When Reality Hits with Jax and Brittany - Getting My Sparkle Back

Episode Date: March 21, 2025

Brittany is flying solo this week on When Reality Hits! She recaps her whirlwind week, from the iHeartRadio Awards to a much-needed moms’ night out. Then, she answers listener questions about life post-divorce, co-parenting, dating, self-confidence, and staying positive through big life changes. Please support the show by checking out our sponsors! Hungryroot: For a limited time get 40% off your first box PLUS get a free item in every box for life. Go to Hungryroot.com/realityhits and use code realityhits  Nutrafol: Get $10 dollars off your first month’s subscription and free shipping when you go to Nutrafol.com and enter the promo code REALITYHITS Progressive: Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.

Hello everybody and welcome back to another episode of when reality hits with Brittany Cartwright. That's me. I hope everybody had a wonderful week. Happy Friday. I have everybody had a wonderful week. Happy Friday. I have had such a fun week. There's been the Heart Radio Awards and I went to a show po event for Rachel and you know just had a couple really fun things going on some time with Cruz Park and just different things like that. We like to swim every day. So it's been a great week.

And but right now, Cruz and I are both feeling a little bit under the weather. So I'm going to do a solo pod today because I didn't want to risk getting anybody else sick. Cruz is finally starting to feel better, but he got me a little bit sick now. So my voice sounds off or if I cough here and there, that's why. But we are feeling better and Cruz especially is starting to feel better. But yes, the I Heart Radio Awards were so fun. I love getting dressed up. I wore this like latex type dress that was like maroon. I did a monochromatic lip and you know, had like that wet hair that Kim K wet hair. So I loved it. I thought it was a great time and I loved my look. I took Janet with me as my date and we had so much fun.

Michelle was also there announcing her new podcast. I'm so happy for her. But yeah, it was just such a good time and I got to see Ariana and her boyfriend Dan and it's been so long since I had seen Ariana. So it was just so good to see her. She seemed so happy. They were so happy together. And I'm just so excited for her.

I missed her. So it was so good to see her. We all went to dinner afterwards and had pigs in the blanket and deviled eggs and all kinds of stuff that I love. So it was a great dinner afterwards as well. But during the show, it was awesome to see like Mariah Carey, LL Cool J, Nelly and Ashanti. Those are like my favorites because the 90s, early 2000s, like hip hop, R&B rap, like that's

like my favorite. If you're ever with me riding in the car, I'm going to put on like 3LW radio on Pandora, TLC radio, Lil Wayne radio, Mariah Carey radio. So it was really great to see all of them. And we just had so much fun. Billie Eilish was cool to see as well. She's so talented. But yeah, it's so cool to be at those events. We were sitting next to a bunch of our bachelor friends like I saw like Charity Lawson and Serena and Joe. And of course, I've been on vacations with Charity and Serena. We've gone to Cabo, we've gone to the Bahamas and did all kinds of other stuff. So it was just a fun night. It was mine and Janet's mom's night out. And every now and then moms need a night out to get

glammed up, feel good about themselves and just get out there. Janet kept saying she was trying to be my wingman. So we were looking around for any eligible bachelors, but we didn't find any that night. But we just had so much fun. And I'm always down for somebody trying to be my wingman because mama's got to get out there. I feel like I'm such a homebody even though people don't think that I am. So, you know, it's just been, it's been a lot going on in my life recently, as we all know. But this week was really fun. And I just am so happy. It was such a good time. We also, like I said, I went to that show po event for Rachel. That was a lot of fun as well.

Got to get dressed up again and getting these little dresses and stuff that they sent us. And it was a beautiful time and a beautiful night. Didn't get to stay very long because I started not feeling well. Cruz got sick first. And then I started getting it afterwards. The kids always bring home the sickness from preschool. I feel like that is all moms in the world know what I'm saying whenever I talk about how the kids bring home all the germs to you in your household. But again, he's on the mend and feeling better. So I took some, let's see, I asked some questions on my Instagram at Brittany and you guys sent in some really good ones. So thank you. So we're going to do a little Q&A so that I can answer some

questions from you guys and you guys can get to know me a little bit better even though I feel like I'm an open book. But here we go. This is from sculpted by Megan and sculpted by Megan is my friend Megan from Kentucky and We were friends She worked with me at for at Hooters for a very long time and then she ended up moving to LA before I even did She's a personal trainer. She was my personal trainer for a long time before she moved back Towards the house. I think she moved to Nashville first. The house I call the house Kentucky. She moved to Nashville first but oh gosh I miss her here. Having a trainer is so great. She kept me held me accountable so many times and I just wish that she was here because I need her. She says what advice would you give

someone moving from a small town to Los Angeles? Because we both did that. My best advice would be put yourself out there. Go have fun. It'll be easier to meet new friends than you think it will be. There are so many people in LA, so many different types of people, so many different things to do. It really is amazing to see how everybody comes together. I was very lucky that I had met Jax and Katie and Sheena and all them in Vegas before I ever moved and

they were all like very nice to me. But I've also met so many other friends along the way. Just you know, stay positive. That's always my best advice. Stay positive. But yeah, put yourself out there. Go have fun. You know, if you're moving from a small town, there will be a lot of things that are different. Like it drove me crazy driving because LA traffic is insane. I still don't like driving here. But I noticed like people won't let you over. People don't use their blinkers ever.

They don't like waving at you. I'm used to somebody like waving at you like thanks if you let them over or You know do something nice on the road or whatever that don't have one here so that was like a big change for me whenever I first moved here and It's so funny. Yeah I'm just used to like driving down the road and seeing people on their tractors on the side of the road and like Smiling and waving at you, you know another weird thing that was different was like when you're standing like in a grocery

line or you're in an elevator, like nobody really talks to each other. So if you're new, start the conversations. I've been in a line so many times where nobody would say anything and I'll just like say something and start a random conversation with somebody. And that's like what you have to do because like I said, a lot of times people don't talk to each other. So really just like start conversations and put yourself out there and you'll be just fine. There are so much different things that you can do here. And it is a really, really fun place to live.

This is from Alyssa dot Noel. After being in such a long relationship with a really, really fun place to live. This is from Alyssa dot Noel. After being in such a long relationship with a narcissist, how does it feel to not be? It feels good. It feels really good. It feels like, you know, a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. And that is amazing. Definitely is going to help me look for things if I ever decide to start fully dating again. I'm going to notice all the red flags like right away. But yeah, it definitely feels a lot better.

It feels a lot more peaceful in my home. And that is good. I think that there are so many people with narcissistic behaviors out there and it can be hard to deal with. If you've been with somebody like that before, you know exactly what I mean. So yeah, it just was a lot more peaceful in my house and I really enjoy that. This is from Jim Ready. How do you stay so positive for your son amidst divorce? Going through it two, my son is three. I just feel like I try to, you know, I'm always saying stay positive, stay positive,

stay positive, and that's really what I try to do is stay positive. I know like every day I don't feel happy. There's a lot of times where I'm going through it and you know, I still get down from time to time, but I try to focus on the good things in my life. Like of course my son is my driving force no matter what. But I also feel like you know, I just try to focus on what I'm grateful for.

Like you know, I'm like okay, I'm going through a hard time but like I have my house back. I have my beautiful son. I have a car. I have food on the table. I have my house back. I have my beautiful son. I have a car. I have food on the table. I have a house over my head. I have wonderful family, wonderful friends. So honestly, just try to focus on what really makes you happy instead of what you have lost because over time, we I'm saying we because you know, they're still up and downs with me. But over time, you know, we're going

to feel so much better and be so happy with our decisions and look back and like, how was I ever in that relationship for that longer? How did I ever stay for that longer? Gosh, what took me so long to leave, you know, and then you're going to realize how much better off you are. So just focus on everything that you have going in your life and you will be okay. You got this. This is from Tracy C 85. How did you manage to lose the weight after your baby? You look amazing and so confident. Well, thank you. Cause I don't always feel it.

Um, I feel like I'm still working on it. Honestly, like my, um, I've always been like fluctuating, like I'm still working on it, honestly. I've always been fluctuating. I'll get real skinny and then I'll gain weight and then I'll get skinny and then I'll gain weight. It's just like an up and down roller coaster for me that I'm trying to figure out. But after I had Cruz, I did Jenny Craig for a long time. That really actually did work for me.

This is not an ad. I was hardcore on that and that program really helped me stay on track. But also working out, I would get into working out a lot. Like I said, my trainer Megan, she was amazing. She helped me so much. Now I'm trying to run and really get back into the gym. I think confidence also comes within and I feel a lot more confident now that I'm single than I did over the past couple years. If you notice like on the valley like season one, I had just lost a lot of my sparkle and I'm finally getting that sparkle back.

So you know, just stay motivated and you know, running or even just like walking on an incline and then jogging for a little bit doing like intermittent fasting. I think that's what it's called. That really helped me as well. So you know, there's been a lot of different things that I have tried, but I think also staying in the gym helps a lot with your mental health. Running is like really good for me. Watch an episode on TV that's like 30, 45 minutes and run, walk, jog that whole entire

time. You know, do a couple of squats. Do, you know, there's some things that you can do to get yourself going and then you'll figure out what works best for you. But I definitely do feel a lot more confident. So thank you for saying that. This is from lor underscore Elliot. Are you dating?

If so, deeps please. I wouldn't say I am. I don't have like a boyfriend or anything but you know I've got some people that I like to hang out with and just having you know just having fun. I'm trying to take things slow. I still have a lot to heal for myself. And obviously, I don't want to need anybody around my son unless it was something that was serious. So, you know, just trying to take things slow and see how things go. But I think having fun is very important. It's been it's crazy to be single after 10 years with somebody. Hard to trust a lot of people. You know, I never know what somebody's intentions are

or you know, where this is going to go and different things like that. So I try to take it slow, but yeah, I'm having some fun. This is from Kaylee T. Crabtree. Have you and Katie reconnected at all since you filed by the way? Love you. Um, love you. Not really. You know, I want nothing but the best for Katie. I still have so much love for her.

We were so close. I mean, she was the matron of honor in my wedding. So I want nothing but the best for her. She did reach out in the beginning whenever I went through my separation. So I thought that was so nice. I have reached out to her like, you know, her father passed away, which is horrible. And it was her birthday. So I reached out for her for both of those times. I didn't hear back, but I know she's also busy. I'm busy.

But she has reached out to me a couple of times and I have nothing but love for her. If I saw her out, I would give her a big hug and everything like that. But no, we haven't like really reconnected in that way. But I'm happy for her. She's in a new relationship. And she's she seems so happy. She looks beautiful. So, you know, definitely very happy for her. And maybe one day we will. This is from Brooke Donahue. Who is someone on social media that you feel like if you met you would become BFFs? Okay, I love this question. I think that if I met Chrissy Teigen and well, I have met Chrissy Teigen like once or twice, but it's just been like quick like hello and you know conversations for just a minute. But I think that me and her would get along like if we actually went out for drinks or for dinner or something like that. I think that we would get along so well.

She just cracks me up and I love her like down to earth personality. And she's like all into like Bravo and stuff. So it cracks me up. I think that we would have a lot to talk about. I've also met John Legend, her husband a couple times and he is so nice. They have a beautiful family. I just think that she would be so much fun. This is from Mel's. Preven stuff. Um, do you ever watch back your episodes on VPR and wish you handled things

differently? Of course. Of course. Who would not watch themselves back on TV and be like, wow, I wish I didn't say that or I wish I didn't do that or I wish I didn't party that much that night or I wish I handled the breakup differently or I wish I didn't yell at this person. I mean, there's so many different things, but we were just so like living our lives

and we had the time of our lives. And I just think like, yeah, of course I would change things, but still I wouldn't change a thing because it got me to where I am now. And I've learned so much from all those life lessons. And you know, you just have to look back and laugh now. Like I crack up every time somebody says rotten hell to me or every time somebody says, I am a, what do I say to James something like I am a sweetheart you dumbass motherfucker I cannot believe I said that because I'm not even really a custer so that must tell you I was in a raw mood that night which we all know why

but yeah that was crazy of course there's things I wish I didn't say but I felt like I was always myself sorry I've got two dogs a cat all running around in here but I felt like I was always myself. Sorry, I've got two dogs, a cat, all running around in here. But I just feel like I was always myself. And you know, I can be happy about that at the end of the day. I also feel like I was always super nice to everybody. So I don't feel too, too bad. But of course, there's some things that I would change. I know y'all are as busy as I am. and that means we don't have a lot of time to spend grocery shopping and meal planning. Well, I think I found the perfect solution for us.

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I just made Cruzy bite-sized pancakes and turkey bacon, and he loves the chicken nuggets and super veggie fries. They look like french fries. Cruz just eats them up. I know you're going to love Hungry Root as much as I do. Take advantage of this exclusive offer. For a limited time, get 40% off your first box, plus get a free item in

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car insurance. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affili potential savings will vary, not available in all states or situations. This is from Jules 34 Sans. I'm doing a girls trip to Vegas in a week. What would be something fun to do there? Oh my gosh. I love Vegas. I go up there as much as I can to see my best friend Kara. She still lives in Vegas. And gosh, there's so much fun things to do. The restaurants are amazing. Of course, you can gamble a little bit if you want to. I'm not much of a gambler. I like the Wheel of Fortune slots. I'll put $20 in there and I'll lose and I'm like, okay, let's move on. Let's go to the bar. Let's do this. Let's do that. I love seeing shows there. All the Cirque du Soleil stuff is amazing. I saw Miranda Lambert there. Gosh, I've seen T'Nai Twain there. I'm sure there's like many, many others.

I saw like the Michael Jackson one show. I saw different things. So shows are always fun. Also, if it's a girls trip,, I love doing like thunder from down under or, um, any of those like shows with the hot guys on stage, I've been brought up on stage so many times and it is just hilarious, but it's so fun to laugh with your friends and do that. Like, I love that. There's just so much stuff you can do in Vegas. I mean, even just walking around and shopping, there's so much to look at, so many different

things to see, and just like different fun things all around. Shopping there is amazing. Love shopping. There's like Gucci, Louis, Dior, there's everything that you can imagine. So the shopping there is definitely one. I also love, I think it's called, is it called Five Below? I might be saying the name wrong, but me and all my friends went and it's like where you get all dressed up in these furry jackets and stuff that they provide for you. Gloves, furry jackets,

all that. And you walk back into a room and everything is made of ice and you get like drink tickets with it and stuff and you get to hang out for however long that you pay for in there. And it is just so cool. It's like a different experience. That's something you should definitely try. I think it's called Five Below. But yeah, there's been so much fun stuff that I've done there. I love it.

I always go to Hooters too, of course. All right, Stuart Gray 95. What has been the hardest thing of the divorce on you personally? I just think, gosh, there's been a lot of stuff that's been hard. But I think that just like realizing it was actually over after 10 years was really hard for me. I knew I needed to get out like many times but you know you still have so much love for somebody and it's like where does that go? You know it doesn't just disappear

so you have to really like work on it and work on yourself and really heal from everything that you've been through and I think that that that part's just been really hard for me like feeling lonely because you're used to having like, he was my best friend for a long time. So you're used to having your best friend with you every single day, day in, day out, talk all day long, you know, and it's just strange. When you're just by yourself, you know, I have my beautiful son, of course, and that's amazing. But you know, you just feel a little lonely. And I think that that has been hard for me, but I'm doing okay. I'm doing fine.

There's been lots more that I have gained and feel lucky about throughout it as well. This is from Christine Kella. How do you balance being a mom, work, self-care and home life? I find it so hard to balance. I think every single mom finds it hard to balance. We always, gosh, mom guilt is so crazy. I feel like every parent has mom guilt or dad guilt, whoever it is, because you want to go out with your friends here and there. And I think that is so important.

But then you start feeling guilty, especially when Cruz was younger. It was hard for me to ever leave him. It's still hard for me to leave him. But you still have to work. You still have to self-love and get yourself dressed up and go out and go to the spa sometimes and have your times when you get to work out, have your times when you get to get glammed up and Different things that make you feel good because at the end of the day

Being a happy mom is going to make your son or your your child a happy child and I think that's something that you have to focus on and Balancing is some days. I feel like I'm not whatsoever some days. I feel like yeah, I got this but I think that's normal and I love every second of it like being a parent being got this. But I think that's normal. And I love every second of it. Like being a parent, being a mother is the best thing that's ever happened to me. And you know, I just try my best. But self care, the most time I do self care other than like in the gym or something is like, after Cruz goes to bed, that's whenever I hop in the bathtub, got my bath salts, got my bath bombs, do all the things, take a nice

warm shower after do all that stuff. And then I've got like my face masks and just all the oils and just all the stuff that you like to do like that whenever he goes to sleep. That's whenever I really get into that. Because Cruz hates whenever I have a face mask on my face. He absolutely hates it. So anytime I have a face mask on and he's still awake, he will instantly come up to me and like rip it right off my face. He cannot stand anything. It's like a scary mask and he hates it. So I definitely focus on that stuff after he goes to bed. But skincare is very important as well. So and self love like my bath time is just amazing. I just love it. I'll sit there and watch something on my iPad for like 45 minutes and just chill and watch a

movie or watch my favorite TV show or something. We deserve to have times to ourselves as well because that will make us do better at everything else in life. I'm like I'm definitely a homebody. I've said that a bunch, but I think I definitely need my alone time as well. Some people don't, but that's that's how I am. This is from Malakolu. I think is how you say it. Do you think you'll ever leave LA and make a home back in Kentucky? Listen, I love Kentucky.

I love going to visit. Maybe one day I'll get a house there. I'm not sure if I would live there again anytime soon, but I love my family and my friends back home so much and I miss them so much. So going to visit there frequently is very important for me and having them come visit me is very important to me. Right now, everything I do is here in LA. You know, the valley is going and you know, obviously I'd be in the valley for that. But I've got my beautiful home that I'm so grateful for. My son is in school and office therapies and everything that are here and that is going so well. And just like my new

friends that are my family here as well are here. So it's just like in this, within the next like five or 10 years, I don't really see myself moving, but who knows after that, you know, I never know where my life is going to lead because I didn't think I would be where I am today doing what I'm doing today. So you never know, you know, I'm always just optimistic and hopeful for my future and you know, we'll see what happens. But either way, I'm going to go and visit Kentucky all the time. Go Kentucky, big blue nation. I hope we win today. We have a game today. So let's hope we win. Go

cats. This is from Patricia Marie one. How is crazy handling the co parenting may mainly living with you situation. Probably how crazy is handling co parenting. Okay. Yeah, co parenting can be difficult, especially if you're dealing with a difficult person. But I absolutely love that cruises with me majority of the time. I mean, he is my little bestie and he makes me so happy. You know, trying to do the best that I can. It's difficult. It's difficult topic right now because there's a lot of things even going on still to this day that makes co parenting very difficult. But I think it is important for Cruz to have his dad in his life. You know, I know his dad loves him.

But you know, I just have to get some trust. Trusting somebody you don't really get along with is very hard. And we've lost all of that. So, you know, it's difficult. It's difficult. It's hard to like pass your baby away or do things, you know, whenever you're not really getting along. But I just want to do no matter what, always what's best for Cruz. And I think Cruz having

both of his parents in his life is very important. My parents divorced whenever I was little. I think I was like three or four when they divorced. I'm not really sure. So I don't really remember them being together. But I always my dad was always in my life. I have an amazing stepmother who I love so much. You know, so I just like, think to the future and I'm like, Okay, it could be like this one day we will see. We will see. But yeah, it's a struggle sometimes. But just trying to put cruise first no matter what. Mary Wynn Whisser, would you ever consider decreasing your breast size? No shade? Honestly. I get this question all the time. And I'm not saying that you're giving me shade. If you're listening to this.

But I get comments and stuff about my breasts all the time. And it's so annoying because I had my boobs done, gosh, it's probably about 10 years ago. Crazy. So it'll be time to get on redone again soon anyway. But after I had my son, and as I said earlier, my weight fluctuates so bad. So my boobs get really big or they, you know, those those strengths are one of the first places that I gained weight in. And a lot of people will accuse me of having my breasts done again. And I'm like, No, no, no, no, no, this is still the same one. They just got a lot bigger after I had my son.

And I don't love them all the time. It's hard to get dressed. It's hard to find clothes that work for me and everything. But I also always thought I was going to have more kids. So I didn't really want to get another surgery done until I knew that I wasn't having more kids because then you're just going to have to do it all over again. You know what I mean? So it's definitely something I'm looking into for the future. I definitely would go smaller. I just still don't know what my future holds at this moment. So I

don't think I want to do any like more surgeries or anything like that until I know for sure like if I'm going to have more kids, I think I'm gonna give myself until like, for a couple more years at least. But we'll see. The more I work out, I'll feel more confident about it. And it'll be better for me anyway, a bunch of push ups and all that stuff. And I'll be good. But yes, I know they're big. I know that it's funny that I always have to talk about that. But it's also my body. It gave me my beautiful son. So, you know, I'll take it. I'll take it. Sometimes I love them. So, you know, back and forth. This is from Kim Vakari. How is your relationship with Jackson's mom and sister?

We still haven't heard anything from Jackson's mom. She hasn't really been around. She's never met Cruz. I'm only talking about this because we've talked about this publicly. But I love Jackson's sister Jenny. She is a saint. She is an amazing person. She will always be so close to me.

She will always be a sister to me. She's a great aunt. She loves her cruisy. I'm always sending her photos and stuff. She's always checking in on me. I'm checking in on her, but I absolutely adore her. I miss her because I haven't seen her in a while. So it would be great to see her in person.

I feel like me and her would do a lot of crying and hugging, talking about everything, but she's been a great support system and she only wants what's best for Jax and for me. So I really value her opinion on everything. And I just think that she's wonderful. This is from Martha Dumphy. When will the divorce be finalized and will you have a party? We still don't know when it's going to be finalized. You know, a couple things still working on here and there.

Hopefully it won't be much longer. But hell yes, I will have a party. You better believe it. I'm the queen of things. And if y'all think I'm not gonna have a divorce party, that is crazy. Because of course I am. Of course I am. Gosh, I'm already gonna have to start Pinteresting what to do for my divorce party. Because I deserve it, man. I deserve it. I've been through some shit. So I will be celebrating that day. I'll be sad that day as well a little bit, but I'm definitely going to have a party.

Hopefully it'll be sooner than later. This is from Shanbo MKER. Do you live in your and Jackson's old house? I couldn't tell the last episode. I think you're amazing. Well, thank you. You're amazing too. Yes, I live in the house. Well, thank you. You're amazing too. Yes, I live

in the house. It's mine now fully 100%. Me and Cruz live here and loving it. A lot of space for just him and I, but you know, I just I love this house so much. It was my dream home. It still is and very, very, very thankful that I can take care of everything by myself. That's a huge empowering moment for me and I love that. But yeah, I'm back here. I was living in rental houses, Airbnb's for seven months before I finally got my house back. But yeah, I love it. I have definitely done a lot of, you know, my friends have come over and done like the, gosh, you can't think of what it's called where the smoke goes in the air. Brain fart, brain fart, brain fart.

You know what I'm talking about. We've done a lot of cleaning here, you know, definitely got some new things, made it my own, redid some landscaping. I mean, I did a lot of different things to the house and I just feel like it looks amazing, better than it ever has. It just feels like peaceful and it really feels like my home. So even though there was some great memories here, some bad memories here, now we're just making new memories and I'm loving every second of it. Burn some sage. It just came to me. God, don't you hate whenever you get a brain fart? Yes. Okay.

Well, Kristen, Michelle, everybody's come over here and burned some sage and got rid of all the stuff and blah, blah, blah that they do. I'm not really one that like knows all that stuff, but my friends do. So I'm like, do it. Come over, clean the space. But it feels great here and I love it. When reality hits is sponsored by Nutri-Ffol. This year, there's nothing holding you back from loving your hair again. Hair is so much more than what you see on the surface. It's a reflection of what's happening inside. Nutrifol is the number one dermatologist recommended hair growth supplement brand trusted by over one and a half million people. See thicker,

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neutrophil.com spelled N-U-T-R-A-F-O-L dot com promo code reality hits. That's neutrophil.com promo code reality hits. Try it out. You will love your results. All right. I may not be as funny as Nikki Glaser. I want to pitch a series of calendars where men are just crying in a therapist's office or punching a pillow and working out their anger towards their dad. But I do have my moments. I actually have full conversations. With the moon. Yes. I try to keep it pretty balanced on this podcast, a little fun dance between

comedy, therapy, self-medicating. Oh, and sorry, if you haven't guessed, hi, I'm Caitlin Bristow, host of Off the Vine podcast, where we like to just keep things loose and keep them raw and keep them real. Like when we have listeners call in and give confessions. And then that glass of wine progressed into me becoming a unicorn for them. But we do, and I promise you this, try to keep it honest and vulnerable. So jump on the wagon, not off, grab your favorite bottle of wine, preferably Spade and Sparrows, and join the Vinos. Have yourself a time. The Off the Vine podcast is available wherever you

get your podcasts. time, the Off the Vine podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. All right. Michaela underscore Stewart. How will you go into future relationships now after you have been burnt so badly? Love you. Love you too. Yeah. I think it's definitely different to try to go into a new relationship because I have been through a lot, but that's why I'm also like really working on myself and really trying to heal. And it's been over a year now, so I think that I am more ready now. But you know, it is kind of hard to trust people in the beginning, but I'm going to be looking for all those red flags, honey.

All those red flags. And I have met some amazing people, honestly. Just don't know where any of that's going. But it's just like, you know, you got to protect your family and protect what you have. You got to make sure that everybody has good intentions. And like I said, paying attention to all the red flags, all the white flags, like green flags, beige flags, blue flag, whatever, all the white flags, like green flags, beige flags, blue flags, whatever kind of flag there is, I'm going to pay attention to all of

them. But I think it'll also make me end up with someone who really makes me happy and really appreciates me and really loves me. And I'm excited for that. I think that will be absolutely amazing. And I think I deserve that. So, where you at? I'm ready. This is from Muma N. What is the biggest thing you have learned about yourself since being on your own? Let's see. Gosh, I feel like I've learned a lot about myself. But honestly, I feel like

I've definitely realized that I'm a lot stronger than I ever thought that I could be. Being able to take care of everything by myself without any help financially or support from your ex, I just feel like it's been great that I can Can handle all of that and it makes me feel very empowered but also just like Feeling a lot stronger like sticking to my guns like not letting anybody disrespect me anymore and Just being strong for my son and doing everything together with him I just feel like I've learned a lot about myself in many different ways and

You know realizing I can do this by myself and I can. It's okay to be alone for a little bit, you know, I'm always been a relationship type girl, and it's been over a year. So I feel like it's good to learn about yourself and really like take everything in and try to heal. But I do feel like I'm a lot stronger than I ever thought that I could be and I'm proud of myself for that. I really am. This is from Katie D'Agostino. Is Cruz still doing speech and occupational therapy? How is he doing? Yes, he is doing absolutely amazing. He is still in speech. He is still in occupational therapy. He goes to preschool and you know, he is just doing amazing.

He is thriving. He is so happy. He is so loving. I can really tell I switched his OT recently and I could really tell that that is like helping so much. He is just, he's just an incredible, wonderful little boy. And I'm so lucky to be his mom. But yeah, his speech therapy is occupational therapy. Everything is going great going amazing. I'll give more details in about that soon. But I just think it's been amazing to open up about the fact that he is in those things

because a lot of parents have come to me and said, you know, that their kids are in OT or their kids are in speech and this and that. And, you know, I just think it's great. You know, there's a community of moms out there that we could really like help each other and learn from what we go through. And I will definitely be sharing more soon. This is from the real crazy Mimi. Do you feel a weight lifted with your divorce after a divorce at all? After all the pain and hurt I mean, I you feel a weight lifted with your divorce after a divorce at all after all the pain and hurt I mean, I definitely feel a weight has lifted off my shoulders for sure. I'm getting my sparkle back.

Mama's getting her groove back. I definitely feel a lot better. Not like there's not hard times. Of course there is. But yes, I feel like a weight has been lifted. The veil has been lifted. I see things for for what they were now that I didn't see before and I think that's a very important for my for my healing and for my growth

Okay, Oh half Oh, no, no, oh half. Oh, no Oh half. Oh, nah What's your favorite thing about being a mom? Everything I love being a mom. It's always it's what I've always wanted to do. I've always loved kids. They make me so happy. Like I just think that kids are wonderful. Cruz is literally the best thing that's ever happened to me. I cannot express that enough. I mean, there's nothing that about being a parent that I, you know, would say I didn't love. But you know, just having somebody that like needs me and

somebody that loves me so much and that I love so much and that I can take care of and, you know, I know he's safe and just has that like strong connection and bond. And it's just like my favorite thing in the world being a mom. It's the thing I'm most proud of for from here on out. I've always wanted more kids. I've always been open about that. A lot of people are like, why did you want more kids with Jax? I'm like, guys, remember, that was Jax and I's plan. We both had said that we were going to have more kids. And then he blindsided me on season one of The Valley

after we had both said we were going to start that summer to try to start having another baby. That was our plan. Not just mine, ours. And then he put the bar over our family. That's exactly what happened. And then try to make it look like that. I wanted to have kids and he didn't. That was not the truth. He chose the bar and everything else over our family. And we didn't work out, obviously. But I always would choose family and I would always choose to grow my family. I think Cruz would be a wonderful big brother.

I just love kids and I've always wanted to be a mom. I always thought I would have three kids. I don't know what my future is going to hold now, but I wouldn't be against it if I found the right person and fell in love again. But you know, Cruz is wonderful and he is all that I need. This is from Tori Scory. How is your mama? When does she come back on the podcast? My mom is doing amazing. I miss her so much. Her birthday is coming up March 28th. So make sure you all wish her a happy birthday on

March 28th. She's doing wonderful. She normally gets to come out for a whole month in September or August. So I can't wait for that. I'll go visit them soon in Kentucky. But yeah, I'm excited. My brother, Wesley, my sister-in-law, Melissa, and my niece, Presley, are coming here this month for Presley's spring break and we're going to Disney. This will be their first time staying at my house.

They visited before back whenever I used to live in the apartment. But now this will be their first time coming to the house and staying here and I cannot wait to see them go to Disney and do all the fun stuff. And then my dad and my stepmom Linda are coming to visit me for Cruz's birthday. His birthday is coming up. He'll be for April 12. I can't believe it. And this will be the first birthday party that my dad and Linda have been able to make. So I'm so excited. I got so much family coming in town and I am so blessed and I cannot wait to see them.

Love them all. Let's see. Mama Hall 55 favorite current series on TV show or theater movies. Oh gosh, I've been watching so much recently I just rewatched actually I hadn't watched it before but I started The Resident on Netflix and I loved it it only had six season it's already done or whatever but that show was so good I've also been watching Yellow Jackets and of course White Lotus amazing love it all gosh there's been so many different

things that I've been watching. But yeah, I love all those shows and I cannot wait to go see Snow White in Lilo and Stitch. Like I'm such a Disney freak and I'm so excited to go see those two movies. So I think I'll be taking crews soon to go see those and I cannot wait. All right guys, I think that that is going to be all the questions that I do for today because we're going to have many, many more weeks to come and I'm going to have so many amazing guests coming up. I just didn't want to get anybody sick today. So I just decided to do a little solo and get to know, let you guys get to know me a

little bit better. I am going to Miami on Monday. I cannot wait. Taking a girls trip much, much, much much needed you guys have no idea I'm going with Janet my girl Janet and two of her friends from back home. Allison and Nicole I met them many many times. They are amazing They're my friends as well now too, and we are just going to have a blast. I have not been to Miami in a while and I a blast. I have not been to Miami in a while and this mama needs this girls trip. So bad.

So I can't wait to tell you guys about it whenever I get back. I love you all so much. Have a wonderful weekend and a wonderful week. We'll see you next time on When Reality Hits. Love y'all. Are you looking for your next case? Pluto TV has all your favorite crime dramas streaming for free. You're gonna need some backup. Which means suspense is free. Very cool. Watch CSI New York, Criminal Minds, Blue Bloods, Tracker, FBI and SWAT all for free.

You can't outrun this. Someone's gonna pay for all this crime, but it's not gonna be you. Take care of business, fellas. the world.