The Chris Cuomo Project - Maria Menounos

Episode Date: September 5, 2023

In this raw and inspiring interview, television and podcast host Maria Menounos opens up to Chris Cuomo about her experience of surviving a brain tumor and pancreatic cancer. Maria shares the mindset that helped her cope, including why she chooses wonder over worry and embraces the mantra of, “why not me?” Revealing how overcoming health struggles gave her a sense of purpose and helped her slow down and live a more grateful life, Maria offers wisdom into how to handle a crisis, find gifts in hardship, and get resilience from hope. Follow and subscribe to The Chris Cuomo Project on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube for new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday: https://linktr.ee/cuomoproject Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are obsessed with problems, especially personal ones, and we blow them out of proportion and we talk about why they're so hard. But what if it were easier to solve as to struggle? I have answers for you. I'm Chris Cuomo, and the good news is here on The Chris Cuomo Project, all of the answers come from better minds. So thank you for subscribing, following, checking out News Nation, 8 and 11 o'clock Eastern, every weekday night, reminding yourself that you're a free agent, an independent, and a critical thinker. And that takes us to today. Maria Menounos. You know her. She's been on our TV screens forever, but she is so much more than her beauty. It is about the beauty of her experience. Wait, what beauty of

her experience? She had a brain tumor. She had pancreatic cancer. She had all these other things going on. I mean, she's cursed. She's afflicted. What happened with her mother and her father? This is horrible. What beauty. What is that? Some kind of odd, poetic, romanticizing of pain? No. It's perspective. And just like everything else that happens in life, there is no good thing, bad thing. There are things.

And if you have the right tools and the right perspective, you can make them into something for yourself no matter what is done to you. Something about that can work for you. Now, we know this is true. There have been a gazillion books written about it. Philosophy and politics, government, health, romance, everywhere. Perspective is the most powerful thing we have in directing our actions and our understanding. Maria Menounos now runs a podcast called Heal Squad,

where she gets real people who've been through real things and have real expertise to talk about the tools that we all have within our reach to deal with what is absolutely going to come our way. Struggle, suffering, problems. They're coming, my brother and sister. We know it. You can pretend they're not. You can try to pretend they're not really here. You can try to pretend they'll never go away. You can do whatever the hell you want. The question is how you do it. I really wanted to talk to Maria Menounos. She's a new mother, little Athena, with her

husband, Kevin, and all that they've been through and how she got through it. You want to learn how to deal with things that come your way and make them into something other than just have them work on you, but work for you? Listen to this. for you, listen to this. Maria Menounos, this is an amazing opportunity. I am a big follower and appreciator of what you have accomplished in your life and more importantly, how. So thank you. Thank you. So let's start with the easy question to ask. Very hard question to answer. The why me? You have had some real battles in your family. It would have been enough what you dealt with with your mother. May she rest in peace. Your father and then you. The why me has to be in there. What have you done with that question? Well, I say, why not me? And I'll tell you,

I had many moments with my dad when my mom was in her final days where he would be in the kitchen and he would just break down and he'd say, why us? Why our family? So many things, Maria. I'd say, why us? Why our family? So many things, Maria. And I'd say, dad, why not us? Everyone's suffering. We're not supposed to have some special pass away from pain and suffering.

So why not us? We have more than most people. We are very, you know, we're connected. We have more resources. So we just have to go with what we have. And we have more than most. And we're figuring out things that other people maybe can't figure out that will help other people. We're making lemonade out of it.

We're spending more time together than we may have been able to spend in the past. There are a lot of good things that are coming out of this. And we're really strong. We can handle crisis really well at this point. And, you know, he would just kind of get a little like confused, but that actually started with the Red Sox back in the day. It's like, why not us? Why can't we turn it around? So my husband and I have kept that theme going. Why not us? It's not easy to apply all the time. And I'll say when I was diagnosed with the most recent pancreatic tumor, I definitely was like, what the, can I swear? Yes. I was like, what the fuck?

We encourage it. I was like, how? How could this even be possible? And I had a baby on the way. So my life meant more now to me than it ever did. I would never really been afraid to die or maybe I was at some point, but when I remember when I was diagnosed with the brain tumor, I didn't care. I was like, if this is it, let's go. I was burnt out. I was tired of everything. And life had a different meaning then than it does when you have a baby on the way that you've waited for for 10 years. So, um, ow, I really cared to be here. And so it was definitely a lot, but at the

same time, I'm like, all right, we've, we've been to this dance before. We got to just take it step by step. And I started using the tools that I've learned here on my show at Heal Squad so that I could get myself out of the sunken place. I didn't stay there very long. We all go there. We all have that moment where we're just curled up in a ball and crying and scared and fearful. And then I started using some of my tools and got myself out. And thank God everything has gotten better since. Three best tools to get yourself out of the fetal position. Choose wonder over worry. Wonder, choose wonder over worry. What does that

mean? I have basically the IQ of a ham sandwich. Okay. So I'm laying in bed with my husband. We're both in the fetal position crying the next morning after the diagnosis was confirmed. And I'm like, oh, I might die. I might not see my baby. And I'm looking at my icons. I have my church icons on my mantle in my bedroom. Reminding people that Menounos is Greek. They're very into the icons.

Keep going. Yeah. So I pray every night there. And I was like, God, I don't understand. This doesn't make sense. And I just kept saying, this doesn't make sense. And then finally I said, this doesn't make sense. And I just kept saying, this doesn't make sense. And then finally I said, wait, this doesn't make sense. What if this isn't what I think it is? What if this isn't the ending to the story that I'm seeing? And because I used to tell my mom the

same thing, we don't know the ending to the story. So why are we going to catastrophize? Let's just keep doing everything we can and we leave the rest to God's hands. We're going to do the work down here and let them do the work up here. And so I started using wonder over worry. And I found out recently I had a guest on my show. Her publisher reached out and was like, wait, we told her that years ago. I guess she wrote a book about it, but my therapist had told it to me recently. So it was recently in my mind from my therapist. But anyhow, the technique is- There are no original ideas anyway, Maria. Anybody who says they came up with, we have been, ever since people have been trying to figure out things instead of ascribing it to different deities that made it happen, you know, ever since we started to internalize, there's a pretty finite universe of how to deal with challenge and strife and fear.

So, yeah. Well, I always try to credit the people that I've learned things from, but I had, that was like years ago anyway. But the important part is how to manifest it. So how do you, I get the idea, wonder over worry. Okay. So I just said exactly this. I said, I wonder what it's going to be like when the doctor calls me next with good news. I wonder what it's going to be like when I get the best surgical team together and they operate on me and everything goes well. I wonder what it's going to be like when I get to hold my baby and I'm healthy and I'm safe. I just kept creating new benchmarks and they started happening really, really fast. And so that's one. Do you believe that you, so first of all, there's power of choice in that, right? Is that you could

have easily catastrophized because people play scared because that's self-protection and you just had a malady, right? You just had a negative thing happen. So the cascade effect would naturally take you negative. And it did. As opposed to positive. It definitely did. I don't want you to think I didn't. I was like, the first thing I said to the radiologist is I said, I'm a goner, right?

Like I'm dead. This is it. It's over, right? And they give you a nice non-answer. But do you believe that you, all right, so do you believe you pray? Okay, so you believe in God. Um, do you believe in destiny, fate, and that certain things are out of your control? Do you believe in luck or do you believe in manifesting your own outcomes?

in manifesting your own outcomes? So I believe in manifesting my own outcomes, but I also know at the end of the day that I'm not fully, fully in control. I know that there is a lot of stuff I can be in control of, but like the end of life part, I don't think we're in control of. I think that that's predetermined. And so with my mom, I was manifesting her getting

better. And by the way, she did, she lived five years with glioblastoma, which normally gets six to 12 months. And so I believed up until the very last breath that a miracle could happen and she could just get up because you've heard of all of them. People have them all the time. So, but I would say, I know it's not in my control. So I have to leave that to God, but I've manifested everything in my life for the most part, all the good things and probably the bad things from worry too, because I do believe what we believe will be. believe will be. So we have to control our thoughts as much as we can and replace the negative thoughts with what we want. So sometimes that's another tool is like I choose what I want rather than what I don't want. So if something bad comes into my mind, I grab it with like a pitcher's mitt and I throw it out and I said, no, this is what I want. And I think about what I want. I feel the feelings of what I want. I feel good.

That's Dr. Joe Dispenza's work that I've studied extensively and I've put into action and had incredible results with. So, yeah, it's a little it can sound contradictory. We are in control. We can manifest, but then we're not. But I do believe that there's, there is stuff that's written for us, but part of it probably is us finding our way. It's you finding your way to this place where now you can help people in these moments that they're having. It's me coming to this place where I was in TV as well and doing all this stuff. And it took me to have all these health crises to get in the thick of it, understand the medical system and what it really is and what we really need to understand it is so that we can get better.

who has 15 minutes with us. And we don't realize that they really don't know a lot of the time what to do with us other than to prescribe a pill. And so there's a lot that we have to understand and learn for us to get through this journey. But I had to go through all of this stuff to get to this place of learning firsthand everything to simplify it for people and help them on their journeys.

And that's why I do my show. Support for the Chris Cuomo Project comes from PrizePix. I got to tell you, there's a reason PrizePix is America's number one fantasy sports app. Three million members. Why? Easy, plenty of action if you're into DFS, and it's just you against the numbers. You pick more than or less than on two to six player stat projections. And if you're any good, the winnings will roll in. The big game is right around the corner. You got a little side action on Tay-Tay, do you? Prize picks is the easiest, most exciting way to turn every game changing moment into like 100x of your own betting cash. With as little as four correct picks,

you can turn 10 into a grand. DFS is cool, but I can't help the feeling that I'm getting played when I'm trying to be a player. You know what I'm saying? And that's why I like prize picks, okay? I'm not in there with a bunch of sharks. I'm able to control the flow. I'm able to tailor who I want to bet on and what I want to bet on. You know, for me, it's so much better than just the game. But this is personal to me.

And prize picks gives me the options. And it's fun and i don't feel like i'm gonna get like exploited or played by some system that's afoot that i don't understand so go to prize picks.com slash ccp and use code ccp for a first deposit match up to a hundo again go to prize picks.com slash ccp and use code cc CCP for a first deposit match up to $100. PrizePix. Pick more, pick less. It's that easy. The Chris Cuomo Project is supported by Cozy Earth. Why? Because I like their sheets. That's why. A lot of people don't get a good night's sleep for a lot of reasons. One of the ones that you

can control is bedding. One out of three of us report being sleep deprived. Okay, well, what is it? Well, it stresses all kinds of things, but the wrong sheets can make you hot, can make you cold. I'm telling you, I don't even believe it either, but Cozy Earth sheets breathe, and here's what I love about them. Cozy Earth's best-selling sheet is a bamboo set, okay? Temperature regulating. Gets softer with every wash. I'm not kidding you, all right? Now, so if you go to CozyEarth.com and you enter the code, enter the code CHRIS,

and you can get up to 35% off your first order. CozyEarth.com, and the code is CHRIS. earth.com and the code is Chris. So how did you get past the wisdom answer, the written answer, right? You get a hundred on the test for what you're saying right now, but how did you get okay with it in terms of living it when you set it against the idea of my mom had no business getting this kind of tumor, let alone how she got it and what kind it was. And then I got it. I guess you went, you know, genealogy on it to see if this is something that's just in the bloodline that would make it easier, but then you get another cancer. And it's like, well, wait a minute. I'm like healthy. So I'm known for being healthy. Like this is what I am. How did you marry that with what this was telling you you needed to do? So it's really strange. Sometimes I just thought, I'm like, well, this was my mission and purpose kind of being forced on me because I wasn't maybe seeing it before.

I don't know. I look at my mom and yeah, I would say she wasn't the one I was ever worried about. We spent our whole lives worrying about my dad. But maybe that's the whole point. Maybe my mom wasn't being nurtured and my mom did go through a lot in her life. And so as I look back, we both dealt with a lot of toxicities at work. We both had very similar pains and struggles. And so, and she held them all in. So you're one of those. So my wife, Christina,

no disrespect to what I'm about to say. I get beat up after every podcast, unwittingly half the time. Okay. There's like no criminal intent here. You can never say anything right. The stress, I get it. I get it. I also know that, look, just because I can't prove it doesn't mean that, to use your word, you believe that that can have an impact of illness at some point and as some kind of part of a combination? A zillion percent. Even my neurosurgeon said, and he's so brilliant, I was like, can stress do this? And he goes, yeah. So stress has such an impact and emotional traumas. It all gets stored in our bodies. I had a healer come

recently and she was like, it's stored in your fascia. And I was like, yeah, it's all that shit. We sweep under the rug. The rug is the fascia. So if we work it out along with, you know, the mental part of it, you know, we can we can alleviate some of it. But it's it is really stored in us as women. I think we take a lot on, you know, there was there's so many transitions we've gone on as a woman. Right. We now are in the workforce and then we're supposed to do everything and we're supposed to balance everything. No one ever says, Chris, how do you balance everything? supposed to balance everything. No one ever says, Chris, how do you balance everything? They just don't say that to men. But we have to plan the vacations. We handle all the medical. We make sure you're healthy because you're not going to do it yourself. You know, all those things, those are all things that just place so much stress and anxiety. And we're pressure cookers. I mean, you watch the movie Barbie and you see that one tirade that America Ferreira goes on where she's like, we're supposed to be pretty and we're supposed to do all this stuff. As women, and my tirade goes deeper than hers and always has, it's like, we have to get our hair colored. We have to get our hair cut.

We got to get our nails done. We got to get our Botox. We got to get to the gym. Oh my gosh, we have to do this body treatment. We got to get our facial. We got to get our eyebrows done. We got to get our fake eyelashes. There's so much shit in our schedule. If you could imagine, oh my God, then you get your period and you got to go to all these other doctors and they get to fondle you this way and that way. And there's so much that we have to go through as women and our cycles every month and everything that that puts us through hormonally. that that puts us through hormonally. Just trying to fit all that shit into the schedule and work is a lot. So we have a lot. And now if we're getting all this stuff and we've been taught to be good girls, I was talking about this today, we're taught to be good girls. So part of that is

you have to just take it in, suck it in and just keep going. And it just gets stored in there. So yes, I believe it's a combination of all the storage. I think it's a combination of poor choices I made as well to keep up with my 20-hour schedule, 20-hour day schedules. I was in and out of fast food all the time, which meant I was in and out of the hospital a lot in the beginning with dehydration and malnutrition and low potassium. My body was supersized me every single day. And then I was taught that you're sick, you go to the doctor, they give you a pill, you go home. So, oh, can you give me a Z-Pak? I'm sick. I got to make it to work. It was always

about having perfect attendance at work. I never wanted to miss work. I watched my dad growing up cleaning nightclubs. He'd step on a nail or he'd screwdriver his finger, his whole hand through a wall, his blood sugar would drop. He'd be in the hospital. He'd rip the IVs and go back to work. So that's what I saw. And that's what I modeled. And I'm like, I'm making great money. He was making, you know, janitor pay. I'm on TV pay. I'm going to work. I'd have a vomit bag in the middle of the couch at the Today Show because if I was sick, I had to be ready so I didn't throw up on Al Roker. So it's a combination. So I always say I accumulated all these bad choices as well. So now I've been working the last six years on accumulating good choices because the Mack truck

was coming. There was just no way it wasn't going to hit me in some way, shape or form, especially after one really toxic work environment. I remember going to the doctor and I said, I don't know how I don't leave there with breast cancer. And I've seen so many people else get it here. And I, please just check me. And I was like, thank you, God, I was fine. But soon after it was like, everything happened, the brain tumor. And then, so it just took a minute for all of it to come out in full form. But all of that to say, it's hard. How do you want to use Heal Squad to help people understand how to direct their energy past the resistance to struggle and suffering, which is natural. It shouldn't be me.

This is wrong. This is hard. This is shameful. You know, all these different things to get to how to use it, not just to get through it, but to improve as a result of that process in some way or another. Yeah. improve as a result of that process in some way or another. Yeah. And teaching them that there are other ways that, first of all, there are other ways to go through crisis. You can go through it. We went through brain tumors with a smile, not always, obviously, but generally our goal was to go through it with a smile and comedy must

rule. So we would crack the craziest jokes. We'd say the most insane things to get through stuff. crack the craziest jokes. We'd say the most insane things to get through stuff. And we just knew that we had a choice on how to go through it. And then also there are alternative therapies. When you go to a medical institution, that isn't the end. That's just one. And I read something great. There's a book and it said an incurable disease just means they haven't found a prescription for it or a medication for it. We think when we hear it's incurable, we're dead and it's over. And then we go into victim and then all of that energy comes through where we could say, well, what are the other options? What else could I research? What else can I do? So for me, I always try to teach people to be, to not be committed to your disease, be committed to what's available. What are the other

options? Be committed to a higher source, being able to help you guide you through, give you strength, give you, you know, the, the signs and the paths that you need. I was guided 100% through the whole thing with my mom. I would ask for the answer and it would come in the weirdest of ways, whether it was Diamond Dallas Page being on my couch there and his wife just going through breast cancer in the guest room saying they had this great facility in Mexico. And I was like, oh my God, my mom is in the moment right now where we just found out her tumor's growing and I don't know what to do. Well, clearly you were here in my path. And I took my mom to Mexico and guess what? They did all this incredible work with her. And we got another two straight

years, I think of just good report. The tumor kept shrinking and shrinking and shrinking. She did great. So there's so many ways and there's so much hope that you really can have. It's not, you know, just pie in the sky stuff. You know, there's a book called Radical Remission for a reason. People have had radical remissions. So I like to spread hope and, you know, options and a different way to go through crisis. Look, no shame in my game. I've been using AG1 for over five years.

Why? It works, it's easier, and it's less expensive. That's why. Since 2010, they've been getting their formulations right and tweaking their formulas. Why? Because the science changes, okay? It's not like politics where people decide to believe one thing and no matter what happens with the facts, they never shift. This is the opposite. Oh, prebiotics work with probiotics, but in this way. D works with K and this type of B works with that. They have the scientists doing it. So I don't need all the bottles. I don't have to spend all the money and I don't have to figure out when to take what and why. More importantly, it's not just the regular list of vitamins.

It's the extras. Okay. The adaptogens, the prebiotics, the probiotics that support your body's universal needs, gut optimization, immune support, stress management. That's what foundational nutrition is about. And these are the people at AG1 who've been doing the work to get it right. Okay? I tell friends. I tell family. I get no complaints. Okay?

If you want to take ownership of your health, it starts with AG1. Try AG1. You get a free one-year supply of vitamin D3K2 and five free AG1 travel packs. Okay? That's what happens with your first purchase. So make it. Go to drinkag1.com slash ccp. drinkag1.com slash ccp.

Check it out. We don't fake the funk here. And here's the real talk. Over 40 years of age, 52% of us experience some kind of ED between the ages of 40 and 70. I know it's taboo, it's embarrassing, but it shouldn't be. Thankfully, we now have HIMS, and it's changing the vibe by providing affordable access to ED treatment, and it's all online.

HIMS is changing men's health care. Why? Because it's giving you access to affordable is changing men's health care. Why? Because it's given you access to affordable and discreet sexual health treatments. And you do it right from your couch. HIMSS provides access to clinically proven generic alternatives to Viagra or Cialis or whatever. And it's up to like 95% cheaper. And there are options as low as $2 a dose. HIMSS has hundreds of thousands of trusted subscribers. So if ED is getting you down, it's time to pick it up. Start your free online visit

today at HIMS.com slash CCP. H-I-M-S dot com slash CCP. And you will get personalized ED treatment options. HIMS dot com slash CCP. Prescriptions, you need an online consultation with a healthcare provider. And they will determine if appropriate. Restrictions apply. You see the website. You'll get details and important safety information. You're going to need a subscription.

It's required. Plus, price is going to vary based on product and subscription information. You're going to need a subscription. It's required. Plus, price is going to vary based on product and subscription plan. Now that you're going to have a little one to raise through these things, how do you think your journey has changed? What kind of mom you're going to be when you're faced with all the things that come your way? Well, I am glad that I had her after all of this stuff because I feel like, A, just being an older parent, I have so much more patience. I'm calmer. I'm so grateful to be able to be present with her and to have time with her. And yeah, I mean, Kevin and I are really good in crisis. So if there's a crisis, we know how to do it. And we tell our friends, just call us. We got you. We know what to do, especially if it's a dog crisis or a health crisis.

We've got it. But I really think she has shifted the energy and that good times lie ahead. And that's what I'm in belief of. I believe that all of that is now behind us. It doesn't mean we're not going to have problems. Problems are natural. And I had a really great guest, Anastasia Soar, on my show where she said, I don't understand why people don't get it. Problems are just going to keep happening. It's how you roll through them. Just start getting comfortable with things happening. Stop saying, why me? Or can you believe this

happened to me? Yes, it's happening to 20 other million people too. Just roll through it. We got to get through these things. So I think the bad times are behind us. I'm really, really hoping. I think that you just have a set of tools now where there are just times

and you have to appreciate all of them for what they are. And we say that looks great on the card. Nobody does it. We ignore the good times or we mitigate the profound nature of that blessing and we exaggerate our problems and all this is natural self-protection. You're not afraid by good times. You're afraid by bad times, but they're all just times. And, you know, I, I, I tell the people that I train and that I work with, I can't tell you what the lessons are that I know of success because everything I know of how to do well with the show. I mean, I never, I was a little surprised that this stuff I'm doing on News Nation, this new cable outlet is going as well as it is

because I didn't know how much negativity was going to come my way for helping my brother and all that shit. But I know how to make good TV from having failed at making good TV for almost 30 years. So that's how I know things. I know how to defend myself because I know what doesn't work. You know, my parenting, my partnering, whatever the, you know, whatever it is, they're just opportunities that come positive and negative.

They're all going to teach you something if you're lucky. And if you appreciate them all for what they are, you're better off. That's what I love about what you're doing with Heel Squad. And you couldn't really ask for a more potent messenger than someone who's put it into practice the way you have. So I'm a fan and I appreciate you shedding a little sunshine on the podcast here. And I'm happy to let people know about what you're doing with Heel Squad because I think it could help. Well, I'll leave you with one last one, one last tool. I had a great doctor. I think his name is Dr. Rao. And he gave me this proverb. He told us this proverb. So apparently, this guy in this village, his son became paralyzed. And all the villagers came around. They're like, oh my gosh, you poor thing, your son, he'll never dance with a girl. He'll never get married, blah, blah, blah, all the negatives. Okay. And he says, good thing, bad thing, who knows? So then the war comes and

all the boys in the village get drafted. And they're like, oh my gosh, all of our boys are being drafted. You're so lucky. He can't go. You're going to get to keep your son. And he's like, good thing, bad thing, who knows? And it just keeps on going. So that was another tool that helped me through all of this. It's like, good thing, bad thing, who knows? The brain tumor was the greatest gift I ever had. It changed my whole life. It shifted me out of an old dream. All that stuff was an old dream. It shifted me into my purpose and in my mission where every day I feel great about what I get to do. And I have no boss. Thank you. I can be toxic to myself if I need to be to feel good familiarity anyway. And so,

you know, there's so much lemonade that's come from all of this. I've learned how to caretake. I've become such an expert in health where I've helped so many people in my path. And even the pancreas tumor, it was funny. I was with, I have a baby nurse right now. And I said, you know, what a better experience it's been having you here to help me. And I wouldn't have afforded this opportunity for myself if I didn't know that I'm still healing and I needed you. I wouldn't have given this to myself. And I said, so, hey, thanks surgery, because now I have you to help me through the first weeks of her life where I would have struggled and I would have had a hard time and I wouldn't have known what I was doing and I would have been stressed and scared.

So you just never know. So I was like, OK, there's another thing I can thank the pancreas tumor for. So I just keep finding reasons to be grateful for this and every piece of it. just keep finding reasons to be grateful for this and every piece of it. And I think when you do that, I don't know. I still feel like nothing happened to me. It's so strange. But people say you're a cancer survivor. I'm like, who me? I'm so confused by it. Like I did stand up to cancer and they're like, you know, they gave me the teleprompter and it's like, oh, I'm the cancer survivor. I was like, wait. Oh, yeah. Shoot. That's me. So I don't like hold onto this stuff. I'm sure I'll probably have to deal with it in therapy down the line, but I'm moving forward. I'm Rocky. It ain't about how hard

you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. So that's what I'm doing. Well, I think it's, it's, it's working well and that's all that matters. And if you're able to help other people through your own struggle, I mean, talk about giving some purpose to pain. You can't ask for better than that. I wish you a really, I hope you get the full effect with the kid. And, you know, I am the ghost of Christmas future. Lucky for you, you won't wind up looking like me at the end of it, but it is a real journey. I always tell people, nobody will ever matter the same way. Nobody will ever impact you. And it is the only, and you're a little bit of a rare bird on this because you've been

together with your husband for such a long time, but it's the only person in your life that will ever be able to treat you horribly and not change how you feel about them is your daughter. You're not going to like it, but I'm saying, you know, you've never had a fight with Kevin where when you were at the, he was tearing it, whatever it was, was at its worst. And if he were to be like, love me now, where you would have jumped at the, he was tearing it, whatever it was, was at its worst. And if he were to be like, love me now where you would have jumped it. Yes. Except your kids. You'll always, you'll always be like, yes, Athena, I love you. I just, I hate how you are right now. It's the only relationship like that. So I wish you all, um, I wish you all of it and I hope it goes well. I hope it

goes the way you want and I appreciate what you're doing in the world. You know, when you hear a lot of these things, you say, yeah, yeah, yeah, easy to say, hard to do. True, but everything that matters in life that's worthwhile is hard. Eat less, move more, you'll be in shape. True. True. Hard. Okay. Look at a problem. Figure out how you can get through it. Use the energy instead of worry and wondering about different outcomes and applications of what you're dealing with. Easy to say, hard to do. Hey, you want to be healthy? You want to live longer? You want to live better? You want to be something? It's going to be hard. We all know it. So the choice is, do you want it

or not? And if you do, you need the tools. And I hope you got some from Maria Menounos. All right. Subscribe, follow. Appreciate you. See you on News Nation, 8 and 11p, Eastern weeknights. Check out the free agent merch, okay? Because you want to be an independent. You want to be a critical thinker. It is perfect proof of our premise here. We've got to be better than the problems in our politics. How? More independents, more critical thinkers. Be a free agent, not just paying fealty to some political party. I'll check you next time. Let's get after it.