The Life Of Bryony - When Your Ex Turns Your Relationship Into Stand-Up Comedy

Episode Date: July 4, 2025

In this bonus episode, I put your juiciest dating dilemmas to podcasting legends James and Jamie - and, unsurprisingly, things get very real, very fast. We talk about being “too much” on a first date (spoiler: I might be Gemma), whether asking about bum stuff too early is a vibe killer, and the dangers of transactional dating apps. We also dive into something deeply awkward – when your ex turns your relationship into stand-up material. Is it catharsis or just plain rude? Oh, and Jamie once dated a magician… which ends exactly how you’d expect. It’s funny, unfiltered, and surprisingly heartfelt. Basically, it’s a conversation about being yourself – even when that self might be shouting inappropriate questions over a half pint. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU Got a question or a story to share? Text or send a voice note on 07796657512 - just start your message with LOB Use the WhatsApp shortcut:  Prefer email? Drop us a line at  If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who might need it—it really helps!Bryony xx CREDITS Presenter: Bryony Gordon Guest: Megan Jayne Crabbe Producer: Henry Williams Audio & Video Editor: Luke Shelley Content Editor: Joseph Palmer Executive Producer: Mike Wooller A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode of The Life of Briny is sponsored by Asda, with thousands of prices rolling back across the store and online. That's good honest value. That's Asda price. Welcome to The Life of You, our bonus series where we answer your questions and try to make sense of life's messier bits. I'm still here with COVID, but I am joined again by James Cooper and Jamie Morton, two of the brains behind the brand new comedy musical, Love Stuck. Now, we're diving into some proper juicy dating dilemmas today, because let's face it, it's an absolute minefield, isn't it? James and Jamie have got some brilliant insights about dating apps.

Why they think the whole you'll find love when you'll stop looking thing might be nonsense. And there's a rather entertaining story about dating a magician that involves twins and disappearing acts. Trust me, you'll want to hear this. This question, am I too much on the first date? I'm 35 single and blessed or cursed with absolutely no filter. Whether I'm out with mates or on a date, this is, it reads like it's from me. Whatever pops into my head tends to fall straight out of my mouth. Among friends it's appreciated. I'm the one who calls out people's bullshit, asks the questions everyone else is thinking but too polite to say, and provides grade A dinner party chaos. But I've recently discovered that this particular brand of honesty doesn't always land when you're face to face with a man who's only had half a pint and is still clutching his coat. For example, on a recent date we were talking about misadventures in sex and I asked him if he'd ever tried a finger up the bum during it. Wow, he looked horrified. I said I'm only joking to rescue

the date but I was genuinely interested. My friends have suggested I tone it down a bit or risk scaring everyone off. Isn't the whole point of dating to be yourself? Thoughts? Yours unfiltered. Gemma. I think that is the point. This is kind of, I think you have to just be yourself. I think because you know, your lies will catch up with you eventually. So if you want to waste your time by pretending to be somebody that you're not, and for him to find that out in three or four weeks, months later, sure. I would say it's more efficient to just be yourself and just rattle through them until you find someone that you act that

because there will be someone that will share that energy or at least appreciate that energy and you can't sustain being a different person your entire life so what's the point of lying and it on a date it's just no point and like dating is like I said before like it's so transactional and we speed through people and like like James says you will meet the person that that energy matches with eventually and it's an often balances with because both of that energy would be a bit much. Sure. Like that fits together. We don't want to think that she's too much. She's not too much, but she can't be with someone who's of a similar dialed up nurse. I think she yeah, because people can be more mellow, but appreciate that energy. And actually they

can, you know, compliment each other well. So Ying and Yang often seems to work well together. I'm a bit like Gemma and my husband is very like buttoned up. There you go. Yeah. Perfect. I'm talking about fingers up bums. He's just nodding along.

He's getting the finger up bum. I'd probably save the finger up bum to date two, it would be my one piece of advice for Gemma but otherwise like be yourself absolutely and like often when you stop going on so many dates and stop looking that's when you start to find the person that you're is that true though I think that's true I've been swearing the entire time you're gonna be believed no there's no bleeping on this. Yeah, that's like someone will show up when you least expect it. I think that's that's absolutely not really true.

Okay, fine. Do you not think? No, I think I just think that's something that people say to make me feel better. And that's a lovely thing to say to be kind, but I don't think it's true. But then I also think I'm I'm I'm friends with someone who's like a very high end matchmaker. Oh, wow. Ultra high end matchmaker. Oh wow. Ultra high end, ultra net worth individuals. Right.

Okay. So like billionaires basically. And she's like, I mean she would say this because it's her job, but she's like dating apps don't work because it's that thing of like throw enough shit at a wall and someone will stick and it's so transactional. It's so you're on, you're never investing enough time because you think there's something better tomorrow. Got you. you're never investing enough time because you think there's something better tomorrow.

And she's like, you have to invest in somebody and you have to kind of get past that, that thing that we were talking about, about that initial, you don't get the initial, wow, so I'm going to dump them off. All those kind of like the deal breaker things, you have to kind of get over that. And she's like dating apps are the worst because they've actually programmed us all into thinking that there is a better option, a swipe away. Yes. Because it's like going to like eating at a buffet. It's awful. I love buffets.

It's not good for you because you're constantly being like, I want to have a bit of that and then you have a plate full of lasagna and curry and like some vegetables. I think that's a bad analogy. That sounds great to me. And you're like, what am I doing? James and I are very much going to be eating at the buffet. Yeah, lasagna and curry right next to each other. Yum, yum, yum.

Rubbing up against each other. Hey, one more quick question. My ex is a stand-up comic and they keep telling stories on stage that are clearly about our relationship. Jamie's nodding along. Frankly, he's not had enough girlfriends for it to be about anyone else. It's not nasty, but it feels weird hearing our private moments turned into punchlines. Am I overreacting or do I have a right to ask them to stop? That's from Anna.

It's a complicated one because like it happened to him too. You can't really silence somebody else's story. Yeah. And I think so long as it's not, I think if it's, if he's not using names, I think stop going to watch your ex boyfriend do stand up comedy. Yeah. Like move on. Yeah. And if you date someone in the arts, the chances are is comedy the arts? Yes. The chances are stand up culture. Yes, it is. the arts? Yes. The chances are, stand up culture. Yes, it is of course. The chances are they're going to use their life for their work. That kind of is a given. It's like, you know, Taylor Swift or Adele or Bruno Mars or any kind of Taylor Swift, Adele and then Bruno Mars. I'm thinking like another like really popular like the rights love

songs basically. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They're going to get that from somewhere. I once dated a magician, it's not the same. And he did disappear. I went to his show and he was like, I'll go with my friend. I was like, oh, okay. So I went to the show and she was so strange. Like I was trying to make conversation, she was not having any of it. So we sat next to each other, we're watching the show. And then at one point she got called up. I was like, wait, what? So she went up on stage and he put her in one cage and then she appeared in another cage

on the other side of the stage and then came back to her seat. It was her twin. It was a different woman. No, cause there wasn't a thing that was like- I've just revealed like a magic circle. No, wasn't it that she came back and was like the loveliest, chattiest person.

And you were like, what the hell happened to you? It turned out it was a twin. I was like, who are you? She was like, because he hadn't let me in on the fact that I was part of the trick. And I was like, who are you? Oh, right. Interesting. So don't date magicians, I guess?

Yeah, also, I think magicians are... Yeah, they spent a lot of time in their bedroom tinkering with wands.