May 8, 2025 • 49 mins
Connie Britton joins Chelsea to talk about Connie’s experience as a single mom, their longtime friendship, Connie’s new Hallmark show The Motherhood, and an open-seating flight with the two of them and Jane Fonda. Then: A single mom wants to help her best friend have a baby, with or without a man. A teacher needs help choosing between her passion and making a living. And a working mom faces guilt about her nanny - but is she taking it too far?
*
Need some advice from Chelsea? Email us at DearChelseaPodcast@gmail.com
*
Executive Producer Catherine Law
Edited & Engineered by Brad Dickert
*
*
*
The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the Podcast author, or individuals participating in the Podcast, and do not represent the opinions of iHeartMedia or its employees. This Podcast should not be used as medical advice, mental health advice, mental health counseling or therapy, or as imparting any health care recommendations at all. Individuals are advised to seek independent medical, counseling advice and/or therapy from a competent health care professional with respect to any medical condition, mental health issues, health inquiry or matter, including matters discussed on this Podcast. Guests and listeners should not rely on matters discussed in the Podcast and shall not act or shall refrain from acting based on information contained in the Podcast without first seeking independent medical advice.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi Catherine, Hi Chelsea.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm in my last day of Whistler, Canada for the season.
Speaker 3 (00:06):
This is it.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
I skied yesterday. We did some spring skiing with all
the kids and all the adults. We had such an
epic day. It was so much fun. I skied into
a tree, which I always do, but it was spring
slushy skiing, so even as I was heading towards the tree,
I thought this is going to be easy and to
bounce right off. And then Ann Shauneker, who you may
know from my book, was able to rescue me. As usual.
(00:29):
She got my skis off and out of the tree.
One was in like three feet of snow and behind
the tree, so I have good pictures. And then we
went to appray to a new place and then I
got a massage. It was just like one of those
perfect days. I was with like six of my girlfriends.
And then tonight I'm doing my book. I'm doing a
book event in Whistler at the theater here. Armchair Books
(00:51):
is our local bookstore, so I wanted to support them
and have a book event for I'll have what she's having.
So I'm going to do that tonight and then I'm
off I'm off to Chicago to.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Marrow, borrow, fabulous, fabulous, and then you go to Europe.
You'll be going to Europe.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
I'm gonna going to Europe, you guys, if you haven't
gotten your tickets. I start out in Rekuvic. I think
it's May eleventh. I'm in Rekuvic, and then I'm in Belfast.
I'm coming to thirteen countries, so check Chelseahandler dot com.
I am coming to a city near you. I'm very
very excited for my European tour.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
And we've got one of your buddies in the studio today.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Oh yeah, this is one of my close friends who
is a huge pain in my ass. Actually I'm a
huge pain in her ass. And I take a lot
of pride in that. She is the creator and host
of the Motherhood on Hallmark, whose first two episodes are
out now. She also starts in Overcompensating on Amazon Prime.
All episodes are available May fifteenth, and you would recognize
(01:47):
her from a lot of different shows like Friday Night Lights,
like Dirty John, Like, I don't know, she's in everything,
So please welcome Connie Britton.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Hi, Connie, we got you muted right now? Okay, do
you want me to unmute?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Yeah, no, we want you to stay on mute. Connie,
we want you to stay on mute for the interview.
I have a little story to tell about Connie as
we begin this episode of the podcast.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Are we starting? Is this?
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Yeah? No, that bitch is on? Yeah, that's on. So
we're promoting, you know, Connie Britton from a million television series.
We'll go over that in your intro while you're not here,
so that you don't have to listen to.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
That, and also you can say whatever you want. I know,
I know what you're gonna say. I know how you
feel about my television series.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Do you I find it very funny whenever I watch
Connie in anything, because it's I know her very well,
and I go out of my way for Connie all
the time. I constantly am showing up at things whenever
she asked me to. I can't say the same for
Connie with regard to me or my birthday, but I'm
(02:55):
always doing things for her. But we did have a
pretty funny do you want to talk about album? I
think that's a pretty funny story to share.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Oh, that is a pretty funny story to share. I
love that story.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
I want to tell you what happened. So Jane Fonda
wanted us to campaign in Albuquerque before the election. The
candidate that we campaigned for did not win the election.
I want to be on record saying that she is
not the president.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
But so we did. We did that.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
What of when Jane Fonda asks you to do anything,
you do it, especially with my history with Jane Fonda.
Connie has her own history with Jane Fonda different from yours. Uh,
actually no, because remember that time we went to go
visit her when she had her hip, so she had
some surgery, dined and we went to go visit her
at her house and you revealed to her that your
(03:47):
father said that she was Remember what did you say
to her?
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Oh, that's right. And I thought it was such a
great story. And she looked at me like, oh, she's
like my father, I said. I said, Basically, we were
not allowed to say your name in our house growing
up because my father worked in nuclear power and so
it was like literally one name, one name that we
(04:12):
could not say. We could not watch any movies that
Jane Fonda was a part of. It was not to
be spoken because I guess of the China syndrome or something,
so like she was perceived as you know, this like
anti nuclear person in my household. And now of course
(04:32):
I idolize her. She is like the greatest icon. I
can't believe that I get to call her my friend,
like whatever. So I thought, great story, Like also, she
just had hip surgery, she just got out of surgery,
and she's just like drugs.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Anyway, that was one highlight. But cut to this last
year we were It was twenty twenty four. So last
year we went to Albuquerque and Jane was like, okay,
we both said we're in. We're like fun trip. Jane
told us she was taking a Southwest flight and Kannie
and I I was like, does that mean we have
(05:14):
to take a Southwest flight?
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Can we meet you there?
Speaker 2 (05:17):
I was like, so can we just can we? Is there? Okay?
So forget about the private plane. There isn't one. That's okay,
no problem. It's a political event, so of course I'm
not expecting that, but I don't know. I thought maybe
something something else would happen then, other than Southwest, perhaps
another airline. And then I say, okay, we're flying out
(05:37):
of Burbank. I think I'm trying to find the picture. Yes, Burbank,
do you have the picture to put up on I
don't know how high tech you are. Probably we're not
that high tech, but I do have the picture. I'll
use it when I post this episode. Anyway, we took
a picture of us. So we go to Burbank and
Jane has an assistant with her. Kanye and I are
are braving at the Burbank Airport, braving Southwest Airlines and
(06:02):
we I'm like, how is this gonna work? And every
single person I'm annoyed that I'm gonna have to deal with,
you know like this. I'm like, We're just going to
Southwest and Burbank and this is gonna be like a
shit show. And every person that you can imagine, of course,
is recognizing Jane Fonda. Nobody gives a shit that I'm there,
which was a beautiful reprieve. But but everyone would come
(06:27):
up to her and say can I get a picture
with you? Can I get a picture with you? And
then so I was there managing Jane Fonda. I'm like, well,
you can't keep saying yes to every single person, will
be here all day. But she had no no there
was It's like it's when Jane Fonda. Imagine her walking
through the terminal of Southwest and Burbank. I mean, obviously
anyone who sees her is like, what the fuck is
she doing there? Then we take the sideway.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
She is also like could care less, Like she doesn't
give a shit about anything in real side seats of
the wall. Yes to the Starbucks at Burbank Airport. That's
where we're going to sit till our flight takes off.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
And then someone was like because she was sitting down,
so people were crouching to get pictures with her, and
then some guy asked her. He goes, would you mind
standing up? And she was about to get up, and
I was like, don't get up, Jane, like just let
him take Why are you listening to him? And she's like,
you're right, Why am I listen? I'm eighty years old? Yeah,
she's eighty? Is she eighty?
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Is she eighty? Is she eighty two? Eighty she's older
than eighty, right, Okay, yeah, I think she's eighty two.
She's unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
The Internet says she's eighty seven.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
That's right, she's eighty seven. I knew she was like
way older, but then I didn't want to say a
fact like, it's so hard to believe that she's eighty seven.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
It is really hard to She's a vibrant So she's vibrant.
She makes a hundred phone calls a day for her
climate pack, which I just made a donation to this
very morning. FYI, if you want to donate for climate change,
which you should. Her pack works harder than anything I've
ever seen.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Also, I'm speaking on a zoom for that oh later
today actually, okay, see, see she keeps asking you to
do things. I think she stopped asking me to do
things after this trip Querqueachdather. So then we get to Albuquerque,
we find out we're staying at the hotel the Hilton Yard.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Was the airport, the airport Hilton, Airport Hilton, the Airport Hilton.
Once again, Connie and I were texting on the side,
going is this really gonna happen? Are we staying? And
I'm like, God, I don't think we can move hotels
if Jane is staying at the airport Hilton, like we
have to. And I was only coming for Albuquerque. Connie
went on to another city the next day.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
I stayed by the way, you like you kind of
just like brushed off the rest of the Southwest trip
like you me and Jane Fonda, like at least we
completed the row of our Southwest like I of course
had the middle seat, but yeah, like the three of
us in the row is our Southwest flight.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
And then we get to Albuquerque. We go for lunch.
First I order a frozen margarita obviously, and Jane's like, oh,
I've never thought to have a frozen margarite in the daytime,
so she Connie orders one Jane or what I think.
I ordered my second one, and Jane's like, I can't
have two frozen margarita's and I was like, well I can.
And then right before we were about to campaign, right,
(09:09):
So then we go to one campaign event, which was
great for all the people who are working in the campaign,
and then we had some downtime. At that point, I
think I pulled an edible out of my purse and
was grabbing that and Jane goes, is that an edible, Chelsea?
And I'm like, yeah, we're campaigning, like I have to
remain alert. So then we went to the second event,
(09:29):
which was great. You know, Jane, it's just so nice
to see how people respond to her it's very inspiring.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
But also how amazing she is at speaking about this subject,
like she is the most educated on it, Like she
she just knows how to talk about it. Like if
you want facts, you talk to Jane. It's like kind
of incredible to listen to her too.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Yeah, And she makes one hundred phone calls a day
to raise money for that climate pack and is always protesting.
She was doing fire drill Fridays for years while Biden
was in the White House. And she's constantly going to
places where they're going to drill and protesting. I mean,
she's indefatigable. So she so then yeah, for you too.
(10:15):
She although Connie went to Dartmouth, Oh I just in
case you forgot, and Speakspanderin by the way, okay, and
with roommates with Kirsten Chillibrand I don't think everyone knows that,
so I'd like to get that out there. But then
at the end of the night, so Connie sends me
a link while we're on our way to Albuquerque, probably
sitting in the Southwest seats, she sends me a link
to a hotel that she found that's like thirty minutes
(10:37):
outside of where we're supposed to stay at the airport hotel,
and she's like, what about this?
Speaker 3 (10:42):
First, I was like, could we switch and stay at
this nice hotel?
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Well exactly, And I was like, I just don't think
we can do that because we can't ditch Jane, Like
we have to stay at the airport hotel.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Too, right, And no, of course we couldn't ditch Jane.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
No, of course, and we did it. And so then
after we were done early like nine, and Connie's like, well,
let's just at least go get a drink at this
hotel that she found that was like thirty minutes out
of the way. So we're driving and at this point
we've picked up a couple of other people, some of
Jane's Climate pac people. They're in the car with us,
and then there was a couple of people meeting us there.
And so we get to this really cool place, this
(11:18):
like hotel outside or I think in Albuquerque, but outside
off the beaten drack, and Jane's like, it's really far.
I'm really tired. How long is this going to take?
We were in the car longer than we expected. It
was about a thirty minute drive, and Jane is kind
of getting a little antsy, like, oh God, is this
worth it?
Speaker 3 (11:33):
It's not on the schedule at all. The Hilton Airport
was the next and.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Final stop, and Connie and I were like, Jane, you
can go to bed like Connie and I'll just go
it's no big deal. And she's like, m I'll come
with you. I'll come with you. So we get there.
It's like a thirty minute drive. We get there, we see,
you know, we're kind of like worried, like I don't
want to We don't want to annoy her. I don't
want to annoy her. I don't want to keep her
out later than she wants to be out. I don't
want to be responsible for her drink thinking or anything
(12:01):
you know that's related to me. I get in trouble
for everyone's bad behavior, you know. So I so then
we have drinks. It ends up being a lovely night.
We order some snacks. I think we had a couple
of drinks. There was like six or seven of us
by this time, and as we're walking out the door,
Jane says, Oh, I'm actually so glad we came here.
Thank you, Chelsea for picking this place out, and I've
(12:27):
got You're welcome.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
All the time, like I'm getting blamed as she's getting
more and more tired, more and more stressed, like why
are we going to this place?
Speaker 2 (12:38):
And then she then I get credited with with the win, and.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
I, by the way, you take off the next morning,
and I go, I go on to the next the next.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Yea, where did you guys go from there?
Speaker 3 (12:50):
Well? Wait, that was Albuquerque. So then we went to
San Sancho Pez. No, wait, San Jose, San Antonio, Mexico,
New Mexico, New Mexico, the big town in Mexico. The police.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
No, okay, let's start, let's start, okay, okay, she's from Dartmouth.
Every once she went to Dartmouth, just so you know.
And she speaks Mandarin, but she doesn't know where San Antoni.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
Thank you, you know what. You should have been able
to think of that too, Santa Fe, Thank you, Catherine.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
No problem.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Okay, So back to Connie. When I see Connie on television,
I sent her a screen grab when I saw her
playing Dirty John with the woman that got duped by
this lunatic loser. He wasn't even that much of a lunatic.
That's how kind of slow on the uptake this woman was.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
He was too a lunatic.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Yeah, I mean, I guess so, I.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
Mean compared to the guys you date, But yes, he
was a luminis.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
I take screen grabs of Connie's faces and I just
send them to her, like, how can anyone take your
acting seriously?
Speaker 3 (14:03):
You know?
Speaker 2 (14:03):
And I forget what was the last? You're in everything,
So it's impossible to avoid Connie Britton. You guys, if
you're watching, you've seen her in everything. In fact, I
started watching that new series on Netflix, and you were
in it, and I was so excited, and then and
then you die in it, but then you come back
and the mashbacks. I forget what that? No, that was
a series.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
No, the Life List? A Life List is a movie.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Oh I thought it was a series. Okay, So then
I did watch it. I thought I only watched the
first episode.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
That was the whole. That was the whole. It's because
it's a movie.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Technically you did watch the first episode.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Okay. But now Connie has a new series. It's called
The Motherhood, and she's been talking about this for about
two years because she is she's adopted a son. About
how many years ago did you adopt your son? Fourteen
fourteen years ago. Okay, so pretty recent. So she adopted
her son. She adopted her son fourteen years ago as
a single and she is very passionate, and it has
(15:03):
always been very passionate. I can attest to this, to
the plight of single mothers and to the plight of
what it takes for a mother to raise a child,
not only in this world just as a job. It
is a job, a full time job, one that I
have chosen not to participate in. So talk to us
about your series, Connie, because.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
By the way, you've been hearing me talk about this
for longer than two years, because I've been working on
this for so long, because I saw the whole idea
came to me while I was in Nashville, because basically
I adopted Yobi and then immediately moved to Nashville to
do the show Nashville, and I was like a brand
(15:42):
new mother. I had no support system. I didn't know
anybody in Nashville. I started working eighteen hour days, was
so crazy, and I had this new baby. I'm like,
what do I do with it? Like, I don't know,
I don't know how, And it was quite traumatizing and
so so anyway, I figured it out. I started. I
(16:03):
created like an amazing support system there, like was they people.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
How did you figure it out?
Speaker 3 (16:08):
Though it took a long time. And by the way,
I don't I don't mean to say that, like, oh yeah,
so I figured it out because I figured no. But
what the main thing that saved my life basically was
that I slowly started to create a community. And that
started actually with I think you've met these guys with me,
(16:29):
Like Nathan Followell he's the drummer in the Kings of
Leon and his wife Jesse Balen were the only people
in Nashville that I knew, and they had I'd met
them because they had come to the set of Friday
Night Lights. Nathan had brought Jesse as like a surprise
to visit the set of Friday Night Lights and we
had had like some crazy night with them, and so
I remembered, I'm like, wait, I think those guys live
(16:50):
in Nashville. So I called them up and so because
thanks to them, like I started like I had like
a little bit like of it was like somebody to
hold on to you. And then they kind of introduced
me to their community and then crazy, I think, you
know this story. But after one year on the show,
the house next door to theirs went on the market
and I bought it, so I was able to live
(17:14):
next door to them, which also and then they had kids,
and so Yobi and their kids like we're kind of
growing up together and anyway, but what I realized is
it's all about community. And also in Nashville, I had
another friend who was working on the show in costumes.
She was a single mom of four kids, and she
was working these crazy eighteen hour days without a break,
(17:35):
and she didn't have Like, at least I could afford
a nanny, which I needed. I would not have been
able to do it without that. But I recognize, like
so many single moms don't have the resources that I have,
and you still have to do it. And so they're
out working three jobs at a time or all these
long hours. And one day she calls me and she's like,
(17:56):
I forgot to give Jed lunch money, and I'm I
happen to be off that day, so I swing by
the local middle school and drop off, like Rayna James,
who's the character that I'm playing in Nashville, like just
drops off like five dollars in the front office for
like her kid Jed, and like at that moment, I
was like, I wish I'd love to start an organization
or something where single moms could just get you could
(18:21):
volunteer to like go grocery shopping or just hang out
with the kids for two hours, just to like give
single moms a break, you know what I mean. Anyway,
So that's kind of where it all started, the whole
idea of it, and it kind of emerged into I
got together with these guys at Scout who created Queer Eye,
and they love the idea because nobody's also really done
(18:46):
anything like this sort of talking about single moms, which
I think is another issue because there are so many
single moms in the world, not just the United States,
but in the world. Anybody that you talk to, if
they're not a single mom or weren't raised by a
single mom, they have somebody in their life who they
know and they're close to that's a single parent. And
(19:07):
so it's like as a culture, we don't really we
kind of just push single parents away, like that's not
a thing, and there's no support for you know, certainly
I mean at this point, but like there's no governmental
like any kind of anything in place in terms of
giving support to single parents, and I just was like,
(19:29):
I want to change the narrative about that and like
create respect for these people who are doing this heroic
thing which is being single parents and doing it by themselves,
and also help to create a community for single parents
so that they can not feel alone in it. Because
I also what I found like shooting the show is
(19:50):
it's one of the big things is it's so hard,
especially for women, to ask for help, and so they
think that they're supposed to do it all by themselves
and it's so isolating and challenging and kind of impossible,
like you can't do it by yourself. And so the
whole point of the show is like create community.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
And well, first you gather a bunch of single mothers
who are also you know, who are going through it, right,
I mean, yeah, take us through it.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
Oh well, so on the show itself, like we yes,
we basically there are six episodes. Each episode, we have
a single mom who you know, of course, every person
has their own set of circumstances, and we have three
women who are our experts and I call them the
neighbor Ladies, named after the women that when I was
(20:40):
growing up, Like I grew up in Virginia on a
cul de sac, and like every day at five o'clock,
the neighbor ladies from around the cold de sac would
come over to my mom to our house, and like
they'd all have like their glass of wine or their
cocktail and like have like whatever cheese and crackers and
just like talk about their days and like that was
their support system. And so I grew up watching that,
(21:03):
and that made me realize, like, oh, like my mother
is even my mother wasn't even a single mom. But
I'm like, you can't do this, but like they rely
on each other to get through the day raising their kids.
And so anyway, so we called the three mom experts
on the show the neighbor Ladies. One of them is
sort of a style but it's kind of a self
(21:25):
love style person, and then one is a parenting coach,
and then one is a DIY home renovation person. They're
all amazing, all three of them. And so each week
we have a new single mom and then our three
neighbor ladies will kind of go in and create magic
for them and help them, help to guide them so
(21:46):
that they can have sustainable things that can help them
as they continue to raise their child and do their
jobs and do all the things that they're doing in
the world. And then ultimately we're creating a community with
all of these.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
Moms and that's a yes, a very beautiful thing. What's
your friend's name again? The woman who Yobi's best friend.
They don't go to the same school, but Jimmy Tammy. Yeah,
I would like to know who her community is, who
her neighborhood ladies are.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
Well, you know, that's a really interesting point because, first
of all, I'm hoping because next but we're already start
starting to talk about season two of the show.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
It's on Hallmark. Everybody, you can watch The Motherhood on Hallmark,
and the first two episodes are out now.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
But we shot the first season in Kansas City, which
was awesome. By the way, have you ever been to
Kansas City?
Speaker 2 (22:37):
Of course, I've been in Kansas City. I'm a comedian.
I go to all the cities that you never want
to ever see the inside of, not the Kansas City
is one of them.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
I really liked Kansas City.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Kansas City is cool. That whole area that midwestern Kansas
City is very cool.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
Yes, I really liked it a lot, and we had
a beautiful time there. But next season, because I live
in LA you be starting high school next year, so
I'm like, it would be so much better. Or if
we shot I'd be able to be in the show
more if we shut shoot in LA. So we're looking
at that, and if we do, then Tammy will be
one of the moms next year. Oh yeah, I'm I'm like,
(23:11):
because she's definitely one of the people that also kind
of inspired this, you know, totally right, and so I
know it'd be so amazing, I know.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
And I'm always inviting Tammy to come to one of
my Vegas shows and she's like, girl, you don't understand
what I would do to make that happen. She's like,
I want to come to Vegas. She's like, do you
understand I can never leave my child for one night
unless I have a like a fool proof plan for
him to spend the night.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
And I'm just like with her mother, who like her mother.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
The last time I flew somewhere to meet Connie was
for her. I went early to south By Southwest for
her birthday. We went, we had a nice dinner. I
don't know what was in the water, on the plane
ride I got, I took there, but something was in it.
It was this this guy had this brand deal, this brand.
It's called love Water, and they said it was just water,
but I'm convinced there was something else in there. And
(24:02):
when I got to that dinner, I was ready to
go and guess what's hot?
Speaker 3 (24:06):
I was hot, hot, coming in hot.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
I came in hot. And that night ended it around
two thirty in the morning. And the next morning I
had panels at south By Southwest, not one, not two,
five separate panels that started at nine thirty am, and
I got in at three thirty am, so I looked
like somebody punched me in the face. I didn't recover
(24:29):
from that night for two days.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
Because of the water. Weird the weird waters.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
No, because of everything that happened. After the water we
drank and then we went back to her friends house
and the people were smoking cigarettes. It just got It
was just one of those It was first of all,
I don't regret it for a second because it was
a really fucking fun night and I'm glad that I
was there.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
But uh, of course, Austin.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
But it took me a couple days to really get
my head back on straight after the after the first
day of five panels, because there were so many fun
things going on at south By Southwest. My assistant was
there and he's like, Okay, so do you want to
go to this dinner with this person? And this person's
I go dinner? Are you fucking kidding me? I have
to go to bed at five pm today because of
last night, as if it was somehow his fault.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
Your assistant is so sweet.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
I know, I know.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Wait, remind me his name again, McKinley.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
That's a private joke.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
That is a private joke, and we know that it's
not McKinley.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Okay, anyway, Okay, we're gonna take a break and we're
going to be right back with Connie Britton, the world's
best actress.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
If you'd like advice from Chelsea, right into us at
Dear Chelsea podcast at gmail dot com. We'd love to
hear your questions for any juicy story you'd like advice on,
but this week we're specifically looking for questions about family issues.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
If you have an issue with a family member or
you need.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
Advice about a specific relationship issue, please write in at
Dear Chelsea Podcast at gmail dot com.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
We're rack with Connie Britton. Hey, Connie, I have an
acting question for you. Do you ever have a have
you ever had? Because you've been in everything? I mean,
just to name a few, as you named, you were
in Friday Night Lights, you were in Nashville, you were
in White Lotus.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
Your favorite dirty John, Dirty John.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
Yes, that's just to name a few. Her resume is endless.
Do you ever have a crisis of confidence when you're
acting or have you had one about your performance? I,
of course I always have a crisis of confidence, Like,
isn't that part of being an artiste? I guess so,
I just feel like you always feel. I mean, I've
(26:37):
never seen that side of you. Even though I joke
about you being bad at acting, I know you're not,
and I know you're very talented. And I wonder if
someone who says established and as experienced, like the hours
of experience that you have accrued.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
Yeah, that erose is legit. That ten thousand hours thing.
One of the things that I've noticed in my fifties.
It's a maaze, is that ten thousand hours thing. Like
I feel much more like I can access whatever that
thing is that I need to be able to do
(27:14):
a scene and create a character. It's it's like I
have much more immediate connection to that, Whereas when I
was younger, I think I would, you know, I kind
of have to really like it was more cerebral and
I'd have to really like dig down and that kind
of thing. And now I think that, you know, it's
the after ten thousand hours, it becomes a little bit
(27:34):
more immediate and so that, but that doesn't titt necessarily
take away from every time I start a character. It's funny.
I actually literally this just this last week finished shooting.
We're doing a sequel to The Brothers McMullen. All the
Family McMullen. The Brothers McMullen was my big break movie
(27:56):
that happened in nineteen ninety five, and that movie is
like like it takes place on Long Island and it's
like pretty thick like Long Island accent, and you know,
I did the part thirty years ago. So it's always
a thing like, oh, what is I don't I guess
I know what this character is. I don't know. But
(28:16):
every time I first step foot on set and the
camera starts to roll, I'm kind of like, what am
I going to sound like as this character. I don't know,
it's super nerve wracking, like it's access.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
They're probably intimidating, I could.
Speaker 3 (28:28):
Imagine, but it's also just even a leap of faith,
even if it's not with an accent. It's just kind
of like, I don't really know, I'm just figuring it
out as I go, kind of thing. You have to
jump off a cliff a little bit every time.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
How is it meeting Robert de Niro on set? I mean,
I'm sure you've met him before, butting your.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
Your lover, your passion and your pat your lover, passion,
Robert Tiro, my baby daddy, your baby daddy. It was amazing,
Are you kidding? It was like the I mean, he's
just he's so nice. He's a really nice guy. He's
got such an incredible work ethic, also a guy in
his eighties, and he just works his ass off and
(29:13):
so and he's just kind of a normal guy. And
he would just talk to me like, how are you
learning all these lines? You know? These lines? Are you
know what I mean? And it was interesting for me
because it was a little bit like it was his
first time doing television, which you know, I've been doing
for a long time, and so it was almost like
he was kind of looking to me like, oh, yeah,
how do you do this kind of thing? I'm like,
(29:33):
who me?
Speaker 2 (29:34):
What's so demirror?
Speaker 3 (29:37):
But yeah he I. It was very exciting meeting to Nero.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
Okay, so we're gonna move to Callers, Connie, try and
give some advice we need. Okay, put on your.
Speaker 3 (29:46):
Stage callers collar. We have people.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
It's called Dear Chelsea. It's like dear Abby, but with me.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
Oh god, guys. So our first question comes from Laura.
She says, Dear Chelsea, I'd love some advice on this.
One of my best friends since high school is thirty
nine and so ready to meet someone and start a family.
She's beautiful, a doctor, she even designed and built her
own house. All she needs is to meet a decent
man and she's ready to go. She wants a family
(30:13):
so bad. She's also frozen her eggs, so she has
a backup plan, but she really doesn't want to resort
to it. She feels the clock is sticking. I don't
understand why she can't find someone. She's such a catch.
She's kind, she's active, She's keys a lot in Canada too,
She's been on the apps for literally years, and men
are either intimidated by her or they're quote just not
ready to think about a family. I constantly put it
(30:34):
out to people I know, to oh, hey, if you
know any single guys, and it's just not working. To
throw a bit of a wrench in her search. She
met a guy online a year ago who lives across
the country who she keeps holding out hope for. He's
the same cultural background as her, which I feel she
sees as an added fairytale esque bonus, but he keeps
disappointing her, not making an effort in communication or plans
(30:54):
to see her unless it conveniently just happens, example, randomly
being in the same city in Europe one day and
meeting up. She's been very straight up with him about
what she wants, and it's frustrating that he keeps stringing
her along but not committing.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
I tell her I.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
Was just a sign of the times and it's not her.
I also tell her what an inspiration she is, especially
if she does decide to be a mother alone. And
I'm wondering how I can support her. I need Chelsea's wisdom.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
Laura. First of all, Hi Laura. This is our special
guest Connie Britton today.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
You're Laura, like Laura from the letter.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
Well, she's Laura from the letter, but she's talking about
her friend in the letter.
Speaker 3 (31:33):
Is it your friend, Laura my friend? No? Really, it
really is.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
When I talk to Laura, she had like babies and test.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
A detective show.
Speaker 3 (31:46):
Okay, this is.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
Honestly, I'm sorry about her. I'm sorry anyway.
Speaker 3 (31:54):
Let's just be real.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
I think you should encourage your friend to go ahead
and not be holding out for any fucking man to
have her babies. If she is passionate about becoming a mother,
and she has her eggs frozen, and she has her
shit together and her life together, fucking go for it.
She could be waiting another ten years before she finds
the right guy. Connie didn't meet her right guy until
you were what fifty Connie, have you guys been together?
Speaker 3 (32:17):
Yeah? No, fifty two, fifty fifty two, fifty two. I
can actually speak to this too, Laura, even though I
thought maybe you were the friend, uh I, because frankly,
this was I adopted my son as a single mom
because I kept thinking, Oh, I'm gonna meet the guy.
I'm gonna meet the guy. I'm gonna meet the guy. Yeah,
(32:37):
And I knew I wanted to adopt, just as your
friend knows that she wants to have babies and she
throws her eggs and so I finally was like, what
am I waiting for? And I did it, And I'm
just so glad that I did. I will say, how old.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
Were you, Connie when you did it? You did it
fourteen years ago?
Speaker 3 (32:53):
Four?
Speaker 2 (32:54):
Okay?
Speaker 3 (32:54):
Yeah, great, so encouraging. Yeah. So, but I will say,
you know, and she can watch my show that's coming
out on Monday, The Motherhood, because it's all about single
mom So it's helpful because the thing is you you
kind of need to know what you're in for when
you are going to be a single mom. But honestly,
it's so amazing if she, if she chooses to do that.
(33:19):
It's so amazing to be able to do that and
not feel like because otherwise it's it screws up your
thinking if you're sort of at the mercy of the
idea of like, I want to meet a guy so
I can have a baby.
Speaker 4 (33:33):
Yeah, yeah, I'm saying, yeah, totally yeah, And I've actually
just become a single mom too, So I'm I'm really
trying to did.
Speaker 2 (33:42):
You kill yourselsband? But yeah, I have.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
It's a personal question, Chelsea.
Speaker 4 (33:49):
I have two kids, so I'm trying to really show
her that, you know, it's awesome alone.
Speaker 3 (33:55):
So yeah, thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
You guys live near each other, you and your friend.
Speaker 4 (33:58):
Yeah, we love We're going to Sana tonight, so okay,
ten minutes from each other.
Speaker 2 (34:03):
That's great.
Speaker 3 (34:04):
You're each other's community. You're each other because.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
That's what we're talking about. Connie's news show is all
about this. It's not a hallmark and it's called motherhood,
and it's all about this. It's about, actually, for me,
a community with your friends who also are single parents,
so that you guys can help each other parent together,
you know, and be there for when the other person
isn't and having your kids spend time together like this
is exactly what we're talking about. So please don't ever
(34:27):
put anything on holds in the hopes that you're going
to meet the right guy. You never know when that
person is coming.
Speaker 3 (34:32):
Awesome, I love it.
Speaker 2 (34:33):
Thank you, Okay, great, thanks for calling. Thank you so much.
By Laura. Bye, It's Laura.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
What a perfect question.
Speaker 1 (34:40):
Wow, that was really quick yeah, we might even make
it to four questions.
Speaker 3 (34:44):
We'll see.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
So our next color is Stephanie, she says, Dear Chelsea,
I'm a high school teacher at a school in an
underprivileged area in Connecticut. Yes, they exist here. We're situated
around the richest towns in the state. I worked in
my school for my entire career eleven years. I just
finished my last ever degree, which will allow me to
be a school administrator. My dilemma right now is between
(35:06):
loving my job and wanting to be financially stable. My
job is literally my calling. I love my students, I
love my coworkers, and most days I truly just love
going to work and doing this job despite everything. However,
we're paid like garbage after school hours. I nanny for
a family and tutor the other days of the week
for more income, plus say nanny part time in the
summer when I'm off work. With my new degree, I
(35:27):
could move into an administrative position in one of the
richer towns next year and make way more money. But
I'm afraid that I won't find as much joy in
the business end of running a school as I do
in my current role. I need your advice. Do what
I love or work for a paycheck to afford a
comfortable life.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
Stephanie Hi, Stephanie Hi, Hi, Stephanie Hi's Kattie Britton our
special guest today.
Speaker 3 (35:50):
Oh, I'm blown away. She was a teacher too, in
one of her lives, in one of my lives, Yeah,
my acting lives.
Speaker 2 (35:59):
I mean that's I feel conflicted. I read this thing
the other day from Bill Gates. There's a big tech conference,
a big climate conference, at a big tech conference last
week in San Francisco, and Bill Gates came out and
said that in ten years, all nursing jobs and all
teaching jobs will be done by AI. And if he
said that, then I think that's probably going to be true.
(36:21):
So I would normally say stick with your passion, but
I feel like you're already on your You've gotten you
had to get a degree, right, an extra degree to
become an administrator. You've worked for this. It's going to
be more financially secure for you. I feel like that's
your move.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
I kind of agree with that, But can I just
ask one thing, which is, as you're thinking about it,
could you make a list of the specific things And
you kind of did in your letter but like the
specific things that you love about this specific job, because
then what you could do is, as you look to
(36:58):
something that's more lucrative for you and like it creates
a better lifestyle for you, you can try to see
if you can fill in those things in some way,
even if it's not this exact same circumstance, so that
you're not completely sacrificing what you love, you know, right, Yeah,
that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (37:16):
But also don't downplay all the positive impacts you can
have as an administrator, Like, there are many things you
can do to also bring your self joy. It's not
going to be the same as being inside a classroom
every day, but you can influence the teachers. You can
provide comfort and safety for them. Like, there are a
lot of ways that you're going to find that you're
going to find yourself experiencing like fulfillment and joy in
(37:38):
your new job that you're not even yet aware of.
So don't think that that's not going to have any
of those aspects moving forward.
Speaker 3 (37:44):
Yeah, right, yeah, I agree with you there.
Speaker 5 (37:46):
I just I get worried because I see how people
who move into that role kind of ease away from
what I love to do in my job day to day,
and that's what scares me. It's like, am I will
I be allowed to break the mold and do that?
Or do I kind of have to fall into this
public school system of you know, you're in charge, you
have to be a little bit less fun.
Speaker 3 (38:07):
Well that's the thing. You can be a leader in
that circumstance. Yeah, you can be the one to break
through that and like let it. And that's why it's
like making a list is a helpful idea because then
it's like, Okay, I want to include these things as
part of this job, which everybody says, oh, that's not
part of this job. It's like you're going to do
(38:28):
it differently, you know, that's an opportunity.
Speaker 2 (38:31):
Yeah, I think you should go into it with a
whole with a whole bunch of energy about how you
were going to make this role special for you and
how it's going to work for you.
Speaker 3 (38:41):
You know.
Speaker 2 (38:41):
I'm sure there will be some limitations that you maybe
you don't foresee, or maybe you do foresee, but there's
always ways that you can actually impact and have change
in your environment, you know, and especially in a leadership role.
So like look at it like that, like oh now,
I'm going to get to influence and give like my
passion for teaching. You're going to be able to infuse
that into other teas that are working, you know, underneath you,
(39:02):
and you're gonna be able to like kind of set
the tone and set the vibe. And I mean nothing
needs that more now than education.
Speaker 3 (39:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:08):
Yeah, you have obviously a little bit of a deadline
on this because you have to sort of make a
decision for this next year pretty soon. But like, if
you really feel, like, you know, I want to take
one more year as a teacher, Like I think that's
okay too, And like I think the extra stuff that
you have to do to make ends meet is kind
of a recipe for a burnout. So you know, if
it's not the right time now, do some soul searching
(39:30):
see if it is. If it's not, then maybe it's
next year or the following year. But you're going to
gain so much more time and bandwidth that, like Connie said,
you could do some volunteering with a group that like
fulfills what your job is currently fulfilling.
Speaker 5 (39:43):
Yeah, I've been thinking a lot about it. I also
was thinking about it a lot this weekend. So I'm
so excited maybe proposing like more of a hybrid administrative role.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
Yeah, it's my district.
Speaker 5 (39:53):
That's something maybe they would be into if I could
still teach a few classes a day and then do
the leadership comp on it, sit through meetings and everything
like that.
Speaker 3 (40:02):
So I was like, it couldn't hurt. I suppose to
just throw that out there.
Speaker 2 (40:06):
Absolutely, Yes, ok, great way to keep your feet on
the ground and in touch with everything that's happening also,
you know, like in your administration.
Speaker 3 (40:15):
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (40:17):
Okay, great, Well, this was a very high upbeat phone call.
I'm glad that we called, and I'm glad we could help.
And good luck with everything you're doing. The Lord's work
so much.
Speaker 3 (40:25):
I know, seriously, that's the most what you're doing is
the most valuable thing we could ever ask. Thank you
so much, Thank you, Thanks to you all.
Speaker 2 (40:35):
You know what I hope I hope that with this AI,
like everyone's so scared of AI. And I was reading
this article about how everybody was so scared of computers
in nineteen ninety three when Al Gore invented the Internet.
Everyone was so scared that that the computers were going
to take everybody's jobs. Everyone was freaking out. We don't
remember this because half of us weren't even born then,
but I was. And this article that I read reminded
(40:58):
me of that. And that's how people feel about AI.
And you know, AI is going to be used for
bad stuff, but it's going to be used for good
stuff too. Think about what we're dealing with with our
education department being assaulted in the way that it has
been with this administration. Wouldn't it just be the ice
cream on the cake for all of us or the
brownie for for AI to come in and educate the
(41:20):
fucking shit out of all of these kids in America
for free without school. Can you imagine how smart everyone's
going to be if everything that they are doing just
completely backfired? Anyway, No, anyone, Hello, I don't think I
think we're there yet. Well we're not there yet, but
what if that that's the silver lining?
Speaker 3 (41:41):
What if that happened. I like that. I like that
point of view. Like I think, if that happened, that'll
be amazing.
Speaker 2 (41:46):
I mean, if you you have to be motivated to learn,
but the people who are motivated to learn that want
AI tutors, and they want these you know, they're going
to be able to learn faster than anybody. I mean,
all the information's there, so as much as you have
a thirst for you're gonna get it.
Speaker 3 (42:01):
M hmm.
Speaker 1 (42:01):
I feel like best case scenario, teachers are able to
use it as a tool because, as our color just showed,
being a teacher is so much more than just like
providing information. It's like you are caring for these children.
You're listening to them when they're having an issue, You're
watching out for them, seeing if there's an issue at home,
sort of thing that like AI is never going to do.
But if you can take some of the burden off
(42:22):
of teachers, that's I think where the sweet spot would be.
Speaker 3 (42:25):
I agree, Like, I think if we can be smart
about it and not just have it be like okay,
now it's AI and like fire all the teachers, right,
you know what I mean, Like, but instead understand the
value of who the teachers are and that they can
that the AI can actually be an assist to them,
so that maybe we're not burning out our teachers all
the time, you know, I mean, we already pay our
teachers total crap. So I don't know if it's going
(42:47):
to help that situation, but I don't know. I agree.
I think there's something where it could be. It could be,
it could always it could work to our advantage.
Speaker 1 (42:56):
Yeah, well, let's take a quick break and we'll come
right back with quickie.
Speaker 2 (43:01):
Please tag me for the special because I get so
many tags about my books, but I'm not getting as
many about my special, and my special is the newest
thing out, so I want to make sure all my
ardent fans are watching it and tagging me, and I'll
repost you. And yes, it's called the Feeling. Okay, we're
back with the star of the Motherhood, Connie Britton, the
(43:21):
executive producer and star of the Motherhood, which is a
new series on Hallmark. You can watch the first two
episodes now. And this is for anyone any parent who
is at home who is a single parent, or his
friends with someone who is a single parent, to gain
a better understanding of how important it is to build
a community. Okay, do we have one last caller?
Speaker 1 (43:42):
Well, this was just an email, but let me do
one last question. So Liz writes, her subject line is
am I abusing my babysitter? Dear Chelsea? Right, Yeah, I'm
a thirty seven year old working mom, of two kids,
ages six and two. I'm fortunate to work four days
a week, and I worked really hard to get to
this place in my life. I have an incredible babysitter
(44:03):
whom my girl's adore, whose hours are seven thirty to
five thirty and Monday through Friday, and just as a reminder,
she only works at her job four days a week.
Since I had my first daughter, I felt conflicted about childcare.
A friend once said I didn't have kids so someone
else could raise them, and I felt that way too.
I've always had the goal of minimizing the amount of
time my kids spend with the babysitter, and I picked
(44:23):
them up right at five thirty, which is great on
my workdays. But I've also been using her on my
Fridays off so I can have some strongly desired alone time.
This felt like a win for me in terms of
prioritizing myself and my sanity. Today, I checked in with
her to make sure it's okay for me to continue
sending them to her on Fridays. She's a small daycare
center and they're the only kids there on Fridays. She
shrugged and said sure, but seemed hesitant. She works hard.
(44:46):
So I get it, but it triggered that old part
of me that felt like I have to spend every
free moment with my kids. As I'm typing this, I
also realize that it triggered the part of me that
needs to be completely self sufficient and never ask for
or accept help. God forbid, I be a birday to
anyone else. Don't worry. I'm in therapy. I've come so far,
but the situation is so hard for me. Honestly, I
(45:06):
don't feel like I need advice. What I need is
for someone who doesn't know and love me to tell
me it's not just okay, but good and necessary to
take time for myself. I know the real work is
to find that voice within myself, but I'm fucking busy,
so I need some help with this one. Sincerely, Liz Connie,
I mean the whole This is my show, Liz again,
(45:27):
please watch The Motherhood.
Speaker 3 (45:29):
It's all about how hard it is for us to
ask for help and to feel like it's okay. Like
all six of the moms in all of our episodes,
each one of them spoke about how they feel like
they can't justify taking time for themselves. They can't justify
buying things for themselves, because if it always comes down
(45:49):
to time with their kid or the kid needs something,
and that's always going to take the first priority, and
that is how you literally destroy your own soul, and
a mom the destroyed soul is not helpful to their child.
And so it's like, I think what it begs you
to do is, first of all, really ask yourself, like
(46:11):
what do I need here? It's okay for me to
need help, and I have reasons why I need that.
And then just have a real conversation with your babysitter,
because what you don't want is that icky like yeah, sure,
but like there's some kind of like tension growing or
you know, resentment or whatever. It's like, be real about
(46:32):
it and be like this, you know this is important time.
Don't apologize. This is important time for me. I need
this time. But if it's a problem for you, let's
talk about what works for both of us. But it's
okay to stand up for and know that you need
your own time because it's going to make you a
better mother.
Speaker 2 (46:53):
Period.
Speaker 3 (46:54):
End of conversation, except for whenever you have to taste,
say Chelsea, I'm just going to agree.
Speaker 2 (46:58):
With everything you said, because yeah, obvious that women need
to take care of each other and themselves. So yes,
I'm going to let that, let that sit without adding on. Okay,
and that is the only time I will do that
in our lives. Connie. I want you to know that week.
Speaker 3 (47:13):
Like literally, I'm gonna take a little pink sqeeze.
Speaker 2 (47:16):
Okay, Well, Connie Brittain, we finally did it. You're on
the podcast. We did it. We're promoting a great project.
The show is called The Motherhood and you can follow
Connie on Instagram if you want to. But not a
lot happening there, so.
Speaker 3 (47:36):
We can't all have the most perfect Instagram that you
have so much help making.
Speaker 2 (47:41):
Okay, I love you, Connie. I find out your premiere.
I'm sorry I can't be there, but I'll see you
next time.
Speaker 3 (47:47):
Okay, honey, I love you.
Speaker 2 (47:48):
Okaye, bye guy, bye bye. And that concludes another episode
after your Chelsea, We'll see you next week. Do Do
Do Do Do dorroll Catherine please And abroad broad is
my European tour, so I'm coming to obviously find a
(48:08):
husband abroad. I need to get the health out of
this fucking country. And it's not as easy as you
think so. I'm coming to Rekuvik, I'm coming to Dublin.
I'm coming to the UK. I'm coming to Brussels, Paris,
Belfast in May and June. I'm coming to Oslo, Stockholm,
to Copenhagen, Manchester, London, Glasgow, New Zurich, Vienna. I've never
(48:34):
ever been to Vienna, Berlin, Barcelona and Lisbon. I'm coming abroad.
Is abroad that sounds like fun.
Speaker 3 (48:42):
I'm gonna go see you abroad.
Speaker 2 (48:44):
I know I want to go see me abroad and
there all be there, all be excellent. Okay. My remaining
dates for Vegas, there are remaining dates for this year.
Summertime is coming and I will be in Vegas out
the Cosmo doing my residency on July fifth. We will
be the next date that I'm there, July fifth, August thirtieth,
(49:08):
and then November one and twenty ninth. November one and
November twenty ninth, I will be in Las Vegas at
the Cosmo performing Inside Myself at the Chelsea. It's called
Chelsea at the Chelsea for a reason. Okay, thank you.
Speaker 3 (49:23):
Do you want advice from Chelsea?
Speaker 1 (49:25):
Right into Dear Chelsea podcast at gmail dot com. Find
full video episodes of Dear Chelsea on YouTube by searching
at Dear Chelsea pod.
Speaker 3 (49:33):
Dear Chelsea is edited and
Speaker 1 (49:35):
Engineered by Brad Dickert executive producer Catherine Law And be
sure to check out our merch at Chelseahandler dot com
Hi Catherine, Hi Chelsea.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm in my last day of Whistler, Canada for the season.
Speaker 3 (00:06):
This is it.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
I skied yesterday. We did some spring skiing with all
the kids and all the adults. We had such an
epic day. It was so much fun. I skied into
a tree, which I always do, but it was spring
slushy skiing, so even as I was heading towards the tree,
I thought this is going to be easy and to
bounce right off. And then Ann Shauneker, who you may
know from my book, was able to rescue me. As usual.
(00:29):
She got my skis off and out of the tree.
One was in like three feet of snow and behind
the tree, so I have good pictures. And then we
went to appray to a new place and then I
got a massage. It was just like one of those
perfect days. I was with like six of my girlfriends.
And then tonight I'm doing my book. I'm doing a
book event in Whistler at the theater here. Armchair Books
(00:51):
is our local bookstore, so I wanted to support them
and have a book event for I'll have what she's having.
So I'm going to do that tonight and then I'm
off I'm off to Chicago to.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Marrow, borrow, fabulous, fabulous, and then you go to Europe.
You'll be going to Europe.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
I'm gonna going to Europe, you guys, if you haven't
gotten your tickets. I start out in Rekuvic. I think
it's May eleventh. I'm in Rekuvic, and then I'm in Belfast.
I'm coming to thirteen countries, so check Chelseahandler dot com.
I am coming to a city near you. I'm very
very excited for my European tour.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
And we've got one of your buddies in the studio today.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Oh yeah, this is one of my close friends who
is a huge pain in my ass. Actually I'm a
huge pain in her ass. And I take a lot
of pride in that. She is the creator and host
of the Motherhood on Hallmark, whose first two episodes are
out now. She also starts in Overcompensating on Amazon Prime.
All episodes are available May fifteenth, and you would recognize
(01:47):
her from a lot of different shows like Friday Night Lights,
like Dirty John, Like, I don't know, she's in everything,
So please welcome Connie Britton.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Hi, Connie, we got you muted right now? Okay, do
you want me to unmute?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Yeah, no, we want you to stay on mute. Connie,
we want you to stay on mute for the interview.
I have a little story to tell about Connie as
we begin this episode of the podcast.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Are we starting? Is this?
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Yeah? No, that bitch is on? Yeah, that's on. So
we're promoting, you know, Connie Britton from a million television series.
We'll go over that in your intro while you're not here,
so that you don't have to listen to.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
That, and also you can say whatever you want. I know,
I know what you're gonna say. I know how you
feel about my television series.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Do you I find it very funny whenever I watch
Connie in anything, because it's I know her very well,
and I go out of my way for Connie all
the time. I constantly am showing up at things whenever
she asked me to. I can't say the same for
Connie with regard to me or my birthday, but I'm
(02:55):
always doing things for her. But we did have a
pretty funny do you want to talk about album? I
think that's a pretty funny story to share.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Oh, that is a pretty funny story to share. I
love that story.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
I want to tell you what happened. So Jane Fonda
wanted us to campaign in Albuquerque before the election. The
candidate that we campaigned for did not win the election.
I want to be on record saying that she is
not the president.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
But so we did. We did that.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
What of when Jane Fonda asks you to do anything,
you do it, especially with my history with Jane Fonda.
Connie has her own history with Jane Fonda different from yours. Uh,
actually no, because remember that time we went to go
visit her when she had her hip, so she had
some surgery, dined and we went to go visit her
at her house and you revealed to her that your
(03:47):
father said that she was Remember what did you say
to her?
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Oh, that's right. And I thought it was such a
great story. And she looked at me like, oh, she's
like my father, I said. I said, Basically, we were
not allowed to say your name in our house growing
up because my father worked in nuclear power and so
it was like literally one name, one name that we
(04:12):
could not say. We could not watch any movies that
Jane Fonda was a part of. It was not to
be spoken because I guess of the China syndrome or something,
so like she was perceived as you know, this like
anti nuclear person in my household. And now of course
(04:32):
I idolize her. She is like the greatest icon. I
can't believe that I get to call her my friend,
like whatever. So I thought, great story, Like also, she
just had hip surgery, she just got out of surgery,
and she's just like drugs.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Anyway, that was one highlight. But cut to this last
year we were It was twenty twenty four. So last
year we went to Albuquerque and Jane was like, okay,
we both said we're in. We're like fun trip. Jane
told us she was taking a Southwest flight and Kannie
and I I was like, does that mean we have
(05:14):
to take a Southwest flight?
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Can we meet you there?
Speaker 2 (05:17):
I was like, so can we just can we? Is there? Okay?
So forget about the private plane. There isn't one. That's okay,
no problem. It's a political event, so of course I'm
not expecting that, but I don't know. I thought maybe
something something else would happen then, other than Southwest, perhaps
another airline. And then I say, okay, we're flying out
(05:37):
of Burbank. I think I'm trying to find the picture. Yes, Burbank,
do you have the picture to put up on I
don't know how high tech you are. Probably we're not
that high tech, but I do have the picture. I'll
use it when I post this episode. Anyway, we took
a picture of us. So we go to Burbank and
Jane has an assistant with her. Kanye and I are
are braving at the Burbank Airport, braving Southwest Airlines and
(06:02):
we I'm like, how is this gonna work? And every
single person I'm annoyed that I'm gonna have to deal with,
you know like this. I'm like, We're just going to
Southwest and Burbank and this is gonna be like a
shit show. And every person that you can imagine, of course,
is recognizing Jane Fonda. Nobody gives a shit that I'm there,
which was a beautiful reprieve. But but everyone would come
(06:27):
up to her and say can I get a picture
with you? Can I get a picture with you? And
then so I was there managing Jane Fonda. I'm like, well,
you can't keep saying yes to every single person, will
be here all day. But she had no no there
was It's like it's when Jane Fonda. Imagine her walking
through the terminal of Southwest and Burbank. I mean, obviously
anyone who sees her is like, what the fuck is
she doing there? Then we take the sideway.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
She is also like could care less, Like she doesn't
give a shit about anything in real side seats of
the wall. Yes to the Starbucks at Burbank Airport. That's
where we're going to sit till our flight takes off.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
And then someone was like because she was sitting down,
so people were crouching to get pictures with her, and
then some guy asked her. He goes, would you mind
standing up? And she was about to get up, and
I was like, don't get up, Jane, like just let
him take Why are you listening to him? And she's like,
you're right, Why am I listen? I'm eighty years old? Yeah,
she's eighty? Is she eighty?
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Is she eighty? Is she eighty two? Eighty she's older
than eighty, right, Okay, yeah, I think she's eighty two.
She's unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
The Internet says she's eighty seven.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
That's right, she's eighty seven. I knew she was like
way older, but then I didn't want to say a
fact like, it's so hard to believe that she's eighty seven.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
It is really hard to She's a vibrant So she's vibrant.
She makes a hundred phone calls a day for her
climate pack, which I just made a donation to this
very morning. FYI, if you want to donate for climate change,
which you should. Her pack works harder than anything I've
ever seen.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Also, I'm speaking on a zoom for that oh later
today actually, okay, see, see she keeps asking you to
do things. I think she stopped asking me to do
things after this trip Querqueachdather. So then we get to Albuquerque,
we find out we're staying at the hotel the Hilton Yard.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Was the airport, the airport Hilton, Airport Hilton, the Airport Hilton.
Once again, Connie and I were texting on the side,
going is this really gonna happen? Are we staying? And
I'm like, God, I don't think we can move hotels
if Jane is staying at the airport Hilton, like we
have to. And I was only coming for Albuquerque. Connie
went on to another city the next day.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
I stayed by the way, you like you kind of
just like brushed off the rest of the Southwest trip
like you me and Jane Fonda, like at least we
completed the row of our Southwest like I of course
had the middle seat, but yeah, like the three of
us in the row is our Southwest flight.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
And then we get to Albuquerque. We go for lunch.
First I order a frozen margarita obviously, and Jane's like, oh,
I've never thought to have a frozen margarite in the daytime,
so she Connie orders one Jane or what I think.
I ordered my second one, and Jane's like, I can't
have two frozen margarita's and I was like, well I can.
And then right before we were about to campaign, right,
(09:09):
So then we go to one campaign event, which was
great for all the people who are working in the campaign,
and then we had some downtime. At that point, I
think I pulled an edible out of my purse and
was grabbing that and Jane goes, is that an edible, Chelsea?
And I'm like, yeah, we're campaigning, like I have to
remain alert. So then we went to the second event,
(09:29):
which was great. You know, Jane, it's just so nice
to see how people respond to her it's very inspiring.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
But also how amazing she is at speaking about this subject,
like she is the most educated on it, Like she
she just knows how to talk about it. Like if
you want facts, you talk to Jane. It's like kind
of incredible to listen to her too.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Yeah, And she makes one hundred phone calls a day
to raise money for that climate pack and is always protesting.
She was doing fire drill Fridays for years while Biden
was in the White House. And she's constantly going to
places where they're going to drill and protesting. I mean,
she's indefatigable. So she so then yeah, for you too.
(10:15):
She although Connie went to Dartmouth, Oh I just in
case you forgot, and Speakspanderin by the way, okay, and
with roommates with Kirsten Chillibrand I don't think everyone knows that,
so I'd like to get that out there. But then
at the end of the night, so Connie sends me
a link while we're on our way to Albuquerque, probably
sitting in the Southwest seats, she sends me a link
to a hotel that she found that's like thirty minutes
(10:37):
outside of where we're supposed to stay at the airport hotel,
and she's like, what about this?
Speaker 3 (10:42):
First, I was like, could we switch and stay at
this nice hotel?
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Well exactly, And I was like, I just don't think
we can do that because we can't ditch Jane, Like
we have to stay at the airport hotel.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Too, right, And no, of course we couldn't ditch Jane.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
No, of course, and we did it. And so then
after we were done early like nine, and Connie's like, well,
let's just at least go get a drink at this
hotel that she found that was like thirty minutes out
of the way. So we're driving and at this point
we've picked up a couple of other people, some of
Jane's Climate pac people. They're in the car with us,
and then there was a couple of people meeting us there.
And so we get to this really cool place, this
(11:18):
like hotel outside or I think in Albuquerque, but outside
off the beaten drack, and Jane's like, it's really far.
I'm really tired. How long is this going to take?
We were in the car longer than we expected. It
was about a thirty minute drive, and Jane is kind
of getting a little antsy, like, oh God, is this
worth it?
Speaker 3 (11:33):
It's not on the schedule at all. The Hilton Airport
was the next and.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Final stop, and Connie and I were like, Jane, you
can go to bed like Connie and I'll just go
it's no big deal. And she's like, m I'll come
with you. I'll come with you. So we get there.
It's like a thirty minute drive. We get there, we see,
you know, we're kind of like worried, like I don't
want to We don't want to annoy her. I don't
want to annoy her. I don't want to keep her
out later than she wants to be out. I don't
want to be responsible for her drink thinking or anything
(12:01):
you know that's related to me. I get in trouble
for everyone's bad behavior, you know. So I so then
we have drinks. It ends up being a lovely night.
We order some snacks. I think we had a couple
of drinks. There was like six or seven of us
by this time, and as we're walking out the door,
Jane says, Oh, I'm actually so glad we came here.
Thank you, Chelsea for picking this place out, and I've
(12:27):
got You're welcome.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
All the time, like I'm getting blamed as she's getting
more and more tired, more and more stressed, like why
are we going to this place?
Speaker 2 (12:38):
And then she then I get credited with with the win, and.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
I, by the way, you take off the next morning,
and I go, I go on to the next the next.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Yea, where did you guys go from there?
Speaker 3 (12:50):
Well? Wait, that was Albuquerque. So then we went to
San Sancho Pez. No, wait, San Jose, San Antonio, Mexico,
New Mexico, New Mexico, the big town in Mexico. The police.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
No, okay, let's start, let's start, okay, okay, she's from Dartmouth.
Every once she went to Dartmouth, just so you know.
And she speaks Mandarin, but she doesn't know where San Antoni.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
Thank you, you know what. You should have been able
to think of that too, Santa Fe, Thank you, Catherine.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
No problem.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Okay, So back to Connie. When I see Connie on television,
I sent her a screen grab when I saw her
playing Dirty John with the woman that got duped by
this lunatic loser. He wasn't even that much of a lunatic.
That's how kind of slow on the uptake this woman was.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
He was too a lunatic.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Yeah, I mean, I guess so, I.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
Mean compared to the guys you date, But yes, he
was a luminis.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
I take screen grabs of Connie's faces and I just
send them to her, like, how can anyone take your
acting seriously?
Speaker 3 (14:03):
You know?
Speaker 2 (14:03):
And I forget what was the last? You're in everything,
So it's impossible to avoid Connie Britton. You guys, if
you're watching, you've seen her in everything. In fact, I
started watching that new series on Netflix, and you were
in it, and I was so excited, and then and
then you die in it, but then you come back
and the mashbacks. I forget what that? No, that was
a series.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
No, the Life List? A Life List is a movie.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Oh I thought it was a series. Okay, So then
I did watch it. I thought I only watched the
first episode.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
That was the whole. That was the whole. It's because
it's a movie.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Technically you did watch the first episode.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Okay. But now Connie has a new series. It's called
The Motherhood, and she's been talking about this for about
two years because she is she's adopted a son. About
how many years ago did you adopt your son? Fourteen
fourteen years ago. Okay, so pretty recent. So she adopted
her son. She adopted her son fourteen years ago as
a single and she is very passionate, and it has
(15:03):
always been very passionate. I can attest to this, to
the plight of single mothers and to the plight of
what it takes for a mother to raise a child,
not only in this world just as a job. It
is a job, a full time job, one that I
have chosen not to participate in. So talk to us
about your series, Connie, because.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
By the way, you've been hearing me talk about this
for longer than two years, because I've been working on
this for so long, because I saw the whole idea
came to me while I was in Nashville, because basically
I adopted Yobi and then immediately moved to Nashville to
do the show Nashville, and I was like a brand
(15:42):
new mother. I had no support system. I didn't know
anybody in Nashville. I started working eighteen hour days, was
so crazy, and I had this new baby. I'm like,
what do I do with it? Like, I don't know,
I don't know how, And it was quite traumatizing and
so so anyway, I figured it out. I started. I
(16:03):
created like an amazing support system there, like was they people.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
How did you figure it out?
Speaker 3 (16:08):
Though it took a long time. And by the way,
I don't I don't mean to say that, like, oh yeah,
so I figured it out because I figured no. But
what the main thing that saved my life basically was
that I slowly started to create a community. And that
started actually with I think you've met these guys with me,
(16:29):
Like Nathan Followell he's the drummer in the Kings of
Leon and his wife Jesse Balen were the only people
in Nashville that I knew, and they had I'd met
them because they had come to the set of Friday
Night Lights. Nathan had brought Jesse as like a surprise
to visit the set of Friday Night Lights and we
had had like some crazy night with them, and so
I remembered, I'm like, wait, I think those guys live
(16:50):
in Nashville. So I called them up and so because
thanks to them, like I started like I had like
a little bit like of it was like somebody to
hold on to you. And then they kind of introduced
me to their community and then crazy, I think, you
know this story. But after one year on the show,
the house next door to theirs went on the market
and I bought it, so I was able to live
(17:14):
next door to them, which also and then they had kids,
and so Yobi and their kids like we're kind of
growing up together and anyway, but what I realized is
it's all about community. And also in Nashville, I had
another friend who was working on the show in costumes.
She was a single mom of four kids, and she
was working these crazy eighteen hour days without a break,
(17:35):
and she didn't have Like, at least I could afford
a nanny, which I needed. I would not have been
able to do it without that. But I recognize, like
so many single moms don't have the resources that I have,
and you still have to do it. And so they're
out working three jobs at a time or all these
long hours. And one day she calls me and she's like,
(17:56):
I forgot to give Jed lunch money, and I'm I
happen to be off that day, so I swing by
the local middle school and drop off, like Rayna James,
who's the character that I'm playing in Nashville, like just
drops off like five dollars in the front office for
like her kid Jed, and like at that moment, I
was like, I wish I'd love to start an organization
or something where single moms could just get you could
(18:21):
volunteer to like go grocery shopping or just hang out
with the kids for two hours, just to like give
single moms a break, you know what I mean. Anyway,
So that's kind of where it all started, the whole
idea of it, and it kind of emerged into I
got together with these guys at Scout who created Queer Eye,
and they love the idea because nobody's also really done
(18:46):
anything like this sort of talking about single moms, which
I think is another issue because there are so many
single moms in the world, not just the United States,
but in the world. Anybody that you talk to, if
they're not a single mom or weren't raised by a
single mom, they have somebody in their life who they
know and they're close to that's a single parent. And
(19:07):
so it's like as a culture, we don't really we
kind of just push single parents away, like that's not
a thing, and there's no support for you know, certainly
I mean at this point, but like there's no governmental
like any kind of anything in place in terms of
giving support to single parents, and I just was like,
(19:29):
I want to change the narrative about that and like
create respect for these people who are doing this heroic
thing which is being single parents and doing it by themselves,
and also help to create a community for single parents
so that they can not feel alone in it. Because
I also what I found like shooting the show is
(19:50):
it's one of the big things is it's so hard,
especially for women, to ask for help, and so they
think that they're supposed to do it all by themselves
and it's so isolating and challenging and kind of impossible,
like you can't do it by yourself. And so the
whole point of the show is like create community.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
And well, first you gather a bunch of single mothers
who are also you know, who are going through it, right,
I mean, yeah, take us through it.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
Oh well, so on the show itself, like we yes,
we basically there are six episodes. Each episode, we have
a single mom who you know, of course, every person
has their own set of circumstances, and we have three
women who are our experts and I call them the
neighbor Ladies, named after the women that when I was
(20:40):
growing up, Like I grew up in Virginia on a
cul de sac, and like every day at five o'clock,
the neighbor ladies from around the cold de sac would
come over to my mom to our house, and like
they'd all have like their glass of wine or their
cocktail and like have like whatever cheese and crackers and
just like talk about their days and like that was
their support system. And so I grew up watching that,
(21:03):
and that made me realize, like, oh, like my mother
is even my mother wasn't even a single mom. But
I'm like, you can't do this, but like they rely
on each other to get through the day raising their kids.
And so anyway, so we called the three mom experts
on the show the neighbor Ladies. One of them is
sort of a style but it's kind of a self
(21:25):
love style person, and then one is a parenting coach,
and then one is a DIY home renovation person. They're
all amazing, all three of them. And so each week
we have a new single mom and then our three
neighbor ladies will kind of go in and create magic
for them and help them, help to guide them so
(21:46):
that they can have sustainable things that can help them
as they continue to raise their child and do their
jobs and do all the things that they're doing in
the world. And then ultimately we're creating a community with
all of these.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
Moms and that's a yes, a very beautiful thing. What's
your friend's name again? The woman who Yobi's best friend.
They don't go to the same school, but Jimmy Tammy. Yeah,
I would like to know who her community is, who
her neighborhood ladies are.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
Well, you know, that's a really interesting point because, first
of all, I'm hoping because next but we're already start
starting to talk about season two of the show.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
It's on Hallmark. Everybody, you can watch The Motherhood on Hallmark,
and the first two episodes are out now.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
But we shot the first season in Kansas City, which
was awesome. By the way, have you ever been to
Kansas City?
Speaker 2 (22:37):
Of course, I've been in Kansas City. I'm a comedian.
I go to all the cities that you never want
to ever see the inside of, not the Kansas City
is one of them.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
I really liked Kansas City.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Kansas City is cool. That whole area that midwestern Kansas
City is very cool.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
Yes, I really liked it a lot, and we had
a beautiful time there. But next season, because I live
in LA you be starting high school next year, so
I'm like, it would be so much better. Or if
we shot I'd be able to be in the show
more if we shut shoot in LA. So we're looking
at that, and if we do, then Tammy will be
one of the moms next year. Oh yeah, I'm I'm like,
(23:11):
because she's definitely one of the people that also kind
of inspired this, you know, totally right, and so I
know it'd be so amazing, I know.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
And I'm always inviting Tammy to come to one of
my Vegas shows and she's like, girl, you don't understand
what I would do to make that happen. She's like,
I want to come to Vegas. She's like, do you
understand I can never leave my child for one night
unless I have a like a fool proof plan for
him to spend the night.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
And I'm just like with her mother, who like her mother.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
The last time I flew somewhere to meet Connie was
for her. I went early to south By Southwest for
her birthday. We went, we had a nice dinner. I
don't know what was in the water, on the plane
ride I got, I took there, but something was in it.
It was this this guy had this brand deal, this brand.
It's called love Water, and they said it was just water,
but I'm convinced there was something else in there. And
(24:02):
when I got to that dinner, I was ready to
go and guess what's hot?
Speaker 3 (24:06):
I was hot, hot, coming in hot.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
I came in hot. And that night ended it around
two thirty in the morning. And the next morning I
had panels at south By Southwest, not one, not two,
five separate panels that started at nine thirty am, and
I got in at three thirty am, so I looked
like somebody punched me in the face. I didn't recover
(24:29):
from that night for two days.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
Because of the water. Weird the weird waters.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
No, because of everything that happened. After the water we
drank and then we went back to her friends house
and the people were smoking cigarettes. It just got It
was just one of those It was first of all,
I don't regret it for a second because it was
a really fucking fun night and I'm glad that I
was there.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
But uh, of course, Austin.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
But it took me a couple days to really get
my head back on straight after the after the first
day of five panels, because there were so many fun
things going on at south By Southwest. My assistant was
there and he's like, Okay, so do you want to
go to this dinner with this person? And this person's
I go dinner? Are you fucking kidding me? I have
to go to bed at five pm today because of
last night, as if it was somehow his fault.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
Your assistant is so sweet.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
I know, I know.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Wait, remind me his name again, McKinley.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
That's a private joke.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
That is a private joke, and we know that it's
not McKinley.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Okay, anyway, Okay, we're gonna take a break and we're
going to be right back with Connie Britton, the world's
best actress.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
If you'd like advice from Chelsea, right into us at
Dear Chelsea podcast at gmail dot com. We'd love to
hear your questions for any juicy story you'd like advice on,
but this week we're specifically looking for questions about family issues.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
If you have an issue with a family member or
you need.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
Advice about a specific relationship issue, please write in at
Dear Chelsea Podcast at gmail dot com.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
We're rack with Connie Britton. Hey, Connie, I have an
acting question for you. Do you ever have a have
you ever had? Because you've been in everything? I mean,
just to name a few, as you named, you were
in Friday Night Lights, you were in Nashville, you were
in White Lotus.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
Your favorite dirty John, Dirty John.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
Yes, that's just to name a few. Her resume is endless.
Do you ever have a crisis of confidence when you're
acting or have you had one about your performance? I,
of course I always have a crisis of confidence, Like,
isn't that part of being an artiste? I guess so,
I just feel like you always feel. I mean, I've
(26:37):
never seen that side of you. Even though I joke
about you being bad at acting, I know you're not,
and I know you're very talented. And I wonder if
someone who says established and as experienced, like the hours
of experience that you have accrued.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
Yeah, that erose is legit. That ten thousand hours thing.
One of the things that I've noticed in my fifties.
It's a maaze, is that ten thousand hours thing. Like
I feel much more like I can access whatever that
thing is that I need to be able to do
(27:14):
a scene and create a character. It's it's like I
have much more immediate connection to that, Whereas when I
was younger, I think I would, you know, I kind
of have to really like it was more cerebral and
I'd have to really like dig down and that kind
of thing. And now I think that, you know, it's
the after ten thousand hours, it becomes a little bit
(27:34):
more immediate and so that, but that doesn't titt necessarily
take away from every time I start a character. It's funny.
I actually literally this just this last week finished shooting.
We're doing a sequel to The Brothers McMullen. All the
Family McMullen. The Brothers McMullen was my big break movie
(27:56):
that happened in nineteen ninety five, and that movie is
like like it takes place on Long Island and it's
like pretty thick like Long Island accent, and you know,
I did the part thirty years ago. So it's always
a thing like, oh, what is I don't I guess
I know what this character is. I don't know. But
(28:16):
every time I first step foot on set and the
camera starts to roll, I'm kind of like, what am
I going to sound like as this character. I don't know,
it's super nerve wracking, like it's access.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
They're probably intimidating, I could.
Speaker 3 (28:28):
Imagine, but it's also just even a leap of faith,
even if it's not with an accent. It's just kind
of like, I don't really know, I'm just figuring it
out as I go, kind of thing. You have to
jump off a cliff a little bit every time.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
How is it meeting Robert de Niro on set? I mean,
I'm sure you've met him before, butting your.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
Your lover, your passion and your pat your lover, passion,
Robert Tiro, my baby daddy, your baby daddy. It was amazing,
Are you kidding? It was like the I mean, he's
just he's so nice. He's a really nice guy. He's
got such an incredible work ethic, also a guy in
his eighties, and he just works his ass off and
(29:13):
so and he's just kind of a normal guy. And
he would just talk to me like, how are you
learning all these lines? You know? These lines? Are you
know what I mean? And it was interesting for me
because it was a little bit like it was his
first time doing television, which you know, I've been doing
for a long time, and so it was almost like
he was kind of looking to me like, oh, yeah,
how do you do this kind of thing? I'm like,
(29:33):
who me?
Speaker 2 (29:34):
What's so demirror?
Speaker 3 (29:37):
But yeah he I. It was very exciting meeting to Nero.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
Okay, so we're gonna move to Callers, Connie, try and
give some advice we need. Okay, put on your.
Speaker 3 (29:46):
Stage callers collar. We have people.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
It's called Dear Chelsea. It's like dear Abby, but with me.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
Oh god, guys. So our first question comes from Laura.
She says, Dear Chelsea, I'd love some advice on this.
One of my best friends since high school is thirty
nine and so ready to meet someone and start a family.
She's beautiful, a doctor, she even designed and built her
own house. All she needs is to meet a decent
man and she's ready to go. She wants a family
(30:13):
so bad. She's also frozen her eggs, so she has
a backup plan, but she really doesn't want to resort
to it. She feels the clock is sticking. I don't
understand why she can't find someone. She's such a catch.
She's kind, she's active, She's keys a lot in Canada too,
She's been on the apps for literally years, and men
are either intimidated by her or they're quote just not
ready to think about a family. I constantly put it
(30:34):
out to people I know, to oh, hey, if you
know any single guys, and it's just not working. To
throw a bit of a wrench in her search. She
met a guy online a year ago who lives across
the country who she keeps holding out hope for. He's
the same cultural background as her, which I feel she
sees as an added fairytale esque bonus, but he keeps
disappointing her, not making an effort in communication or plans
(30:54):
to see her unless it conveniently just happens, example, randomly
being in the same city in Europe one day and
meeting up. She's been very straight up with him about
what she wants, and it's frustrating that he keeps stringing
her along but not committing.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
I tell her I.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
Was just a sign of the times and it's not her.
I also tell her what an inspiration she is, especially
if she does decide to be a mother alone. And
I'm wondering how I can support her. I need Chelsea's wisdom.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
Laura. First of all, Hi Laura. This is our special
guest Connie Britton today.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
You're Laura, like Laura from the letter.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
Well, she's Laura from the letter, but she's talking about
her friend in the letter.
Speaker 3 (31:33):
Is it your friend, Laura my friend? No? Really, it
really is.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
When I talk to Laura, she had like babies and test.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
A detective show.
Speaker 3 (31:46):
Okay, this is.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
Honestly, I'm sorry about her. I'm sorry anyway.
Speaker 3 (31:54):
Let's just be real.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
I think you should encourage your friend to go ahead
and not be holding out for any fucking man to
have her babies. If she is passionate about becoming a mother,
and she has her eggs frozen, and she has her
shit together and her life together, fucking go for it.
She could be waiting another ten years before she finds
the right guy. Connie didn't meet her right guy until
you were what fifty Connie, have you guys been together?
Speaker 3 (32:17):
Yeah? No, fifty two, fifty fifty two, fifty two. I
can actually speak to this too, Laura, even though I
thought maybe you were the friend, uh I, because frankly,
this was I adopted my son as a single mom
because I kept thinking, Oh, I'm gonna meet the guy.
I'm gonna meet the guy. I'm gonna meet the guy. Yeah,
(32:37):
And I knew I wanted to adopt, just as your
friend knows that she wants to have babies and she
throws her eggs and so I finally was like, what
am I waiting for? And I did it, And I'm
just so glad that I did. I will say, how old.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
Were you, Connie when you did it? You did it
fourteen years ago?
Speaker 3 (32:53):
Four?
Speaker 2 (32:54):
Okay?
Speaker 3 (32:54):
Yeah, great, so encouraging. Yeah. So, but I will say,
you know, and she can watch my show that's coming
out on Monday, The Motherhood, because it's all about single
mom So it's helpful because the thing is you you
kind of need to know what you're in for when
you are going to be a single mom. But honestly,
it's so amazing if she, if she chooses to do that.
(33:19):
It's so amazing to be able to do that and
not feel like because otherwise it's it screws up your
thinking if you're sort of at the mercy of the
idea of like, I want to meet a guy so
I can have a baby.
Speaker 4 (33:33):
Yeah, yeah, I'm saying, yeah, totally yeah, And I've actually
just become a single mom too, So I'm I'm really
trying to did.
Speaker 2 (33:42):
You kill yourselsband? But yeah, I have.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
It's a personal question, Chelsea.
Speaker 4 (33:49):
I have two kids, so I'm trying to really show
her that, you know, it's awesome alone.
Speaker 3 (33:55):
So yeah, thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
You guys live near each other, you and your friend.
Speaker 4 (33:58):
Yeah, we love We're going to Sana tonight, so okay,
ten minutes from each other.
Speaker 2 (34:03):
That's great.
Speaker 3 (34:04):
You're each other's community. You're each other because.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
That's what we're talking about. Connie's news show is all
about this. It's not a hallmark and it's called motherhood,
and it's all about this. It's about, actually, for me,
a community with your friends who also are single parents,
so that you guys can help each other parent together,
you know, and be there for when the other person
isn't and having your kids spend time together like this
is exactly what we're talking about. So please don't ever
(34:27):
put anything on holds in the hopes that you're going
to meet the right guy. You never know when that
person is coming.
Speaker 3 (34:32):
Awesome, I love it.
Speaker 2 (34:33):
Thank you, Okay, great, thanks for calling. Thank you so much.
By Laura. Bye, It's Laura.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
What a perfect question.
Speaker 1 (34:40):
Wow, that was really quick yeah, we might even make
it to four questions.
Speaker 3 (34:44):
We'll see.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
So our next color is Stephanie, she says, Dear Chelsea,
I'm a high school teacher at a school in an
underprivileged area in Connecticut. Yes, they exist here. We're situated
around the richest towns in the state. I worked in
my school for my entire career eleven years. I just
finished my last ever degree, which will allow me to
be a school administrator. My dilemma right now is between
(35:06):
loving my job and wanting to be financially stable. My
job is literally my calling. I love my students, I
love my coworkers, and most days I truly just love
going to work and doing this job despite everything. However,
we're paid like garbage after school hours. I nanny for
a family and tutor the other days of the week
for more income, plus say nanny part time in the
summer when I'm off work. With my new degree, I
(35:27):
could move into an administrative position in one of the
richer towns next year and make way more money. But
I'm afraid that I won't find as much joy in
the business end of running a school as I do
in my current role. I need your advice. Do what
I love or work for a paycheck to afford a
comfortable life.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
Stephanie Hi, Stephanie Hi, Hi, Stephanie Hi's Kattie Britton our
special guest today.
Speaker 3 (35:50):
Oh, I'm blown away. She was a teacher too, in
one of her lives, in one of my lives, Yeah,
my acting lives.
Speaker 2 (35:59):
I mean that's I feel conflicted. I read this thing
the other day from Bill Gates. There's a big tech conference,
a big climate conference, at a big tech conference last
week in San Francisco, and Bill Gates came out and
said that in ten years, all nursing jobs and all
teaching jobs will be done by AI. And if he
said that, then I think that's probably going to be true.
(36:21):
So I would normally say stick with your passion, but
I feel like you're already on your You've gotten you
had to get a degree, right, an extra degree to
become an administrator. You've worked for this. It's going to
be more financially secure for you. I feel like that's
your move.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
I kind of agree with that, But can I just
ask one thing, which is, as you're thinking about it,
could you make a list of the specific things And
you kind of did in your letter but like the
specific things that you love about this specific job, because
then what you could do is, as you look to
(36:58):
something that's more lucrative for you and like it creates
a better lifestyle for you, you can try to see
if you can fill in those things in some way,
even if it's not this exact same circumstance, so that
you're not completely sacrificing what you love, you know, right, Yeah,
that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (37:16):
But also don't downplay all the positive impacts you can
have as an administrator, Like, there are many things you
can do to also bring your self joy. It's not
going to be the same as being inside a classroom
every day, but you can influence the teachers. You can
provide comfort and safety for them. Like, there are a
lot of ways that you're going to find that you're
going to find yourself experiencing like fulfillment and joy in
(37:38):
your new job that you're not even yet aware of.
So don't think that that's not going to have any
of those aspects moving forward.
Speaker 3 (37:44):
Yeah, right, yeah, I agree with you there.
Speaker 5 (37:46):
I just I get worried because I see how people
who move into that role kind of ease away from
what I love to do in my job day to day,
and that's what scares me. It's like, am I will
I be allowed to break the mold and do that?
Or do I kind of have to fall into this
public school system of you know, you're in charge, you
have to be a little bit less fun.
Speaker 3 (38:07):
Well that's the thing. You can be a leader in
that circumstance. Yeah, you can be the one to break
through that and like let it. And that's why it's
like making a list is a helpful idea because then
it's like, Okay, I want to include these things as
part of this job, which everybody says, oh, that's not
part of this job. It's like you're going to do
(38:28):
it differently, you know, that's an opportunity.
Speaker 2 (38:31):
Yeah, I think you should go into it with a
whole with a whole bunch of energy about how you
were going to make this role special for you and
how it's going to work for you.
Speaker 3 (38:41):
You know.
Speaker 2 (38:41):
I'm sure there will be some limitations that you maybe
you don't foresee, or maybe you do foresee, but there's
always ways that you can actually impact and have change
in your environment, you know, and especially in a leadership role.
So like look at it like that, like oh now,
I'm going to get to influence and give like my
passion for teaching. You're going to be able to infuse
that into other teas that are working, you know, underneath you,
(39:02):
and you're gonna be able to like kind of set
the tone and set the vibe. And I mean nothing
needs that more now than education.
Speaker 3 (39:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (39:08):
Yeah, you have obviously a little bit of a deadline
on this because you have to sort of make a
decision for this next year pretty soon. But like, if
you really feel, like, you know, I want to take
one more year as a teacher, Like I think that's
okay too, And like I think the extra stuff that
you have to do to make ends meet is kind
of a recipe for a burnout. So you know, if
it's not the right time now, do some soul searching
(39:30):
see if it is. If it's not, then maybe it's
next year or the following year. But you're going to
gain so much more time and bandwidth that, like Connie said,
you could do some volunteering with a group that like
fulfills what your job is currently fulfilling.
Speaker 5 (39:43):
Yeah, I've been thinking a lot about it. I also
was thinking about it a lot this weekend. So I'm
so excited maybe proposing like more of a hybrid administrative role.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
Yeah, it's my district.
Speaker 5 (39:53):
That's something maybe they would be into if I could
still teach a few classes a day and then do
the leadership comp on it, sit through meetings and everything
like that.
Speaker 3 (40:02):
So I was like, it couldn't hurt. I suppose to
just throw that out there.
Speaker 2 (40:06):
Absolutely, Yes, ok, great way to keep your feet on
the ground and in touch with everything that's happening also,
you know, like in your administration.
Speaker 3 (40:15):
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (40:17):
Okay, great, Well, this was a very high upbeat phone call.
I'm glad that we called, and I'm glad we could help.
And good luck with everything you're doing. The Lord's work
so much.
Speaker 3 (40:25):
I know, seriously, that's the most what you're doing is
the most valuable thing we could ever ask. Thank you
so much, Thank you, Thanks to you all.
Speaker 2 (40:35):
You know what I hope I hope that with this AI,
like everyone's so scared of AI. And I was reading
this article about how everybody was so scared of computers
in nineteen ninety three when Al Gore invented the Internet.
Everyone was so scared that that the computers were going
to take everybody's jobs. Everyone was freaking out. We don't
remember this because half of us weren't even born then,
but I was. And this article that I read reminded
(40:58):
me of that. And that's how people feel about AI.
And you know, AI is going to be used for
bad stuff, but it's going to be used for good
stuff too. Think about what we're dealing with with our
education department being assaulted in the way that it has
been with this administration. Wouldn't it just be the ice
cream on the cake for all of us or the
brownie for for AI to come in and educate the
(41:20):
fucking shit out of all of these kids in America
for free without school. Can you imagine how smart everyone's
going to be if everything that they are doing just
completely backfired? Anyway, No, anyone, Hello, I don't think I
think we're there yet. Well we're not there yet, but
what if that that's the silver lining?
Speaker 3 (41:41):
What if that happened. I like that. I like that
point of view. Like I think, if that happened, that'll
be amazing.
Speaker 2 (41:46):
I mean, if you you have to be motivated to learn,
but the people who are motivated to learn that want
AI tutors, and they want these you know, they're going
to be able to learn faster than anybody. I mean,
all the information's there, so as much as you have
a thirst for you're gonna get it.
Speaker 3 (42:01):
M hmm.
Speaker 1 (42:01):
I feel like best case scenario, teachers are able to
use it as a tool because, as our color just showed,
being a teacher is so much more than just like
providing information. It's like you are caring for these children.
You're listening to them when they're having an issue, You're
watching out for them, seeing if there's an issue at home,
sort of thing that like AI is never going to do.
But if you can take some of the burden off
(42:22):
of teachers, that's I think where the sweet spot would be.
Speaker 3 (42:25):
I agree, Like, I think if we can be smart
about it and not just have it be like okay,
now it's AI and like fire all the teachers, right,
you know what I mean, Like, but instead understand the
value of who the teachers are and that they can
that the AI can actually be an assist to them,
so that maybe we're not burning out our teachers all
the time, you know, I mean, we already pay our
teachers total crap. So I don't know if it's going
(42:47):
to help that situation, but I don't know. I agree.
I think there's something where it could be. It could be,
it could always it could work to our advantage.
Speaker 1 (42:56):
Yeah, well, let's take a quick break and we'll come
right back with quickie.
Speaker 2 (43:01):
Please tag me for the special because I get so
many tags about my books, but I'm not getting as
many about my special, and my special is the newest
thing out, so I want to make sure all my
ardent fans are watching it and tagging me, and I'll
repost you. And yes, it's called the Feeling. Okay, we're
back with the star of the Motherhood, Connie Britton, the
(43:21):
executive producer and star of the Motherhood, which is a
new series on Hallmark. You can watch the first two
episodes now. And this is for anyone any parent who
is at home who is a single parent, or his
friends with someone who is a single parent, to gain
a better understanding of how important it is to build
a community. Okay, do we have one last caller?
Speaker 1 (43:42):
Well, this was just an email, but let me do
one last question. So Liz writes, her subject line is
am I abusing my babysitter? Dear Chelsea? Right, Yeah, I'm
a thirty seven year old working mom, of two kids,
ages six and two. I'm fortunate to work four days
a week, and I worked really hard to get to
this place in my life. I have an incredible babysitter
(44:03):
whom my girl's adore, whose hours are seven thirty to
five thirty and Monday through Friday, and just as a reminder,
she only works at her job four days a week.
Since I had my first daughter, I felt conflicted about childcare.
A friend once said I didn't have kids so someone
else could raise them, and I felt that way too.
I've always had the goal of minimizing the amount of
time my kids spend with the babysitter, and I picked
(44:23):
them up right at five thirty, which is great on
my workdays. But I've also been using her on my
Fridays off so I can have some strongly desired alone time.
This felt like a win for me in terms of
prioritizing myself and my sanity. Today, I checked in with
her to make sure it's okay for me to continue
sending them to her on Fridays. She's a small daycare
center and they're the only kids there on Fridays. She
shrugged and said sure, but seemed hesitant. She works hard.
(44:46):
So I get it, but it triggered that old part
of me that felt like I have to spend every
free moment with my kids. As I'm typing this, I
also realize that it triggered the part of me that
needs to be completely self sufficient and never ask for
or accept help. God forbid, I be a birday to
anyone else. Don't worry. I'm in therapy. I've come so far,
but the situation is so hard for me. Honestly, I
(45:06):
don't feel like I need advice. What I need is
for someone who doesn't know and love me to tell
me it's not just okay, but good and necessary to
take time for myself. I know the real work is
to find that voice within myself, but I'm fucking busy,
so I need some help with this one. Sincerely, Liz Connie,
I mean the whole This is my show, Liz again,
(45:27):
please watch The Motherhood.
Speaker 3 (45:29):
It's all about how hard it is for us to
ask for help and to feel like it's okay. Like
all six of the moms in all of our episodes,
each one of them spoke about how they feel like
they can't justify taking time for themselves. They can't justify
buying things for themselves, because if it always comes down
(45:49):
to time with their kid or the kid needs something,
and that's always going to take the first priority, and
that is how you literally destroy your own soul, and
a mom the destroyed soul is not helpful to their child.
And so it's like, I think what it begs you
to do is, first of all, really ask yourself, like
(46:11):
what do I need here? It's okay for me to
need help, and I have reasons why I need that.
And then just have a real conversation with your babysitter,
because what you don't want is that icky like yeah, sure,
but like there's some kind of like tension growing or
you know, resentment or whatever. It's like, be real about
(46:32):
it and be like this, you know this is important time.
Don't apologize. This is important time for me. I need
this time. But if it's a problem for you, let's
talk about what works for both of us. But it's
okay to stand up for and know that you need
your own time because it's going to make you a
better mother.
Speaker 2 (46:53):
Period.
Speaker 3 (46:54):
End of conversation, except for whenever you have to taste,
say Chelsea, I'm just going to agree.
Speaker 2 (46:58):
With everything you said, because yeah, obvious that women need
to take care of each other and themselves. So yes,
I'm going to let that, let that sit without adding on. Okay,
and that is the only time I will do that
in our lives. Connie. I want you to know that week.
Speaker 3 (47:13):
Like literally, I'm gonna take a little pink sqeeze.
Speaker 2 (47:16):
Okay, Well, Connie Brittain, we finally did it. You're on
the podcast. We did it. We're promoting a great project.
The show is called The Motherhood and you can follow
Connie on Instagram if you want to. But not a
lot happening there, so.
Speaker 3 (47:36):
We can't all have the most perfect Instagram that you
have so much help making.
Speaker 2 (47:41):
Okay, I love you, Connie. I find out your premiere.
I'm sorry I can't be there, but I'll see you
next time.
Speaker 3 (47:47):
Okay, honey, I love you.
Speaker 2 (47:48):
Okaye, bye guy, bye bye. And that concludes another episode
after your Chelsea, We'll see you next week. Do Do
Do Do Do dorroll Catherine please And abroad broad is
my European tour, so I'm coming to obviously find a
(48:08):
husband abroad. I need to get the health out of
this fucking country. And it's not as easy as you
think so. I'm coming to Rekuvik, I'm coming to Dublin.
I'm coming to the UK. I'm coming to Brussels, Paris,
Belfast in May and June. I'm coming to Oslo, Stockholm,
to Copenhagen, Manchester, London, Glasgow, New Zurich, Vienna. I've never
(48:34):
ever been to Vienna, Berlin, Barcelona and Lisbon. I'm coming abroad.
Is abroad that sounds like fun.
Speaker 3 (48:42):
I'm gonna go see you abroad.
Speaker 2 (48:44):
I know I want to go see me abroad and
there all be there, all be excellent. Okay. My remaining
dates for Vegas, there are remaining dates for this year.
Summertime is coming and I will be in Vegas out
the Cosmo doing my residency on July fifth. We will
be the next date that I'm there, July fifth, August thirtieth,
(49:08):
and then November one and twenty ninth. November one and
November twenty ninth, I will be in Las Vegas at
the Cosmo performing Inside Myself at the Chelsea. It's called
Chelsea at the Chelsea for a reason. Okay, thank you.
Speaker 3 (49:23):
Do you want advice from Chelsea?
Speaker 1 (49:25):
Right into Dear Chelsea podcast at gmail dot com. Find
full video episodes of Dear Chelsea on YouTube by searching
at Dear Chelsea pod.
Speaker 3 (49:33):
Dear Chelsea is edited and
Speaker 1 (49:35):
Engineered by Brad Dickert executive producer Catherine Law And be
sure to check out our merch at Chelseahandler dot com
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.