The Squeeze - Lexi Hensler: Navigating New Seasons

Episode Date: June 24, 2026

In this week's episode, Tay sits down with influencer, entrepreneur, and mental health advocate Lexi Hensler! Lexi shares the story behind her engagement ring and what wedding planning has looked like so far, and reflects on the importance of staying present through so many big life seasons happening at once. She opens up about where her relationship with mental health began and how it has evolved over the years, including how her relationship with anxiety has shifted as she's gotten older and the signs her body and mind give her when it's time to slow down. Lexi also shares where she's at in her healing journey with her autoimmune condition and how she protects her mental health while still showing up online consistently, including the boundaries she sets with social media. She gets candid about navigating people who hold onto older versions of you while you're still evolving, and dives into the inspiration behind starting Hugz, the imposter syndrome that came with launching a business, and what the hardest and most rewarding parts have looked like behind the scenes. She wraps up by sharing what she's most proud of in herself!Be sure to follow Lexi https://instagram.com/lexihensler/!Check out Hugz here: https://givehugz.co/To email us your questions or share your story, you can reach out to [e-mail] sure to rate, review, and follow the podcast so you don't miss an episode! Plus, follow us on all of our socials:The SqueezeInstagram: https://instagram.com/thesqueeze/TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@thesqueezepodcastTay LautnerInstagram: https://instagram.com/taylautner/TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@mrstaylautnerAmazon Storefront https://urlgeni.us/amazon/FDXj7 Taylor LautnerInstagram: https://instagram.com/taylorlautner/TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@taylorlautnerTo learn more from The Lemons Foundation, follow https://instagram.com/lemonsbytay/ and visit https://lemonsbytay.comEpisode Sponsors:Visit Crocs.com or a store near you to find your perfect pair of Crocs shoes!Go to http://shadyrays.com and use code SQUEEZE for 40% off 2+ pairs of polarized sunglasses.Let yourself run, lift, fail, try and go. Explore Peloton Cross Training Tread+ at onepeloton.com.Thanks to today’s sponsor, Ogee: A higher standard for beauty. Go to ogee.com/TAY and use code TAY to get 20% off certified organic makeup that performs like luxury.Visit drinkspindrift.com and use code tay for 15% off.New styles drop all the time and the colors go fast, so don’t wait. Go to lululemon.com right now. MB014GJJJKQV82RSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The following podcast is a dear media production. I definitely get comments every single time. I talk about autoimmune or depression or anxiety every single time. There's going to be that one person. Oh, my God, we get it shut up already. Or like, oh, you're so negative. But really, it's the first video I've posted about it in months. But you know what I realized?

I think that person's the person that needs to hear it the most. I think that person is the person that's actually in so much pain that they're not willing to ever think about sharing or connecting or being open and vulnerable about things. And I think that person actually might be who needs to see that there's another way and that it's okay to be vulnerable. And honestly, I really have found and I'm still trying to practice what I preach, but I do believe there is so much more strength in showing your weaknesses

than there is in showing your highlight reel. I don't think there's going to be like a Lexi before she got sick. I think there's going to be a Lexi that got sick and learned how to live with it and how to inspire other people to live with it. And maybe I have to do things differently, but that doesn't mean I can't do them. Learning to live with it and learning to be able to still have like a full fullness in life has really been like the biggest journey for me.

But when I list my order of priorities, me and my health coming in like third, fourth, fifth place, it needs to change. And I think everything else is going to more positively change when I do focus more on myself. You know, it's like you put your airplane mask on first. How are you going to help anyone else if you can't breathe? Lexi, welcome back.

Thanks. How many times have you, twice? Three times? Technically three, three because the Christmas party. Oh, yes, yes, yes. Oh my gosh. Well, welcome back. We have our little, our little friends in our laps, our little hugs that we love so dearly that we'll get into. I need to probably just like, I think I need to have these in here. They're just like, it's really comfy. It also like kind of feels nice on my belly. Oh, I bet. Honestly, we could do some like, custom little squeeze ones. Oh my gosh. I know.

We need to do a lemon one of these days. I love it. Well, I'm excited to have you back. I just like, I love you. And I, Taylor and I talk often about,

like, friends that we've made on the podcast. And I always say, like, my friendship with you and is like one of my favorite things that's ever come from this podcast. And I think it was like season one.

Like, like, it's just so cool that we met and I remember you leaving and Taylor and I were like, we really liked her. And like it's just like so cool that we've become friends. And like we do so much like work together but also like fun together too. So I love you so much.

I love just like watching you continue to evolve into just the most incredible human and now mother, which is crazy. And wait, are we talking about that? Yes. We posted about that. Okay. Yeah. No, we're good. We're good.

But the incredible things you do with the squeeze, with lemons, getting to like encompass and be there. for all of it is yeah the most beautiful thing that could have come out of coming on to a podcast one day. Yeah. Well, it's so fun. I love it. Well, we start each episode off with this jar. Citrus Got Real is the game. If you want to pull a little piece of paper out of there and you can read it to our lemon drops.

Sorry, I got you all comfy cross-legged in the chair and then made you move. Oh, that's okay. Okay. Who was your first celebrity crush? Oh. I don't know if I remember this. Oh. I mean, probably Justin Bieber. I don't know. I wasn't a Justin fan growing up.

I feel like... That's okay. It's for the best. I'm a fan now. I'm a fan now. But I think growing up I wasn't as in to like the super mainstream guys. Yeah. I was more like listening to Screamo music on my skateboard with my red highlights. And just, yeah, so probably not. Maybe like a cartoon character. Like Danny Phantom or someone. That's actually a really good one. That's a really good one.

That was fun fact. That was one of Taylor's, like, first jobs was he had a voiceover in that. No way. As, like, a bully or something, like, at school. I don't remember what it was, but he has a voiceover credit for something. Who was your celebrity crush, your first one? I know. I can't.

Edward. I'm just kidding. I, well, yeah, I'm trying to think timeline-wise. No, Justin Bieber had to have been before that, right? Yeah, yeah. We were pretty young. One of the two. Yeah, honestly, probably one of those too.

But I did have a Justin Bieber cut out one of my friends got me. So, which is like hysterical. And that thing lived at my parents' house for like way too long. Like we honestly just kept it because it became a joke. And it was just like we would put it out and it would scare me half the time too because it was just like, you like walk to the bathroom in the middle of the night. It's just there. And it's like you just see this dark cut out of this figure. I actually gave it to my girlfriend, so I don't know what she did with it.

I should ask her, she threw it away. Hopefully just keeps past it along. It's like the pair of traveling jeans, the pair of Justin. Yeah, yeah. Wait, he's not a pair. The traveling Justin. Yeah, cardboard Justin. He travels.

Great. Well, I'm excited to get into all things like life updates and everything because you have some new jewelry on your fingers since the last time we sat down one-on-one. I do. Season one was a while ago, apparently. It's literally, yeah, no, it's been, this is, we're in year four right now. Are you sure? Yeah.

I guess, I guess we've been dating for four years. Our timeline. Yeah, that's crazy. Aw, I love that. I'm obsessed with your ring. Thank you. What is the story behind that? Did he make it or was it just?

It's actually a really cool story. I realized other day I've never even made a video on this. And I want to because he put so much love into this ring. Like, he did things to this ring. I didn't know you could do. Yeah. So I told him I wanted like a very, very 1920s art deco style ring. And he kind of ran with that. But then he put little diamonds on the

inside face of the ring as kind of like a little secret because it's like obviously no one knows but us. Well, and all of you. But you're our close and dear personal friends. That's okay. And but he did it because it's supposed to resemble like stargazing on our first date. And then he sand blasted the band of the ring with sand from the beach where we had our first date. So that's right. Those men need to step it up in your life, ladies. because that is possible. Stop. I know.

I love him so much. Me too. He's just like, he's just, I love him. He's just so happy and is so just like, he's so nice. He really is. He's just like, whenever we have events, we're always just like, I mean, you are like this as well, but we're always like, yeah, we could throw them in. They'll like fit in with any group of friends.

Like if we're setting tables, like for the Christmas party, we do like the little seating thing. And we're like, we can literally like put you guys anywhere. Aw. But wait. so sweet. I know. He, he, he's one of those people that I just didn't think men like that existed because growing up, you know, you're just like, they didn't. Or you're just like taught as a girl, like you just have to put up with certain things. Yeah. You don't like this man ran a marathon the other, or half marathon the other day, his first. And then I was having a really bad autoimmune flare up.

And I was like literally trying to get off the couch for like 20 minutes to go make dinner. But I like, I was in so much pain. And he made me dinner. This, just limping around just like making me I'm like he's unreal, but I'm really excited because the wedding is getting really close. Yeah. So exciting and panicking because of all the details, but I can't wait to just like officially be married. Have you enjoyed wedding planning? Honestly, I have. You're also allowed to say no. If it's a no. Like yes and no. And mostly yes, though. Like I had a couple friends get married last year and the horror stories. Luckily, we were able to learn from some of it. But I think like the most stressful thing is just both of us are the type of people where we care so much about other people

having a good time than us. But this is the one time in our entire lives that we're supposed to care more about how we feel. So we're really trying to let that go, which is why I'm like, okay, we're going to hire a wedding planner that's going to be their day of. She's going to be me that cares about how everyone else feels that I can let go a little bit hopefully. Yeah. Trying to carve out intentional time in the day too. But I mean, so far it's been good. I think now that we're like, what, four months out, it's just going to ramp up and ramp up. Yeah. So check in on me in a couple months.

But as of now, I've been loving it. Yeah. I think it'll ramp up, but then it'll also like feel better, you know? Like, because more things are getting done. And it's annoying because I feel like some things you also, you do have to wait until it does get closer to do. It's true. But no, I think it all. That's good that you have someone.

And also, like, I went into the day, like, knowing that if there could be like 15. things that go wrong and it's literally like it's fine like things will happen so it's just like I feel like you'll I feel like you'll just live in the moment it'll be your day yeah I know I'm trying to figure out how because I feel like everyone says like it goes like that like it's so you like blink in the day is over so I think like in the morning we want to get breakfast together just the two of us on the balcony like we were choosing the venue literally I was like I want to get breakfast there with you in the morning have like our little little coffee yeah um because it's Italian coffee hits. And then just like what are like intentional moments throughout the day that I can

just pause and be present and try to soak it all up. Yeah. No. I mean, don't think about that too much because I had a bit of a panic attack the night before like our wedding day. We had a, we basically had, we invited everyone to like the, what is the night before called? Like the rehearsal. Yeah. We did like a rehearsal. This is my pregnancy brain. We did a rehearsal dinner with. the actual like bridal parties and stuff and our parents and then we invited everyone to come it was more like a linter we did with them and then everyone got together just because it was like a destination so we just invited everyone to go to this thing and um they like like I feel like there's so many people that were coming up to me and they were like it's gonna go by so fast you're gonna blink it's gonna be over soak it all in and there was like four or five people and I was like really like starting to like I literally like started having like I started having like I started having like I started having like I started crying after and I was like, same girl. I was like a bunch of people telling you like, yeah, it's going to suck basically after. Literally, I was like, I don't want it to go.

Like, I wanted people to enjoy it. Like, what if I'm not living in the moment enough? And I freaked out. But then like, but then I like had to calm down and our friend and pastor who married us like, comped me down. But, um, and Taylor was like, you're fine. And my girlfriends were like, everything's okay. And I was like, I know.

It just freaked me out. But I mean, it does go by quick because you're just doing stuff during the day. But also that does. that doesn't mean you're not, like, present in living in it. So I would just, like, take it with, like, a grain of salt. And I think it sounds like you're incorporating those moments of, like, the little, like, intentional times together. Like, I feel like those are what, like, those are, like, the standouts of, like, making you kind of feel present and stuff. Thank you so much. Because honestly, that has been, like, the nightmare fuel is everyone telling me, like, it's just, it's one day and then it's

over. And then all of that stuff, like, I feel like gets in your head. But I, I didn't realize how much I needed someone to just tell me like, no, like you're going to be present and it's going to be great and it's going to be okay and not listen to that. Yeah. No. Don't. And yeah, I think because I'm, I'm kind of like re-experiencing that with pregnancy. Everyone's like, like, it's also like, I feel like it's older, like older people who have lived life and who like, you know, I've been married for 20 years or their kids are graduating high school and they're like, you're going to blink and it's going to go by so fast. I'm like, yes, I know, but like, don't tell me that. So I'm like re-experencing that now. And I told Taylor the other day, I was like, I don't.

I think I'm over people telling me it's going to go by quick. Like, I know it is. Like, don't tell me it is because I know, like, I don't want to blink and my baby's going to be like, you know, we're going to be 20 years down the line, you know? So I'm like, I don't want to. You're not going to blink. It's not going to go that fast. Yeah.

Okay, good. I promise. Okay, good. Great. I love that for us. Anyways, not that we've just talked about all of our trauma is with all of that. No. I mean, it's important, too.

And I think, I think we need to like talk about it because a lot of our friends are like this is this time of our lives is just it's all of the changes. And, you know, the fact that like we're over halfway through like the year is crazy to me. So it's just like there's there's so many things that are constantly moving in this time frame of our lives. So I think it's important to like recheck in with our friends that are in the same season and be like no, it's okay. Like it will go by, but we're going to be present and it's going to be great and fine. And you're going to have fun. I'm so excited. I can't wait to see the photos. Especially with weddings and babies tend to bring out the world's most unwanted opinions. Yeah. And so I feel like, yeah, checking you with your friends and being like, literally the most unwanted opinions. My girlfriends and I, I have two girlfriends that are pregnant and I'm so thankful that we're all pregnant at the same time because we all can like talk about it. And it's great. And we were just talking about all of the unsolicited advice, but it's great. Should make a video on that. Yeah. No, I did. I really. should. I love that. Okay, let's talk about mental health. Obviously, that is a big part of your

daily life one with work, but also just who you are as a human in your mission. For our lemon drops, I don't know your story. I'd love for you to kind of share, maybe like where your mental health journey began. Like when, how old were you when you first started struggling with your mental health? honestly it's kind of sad to say but like three i remember being so young and having such dark thoughts and being really scared by them and i think maybe there was also a large genetic component at play but i've struggled my whole life with anxiety depression suicidal ideation self-harm um one time like my friend literally and i joked about it was like a charcutory board of mental struggles like It was just, you know, in different seasons of life would bring out new things as well and different

traumas would trigger new things. So it's definitely been a journey, but it is really cool as I enter my late 20s looking back and having that perspective of like, wow, really bad stuff has been happening in the last year. But I've handled it in a way that I never imagined I could have. And I'm learning how to ask for help in a way I never thought I could have. And just the skill set and the way that I've been able to, I mean, frankly, rewire my brain and grow and evolve really encourages me. And that's also why I've wanted to create a tool. I've wanted to spread awareness. I've wanted to share my journey and my vulnerability in all of my experiences to hopefully help people get there a lot sooner than their late 20s or 30s or 40s. Yeah. I know.

That's why I'm like it's so important to learn those like tools and self-care things. things and go see a therapist, all of that stuff before things happen or even when, you know, when stuff is going on, but also when it's not. Because you get to this point, which I have also experienced and it's so cool. Like obviously the mental health struggles are never going to go away. Like, especially like we're adults now. Life is happening. Things are always going to come up. And it's really cool to walk through life obstacles now equipped and like knowing like, oh, I've been through this before. I know I can handle this and I know I'm going to get through the other side or like knowing

those tools if I maybe don't know if it's a new experience and like what what can I do to kind of sort through what I'm walking through. It's really cool to like reach that moment. And it's cool to see friends of mine that I've finally like reached that too. Like it's not just like the end of the world when something happens. Like obviously we walk through like the emotions together. But they have those tools now that they can like feel better and walk through stuff. I think getting older too, it's just like you kind of your brain starts to realize.

You're like, oh, I have technically survived everything I never thought I was going to. You're like it's like the repetition where it starts to be like, I've got this and you like build a little bit more confidence in it. Yeah. I love that. how how is your like relationship with anxiety changed as you've gotten older like how maybe how have you learned to kind of like approach it differently man I feel like it ebbs and flows so much like there's I'm sure a lot of people with anxiety could relate to this but I feel like there's seasons where it's so bad I like I don't want to be on a plane I just want to be in a bubble at home

and then there's seasons where I'm like oh wow I haven't been anxious in months you know yeah So I think my relationship with it has changed into the way that when I feel anxiety coming up now, I don't feel like the world is going to end. I think I can recognize it and be more like curious about it. I think one of the best things I've learned because what's helped me is research and knowledge. Yeah. That's what makes me feel like a little bit safer is like understanding it. And I've learned, I was listening to a doctor on a podcast about one of the best things you can do when you're anxious is curiosity.

I think that also ebbs and flows into so many different areas of lives. But we'll stick on anxiety. She was saying, you know, if you think of your anxiety is as like scared little puppy you find on the street. You know, are you going to be like, why are you scared and like angry with it and like shaking it? Yeah. You're just going to make it 10 times more scared.

But what if you were curious about it? And you were like, really, you know, you calm yourself down and you're like, what's going on? Like, why are you scared? Like, you know, is there like something like I can do to help you? And then maybe you can just sit. with that puppy, sit with your anxiety, hold space for it, and know that you're going to get through it together. I love that. That's so good. And it just makes it we always, I've been talking a lot

recently about how we need to treat ourselves, how we treat our friends. Oh, amen. When we're having the mental health struggles and the anxiety, like I would, I could never imagine like telling Taylor, like, baby, you need to get over this. Like, you're fine. You know? Like, we need to really treat ourselves how we would treat other people and really flip that. And, give ourselves more grace because I think we're just in this space, especially as, I feel like as a woman, but also like just in this season of life and also being like a founder and having a business and there's so many things going on. It's very easy to just push that down and be like, no, no, no, like we're like we're fine. We're moving on instead of actually addressing it.

Honestly, all the shove it down your fines, I feel like are probably just what boiled up and like broken my health at some point too, where it's just like, eventually you're going to have to address it. Your body is going to force you to address it. You look around your relationships are going to force you to address it. Like you're going to hit a point in life where not letting yourself heal and grieve and experience things, it's going to come to you. It's going to hit you.

You know, it's like maybe you find it in your relationship and the cracks that were caused by like the pain you never healed from. But I've definitely been on my healing journey. and it's been, it's been wild and it's been difficult, but it has been so worth it. And now, you know, I see myself start to fall into old patterns where I don't want to let myself cry or I just want to shove it down. And I'm like, no, like we're going to, we're going to fight through this because I know it's going to be worth it in the end. Yeah. You know, and especially now as we're getting to that age, we're like, we're getting pregnant or thinking about, well, I'm not, but people are getting pregnant around you and you're getting excited and ready to have kids.

It's like, if anything, I'm like finding the motivation and maybe wanting to do it for them first, but I'm also trying to work on thinking I want to do it for me too. Yeah. No, that's been like, I think the coolest thing that's come with this pregnancy is I'm not one that's very like confrontational and I don't really bring up my feelings. But I've been like so honest with Taylor about everything of like how I'm feeling or just literally any thought that comes into my head. I like have voice to him. And it's been really cool because I don't normally do that. I need some like,

I really need to like a little bit worse. So yes to get it out. But I told my therapist at the end of last year, I was like, I really like want to get over whatever this mental block I have of not being able to like speak how I feel. Like I'll if it's weird because I feel like I can be like, I'm anxious. But if something like I can say that and I feel safe to do that. but it's just like in relationships or any form of like conflict. I'm like, no, like I'm not going to. I just like get scared and then don't say anything because I never, I didn't grow up in like a family that talked about conflict really. So it's very foreign to me.

And I was telling him, I was like, I don't, him as in my therapist. I was like, I don't, I want to get over whatever this is. He's like, it's a muscle. Like we'll work through that. Like you can, it's not, you're not like broken. You can't fix this. It's literally just a muscle that you're going to learn and you're going to do it a couple

times and then you're going to feel more confident to voice whatever and you're going to see that whatever, Taylor's not going to yell at you and tell you whatever you're feeling is dumb. Like, he's actually going to do the opposite, which he has done. And so it's been really cool that I feel like this pregnancy is just like put like kind of fire under my web. Also, I just like have pregnancy hormones and just I'm more willing to say things. But I think it's kind of like the push I needed to like say things. I love that so much. No, I've been going through the exact. same thing. And it's crazy because I feel like the conversations I've been scared to have and the times I've been scared to like talk to a friend about something hard or vulnerable or confrontational,

which is, you know, it's like I feel like I used to have to get basically pushed off a cliff to confront something. Like I had to get so pushed past my limit to where then I was confronting out of anger, not from a good place anymore. And like I want to feel to address it sooner. But the times where like I've been able to do that and practice that in the last year, A, it's never been, scary as I thought it was going to be. Like the situation never goes as bad as like your worst fear. And then B, I end up being closer to the person afterwards. Yeah. It's funny how that happens. It is. Why can't we just do it in the first place? That little devil on your shoulder is so wrong. You just need to muzzle it. Yeah. Some duct tape over it. Yeah. Flick them off. I love that.

We can't touch on like you being in this busy season. What do you have like, what are signs that your body gives you when it's like, hey, like you got to you got to slow down. and chill out a little bit. Well, with autoimmune, definitely, it's, it's pretty apparent. And I think that is, dare I say, because I'm trying, I'm trying to come to some peace with it, dare I say, the gift of autoimmune is you can't go as long without checking in with yourself as you know, as I normally could. Got it. You know, it's not like months could go by until I really notice something. It's pretty immediate. it's, you know, rashes, pain, extreme fatigue, like blurred vision. It's the flare-ups that, like, just come out of nowhere. And it's crazy because it could be something as simple as, like, me eating something

or me not getting enough sleep or me being even too stressed. Yeah. Like just a recent trip we had, it was a 48-hour trip. Next morning I'm going to urgent care, you know? So autoimmune, like the gift of it has been. It has forced me to check in with myself more, to be more intentional and aware about every choice I'm making, including with like suppressing my emotions. Yeah. Okay, I have to talk about packing for a second because I feel like it is genuinely one

of the most stressful parts about a trip and nobody talks about it enough. Like you spent all this time being excited about where you're going and then you open your suitcase and suddenly you're in this spiral of do I have the right shoes, do I have enough shoes? Did I pack shoes that are going to work for every single thing that I want to do? And the answer is almost always no. And I feel like for the longest time I was packing the same way, trying to fit in a pair of sneakers, a pair of sandals, something a little nicer if we go out. And by the time I've done, I've used half my suitcase on shoes alone.

So a while back, I started just defaulting to crock shoes as my travel shoe. and honestly, it has changed everything for me. If you have been following me, you know how obsessed I am with my crocs. I have been talking about them for years. They are my favorite shoe because crocs are just so comfortable. You can wear them all day and forget you're even wearing shoes. I've done full days of walking around cities in them, hours of sightseeing, dragging luggage through cobblestone streets, you name it, and I have been there. And by the end of the day, my feet don't hurt.

And one of my favorite parts about Crocs is the convenience piece is huge too. If you're going somewhere, just slip them on and go. You can grab them on your way out the door and you never have to sacrifice convenience for style. I feel like the whole debate used to be that you could either have a comfortable shoe or a cute shoe, but it wasn't both of them. You had to pick one. And Crox shoes have kind of just dissolved that whole argument because for me, I don't have to choose anymore. I feel like people sometimes have this outdated idea of what crox shoes look like, and I get it, but the new options are genuinely so good.

Speaking of style, crock's shoes come in so many fun silhouettes. Some are more elevated like the classic crafted clogs, which are made with 100% soft washed canvas upper. I have a pair of those, and they look so much more polished than you'd expect. And then for the dressier moments, if you like to keep it simple but enjoy little embellishments, The classic buckle clog is a great option. It comes with a cute buckle on the heel strap that adds a touch of elegance to a classic shoe. Plus, you can wear on the back or the front of the shoe with the pivoting heel strap. And then there's a gibbet situation, which is genuinely one of the most fun things about crock's shoes.

I love it so much. There's even a gibbets charm for anyone and everyone. Make your pair uniquely yours with endless combinations of charms. I've been putting charms on my shoes for years and years and years and it's so fun to customize and really personalized shoes. Mine here, I just did like cute little flowers for summer, just a little colorful, something simple just to throw on to add a little color, a little sparkle, but you can really make it whatever you want. I remember for my best friend when we graduated nursing school, I got us matching crocs and I put all of these cute little like nurse and health care

gibbets on there and put our names and like little steth. scopes. So there's just really fun things you can do for Crocs, whether you're traveling or you're gifting them for someone, you can really just make them personalized. They're the perfect lightweight shoe to throw in your bag regardless of where you go and you can easily bring them along. As for the airport, everyone knows Crocs shoes are the best shoes for the airport. Easy on and off for quick security check. Plus having a shoe that's comfortable and cute is the best to travel in. I've watched so many people struggle to untie their shoes, get shoes on and off in the house. hassle and the struggle and I travel in my crocs all of the time and it's so easy to just kick

them off and I just slide them back on again once I'm through security. It makes traveling truly so, so, so much easier. You can visit crox.com or store near you to find your perfect pair of crox shoes. Okay, so I have a question for you. How are my shady rays basically the same quality as the $200 sunglasses I used to buy? And I'm genuinely not exaggerating. They feel every bit as premium as the expensive brands I've owned before, but the difference is I'm just not stressing about them anymore. I wear these to the lake, on the boat, at games, basically anywhere. And honestly, my mindset has become whatever happens happens. If I drop them in the water, knock them off the dock, sit on them on day one. It doesn't even stress me out because they've got this whole lost and broken

protection thing where they'll just send you a new pair. And it's not like there's some cheap throwaway pair either. Polarized lenses that cut glare, super clear optics, durable frames with solid hinges, and the styles are clean and classic. Like they look sharp without trying too hard. I feel like that's exactly the vibe I want in my sunglasses. Something that looks put together, but I'm not babying the entire time I'm wearing them. Honestly, what's also nice is that you don't have to choose between style and function with these. I have a couple of different pairs now. One that's a more classic everyday frame and one that's a little sportier for when I know I'll be active. And both of them get worn into the ground because I actually trust them.

It's such a different feeling than constantly worrying about scratching a lens or bending a frame. I spent way too much money on. We've teamed up with Shadyrays to bring you an exclusive offer. Head to Shadyrays.com and use code squeeze for 40% off two or more polarized sunglasses. Try for yourself the shades rated five stars by over 300,000 people. Crocs have had such a moment and I honestly think it's because they figured out something most shoe brands haven't yet. That comfort and personality can actually live in the same shoe. You guys know how obsessed with my crocs I am.

I actually don't even know how many pairs I have. Like there's too many, probably 12. There's so many different occasions for my crocs and I am truly obsessed with them because the comfort is genuinely next level. Crocs shoes are so comfortable you can wear them all day and forget that you're even wearing shoes. You can just slip them on and go. You can grab them on your way out the door and never have to sacrifice convenience for style. I also love that there's genuinely a style for everyone. Crocs shoes come in so many fun silhouettes. Some are more elevated like the classic crafted clogs, which are made with 100% soft wash canvas upper. And if you like to keep it simple, but enjoy little embellishments, the classic buckle clog is a great option. It comes with a cute buckle on the heel strap that adds a touch of elegance to a classic shoe. And then, of course, we have to talk about the gibbets because there's a gibbet charm for anyone. Whether you're heading back to school, making memories with friends, or going about your everyday life, Crocs just fit into it all.

Visit crox.com or a store near you to find your perfect pair of classic clocks. You've touched on autoimmune. Where are you at with that? Like, what's kind of happened and how have you found answers or healing? Like, where are you at with that? Because you've been open about it on social. So, yeah, it's, it's, it's. It's definitely been a pretty, feels like the journey that's never ending. It feels like the goalposts, the goalpost that keeps getting moved. And it's definitely been, it's been really defeating. And I think I've had a lot of moments of like, this is my forever.

And I just want to sit in the suck. But I've also had moments where I'm like, I think I can do this. I think I can learn to live with this. I think I can, you know, it's like, I don't think there's going to be like a Lexi before she got sick. I think there's going to be a Lexi that got sick and learned how to live with it and how to inspire other people to live with it. And maybe I have to do things differently, but that doesn't mean I can't do them.

Yeah. And I think my fiance has been my biggest rock and partner in that is he's like, hey, it's not a big deal. Like we're just going to, we're going to make it fun. Like we're going to stay in an Airbnb instead of a hotel. And like we're going to meal prep your meals and we're going to figure it out. But like we're still going to show up. Like maybe we can't go to the concert as long as everyone else.

But like we could go for some of your favorite songs. And so learning to live with it and learning to be able to still have like a full fullness in life has really been like the biggest journey for me. But in terms of like actual health wise, like still so very much in the thick of it. I think a lot of people have seen. And I think that's my struggle too is I'm like still only really showing the positive side of thing. because it is so hard to show the negatives. But I think a lot of people probably think I'm doing better than I am because I show up and I smile and I don't love to always show my weakness.

But I think right now I'm just, I'm focusing on the healing journey more than ever. And it's becoming more apparent than ever to me that I need to fight for it and that it shouldn't come in like when I list my order of priorities and me and my health coming in like third, fourth, fifth place like that needs to change. And I think everything else is going to more positively change when I do focus more on myself. You know, it's like you put your airplane mask on first. How are you going to help anyone else if you can't breathe? Well, I wanted to ask you about only sharing the positives and feeling pressure to do that to only share the positives and be positive about it. Is that a pressure you put on yourself or do you feel external pressure to do that?

Both. I definitely get comments every single time. I talk about autoimmune or depression or anxiety every single time. There's going to be that one person that's like, oh, my God, we get it shut up already. Or like, oh, you're so negative. But really, it's the first video I've posted about it in months. Yeah. But you know what I realized is I think, and my therapist made me realize this is I think

that person's the person that needs to hear it the most. I think that person is the person that's actually in so much pain that they're not willing to ever think about sharing or connecting or being open and vulnerable about things. I think that person actually might be who needs to see that there's another way and that it's okay to be vulnerable. And honestly, I really have found and I'm still trying to like practice what I preach, but I do believe that there is so much more strength than showing your weaknesses than there is in showing your highlight real.

Yeah. And your best moments. That's so good. Yeah, I was going to ask you what, because obviously so much of your like early career and life was on social media that was like really like your main focus on what you were doing. How, where are you at with social media right now? Like do you enjoy it? Is it life giving?

Do you have strict boundaries with it? Like what does it look like for you right now? Oh, I'm still trying to figure it out. Like, and I'll always own that. I think I look back at social media and I realize that I have been so messy with my career. Like, no one would look at my career and be like, that's a great example of what you should do. But you know what? I love that.

Like, I'd so much rather be the girl that, like, messed up and changed and switched things around than the girl that just, like, was too afraid to, like, share anything real and made other people feel even more isolated because they're setting a gold stand. of something that no one feels they can live up to. I had someone tell me recently, they're like, you're not the girl that people follow if they want to be like, oh, that's the gorgeous, perfect, aesthetic girl that like I, like the cool girl I want to be friends with in high school. No, no, no. People follow you because they think you're the girl that they actually could be. I was like, damn, that hit. They're like, you're the, you're the girl that went through the depression, the suicidal ideation and came out the other end and is happy and created something out of it. fell in love and got married.

And I think that's so much more, so much more powerful in healing than me being some unattainable standard of something that I just am not. Yeah. I love that. I'm sure that's definitely taken some time to work through that online. But how do you protect your mental health still? while trying to show up online and on social media. I don't go on social media very much anymore, which I'll own it.

I know that's not good for business. That's fine. I've noticed each platform I kind of have like a time limit with. So like TikTok, I can maybe handle it once a week. TikTok's been the absolute worst for my mental health. Oh, wow. I think the like roller coaster of emotion that you go on, with the scrolling has just really messed with my head. And so I just know I'm like, okay,

TikTok will be fun sometimes, but I'm going to spend the least amount of time on that platform. YouTube has been one of the better for my mental health because you're picking like one video that you're sit down and watch and you feel like you're hanging out with a friend. You feel more connected. And then Instagram, I feel like I can go on pretty much every day and still feel pretty good and just kind of checking all my friends and stuff like that. But I think it's different for everyone. And I've just kind of learned how much time I can spend on things without me starting to feel really icky or really stressed or all this weird pressure to change myself and be better. And then I think just disconnecting and finding things in my

everyday life where I'm not craving my phone. I'm not thinking about my phone. I'm like, so good. Writing a wild animal. I can't possibly be thinking about like if Becky liked my post or not. Yeah. No, I, as of literally a couple weeks ago, I've become. obsessed with reading. Same. Like, I'm really mad at myself that I didn't pick this up earlier, but basically I watched off campus and then on prime and then all my girlfriends were like, you have to read the books now. So I've read the books. I literally read both the first, I've read, I've read two books of the series so far and I've read each of them. It took me like a day and a half to finish up. Like, I'm like so locked in. And it was really the first,

these past couple weekends, it's so funny because I, we were talking about four. just like the separation of work and personal life, there is none of that, especially being someone that, you know, is a founder and you, like, you're very similar to me. And I feel like, like, we have visions for these things. And like, it's just you want to always be involved. Because it's also like a passion project, but it is also work and you need that separation. And that's something I really struggle with. But these past couple weekends, I've been wanting to read because I won't have anything. And I haven't, this past weekend, I did. not opened my laptop and I actually cannot tell you the last time I did that. Like I actually

don't think I have ever done that. Like it was actually crazy. No, actually saying it out loud and me fully processing that is wild. Like no, literally Monday morning I was like, oh wow. Thank you. Thank you. No, it's crazy. But I'm so happy that I've now like found this thing. And when you were saying like it's you need like that break. I even needed it from like social media. Like I'm just my mental capacity is not there. And also just because I'm pregnant and I don't really. I have much of a mental capacity anymore. But it was so nice. No, I never thought of myself as a reader. I was always like a TV movie girl. Yeah. And I always had to have it on. Like I had an iPad. I'd walk around the house with it. When I was cleaning, I just needed background noise. And then I picked up a

Frida McFadden book like eight months ago. And I didn't set it down. I sat there for five hours, finished the book. And then I was like, I need more. I loved it so much. And I also credit reading to me actually sleeping now at night. Yes. We're moving the TV out of our room. We haven't turned it on in months and we have like, we can only read in bed. But there's, I don't understand what it is about reading a book. I could be even reading a thriller. And I'll just peacefully drift off to sleep in a few minutes. But if I'm watching just a comedy show, nothing even crazy. I'm just like wired and I can't fall asleep. Yeah. I love that. Reading is so healing. You take one thing away from this episode. Go get a book. Yeah, get a Kindle, get a book. I bought, I bought myself a Kindle for a Black

Friday last year. And I was like, I'm going to start reading. Like, I want to read. But my thing is, I never really read fiction. Like, I always was just like, you know, I've just, the first book I read on my Kindle was like the Matthew McConaughey's book, which is all just like autobiographies and like self-help books is what I normally read. And everyone's like, no, you need, you need to read a fiction book. Like, that's why you can't like get into reading. And now I'm like, I understand. Yeah, you dive into like a whole new world. It's so good. I love it. Um, I want to actually, get your opinion on this because I know that this is something that we've talked about and you've shared about online. But I feel like I want to know how you navigate people holding on to

older versions of you because I feel like that's something you've gotten like trapped in. Yeah. For some reason, I don't really know why and you've like really evolved into such a lovely human. But I feel like people still call out to a version of you that will. was like truly so long ago. How have you learned to like navigate that and kind of ignore it? Or what is what are your feelings towards that? It's funny because I think about this a lot recently, like how there's actors that are known for a role. And then people won't let them out of that box. There's singers that have a hit song and that's all people want to know them for in here. It's crazy to me the way the human brain just wants to assume things about people, stick them in a little

box forever. And it's okay for you to evolve as a person. You want to evolve, but you're like not letting someone else do it. Yeah. And I don't know if it's maybe like a shortcut in the brain just trying to like make things quicker and easier for you to understand a process. But it really is sad to me that we do this to people because it's so much more beautiful to watch an evolution. It's so much more fun to be curious. I think if we could all just get a lot more curious about things, we'd have a lot more joy in our lives. Yeah. You know, if someone cuts me off on the freeway, I could be angry about it. I could be like, hmm, I wonder if he's rushing to a hospital. Like, I wonder if he's rushing to, like, get a really exciting gig. Maybe he's going somewhere cool. I think maybe one of the

secrets to marriage is never stop being curious about your partner. But I think if we could just get a lot more curious about people, it would make us feel a whole lot better. And we would feel a bigger part of this incredible journey and evolution that people are able to go on. Yeah, I love that. That's such a good answer. And I feel like wedding planning taught me that the most. Like I've always been someone that doesn't really like, I don't get annoyed easily. Like I'm just like, if people do something, I'm like, whatever. Like I just brush things off so easily. But wedding planning really showed me how much, and this sounds so dumb, but everyone is living their own lives. Like, everyone truly has something going on like all at once. And when you're trying to plan all

these people coming together. I just remember so many people were like, oh, I have this. I'm going to try to do this. And like people were just telling me like what they have going on. And I was like, this is like I never really processed that fully before. Like I knew that obviously. But now after walking through that and having like now just going through life, I'm like, oh, like everyone actually has something going on and that same thing. And like if someone cuts you off or if, you know, someone's grumpy in the grocery store, like whatever it is. Like I'm like, oh, like, they actually could be having a really bad day. Like how,

you know, how, how do I act when I'm having a bad day when I'm out? So that's, that's something that I feel like the whole wedding thing taught me was that. And I think it's, it's really important to carry that throughout life. But also it helps you not hold on to like the anger or annoyances are being upset.

Because there's just like there's, I feel like there truly is so much. It does so much to our bodies that we don't realize when we hold on to anger. and when we hold on to those little things. I know I even started thinking of it recently. I had this like epiphany. I was getting ready. One morning brushing my teeth.

I was like, I don't want to live my life for other people. I got to live it for me. I got one shot. Yeah. You know, and whatever you believe happens afterwards. But on this planet,

in this body, in this moment, this life, you got one. Yeah. And like we're so grateful to have it. We don't know when it can end. Crazy things happen.

Accidents happen every year. day. You never think it's going to happen to you until it does. But if I'm like, oh, well, this person doesn't like that I'm talking about this now or this person thinks I'm talking too much about this, I'm like ripping, I really genuinely feel like I'm ripping my soul apart to try to make other people happy and I'm never going to make them happy because they got to find their happiness in themselves. But I need to have, I need to stay true to myself, authentic to myself, figure out what makes me feel good and feel fulfilled. And that is the only way forward. Yeah, I love that. That's so good. I feel like one of the things that's kept me from sticking with a workout routine

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Use code Tay for 20% off. That's OGEE.com slash Tay and enter code Tay to get 20% off. So I had kind of a realization the other day, standing in the drink aisle, just staring at all these different sparkling waters. that they all basically look the same and promised the same thing, but they really aren't the same at all. And honestly, that's when I remembered why I keep coming back to Spin Drift. Spendrift is the only sparkling water in America made with real squeezed fruit. And once you know that, you can't unknow it when you taste the others. I have been loving their nohito lately, which is their lime and mint flavor, and it tastes so much like an actual mojito, minus the alcohol,

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me at all. It also has this clean and minimal look like I could have walked straight from a Pilate studio to run errands afterwards and felt totally put together, not just like I rolled out of a workout class. The fabric is the only other thing. It's made with Nulu, which is Lulu Lemon's buttery soft performance fabric, and it really does feel barely there. Like the second half of class when things were getting more intense, I genuinely forgot I was wearing anything that wasn't just my own skin. It moves with you instead of fighting against you, and it's cropped. So for Pilates specifically, where there's a lot of core work, you're moving around through different positions on the mat. It never bunched up or felt weird. It just stayed put. What stood out to me, though,

was just how supported I feel without feeling tight or restrictive. There's a built-in shelf bra so I didn't have to think about layering anything else underneath. I could just throw it on and go straight into my day. It becomes one of those pieces I keep reaching for because it just makes getting dressed for the day so easy. I wear lululemon and you should too. Go to lululemon.com right now. Styles drop all the time and the colors go fast so don't wait. It is something doesn't work for you, free returns always. That's lululemon.com. Lululemon.com. Okay, I want to talk about these little fuzzy friends that we have. The fuzzy friends in our lap. I love them so much. I have so, I actually think I have six of these and it's not enough. Like every time you release one, I'm like, Taylor,

You don't need another one. Like truly, but I do need them all. Like they're just, they're so cute, but also they're like so effective. Like it's actually one of my favorite things to tell people about like when they're like looking for something. Like a little self-care mental health tool. I love them. They're so cute. But I want to get into kind of like where the inspiration came from to start hugs.

I know we've obviously like touched on your mental health. And I know that you walked through something a little over 10 years ago that kind of reshaped your brain and how you think about things if you want to share. Yeah. In the midst of panic attacks being sometimes three, four times a day, I was looking for something to hold on to. And a friend had gotten me a weighted blanket. And I was, you know, at the time, I was in so much pain. I was so skeptical.

It was like, how the heck is blank it's supposed to help me? But it actually worked. And it actually did really calm me down. So it was like, okay, why does this work? And why isn't there something like more cute, portable best friend version of it? And it dove into the research and how it's actually scientific. It's not placebo effect that deep pressure does stimulate your parismpathetic nervous system. It can promote serotonin and dopamine production, melatonin production.

There's so many incredible benefits of something as cute and fuzzy. as a little friend. So I texted a couple of my good friends about it that had experience in business. And I was like, is this a crazy idea? Am I the only one that wants something like this? And they were like, you know, and they're five year old with me men. They're like, no, I want something like that. Yeah. So I think some of the best things always, you know, whether it be business ideas, music ideas, video ideas, I think some of the best things come out of something that you need that oftentimes you don't realize how many other people need it too. So yeah, now we have these little, we found like, tried to find like a Goldilocks weight. So they're four pounds. They're much heavier than most

weighted stuffed animals. They're filled with a non-toxic glass beads so that you can heat them, you can cool them, just trying to get as many therapeutic benefits from them as possible. But yeah, and then we're really lucky that we've been able to support a lot of charities. I was at the charity that we partner with their campus all day yesterday in Las Vegas and learning all the incredible tools they're teaching kids that took me to my 30s and tens of thousands of dollars in therapy to learn. I love that.

That's so special. It's so cool to like watch because I think, I think when you came on, did you just, you just started it? Yeah. Okay. It's three. It's literally so crazy.

And I feel like obviously just kind of like seeing everything online and following the high. hugs account. I feel like there is just a new little friend all the time. And I get so excited when there's a new one because it's just like, it's so cool to see something that I know you love so deeply and something that I enjoy so deeply. Like just grow and thrive. And I think it's making a lot of people check in with their mental health. Like, you know, it's just like, it's something that's cute. And people like want to buy it because it's cute and it's a weighted animal. But it actually like ends up helping them more than they realize. I think so. I mean,

I was looking into the research behind this too because I was like, what is it about this little guy that I feel such an emotional attachment to? Like, am I going crazy? You know, but no, there is, there really is science behind like the emotional attachment you do form with things. And it's a safety thing. And just having, I love hearing stories of people that are like, oh, I have, you know, my wrecks that I take with me every time I travel. And it's just, it's like a little sidekick you have with you, a little tool in your toolkit. But I love watching like grown men. And, you know, walk around with their hugs and like pat their butt like a little baby and I love watching like kids love on them and just every single person tell me stories when we do in person events those are

always my favorite and when they tell me stories about ways that it's helped them or use cases I never would have thought of yeah it's been it's been a really incredible journey yeah it's been fun getting to like partner and do things together and at um our lemon summit last year I had I actually couldn't tell you how many people came out to me and they were like, I got four hugs. Like so many people were leaving with multiple of them and they were like, I'm so excited. I've never seen this before. And like it was just so cool. It was so cool to see like the in person thing. I think there's so much true to that. I love doing like in person stuff. But it was really cool to like get to see people's reactions and how like excited they were. I know. It's my favorite part. Yeah. I bet. We're like growing

the family so much now too. And like, you know, yeah. They all have like little names and backstories and there's like these little characters. And it's just so fun too. I feel like I'm like healing my inner child, just like designing stuffed animals in my bedroom. Truly. No, truly. I was going to ask, have you since being a founder and being someone that doesn't come from like a business background? Have you struggled with imposter syndrome at all throughout this? Of course. I mean, I struggle with it in so many aspects of life. And I think the best thing I've done for myself as partner with people that care about the mission of hugs and care about me as a

person. Yeah. And, you know, there's mixed reviews on whether or not you should go into business with your friends. But I think with the right people, it can be magical and have a family support system. And, you know, when I'm feeling down or not feeling smart enough or good enough or whatever, the little devil on my shoulder is telling me that day, I lean on people that remind me that I am enough. And I might not have a business degree. It might be a college dropout. But maybe that's also what makes me so special. Yeah. You know, maybe some of my ideas are coming from just a really authentic inner child place instead of a book. So I think everyone has so much value to add in their own way. And I really wish people were less afraid of adding their value. And we stop letting people

tell us what our limitations are. And we really just step into our own take a leap off the cliff. you can build the parachute on the way down, the famous entrepreneurial saying. Yeah. And yeah, if you ever need someone to remind you, you know, lean on someone or I'll tell you. Yeah. Listen to this podcast. Yeah. Or enough.

You can do it. That's so good. I want to know what, just because I'm curious, like what's being a business founder, what's been like the hardest part behind the scenes and what's been the most rewarding thing for you? I think the hardest part is just the responsibility that, I care so much about this and I care so much about people's experience. And so, you know, if like one out of a thousand orders has something wrong with their order, like I take that personally. And it sucks and it hurts. And, you know, if someone didn't have a good experience,

how can I improve? How can I make sure that never happens again? And having to learn, which is also shadows into life, but having to learn that I don't have control over everything, You know, as it grows, like hugs was started out as just this like passion project that we were all just really excited about and we're like, oh, we'll just like do a few hours a week. Like it's so fun. We love it. And there's such a demand for it. That now it's like, oh, all of us are actually like me and my co-founders are stepping away from our other full-time jobs to put more love and energy and time into hugs now. So, you know, as this demand has grown, as hugs has grown, we've grown more into the business. And so I think we just take such a huge response. with what we're doing. But also that's the most rewarding part is that you are impacting people and love those in-person events. I love the pop-ups we get to do. We're trying to do more of them. So fun. Meeting people, hugging people in person, hearing their story, connecting with them, seeing them. I love like seeing what animal each person connects with. It's like my favorite part. Oh my gosh. Just the one they're like drawn to. And yeah, just like learning how we can continue to

improve for other people and be there in some of their worst moments and some of their best moments. The fact that we get to be a part of a journey, their journey is such a huge honor to me. I love that. Do you have a favorite one right now? I have like favorite ones for favorite things. Okay. So like when I'm sleeping at night, the mantaray, I lay it on like my lower abdomen and then I pull out my Kindle and I have my cup of tea and every single night, full proof plan. I've never slept better.

And then to travel, the mini dino is coming out any week now. But the mini dino, there's something about his little face. He's like my best travel companion and very bonded to him. And then when I'm working, I love this fuzzy little green guy. Yeah. It's so fun. I need to get the manoray. I have it.

I technically have it, but I got it in New York. And it needs to be shipped to me. That's why I like this turtle because I think it's like kind of the same thing. And he's just like a little smaller. I always like, well, just like lay him on my chest or like on my belly. I love him. You're kind of hard to maneuver around this mic in my laptop though, but you're comfy right there. No, I love that. And I'm just, I'm so excited for you. And it's so fun to watch you. You and hugs just grow. And I think I love to like when just someone genuinely loves like what they're doing and loves their brand and is so passionate about it. It's really. It's really special. And I think that resonates with a lot of people, too. It's so great.

I love it. I'm so excited for you. Okay. Last question I have for you is in this season of life, I actually wonder if I asked you this when you were here. But I'd love to know what you're most proud of yourself for. Ooh. I love this question. Because it's something I'm trying to think about more.

be as I be kinder to myself and like go on this journey of learning self-love but I think it would be easy to say that I'm most proud of hugs but I think I'm also most proud of the fact that people have come up to me and said that my videos and my vulnerability have helped them learn to love themselves yeah that's true I love it and I adore you and it's it's really cool to I mean I said it when we started this, but it's been cool. I feel like you're, I feel like you're, you are one of the most consistent people that I've had in my life at my events and us just obviously having the same passions and having like similar jobs. Like it's just really cool. Like I just had like a little like flashback moment to our first gala for the foundation.

And like I, Taylor and I remember driving home and we were like Lexie and Justice donated way too much money. Like you guys were just like raising your paddles the whole time. Like you're just You are so, and anytime we do something with hugs, like, you're always, like, so giving and you're so, like, you just are so gracious. And it's really cool to see someone like you who is so giving, genuinely thrive. And I'm Mr. Craig. But no, I just, I, it's just really cool. And I love that people are getting to, like, just find, like, really see, like, you can, it's so cool to see the brand. Like, you know, it takes a couple of years to, like, get things going. But, like, I just feel like it's really taking off. And I'm so excited for people to like get their hugs. You should order one and then

watch this episode back. I'm going to leave a link down below so you guys can so go with them. But thanks for, thanks for coming and chatting. I adore you. So fun. Can't wait for you to be a little wiky. I'm so proud of you. Can't wait for you to be a mommy. We're going to go cry now actually. Yeah. Okay. Goodbye everyone. It's good. I love that. Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.