The Squeeze - Morgan Riddle: Pockets of Peace

Episode Date: March 12, 2025

Tay is back for another girl-talk episode, this time joined by Morgan Riddle—social media star and girlfriend of tennis player Taylor Fritz! Morgan opens up about her journey with anxiety and depression, her first introduction to mental health, and the impact of losing her grandmother to suicide. She shares what it was like growing up with a single mom, how her anxiety first showed up, and the tools that help her navigate it today—including therapy, working with a life coach, and her go-to strategies like a “Worry List” and biting into a lemon. Morgan also gets candid about life on the tennis tour, adjusting to traveling nearly year-round, and how she and Taylor make time for their relationship. Plus, she addresses the criticism she faces from older tennis fans, the wildest things said about her, and the biggest misconceptions people have.Be sure to follow Morgan https://instagram.com/moorrgs/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 Instagram:The Squeeze: https://instagram.com/thesqueeze/Tay Lautner: https://instagram.com/taylautner/Taylor Lautner: https://instagram.com/taylorlautner/& TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@thesqueezepodcastTo learn more from The Lemons Foundation, follow https://instagram.com/lemonsbytay/ and visit lemonsbytay.comEpisode Sponsors:Go to Cymbiotika.com/SQUEEZE for 20% off your order + free shipping today.From gathering inspo and scoring expert advice to finding your wedding venue and figuring out your budget, The Knot connects you to all the people, places and tools you need. Visit theknot.com/audio to start planning your wedding today.Head to ThriveMarket.com/squeeze to get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift! OpenPhone is offering my listeners 20% off your first 6 months at OpenPhone.com/squeeze Visit premierprotein.com and go to Where to Buy to find a retailer near you or find where to buy onlinePut your water to work with Gatorade Hydration BoosterProduced by Dear MediaSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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The following podcast is A Dear Media Production Am I the villain? Yeah I had swiped him on Raya. He had, like, one photo of him actually playing tennis. Oh, cute.

He played, like, college tennis. Like, I didn't understand of, like, the professional tennis tour. When we first met, he had thumb-tacked Team USA in his living room. But he told me that he did that because he wanted to, like, impress me. And I'm like, I didn't even know what you were talking about. I definitely got a lot of backlash, both from, like, within the tennis community and the fans. I'm calling attention to myself. People just expected.

We need to, like, sit in the box, be relatively private, like, not capitalized on my partner's career. Came in guns blazing. I was like, well, that. People make up insane things. It's just the same, like, misogynist, regurgitated bullshit again and again. And I'm like, oh, like, get more creative. Like, come on, let's go. Sometimes I'm able to really use it as motivation, too, where I'm like, the spite in me is going to push me to do this even more because you're so mad about it.

When life gives you lemons, what do you do with them? Over here at the squeeze, we talk about it. Morgan, welcome to the squeeze. Thank you. Thanks for having me. I'm very excited because we have something very similar in common. We both love men that are named Taylor. Oh, oh my gosh.

I literally did not even put that together. Is that funny? Yeah, I love that. I know. I do love Taylor's. Yeah, apparently. We love them. We love a good Taylor.

Okay, so we start each episode off with this jar. It's a little game called Citrus Got Real. If you want to pull a little paper out of there, do what's a little dinglingling. I used to wear headphones and you can like hear the ASMR gem roll. Oh, God. Oh, this is a hard one. Okay. If you were a board game, which one would you be and why?

Oh. This is hard for me because I'm not like, what would you say? I don't know. My gut reaction was to say sorry because I'm like the type of person that says sorry, like way too much. Like what has all like, yeah, he'll be like, stop saying sorry. Like, it's fine. Like, everything's fine. Like, everything's fine. Like, okay, I'm sorry. I'm saying sorry. So sorry, it would probably be. Are you into board game? That's a hard question for me because when someone tries to explain a board game to me, I literally lose every brain cell. And I have no idea what's happening. And like they start speaking simish. So Monopoly's not for you. No, I don't think I, I, I think I played Uno. I played Mancala. Yes. Oh, you know what, the game of life. Oh. I play. that at my late cabin when I was growing up. That's a good. In Minnesota.

So I'm excited to kind of just dive into your background because you haven't really opened up about some stuff in your past before. I know you've been open on social media with your mental health struggles, but you've never really like dove into what has made you you. So I'd love to kind of learn more about like what makes you you behind all of the glitz and the glam. and cute outfits and all of that stuff. But I guess I'd love to start with kind of growing up, what was your first introduction in mental health? I would say my very first was my grandma actually had schizophrenia. Okay.

So, you know, very much a familial, like, was introduced from it very early on. She ended up taking her life, like, when my mom was in college or had just, like, finished college and just before she got pregnant with me. So I never actually got to meet that grandma. But, you know, I was told about it as I got older and stuff. And then I think my first, like, personal experience with mental health anxiety was in high school. I was like a very troublesome kid, which I think I have talked about before on my platforms. But I had like a really bad GPA in college or in high school. And then when I was thinking about getting into college, I started having so much anxiety because I was like, oh my gosh, I'm not going to be able to get into college. I'm not

going to be able to afford college. I knew I wanted, I'm from the Midwest. Yeah. And I knew I wanted to get out of the Midwest. Like I was like, this is not the place for me. I watched Ugly Betty. Okay. I know, I feel like everyone for the Midwest who goes to New York has, you know, it's either sex in the city or gossip girl. Like they have some sort of movie or TV that really draws them to New York. Mine was ugly Betty. I was obsessed with it. Oh, I wanted to go to New York. I wanted to work for a magazine. I wanted to be a journalist, like that sort thing. But the reality in high school was like you're not going to end up in New York because you don't have the grades to get into a school in New York. And for two years, that just destroyed me.

It was so stressful. I did end up going to college in New York and like getting in and everything. But the pressure of that was so much and I started seeing a therapist like around that time. Okay. Where in the Midwest are you from? I'm from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Taylor's from Michigan. So I always have to, I always have to ask. Midwest. We love it. We love a good Midwest. Midwest. West boys are the best. Sorry to, I mean, my boyfriend's never going to listen to this, but I always tell my girlfriends were single and like, just go to Wisconsin for like a year. Yeah. I promise you'll find someone good. That's actually really good advice. I should tell my single friends

do that because they're always like, what do I do? That's some good advice. They all look like a little bit lumberjacky. Yeah. And they've got beards and they're like family. I mean, of course, there's terrible men everywhere. But for the most part, most of the guys that I know from Midwest are like great people. So, yeah. Um, you. Um, Did your mom have any mental health struggles? No. Or was it her mom? It was her mom. Yeah, it was my mom's mom.

And, you know, I've actually talked to friends about this before because I have a great relationship with my mom. Like, she is the best person that I know. But I have a lot of girlfriends who have like very difficult relationships with their moms because their moms were emotional or reactive or had substance issues or And we talked about sort of like what gets passed down to you from your parents and that sort of thing. And like, and I've said it can go two different directions where they sort of bring that trauma and like generational abuse with them or they go to the complete opposite end. And my mom went to the complete opposite end.

Like I think her mom because of her mental health issues was, you know, very emotional. And it was it's hard to grow up in a household with a. parent who has mental health issues. But my mom just didn't carry that with her. Like in my entire life, she's never raised her voice at me once. And she's painfully optimistic, like, almost to a fault, super generous. And yeah, didn't have any sort of issues like that. And so I think another reason, too, when I was like 16 years old and I started having anxiety attacks and panic attacks, because she had seen that in her mother. Yeah.

She got me into therapy right away, like, took it super seriously, which I'm very grateful for. Did she notice you were struggling, or was it something that you were feeling and spoke up about? I think the first time that she sort of, like, noticed it really bad and was like, all right, we're getting you into therapy. We were at actually a Broadway show in New York on a college visit. Oh, wow. And we're sitting watching a Broadway performance of Mama Mia, which is, like, my favorite movie ever. And I can't remember what musical number it was during, but there's something weird about like theatrical performances that I love going to see them, but sometimes

I get really bad anxiety during them for no reason. I've never been able to figure out why that is. Maybe it's from like this instance, but in the middle of a musical number, all of a sudden, it just felt like I had this like wave of like dread come over me. I think because we'd been looking at colleges that day, I was so stressed about it. I was feeling so much pressure. But I had like a full panic attack in the middle of the audience during Mama Mia and had to like run out of the theater. And yeah, that's when she was like, okay, something's going on with you. Like let's get you into therapy. And then I started going to weekly therapy, which helped a lot. I'm very grateful that she took it seriously because I know a lot of, you know, parents who maybe don't understand anxiety or don't understand mental health issues, maybe aren't as quick to get their kids into seeing help. But I'm grateful that she did because I don't know. know where I would be at right now if she didn't. That's amazing. Do you still have that thing if you see a Broadway show or something? Sometimes I do. It's so strange. It's like I grew up with musical theater. Like I did musical theater growing up. I love theater and theatrical performances.

And like I'm listening to like the wicked soundtrack on the way over here. But yeah, there's been like a couple times where I've gotten to see plays or operas or something. And I get sort of like, I don't know if it's PTSD from that show. But I'm just, I don't know if it's PTSD from that show. I get like really bad anxiety watching them. It's so strange. How long were you in therapy for? Well, I've been on and off in therapy since I was like 16. So in high school, I stayed in those two years. And interestingly enough, like when I went to college, my entire experience in college, it was almost like all of that had sort of disappeared. And I think part of that was I was super busy in college. I was in my dream city. I lived. in like a sorority. We can have houses in New York because it's like this archaic law that they're considered brothels. We had like a floor in a building that was my sorority.

Wait, what is that? There's, um, Michigan actually has the same law, but you can't have, like, fraternity or sorority houses in the state of New York because of this super old law about like a bunch of genders living in some sort of commune or something is illegal there. which sorority falls under that umbrella. So, but I, I lived on this floor with like a bunch of girls. I had a really strong sense of community. I felt like I really had a purpose. I loved my studies. Like, so the entire time that I was in college, I had no mental health.

Like anxiety didn't exist to me. Yeah. Which is so strange. And then shortly after I graduated, I was having a great time working at a corporate job in Minneapolis, Minnesota. and then the pandemic hit. And then everything. It was like I'd reverted back to sort of my high school self and just in terms of anxiety, which I think was super normal.

Like I went from, you know, having a strong sense of purpose and community to isolation, terror. Like it was just, it was a hard transition. So then I got back into therapy pretty much like, I would say maybe six months after the pandemic started and have mostly been in it. Since. Did you go back to that same therapist? I didn't. I couldn't remember her name. It was like five or six years later. Oh, wow. She was great, but also was based in Minnesota. So I had to find, I moved out to L.A. Okay. In March of 2020, like, the worst time ever to move here. And so I had to find, like, an online therapist based in California.

Yeah. And I think I had, I think I had two or three different ones in like 2021, 2020. And then. then I've been with the same one for the past year. And he's actually kind of more of a life coach than a therapist. I think because I'd done therapy for so long, like, I know it can be really, really helpful to have someone who's more of, I think a lot of therapy is active listening. Yeah. But I was at the point where, like, I'd talked through my issues. I'd gone through my trauma. Like, I just needed sort of, I wanted someone who was more sort of non-biased. Yeah. who I could be really, really open with, who would not just be an active listener, but also give me business advice and relationship advice. And I could figure out, like, this person just sent

this to me, like, what should I say? Yeah. Like, I wanted that. And I found that. And it's been great, kind of like a mix between therapists and life coach. But yeah, that's sort of what's working best for me right now. Because with my travel and schedule and everything, it's just I couldn't do what I was spending when I was in therapy in that sort of system, I had to cancel so many appointments, like last minute, was getting charged, whatever. So I have on retainer that basically anytime, like if there's a week where I need to talk to him four times, like we'll have four sessions. If, you know, there's two weeks where I'm like, yeah, I'm busy. I'm doing good. Then, you know, we'll have like a little check-in or something. But it's kind of on a week-by-week basis.

But, you know, sometimes I'll be like, I got this. offer for this brand deal, but there's something about it that just like doesn't feel right in my guide, that sort of thing. And then he'll kind of talk me through that. So it's like deep stuff, but it's also like, I need some business advice, which is, it's nice to have that. Is that how with a life coach, because I've, I mean, I haven't worked with a life coach for, is that what they tend to, is it just more like overview of everything instead of just like therapy, like mental health problem? Yeah. And I think it all sort of ties back to each other. Because like, let's say, for example, I take this brand deal for a company that I don't really like and I film this video and I put a

representation of myself very publicly that I don't feel good about. Like, that comes back to you in terms of mental health. You know, like everything is connected. If I'm, you know, promoting these things that I don't believe in, that sort of takes like a sense of my self-value and like the respect that I have for myself away because I'm doing this thing for money that I don't actually believe in. You know, it all sort of like ties back to each other. So that's what him and I talk a lot about is, like, everything will come back to like my, my sense of like self and sense of self-worth. So even the little things like that are worth talking about if it's, you know, sitting on my conscience. Yeah. Is self-worth something that you struggle with or is that just a topic of

overall arching just like you and just. No, I wouldn't say I struggle with it. I mean, there's definitely moments where I'm hard on myself, for sure. But I think that's just sort of the nature of being on the internet. Like, it's easy to be really hard on yourself about things. Yeah, for sure. When did you start doing content? I think full time like two years ago. Okay. So relatively new. Like I, after I graduated school, I worked in corporate. And then kind of just. started like posting when I was traveling with Taylor a bit. And I think I was posting for maybe like six months to a year before I even really made money off of it. So, okay, it is March. And I know for some of us, we have kind of just forgotten what is on our 2025 resolution and vision board goals for the year. But hopefully you are still somewhat dreaming about your wellness routines and just how to better yourself in this year. I've talked a lot about how in 2025 I really am wanting to focus on bettering myself from the inside out and really just focusing on energy,

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We met in 2020, not long after I moved to L.A. Okay. On Raya because there was no other way to meet people during COVID. Yeah. Now, I'm all for a good, I mean, I didn't use them because I've been together for, way too long and I probably wasn't even of age to use one, but all my single friends, I'm like, like, how else are you going to like everyone's so busy? Even like now, like life is back to normal, but. Yeah. Oh, I have so many girlfriends who have met their husbands, fiance, his boyfriends on Raya,

hinge, bumble, whatever. I feel like there's like this new wave of like normalcy to it as well. Because I know some people who like were married probably like five, seven years ago. and they like wouldn't tell people that they met like online. Yeah. And like now it's like such like a normal thing. Yeah. I've always been open about it because I'm like someone someone will find out eventually. Yeah. So then you guys started dating then. What? Did you know who he was? Did you watch tennis? Um, no. I didn't know anything about tennis. I remember when I had swiped him on Raya. He had like one photo of him actually playing tennis. And I remember when I saw it, go, oh, cute. He. played like college tennis. Like I didn't understand. I don't even think I really like understood. I mean, I knew like Serena Williams and Roger Federer, but the actual concept of like the professional tennis tour, I just, I knew nothing about. I grew up in Minnesota. Nobody cared or played about tennis in Minnesota. You know, I was very much ice hockey and that was about it. Yeah. And I mean, he wasn't at the like level that he's at. I think he was ranked around like 40 or something.

definitely wasn't, you know, where he is at now. And he's told me, I remember the first time that I went to hang out with him at his house, when we first met, he had thumb-tacked a, like a Team USA shirt onto one of his walls in his living room, which I didn't even register, but he told me that he did that because he wanted to, like, impress me. And I'm like, I didn't even know what you were talking about. Oh my gosh. But yeah, no, definitely was not super aware of him and his career. And it took me a long time to even understand it because they weren't playing when we first met.

They were on pause because of COVID. So, yeah. When did he start playing again? I think it was that September 2020. The first tournament, I believe, was in Rome. Okay. Yeah. When did you start traveling with him?

That tournament. Oh, wow. Yeah. And you've just been doing it ever since. Pretty much. because it was still basically like walk down here. I was like, okay, either I sit by myself in an apartment in L.A. or I sit in a hotel in Paris.

Kind of rather sit in a hotel in Paris. So you're not wrong. And I was working remote, so I could kind of do whatever. Okay. So you, okay. Yeah. When did you quit that job? I quit that.

I'm trying to remember. It was either two or three years ago at Australian Open. Okay. And that was the same week that I started posting my like first videos that kind of blew up. Yeah. It just, it was time. Yeah. Yeah.

And I just wanted to have fun. It was when like get ready with me videos were just like they weren't where they're at now on TikTok. It was like people had just started posting like, get ready with me for lunch. You know, that sort of thing. Yeah. And I was like, oh, that's kind of cute. And so I did like get ready with me for a tennis match. And it was, yeah, it was that same week that I sent in my resignation.

So it just kind of happened to like work out. And the video started popping off immediately. It wasn't like a slow build by any means. Yeah, I love that. I just went into it. Was it an adjustment for you having to like travel as much as you guys do? Or did it just kind of feel like natural? Yeah. I mean, like I said, I was so just itching to do something because it had been months of being the pandemic. So I was like, let's get out of the US. Like thank God. And the tournaments weren't enjoyable by any means. They were called. tournaments. The only places that we could go was the tournament site or the hotel. So it's not like I was out like exploring Paris. Literally the first year that I was on tour, I was isolated in a hotel room or at the tennis courts and that was it. Like kind of miserable, but I was like, well, at least I'm like, you know, seeing the world, kind of doing something. Yeah. But I'd always wanted

to travel so bad. Like when I was younger, I was obsessed with Animal Planet, National Geographic. You know, I had my phase where I was obsessed with like Alexis Wren on Instagram and her whole Bali travel life. And as a teenager in Minnesota, that was like, it seemed so out of reach and impossible for me. For sure. And yeah, I was that like traveling in the world would be so cool. But obviously it was hard for me to imagine that would be sort of a reality for me. So I think that's something I'm every day like so grateful for that I've been able to. to go to all these places and explore different cultures and try weird cuisines.

And yeah, I'm happy that I've gotten to do that. Yeah. How do you, when you guys are traveling that much, how do you, like, set aside time to prioritize your relationship? Because I feel like that's something that I struggle with with even just being at home and, like, working from home. Like, sometimes I'm like, okay, we need to, like, put aside work and, like, actually just, like, spend, like, one-on-one time.

together. Has that been hard to do? I mean, it's nearly impossible when we're at tournaments because he is practicing all day. Like he does two hours of physio treatment, then two hours of practice, then an hour in the gym, then he has to eat whatever. And then by the time that he gets back to the hotel, he's exhausted. Like some, you know, we'll try to do dinner. We have some places where we both just like love the city, like Tokyo, for example. If he's, if we're in Tokyo, like, If he's not practicing, we are like out exploring the city, going to the mini pig cafe and going and having ramen and that sort of thing. So there are certain places where we really try to make it feel a little more vacation-esque,

but at the end of the day for both of us, it's just work at this point. We watch shows in bed every night before we go to sleep and that's kind of our time together. Yeah. I imagine like you're off time when you're home. That's probably like the most important time to you guys. Yeah, for sure. Do you like to stay at home when you're off or is it more like you guys want to go vacation somewhere? We are very different people. I am like a I want to be out. I want to be meeting people. I want to go do this. I want to cite. He's very shy, introverted home body. Like wants to stay home, wants to be at home. So it's kind of a balance for sure. He's definitely like made me much more sort of introverted and home body. It's more enjoyable when you're. have someone else to do it with, you know? Yeah. But yeah, when we're home, I like to go out

and do stuff with my friends. Yeah. I kind of describe him as like an indoor boyfriend, you know, like an indoor cat. Yeah. Like he's indoor boy, you know, everything he wants to do, he's indoors. I don't have to check his location or where he's at. I know he's at home like video games right now. Oh my gosh. Which is actually, I think it works for us. Yeah. No, that's great. I bet I mean, I bet he needs like a mental like release. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. distraction. And I feel like athletes are so prone to play video games. And I like 100% support it. I feel like when people hear like of grown men playing video games, they're like, why are you doing that? But I actually feel like for athletes, it's such a good like distraction. Because I like, I don't know what else a grown man would do to like fully engulf his like mind to like, you know, not have to like think about, you know, being a professional athlete. I can't even imagine how stressful that is. But I feel like with a video game, they're like able to just like fully. We know so many. football players that just play video games. That's her thing. Yeah. And I first I was like, that's random. But now I'm like, oh, wait, no, that actually like, that actually makes sense.

Yeah. No, I see girls complain about it all the time. I'm like, okay, I get it. If your boyfriend's, like absolutely degenerate, plays video games all the time, doesn't prioritize anything else, doesn't have a career. Like, that's sort of the stereotype of like the gamer boyfriend. But I'm like, this is his time. Like, if he wants to have this hobby and I've asked his other friends who are players, I'm like, so what do you guys do? I'm like, Taylor comes home and he'll play video games. Like, what do you do? And they're like, uh, FaceTime people watch shows. Yeah, everyone's got their own thing. Yeah. Um, but it's really nice. It works really well for us because, for example, when we're at tournaments, he is at the courts. He's practicing all day. He's got his stuff.

I'll go to museum. I'll make content. I'll go hang out with friends in the city, that sort of thing. And then we both get home at night. He wants to go on his computer and play video games. And then I'll go on my computer and like edit content and do work. If he didn't have that hobby and every time I got home, he's like, all right, what are we doing? Let's go do this. Let's go to dinner. I'd be like, I just need some space right now. So yeah, it definitely works well for us. Yeah, I love that. I'm curious now, you know, living such a public life, one on social media, but also because of your relationship, it's very followed and constantly talked about thing. Did you have a hard time adjusting to the outside noise because I mean, I could be wrong, but I have a feeling that older tennis

fan players, maybe we're thrilled to have this cute little blonde girl coming in and speaking up. No, not at all. Yeah, it's been, I don't know, I have waves. Sometimes I handle it really well. I think I've always been like naturally very confident and like open to putting myself out there. and also having the belief of like what people say like they're not saying it about me. It's like them. Like what you think of me is actually a reflection of you. And like I do fully believe in that. If I did something like really genuinely terrible and problematic or if I was a bully to someone or if I said something offensive, I get it. But like nothing hateful that people say towards me actually. is anything that I've like necessarily done, I feel like. A lot of it's just like a stupid influencer. You know nothing about tennis. I'm like, okay. Like it's really not that like hurtful sort of things. You know, I was going to say what's like the is there like the like what's the craziest thing you've like heard or just like something you've been like wait, what are you like? I mean people just people make up insane things which I'm sure you've had experience with like sometimes I'll see something online that I'm like. people will just write things as a fact and it's so

like uneducated and out of touch and also like you don't know me so what would make you say people are fucking good like sorry I don't know you're like you're like like people are just so strange um I'm trying to think if there's any I don't know it's all kind of the same that that's why I feel like it doesn't really affect me that much either is like it's just the same like misogynist to regurgitated

bullshit again and again. And I'm like, oh, like, get more creative. Like, come on. Let's go. Yeah, I feel like I've handled it for the most part pretty well. Sometimes, of course, my feelings get hurt. Sometimes I'm able to really use it as motivation too, where I'm like, oh, you, like, the spite in me is going to push me to do this even more because you're so mad about it. Yeah. Why do you think that because I was asking Taylor this, because obviously, He knew who you were before I did, like way back in the day. He was like, oh, yeah, that's Taylor's girlfriend. And I was like, oh, wait, you know who that is?

Does he follow tennis? Yes. He's like, he's on a diehard tennis person. He does love tennis and he wants to get more into it. But he knew who Taylor was. And he has a decent amount of knowledge about it. And he was like, yeah, the old school tennis people, like, aren't like the biggest fans of her.

I don't really know why. And I was like, oh, really? And I was like, why? I asked him, why do you think that is? And he was like, I mean, I don't, I don't really know because he's like not. He's newer to tennis. But why do you think that is? I think historically a lot of the like older wives and partners on the tour have been very private heads down in the box. They're there to like cheer on their partner. They didn't have, you know, like super public personas. There were a couple players in like the 90s that dated celebrities and stuff. But they were like, kind of doing their own thing. Like, it wasn't anyone who was really showing up on social media, like, as a tennis wag. Yeah. So when I posted my first TikTok, I actually, I don't know if this is true, but I have been told by people on, like, the tennis tour that when I was first posting TikToks a couple years ago, there was like a click of older, like, wives on the tour. And they would send my videos in their group chat and just like make fun of me.

So I definitely got a lot of backlash, both from, like, within the tennis community and the fans. I think just because it was, like, it was different. And I'm calling attention to myself. And people wanted me or I guess it just expected me to, like, sit in the box, be relatively private, like, not capitalized on my partner's career. And I kind of came in guns blazing. I was like, well, fuck that. And posted whatever I wanted to. So, yeah, I don't know.

I think people think I'm annoying sometimes. I definitely have a certain persona on, I would say, TikTok specifically, where I kind of feed into it and say things that I know are like controversial enough that it will piss people off, but it's not like going to get me canceled. Yeah. You're a good business woman. You know, you know how to run these things. I'm curious, has at any point, like what has the effect of the noise had on your relationship, if any? Like, has it? Like, has it? it, oh, has it put a strain in it? Has it, like, helped make you guys stronger? Like, what, what has that been for you? Yeah. I wouldn't say it has had any effect. I mean, Taylor has always been really good about just not, like, I think when it first started happening, I would be like, oh my gosh, like, look at what this person said. And he'd be like, why are you reading that? But also, he went pro when he was 17. Like, he has dealt with that for so much, much longer than I had. Yeah. So he was very helpful and kind of.

of like coaching me through that, I guess. But yeah, like I said, people write crazy things about like us and our relationship and about me and about him. And I think both of us are united in the fact of like, okay, we really love each other. We have a very healthy relationship. Nothing that anyone says online is going to have any sort of effect on that. And he's also been really good about being super defensive of like me and what I'm doing. And that's what is interesting too is so many people have like such a problem with me, you know, capitalizing on like tennis and like his career. And he has always encouraged me and supported me to do it and like wants to be a dual income household. And he's like, hell yeah. You know. So I'm like, why do people have a problem with it if I mean,

people have a problem with anything. But yeah. Yeah. No, I wouldn't say it's negatively affected. a relationship at all. Yeah. Thank God. I can, I can tell how much he supports you, just how much you talk, like how you are speaking about it. Like, you sitting here saying like capitalize off of his career, I know 100% that he supports, like, what you're doing. And I feel like I've had people be like, oh, well, she's just like doing this because of her husband or like, she's just like getting this because of this. I'm like, well, okay. Or you only started dating him because he was. Yeah. Yeah. I'm like, okay, I'm like, okay, we've heard that one before. It's fine. But just like here, like, I actually don't know many people that would sit here and who are dating or married to someone that, you know, is a pro athlete, is a celebrity and say, like, capitalize off of his career. Yeah. Well, I mean, like, I'm not going to, I know that's not the classiest way to put it. I love it, though.

That's what I've, that's what I've done. It is what it is. And I feel like it shows that. I'll be real. I'll be fucking real about it. Yeah. I know that. But I love that. And I love that you're just like completely honest. And it shows how much like, if he didn't support you, you wouldn't be saying that. So, like, he clearly, like, 100% like backs you and what you're doing. And it's almost sort of like a competition between us now at like grand slams and stuff of who's going to make more money during the grand slam. Like, I'm like, okay, you got to make it past the fourth round this tournament. Otherwise, I want to make more money than you this week. And he's so good.

It's healthy competition between us. But what do you think is the most misunderstood thing about you? Oh, my gosh. That's a good question. I don't know. I think I, I think that's a hard question for me to answer because I really try not to pay any sort of attention to like how people perceive me. Yeah. Like that's for like me to decide. I kind of like people thinking I'm an idiot. I know what I mean. I feel like I'm okay with that. I'm kind of fun. You know that it's like the bimbo feminism sort of, which I wouldn't necessarily. say I support, but I'm like, if someone else puts that on me, I'm fine with that. Yeah. I feel like there's, when people see you, they probably just think, yeah, it is just some cute, some cute, some cute little tennis girlfriend that has a cute outfit and is, but I like feed into that. Like at Wimbledon this year, I did. I recreated this, like, Barbie doll from the 1960s, like,

recreated an outfit from it. Yeah. So I try to, like, I will embrace it. Yeah. You know, ironically, but, yeah. When it comes to running a business, communication is key. Whether that's closing deal, supporting customers, or keeping your team in sync. Staying connected is everything. That's why you need open phone. The smarter way to manage your businesses communication. Open phone is the number one business phone system that will help you separate your personal life from your growing business. For just $15 a month, the cost of a few coffees, your team can have a dedicated phone number to manage calls and texts all from a single platform. It's like having a shared inbox for your own phone number. Open phone works through an app

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I keep these drinks in the fridge and when I'm running at the door to an appointment, a meeting, we have a taping, whatever it may be, I can just grab one of those drinks drinking in the car. I can have it just next to me while I'm on Zoom meetings. It is so convenient, but also it tastes so good. Some protein drinks are disgusting. Premier protein is not that. They have flavors like vanilla, strawberry, cinnamon. Lemon roll, which is really cool. Cafe Latte has coffee in it, which I absolutely love. But they also

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If you're like me, I just, it's so hard to drink water. I don't know when it became like that, but I feel like it's so. hard to drink water and actually get the amount of electrolytes that you need. And that's where Gatorade hydration booster comes in. These electrolyte drinks are truly so good. I have gone through so many of these boxes. Me and Taylor both are actually obsessed with them because there's a lot of electrolyte drinks out there that just are way, way, way, way, way, way too salty. And that makes me drink even less water than I originally was. These Gatorade hydration boosters actually take taste great and they're not too salty at all. This one is actually my favorite flavor. It's the

strawberry watermelon. They have three different flavors. This one is the one that always ends up going first in our household. But these hydration boosters have an advanced blend of electrolytes from ingredients like watermelon salt and sea salt. They're packed with essential vitamins like A, C, B3, B5, and B6. There's no artificial flavors, sweeteners, or color added. These are formulated specifically for all day, always on hydration. You guys need to try these if you don't. Hydration is actually one of the most important things for our body. You're making sure we have those needed electrolytes is so important.

So put your water to work with Gatorade hydration booster. Have the, I feel like the answer to this is probably no. But do you feel like you've struggled at all with finding your identity outside of just being the girlfriend? because I feel like when Taylor and I first started dating, that was definitely something that I struggled with. And I feel like I sometimes struggle with it even now when I'm more so just like feeling insecure about like what I'm doing or like my purpose or like what exactly I'm supposed to be doing. Is that something that you've struggled with? Yeah. I think because I

started social media, like, later in life and started dating him at a point where I was, like, felt like I had my feet on the ground and I knew who I was and I'd built my own career. When I started posting, like, so much of my content is about, like, travel and tennis and my outfits and, like, F1. Like, I keep it very compartmentalized. Like, I've been in L.A. for a couple weeks. I don't really post about my life in L.A. Like, I don't think most of my followers or subscribers would know what my apartment

looks like. They don't really know who my friends are. Like, I don't, I keep, like, my life here very separate from, like, my online persona. And that's been very intentional. So I can sort of have, like, a sense of autonomy outside the internet. And, like, my books and my hobbies and that sort of thing is so, like, separate from, like, what I post online for the most time. I mean, I'll, like, share book records.

recommendations and stuff. But there are as open as I am on the internet. There's so much of my life that I do keep like very private to myself, which has been, I think, really important because I have so much feedback of like, oh, like, your whole life is, is just being Taylor's girlfriend. And I'm like, the whole life that I show you online is being his girlfriend. But like, that's very intentional. Because it separates like me from internet me. Yeah, it's almost like another persona. Exactly. Wow. That's really awesome that you have that boundary because a lot of creators, I feel like sometimes struggle with just like sharing, oversharing and literally like sharing everything because, you know, they either like want the views or they or honestly sometimes maybe they don't even want the views.

It's just they don't like think to do that. So I love that you are intentional with that because I feel like that probably like saves a lot of, not heartache, but like, yeah, I guess heartache with like, you know, who you are and how to separate that. And when those haters do make comments, you're like, actually, that's like, you're just judging this like persona of a human you don't even know. Like, you don't know who I am behind those doors. It's like, oh, like, you just post about being Taylor Fritz's girlfriend or like, all you are is Taylor Fritz's girlfriend. I'm like, yes, that is exactly what I want you to think. Yeah. You know, if you, yeah, it's, it's a good sort of

mental separation for me. Going through so much therapy, growing up in your childhood, and also now having a life coach, what are some of those tools that you use for your mental health? Yeah. I mean, in terms of just like day to day, like having a good routine, having a morning routine, mine definitely switches up, but I think the most important things is like finding things that work for me. And I think that's an issue with a lot of content creators, like wellness content creators, as people are like, this is the perfect morning routine that you have to do for optimization. But obviously, everybody is so different. Personally, like, I like waking up really, really early. If I wake up before the sunrises, that's when I feel

my best. And there's little things like I hate green juice. If I know that I have to get up and have a green juice, like, it makes me not want to get out of bed. I want to get out of bed. I want to go straight for my coffee machine. Like, I don't give a fuck about my cortisol spiking, whatever. Like, that is what will get me out of bed in the morning, like, makes me happy to start my day. I also, it's just like little things that's been trial and error of, like, trying to be really intentional about the things that cause little moments of joy throughout my day. Like, everything comes back to like, okay, what can I do today or what can I do in this moment? That's going to cause me, like, a little spark of joy.

And it's been really trying to find those little moments. I was actually talking to my friend. We were talking about, like, reality shows. something. And transparently, I don't really watch reality TV. Yeah. But a couple years ago, I watched Love Island USA Season 2. Okay. Because one of my girlfriends was going on it. Okay. And, you know, how they are like filming every day and then they live, like, post the episode that night, whatever. So anyways, over the course of this month, I got into this routine where every single morning I would wake up, I'd go downstairs, I'd make my coffee. I'd go back upstairs,

is get into bed and I would start the first hour of my day watching an episode of Love Island. And that month, I looked like so fondly upon that month because it was like starting my day. I wake up with anxiety lot, but starting my day like that was like starting my day like putting my brain in a freezer. Like it was just starting it out with something that was so low stress and like just watching this drama, like entertainment of other people's lives. Yeah. And so I was thinking about that a couple months ago of like, wow, like I had a, that was a nice, but like I really liked waking up in that way. And now I still don't watch much reality TV. But now every morning when I wake up, I turn on Disney Plus and I'll put on like an old Disney movie. And just for like 20 minutes while I'm sipping my coffee, I'll watch like 20 minutes of like Alice in Wonderland or 20 minutes of Snow White or something. That's just very as sort of like childhood nostalgic.

you know, just a sense of nothing's that serious. Like, there's something about old Disney movies that make me really happy. And that's something that I've added into my morning routine now. I love that. Yeah, it's just like super simple. And obviously not something that like all the girls on TikTok are saying, you need to add this to your morning routine. But that's what makes me happy.

That's like sparks a moment of joy to start my day. So anyways, going back, my advice is to find the little things like that. where you can find like those pockets of peace and simplicity. Yeah. So that's a big one. I think kind of going along with that like meditation for me, I really believe in meditation, breathwork, that sort of thing. I started doing breathwork beginning of January.

Okay. And I'm obsessed with it, like actually obsessed. And there's different breathworks that you can do that almost make you feel kind of high. Yeah. Like, I don't know. I'm really into it. And meditation I always used to really struggle with because I have back issues. And you know, when you do like meditation and they're like sit with your back straight and your legs crossed,

I hated meditation because like two minutes in, I'm like, I'm cramping. Like my back's to me. I have the body of like a 50 year old woman. And so now I do all my meditations like laying down on the floor. Like it's just like finding ways to sort of find what works for you. And I think there's so much good advice on the internet. Like you can learn anything for, I'm obsessed with YouTube, like watching. Not other content creators, but like informative videos on YouTube or like Vox channel on YouTube because there's just so much interesting information out there. But yeah, I think it's just like finding those little things that will work for you.

I think therapy is really important. I went on SSRIs like two years ago. I take LuxPro. That was huge for me. Literally changed everything for me. So it's not really a one size fits all. But a lot of trial and error. But I think the most important thing I can say is just like try try as much as you can in order to like find that that piece and that happiness.

Yeah, and not to get like discouraged with it because I feel like there is so much, like, so many creators share their morning routines. And I'm like, oh, I should do this. I should do this. And not putting that pressure on yourself to be like, I have to do like all of these things like in the morning before I start my day. It's like no, actually like watch an old Disney movie for 20 minutes. Like I don't know anyone that does that, but I'm obsessed with it. Like finding those things that work for you are truly like so important. Yeah. I was thinking about this. You mentioned it like having a set schedule. and being like schedule oriented. How do you like, or a routine, I should say, how do you keep a routine when you're traveling? I pretty much do the same thing. A lot of times when we're traveling, I'll find like a local coffee shop. Okay. Get up. I'll do my morning walk to the same coffee shop every day.

I have class pass, which is international. So I'll find a place. It's international? Yeah. It's everywhere. I've taken cycling classes in German. I've done berries in Sweden. I've taken a lot of weird classes all across the world, but I'll find like a plotty studio or something.

So like I'm still getting up. I'm getting my coffee. I'm going to my workout class. I really have to not treat these trips like a vacation anymore. Like don't need a glass of wine at dinner. Don't need to sleep in. Like it is not a vacation. It's just my life. And that took me probably two years to like come to terms with. Yeah. But much better about it now. Yeah. Well, yeah. I didn't even like think about. that. Like, I always, whenever we travel, I'm like, oh, yeah, because I'm not a big drinker, but I, if we're, like, out of town or somewhere, I'm always getting a drink with dinner or always doing something. I didn't think about that. Did you realize that that was like, you were, like, getting stuck in, like, that cycle of sleeping in or, like, always, like, yeah, well, it was hard, too,

because, like, I mentioned the first year on tour, it was, like, these bubble tournaments. Yeah. I had no reason to get up. I couldn't go anywhere, you know? And so when the tour finally did start. It was like, I get to see the world. And we're in Rome and I'm having like wine every day. And it was just not sustainable for me whatsoever. So yeah, I had to kind of reel it back in and get a little more disciplined, I guess. Yeah. Good. But sometimes I do still like a glass of wine. Hey, there ain't nothing wrong with a glass of wine. I had one last night. So two things that I saw that I want to, that are tools that I'd love to hear more about. is the worry list. Oh, yes. What is that? Okay, so it's, I think I'd heard it on a podcast or something,

but basically I haven't done it for a while because I've learned to manage my anxiety much better, but when I would have moments of like really, really bad anxiety about something, basically in the list, I would write what my worry is and then I would write what's the worst possible thing that could happen. let's say I'm stressed about, oh, what have I been stressed about lately? For example, plane crash. Jesus, yeah. I've never had flight anxiety. Now I'm like, every time I'm on a plane, I'm like, shit, shit, shit. Like, is this a Boeing 737? Oh my God. I'm like texting my mom. I'm like, I love you so much. But yeah, so like lately, every time I get on a flight, I'm pretty stressed about that. So, for example, I would write on the worry list. Number one, really anxious about flying.

My number two would be, what's the worst that can happen? I die on this plane crash in the next two hours. And then the third bullet point would be after the fact, like, what actually happened? You know, I land in Miami. I land safely. I am fine. Was panicking for nothing. And you do this every time that you're sort of like worried and anxious about something.

And over time, you can like look at the list and see how much time you have wasted. worrying about things and how, I mean, listen, sometimes the worst possible case scenario does happen. Yeah. Like, that's just life. But you can look at it and be like, well, literally the worst possible thing that could have happened, happened. And I'm okay. And I got through it. And it sucked.

But, you know, worrying about it for days on end before it happened didn't help me at all. Yeah. And yeah. So I did this for a long time. And over time, you kind of just look at it. And you're like, wow, I'm really wasting a lot of time worrying about things that I do. not need to be worrying about. Yeah. I feel like just getting it out like is so healthy. Like if you're really just writing it down or saying it to someone or saying it out loud to yourself,

like once you get that anxious thought like out of your mind into the world, I feel like it makes it seem so much less scary. Yeah. Then you built it up to be in your head. Yeah. I love that. Also now if I haven't like I said, I haven't done it in a while, but if I wanted to take that a step further and, like, really try to, like, evaluate myself and, like, the stress about it, um, putting that list into chatGBT. Oh. And then I don't know how big of a chat chabit. I don't know.

There's controversy. It's bad for the environment. Like, I probably should do some research on that. But chat chabit can, like, learn things about you over time. I've gotten too many friends on using it for, like, therapy purposes. But if you take, like, this list and you can put it into chat, EBT and you can ask, like, what are my cognitive distrategic? with my worries and like what's happening here, it can kind of like analyze that for you and like

pick out your patterns and help try to reframe your mindset. You can ask it to like reframe this thought into like a better mindset for myself. Whoa. Yeah. Technology. I know. It's so scary. I don't. I know. It can be helpful. Like if you if you're someone who let's say you can't afford therapy, right? You can do that on the free version of chat. GBT and like that can be a really, I think great step in like working towards trying to figure yourself out and figuring figuring out like your own like cognitive biases against yourself that are kind of self-harm in a way, you know. Okay. The next one I had was biting into a lemon. Yes. Oh yeah. Which is fitting. Which is very fitting. I wish those were real and we could do it. Yeah. I think I'd put that on my

story a while back. But when I talk about mental health online, this is something I try to be intentional about is like, if I'm talking about it, it's to give like tangible tips, advice, homework, book resources, podcast resources, because I feel like, I don't know if you've seen this lot, but I think a lot of times, like, when content creators are talking about mental health or that sort of thing, it'll be like an Instagram story that's like feeling really bad today, like normalize this with a heart. And I'm like, that's not super helpful. Yeah. So yeah, this is kind of one of those like, tangible tips of if you're ever having like anxiety or panic attack, you can bite into a lemon,

like with the peel and everything, just like bite right into it. And the sourness and like the texture of the peel will ground you immediately. It's just about getting like out of your head and into your body. Yeah. I love that. And I don't know why I've never thought about that. Like next time you're stressed on episode, just be like, I know. I know. I need to put real lemons in there and I just start like eating them during the episode. But I saw on take a little bit of Talk. Someone posted that this video like went viral and it was like this girl who's therapist told her to like always have a bag of sour candy with her to ground her. Yeah. And then I read this lemon thing and I was like, oh my gosh, that's literally like the same thing. And I never thought my go

go to is like ice in my hands. Yeah. But that's it. I really like that. That's good for flight anxiety. Like you can ask for a cup of ice from the flight attendant. Yeah. I've told people to do that before when they've asked on like Q&A is about flight anxiety and you just hold in your to it melts. Yeah. But yeah, like the sort of transition from like doing something physical to get you out of your head is very, very helpful. Yeah. I love a good grounding technique. Yeah. Last question I have for you is if you could go back to one moment in your life, what moment would that be and what would you say to yourself? Well, honestly, the first thing that just popped in my mind is, and this kind of like brings us full circle back to the start of the

episode. I was standing on stage. I was in rehearsal. I was playing Alma in Music Man in my, I think this was like the start of senior year, my school play. And I remember I was on stage and I was wearing my normal clothes, but then I had this big dress. Like I can't remember what time period music man was set in. But I was wearing like this big dress, whatever. I had my phone in my back pocket. And it kept like going off. Like my phone kept buzzing, buzzing, buzzing, buzzing. And so I kind of go backstage. I reach under my dress, grab my phone out, and I had a bunch of text for my mom that was like, sit down. Are you sitting down? Whatever. And I'd gotten a full ride to the college in New York that I'd spent two years in therapy panicking about trying to do. And she'd sent me like a photo

of like the full ride offered to the school. And like I instantly burst out crying. It was like one of the happiest. But I wish I could go back and just feel like it's all going to work out. Everything's like no need to, again, no need to worry. Worst case scenario. You'll figure it out. But I was think of that moment, like, very fondly that, you know, you can stress about things a lot, but usually things just tend to work out. Yeah, I love that. Thanks for coming and hanging out with me today. I love getting to, like, learn about you, and I feel inspired to go make some content. Yeah, you're up.

And, yeah. Thank you. 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.