When Reality Hits with Jax and Brittany - Michelle SANIEI Lally

Episode Date: April 25, 2024

Michelle returns with a new name! She and Brittany compare notes on their personal lives, including co-parenting and working together with their partners, wanting more kids, and advice to women in unhealthy relationships! PLUS, Michelle talks about her current love life, growing up in a multicultural home, her mom's cancer battle, being the Word of the Day on WWHL, THE DIRECTOR, and her interaction with Jax on this week's episode! Check out our amazing sponsors!! Shady Rays: Need shades? Head to ShadyRays.com and use code: RealityHitsfor $20 off polarized sunglasses! Quince: Get warm weather ready! Go to Quince.com/jb for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns! Book whoever you want to be on Booking.com - Booking dot YEAH!  ADDYI: Ladies! Got low libido? Check out Addyi.com Visit Apartments.com - THE place to find a place!  

This episode of When Reality Hits is brought to you by Booking.com. This spring, check out Booking.com for your ideal hotel or vacation home, no matter where you go in the US. Book whoever you want to be on Booking.com. Booking.yeah. Hello everybody and welcome back to win reality hits today we have one of my besties back on the pod My cast mate on the valley Michelle say my last Michelle sunny I'm so bad at that like it's awful. My country accent just takes over

Well, I'm currently Michelle sunny lally, right? I like to keep lally for now just for Isabella's sake, but eventually that will be removed. You're going to. So you legally changed your name when you got married? Yeah. Yeah. That's something I never did. I never legally put Couchy on there.

I just did it for like a little Instagram thing because Cruz is Instagram. You know, Cruz has the last name Couchy, but Jax goes by Taylor. So it just didn't make any sense. It's just an extra step I have to do. Yeah. Oh my gosh. How are you feeling? I am feeling really good. I'm actually much happier.

Yes, you are. A year ago. And I'm just thankful for that. Yeah. I can tell like you're so much happier now. And I think that everybody is going to be able to tell that especially as the season goes on, you know? Cause you know, things only get worse, you know. How are you feeling with everything? I know that, you know, you are also, we've been going through a lot of the very similar situations in our relationships. So you're feeling so much happier

now and it's very obvious. Thank you. Everybody that they're like you seem like a completely different person and honestly, I feel so refreshed. I'm so happy I have my independence back I live by myself and I just feel free and I'm ready to start a brand new chapter in my life. I know and I'm so happy for you I mean, I know that you you know, this can be very, very hard. And now you are also in the public eye and going through it publicly. How are you feeling about all of that? I know that's a different part that a lot of people do not have to deal with.

Yes, that's a that's been a little difficult for me because people now suddenly feel like they know who I am and know what I've been going through my entire relationship with Jesse. That's not the case. They saw the end of our relationship. And obviously I was very unhappy now rewatching myself. It's crazy because I thought I was able to kind of fake it and pretend to be happy, but you know, I wasn't and I forgot what the question was Well, just you know, we're talking about how much better you feel and how like it's going through everything publicly Yeah, that that's been a little difficult, but I'm just trying to avoid that I've had really positive feedback, but I've also had really negative feedback

So just trying to ignore that as best as I can. Yeah. I mean, that's a whole nother layer that, like I said, a lot of people would never have to experience. And I think a lot of people are confused about like the timeline of things because I think a lot of people watching the show don't realize that it was filmed like six or seven months ago, you know? Yes, we filmed it last summer. We finished filming beginning of September. I had the conversation with Jesse beginning of October that it was no longer going to work and I wanted to file for divorce. So Jesse and I actually have not been together since October.

And since then, we were both free to date and see and do whatever we want. Yeah. And we both decided to start dating. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I feel like people don't realize that Jesse is also dating people. Do you know what I mean? Correct. Yeah. We're both dating. Yeah. I do now have a boyfriend. So I'm really happy about that. And he is amazing. He is. I'm so happy for you because you guys are so cute together and thank you. You know, we're very much aligned. I feel like I instantly when I met him, we just align with each other.

We have the same values, the same hobbies. It's been very easy. We don't fight and I'm just so happy all the time. Yeah, I just, like I said, you can actually tell it and you guys are so sweet. He'll feed her and everything at the dinner table. It's like, I can't imagine Jesse ever doing that. No, not at all. I'm the complete opposite. I can't keep my hands off him. I'm like, who am I? I love it for you. And how is everything going with like co-parenting? Because you know,

Isabella is four now, which I can't believe. She just turned four. I took her to Disneyland on her fourth birthday. So divorce is very hard in general. Like it's very difficult. And Jesse and I have gone through our stages of being upset with each other, hating each other, trying to be friends. But at the end of the day, we really care about Isabella. And I actually am really happy where we are today. Today, we are acting like friends. If he needs anything, he can call me, vice versa. And I think it's been a really healthy transition. Yeah. I mean, yeah, that's really good because that's like what actually matters, you know?

Of course, and at the end of the day, he's the father of my child. Yeah. He's always gonna be in my life. The first couple months, I must admit, it was incredibly difficult. I didn't know how I was gonna do it, and I was just trying to take it a day at a time,

and I felt like that was just taking over my life, but now I'm so much happier and I think he is too. Yeah, really reflecting our Relationship with each other and that's really good. Like the fact that you can you can be happy for him to be happy Yeah, you know, that's a huge step. Yeah, and I think because he's happy with somebody else, he's just a happier person. It's making things easier for you. Exactly. Do you see yourselves being friends or is it just gonna be kind of only talk about Isabella type thing? No, I totally see us as friends.

I mean, I do think there is a point, you don't wanna be best friends with your ex, but I think we'll definitely always be able to do Isabella birthday together with our significant others and just move on. Okay. That's awesome. I'm, I love that for you guys. How have you felt about all the craziness on like social media and everything? Like I know whenever you and Jessie first separated, this is why I feel like we had to talk about the timeline,

is because it's not like you had been on a show yet, you know, because you separated after we filmed, but you weren't like in the public eye yet, because the show had never aired. Correct. So I keep getting DMs like, how are you already dating? Yeah.

If possible. Number one, we had a discussion in October. Yeah. Number two, I'm 35 years old. I was ready, more than ready to start dating. And like, I didn't want to be alone anymore. So absolutely, I started dating and I found somebody I really liked. And we've been exclusively seeing each other.

Yes. But it's it's been tough. It's harder than I thought. I thought I could just avoid all of the negative comments, but some of them are really, really negative and I just try to. I keep telling you, you got to stay out of that comment section. Yes, I do. You got to because that's like definitely one of the most difficult things.

Like you know who you are, you know what you've done and what you've been through and everything else. So it's like you have no reason to listen to people that don't even know you. Of course. But I also like the opposite side with the positive comments, getting to know the fans or them getting a little getting to know a little bit of who I am. Yeah. So there is a good side in it. Yeah, for sure. There's that's an interesting interesting thing because I think a lot of people don't really know much about your like background, like how you grew up. Do you want to like tell people a little bit

more about yourself? Because I feel like I got a lot of questions of people writing in being like, can she tell us a little bit more about how she like grew up? Yeah, people are very curious. Yeah. My parents met in LA. They both had recently moved to LA, or actually my dad came from Iran to LA and my mom was still living in Mexico and came to visit. They met in Beverly Hills at a restaurant and then he basically told my mom, my mom already had two children and he said, you know, let's be together, let's get married. And my dad ended up raising my brother and sister as if they were his children. So I grew up very in a completely two different, two completely different cultures.

Very Persian and a very Hispanic culture. And so it's very unique, obviously, because I heard Farsi, I learned Spanish. And I just, we grew up like very united and very together. Right. What else can I say? I mean, that's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. Like, and you actually lived. I lived in LA. Yeah. In West Hollywood till I was 10 lived in South Pasadena for a little while. My parents actually split

after 20 years and then I moved to San Diego. And then 10 years ago, I decided to move back to LA because this is just where I wanted to live, in South Real Estate. I mean, would you ever live in the Valley? A lot of people ask me that. I don't think so. I like to visit you guys, but I definitely like where I live. A lot of people were writing in being like, what is Chateau Marmont? Because I guess we've talked about it a lot on the show. And they'll even be like, whenever your old house was like right beside it, you know, so they'll like point and be like Chateau Marmont.

FYI, Chateau Marmont is a very iconic hotel in Hollywood, it was one of the first hotels built and it is so private so a lot of people, celebrities, like to go there because it's hard to get in and they feel comfortable and safe there. Yeah. I've been there with you a couple of times. It is fun. Yeah. Get ready for the season ahead with quality shades built to last.

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Get warm weather, ready with Quince. Go to quince.com slash JB for free shipping on your order and 365 day return policy. I mean, that's pretty amazing. So if you don't like them, you could just return it. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash JB to get free shipping and a 365 day return. That's quince.com slash JB. Okay. Let's talk about the fact that you definitely went through a lot this summer. And I think a lot of people don't know everything that's been going on with you. They don't. So I watched the episodes. I'm like, man, I looked miserable and so unhappy

and like not smiling. And it was a combination of things. Obviously going through a difficult marriage and trying to figure out whether I should stay or go. I'm just constantly in my head like, what do I do? I don't know. Should I go? Do I make the decision? I was so back and forth that it was just mentally exhausting. Also right before I started filming, I'm very close to my mom.

My mom is my best friend. I text and call her every day and literally right before filming, my mom was always a very healthy person and she got a call that she found out she had cancer. So while filming, she had to have surgery, do chemo and I had to deal with my mom and that was internally very difficult for me.

I'm surprised none of that was on the show. Originally it was. I actually didn't feel comfortable talking about it because I'm not an emotional person and I'm more of a private person. But I think so much happened in the show that they cut that part out. But I had a lot of scenes where I did cry

on the phone with my mom because It was so fresh and so new and so unexpected. I never Expected that and we found out that she had stage 4 cancer. My mom is still doing chemo treatment So throughout, you know, it's been almost a year that yeah and having to deal with that. How is she doing right now? She has a great positive attitude. She's still doing chemo. Unfortunately, the first round didn't work. So we're trying a completely different chemo.

But this is how my mom is. She's like, you know what, I don't know in the future if I can travel. So I'm going to go to Europe for two weeks. So she literally did a chemo session and booked a trip with her sister, my aunt. Oh, they went and traveled to Europe. I love that. Yeah. I mean, I'm saying all the prayers for her and you know, stay strong. But I know that that had to be so hard on top of the filming, going through that with your family.

I've never filmed a TV show before. Yeah, I had cameras, you know, on my daily life, just all day surrounded by me on top of I was still working in real estate and also taking care of Isabella. Yeah. Just so many different layers that I was dealing with on a daily basis. Yeah. Goodness. I can't even imagine.

My mom's my best friend too. So I feel for you. And like I said, we'll send all the prayers and love that she can beat this. And I know I can only imagine what you're going through girl, but I'm glad that you were able to talk about it because I know so many people can relate to that. Okay. So Michelle, you were the word of the day on what happens live last week. I didn't know what that was. We were over here watching it. We had a dinner party and we were all watching the show together and Michelle was like, what is word of the day that you've never watched Watch What Happens Live before?

To know like- No, I'm a little naive when it comes to reality TV and all of that. I just never really watched it. So I had heard of Andy Cohen, but I didn't know what watch what watch what happens live What that is so funny to me that you did not know what the word of the day was you can't be like, what is it? What is it? I was like wait is everybody gonna continue talking about me. Thank you so much You're like no no more. Please leave me alone positivity only please yes positive vibes we got Cruz over here. So if you hear him in the background

Only please. Yes, positive vibes. We got Cruz over here, so if you hear him in the background, that's because we are at my Airbnb. Isn't it crazy that I've been bouncing around all these Airbnbs? It is. We have to get you a rental or another house.

I know, I'm gonna have to get a lease somewhere, I feel like. Isn't it also crazy that Jax and Jesse both stayed in the houses and we are the ones that had to move out? Absolutely, it's crazy. But I try to stay away on that kind of stuff, but you're right. I just wanted to get out of the house. Obviously it was my final decision and so I just needed to get away. I didn't want Isabella's life to really change.

I moved very close so it wouldn't affect her school or her and she sees both of us just as much. We have 50-50 with her. Yeah. You guys are doing good. You have like a set schedule with everything right now. Me and Jax don't have anything like that. We're just kind of like- We're the opposite. Yeah. We're kind of just bouncing around right now, figuring things out as we go. Well, I'm more permanent. I have filed for divorce.

Yes. Happening. We're in the middle of it. Hopefully before the end of the year that will be finalized. How long does that take? It depends, but a minimum of six months. Once you file, there's a six month waiting period, and if there's nothing to fight or argue about

or have to go to court, then it could be as simple as finishing it. It just depends. We, as of right now, don't have to go to court because we're basically in agreement with almost everything. Hopefully we don't need to and we'll be done. My goal is just to be done and move on with my life. Wow.

I cannot believe it takes that long. I can't even move past the fact that it takes that long. At least six months. That's why I was like, we need to file as soon as possible. But it was a little tricky with the show because it was going to be announced and then we didn't know how to handle it. So it was a little back and forth in when we would file. Right.

All right. Let's talk about the Valley a little bit. Let's talk about this director. Oh my God. It's so ridiculous. It is hilarious. And I feel like, you know, it's just so crazy that the guys were all gossiping in the pool talking about it

You know like like little schoolgirls than women they are I mean Jack's we are all know loves to gossip But still they were making it seem like like something was going on between you and in this director Do you want to clear this up? I am NOT gonna say who it was. No as I meet a ton of I am not gonna say who it was. No. Because I meet a ton of directors, actresses, actors, musicians, millionaires, billionaires on a daily basis. I go out with them for coffee, I have lunches and dinner.

It's part of the business network that I do. I do it so that I build relationships and if they ever wanna buy or sell a house, they give me a call. It had nothing to do with flirting or doing anything appropriate, but I think because it was somebody very famous that people were very interested in it.

But it was nothing but business. And in fact, when I met this person, I text Jesse and he came down to the hotel with Isabella. I introduced them all. Yeah. And it was no big deal. Yeah. So to make it look like that you were, it was almost insinuating that you

were hooking up with this director. You're like, I cannot catch a free break. Oh my gosh. Just absolutely insane. But those guys just gossiping in the pool was kind of hilarious. I mean, our show, as much as crazy as it is, is really interesting. It is. I mean, you have all aspects. Okay, we'll talk about the hallway incident just a little bit. But like, do you remember any of that? The hallway? Absolutely. You do?

It was all my adrenaline was rushing so much that I don't hardly remember any of that part. Oh, I remember it very well. Like everybody keeps texting me like, being like the hallway was it was crazy. We need more of this. It's weird to rewatch it. Yeah. Like, I feel like that did happen longer than it did. And so much has happened since then. Yeah. It's weird to watch it this much later. Yeah. I mean, that's what can be so weird. And also you don't never know what someone else is talking about or doing like until you watch it on the show. Yeah. Like all the interview bites and all that different stuff. How are you getting used to that part of

being on TV? I mean, there's certain people on interview bites that I'm like, Oh my God, look at the balls in them trying to say something when no one's around. Some people are really funny. I mean, it just depends on what they say. I wonder, do you, I wonder like how this group will be for a season two. Like, I'm pretty sure we're gonna have a season two and I'm definitely excited about that.

But it's like the dynamic is so different between all of our friends right now. So it's gonna be so interesting. Very interesting, a little difficult. People ask me all the time if season two is happening because we're no longer a couple. Absolutely. Yeah.

Life continues on my life doesn't stop because I got a divorce. Exactly. Yeah. My life continues and hopefully we get to watch some of that. You're going to be thriving. It's a whole different ball game next season. It is. I think it will be really good though.

I just wonder how the friendships are going to happen. Like how are we going to do these group events? And I mean, everyone can see so far that almost every single event has been these horrible fights break out. You know, Jackson's bald spot at a party. Like that's hilarious. I don't think he has a bald spot by the way. I think he has like a calic, but still it's like, there's definitely like a little quarter sized bald

spot up in there. There really is. I think it's just so funny how they like edited that and he's like sitting on the swing calling everybody about his bald spot party. I just thought Steph was so funny about that. Ladies, did you know that one of the most common complaints from women about their sexual health is a frustratingly low libido? Our sex drives can decline, but it's also treatable. Addie or flabanserin is FDA approved and has been clinically proven to increase sexual desire in certain Adi is for premenopausal women with acquired generalized hypoactive sexual desire disorder, HSDD, who have not had problems with low sexual desire in the past, who have low sexual desire no matter the type of sexual activity, the situation, or the sexual partner.

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Good question. For me, it took a lot of back and forth. I almost actually did it a year prior to filming. And at the end of the day, I gave Jesse another chance and I said, I want all of these things change. This is what I need from you to change. And you just give somebody time, whether you know, I'm going to give you six months, I'm going to give you a year. And once you relate to that person, like this is what I want, you see if they're capable of doing that and if they wanna do that for you. Unfortunately, Jessie wasn't able to change and ask what I want.

And I just realized it's a now or never moment. I'm like, am I gonna do this when Isabella's 15, 20 years old and I'm in my 40s or 50 do this when Isabella is 15, 20 years old? Right. I'm in my 40s or 50s. Like, no, this is the time. And it was very scary for me because Jesse and I also work together. So I was like, how is my business going to change? How is my income going to be? And are you guys still going to continue to work together? How's that part going? No. So I decided to start from scratch. So anybody from the past will continue working with but anybody in the future that

we meet, we go our separate ways. I didn't think it was appropriate to be business partners and divorce. Oh, yeah, I can tell that that's going to be tough. I was gonna ask you how is that going? Yeah, I don't know. We just have so many ups and downs right now that it's just like some days we can act like friends and do things together and then other days it's like there's just so many emotions that come with going through what we have been going through. Do you know what I mean? Yeah.

It's like so many ups and downs and feeling so many different types of ways. Like I could be like lonely and sad one minute and then I'm just like happy. I have my space. It like, you know, like it's just so many ups and downs and back and forth that I'm going through. Absolutely. So it's just kind of like, geez. So it's definitely one of the hardest decisions a woman can make, especially when a child is involved.

But I was honest in that. Did I want Isabella to grow up watching that and thinking like two people that are not affectionate or big girl, that is that what I want for my child? That's exactly what I had to do. And finally, that's when I was like, this is, I think we'll be happier apart.

I was very honest about that. And that's what made me get through it. And I said, no matter what. And it was scary. I was like, I have no idea where I'm going to live. I don't know when is my next deal. Yeah. Michelle got a apartment and everything. So she's like, I did it all on my own. I found something great nearby. I mean, everything you can think of. I started from scratch. Yeah, you did. And you do love your new place now? I love it so much. I live in an apartment, a two-bedroom apartment, and I couldn't be happier. And it's funny because a lot of people are like, oh, she left and she's just looking

for money, and that is the last thing I'm looking for. I can make my own money. I just want love and happiness. That's what I'm looking for, and I think that's what I'm looking for and I think that's what I saw. Yeah, aw, makes me so happy for you. Thank you. Yeah, it's been a wild ride, but I'm so happy that we have each other to like talk about these things

and kind of go through the same things together. You know, it's kind of crazy. Yeah. It's almost unreal that they are close friends, that they have a lot of similarities. You and I have similarities and that all of this is happening basically at the same time. You're just like a year ahead of me, which is crazy because you guys got engaged a year ahead, married a year ahead, but we started dating just like the three, I think I dates,

it was like three months before you and Jesse started dating. So it's just, and your daughter's a year older than Cruz. Their birthdays are almost the exact same day. Cruz's birthday is April 12th and Isabella's April 15th. Yeah, so think about that. They're like almost to the day, a year apart from each other. Our lives are crazy. You would have known how their birthdays were last year as opposed to this year.

Oh my gosh. Yeah. You guys are doing great as well. Yeah. You did choose this birthday together. Yeah. Were you shocked or are you like, how could, would you be able to do that with Jessie? Uh, have you asked me a couple of months ago? Absolutely not.

Yeah. But now you're, yeah, we actually did have a little birthday get together. That makes me, that makes me happy that things are getting easier for you guys, for both of you. I want the best for Jesse too, you know. Yeah, I didn't think that was gonna happen, but I can like hear it in his voice how happy he is now and I think he can see how happy I am.

That's awesome. Yeah. We just focus on the happiness because that is all that is important. And you're next. Oh gosh, crazy. Okay, I'm going to ask you a couple questions from some fans that wrote in. We were just talking about this, but you can answer it again.

This is from Megan underscore and underscore boik. How did you find the strength to leave your unhappy marriage? I finished filming and I just woke up one day and I said, I feel the same exact way I did a year ago and two years ago. What am I waiting for? Like what if I want to be happy, I need to leave. And so I just finally had that conversation, even though I was scared and nervous. I just decided to do it and never look back again. Yeah, I just moved forward.

This is from Christine Rogers underscore. Did she know her marriage was on the rocks when signing up for the show? Because I'm kind of surprised they did it is what this person said. That's a popular question. Yeah. So no, Jesse and I were not on the rocks when we were first pitched this idea of doing the TV show. Isabella was really young.

I want to say she was like just, she had just turned one. And I mean, we fought, but we weren't, I was not miserable. I was not like, we had our ups and downs, but just like any other couple. And then when they finally said it, that we got the green light to do it, I was not sure that I was gonna leave Jesse. I was confused.

I mean, you were trying to talk with a therapist and everything, or what was he called? A life coach, yeah. And so I just decided, okay, if they're gonna show my life, I'm sure other people are probably going through what I'm Yeah, no, that's why I think it's so great our show is because so many people can relate to what is happening You know like I'm sure there's so many people that are happy that like you're showing What they are probably feeling and going through as well. Yeah, that's that makes you like super strong

I think it's like an amazing thing that you that you guys first time ever being on a TV show, we're able to be so raw and real. I hope I could empower women, have them know like this is not what life is supposed to be. Yeah, I mean, you've definitely inspired me. Because I think a lot of people, because me and Jax obviously came out publicly about it, they didn't realize that you guys had already been separated for a long time.

And that's just, that's crazy. Um, okay. This is from FL underscore Steph. What workout plan does she have? Cause you got a body, body, body, body, body. Well, I am a walker. I know people laugh, but I love to walk. I literally walk every single

day of my life. Whether it's 30 minutes, an hour, I try to get at least 10,000 steps in in the morning. I live by a hiking trail, so I hike a couple times a week. I do have a gym membership. I'm not that good, but I just think consistency of always moving your body is number one. And then number two is just having an overall, I don't consider myself like ever having a diet because I eat whatever I want, but I just- You're kind of a healthy eater though. I'm just a super healthy eater.

I think it's delicious. I think it's good for you. And it's just like, I don't eat junk. Don't you just like want McDonald's every now and then? I'm so jealous of you. I don't think I've had McDonald's in like 15 years. Girl, that is something. My one thing I eat is In-N-Out and like. Like I'm over here praying that I get that thing where you're going through,

because I'm going through a lot of stress in my life as every, as you know, and I'm sure everyone can tell there's things that pop up on social media about me almost every day right now, and I'm going through a lot. But like, why am I not getting the skinny can't eat shit? But two types of women, it's the women that want to just keep eating. Yes, that is what's happening to me. I'm like, why can't I be the other way? You just have to force yourself and then it becomes a habit. So my style of life is very much just a habit. I don't like intend, I don't count calories, I don't have to work out a certain amount

of time. I was just like overall. Well you know I'm like really trying to get everything back on track. I'm like gonna be working with Jenny Craig again. I'm gonna be you know I'm going to the gym a lot and I'm you know I'm trying to if we have a reunion or whatever I'm trying to the gym a lot. If we have a reunion or whatever, I'm trying to get this revenge body on fleek, especially after having almost a whole season of my face frozen on the valley. People still come to me on a daily basis on my Instagram being like, why does her face look frowny this season? She used to not look like that. I'm like, it showed my surgery.

I literally wore a white headband around my face on the episode and everything. But yet again, for anyone who is just listening for the first time, I had this thing called Morpheus done under my chin and I did it three weeks before we started filming. So that is why my face is frowned and I will regret it for the rest of my life. But now I can just, oh, it's gone now. Yeah. It's great. I love the results. I love it. But like I will regret forever doing it that close to filming a TV show. I'm going to live it down for it.

People are never going to let me let that go. I'm going to start going to the gym with me and hiking with me a couple of times a week. I've been going to the gym at least four times a week recently, so I'm trying to get it back. But it is true. Things like that become a habit. Once I start seeing the results and stuff, I get way more addicted to living in that lifestyle and getting moving.

And also I've noticed like working out is so much better for my mental health. Like, yes, going through all this stress and stuff, like working out has been something that like can really actually take my mind off of it. Exactly, just keep it going and make it part of routine even if it takes 20 minutes and that's all you have. Yeah. It's better than nothing.

Yeah, it does. It makes you feel better. You're like, oh, I did something today. But yeah, hopefully I'll be the skinny stress girl soon. Imagine an app designed to make you use it less. Seems counterproductive, no? Well, apartments.com's instant alert feature works exactly that way. Instead of scanning rental listings a million times a day, simply set and forget your search

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to find a place. This episode of When Reality Hits is brought to you by Booking.com. Booking.yeah. What kind of person do you want to be when you're on vacation? Maybe you're trying to find your zen in the forest. Maybe you want to cut loose with your friends in Vegas. You know, that's what I like to do. Or maybe you want to go sightseeing with your family, which I love to do too.

So we've used Booking.com many, many times, going to the Bahamas, going to Hawaii, going to Kentucky, going to New York. I absolutely love it because it makes things super, super easy. Booking.com has so many choices across the US, from cozy vacation homes to fun-filled resorts. You can book whoever you want to be. This spring, check out booking.com for your ideal hotel or vacation home, no matter where you go in the US. Book whoever you want to be on booking.com booking.yeah. Okay, this is from this was nice and I just wanted to read this. This is from Jules KS. Jules K ski. I think is how you say it. She just said just thank you for sharing your story. You two have no idea how much it helps. And I thought that was like really sweet.

That's what I love. Yeah. Like stuff like that like actually means a lot because it is hard to go through it so publicly, but I know, and I know I've said this already, but I know so many people can relate. I think so. And I think if we can help others, empower others, why not?

And don't you feel just like really good and really strong? I do. I feel great too. Yeah, don't you feel just like really strong and good about your decision right now? I do. I made up my mind and I can see now

that it was the best decision for me and Isabella. Yeah, that makes me so happy. I'm just gonna tell you how happy I am for you the whole episode. This is from MissLoff underscore, would you want to have more kids? Dun, dun, dun. If you asked me a year ago, the answer was no.

I say, let's see where life takes me. I'm open to any possibility, yes and no. But yes, absolutely. Isn't that crazy? Because, I just might get mad at me saying this, but you did not want any more kids whenever you were with Jessie, did you? No, I didn't.

It was just so hard. Yeah. I couldn't imagine a second. And now she's getting older and I feel like a new relationship and if they want children, I would love to have children maybe in the future. See, I was I've always been saying I want more kids like I definitely want more kids. Yeah.

And I'm like, hey, if I have to go the lala way, maybe I will one day. I really don't care. Don't get me wrong, though. One is very hard and I would be content with just one. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, being a parent is something else. Best thing that's ever happened to me for sure.

But there's so many unexpected things. You don't know what's going to happen. Yeah. You do not know. You think like I've always been so good with kids. I'm like, I got this. But like I never thought there's certain issues and different things that I deal with that I never would have imagined having to deal with. And a lot

of people have written in asking about Cruz because we, you know, have been so like open and honest about his journey. And he is doing so good. I could, I could just tell a difference in the way he's interacting with people. Like I really think speech therapy and he's in occupational therapy as well. So he's got a very busy schedule this kid. He goes to speech therapy twice a week, he goes to school twice a week and then he goes to occupational therapy once a week and soccer on Sundays. So, but I could just tell that it's really helping him. And you know, that's another reason why we've been so open about that as well, because so many other people have been reaching out to me that they've went through the same thing with speech delays and different

things that, you know, you just don't really expect that you would have to go through. Yeah. You know, I see a difference as well. Yeah. But he's like thriving. He's doing so good. And he doesn't seem like us living in different houses and stuff. Like it doesn't seem like it is affecting him at all, you know? And I feel like Isabella too, like she was actually happy. Wasn't she? She was like, I get two houses. She was so happy and I never expected that. I actually expected the opposite and she was gonna.

Cause you know, Isabella's sassy. She's got her whole personality. She talks, she knows what's going on. You know, Cruz is still, I don't think he fully can understand, but Isabella knows what's going on. Oh yeah, she gives us rules. She loves it. She says, I have two houses, two beds, two toys.

I'm going to have two birthdays. She really loves it. She is so funny. Two Christmases. She is going to get it all now. You know, I grew up in a, my parents divorced whenever I was two. So I don't remember them ever being together or anything. That's another reason why I left because a lot of people told me their age, they're most

likely not going to remember. Yeah. And this is actually a good time for them to leave or good time for us to leave if that is what we want to do. Yeah. Which is very true. I mean, imagine if they're like 10, 11, 12 teenager years. Like that would be so complicated. So I get it. You know, I understand exactly what you're

going through. I've got a couple questions that were to me. This one was from Danielle underscore rugger. Is it hard watching how Jack spoke to you watching the episode back. Because like there's like moments on there. You were there that day at the pool like they only showed that one little clip it. I was so uncomfortable. Oh my gosh. But so they only showed one little clip of me walking with a beach towel around my waist. And it said like, I think Jack said something like, what did he say?

Be a mother or something because I wasn't feeling good that day, even though I was in the pool with my son all day, like playing with him. He kept coming out and getting really sick and then going back in to take care of Cruz. Yeah, and he just, he, but like whenever I watch it back, watching how he spoke to me, like we could feel how uncomfortable it was that day, remember?

Yes. Like he wasn't even in, he wasn't even filming. I don't even think he even had a mic on and he just kept coming back to the, to the pool. Remember he was knocking on the window. I remember like they didn't show like any of that. So yes, it can be hard and it also like brings back all these like feelings like, okay, you know, like it makes me feel like a little bit stronger and what I'm going through right now. Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah.

Has there been any like thing that's been like extremely difficult for you to watch back? How many episodes are we in right now? Six? Golly. Halfway. Halfway through. A lot of, I mean, there's been a lot. Yeah, a lot has been hard. The life coach, like I held, I didn't wanna cry on camera. I didn't wanna be that person. And I was like holding it. So many people say how cold I am and how checked out I was.

It wasn't that I was cold. I was just going through a lot and I was like literally holding my tears and just trying to act cool and be normal. Oh. So that was like watching those moments with Jesse in those conversations is actually kind of emotional for me. And like I cry.

Yeah. I mean, and didn't you say that that life coach actually made you realize that you needed to get out of your relationship in a weird way? He helped me because he said, I just want the best as an individual. And he's the one that taught me, because he said, why do you wanna stay with Jesse?

And I kept saying, for my daughter, for my daughter. And he's like, you're looking at it the wrong way. He's like, do you want your daughter to one day be married and be unhappy? Would you want that for her? And I said, no. And he just had so many conversations with me and helping me leave. that for her and I said no and he just had so many conversations with me and like helping

me leave. Yeah, that's that's crazy though because I'm sure like Jesse thought it was going to bring you guys together but really you were just like no. Yeah, I was shocked. I thought that was going to happen but he just made me independent strong and and have my own voice. Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah.

And look at you now happy as a lark. All right, I love you Michelle. Tell everybody your Instagram name. I love you too. I am now Michelle.SunnyE, S-A-N-I-E-I. Woo woo, switching it up. All right, I love you girl. Thank you so much for coming on When reality hits we will see you guys next week

She talks about etiquette get your fingers out of your mouth She talks about where to find a deal. You know, if you sell me something on Instagram, I buy it Whoever markets to me does a fabulous job. She talks about the economy. We used to joke that'll be the thing to send them to therapy. Okay, we're creating jobs. Can we look at it that way? She talks about parenting. These kids want to come home. They don't want to leave. They don't want to drive. They want to stay in the womb. Let's talk with Heather DeBrow every Thursday on Podcast One or wherever you get your podcasts.