Speaker 1: Meredith Lynch. Welcome back to Drunkish. It's Meredith from Oddly Specific.
Speaker 2: How are you.
Speaker 1: You were one of my first guests on this podcast.
Speaker 1: You were in my first four oh gee, and I
Speaker 1: had a blast. I'm so glad it got a lot
Speaker 1: of uh got a lot of hits. Downloads.
Speaker 2: I don't know. I don't know. The kids are calling
Speaker 2: it on the podcast these days, dreams. I think it's
Speaker 2: downloads still for podcasts, Yeah, I think. So how's your
Speaker 2: podcast going? You know, peaks and valleys, baby peaks and valleys.
Speaker 2: But you know what, a lot of exciting things in
Speaker 2: the past. You know, it's funny. I wonder if you
Speaker 2: could relate to this. The other day, I said something
Speaker 2: is coming down the pike and I was like, is
Speaker 2: that just a Massachusetts thing? Do you remember the mass
Speaker 2: Pike from when you were He SAIDs of course, because
Speaker 2: you were like out in that part of the state too,
Speaker 2: where the mass Pike is like the big thing that
Speaker 2: comes through.
Speaker 1: Yes, coming down to the pike. I think that's that
Speaker 1: is still a saying. I think people that don't live
Speaker 1: near a pike would still say that.
Speaker 2: Okay, all right. I was just like, I'm not seeing
Speaker 2: a lot of pikes these days. I was I'm sure,
Speaker 2: I think you've got kids going back to school tomorrow,
Speaker 2: which feels fucking insane because I'm pretty sure it's fourth
Speaker 2: of July weekend, Like what what the fuck is this
Speaker 2: August tenth? They go to school? What happened?
Speaker 1: Okay, So what I wanted to talk to you about,
Speaker 1: because we've already heard listen if you don't if you
Speaker 1: want to hear more about Mara the story, which is great,
Speaker 1: just go back, and I mean, I haven't had that
Speaker 1: many episodes. I think there's like twenty eight at this
Speaker 1: point episodes.
Speaker 2: Which is not bad. But go back. Un emeritiths good. Yeah,
Speaker 2: check it out. She was either one, two, three, or four.
Speaker 2: She was in my first floor. Anyway, you can hear
Speaker 2: her whole story. It's really great. How long have you
Speaker 2: been sober exactly at this point now it's been three years.
Speaker 2: Three years. That's amazing. Good for you. Now you are
Speaker 2: very versed in the world of reality TV. You do.
Speaker 1: You have a big TikTok following, and you oftentimes comment
Speaker 1: on people in the world of television, but also just
Speaker 1: in what would you say, like just kind even social media.
Speaker 2: Social media culture internet culture. I mean, I think celebrity
Speaker 2: culture is dying, Like I think that. You know, did
Speaker 2: you watch Love Island? I didn't, but my kids did.
Speaker 2: I know some of the names. Well, let me tell ya,
Speaker 2: that is a show for girls like me, girls who
Speaker 2: used to make their barbies be slutty because all they
Speaker 2: do is just make random people make out on that show, kid,
Speaker 2: did your kids show you that? Oh they loved it? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2: I fucking loved it. But yes, I love commenting on
Speaker 2: culture and pop culture. And I've always like, I remember
Speaker 2: the first time I saw The Real World Miami. I
Speaker 2: was like, I was like fucking locked in. I was
Speaker 2: on summer vacation. My family had gone to the beach,
Speaker 2: and I like through a temper tantrum and was like,
Speaker 2: I'm not going in today. I'm staying at the house,
Speaker 2: Like wow, what a delight of a kid. And I
Speaker 2: watched a like, you know, marathon of the Real World Miami.
Speaker 2: I wasn't allowed to watch MTV, so that's actually part
Speaker 2: of why I kicked them out of the house. And
Speaker 2: I just remember being fascinated by it. So yeah, I've
Speaker 2: always loved reality TV, and I you know, I think
Speaker 2: it's changed a lot over the years. I missed the
Speaker 2: good old days of reality TV, and I felt a
Speaker 2: little more like real quote unquote, But yeah, I love
Speaker 2: it and I comment on it on TikTok and I
Speaker 2: ail into the Void and I have a lot of
Speaker 2: fun with it. Well.
Speaker 1: One of the things that I've been thinking about lately
Speaker 1: because I think when you are sober, or maybe even
Speaker 1: trying to get sober, you might watch it with a
Speaker 1: different eye. I know that, and it's hard because I
Speaker 1: don't want to come off as judgmental, even though I
Speaker 1: feel very judgmental sometimes, like when I watch Housewives, particularly
Speaker 1: watching The Valley recently. I don't know if you you
Speaker 1: know have seen do you watch The Valley at all?
Speaker 2: So I watched the first season of the Valley because
Speaker 2: I was doing some recapping, but I haven't seen it.
Speaker 2: But all I know is I don't like Jack's right,
Speaker 2: we don't like Jacks.
Speaker 1: Jax is a you know, he's a pretty serious addict
Speaker 1: who spends a lot of time telling everybody that he's
Speaker 1: not actually addicted to alcohol and drugs. He's just addicted
Speaker 1: to anger. Anger is his problem, not alcohol and drugs.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 1: But there's a lot of blaming each other, like Jax
Speaker 1: is blaming Danny for like you're an alcoholic, and everybody
Speaker 1: calls out each other's problem drinking. Which, sure, yeah, there
Speaker 1: are a lot of problem drinkers on reality TV. But
Speaker 1: what I'm kind of interested in is what came first,
Speaker 1: Like are these people all addicts and alcoholics or does
Speaker 1: reality TV encourage drinking so much that some people that
Speaker 1: might be on the brink?
Speaker 2: I want to know what.
Speaker 1: I just want to delve into that because like, and
Speaker 1: you know what we can start with is Leah.
Speaker 2: I think it's McSweeney, right, sure, yeah, Liam McSweeney. Yeah,
Speaker 2: from New York Housewives. So she was pretty famously sober
Speaker 2: when she started the show. She struggles with bipolar and
Speaker 2: she was sober. Now she lost her Sobriet before the
Speaker 2: season actually started. I'm pretty sure now she says.
Speaker 1: Now that she felt that she was going to have
Speaker 1: to drink because that was the whole culture of the show.
Speaker 1: So now it's on her that she decided to drink.
Speaker 1: But she's also saying that there was a lot of
Speaker 1: pressure to like do coke, and I wonder, here's the thing.
Speaker 1: A lot of these women on these shows are older women.
Speaker 1: And when I say older, I mean my age. They're
Speaker 1: my age women whose bodies probably can't be drinking that much, right.
Speaker 2: But sure like how we process alcohol changes as we
Speaker 2: get older, which is part of what drove me to say,
Speaker 2: I don't know if I want to keep drinking. You know,
Speaker 2: it's so interesting that you say that is a chicken
Speaker 2: or is it chicken her egg? With someone like Leah McSweeney,
Speaker 2: who knew already that she had an alcohol problem, I
Speaker 2: have to say that that. I don't want to say
Speaker 2: that it's her fault, but to me, it feels uniquely
Speaker 2: her when it's like, I know I already have this problem,
Speaker 2: and now I'm putting myself in an environment and I'm
Speaker 2: not staying away from things that might trigger me, and
Speaker 2: I think it's with her. I have to be honest.
Speaker 2: I think it's one of those things where like the
Speaker 2: show didn't really work out for her and now it's
Speaker 2: a little Monday morning quarterback going on. Okay, and I
Speaker 2: agree with that, But if I'm to play Devil's advocate
Speaker 2: to that, although I do agree with that, go right ahead.
Speaker 2: Why should she have to lose her so? Okay?
Speaker 1: Why are these shows? Why is alcohol such a main
Speaker 1: focus of the show. So you have these people that
Speaker 1: are all accusing each other of having drinking problems. One
Speaker 1: thing that stood out that you didn't see this season
Speaker 1: on The Valley was that Jasmine and her fiance now
Speaker 1: Melissa Okay, are very angry at Danny who Danny Zuko,
Speaker 1: Danny Zuko, No, I'm thinking of Danny from Greece, Danny whatever.
Speaker 2: Danny.
Speaker 1: They're upset with him because he acted inappropriately at a party, right,
Speaker 1: So now they want they're having a meetup so that
Speaker 1: Danny can apologize.
Speaker 2: But where do they have the meetup?
Speaker 1: At a brewery and what happens Jasmine orders herself a
Speaker 1: drink and Melissa orders a drink and then they sit
Speaker 1: there and accuse him of being an alcoholic. And these
Speaker 1: are people that also drink. So I'm thinking, why should
Speaker 1: Leah have to have to not go on a show
Speaker 1: to not be triggered, Like, why is drinking such a
Speaker 1: big part of it? Seems really unhealthy.
Speaker 2: Yes, I think one of one of the things that
Speaker 2: I've always found really fascinating about these shows is the
Speaker 2: behind the scenes. And one of the things that I've
Speaker 2: always heard consistently and I've heard this across the board
Speaker 2: with other reality shows as well. I mean not you know,
Speaker 2: not to I remember this from Adam talking about being
Speaker 2: on The Apprentice, is that everything would take longer than
Speaker 2: you anticipated it to take, Like, hey, guys, we're gonna
Speaker 2: bring you all here, and then it would take like
Speaker 2: two and a half hours. You'd be like, we could
Speaker 2: have gone there in like thirty minutes, right, So I've
Speaker 2: heard that with other reality shows, and Housewife sounds like
Speaker 2: it's exactly the same. They will talk about the fact
Speaker 2: that like if it's a party, they'll say, oh, you know,
Speaker 2: we're gonna drive you this way, and then they'll drive
Speaker 2: them the other way and they'll have alcohol in the car, right,
Speaker 2: Or they'll say, you know, it's gonna start at three pm,
Speaker 2: and then no one will show up until five pm
Speaker 2: because that's the time that the ladies all got and
Speaker 2: that automatically ends up like making people just on edge,
Speaker 2: making people like pissed off already, right things are running late.
Speaker 2: So my theory has always been it's like the combination
Speaker 2: of let's get them kind of in a pissy mood
Speaker 2: and then we'll just fucking pound them with alcohol and
Speaker 2: watch what happens. Literally, watch what happens. I think it's
Speaker 2: both those things. I think they want to get them
Speaker 2: to the edge and then and it's like you finally
Speaker 2: get to the place, all right, I'll have a drink,
Speaker 2: I'll take the edge off, I'll have whatever. And then
Speaker 2: I think it's also too. I think it's one of
Speaker 2: those things where they give them probably unlimited alcohol and
Speaker 2: not unlimited food.
Speaker 1: But is that on them for not eating? You have
Speaker 1: a lot of these women. Okay, now I'm thinking in
Speaker 1: my brain, I'm thinking about real housewives. So now I'm
Speaker 1: going to think about Real Housewives of Orange County where
Speaker 1: there is a lot of alcoholism and some DUIs among
Speaker 1: these ladies. But then you have a say, a cast
Speaker 1: member like a Heather Debro who drinks, always orders a
Speaker 1: drink along with everybody else. She's miss espresso martinis. But
Speaker 1: I've never seen her drunk on the show.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, she's never drunk on this show because she
Speaker 2: is in control enough. You know, she just doesn't She
Speaker 2: just I don't think she needs to be. I think
Speaker 2: that's her superpower, is that she's the I actually think
Speaker 2: that's a very smart tactic, is to be the one
Speaker 2: that doesn't get drunk, But.
Speaker 1: So how do you how do you manage that? Because
Speaker 1: here I'm going to read you, I'm going to read you.
Speaker 1: I made a list of all of the Real Housewives
Speaker 1: or people on those type of shows who have had
Speaker 1: DUI's uh, and there are quite a few. Karen Huger
Speaker 1: Huger from Atlanta had has had four DU's Sonia Morgan
Speaker 1: d u I at least one, she might have had two.
Speaker 1: Shannon Badour d u I, Kim Richards d u I,
Speaker 1: lu Anne Uh. You know some of these people have
Speaker 1: also been arrested.
Speaker 2: P K.
Speaker 1: Dreed's husband, Gina Kirschenheider famously had a DUI. Now she
Speaker 1: doesn't drink. Brandy Glanville, Mary's Soul Patten uh. And I
Speaker 1: believe there's more. Those are the ones that I got
Speaker 1: to before I before I got on with you. Now,
Speaker 1: that's a lot of d UIs from just Real Housewives franchise.
Speaker 1: And then you watch these people like Shannon Badour who
Speaker 1: got very drunk crashed her car with her dog in it.
Speaker 2: That was the biggest crime to me is that Archie
Speaker 2: was in the car. I know, I know, But then we.
Speaker 1: Watched for the rest of the season, Shannon continue to
Speaker 1: drink and make excuses and listen and nobody, I guess,
Speaker 1: nobody would have a leg to stand on to really
Speaker 1: be Like I mean, Tamar called her an alcoholic, but like,
Speaker 1: come on, Tamera, you shouldn't be judging anybody.
Speaker 2: But you know, no, I don't know that this.
Speaker 1: Is taken seriously enough and I feel like people could
Speaker 1: get hurt. It's also just kind of a bad example
Speaker 1: because I don't think any normal person can drink as
Speaker 1: much as they drink and not get drunk and get
Speaker 1: to uys.
Speaker 2: Well. I think the part of it too is that
Speaker 2: no one is really ever on house lives because their
Speaker 2: life is just going so well, you know what I mean,
Speaker 2: Like I would I would argue one of the rare
Speaker 2: exceptions where and you know, she's kind of come and go.
Speaker 2: But I think of like the fact that my nemesis
Speaker 2: Rachel Zoe will now be going on Housewives. I mean,
Speaker 2: the Rachel Zoe of two thousand and seven would be
Speaker 2: horrified to know that she was on Real Housewives. Right,
Speaker 2: she has taken a tumble and I'm sure we'll see
Speaker 2: more of it play out, and if any housewives are listening, yes,
Speaker 2: I have the screenshots, but like, no one's life is
Speaker 2: going that well. So I think it's like you take
Speaker 2: these combinations of you know, putting them in situations that
Speaker 2: are not great to begin with, like wipe alcohol out
Speaker 2: of it. Then you guzzle they guzzle alcohol and also too,
Speaker 2: like you know, Shannon is fighting with the ex boyfriend
Speaker 2: and all the you know, that was like what was
Speaker 2: going on behind the scenes. And I mean I don't
Speaker 2: think that David Badore was a prize either, No, but
Speaker 2: I remember even that first season, just like I remember her.
Speaker 2: She always had the great I think it was Grey
Speaker 2: Goose vodka but with the newman's own lemonade, which, by
Speaker 2: the way, in my drinking days, fucking sign the bitch
Speaker 2: up because that sounds great, okay that and like a
Speaker 2: tumbler glass with like a healthy amount of ice. Oh delicious, right,
Speaker 2: But I remember thinking, like there's a lot of alcohol
Speaker 2: already flowing in this house, and that didn't come because
Speaker 2: of Bravo. That was you know what I mean, Like
Speaker 2: they were both already drinking every night. And so I
Speaker 2: think that they know that the best way to make
Speaker 2: the show operate is to create drama, and the best
Speaker 2: way to do that is to get people drunk. But
Speaker 2: I will also argue that these like women, they have
Speaker 2: free will, and you know, if to Liam McSweeney's point,
Speaker 2: it's like, I mean, yeah, I think you were put
Speaker 2: in tough situations. But I also have seen people on
Speaker 2: these shows who don't drink. There are people who now
Speaker 2: are sober on these shows. Well, this is interesting to me,
Speaker 2: Like Kyle Uh got sober. She stopped drinking, and I'm
Speaker 2: not going to say that she's sober, which is another
Speaker 2: thing I kind of want to bring up with you
Speaker 2: in a moment, California sober that some people like listen
Speaker 2: if you want to, Like, I have no problem with
Speaker 2: people smoking weed. I've smoked weed, I've done edibles, you know,
Speaker 2: all that good stuff. Yeah, but my thought process on
Speaker 2: it is like, if you're doing it every day, like
Speaker 2: and I know a lot of people who are doing
Speaker 2: it like every day every day, I'm a little concerned.
Speaker 2: And maybe that's just like that's where I think. I'm like,
Speaker 2: I am like truly my father's daughter, I'm like, you
Speaker 2: can't be smoking dope every day, like like I literally
Speaker 2: sound like like I mean, I just that's where and
Speaker 2: also too I think there's a lot of people who
Speaker 2: are sober and then like they're just like fucking high
Speaker 2: as fuck all the time. And that's yeah, I guess
Speaker 2: I just get It's like I feel like, oh, I
Speaker 2: wish I could do that, But listen, the problem is
Speaker 2: if I did smoke pot, I would smoke it every day.
Speaker 2: So I guess some people might know each other themselves better.
Speaker 2: And I mean, I guess it just comes down to
Speaker 2: like how often are you Also, like I remember reading
Speaker 2: about how bad it is for your lungs like to
Speaker 2: smoke it.
Speaker 1: Well, so what if you're just eating a gummy that?
Speaker 1: I mean, what if we're getting really judgy? Listen, that's
Speaker 1: too much sugar.
Speaker 2: I don't know. I mean, I just I listen. I
Speaker 2: guess like life is fucking hard. And if you're if
Speaker 2: rug of choice is alcohol and then you start smoking
Speaker 2: weed and you are the relationships in your life are
Speaker 2: no longer falling apart, and you're able to work and
Speaker 2: you're able to do all of these things and you
Speaker 2: have you know. But I think that one of the
Speaker 2: things that I think, like five or ten years from
Speaker 2: now we'll be talking about is like just the amount
Speaker 2: of people that I know who like get really high
Speaker 2: and then drive, Yes, I am, Oh my god. When
Speaker 2: I was in high school, I one time had to
Speaker 2: drive high and I drove. First of all, I drove
Speaker 2: drunk all the time. Pretty good drunk driver. I don't
Speaker 2: recommend it.
Speaker 1: One of the reasons I quit drinking so that I
Speaker 1: would never have to drive drunk again. But I'm just
Speaker 1: saying I drove drunk a lot of times with nothing happening.
Speaker 1: The one time that I remember getting high and then
Speaker 1: I had to drive because something something happened where I
Speaker 1: knew I shouldn't be driving high, but I was like
Speaker 1: I had the car, whatever it was, I was stuck
Speaker 1: having to drive, and I remember being like, oh god,
Speaker 1: I feel like I'm driving in the air, like I
Speaker 1: thought I was driving like a spaceship and I was
Speaker 1: having like a little experience where I'm like I'm kind
Speaker 1: of floating like above the road. And then I realized
Speaker 1: I was on a one way street going the wrong way.
Speaker 2: Okay, to be fair, though, that sounds fucking sick. So
Speaker 2: I really can't blame you, like if that is what
Speaker 2: you guys are experiencing when you drive high, like I
Speaker 2: can't like, fine, you know what. No, But I also
Speaker 2: I don't know how much these women are doing things
Speaker 2: that are not alcohol too, because I've heard there's a
Speaker 2: lot of pills going on, and you know, I think
Speaker 2: pills are very different than like doing an edible. But
Speaker 2: I guess like my thought process is, like it sounds
Speaker 2: like being on Housewives is pretty fucking miserable, and it
Speaker 2: just makes you want to fucking drink, Like it doesn't
Speaker 2: sound like it's fun. And I'm sure you get to
Speaker 2: these places. You go to go to this dinner, right
Speaker 2: and it's like, oh god, everybody's like an hour late
Speaker 2: and I'm waiting, and so you just start drinking. And
Speaker 2: I feel like this used to happen to me sometimes.
Speaker 2: I don't know if this is happening to you. I
Speaker 2: would like all of a sudden realize that I had
Speaker 2: drank more than I thought I had, and like, you know,
Speaker 2: whether I was like at a dinner or I don't know,
Speaker 2: just you know, I remember when canned wine came out,
Speaker 2: like I didn't realize that I was consuming like two
Speaker 2: and a half glasses of wine drinking one can like
Speaker 2: I was drinking it like it was beers. And I
Speaker 2: remember being at a party ones and being like, I
Speaker 2: am fucked up what happened? Like, and that I think
Speaker 2: probably like not even the awareness of like when you
Speaker 2: go out to dinner and it's you and your husband
Speaker 2: and you go I think, I'll have two drinks when
Speaker 2: you're at one of these things and it lasts for
Speaker 2: hours and they just keep eating you drinks. I mean,
Speaker 2: I think that if I was on Real Housewives the
Speaker 2: way when I was drinking, I mean, I always tended
Speaker 2: to if there was any situation where there was like
Speaker 2: free flowing alcohol, I was very excited about it, Like
Speaker 2: and if I would if I went to sushi with
Speaker 2: my husband, I was the one going, Okay, let's get
Speaker 2: a large sake and a large beer. Like even if
Speaker 2: my husband was like we could just have like a
Speaker 2: small beer, I'd be like, what why would we do that?
Speaker 2: They make large ones? Like this is like maybe the
Speaker 2: appetizers now, I'm like, uh, why wouldn't we get spinach, nardo,
Speaker 2: totoke tip and fried Ravioli's like, yeah, you stop drinking.
Speaker 2: That's the other thing that people don't realize is like
Speaker 2: you do sort of like replace food sometimes with some
Speaker 2: of these things, right, And yeah, I mean I mean,
Speaker 2: as somebody who is sober and has been for quite
Speaker 2: a while, do you feel like, what do you feel
Speaker 2: like it's been in terms of the timeline, Has it
Speaker 2: gotten worse, has it gotten better in terms of drinking
Speaker 2: on things like Housewives? Like do I feel like I
Speaker 2: think it's gotten worse for people?
Speaker 1: I think it's I think it's way more prevalent. I
Speaker 1: think it's far too acceptable until it's not, and then
Speaker 1: I think we turn on people, myself included. I'm calling
Speaker 1: myself out for being like, oh my gosh, like why
Speaker 1: is Shannon getting a dui and then continuing to drink
Speaker 1: in every scene that she's in?
Speaker 2: Like how does she not know? But of course, and
Speaker 2: that's it's ridiculous for.
Speaker 1: Me to say as somebody who is recovering from alcoholism,
Speaker 1: I think it's just kind of triggering to watch it
Speaker 1: and you feel bad, but then you also go But
Speaker 1: this environment has got to be hard to be in
Speaker 1: when everybody's drinking and you're the only one. And maybe
Speaker 1: because I wonder if Kyle Richards is not actually an alcoholic,
Speaker 1: so it was easier for her, she chose to like
Speaker 1: not drink. She didn't like the effects of alcohol on
Speaker 1: her and she didn't like that. She felt like she
Speaker 1: was dealing with some emotional whatever her thing is.
Speaker 2: She is not.
Speaker 1: Saying that she's an alcoholic, she's just saying that she
Speaker 1: chooses not to.
Speaker 2: Drink, right. And also too, to me, it's interesting what
Speaker 2: a big deal that is to everybody, Like, yeah, I mean,
Speaker 2: I just I have so many friends now who don't drink.
Speaker 2: And it's not necessarily that they're alcoholics. Some of them,
Speaker 2: it's that they you know, have you know, they are
Speaker 2: alcoholics and they've gotten so whatever. But I have so
Speaker 2: many friends who don't drink anymore. And so to me,
Speaker 2: the fact that it's like a recurring storyline that a
Speaker 2: I don't know, fifty five year old woman decided she
Speaker 2: didn't want to drink alcohol anymore, I'm like, that's fucking news.
Speaker 2: Like I just disagree. But in the world of housewives,
Speaker 2: that is. And I think one of the things that
Speaker 2: bothers me about that is like it kind of reduces
Speaker 2: women to just like this idea of like, oh, you
Speaker 2: either drink or you don't drink. It's like such a
Speaker 2: personality trade of yours.
Speaker 1: Yes, But I feel like that's kind of in the
Speaker 1: world or do you think it's just in pop culture.
Speaker 2: I think it's odd. I think people feel if they
Speaker 2: quit drinking. People who are sober curious or whatever. A
Speaker 2: big recurring theme for people is like what am I
Speaker 2: going to tell people?
Speaker 1: And why are we living in? Why is society such
Speaker 1: that it is a big deal to be a person
Speaker 1: who doesn't drink that people are so curious about it?
Speaker 2: Really, you know you don't drink, an I think you're right.
Speaker 2: You're right, No, I agree, And I do feel like
Speaker 2: sometimes I feel like I was at a birthday party
Speaker 2: the other night and everybody was drinking, and that's totally
Speaker 2: no one was being everything was fine. But finally, like
Speaker 2: I think, like a few after like the third time
Speaker 2: of being offered something, I just was like, oh, I
Speaker 2: don't drink, And then I feel like I have to
Speaker 2: do my whole fucking explanation. Then I have to be like, Okay,
Speaker 2: time out party. So here's the deal. I'm not an alcoholic,
Speaker 2: even though I'm married to one he's been sober for
Speaker 2: seventeen years. Also, if you want to drink, that's okay,
Speaker 2: but I don't really want you to get like absolutely drunk,
Speaker 2: and like I have to take care of you. But
Speaker 2: even when I was drinking, I wouldn't want to do that.
Speaker 2: Like it's just like I have this like fucking speel
Speaker 2: that I have to do to make and I don't
Speaker 2: know if it necessarily is this, but like that I
Speaker 2: feel I have to do to make other people feel comfortable. Right,
Speaker 2: maybe I do it, but I do think that like
Speaker 2: when you tell people you don't drink, it does bring
Speaker 2: up their own relationship with alcohol. Yeah, for sure, and
Speaker 2: that's not your fault. But I think that's what's happening
Speaker 2: with Kyle on house That's why like her not drinking
Speaker 2: is like I mean, they treat that like the biggest
Speaker 2: fucking deal in the world when.
Speaker 1: Half of them have had a problem with alcohol or
Speaker 1: seem like drinking is problematic for them, like a Suddon
Speaker 1: or like I mean, you know, that's kind of a
Speaker 1: thing on there is, Like especially the ones that are
Speaker 1: kind of judging her for not drinking are people who
Speaker 1: maybe shouldn't drink, And the ones that don't care, like
Speaker 1: a Garcel, are not people that you've ever seen like
Speaker 1: drunken out of control at an event.
Speaker 2: Who do you think is the most successful housewife of
Speaker 2: all time? And you can say my enemy. But like,
Speaker 2: who do you think long term has has had like
Speaker 2: material success, Like is a successful person in life or
Speaker 2: is it successful as a housewife? Like what do you
Speaker 2: mean successful in life? Successful in life?
Speaker 1: I mean I feel like Kyle is pretty successful in life.
Speaker 1: I mean she was the co owner of a massive
Speaker 1: real estate business. Mm hmm, I guess also Bethany.
Speaker 2: Bethany, Like I would say Bethany, Heather Dubrow, Kyle, Nini,
Speaker 2: those to me sort of from each Teresa Giudice to
Speaker 2: some degree, I would say, even though she's had her issues,
Speaker 2: I think, you know, has taken a lot of stuff
Speaker 2: and spun it into success. Those are all people when
Speaker 2: I think of them on The Housewives, I don't think
Speaker 2: of them as sloppy, drunk messes.
Speaker 1: Interesting. You're so right, You're so right. Like Bethany, Yeah,
Speaker 1: never really see her drunker out of control.
Speaker 2: She made the money off of alcohol. But she's interesting. Yeah,
Speaker 2: not that I don't think she drinks, But I'm just
Speaker 2: saying it's like she was never like her Heather, Teresa,
Speaker 2: and it was Nini. They always kept it together because
Speaker 2: they knew they were playing the long game of this
Speaker 2: show and if you want to fuck up on these shows,
Speaker 2: it's like, to me, one of the biggest recks. And
Speaker 2: I think one of the saddest cases is like a
Speaker 2: Sonia or a Shannon Badoor and agree always alcohol being
Speaker 2: the bottom line, And you know, I think like chicken
Speaker 2: or the egg. I don't know. It's kind of like
Speaker 2: when you have like a friend who ends up in
Speaker 2: like a really bad relationship, but you're like, yeah, they
Speaker 2: were always kind of a fucking pain in the ass themselves.
Speaker 2: So it's like it's more it's less chicken in the
Speaker 2: egg and more perfect storm, more like they meet their match. Well,
Speaker 2: I'm going to read you a couple of some sober celebrities,
Speaker 2: which I think is really interesting, and you stop me
Speaker 2: if I get to somebody who's like surprising to you,
Speaker 2: and I love On these lists sometimes they name people
Speaker 2: who just don't drink, not who got some. Joe Biden,
Speaker 2: like he's a tea toddler. Also he's like ninety five.
Speaker 2: I'm glad he's not drinking. But have you ever seen
Speaker 2: that man take it to a bowl of ice cream? Okay, so,
Speaker 2: Elton John, we all know this. Elton John, like sponsors, guys,
Speaker 2: did you watch the Billy Joel documentary by the way,
Speaker 2: No should I? It was really good. I really really
Speaker 2: liked it.
Speaker 1: Okay, there's a thing where Elton John basically got really
Speaker 1: pissed at Billy Joel. Later in their career they started
Speaker 1: touring together and Elton John was like, oh, hell no,
Speaker 1: you're an alcoholic, like you need help, And then Billy
Speaker 1: Joel got real pissed at Elton John judging him.
Speaker 2: But I'm on Elton John's side. Okay, Rumor Willis, did
Speaker 2: you know that? No? But that tracks does it? Okay?
Speaker 1: In twenty Monny, she celebrated four years of sobriety.
Speaker 2: Awesome. If your formative years were around Ashton Kutcher, it's
Speaker 2: gonna fuck you out. You're true true? Okay?
Speaker 1: Oh should I a twain? But she's just a teetotaler,
Speaker 1: so screw her and Tyler the creator. Okay, zach Efron,
Speaker 1: did you know this one.
Speaker 2: Went to?
Speaker 1: You have been twenty thirteen? Been sober ever since?
Speaker 2: Mm? Oh, you're not? When I see it. I don't
Speaker 2: know if I'm sure about that. I don't know how
Speaker 2: sure I am about that. Okay. Tyra Banks, Oh no,
Speaker 2: Tyra Banks is just a teetotaler and no scream, right,
Speaker 2: and you know what, she's a control freak. And I
Speaker 2: say that with love. She's a control freak. So she
Speaker 2: doesn't drink. That's smart. That's like Kim Kardashian doesn't doesn't
Speaker 2: drink a lot, and that's the same thing. It's that
Speaker 2: locked in control Heather Debro style. Okay, okay. It's just
Speaker 2: interesting though that Heather debro.
Speaker 1: Is constantly drinking the espresso martinis but not getting drunk.
Speaker 2: She takes I bet she. I bet she nurses that
Speaker 2: damn thing the whole night. Yep.
Speaker 1: Anne probably does like a bunch of cocaine.
Speaker 2: I hope.
Speaker 1: So, Okay, Kristin Davis, did you know that Sex and
Speaker 1: the City she's sober like she's aa girl. Yes, many
Speaker 1: many years.
Speaker 2: That's probably how she kept the peace for so long
Speaker 2: on Sex and the City with everybody, because you know,
Speaker 2: like that was some fucking that was you know, her
Speaker 2: and Cynthia Nixon. We're just like in the trailers being like,
Speaker 2: can you believe this shit? There must have been so
Speaker 2: much serenity, prayer happening. God grant me the serenity. Yeah absolutely.
Speaker 2: Oh by the way, yeah, I think that fucking mel
Speaker 2: Robbins just ripped off the serenity prayer with the let
Speaker 2: them theory. Oh my god, they'll let them bugs me
Speaker 2: so much. I hate it. I just was listening to
Speaker 2: her on a podcast and I was like, this is
Speaker 2: this is dangerous. It doesn't mean anything anything. It's just like,
Speaker 2: I guess if you're a codependent or whatever and you're
Speaker 2: you know, that would be like a good mantra for
Speaker 2: if you're codependent and you're like, just let them do
Speaker 2: what they're gonna do. But even then, like, okay, so
Speaker 2: what does that mean exactly? Well, I'll tell you this.
Speaker 2: One of the things I found really interesting. And I
Speaker 2: know this is not what you invited me on the podcast,
Speaker 2: but I just this let them thing is driving me insane.
Speaker 2: So she was saying like a lot of her research
Speaker 2: that she a lot of the work that she does
Speaker 2: now because she's by the way, she's not like a
Speaker 2: Brene Brown, who is a you know, researcher PhD. She
Speaker 2: went like, she's a law she went to law school,
Speaker 2: which is great. She's like a former criminal prosecutor. I
Speaker 2: don't know, okay, yeah, but like still so she's like
Speaker 2: a lot of my research comes from this like such
Speaker 2: and such doctor and this guy is a child psychiatrist.
Speaker 2: So like when she's applying these theories of how to
Speaker 2: approach these things, a lot of what she says is like,
Speaker 2: you know, if the kid wants to play video games,
Speaker 2: let them play video games and whatever. But then she
Speaker 2: takes the concept and she applies it to adults, and
Speaker 2: I'm like, yeah, here's the thing. A lot of your
Speaker 2: stuff is like from a child psychiatrist, so it works
Speaker 2: on children. And then she's on the podcast with Kara
Speaker 2: Swisher being like, well, this is how you should approach
Speaker 2: the was Scott Galloway, and this is how to approach
Speaker 2: it with your mom using these techniques. I'm like, these
Speaker 2: are techniques for children, right, And by the way, I
Speaker 2: don't know that let them play video games is also
Speaker 2: the best approach even with kids. Well she's like like,
Speaker 2: these kids know that they're fucking up, and so like
Speaker 2: basically like just just let them and if you if
Speaker 2: you Basically her whole thing is like if you push
Speaker 2: a kid too hard, like they will never change. And
Speaker 2: I don't like totally disagree with that, but not every
Speaker 2: kid is like that. Some like there are things that
Speaker 2: for example, my mom used to threaten to take away
Speaker 2: my hair dryer, and guess what that worked for me.
Speaker 2: She'd be like, I'm gonna take away your hair dryer
Speaker 2: if you don't do your homework, and I'd be like,
Speaker 2: all right, here we go. Like she hadn't heard of
Speaker 2: mel Robbins saying let them, let them not do their homework.
Speaker 2: Oh anyway, I guess okay. Jada Pinkett, did you know that?
Speaker 2: She's sober? Like sober? Sober? Okay, a little bit of
Speaker 2: a control freak too, I think, but.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Well, she says that her quote in this article
Speaker 1: is drinking red wine for me was like drinking glasses
Speaker 1: of water. I think back on my life like I'm
Speaker 1: a walking miracle, no doubt about that.
Speaker 2: Okay, that sounds like a real that sounds like real sobriety, okay.
Speaker 2: Christina Ricci, did you know that? Yeah? You quit? Yeah?
Speaker 1: Naomi Campbell sober she and she says there were times
Speaker 1: I thought I wouldn't survive. I used to have a
Speaker 1: lot of problems, amongst others, I drank too much. Then
Speaker 1: she says she's not anonymous. I joined alcoholics anonymous to
Speaker 1: get sober. Lana del Rey sober. Leona Lewis sober. It's
Speaker 1: not me if I get to somebody interesting Lucy Hale,
Speaker 1: do you know that that I.
Speaker 2: Did know because I'm a big for an adult woman,
Speaker 2: I'm a big pretty little Liars fan, and I fuck
Speaker 2: with that, you know. And she was one of the
Speaker 2: people who, like I remember her being like, it's been
Speaker 2: a year and like, you know, I think what happens
Speaker 2: to a lot of people is they go into it
Speaker 2: and they're like, I'm gonna see where this is. In fact,
Speaker 2: a friend of mine just was saying this yesterday, like
Speaker 2: you know, he was like, I'm gonna try it out,
Speaker 2: and then it just kept going and going and going.
Speaker 2: And I think that's like one of the biggest things
Speaker 2: is that like once you get past like six or
Speaker 2: seven months too, there's a shift, even if you're not
Speaker 2: like somebody who really needs AA, but there's just like
Speaker 2: a shift after six or seven months without drinking. And
Speaker 2: I think with you at their comes and it's really good.
Speaker 2: It feels really good. Yeah. I mean for me, I'm
Speaker 2: definitely one of those people that even though I was
Speaker 2: pretty functional from the outside looking in, I didn't feel
Speaker 2: like I was functional at that point. But I think
Speaker 2: for me, I really needed you know, I was I
Speaker 2: hit a bottom. I hit a Oh god, this is horrible.
Speaker 2: I feel humiliated, like I can't drink again.
Speaker 1: But it was really I felt really sad about it
Speaker 1: and really like, I don't know how I'm going to
Speaker 1: do this. I mean, drinking is such a big part
Speaker 1: of my life, which is indicative of an alcohol problem.
Speaker 1: But also I think for me, by the time I
Speaker 1: hit a year, I was like, oh, okay, I get it.
Speaker 1: I get that, like why people do this? I get
Speaker 1: that this is achievable if I can be inspirational for anybody.
Speaker 1: It's not that it became so easy. It's just that
Speaker 1: new habits take time. So once you really get into
Speaker 1: the habit of not drinking and going to like an
Speaker 1: event and not having a drink in your head. But
Speaker 1: now I think it's even easier because there's so many
Speaker 1: non alcoholic options right especially.
Speaker 2: In California, I think, And that's I mean, I guess
Speaker 2: that's part of it. Is like these women when they're
Speaker 2: drinking like this, it's like, you don't have to do this. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2: Eva Mendez, did you know that I did? Yeah? Calvin Harris,
Speaker 2: did you know that one. Roba Like, he doesn't feel
Speaker 2: like a real person to me. He feels like he
Speaker 2: was like made an AI or something. He's like an
Speaker 2: AI prototype. Oh what about Daniel Radcliffe? We love him? WHOA. Yeah,
Speaker 2: they were probably getting bombed on the Harry Potter set.
Speaker 2: That's probably what it is like. Those kids are probably
Speaker 2: getting fucked up every day, Like you know what I mean,
Speaker 2: Like they were like we only go to school for
Speaker 2: two and a half hours and then like fuck around
Speaker 2: already our asses off. Yeah, is there anybody you can
Speaker 2: think of off the top of your head that what
Speaker 2: was surprising to you? I mean, Blake Lively, did you
Speaker 2: know that? Oh? She just says that she not only
Speaker 2: does she not drink alcohol, she's never touched drugs. Yeah,
Speaker 2: she's off, He's she's a tea toddler or whatever. I
Speaker 2: don't Yeah, I'm not down with that. I don't. I
Speaker 2: don't get it. Also, she has a alcoholic beverage line. Yeah,
Speaker 2: that was a weird thing. Remember when j Low was
Speaker 2: married to Ben Affleck actually married to him recently, and
Speaker 2: he's a sober alcoholic. Maybe he was going back and forth,
Speaker 2: but he was definitely trying to be sober and she
Speaker 2: started an alcohol line, so that's what you do to
Speaker 2: be supportive to your husband. But she's a famous non
Speaker 2: drinker too, I know, so what's the point. Why would
Speaker 2: you do that? Why would you have to do that?
Speaker 2: She loves a check Like that's you know, I'm reading
Speaker 2: Gwyneth Paltrow's autoboy not autobiography, biography, uh, you know, authorized biography,
Speaker 2: and like one of the biggest, like my biggest takeaway
Speaker 2: so far is like just that girl loves to see
Speaker 2: a check hit out, Like and I think, like we
Speaker 2: underestimate how much people just love money. I love it
Speaker 2: me too. I don't have enough of it, never have,
Speaker 2: probably never will. But like so many of these people,
Speaker 2: when you're like, why would they do that, like Blake
Speaker 2: Lively with the alcohol line, it's like, because they just
Speaker 2: really love to see a check cash. Yeah, you know what,
Speaker 2: you shouldn't say that you're never gonna be rich. You
Speaker 2: have to manifest that shit, you know what. You're so right.
Speaker 2: Mel Robbins would say the exact same thing, or she'd
Speaker 2: be like, no, let them be broke. I won't allow
Speaker 2: you to be broke, Meredith. Let's promote the shit out
Speaker 2: of what you're doing. Okay, you got oddly specific. I do,
Speaker 2: and I have my TikTok and my Instagram and I
Speaker 2: m lynch that's how that's how you find her on
Speaker 2: the TikTok. What are we up to, followers wise? It's
Speaker 2: getting up there. I think I'm like three twenty two
Speaker 2: on Instagram. No TikTok on TikTok Okay, yeah, and and
Speaker 2: you know, having funnel all along the way after you
Speaker 2: after this comes out, it's going to be three twenty three.
Speaker 2: So oh listen, I can dream now what was I
Speaker 2: trying to say? It's going to be like three hundred
Speaker 2: and twenty three? Oh two? Is okay? All right, I'll listen.
Speaker 2: I'll take what I can get, okay. So what are
Speaker 2: we doing over on TikTok? You're doing like fun videos
Speaker 2: where you kind of get into arguments with some celebrities,
Speaker 2: point out stuff that needs to be pointed out. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I mean we did a lot around the Bezos wedding.
Speaker 2: I did get into a fight with Eva Longoria's sister.
Speaker 2: Oh really, yeah, you just I think he tell us
Speaker 2: about that real quick. Oh yeah, I think I think
Speaker 2: the reason that Evil Longoria did not attend the bezos
Speaker 2: wedding is because I called the shit out of her.
Speaker 1: Really, yes, so why did did our sister have a
Speaker 1: problem with that?
Speaker 2: Oh? Yeah, they were not happy. I mean, here's the thing.
Speaker 2: You can't hang out with Jeff Bezos and then get
Speaker 2: on social media and be like I don't understand why
Speaker 2: Trump is the or not even Trump, but like why
Speaker 2: ice raids are happening. I'm like, well, I don't know.
Speaker 2: You could ask your friend who you were with over
Speaker 2: the weekend. So anyway, I just I had a few
Speaker 2: choice words for her, and she, like her sister, did
Speaker 2: not like that. But Lauren Bezos now Bezos has me
Speaker 2: blocked on social media.
Speaker 1: That is such a compliment. You must feel very important.
Speaker 1: I know, I was like, she'd like shut down your
Speaker 1: Amazon account.
Speaker 2: I don't know. Probably she didn't block me on my
Speaker 2: burner though, like she so I can still check her out,
Speaker 2: but she's kind of like there's nothing that interesting about her.
Speaker 2: But yeah, you know, I do a lot of like
Speaker 2: celebrity pop culture stuff and a little lifestyle and you know,
Speaker 2: just kind of across the board. It's been a it's
Speaker 2: been a quiet summer here at Team Lynch, but we
Speaker 2: are We're starting to you know, school starts tomorrow for
Speaker 2: uh at Stephanie's house, and I think also for me too.
Speaker 2: We're gonna get our asses back in gear.
Speaker 1: All right, all right, well it's been lovely and I
Speaker 1: just want you to be like a regular on this
Speaker 1: talking about this honor, just like you are on my
Speaker 1: other podcast for Crying Out Loud also Rose Prigs, a
Speaker 1: lot of I have a lot of podcasts. But anyway,
Speaker 1: thank you so much, Meredith. Go follow her and I
Speaker 1: will see you guys next week.
Speaker 2: Bye bye. It's going good.