page. I love it. Being single again. Barbie world. Let's do this. Okay. Thanks, girl. Great chatting.

Yes. Thank you. All right. Bye, honey. Hi, I'm Dr. Priyankowali. And I'm Hurricane de Bolu. It's a new year. And on the podcast, Health Stuff, we're resetting the way we talk about our health. which means being honest about what we know, what we don't know, and how messy it can all be. I like to sleep in late and sleep early. Is there a chronotype for that or am I just depressed? We talk to experts who share real experiences and insight.

You just really need to find where it is that you can have an impact in your own life and to start doing that. We break down the topics you want to know more about. Sleep, stress, mental health, and how the world around us, affects our overall health. We talk about all the ways to keep your body in mind, inside and out, healthy. We human beings, all we want is connection. We just want to connect with each other. Health stuff is about learning, laughing, and feeling a little less alone.

Listen on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey there, this is Dr. Jesse Mills, director of the men's clinic at UCLA Health and host of the Mailroom podcast. Each January guys everywhere, make the same resolutions, get stronger, work harder, fix, what's broken? But what if the real work isn't physical at all? To kick off the new year, I sat down with Dr. Steve Polter, a psychologist with over 30 years' experience helping men unpack shame, anxiety, and emotional pain they were never taught the name. In a powerful two-part conversation, we discuss why men aren't emotionally

bulletproof, why shame hides in plain sight, and how real strength comes from listening to yourself and to others. Guys who are toxic, they're immature, or they've got something they just haven't resolved. Once that gets resolved, then there comes empathy, as in compassion. If you want this to be the year, you stop powering through pain and start understanding what's underneath, listen to the mailroom on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows. A decade ago, I was on the trail of one of the country's most elusive serial killers,

but it wasn't until 2023 when he was finally caught. The answers were there, hidden in plain sight. So why did it take so long to catch him? I'm Josh Zeman, and this is Monster, hunting the Long Island serial killer, the investigation into the most notorious killer in New York since the son of Sam, available now. Listen for free on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

wherever you get your podcasts. This show contains information subject to, but not limited to personal takes, Rumors, not so accurate stats, and plenty more. What's up, man? This is your boy, Nav Green, from the Broken Play Podcast. Look, it's the end of the season, the playoffs are here. But guess what?

It ain't the end of your season. You can always tune in with Broken Play Podcasts with Nav Green on the Black Effect Podcast Network. Another team who ain't going to the playoffs. They're cheese. Oh, it's a rap. It's time to rebuild. Who your MVP right now then?

Drake May up there, Josh Allen up there still. Oh, my boy, Matthew Stafford. Where did he have both Knicks at? He ain't too far behind. He did all this talk. What Matthew Stafford is doing statistically, bro, it's crazy. Bro, you know I ain't no Josh Allen fan. But Matthew Staff forgot.

Better weapon. Caleb Williams. Hey, he should be in that conversation. In what conversation? He should be in it. Listen to Broken Play with Nav Green from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the Iheart Radio app. Apple Podcast or whatever you get your podcast. Next up, we've got Melinda Long.

I'm here. Hey, Melinda. I was watching your video and it's, it was so timely because I was, um, making, uh, an album of my daughter because it's, she's about to turn 10. And I was watching some old videos when I was still married to my ex-husband. And I'm watching these videos and I'm like, how was I married to him? And I'm like, who? Who is he? And then I'm like, and then I'm watching your Instagram and I was like, I literally just had that. same feeling of, but like, we have two kids together and, and like, how? And I'm watching these videos and I'm like, wait, that, we live together? And that was my husband. Sometimes I'll be at a

game and my ex will walk in and I'm like, oh, I know him. Oh, wait. I was married to him. Like, you genuinely have this, this weird, like, I just never expected to feel that way in the midst of everything. And now I, I'm like, this is somebody I slept in bed with every night. I told my deepest, darkest seekers and there are strangers sitting over there and I don't really even feel much of anything you know I know and that's the craziest piece because like same when I see him at a volleyball game or whatever when he comes over I'm just like I mean there's just zero feel and I'm like how like we have two kids and we were married for these many years and but I also look and I think to myself like I terrible said what was I thinking yeah totally I'm not attracted to him yeah like is

everybody else in the room thinking the same thing I am like what were you doing further you know and there is this like still little I said it this little ick factor I'm sure he has the same feelings for me totally I'm sure my laugh and my voice and my like it's like my heck out of him you know but I mean like my husband now yeah he's like I don't ever see you guys together I was like no same like I don't know how but I also am thankful for that because could you imagine if you still had those feelings like when you saw the person like that you you had this longing still are this like, I still wish. I don't have. So maybe I'm really thankful that that didn't happen to me. That's where I always go to when they say like, I'll always love you. And I'm like, but will you? Because I mean, it's okay.

We have love for our kids. Like, I think the only thing is like I'm always thankful for that moment because of the three blessings that I have from it. And I know I gave it my awe. And I know it was a bit today. So I'm able to move past that. And thank goodness, I don't still have that longing. Like, you're not always going to love me.

So you were married for 20 years, right? Okay. And so I think my mom really struggled because she, I believe she was married to my dad a little over 15 years. And I remember that being the thing for her that was, I might have even been 20. Gosh, I can't remember now. But yeah, no, it was definitely longer. Long enough.

It was 20 plus, yeah, where she was just like, I don't know anything different, you know, and I don't even know who I am because I dated him when I was so young, like in my early 20s, 19. You know, and so, you know, that is your identity. Yeah. Like she was just like even changing. She's like, I've been a Kramer longer than I was a Kaufman. Yeah.

You know? How do you walk through that? I would say that was the hardest part is accepting that. That it's no longer my identity. I'm no longer a wife. We're no longer that picture perfect happy family that we put out there. You know, you put this image out there. And also, you know, for my kids where this, it is a process.

I should share that along the way, I lost 120 pounds before I got filed for divorce. So I had this kind of giant life shift of my appearance at the same time as my marriage falling apart, which I thought it would have brought us together, but it brought us apart. Did you get fit to try to keep him? Is that, was that the? No, I got fit after COVID. I got fit after losing my father. I got fit after realizing that my health was really taking a toll and I needed to be here for a long time. But perhaps in that journey, I also started to realize that maybe some of the food and some of that was a mask for other issues that were going on.

And maybe it gave me a little more confidence to do what to finally file for divorce. Actually, I filed for divorce twice. I went through the second time. I dropped it the first time. But that change was the thing I was most scared of. That was the hardest part. I really didn't have an identity. Everything was wrapped up in my life, my family and my family.

kids were getting older. I have two in college and one in high school now. So that's been the biggest struggle. And I think that a lot of sleep lost in it, but also a lot of growth, a lot of personal growth and a lot of finding myself. I've really taken to fitness. I've always loved to cook. I still love to cook. I've been able to travel a little bit more. And honestly, I've connected with my kids in a whole different way that I didn't know as possible back in the midst of the divorce. They respect me more, I think now, watch. my own personal journey and me doing what was right and what was right for our family. But 100% think that that is the scariest part.

And I think that held me back. It's the reason that I dropped the first time of divorce. It's that fear. Well, and because what age were you when you finally filed? I'm 49 now. I'm going to be 50 this year. I guess I was 46 when I filed. Yeah.

And that's a tough age to go, okay, you know, what is this? What does this look like? but there's also, gosh, I know so many women that have had such beautiful, like my one girlfriend's 15 just got married. You know what I mean? Like she's the happiest she's ever been. So it's like, don't stay because you're afraid to not be with someone for the next part of your life. Because we have, so if you think about it, you have another at least 40 years, you know, that's a lot of life. Yeah. And there's, and there's love out there. I mean, I've had love the second time around. There is love out there and it's different. And, you know, I just don't think I realized that that was a

possibility, that to feel a certain fulfillment and to have a connection with somebody that's like that, it is possible. And it, and it is real. I think I settled for what I thought was real because in my 20s, I was supposed to get married and I was supposed to have kids and I was supposed to live a certain life. And I, while I certainly did love my husband, it wasn't the connection that I found later on or that I realize exists. And life gets in front of you. But you're right. I'm 49.

I'm going to be 50 this year. There's a lot of life left. And I certainly, in no way, shape, or form wanted to get divorced, nor did I picture myself ever here in a million years. But now that I'm here, I'm not disappointed with the life that I'm living. And I'm realizing that there's so much more to live. And yes, there is love second time around, third time around, whatever it might be for everybody.

Have you found that love? I have. I have. Oh. Oh, look at you. How did you find that love? Where did you find it? Companionship through a friend who was going through the same as myself. He's also my personal trainer, so it's very cliche. Oh, hey, girl. But friendship, companionship, going through the same thing. Sure. Feeling at the same age. What do you think the craziest part of divorce that no one talks about?

Literally how you can feel this tremendous, immense hatred, bitterness, all this. And then two years later, you're looking like, what was I so afraid of? Yes. Why was this so scary? What was I thinking? What was I thinking? There's so much more to life. And I'm not wearing a scarlet letter.

I thought I was wearing a scarlet letter and that's shame. That was the biggest shot for me. Yeah, my therapist would always say, what's the worst thing? Like, what is your biggest fear if you get divorced? And I'm like, well, and then I'm alone. And she goes, and then what? Well, then, you know, no one love me. And she's like, okay, and then what?

And she's just like, but then we go to the positive. It's like, your kids are good and you're okay. And so it's the worst thing that can happen is really not. The kids is the other big piece. I think especially for women, I don't want to say not for men, but especially for women as mothers. We want to be the perfect mom. And we want to give them this perfect family.

And we want to give them this marriage that they can look up to. And I felt a real responsibility to make that work for my kids. And I laugh now because my kids look at me like, who were you fooling? We knew it wasn't good. And we couldn't wait for it. for it to be over. But in the moment, you really feel a responsibility. And that was the biggest hurdle, I think. That was really the reason I struggled to go to the next level. So do you think

your advice for someone getting divorced now is just, I mean, give it some time? Like, because you're not going to have that same anger in a couple of years? You have to, yes, give a time because everything is temporary. You have to know in your heart that you, you gave it your all, that you tried everything, that you didn't walk away in a fight, that you didn't walk away for your own selfish reasons, that you really gave it all. And once you know you've done that, you have to stick to your guns and know that you have to do better for yourself, for your family, for your children, and ride it through it because it's not going to fix itself. If you've given it all, it's just not going to fix itself.

Yep. I agree with you 100% on that. I always said, I'll walk away when I know that I did everything that I could to try to stay. That leaving is the only option. I did too much. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then then I got mad at myself that I stayed that long. But at least I can say, okay, I did every step I could. I feel confident that I did everything I could. Now I'm in the stage of a couple years later of forgiving myself or allowing myself to go through things I shouldn't have and letting my kids see things they shouldn't have. So now I'm in that forgiveness stage. But I'd rather have

that knowing that I didn't walk away without giving it my all. Yeah. Forgiving yourself is it was harder than forgiving them is what my journey was. I agree. I'm feeling that a bit now. You know, coming up on this 50th year and in a new relationship, I really have to work on that piece because if you carry those pieces into your future relationships and into your family and being the good role model, I really have to work on that healing journey. So that's the part that and finding comes a little bit later. But I'm thankful for that journey. Well, Melinda, how can we follow along in that journey?

Where can our listeners find you? I know, I don't stop talking. I apologize. I love it. I'm on Instagram. My Instagram handle is GrittenGlow underscore by Mel. I share my health, my fitness, my divorce journey, and my completely chaotic life with my kids.

I'll keep you laughing. I love it so much. Well, thank you for joining. I do part two, and we look forward to watching your journey. Great. So nice to meet you. Thank you. Bye, honey.

See you. Hi, I'm Dr. Priyankawali. And I'm Hurricane de Bolu. It's a new year. And on the podcast's health stuff, we're resetting the way we talk about our health. Which means being honest about what we know, what we don't know, and how messy it can all be. I like to sleep in late and sleep early. Is there a chronotype for that or am I just depressed?

We talk to experts who share real experiences and insight. You just really need to find where it is that you can have an impact in your own life and just start doing that. We break down the topics you want to know more about. Sleep, stress, mental health, and how the world around us affects our overall health. We talk about all the ways to keep your body in mind, inside and out, healthy. We human beings, all we want is connection. We just want to connect with each other.

Health stuff is about learning, laughing, and feeling a little less alone. Listen on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey there, this is Dr. Jesse Mills, director of the men's clinic at UCLA Health and host of the mailroom podcast. Each January guys everywhere make the same resolutions. Get stronger, work harder, fix, what's broken? But what if the real work isn't physical at all? To kick off the new year, I sat down with Dr. Steve Polter, a psychologist with over 30 years' experience, helping men unpack shame, anxiety, and emotional pain they were never taught the name.

In a powerful two-part conversation, we discuss why men aren't emotionally. bulletproof, why shame hides in plain sight, and how real strength comes from listening to yourself and to others. Guys who are toxic, they're immature, or they've got something they just haven't resolved. Once that gets resolved, then there comes empathy as in compassion. If you want this to be the year you stop powering through pain and start understanding what's underneath, listen to the mailroom on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows.

A decade ago, I was on the trail of one of the country's most elusive serial killers, but it wasn't until 2023 when he was finally caught. The answers were there, hidden in plain sight. So why did it take so long to catch him? I'm Josh Zeman, and this is Monster, hunting the Long Island serial killer, the investigation into the most notorious killer in New York, since the son of Sam, available now.

Listen for free on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. Hey everyone, it's Ed Helms. And I'm Cal Penn, and we are the hosts of Earsay, the Audible and I Heart Audio Book Club. This week on the podcast, I am talking to film and TV critic, radio and podcast host, and Harry Potter superfan Rihanna Dillon to discuss Audibles' full cast adaptation of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. What moments in this audiobook capture the feeling of the magical world best? for you or just stood out the most. I always loved reading about the Quidditch matches,

and I think the audio really gets it because it just plunges you right into the stands. You have the crowd sounds, like all around you. It is surround sound, especially if you're listening in headphones. Listen to Earsay, the Audible and IHeart Audio Book Club on the IHeart Radio app or wherever you get your podcasts. And last up, we've got Ashley. Hi.

Hey, girl. Well, you look beautiful for being pulled over on the side of the road just leaving court with your ex. Lauren, girl, we caught you in a time. Oh my gosh. The worst time. But the best time also because, you know, life could not be better on the side of things. Okay, so I was watching your Instagram, which I love. And, but one of the things, the tip that you were giving about the phone number, I had no idea that was even, why would he want your number? I was so confused. Can you just like tell the listeners like a little, and is this why you were in court? I'm, I was just, I'm so confused. I'm like, please, I need to understand this. Like, this is her phone number. What? So I've had this phone number since I was 15, 16, like 20 years. It's a premarital asset. But when we got married, my dad

released the number to, you know, for us to join accounts, right? And so, yeah, he paid for the phone number. He had the phone number. But it's still my phone number that I used with both of my business. it's the emergency contact at my son's school, our son's school. And he basically told me in June that I needed to get my own line. So I did that I created my own account. Apparently, he is now claiming that that was fraudulent. So T-Mobile granted him the phone number back to his account, even though I was paying my own bill for three months. I was paying my own bill on my own T-Mobile account. And so he has had control over my phone number since September. He hasn't turned it off. I'm still able to use this phone number. But yeah, so ended up having to take him to court because he won't

release the line to me, even though it is premarital. It's attached to my businesses, which he relinquish his rights to. So we're just waiting, honestly, for the judge to come down with her judgment, whether or not I can keep it or not. What was the sense from the judge? Were you feeling hopeful, or was she giving you? I'm optimistic because she just kept looking at him like, are you, because she kept asking, him, why do you want the phone number? And he couldn't give a reason. He's like, it's my property. That's the only reason why he, you know, he is claiming that this is his phone number. It's my property. Honestly, he's probably just going to turn it off the minute he gets it back. So he doesn't really want it for a purpose. So I'm hoping that she kind of takes that into consideration

that this is livelihood versus just being vindictive and petty. So. I mean, can we say, yeah, you're not married to him anymore? Oh, my lawyer today was like, I can't believe you were married to him. She's like, he is, he is slimy. He is, like, even during mediation, when we went through our divorce mediation, the initial offer that we put on the table at 1030 a.m. is the offer that he ended up accepting at 6.30 p.m. But he pushed it out so that way we would have to pay that whole time. I mean, we ended up, we were in mediation for, yeah, over 10 hours. Isn't that hard to like, you know, I've, I felt that same thing where it's like, why was my judgment or how was my judgment. How was I so fooled? It's to allow this to happen and then stay in it and be with

someone like that. 100%. And I wasn't even the one who filed for divorce. He filed for divorce from me when I was actually, I was in California with our son visiting family in Santa Barbara for my step, my stepmom's dad's birthday. I came back. He had packed his stuff, moved out, brought me out in front of the ring camera so he had it documented that he was leaving me, that he had filed for divorce, that we were going to be doing two, two, three custody, and I should be getting served any day now. Did he have a reason? We had no conversation.

He never sat me down. He just filed and left. And then about six weeks later, he wanted to reconcile. And I was like, you know what? I've been asking for therapy for six years. Let's try going to therapy. if you're putting it on the table now, now that it's his idea, we're going to go to therapy. And we did therapy for about six weeks.

And I just had a gut feeling that I can't do this for the rest of my life. This is not going to work. And then a week later, I received our financial affidavit and found that he was hiding money from me. Meanwhile, I'm working three jobs trying to keep us afloat. He chose not to work for years. And that money could have literally, saved us saved me so much stress. And it was like boom, boom, boom, I knew I was done at that point because this was the final betrayal. This was the final thing that the nail in the coffin,

essentially. So how does how do you now walk through everything that you know, because you seem like a very strong put together woman? Are you letting the, what you know to be the truth statements come in your head? Or are you like, where are you at in that? I know the truth. I know my truth. I know that I did everything in my power. I had been asking for therapy for years. I had addressed, you know, issues that I, you know, I went to therapy by myself because at one point I really, he had me convinced that I was the problem. I went to therapy by myself. And he would never come to join, even though my therapist was like, we would love to have him bring his perspective to the table. So that way, we're not like just saying that you're, you know, he's doing these things. And I never wanted. it to be like a he, he, he, it was, it's mutual, right? A marriage is mutual. I know that I'm not a perfect person. I know that he's not a perfect person, but the fact that he would never meet me at the table to get help, you know, that is the truth that I hold on to, that I tried for years, that I did everything in my power to try and make this work. And then just to have him essentially

walk out two weeks before Christmas. And with no, no conversation, no discussion, no nothing, and then just continuously being vindictive at every turn. I mean, the phone number is just like the tip of the iceberg of just, you know, the behavior that is being exhibited and, you know, trying to be a productive co-parent. He wanted the divorce. You know, you don't really hear about too many women paying child support. I pay him child support. Same.

I pay 60 percent of our child's expenses, even though we have 50-50 custody. You know, the fact that. I'm giving, giving, giving, and he's consistently still wanting to take, take, take. It's hurtful. And the taking of my phone number, the only person that really hurts is our son. Because if I lose the ability to make money, like if people can't reach my business, what does that do to our son? This is the only phone number that he has memorized. What does that do if he's in an emergency situation? He's not going to automatically remember a new number. You know, thankfully he has his number memorized, but I think that's the whole point, right? He's like, I want to be the primary parent. I want to be

the primary contact. And it's like, but you just started showing up now that we're divorced. Yeah. And it's that feeling of someone taking, like, I get that. That's how I felt in my entire last marriage is just always wanting to take, take, take. And, you know, I think there's going to be a place. And I, through therapy, I was able to let that anger go. And I, you know, in time. Like it still comes up a few times, but mostly I've been able to keep that anger at bay just because, you know, there's nothing I can do about it. I can either stay angry or I can just go, this is unfortunately the way of the courts at the moment and this is who he is. And I can't change that. I'm not going to be like, hey, can you take care of the kids since you only have them

eight days a month? You know, do I have to pay you this app amount for, you know, but it's, he'll never get my point. He doesn't see it as taking. He sees it as, well, it's just the way the court, you know. The way the cookie crumbles. And I hold no resentment, right? I'm like, you gave me my son. You gave me, like, the person that I love the most in my life. You know, I'm in a new relationship that is, that makes me extremely happy. I see, I don't, I never reminisce and I don't live in the past. I really, like I said, I don't hold resentment. The only things that I hold are like, what is the purpose of this? Why are we behaving this way? Why are you treating me this way when this is exactly what you wanted? You wanted this divorce. You asked for it. All I did was follow through

with it. I think he has deep regret. I think he thought that he was going to file for divorce and then I was going to be like, no, please don't leave me. Like I needed that. But it's like I was already primary parent. I was already the breadwinner of the family. I was already doing my own thing. I lost, during the last three years of our marriage, I lost 110 pounds, got plastic surgery, really got my health back on track. And there was really just, there was no, there was no tether. There was no codependence. There was no, there was none of that. And so, you know, when I started posting, I hesitated posting on social media about my divorce because I was like, you know, it's really nobody's business.

but then when this whole phone number thing happened, I was like, but what if other women don't know? What if they don't know to ask for their phone number? What if they don't know that they can put this in their parenting plan, that they can bring it to the table? What if they don't know? I feel like, you know, we talk about a village all the time when it comes to our kids,

but what about our village together of like making sure that we all stay good? And that is why I started feeling more comfortable talking about, here are things that I wish I had done. Here are things that I, you know, I regret. Here is, you know, what could come next for you. But I also want to free women from the thought. I had a video that is getting a lot of attention right now about how many women I saw on TikTok the day after Christmas with nothing in their stocking, nothing under the tree. And I'm like, so he places no value on you.

He doesn't, he can't even take an hour of time to find something that you. you would love to make sure that you felt important on a day in which that you made everyone else feel important. Divorce him. It's not going to change. He doesn't hold, he doesn't hold you in regard. He doesn't hold you, you know, in anything. And the amount of men in the comments of that video stating, well, he paid for Christmas. He's the one who works. I can say that's actually not true because in my last marriage, my stocking was never full and I had, I paid for Christmas. And I'll say my husband now, my stocking over fills. And I'm like, it's the cutest thing ever.

And I'm like, oh, no, it's fine. It's like, no, he makes it like Santa put the things in the stock. You know, so I've never been spoiled like that ever. You know, so it's, I hear you on. I'm 80% of U.S. households, women work. Women contribute to the household in addition to the unpaid labor of being a mother. Yeah, absolutely. Well, I'm excited to see where this whole phone number thing

goes, I want, I'm, I've got a good feeling. Are you going to update us on your social media? Yes, I will. I definitely will keep you guys posted. Okay, what's your, what's your, um, Instagram again for our listeners to follow along? It's at boss, F-F-F-D-E-N-C-E. Okay, great. Ashley, you're drive safe because I know you're driving right now. So drive safe. Thank you. I'm excited for you. I'm excited for your part two. And it sounds like this was the destiny to have this part too because you got a beautiful child out of it and that's usually what the only redeeming factor of being with these people are. 100%. Thank you so much for having me.

Thanks, girl. Have a good one. Well, thank you ladies for coming on and sharing all that great advice. Do you have breakup or divorce tips you want to share and need some more advice from our crew? We'll call or email us. All the info is in the show notes. Follow us on socials. Make sure to rate and review the podcast. I do part two, an IHeart Radio podcast where falling in love is the main objective. Hey, everyone, it's Ed Helms. And I'm Cal Penn, and we are the hosts of Earsay, the Audible and IHeart Audiobook Club. This week on the podcast, I am talking to film and TV critic radio and podcast host

and Harry Potter superfan Rihanna Dillon to discuss Audibles's full cast adaptation of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. What moments in this audiobook capture the feeling of the magical world best for you, or just stood out the most? I always loved reading about the Quiddish matches, and I think the audio really gets it because it just plunges you right into the stands. You have the crowd sounds, like all around you. It is surround sound, especially if you're listening in headphones.

Listen to Earsay, the Audible and IHeart Audio Book Club, on the IHeart Radio app or wherever you get your podcasts. This show contains information subject to, but not limited to personal takes, rumors, not so accurate stats, and plenty more. What's up, man? This is your boy, Nav Green,

from the Broken Play Podcast. Look, it's the end of the season, the playoffs are here. But guess what? It ain't the end of your season. You can always tune in with Broken Play Podcasts with Nav Green

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Whether it is getting swatted or just hateful messages online, there is a lot of harm and even just reading the comments. That's cybersecurity expert, Camille Stewart Gloucester, on the Therapy for Black Girls podcast. Every season is a chance to grow. And the Therapy for Black Girls podcast

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your podcast. You know Roll Doll. He thought up Willie Wonka and the BFG. But did you know he was a spy? In the new podcast, The Secret World of Roll Doll, I'll tell you that story, and much, much more. What? You probably won't believe it either. Was this before he wrote his stories?

It must have been. Okay, I don't think that's true. I'm telling you. I was a spy. Listen to the secret world of Roll Dahl on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.

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