January 30, 2024 • 41 mins
This week, Tommy is joined by actress Sasha Pieterse, best known for her starring role as Alison DiLaurentis in Pretty Little Liars, one of the very first shows that took the social media world by storm. Aside from being a part of this pop culture phenomenon, Sasha is the author of, "Sasha in Good Taste: Recipes for Bites, Feasts, Sips & Celebrations,” and is the host of her podcast, “Women in the Nude” where Sasha and her guests tackle taboo topics and bare all with their experiences, perspectives and truths. Sasha opens up about how she dealt with the massive amount of fame that came with being on a show that instantly became a success, what she misses most about being on Pretty Little Liars, if a possible reunion may be in the future, what she feels the most protective of from the show, the inspiration behind starting a podcast aimed to make women feel less alone, how parenthood has changed her, and the importance on leaning on others to champion you.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey, guys, welcome to I've never said this before with me,
Tommy di Dario. If you were a millennial like I am,
you may have been plagued with a very very important
question while growing up. And that question is who is A?
A refers to a mystery person terrorizing a group of
(00:21):
high school friends who yes, goes by the letter A,
and they were threatening to expose their secrets one year
after the Queen Bee of their clique went missing. I am,
of course, referring to the series Pretty Little Liars, a
show that took the world over by storm, and today's
guest is that Queen Bee. I was just talking about
the brilliantly talented actress Sasha Petersa. Sasha played the role
(00:46):
of Alison de Laurentis and instantly became a part of
pop culture history. When the show premiered, I mean, the
world could not get enough. And what was so cool
is this show was one of the very first shows
to utilize Twitter, because Twitter was just starting to become
popular to engage with the audiences. Week after week, the
show would be trending every single week it was number one.
(01:08):
It was truly remarkable how the show became so big
on social media now. Aside from being an actress and
working ever since she was a kid, Sasha is the
author of her cookbook Sasha in Good Taste and the
host of her podcast Women in the Nude, where Sasha
and her friends tackle taboo topics and they're all with
their experiences, their perspectives, and their truths. She truly does
(01:31):
it all and we had so much fun talking about
everything from past to present. So let's see if today
we can get Sasha to say something that she's never
said before. Sasha, how are you my friend?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Good?
Speaker 3 (01:49):
I am so glad to be with you. Thank you
so much for thinking of me. How are you?
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Yeah, I'm so good. I'm so good. I love connecting
with you. I always feel like, I don't know, I
just believe as a happier person whenever we're done talking.
You have that effect on people that is so nice.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Thank you so much. I mean, I feel the same
way with you. You're just so warm and I mean
easy to talk to. But I feel like your friend,
which is so cool. We've been i mean friends for
years now. It's wild.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
I know. I love it so much, and I love
following you because you always have so much going on,
and we're going to dive into a new venture or
a newer venture of yours, I should say, but before
we go into that, I am so fascinated by this
idea of someone like yourself who essentially shot to super
stardom very early in your career, right, you, of course
(02:36):
were on pretty little liars for everybody listening, and then
who may not know that, but that show really just
kind of changed the trajectory of your entire career and
your entire future. Right, So thinking back to those years,
what are you the most fond of?
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Oh, my goodness, but yeah, I mean to speak on
just in general PLL. I was twelve when I shot
the pilot, thirteen when we filmed the first season, so
I now have been in the industry for over twenty
three years. I started when I was three and a half.
So when I got PLL, you know, we weren't sure
what it was going to be. We were super excited.
You know, it was like, oh, the right formula. It
(03:16):
was a book series, and it was you know, already popular,
and I don't know, fingers crossed, this could be something.
And then obviously, as we know, fans just fell in
love with it. The way that we did, which is
just also in general, such a special thing. As an actor,
I had an incredible I mean really as far as
filming and the show being out over a decade of
(03:40):
connection with amazing people all over the world, and I
think it was one of those first shows that was
we were able to do that because of social media
and form real bonds with people that were going through
similar experiences. You know, obviously as this hyperreality, you know,
getting chased in the dark. Hopefully people aren't doing that
on a regular basis, but there was this real relatable
(04:03):
energy between the girls and their experiences and how they
were going through their teenage life. So I really grew
up on camera in front of everybody, you know, during
pillll and good and bad ways. It's so weird to
have your childhood on TV. You know, every change that
I went through, graduating high school, getting engaged, you know,
(04:25):
getting my license. Don't worry, my license came before getting engaged.
I should get that in order.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
But regardless, I you know, I.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
Was on camera through these crazy milestones and I look
fondly on all of it, the good and the bad,
and you know, when I say bad, it really wasn't bad.
It was just you know, things that end up being
out of your control. But I feel like the relationships
I've formed were the best part. Our crew hardly changed
in those years, and so I have lifelong friendships people
(04:58):
that have you know, been there to support me. And
that includes our fans. Really there's fans that still, you know,
comment and like on my page that I recognize from
when PL started. So it's really cool to see everybody
grow with you as well. I don't know, it's just
been such a blessing and something that I will always
(05:18):
credit to.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Where I am today, Well, it's clear.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
You're so grateful and appreciative of your time on the
show and of the community that the show built, and
I think it's really refreshing to hear something like that.
Do you think you were prepared for all of the
fame that hit you so fast?
Speaker 2 (05:36):
I mean yes and no.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
I think being in the industry so young, I was
trained to think that, you know, if you get that
big thing, this is what will happen. And things like Twilight.
You know, I knew Taylor from doing Shark boyn Lave
a Girl. When he got Twilight, it was like he
blew up overnight. Like people were at his house the
next day, which is just crazy to think about. So
I think I knew that if I got something like that,
(06:01):
that is what would happen, and then when it actually
happens to you, it's very different. I think there was
a couple of components for me that were different. I
was homeschooled, so I wasn't in that public school setting
where all of a sudden, you know, everybody knew my name,
and now my dynamic at school has changed, so I
didn't have that. I was a minor compared to the
other girls, so I was younger than everybody else. And
(06:23):
as much as I never felt like I was treated
any different, there's just certain ways that people handle you
that are different considering you're not an adult, and so
once it became an adult on the show, I would
say that changed. But as far as like a fan
experience goes, it's so different until you know, you don't
know really what it's like until it happens to you.
(06:44):
I remember the first time I got recognized was before
the show even came out, so it was just from
you know, marketing that they had started doing, and somebody
recognized me while I was in a restaurant, and that
was so bizarre, and it changed the way that I
looked at going out, because you know, the show wasn't out.
I didn't think that anybody really knew about Prettle Liars yet.
(07:06):
But they were a fan of the books, and so
if you're a fan of the books, you're following everything
that's you know, coming up and new, and that's how
they knew about the show. But they recognized me walking
past a window, and that is such a strange thing.
And now it doesn't matter if my hair color is different,
if I'm wearing a hat, if I've got no makeup
on it, it doesn't matter. People recognize me. And that's
I think such a it's a strange thing. I think
(07:29):
it's so awesome and I you know, it comes with it,
and I'm thankful for all the people that I've.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Met along the way. But it it's a very weird.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
Thing to go out in public, and I guess be
very conscious of the people around you in a way
that you might not if you're not in that position.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Yeah, I can imagine. And social media was kind of
starting to become really popular right when the show came out,
or was it was it even out.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Yeah, So, I mean we were lucky to release around
the time time that Twitter was first getting popular, so
you know, you had your Facebook, we had just come
out of the MySpace phase, which I personally loved. MySpace
still know how to code because of it. I'm part
of that. But Twitter had just launched and was actively
(08:16):
being used, and I think that is what really helped
us because all of a sudden, now, like I said,
we were connecting with people all over the world, but
we were one of the first shows to you know,
put hashtags on screen and have people live tweeting with us,
and it really helped build our community and that suspense,
and I think our show did a really good job
(08:36):
of utilizing that and making sure that people felt involved
in the show.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
And I think that is really the key.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
You know. I feel like if Twitter was around when
the original Gossip Girl was around, I think they would
have had a very similar response. And even though obviously
Gossip Girl is massive, if they had that like immediate
tweeting on you know while the show was airing, I
think there's something so special about that. And then you know,
we loved connecting with our fans, so while the show
(09:05):
is airing and all those hashtags are being shared and
people were commenting and talking about it live. We were
also participating in that and speaking to our fans because
we care about it so much. So I think it
just had helped fuel that crazy energy that came from PLO.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Was it hard to find a balance because here you
are on set shooting a million different scenes and seasons,
and there's so much work that went into a show
like this, and now social media is a thing and
you feel this obligation to be posting and interacting and engaging, Like,
how do you form that line of peace between work
and personal life and digital world? Was that a weird
(09:42):
thing to wrap your head around.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
I don't think anybody has ever asked me that question
in that way, So I mean, thank you for that,
because it is a weird. It is a weird thing.
You do feel responsible part of it actually is. I
don't know if anyone's going to hate me for saying this,
as far as on our side of the business goes,
but you are. It's not necessarily legally obligated, but it
(10:04):
kind of is. They really push you to do that. Thankfully,
I don't hate it. I think it's a really great
opportunity to kind of find out, you know, what people
think and how they're feeling about what you've shot. But
you have to self monitor. You have to kind of
check in with yourself and see how you're doing, and
(10:25):
you know, decide what's best for you at that time,
and you know what isn't. And I think then with PLL,
you know, I wasn't married, I didn't have a kid,
I didn't have like all these other things in my life.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Per se.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
It was really just about work and enjoying the experience,
and so I had a lot more time. Didn't realize
it back then, I know it now. I had a
lot more time to focus on that, and I think
I ended up I took breaks, and I think that's
the key is to learn what It's almost like checking
(11:01):
in and checking out. You got to figure out what
is right for you. And I think I kind of
naturally felt that. You know, I had lots of health
issues and a lot of stuff happened to me while
I was working on the show, and so I think
I naturally stepped away when I needed to and I
was around when I could.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Do you think you would do anything differently looking back
at your time on that show.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
Ironically, think I would post more, really think I would. Yeah,
I really do. I feel like I now know how
to better connect and I feel like I did a
good job back then, but I think I fully understand
it now and I would, especially with Emerson and all that,
I was very vocal about supporting it. But I feel
like there are ways that I could have gone even
further with that. But you know, I don't really have
(11:43):
any regrets. That would just be something that could have
been better. I feel like is to be even more
involved than I was, even though I really do feel
like I was present.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
Oh, that must be a good feeling to look back
and think I did that right, because I know a
lot of people that I talked to don't always have
that experience, And I think think when you can fully say, man,
I really feel like I'm content with how that experience went,
no matter what industry were in, I think that's a
beautiful feeling.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
Absolutely, And yeah, I mean it's one of those things
too with the show that that is that successful.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
I think there's a lot of actors that.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
I mean definitely in the moment feel like, Okay, I've
liked the itch to do other things and that was
something with pl that we were one of those last
shows that had that many episodes. So a lot of
the shows now have you know, eleven fourteen episode seasons
for the same type of show. I would say we
(12:39):
had between twenty two to twenty five episodes a season.
So we were filming crazy hours for over nine months
of the year, and we didn't have those breaks to
go and do other things. We had to really, really
really fight to be able to get out for anything,
and I think that was hard. So it was hard
(13:01):
on us during that journey. As much as I can,
I feel like I can speak for everyone when I
say that we all enjoyed it, we're all thankful for it.
But that is the only bummer I would say. I
feel like we wouldn't have been burnt out at any
particular time if we were able to kind of stretch
those other muscles and you know, have a little bit
more freedom to do other things.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
I think it just naturally.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
You know, as an actor, it kind of it's hard
to play the same character for that long. I was
lucky in the sense that Ali was never boring. I
was always doing something ridiculous. I was always showing different
colors based on, you know, whatever we were revealing at
the time. But it's difficult to play the same character
on the same level for that long, So you know,
(13:47):
there's complicated things. But I like to call it a
champagne problem.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Who I like that a champagne problem.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
How many times do you see in your comments or
dms or on social media people asking, Hey, are we
ever going to get a reunion? Are you in the
i's going to get together? Do you still see that?
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Absolutely a lot every day? Really?
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Wow?
Speaker 3 (14:06):
Which is it only shows that you did something right?
You know, I wouldn't say no, I know, for all
of us, it would have to be the right thing
in a way. You know, I'm very protective of Alison.
We did that spin off, The Perfectionists, and I was
bummed about that.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
I don't think that it was done right. Really.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
That cast was a lot of fun and extremely talented,
but I kind of wish it was done completely differently.
I think we it was kind of essentially what I
was afraid of, And I think why so many of
us are afraid of sequels or afraid of kind of
ruining the original thing that we did, And that's that's
(14:44):
whys you want to always do the character justice and
Emerson was so important to me and the fans. For
those who don't know, Alison my character and Emily another
character had a relationship and it was so important to
our entire show through all seven seasons, and it ended
on a note where they were together, they were strong.
(15:05):
They'd worked through so much garbage.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Can I square on this?
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Yeah, okay, so much shit. They worked through so much.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
I have such a bad potty mouth, and I okay, okay,
so glad to know, but you know, they'd worked through
so much, and then to go and do a spin
off where that wasn't the case, where they weren't together
anymore or really made me upset on a lot of
different levels.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
That was really unfortunate.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
So I guess if we you know, to answer your
previous question about going back doing something different, I would
have either not done it or I would have really
fought to change the storyline because I was not happy
with it, and you know, some of those things, it
just kind of is what it is. So in a way,
if we did something like a sequel or a movie,
or you know, whatever it may be, that would be
(15:52):
my stipulation is that we turned that around.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
I almost forgot about that entire relationship because now you
see so many same sex couples and right, very great,
it's great, and I still think there's work that needs
to be done, but we are seeing a lot more
of it. But your show, I feel like, was one
of the most early representations of a same sex couple.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
Yeah, which is I feel so honored to have been
a part of that. I really really do, which is
again why I'm so protective of it. But I feel
like while we were shooting it, we knew that and
didn't know it like it felt so natural, It felt
like the way to go. I really couldn't have seen
that go any other way. As far as you know,
(16:40):
they were meant to be together, I think everybody always knew,
like they need they need that, we need.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
That, the fans need that.
Speaker 3 (16:46):
But we were one of the first, if not the first,
as far as a teen show goes in that light,
to be that consistent thread throughout the show, not just
like this one off thing that like we check the box,
which I hate, hate that. Glad that we were not that.
And I also really respect the way that we were
kind of showing different types of relationships as far as
(17:10):
you know, different dynamics. But then also the way that
Emily came out to her parents. I love that they
weren't just like open arms, you know, this is what
it is.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
It was.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
Her mom had a really tough time with it, her
dad didn't, and I think that was really important to
show that, you know, we're not going to just tell
you that it's all rainbows and that you can just
you know, come out and then everything's fine. That's not
the case. That's not reality. Unfortunately, some people are really shitty,
and then other times people surprise you and it's beautiful.
(17:39):
Her dad surprised her, her mom did not, And as
sad and frustrating as that is, we showed that friends
come around you and when you have your people that
you've chosen as your family, you're going to be all right.
And I think that was really cool and I think
that really helped people around the world.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
And I if I've done.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Conventions or if it's just people, you know, talking on
social media, I've seen that where people have come together
around the world and maybe their experience wasn't so great,
but they found their people, and often it was because
of PLL and just fans randomly around the world that
actually fly to visit each other and really formed amazing
(18:18):
lifelong friendships. So that I think is something that I'm
most proud of is that we created an environment where
it was safe.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
Man, And when art can heal and bring people together, yes,
then you've known you did a pretty damn good job
creating the character you did, and that's a testament to
all of the work that you guys did. I know,
life takes us in a million different directions, so of
course it's so hard to keep in touch with everyone.
But would you say you and the girls have forever
formed a sisterhood.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
Oh yeah, I mean we spent so much time together.
And I would say too, for the amount of estrogen
that was on our set, I think we all did
very well.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
But it really is a sisterhood.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
You know, and we're all you know, getting married or
having babies or just in general, our lives are going
in directions that whenever we see each other or you know,
we've got our group chat, and it just it's something
that I think we will I don't see that ever
going away. You know, we are We've shared such a cool,
strong experience that is so important in all of our
(19:21):
lives and many capacities, and to see us all grow
and change and go through life in different ways is
just so cool.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
Oh that's a beautiful thing. And everyone has a new
chapter and I'm sure you all support each other and
you have had many things go on since the show
and did. But one of the things I'm excited to
talk to you about is your podcast, which is called
Women in the Nude. Yes, it is a fantastic title.
So tell me about this podcast.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Thanks.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
So I started Women in the Nude. I really wanted
to start a podcast.
Speaker 3 (19:56):
It was just kind of those things, that thing that
was like kind of rolling O around in my head
where I was.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
I was like, I love podcasts.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
You know, this is something that I enjoy that I
get a lot of I guess knowledge from. We find
random information on podcasts that really help, whether that's self
help or if it's just listening to cool people that
you never knew existed or celebrities telling you things about
themselves that you never knew. I really enjoyed the concept,
and so I was like, well, what could I do?
(20:23):
What is important to me? I wanted it to be
something that could help people, and I know, for me
and my experience. I've been lucky to have some incredible
women around me, but I did find it difficult to
build a strong community of women growing up. It was
hard for me to make really good girlfriends. I have
(20:44):
my best best friend, Jalen, and I have some amazing
women in my life after that that I had to
really seek out and form those relationships.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
It didn't come easy.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
I just always connected with men better to be frank,
I had guy friends. I had lots of guy friends,
and I had my best friend Jayleen, and she's wonderful,
and I didn't think I needed anything else. But as
I got older, there are certain things that women deal
with that men don't, you know, And it's as simple
as that. You can find some incredible men, which I
have a lot of them in my life, that are
(21:15):
empathetic and sympathized with whatever is going on, but they
don't they can't completely understand it like another woman can.
And so I have really worked on in my own
life finding those women. And I wanted to give that
to other people. I wanted to give it to whoever
wanted to listen, but women in particular, to show them
(21:38):
that the things that they're going through You're not alone.
You might feel crazy, You're not crazy. These things happened to,
you know, every woman or lots of women, and here's
how other people deal with it. And I wanted to
make sure that it was people that had unique jobs
or were in unique situations so that they could give
some sort of insight that could maybe also not just
(22:01):
make you feel included and related to, but could inspire
you to do other things that you hadn't thought of before.
You know, I have someone like Kennis Nelson on my
show recently, who is incredible. If you don't know who
she is, she is the creator of Sprinkle's Cupcakes, and
she is an incredible business woman and she's got so
much to offer and her journey is so fascinating, and
(22:21):
she's so empowering for other women who not only just
want to be in business, but just in general, I
want to believe in themselves and how to do that,
how to accomplish that. And so whether it's women's health,
whether it's women's rights, whether it's women in business, motherhood,
we cover so many different subjects that unfortunately tend to
be taboo. So I'm proud of that. I'm proud to
(22:44):
start that we're only in our first season. You know,
we're finding our legs. But I really really enjoyed it.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
It's a phenomenal show. I like that you have such
a a clear point of view, a clear perspective. You're
bringing powerful people together to help other people, which I
think is so important in this day and age. Was
there a conversation you've had on the show that was
a more difficult one for you to engage in?
Speaker 3 (23:08):
Yeah, I you know, I feel very comfortable talking about
PCOS now, which is polycystico ray syndrome, which is part
of what I was dealing with on the show. But
you know, you tend to talk to other people that
have those experiences, and I feel like it gets kind
of emotional. I've definitely revealed parts of myself that you know,
I haven't traditionally in other forms.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Talking about health.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
Or my health journey in particular, is I would say,
a sensitive one. You know, it's very raw. I've done
a lot of work to get past it. But I
feel like I've talked about it on several episodes, always
slightly different, always just a little bit more in one direction,
very truthful, very raw.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
I don't think there's any point in hiding it.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
And you know, I think health journeys are so important
to share. Everybody has a different version of it, everybody
struggled with it in different ways. But I think that's
probably the most raw. I like to pull other things
from other places, Like I think sex is a big one.
We are so scared in so many ways of talking
(24:16):
about women having sex, and I want to shatter that
because you know, we shouldn't be the exception. We shouldn't
be the ones that like can't talk about it or
feel shame for you know, for whatever reason you want
to insert in the blank there. So I'm really excited
to have this other guest on soon who is a
(24:38):
professor who literally specializes in women's pleasure, which I think
is fascinating. So having women on like that that are
breaking those walls down, it is just really important to me.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
And two things. When you open up about your health
journey on your show, I think you mentioned I forget
which episode it was, but about the weight gain and
how that was during PLLL and working in entertainment, I
see all the press and headlines all the time, and
for whatever reason, that went everywhere as if yeah, people
never gain weight when they go through a health issue, right,
(25:10):
and it's like going back to your point of maybe
taboo or you don't talk about it, or whatever the
case may be. It's so insane to me because it's
a very normal thing, and yet when people hear it,
it's like, oh my god, that's a headline. We've never
seen that before. So I like that you're deconstructing that.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
Absolutely, And you know, it's one of those things where
when in the moment when I was going through it,
I didn't know why, and I had this moment of like,
I get it. I get why people are so hyper
focused on it. I don't like it, I don't agree
with it. But here's the thing. When something changes and
(25:48):
you don't know why, it's something to talk about. So
I wasn't giving anybody an answer. I didn't have the answer.
But it's the assumption that I think we have as
a society. It's this maybe even just a human thing,
maybe it's not just society currently as a whole. I
think it is one of those things where you want
to know the answer to something, and people in the
(26:09):
public eye are like fair game to so many people.
That's why they comment anything on their pages. They either
just don't think that they're going to see it, or
you know, who cares about that person. They're in the
public eye, so you know they're asking for it essentially,
And so I think it was one of those things
where like people were trying to find the answer. It
was a popular show. They saw me change on the show,
(26:29):
and so it's like, well, is she pregnant? They wanted
an answer and I couldn't give it to them, and
you know, I shouldn't feel obligated necessarily to give them
that answer, but I kind of had a moment of
understanding where I was like, I haven't addressed it. People
don't know what the reason is. Yeah, I do look different.
It shouldn't matter, but you know, to them, somebody that
(26:53):
is inspecting me, essentially intentionally or unintentionally. I haven't given
a reason. And I remember I posted something that was
like under construction, which is so cheesy now, but I
posted that, and the reason was because I wanted to
address it and I didn't know any other way to
do it because I didn't have an answer. So essentially
(27:14):
it was just I'm under construction. I'm figuring my shit out.
I don't know what it is, and so you know,
that's the only answer I can give you, and you
can take that with you know, however you want to
take it. You can take it the way that you feel,
you know necessary. But I think it truly is that
like search for an answer. I think that's why we're
so interested in celebrities relationships and their choices in life,
(27:38):
because it's like, well, why are they dating that person? Well,
why why were they here? Well there has to be
a reason. We have to connect all of these dots.
We have to know all of these things about their lives.
And to your point, when people go through health issues,
weaightain is a really popular symptom side effect. You know,
your hormones, different medications. There are so many reasons for
wake gain that are not as far as women go,
(28:01):
you're pregnant. But I think it's the most exciting thing
in social media. It's one of those things where it's like, oh,
if they're pregnant, and then it's like whose baby is it?
Speaker 2 (28:11):
And then it you know, then.
Speaker 3 (28:12):
It's like pregnant, fashion pregnancy or a maternity where which
I love.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
But actually that's a good example too.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
I was not we were in the middle of COVID
and because of my pcos I didn't have an easy pregnancy,
so I wasn't the girl out on the red carpet
with a cute bump. And so there's all of these
psychological things that you might not have to deal with
if you're not in the spotlight. And I never want
to say that I'm what's the right word, you know,
(28:41):
there's a lot of celebrities that are like, you know,
I just want my private life, and obviously there are
times where I do, but I think there is it's
important to acknowledge the fact that it comes along with
our industry and it means that you're successful. So it's
a double edged sword. And I don't like to get
(29:02):
mad at fans or people that are interested in your
life for being interested in your life, because essentially it's
why you're successful. Especially these days, your followers matter. Your
follower count equals getting hired for something over somebody else.
Often it doesn't matter about talent, and so our followers matter.
And so the fact that you're mad at the public
(29:25):
eye for wanting to be interested in your life is
kind of you either just have to get out of
the industry or you have to say in the industry,
it's a part of it. I don't know if I'm
making sense in that way, but it's something that comes
along with the business, and either you accept it or
you get out of the business. And it doesn't mean
that you can't go through a hard time with your
mental health naturally. It's something that's extremely difficult with your
(29:48):
mental health, trying to wrap your head around what you
can and cannot do the way that you want to
be seen in the public eye. There's so much to
unravel there, and all of those feelings are valid, but
I think oftentimes the anger is misplaced.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
How have you gotten to such a peaceful place in
your work and in life and have such clarity and
have this mindset of you know what you're in, you
know what you're going to get, and you just have
to learn how to manage and balance it all because
a lot of people don't have that in whatever industry
or career they choose. But you seem like a very realistic,
(30:28):
practical kind of person. Have you always been like that
or that just came as you've evolved?
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Well, thank you for that.
Speaker 3 (30:35):
Yeah, I think it's a little bit about knowing kind
of like I said before, about fame. You know, if
you know one plus one equs two essentially right, So
it's like knowing that that's something that could come along
with it, and in a backwards way wanting it. You know,
I don't want people to be right outside my door.
That does feel like, you know, a hard thing to
(30:56):
deal with with your privacy, but in the same token,
also like it's a sign of success. So I think
I've come to peace or I'm at peace with the
fact that that is a part of the industry. And
I think it's because I've been in the industry for
so long that I just I try and look at
it through a different lens of understanding of like you said, practicality,
(31:20):
because essentially that's you're gonna have to it's like you
laugh or you cry, you know what I mean. It's
like that is the type of I think the only
way to look at it to have peace. It's like
it's something that's not going to change, and actually if
it changes, there's a different issue. So this is the landscape.
(31:43):
Where do you fall, Where is your balance? How do
you get value out of life? How do you find
your peace? And you know, I'm definitely not always like that.
But that's always my goal is to deal with it
in a way that is as healthy as possible.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
To understand what.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
The type of boundaries that I need to make that possible,
and what I want to keep private and what I
want to show.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
I think that's also a part of it.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
I think all of those things are possible, but it
takes work everything in life. Like you said, it's every
different type of career path, it's every different walk of
life where we have to make those decisions. Otherwise we
just kind of are stagnant or we are letting ourselves
suffer unnecessarily.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
Do you still get fulfillment out of being an actor?
Does it still stimulate you in every sense of the
craft or are there other things that you want to
do and pursue.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
I would say both.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
I mean absolutely, my first love as far as career goes,
will always be acting. Again, I've been in the industry
so long that I've had the privilege of starting to
really understand every different type of job on set, and
it's made me really want to be a director. I've
gotten into writing and producing and I really do want
to start directing.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
And I think one.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
Of the most important roles as a director, and unfortunately,
even with a lot of directors that I've worked with,
it's not maybe the one that either comes easiest or
the one that they don't know yet. The most important
thing is relying on the strengths of all of the
other people around you, the ones that are qualified to
do their jobs really well. You know, you're not the
(33:27):
smartest person in the room, and I think that's a
really important thing with leadership, is knowing the types of
people that you need to surround yourself with. I think
I've learned a lot of lessons from really talented people.
I've also learned a lot of what not to do,
and arming yourself with all of those things I think
(33:48):
is truly important and I can't wait for that next
stage in my career. I've got other businesses that I've
been doing on the side that are not entertainment related.
Actually very excited. I've started my own low dose hemp
derived TCA beverage, and myself and three co founders are
on that journey, which is really exciting and more and
(34:08):
more we'll be shared about that soon. But yeah, I've
kind of got my hands and everything, so it's it's exciting.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
I do feel like our industry is so.
Speaker 3 (34:18):
Thick goal in so many ways that you kind of
have to and I do have lots of different passions
and lots of different areas, and you know, aside from
the podcast and that just in general the things that
I enjoy as far as hobbies go, you know, I
try to always make sure that I'm stimulated in those ways,
make sure that my passions are always being fed to
(34:40):
the best of my ability, and obviously being a mom
is top of that priority list. It's such a fun journey.
And so yeah, I've got a lot going on all
the time. I struggle to keep my head above water
because of how busy we are.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
But I love that.
Speaker 3 (34:56):
I feel like without that, I would be bored and
not and you know, not stimulated. Not. I hate to
say happy, because I feel like there's always, you know,
a way to find joy in things. But I don't
want to ever not be busy, if that makes sense.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Yeah. Yeah, and you're beaming. I mean, you're you're somebody
who is making life what she wants it to be.
And I think that is so cool that you are
allowing yourself to have other interests and you know what
your love is and your passion is and what you
desire and what you want and you can do a
bunch of different things. That's the day and age we
live in, right And you're somebody that is creative and
(35:31):
an artist and you're sprinkling your talents all over the place,
which I think is a really cool thing. So I'm
excited to keep hearing what you have in the pipeline
and all of the things sound amazing.
Speaker 2 (35:44):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (35:44):
I do want to mention that, you know, I appreciate
you say that. I'm like that I'm beaming because I am.
I do feel really fulfilled. It's not always like that.
I think that's also something important, is like I have
my bad days, you know, and I need reminders like this,
just talking to you about this, It's like yes, like
that is what I am making my life what I
(36:05):
want it to be. And I want to credit my
husband with that actually, because when I have those low moments,
I'm so thankful that I have him to be like, no,
you know, this is your value, this is what you want,
go get it. And I think we all need people
in our lives like that that when we are not
feeling our strongest, you know that has never faltered for them,
(36:27):
and I'm lucky to have found those people who are
there to you know, pick me up when I'm having
a low moment. And that is my want for everyone, honestly,
Like I'm rooting for people to find those people in
their lives because it makes all of the difference. It
is hard to be your champion, your own champion twenty
four to seven. Nobody is capable of that. It's it's exhausting.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
Yeah, you have to surround yourself with people that lift
you and inspire you and that you do the same
for and that sometimes means, you know, weeding out people
throughout your life that aren't doing that, and that's okay too.
So I love that message. And to have a friend,
a partner, just somebody who gives you that encouragement is
so important. You have been so incredibly open, and I
(37:08):
know you have your podcast now where you're very open
as well. But the name of the show is I've
never said this before, and I am wondering if there
is anything that you can think of that you've never
said before.
Speaker 3 (37:20):
So I've been like really thinking hard about these and
I've stressed myself out. But I love this question and
I love that you ask this question. It's a question
that I don't think I've ever been really asked before,
and it made me laugh while I was thinking, you know,
about what to say, because I also was like, I've
kept secrets for like a decade because of PLL and
(37:43):
I I guess I am so good at it that
or I guess not so good at it in my
personal life, because I'm like, what have I never told anybody?
But awesome question. I have got a silly one, and
I guess I've got a rather deep one that's going
to sound really depressing, just kind of why I don't
want to say that one, but I'm going to say
it anyway, because I think it is as much as
(38:04):
I've never said it out loud, I think it is
something that a lot of.
Speaker 2 (38:07):
Parents deal with.
Speaker 3 (38:09):
My I guess thing that I've never told anybody is
I stress about it every night. I hate I fear
not being around to see Hendricks grow up, which is
so sadful, sad, But I think a lot of parents
do that.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
Oh my god, I'm going to cry. I've never said
it out loud. Yeah, I've got a silly one.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
Thank you for sharing that. Of course, that's something that
it isn't depressing. I think that I'm not a parent,
but I can imagine when you love a little human
so much and they've come and they're your baby, that
why wouldn't you worry about that?
Speaker 2 (38:51):
I did not expect to do this, so that.
Speaker 1 (38:55):
No, no, I really got funny one.
Speaker 3 (38:57):
Okay, funny one is that I hate being tickled, really,
I hate it.
Speaker 2 (39:04):
It is my pet peeve. Don't ever tickle me?
Speaker 1 (39:07):
There you go, because they're super ticklish.
Speaker 2 (39:09):
I'm so ticklish and it like makes me angry.
Speaker 1 (39:12):
That's hysterical. All right, nobody ever tickle Sasha ever. Not. Okay.
I love those two things and they seriously, seriously thank
you again for sharing that. I know it's always, yeah,
hard and sometimes uncomfortable being vulnerable, but especially as a parent.
I think there's a lot of, at least from the
friends I have who are parents, parent guilt and parent anxiety.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
My gosh, mom guilt is insane.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
Yeah, and parents feel silly for things that they fear
or things. So I think you putting that out there
will make a lot of other parents listening say, oh
my god, she feels that too. It's not weird, it's
not abnormal. It's just a thing.
Speaker 2 (39:50):
Yeah, absolutely not.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
Oh well, thank you, Sasha, and I promise I will
never tickle you.
Speaker 2 (39:56):
Thank you. I appreciate that I couldn't I.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
Have enjoyed this conversation more. I seriously, when we met
during the pandemic and I interviewed you, and I've interviewed
hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people, I left that
conversation saying, oh my god, this woman is such a light.
And she is so emotionally engaging and stimulating and real
(40:21):
and raw. And I think that thank you for anybody
in this day and age to go through life with
those capabilities and that compassion is a really important thing,
and you, my friend, you have it.
Speaker 3 (40:33):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (40:33):
I really appreciate that.
Speaker 3 (40:34):
It means a lot. I love talking with you. Thank
you for having me on. I really appreciate it anytime
I'm here.
Speaker 1 (40:41):
Thank you so much. While we look forward to hearing
more from you in the future. And everybody can check
out the podcast. Where can we listen to your podcast?
Speaker 3 (40:48):
So my podcast is Women in the Nude. You can
find it on Spotify, you can find it on Apple.
You can go to my channel Sasha Petersa on YouTube
and find our videos there as well. If you go
to Sofsha Petersa on Instagram you will find all of
that information as well. Excited to have anybody who will listen,
and we just like to keep it positive and keep
(41:10):
progress going, so please give us a listen, go.
Speaker 1 (41:14):
Check it out, all right, my friend, until we.
Speaker 2 (41:16):
Meet again, Thank you, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (41:20):
I've Never Said This Before is hosted by me, Tommy Didario.
This podcast is executive produced by Andrew Puglisi at iHeartRadio
and by me Tommy, with editing by Joshua Colaudney. I've
Never Said This Before is part of the Elvis Duran
podcast Network on iHeart Podcasts. For more, rate review and
subscribe to our show and if you liked this episode,
(41:43):
tell your friends. Until next time, I'm Tommy Dedario
Hey, guys, welcome to I've never said this before with me,
Tommy di Dario. If you were a millennial like I am,
you may have been plagued with a very very important
question while growing up. And that question is who is A?
A refers to a mystery person terrorizing a group of
(00:21):
high school friends who yes, goes by the letter A,
and they were threatening to expose their secrets one year
after the Queen Bee of their clique went missing. I am,
of course, referring to the series Pretty Little Liars, a
show that took the world over by storm, and today's
guest is that Queen Bee. I was just talking about
the brilliantly talented actress Sasha Petersa. Sasha played the role
(00:46):
of Alison de Laurentis and instantly became a part of
pop culture history. When the show premiered, I mean, the
world could not get enough. And what was so cool
is this show was one of the very first shows
to utilize Twitter, because Twitter was just starting to become
popular to engage with the audiences. Week after week, the
show would be trending every single week it was number one.
(01:08):
It was truly remarkable how the show became so big
on social media now. Aside from being an actress and
working ever since she was a kid, Sasha is the
author of her cookbook Sasha in Good Taste and the
host of her podcast Women in the Nude, where Sasha
and her friends tackle taboo topics and they're all with
their experiences, their perspectives, and their truths. She truly does
(01:31):
it all and we had so much fun talking about
everything from past to present. So let's see if today
we can get Sasha to say something that she's never
said before. Sasha, how are you my friend?
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Good?
Speaker 3 (01:49):
I am so glad to be with you. Thank you
so much for thinking of me. How are you?
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Yeah, I'm so good. I'm so good. I love connecting
with you. I always feel like, I don't know, I
just believe as a happier person whenever we're done talking.
You have that effect on people that is so nice.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Thank you so much. I mean, I feel the same
way with you. You're just so warm and I mean
easy to talk to. But I feel like your friend,
which is so cool. We've been i mean friends for
years now. It's wild.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
I know. I love it so much, and I love
following you because you always have so much going on,
and we're going to dive into a new venture or
a newer venture of yours, I should say, but before
we go into that, I am so fascinated by this
idea of someone like yourself who essentially shot to super
stardom very early in your career, right, you, of course
(02:36):
were on pretty little liars for everybody listening, and then
who may not know that, but that show really just
kind of changed the trajectory of your entire career and
your entire future. Right, So thinking back to those years,
what are you the most fond of?
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Oh, my goodness, but yeah, I mean to speak on
just in general PLL. I was twelve when I shot
the pilot, thirteen when we filmed the first season, so
I now have been in the industry for over twenty
three years. I started when I was three and a half.
So when I got PLL, you know, we weren't sure
what it was going to be. We were super excited.
You know, it was like, oh, the right formula. It
(03:16):
was a book series, and it was you know, already popular,
and I don't know, fingers crossed, this could be something.
And then obviously, as we know, fans just fell in
love with it. The way that we did, which is
just also in general, such a special thing. As an actor,
I had an incredible I mean really as far as
filming and the show being out over a decade of
(03:40):
connection with amazing people all over the world, and I
think it was one of those first shows that was
we were able to do that because of social media
and form real bonds with people that were going through
similar experiences. You know, obviously as this hyperreality, you know,
getting chased in the dark. Hopefully people aren't doing that
on a regular basis, but there was this real relatable
(04:03):
energy between the girls and their experiences and how they
were going through their teenage life. So I really grew
up on camera in front of everybody, you know, during
pillll and good and bad ways. It's so weird to
have your childhood on TV. You know, every change that
I went through, graduating high school, getting engaged, you know,
(04:25):
getting my license. Don't worry, my license came before getting engaged.
I should get that in order.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
But regardless, I you know, I.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
Was on camera through these crazy milestones and I look
fondly on all of it, the good and the bad,
and you know, when I say bad, it really wasn't bad.
It was just you know, things that end up being
out of your control. But I feel like the relationships
I've formed were the best part. Our crew hardly changed
in those years, and so I have lifelong friendships people
(04:58):
that have you know, been there to support me. And
that includes our fans. Really there's fans that still, you know,
comment and like on my page that I recognize from
when PL started. So it's really cool to see everybody
grow with you as well. I don't know, it's just
been such a blessing and something that I will always
(05:18):
credit to.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Where I am today, Well, it's clear.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
You're so grateful and appreciative of your time on the
show and of the community that the show built, and
I think it's really refreshing to hear something like that.
Do you think you were prepared for all of the
fame that hit you so fast?
Speaker 2 (05:36):
I mean yes and no.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
I think being in the industry so young, I was
trained to think that, you know, if you get that
big thing, this is what will happen. And things like Twilight.
You know, I knew Taylor from doing Shark boyn Lave
a Girl. When he got Twilight, it was like he
blew up overnight. Like people were at his house the
next day, which is just crazy to think about. So
I think I knew that if I got something like that,
(06:01):
that is what would happen, and then when it actually
happens to you, it's very different. I think there was
a couple of components for me that were different. I
was homeschooled, so I wasn't in that public school setting
where all of a sudden, you know, everybody knew my name,
and now my dynamic at school has changed, so I
didn't have that. I was a minor compared to the
other girls, so I was younger than everybody else. And
(06:23):
as much as I never felt like I was treated
any different, there's just certain ways that people handle you
that are different considering you're not an adult, and so
once it became an adult on the show, I would
say that changed. But as far as like a fan
experience goes, it's so different until you know, you don't
know really what it's like until it happens to you.
(06:44):
I remember the first time I got recognized was before
the show even came out, so it was just from
you know, marketing that they had started doing, and somebody
recognized me while I was in a restaurant, and that
was so bizarre, and it changed the way that I
looked at going out, because you know, the show wasn't out.
I didn't think that anybody really knew about Prettle Liars yet.
(07:06):
But they were a fan of the books, and so
if you're a fan of the books, you're following everything
that's you know, coming up and new, and that's how
they knew about the show. But they recognized me walking
past a window, and that is such a strange thing.
And now it doesn't matter if my hair color is different,
if I'm wearing a hat, if I've got no makeup
on it, it doesn't matter. People recognize me. And that's
I think such a it's a strange thing. I think
(07:29):
it's so awesome and I you know, it comes with it,
and I'm thankful for all the people that I've.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Met along the way. But it it's a very weird.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
Thing to go out in public, and I guess be
very conscious of the people around you in a way
that you might not if you're not in that position.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Yeah, I can imagine. And social media was kind of
starting to become really popular right when the show came out,
or was it was it even out.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Yeah, So, I mean we were lucky to release around
the time time that Twitter was first getting popular, so
you know, you had your Facebook, we had just come
out of the MySpace phase, which I personally loved. MySpace
still know how to code because of it. I'm part
of that. But Twitter had just launched and was actively
(08:16):
being used, and I think that is what really helped
us because all of a sudden, now, like I said,
we were connecting with people all over the world, but
we were one of the first shows to you know,
put hashtags on screen and have people live tweeting with us,
and it really helped build our community and that suspense,
and I think our show did a really good job
(08:36):
of utilizing that and making sure that people felt involved
in the show.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
And I think that is really the key.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
You know. I feel like if Twitter was around when
the original Gossip Girl was around, I think they would
have had a very similar response. And even though obviously
Gossip Girl is massive, if they had that like immediate
tweeting on you know while the show was airing, I
think there's something so special about that. And then you know,
we loved connecting with our fans, so while the show
(09:05):
is airing and all those hashtags are being shared and
people were commenting and talking about it live. We were
also participating in that and speaking to our fans because
we care about it so much. So I think it
just had helped fuel that crazy energy that came from PLO.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Was it hard to find a balance because here you
are on set shooting a million different scenes and seasons,
and there's so much work that went into a show
like this, and now social media is a thing and
you feel this obligation to be posting and interacting and engaging, Like,
how do you form that line of peace between work
and personal life and digital world? Was that a weird
(09:42):
thing to wrap your head around.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
I don't think anybody has ever asked me that question
in that way, So I mean, thank you for that,
because it is a weird. It is a weird thing.
You do feel responsible part of it actually is. I
don't know if anyone's going to hate me for saying this,
as far as on our side of the business goes,
but you are. It's not necessarily legally obligated, but it
(10:04):
kind of is. They really push you to do that. Thankfully,
I don't hate it. I think it's a really great
opportunity to kind of find out, you know, what people
think and how they're feeling about what you've shot. But
you have to self monitor. You have to kind of
check in with yourself and see how you're doing, and
(10:25):
you know, decide what's best for you at that time,
and you know what isn't. And I think then with PLL,
you know, I wasn't married, I didn't have a kid,
I didn't have like all these other things in my life.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Per se.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
It was really just about work and enjoying the experience,
and so I had a lot more time. Didn't realize
it back then, I know it now. I had a
lot more time to focus on that, and I think
I ended up I took breaks, and I think that's
the key is to learn what It's almost like checking
(11:01):
in and checking out. You got to figure out what
is right for you. And I think I kind of
naturally felt that. You know, I had lots of health
issues and a lot of stuff happened to me while
I was working on the show, and so I think
I naturally stepped away when I needed to and I
was around when I could.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Do you think you would do anything differently looking back
at your time on that show.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
Ironically, think I would post more, really think I would. Yeah,
I really do. I feel like I now know how
to better connect and I feel like I did a
good job back then, but I think I fully understand
it now and I would, especially with Emerson and all that,
I was very vocal about supporting it. But I feel
like there are ways that I could have gone even
further with that. But you know, I don't really have
(11:43):
any regrets. That would just be something that could have
been better. I feel like is to be even more
involved than I was, even though I really do feel
like I was present.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
Oh, that must be a good feeling to look back
and think I did that right, because I know a
lot of people that I talked to don't always have
that experience, And I think think when you can fully say, man,
I really feel like I'm content with how that experience went,
no matter what industry were in, I think that's a
beautiful feeling.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
Absolutely, And yeah, I mean it's one of those things
too with the show that that is that successful.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
I think there's a lot of actors that.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
I mean definitely in the moment feel like, Okay, I've
liked the itch to do other things and that was
something with pl that we were one of those last
shows that had that many episodes. So a lot of
the shows now have you know, eleven fourteen episode seasons
for the same type of show. I would say we
(12:39):
had between twenty two to twenty five episodes a season.
So we were filming crazy hours for over nine months
of the year, and we didn't have those breaks to
go and do other things. We had to really, really
really fight to be able to get out for anything,
and I think that was hard. So it was hard
(13:01):
on us during that journey. As much as I can,
I feel like I can speak for everyone when I
say that we all enjoyed it, we're all thankful for it.
But that is the only bummer I would say. I
feel like we wouldn't have been burnt out at any
particular time if we were able to kind of stretch
those other muscles and you know, have a little bit
more freedom to do other things.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
I think it just naturally.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
You know, as an actor, it kind of it's hard
to play the same character for that long. I was
lucky in the sense that Ali was never boring. I
was always doing something ridiculous. I was always showing different
colors based on, you know, whatever we were revealing at
the time. But it's difficult to play the same character
on the same level for that long, So you know,
(13:47):
there's complicated things. But I like to call it a
champagne problem.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Who I like that a champagne problem.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
How many times do you see in your comments or
dms or on social media people asking, Hey, are we
ever going to get a reunion? Are you in the
i's going to get together? Do you still see that?
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Absolutely a lot every day? Really?
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Wow?
Speaker 3 (14:06):
Which is it only shows that you did something right?
You know, I wouldn't say no, I know, for all
of us, it would have to be the right thing
in a way. You know, I'm very protective of Alison.
We did that spin off, The Perfectionists, and I was
bummed about that.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
I don't think that it was done right. Really.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
That cast was a lot of fun and extremely talented,
but I kind of wish it was done completely differently.
I think we it was kind of essentially what I
was afraid of, And I think why so many of
us are afraid of sequels or afraid of kind of
ruining the original thing that we did, And that's that's
(14:44):
whys you want to always do the character justice and
Emerson was so important to me and the fans. For
those who don't know, Alison my character and Emily another
character had a relationship and it was so important to
our entire show through all seven seasons, and it ended
on a note where they were together, they were strong.
(15:05):
They'd worked through so much garbage.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Can I square on this?
Speaker 1 (15:09):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Yeah, okay, so much shit. They worked through so much.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
I have such a bad potty mouth, and I okay, okay,
so glad to know, but you know, they'd worked through
so much, and then to go and do a spin
off where that wasn't the case, where they weren't together
anymore or really made me upset on a lot of
different levels.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
That was really unfortunate.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
So I guess if we you know, to answer your
previous question about going back doing something different, I would
have either not done it or I would have really
fought to change the storyline because I was not happy
with it, and you know, some of those things, it
just kind of is what it is. So in a way,
if we did something like a sequel or a movie,
or you know, whatever it may be, that would be
(15:52):
my stipulation is that we turned that around.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
I almost forgot about that entire relationship because now you
see so many same sex couples and right, very great,
it's great, and I still think there's work that needs
to be done, but we are seeing a lot more
of it. But your show, I feel like, was one
of the most early representations of a same sex couple.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
Yeah, which is I feel so honored to have been
a part of that. I really really do, which is
again why I'm so protective of it. But I feel
like while we were shooting it, we knew that and
didn't know it like it felt so natural, It felt
like the way to go. I really couldn't have seen
that go any other way. As far as you know,
(16:40):
they were meant to be together, I think everybody always knew,
like they need they need that, we need.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
That, the fans need that.
Speaker 3 (16:46):
But we were one of the first, if not the first,
as far as a teen show goes in that light,
to be that consistent thread throughout the show, not just
like this one off thing that like we check the box,
which I hate, hate that. Glad that we were not that.
And I also really respect the way that we were
kind of showing different types of relationships as far as
(17:10):
you know, different dynamics. But then also the way that
Emily came out to her parents. I love that they
weren't just like open arms, you know, this is what
it is.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
It was.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
Her mom had a really tough time with it, her
dad didn't, and I think that was really important to
show that, you know, we're not going to just tell
you that it's all rainbows and that you can just
you know, come out and then everything's fine. That's not
the case. That's not reality. Unfortunately, some people are really shitty,
and then other times people surprise you and it's beautiful.
(17:39):
Her dad surprised her, her mom did not, And as
sad and frustrating as that is, we showed that friends
come around you and when you have your people that
you've chosen as your family, you're going to be all right.
And I think that was really cool and I think
that really helped people around the world.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
And I if I've done.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Conventions or if it's just people, you know, talking on
social media, I've seen that where people have come together
around the world and maybe their experience wasn't so great,
but they found their people, and often it was because
of PLL and just fans randomly around the world that
actually fly to visit each other and really formed amazing
(18:18):
lifelong friendships. So that I think is something that I'm
most proud of is that we created an environment where
it was safe.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
Man, And when art can heal and bring people together, yes,
then you've known you did a pretty damn good job
creating the character you did, and that's a testament to
all of the work that you guys did. I know,
life takes us in a million different directions, so of
course it's so hard to keep in touch with everyone.
But would you say you and the girls have forever
formed a sisterhood.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
Oh yeah, I mean we spent so much time together.
And I would say too, for the amount of estrogen
that was on our set, I think we all did
very well.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
But it really is a sisterhood.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
You know, and we're all you know, getting married or
having babies or just in general, our lives are going
in directions that whenever we see each other or you know,
we've got our group chat, and it just it's something
that I think we will I don't see that ever
going away. You know, we are We've shared such a cool,
strong experience that is so important in all of our
(19:21):
lives and many capacities, and to see us all grow
and change and go through life in different ways is
just so cool.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
Oh that's a beautiful thing. And everyone has a new
chapter and I'm sure you all support each other and
you have had many things go on since the show
and did. But one of the things I'm excited to
talk to you about is your podcast, which is called
Women in the Nude. Yes, it is a fantastic title.
So tell me about this podcast.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Thanks.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
So I started Women in the Nude. I really wanted
to start a podcast.
Speaker 3 (19:56):
It was just kind of those things, that thing that
was like kind of rolling O around in my head
where I was.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
I was like, I love podcasts.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
You know, this is something that I enjoy that I
get a lot of I guess knowledge from. We find
random information on podcasts that really help, whether that's self
help or if it's just listening to cool people that
you never knew existed or celebrities telling you things about
themselves that you never knew. I really enjoyed the concept,
and so I was like, well, what could I do?
(20:23):
What is important to me? I wanted it to be
something that could help people, and I know, for me
and my experience. I've been lucky to have some incredible
women around me, but I did find it difficult to
build a strong community of women growing up. It was
hard for me to make really good girlfriends. I have
(20:44):
my best best friend, Jalen, and I have some amazing
women in my life after that that I had to
really seek out and form those relationships.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
It didn't come easy.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
I just always connected with men better to be frank,
I had guy friends. I had lots of guy friends,
and I had my best friend Jayleen, and she's wonderful,
and I didn't think I needed anything else. But as
I got older, there are certain things that women deal
with that men don't, you know, And it's as simple
as that. You can find some incredible men, which I
have a lot of them in my life, that are
(21:15):
empathetic and sympathized with whatever is going on, but they
don't they can't completely understand it like another woman can.
And so I have really worked on in my own
life finding those women. And I wanted to give that
to other people. I wanted to give it to whoever
wanted to listen, but women in particular, to show them
(21:38):
that the things that they're going through You're not alone.
You might feel crazy, You're not crazy. These things happened to,
you know, every woman or lots of women, and here's
how other people deal with it. And I wanted to
make sure that it was people that had unique jobs
or were in unique situations so that they could give
some sort of insight that could maybe also not just
(22:01):
make you feel included and related to, but could inspire
you to do other things that you hadn't thought of before.
You know, I have someone like Kennis Nelson on my
show recently, who is incredible. If you don't know who
she is, she is the creator of Sprinkle's Cupcakes, and
she is an incredible business woman and she's got so
much to offer and her journey is so fascinating, and
(22:21):
she's so empowering for other women who not only just
want to be in business, but just in general, I
want to believe in themselves and how to do that,
how to accomplish that. And so whether it's women's health,
whether it's women's rights, whether it's women in business, motherhood,
we cover so many different subjects that unfortunately tend to
be taboo. So I'm proud of that. I'm proud to
(22:44):
start that we're only in our first season. You know,
we're finding our legs. But I really really enjoyed it.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
It's a phenomenal show. I like that you have such
a a clear point of view, a clear perspective. You're
bringing powerful people together to help other people, which I
think is so important in this day and age. Was
there a conversation you've had on the show that was
a more difficult one for you to engage in?
Speaker 3 (23:08):
Yeah, I you know, I feel very comfortable talking about
PCOS now, which is polycystico ray syndrome, which is part
of what I was dealing with on the show. But
you know, you tend to talk to other people that
have those experiences, and I feel like it gets kind
of emotional. I've definitely revealed parts of myself that you know,
I haven't traditionally in other forms.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Talking about health.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
Or my health journey in particular, is I would say,
a sensitive one. You know, it's very raw. I've done
a lot of work to get past it. But I
feel like I've talked about it on several episodes, always
slightly different, always just a little bit more in one direction,
very truthful, very raw.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
I don't think there's any point in hiding it.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
And you know, I think health journeys are so important
to share. Everybody has a different version of it, everybody
struggled with it in different ways. But I think that's
probably the most raw. I like to pull other things
from other places, Like I think sex is a big one.
We are so scared in so many ways of talking
(24:16):
about women having sex, and I want to shatter that
because you know, we shouldn't be the exception. We shouldn't
be the ones that like can't talk about it or
feel shame for you know, for whatever reason you want
to insert in the blank there. So I'm really excited
to have this other guest on soon who is a
(24:38):
professor who literally specializes in women's pleasure, which I think
is fascinating. So having women on like that that are
breaking those walls down, it is just really important to me.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
And two things. When you open up about your health
journey on your show, I think you mentioned I forget
which episode it was, but about the weight gain and
how that was during PLLL and working in entertainment, I
see all the press and headlines all the time, and
for whatever reason, that went everywhere as if yeah, people
never gain weight when they go through a health issue, right,
(25:10):
and it's like going back to your point of maybe
taboo or you don't talk about it, or whatever the
case may be. It's so insane to me because it's
a very normal thing, and yet when people hear it,
it's like, oh my god, that's a headline. We've never
seen that before. So I like that you're deconstructing that.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
Absolutely, And you know, it's one of those things where
when in the moment when I was going through it,
I didn't know why, and I had this moment of like,
I get it. I get why people are so hyper
focused on it. I don't like it, I don't agree
with it. But here's the thing. When something changes and
(25:48):
you don't know why, it's something to talk about. So
I wasn't giving anybody an answer. I didn't have the answer.
But it's the assumption that I think we have as
a society. It's this maybe even just a human thing,
maybe it's not just society currently as a whole. I
think it is one of those things where you want
to know the answer to something, and people in the
(26:09):
public eye are like fair game to so many people.
That's why they comment anything on their pages. They either
just don't think that they're going to see it, or
you know, who cares about that person. They're in the
public eye, so you know they're asking for it essentially,
And so I think it was one of those things
where like people were trying to find the answer. It
was a popular show. They saw me change on the show,
(26:29):
and so it's like, well, is she pregnant? They wanted
an answer and I couldn't give it to them, and
you know, I shouldn't feel obligated necessarily to give them
that answer, but I kind of had a moment of
understanding where I was like, I haven't addressed it. People
don't know what the reason is. Yeah, I do look different.
It shouldn't matter, but you know, to them, somebody that
(26:53):
is inspecting me, essentially intentionally or unintentionally. I haven't given
a reason. And I remember I posted something that was
like under construction, which is so cheesy now, but I
posted that, and the reason was because I wanted to
address it and I didn't know any other way to
do it because I didn't have an answer. So essentially
(27:14):
it was just I'm under construction. I'm figuring my shit out.
I don't know what it is, and so you know,
that's the only answer I can give you, and you
can take that with you know, however you want to
take it. You can take it the way that you feel,
you know necessary. But I think it truly is that
like search for an answer. I think that's why we're
so interested in celebrities relationships and their choices in life,
(27:38):
because it's like, well, why are they dating that person? Well,
why why were they here? Well there has to be
a reason. We have to connect all of these dots.
We have to know all of these things about their lives.
And to your point, when people go through health issues,
weaightain is a really popular symptom side effect. You know,
your hormones, different medications. There are so many reasons for
wake gain that are not as far as women go,
(28:01):
you're pregnant. But I think it's the most exciting thing
in social media. It's one of those things where it's like, oh,
if they're pregnant, and then it's like whose baby is it?
Speaker 2 (28:11):
And then it you know, then.
Speaker 3 (28:12):
It's like pregnant, fashion pregnancy or a maternity where which
I love.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
But actually that's a good example too.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
I was not we were in the middle of COVID
and because of my pcos I didn't have an easy pregnancy,
so I wasn't the girl out on the red carpet
with a cute bump. And so there's all of these
psychological things that you might not have to deal with
if you're not in the spotlight. And I never want
to say that I'm what's the right word, you know,
(28:41):
there's a lot of celebrities that are like, you know,
I just want my private life, and obviously there are
times where I do, but I think there is it's
important to acknowledge the fact that it comes along with
our industry and it means that you're successful. So it's
a double edged sword. And I don't like to get
(29:02):
mad at fans or people that are interested in your
life for being interested in your life, because essentially it's
why you're successful. Especially these days, your followers matter. Your
follower count equals getting hired for something over somebody else.
Often it doesn't matter about talent, and so our followers matter.
And so the fact that you're mad at the public
(29:25):
eye for wanting to be interested in your life is
kind of you either just have to get out of
the industry or you have to say in the industry,
it's a part of it. I don't know if I'm
making sense in that way, but it's something that comes
along with the business, and either you accept it or
you get out of the business. And it doesn't mean
that you can't go through a hard time with your
mental health naturally. It's something that's extremely difficult with your
(29:48):
mental health, trying to wrap your head around what you
can and cannot do the way that you want to
be seen in the public eye. There's so much to
unravel there, and all of those feelings are valid, but
I think oftentimes the anger is misplaced.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
How have you gotten to such a peaceful place in
your work and in life and have such clarity and
have this mindset of you know what you're in, you
know what you're going to get, and you just have
to learn how to manage and balance it all because
a lot of people don't have that in whatever industry
or career they choose. But you seem like a very realistic,
(30:28):
practical kind of person. Have you always been like that
or that just came as you've evolved?
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Well, thank you for that.
Speaker 3 (30:35):
Yeah, I think it's a little bit about knowing kind
of like I said before, about fame. You know, if
you know one plus one equs two essentially right, So
it's like knowing that that's something that could come along
with it, and in a backwards way wanting it. You know,
I don't want people to be right outside my door.
That does feel like, you know, a hard thing to
(30:56):
deal with with your privacy, but in the same token,
also like it's a sign of success. So I think
I've come to peace or I'm at peace with the
fact that that is a part of the industry. And
I think it's because I've been in the industry for
so long that I just I try and look at
it through a different lens of understanding of like you said, practicality,
(31:20):
because essentially that's you're gonna have to it's like you
laugh or you cry, you know what I mean. It's
like that is the type of I think the only
way to look at it to have peace. It's like
it's something that's not going to change, and actually if
it changes, there's a different issue. So this is the landscape.
(31:43):
Where do you fall, Where is your balance? How do
you get value out of life? How do you find
your peace? And you know, I'm definitely not always like that.
But that's always my goal is to deal with it
in a way that is as healthy as possible.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
To understand what.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
The type of boundaries that I need to make that possible,
and what I want to keep private and what I
want to show.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
I think that's also a part of it.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
I think all of those things are possible, but it
takes work everything in life. Like you said, it's every
different type of career path, it's every different walk of
life where we have to make those decisions. Otherwise we
just kind of are stagnant or we are letting ourselves
suffer unnecessarily.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
Do you still get fulfillment out of being an actor?
Does it still stimulate you in every sense of the
craft or are there other things that you want to
do and pursue.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
I would say both.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
I mean absolutely, my first love as far as career goes,
will always be acting. Again, I've been in the industry
so long that I've had the privilege of starting to
really understand every different type of job on set, and
it's made me really want to be a director. I've
gotten into writing and producing and I really do want
to start directing.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
And I think one.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
Of the most important roles as a director, and unfortunately,
even with a lot of directors that I've worked with,
it's not maybe the one that either comes easiest or
the one that they don't know yet. The most important
thing is relying on the strengths of all of the
other people around you, the ones that are qualified to
do their jobs really well. You know, you're not the
(33:27):
smartest person in the room, and I think that's a
really important thing with leadership, is knowing the types of
people that you need to surround yourself with. I think
I've learned a lot of lessons from really talented people.
I've also learned a lot of what not to do,
and arming yourself with all of those things I think
(33:48):
is truly important and I can't wait for that next
stage in my career. I've got other businesses that I've
been doing on the side that are not entertainment related.
Actually very excited. I've started my own low dose hemp
derived TCA beverage, and myself and three co founders are
on that journey, which is really exciting and more and
(34:08):
more we'll be shared about that soon. But yeah, I've
kind of got my hands and everything, so it's it's exciting.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
I do feel like our industry is so.
Speaker 3 (34:18):
Thick goal in so many ways that you kind of
have to and I do have lots of different passions
and lots of different areas, and you know, aside from
the podcast and that just in general the things that
I enjoy as far as hobbies go, you know, I
try to always make sure that I'm stimulated in those ways,
make sure that my passions are always being fed to
(34:40):
the best of my ability, and obviously being a mom
is top of that priority list. It's such a fun journey.
And so yeah, I've got a lot going on all
the time. I struggle to keep my head above water
because of how busy we are.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
But I love that.
Speaker 3 (34:56):
I feel like without that, I would be bored and
not and you know, not stimulated. Not. I hate to
say happy, because I feel like there's always, you know,
a way to find joy in things. But I don't
want to ever not be busy, if that makes sense.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Yeah. Yeah, and you're beaming. I mean, you're you're somebody
who is making life what she wants it to be.
And I think that is so cool that you are
allowing yourself to have other interests and you know what
your love is and your passion is and what you
desire and what you want and you can do a
bunch of different things. That's the day and age we
live in, right And you're somebody that is creative and
(35:31):
an artist and you're sprinkling your talents all over the place,
which I think is a really cool thing. So I'm
excited to keep hearing what you have in the pipeline
and all of the things sound amazing.
Speaker 2 (35:44):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (35:44):
I do want to mention that, you know, I appreciate
you say that. I'm like that I'm beaming because I am.
I do feel really fulfilled. It's not always like that.
I think that's also something important, is like I have
my bad days, you know, and I need reminders like this,
just talking to you about this, It's like yes, like
that is what I am making my life what I
(36:05):
want it to be. And I want to credit my
husband with that actually, because when I have those low moments,
I'm so thankful that I have him to be like, no,
you know, this is your value, this is what you want,
go get it. And I think we all need people
in our lives like that that when we are not
feeling our strongest, you know that has never faltered for them,
(36:27):
and I'm lucky to have found those people who are
there to you know, pick me up when I'm having
a low moment. And that is my want for everyone, honestly,
Like I'm rooting for people to find those people in
their lives because it makes all of the difference. It
is hard to be your champion, your own champion twenty
four to seven. Nobody is capable of that. It's it's exhausting.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
Yeah, you have to surround yourself with people that lift
you and inspire you and that you do the same
for and that sometimes means, you know, weeding out people
throughout your life that aren't doing that, and that's okay too.
So I love that message. And to have a friend,
a partner, just somebody who gives you that encouragement is
so important. You have been so incredibly open, and I
(37:08):
know you have your podcast now where you're very open
as well. But the name of the show is I've
never said this before, and I am wondering if there
is anything that you can think of that you've never
said before.
Speaker 3 (37:20):
So I've been like really thinking hard about these and
I've stressed myself out. But I love this question and
I love that you ask this question. It's a question
that I don't think I've ever been really asked before,
and it made me laugh while I was thinking, you know,
about what to say, because I also was like, I've
kept secrets for like a decade because of PLL and
(37:43):
I I guess I am so good at it that
or I guess not so good at it in my
personal life, because I'm like, what have I never told anybody?
But awesome question. I have got a silly one, and
I guess I've got a rather deep one that's going
to sound really depressing, just kind of why I don't
want to say that one, but I'm going to say
it anyway, because I think it is as much as
(38:04):
I've never said it out loud, I think it is
something that a lot of.
Speaker 2 (38:07):
Parents deal with.
Speaker 3 (38:09):
My I guess thing that I've never told anybody is
I stress about it every night. I hate I fear
not being around to see Hendricks grow up, which is
so sadful, sad, But I think a lot of parents
do that.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
Oh my god, I'm going to cry. I've never said
it out loud. Yeah, I've got a silly one.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
Thank you for sharing that. Of course, that's something that
it isn't depressing. I think that I'm not a parent,
but I can imagine when you love a little human
so much and they've come and they're your baby, that
why wouldn't you worry about that?
Speaker 2 (38:51):
I did not expect to do this, so that.
Speaker 1 (38:55):
No, no, I really got funny one.
Speaker 3 (38:57):
Okay, funny one is that I hate being tickled, really,
I hate it.
Speaker 2 (39:04):
It is my pet peeve. Don't ever tickle me?
Speaker 1 (39:07):
There you go, because they're super ticklish.
Speaker 2 (39:09):
I'm so ticklish and it like makes me angry.
Speaker 1 (39:12):
That's hysterical. All right, nobody ever tickle Sasha ever. Not. Okay.
I love those two things and they seriously, seriously thank
you again for sharing that. I know it's always, yeah,
hard and sometimes uncomfortable being vulnerable, but especially as a parent.
I think there's a lot of, at least from the
friends I have who are parents, parent guilt and parent anxiety.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
My gosh, mom guilt is insane.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
Yeah, and parents feel silly for things that they fear
or things. So I think you putting that out there
will make a lot of other parents listening say, oh
my god, she feels that too. It's not weird, it's
not abnormal. It's just a thing.
Speaker 2 (39:50):
Yeah, absolutely not.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
Oh well, thank you, Sasha, and I promise I will
never tickle you.
Speaker 2 (39:56):
Thank you. I appreciate that I couldn't I.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
Have enjoyed this conversation more. I seriously, when we met
during the pandemic and I interviewed you, and I've interviewed
hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people, I left that
conversation saying, oh my god, this woman is such a light.
And she is so emotionally engaging and stimulating and real
(40:21):
and raw. And I think that thank you for anybody
in this day and age to go through life with
those capabilities and that compassion is a really important thing,
and you, my friend, you have it.
Speaker 3 (40:33):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (40:33):
I really appreciate that.
Speaker 3 (40:34):
It means a lot. I love talking with you. Thank
you for having me on. I really appreciate it anytime
I'm here.
Speaker 1 (40:41):
Thank you so much. While we look forward to hearing
more from you in the future. And everybody can check
out the podcast. Where can we listen to your podcast?
Speaker 3 (40:48):
So my podcast is Women in the Nude. You can
find it on Spotify, you can find it on Apple.
You can go to my channel Sasha Petersa on YouTube
and find our videos there as well. If you go
to Sofsha Petersa on Instagram you will find all of
that information as well. Excited to have anybody who will listen,
and we just like to keep it positive and keep
(41:10):
progress going, so please give us a listen, go.
Speaker 1 (41:14):
Check it out, all right, my friend, until we.
Speaker 2 (41:16):
Meet again, Thank you, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (41:20):
I've Never Said This Before is hosted by me, Tommy Didario.
This podcast is executive produced by Andrew Puglisi at iHeartRadio
and by me Tommy, with editing by Joshua Colaudney. I've
Never Said This Before is part of the Elvis Duran
podcast Network on iHeart Podcasts. For more, rate review and
subscribe to our show and if you liked this episode,
(41:43):
tell your friends. Until next time, I'm Tommy Dedario
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