In this heartfelt conversation, News 2 anchor Nikki Burdine opens up about managing life with Tourette’s in the high-pressure world of broadcasting. She shares the challenges and triumphs of raising her daughter Andi—who was born prematurely—and why they’ve chosen to have just one child. From her experience growing up with three sisters to her journey as a mom, Nikki reveals how her unique life experiences have shaped her career, her personal life, and her resilience in the face of adversity. Tune in for an inspiring, candid look at the woman behind the anchor desk, her fears of flare-ups on air, her love for rescue animals, and how she stays stylish while managing it all.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
Carry line. She's a queen and talking and so she's
getting really not afraid to feel the episode and so
just let it flow. No one can do we quiet
carry line is sound for Caroline. I'm here with my
(00:31):
favorite bird eye. Hi. Hi, we're comfy, cozy. I texted Nikkoto,
was like, can we please? Do you want to wear
comfy clothes? And You're like, yes, I always want to
wear comfy clothes. Well, because you have to dress up,
like you have to like dress up every day. Yeah,
like heels and all that.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Yeah, so I almost feel like clothes can be over stimulating.
Do you feel like that?
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Well, I don't dress up, so I kind of get
excited when I will you dress up? Because you're the
anchor of New Channel to everyone is the face of Nashville.
To keep her done. Welcome, Welcome, if you watch the news.
I mean I do not watch the news, but I
love the news because of you. Have you right there? Yeah? Yeah?
But you dress up every day?
Speaker 2 (01:11):
I do.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
So it's almost like when I'm not at work, the
second I get home, my clothes just I feel so
ever stimulated. So I take off my jewelry, I take
off my braw I take off like all and I'm
like sweat.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
So this is yes, this is me. What is your routine.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
In the mornings? You mean like, yeah, okay. I actually
am very strict about my routine because sleep is so
important to me.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
And I go to bed. We'll start there.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
I go to bed at about seven pm before my
daughter does. My husband puts her to bed, and I
wake up at about two forty and I am out
the door.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Forty Yes in the morning. Yes, so you're in bed
by seven thirty, seven o'clock, seven o'clock. Is it hard
to make yourself go to sleep at seven? Now? Aren't
you tired all the time? Not at seven? But I
got to like nine thirty. But I also sleep till
like seven. Yeah, it's kind of it's the same, But no,
it's not. You get less two thirty. Yeah, why to thirty?
Because I have to be at work at three. You
(02:06):
have to be at three, But you don't come in ready? No,
so I do.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
I mean, pack your bag the night before, pack everything
the night before. It's all sitting by the front door.
I shower the night before. So literally when I wake up,
all I have to do is brush my teeth, wash
my face, put on my skincare and get dressed, and
I'm out the door.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
And I mean I'm probably up and out the door
in ten.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Minutes, okay, and get to work and then I do
my right are Yeah no, no, I snooze for half
an hour?
Speaker 1 (02:30):
You do? Yeah? Oh yeah, so you wake up it two? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (02:34):
No, I start start the process then, but yeah, I'm
not out of bed.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Till like two forty five? Does it wait justin up?
Speaker 2 (02:40):
No? You would think it, I guess because we've been
together for so long. He's probably used to it. How
long have you all been together? We've been together, We've
been like we started dating in two thousand and seven.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Michael and our two thousand and eight.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
See that we've only been married ten years.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Say Taylors, because y'all just had your tenure. Yeah, September.
What did y'all do for? It went to Cabo so much.
It was just and it was just us too. But
then my sister and her fiance went.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
You know, because when you've been married that long, you're like,
you can hang for so long, but then you want
another coup, like you want friends.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
I'm like, Michael and I have talked about everything. We
always have things to talk about, and we always have
ongoing conversations. But it's like, yes, it is so nice
to have friends to hang out with. Yes, we know
every little bit about each other.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
We'll be each other's travel companions now because you're my neighborite.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Yes. And it's just so good because not only do
we get along so great, Justin Michael get along and
our daughters are the exact same age. It's really perfect
and we're only child moms. It's perfect. I know.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
We're so lucky. It's God saw both of us and
he was like, that's a good tho. I'm like, but
you're like my favorite ditto.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
I'm like, literally, how I not been better friends with
you before? Because I've known you for so long, but
like I've never like now we're like, oh my god,
I'm obsessed with you.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Did oh I feel the same way. Okay, when you
have saying Justin and Michael get along like it is true.
My husband knows this, so I'm not like talking a
bad about him, like he doesn't like a lot of people.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Why not? But I think that's a good quality.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Like I love everyone until you like prove me wrong,
you know, and I usually do get taken advantage of
quite a bit.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Because of that.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Well yeah, I mean, I'm just like I love everyone.
My sister calls me the collector of stray cats because
I always just I'm like, yes, the more the merrier
come in and I'm trying to learn boundaries better. But
my husband is the opposite. He's like, no, I don't
like that person. But he actually adores Michael and he
has said that multiple times.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
He's like, that's a great guy. And if Justin says that,
then like you're you're in Okay. Yeah, well I'm glad
we didn't even know how cut through this was when
I slid through the cracks. It is. I mean, it's
a good thing he is. He is when he selective
of his people, well you know what, that's good. I
think it can't serve his energy. Yeah he does. I
(04:42):
have been a chronic people pleaser my entire life, kay,
but not anymore. I'm working on it. I had a
life coach. I hired a life coach when I was
thirty eight years old, really, and then I have done
extreme therapy measures to get to the root of my issues,
which is I'm a high functioning codependent person, which means
I walk into a room not anymore, and I need
to make sure everybody's happy and everybody's happy with me,
(05:05):
and like if you are not, if your vibes are off,
and if you're not like feeling my vibes, then I
kin fix it. I'm going to be like up in
your face, getting to know you, wondering what's going on,
getting to the root of your issue, trying to make
you happy, to make sure that you walk away feeling
happy and that you love me. I feel like I'm
like that a little bit, but it finally wore me out.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Yeah, it's exhausting. It's exhausting. I'm getting better at that.
I definitely used to be like that, especially with the
TV news, because when people would send me mean comments,
I would like try to convince them, like no, no, no,
like I'm a nice person.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Like you would like me. People are coming after you.
You're awful. I mean you can't get it too, No,
not like you. I mean not.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Everyone gets if you have any sort of online or
on air, like any sort of public persona like people
are gonna talk.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
To you get it on the regular. You know what,
Since I became a mom, it's been a lot easier. Really,
what if people used to say and why are they
nicer now?
Speaker 2 (05:54):
I think they used to say things like mostly about
my appearents, you know, like I'll you know, you always
remember the main comments like somebody called me the lunch
lady arms. Lunch lady arms, I had fat arms, and
of course, like that's your you know, everybody has their
own thing, like of course my arms are insecurity, and
I know it's ridiculous and stupid. We all have our things,
we all have our things, and I recolunze lately arms zobe,
(06:15):
what is it awful? And then one guy sent me
a tweet that was like, I can't the fact that
someone marriage you is shocking. The fact that someone impregnated
you is shocking, and the fact that you have a
job being on TV is even more shocking. Kind of thing,
like people say really mean things. When lady told me
I was going to help because I wore a sleeveless
dress on TV. So my old instinct back in the
(06:38):
day would be to like convince these people to like
find their profile and message them or email them back,
like almost like shaming them at first for making them
feel bad about that, and then convincing them like, no,
I'm a nice person like you would like me.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
You would shame them first, and then convince them.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Yeah, almost almost make them feel bad about like you're
you're a jerk for thinking that, because they are, yeah,
or not jerk for for saying it.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
Anyway, you can think whatever you want, right for taking
the time to write you, I mean compact to someone
they don't know to make me feel bad, it's totally
to yourself. That's a your yeah, because they're one sole
purpose in that wasn't for change to hurt your feelings,
It was to hurt me, right, And so my purpose
in doing that was to make them see the error
in their ways and then convince them like, oh, no,
you you'll I'm a nice person. But it's not about me.
It's about them, right, and they have Yeah, I know,
(07:24):
not my problem, not my problem. I had this situation
coming up the other day where somebody actually like did
something intentionally to hurt you, just to like, yeah, to
like take something away from me. Who do I need
to fight? Well, I'll tell you later. Yeah. But I
was like, oh my god, And then I was like
all pissed and I want to like fight them in
my head. But then I was like, you know what,
not my issue, not my problem, and not my bag
(07:46):
of demons that I'm gonna carry around. If if someone's gonna
go out of their way to try to like take
something from someone else for no other reason than they
just don't want me to have it, but it's not
making them get anything, then I'm like, Okay, that's not
my problem. It's not it's not my that that's what
you're going to spend your time doing. Yeah, that's exhausting. Yeah,
it's like have you listened to Mel Robins? Let Them? Oh?
(08:07):
Mel Robins? Is she not changing the world? Is changing
the world? Give people the idea of what them?
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Let Them is a book where I listen to audio tape.
It's just about letting people have their thoughts, their feelings
about you, about anything, your opinions about life, or even
like the little inconveniences. I love the example that she
gave that she was checking out the grocery store and
the lady checking out was being so slow and she
was getting annoyed and she wanted to like complain, and
(08:33):
then she was like, let them let this clerk be
slow checking people out because me getting frustrated and bitching
about it and doing anything is not going to speed
her up. Let me instead figure out how to deal
with this anxiety and why I feel this way and
then respond in a better way, and.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
So profound it is game changer. And she talks a
lot about family because someone family dynamics. It's like, let
your parents have their expectations of you. Let her parents
have their own belief system that you don't have to
necessarily agree with no one to check out of a
conversation if they get going on something, let them and
just and to let me exit if I need to.
You don't have to fight everyone, prove everyone you have
(09:12):
to prove.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
You don't have to convince them that your way is
the right way.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
No, let them keep their way.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
But then I like how she said, but you the
let them theory could be a very isolating way to
live because then you're not ever dealing. You don't care
about other people's right that's sociopathic behavior. But then the
way she spinned it and said let them but then
let me, like, really, that's something I need to work
on because sometimes I don't have an issue just being
like I don't care what you I don't care, but
then you also need to sell reflect and like let
(09:38):
me fix this and why does this bother me?
Speaker 1 (09:41):
And how can I resolve this? Yeah? And that is hard?
That is hard.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
I've struggled lately because I've had like a close friend
who's like gone through divorce and it just like has
totally torn our friend group apart. And I've been taken
it all very personally and I've been very upset about
how it's gone down. It's not my problems, and it's like,
how do you separate yourself from other people's stuff when
it does affect you? But it's also I guess that's
(10:07):
to let me. It's like, okay, this like knowing boundaries,
knowing how to step away and knowing how not to
like try to meddle your way into situation. And also
like you can't make people do behave a way that
you want them to write, and it's like it's impossible.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
And then if you do make them behave the way
you want them to, is it really genuine and is
it really going to enact change in their life? No,
because they're doing it just to appease you.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Yeah. Yeah, God, maturing is some tough shit. Isn't it.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
It's even more hard when you're doing it in front
of a child, because then you're like, oh, I have
to do this now, and now I have to teach
this child I know.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
And now they're five and they're getting like their own brains.
And like I was talking to too earlier, well, see,
Sunny is just she just thinks about everything. She's just
like constantly analyzing everything, and she's like has so many
thoughts coming in at one time, she doesn't know how
to decipher them. And I'm like, I don't even know
how to parent this because like I feel like I
have so much, I have so many thoughts, but now
I know how to like distinguish between them. But I
(11:00):
guess when they all start hitting, you start waking up.
That's overwhelming.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
I'm sure, But can I just say something. Justin and
I have talked about this before this summer when we
start hanging out a whole lot more. Sonny is so
emotionally mature. I mean, when I compare her to mind,
I'm not gonna you know, you don't compare, but of
course you do. You think about it, and the way
that she handles her emotions and her feelings is just remarkable,
like you've done such a good job getting her to
express how she feels. No, I think it's a good thing.
(11:29):
It's remarkable. Well, I appreciate that, and Andy is remarkable too.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
We have two incredible daughters, which kind of leads me
to another question I do. I'm not going to forget
your schedule because I want to go through the rest
of your schedule because it's a wild on every day,
but kind of leads me to this question I wanted
to talk to you about. Do you think we're both
only child moms? Do you think moms of only children
usually end up that way for a reason, or do
(11:53):
you think it's a choice.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
I think some women do choose. I know a couple
of women at Andy's school who are only my only
children moms by choice? Really, I know you and I
was not a choice, right. It was circumstances and things
leading up to it, which we can talk about.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
But I know, I think it might be.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Like fifty to fifty you think so, Yeah, I know
I know a lot of women who is not by choice, though,
So what are.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
The women who do by choice? How did they what
are they saying?
Speaker 2 (12:20):
One of them that I know was an only child herself,
and she liked it. She liked it and went into
it with her husband. Wanted to be an only child,
wanted to have an only child. That's amazing, and they're
very happy with that. That's amazing.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Yeah. See, I always have in the back of my
head that there's something lingering out there. I agree. Do
you feel that way? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Not not really, because I had this desire to be
a mom again to a new baby. But it's because
I want to give her that because I'm so close
with my sisters.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
I know, because you have two sisters. Yeah, and y'all
are like the three freaking amigos. I mean, I got
Nikki Berdine's Instagram. Y'all are hilarious. When y'all do your
sister realis. I'm like, y'all are the most fun and
y'all all get along. We do. I mean, it wasn't
always like God, I feel like there's something but y'all
don't like competitive. It doesn't feel like one isn't anymore.
Y'all are all beautiful, but I don't you know, sometimes
there's like a power struggle and like one's totally the
(13:09):
Like you know when you watch in conto. There's like Isabella,
who's like the beautiful one, and then there's like Luisa,
who's a strong one, and there's Marabelle who doesn't know
what hers. That's a great comparison, but like everybody's kind
of defined by like their one role. Yeah, I feel
like y'all are all. It seems like there's not like
a power struggle. I could be right, think there is.
I don't really know the other two that well, I
don't think so. I mean we are classic, like I'm
(13:30):
a classic oldest child. I seek out the.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Attention and being the center of attention, and then the
middle child. Laura has always been like the most emotionally
mature and supportive and type A and successful. She just
got driven, just got engaged type of persons supportive, like
she's the one who does everything for everyone.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Has that worn on her? Or is she have good boundaries?
Speaker 2 (13:52):
I think she has good boundaries, good for a lot,
but I think it. I mean, you know, she was
single for so long and then she found her person,
so I think she is finally starting to be a
little selfish, which of course I give her shit about.
And I'm like, well, now that you got engaged, like
you're never here to babysit anymore. So like, that's great,
thanks Michael, But I'm joking. I'm glad that she's selfish
now and then the youngest test three kids of her own,
so she's just surviving.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
But you said she like handles it like a champ,
but doesn't even she dress her up.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
She is such a psychopath. I say that in eleven.
I love her so much. I say that to her face.
I'm like, I don't know how you do this, because
you and I are kind of like this, Like if
things are going crazy in the kitchen and it's chaotic,
I get like overstimulated, like okay, focus, Like I cannot
deal with this.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
I don't know how much calm. I need things to
be organized quarterly.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Need something, and she will just I'll come over to
her house and they're like two dogs and then chickens
see you doing something, and then like one kid is
screaming and like throwing food on the wall and she's
got a baby on her hip and the other one's
like riding at a motorcycle through the house.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
And she's like, what, I'm making you some pasta for dinner.
What do you want?
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Do you like this, and I'm like, oh my god,
what is Advid?
Speaker 1 (14:56):
How are you doing this?
Speaker 2 (14:57):
She's just like this is great some women, and I
think that's God knowing, like, oh she can handle thus.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Yeah, yeah, you know, yes, I know, I know. Okay,
So do you feel like you've shut the door on
another kid? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (15:09):
I mean I'm forty one, and I know plenty of
women have babies in their forties and that is amazing,
But I just don't see myself getting pregnant at forty
one having a baby at forty two. I know it
would be forty three now because I'm almost forty two.
And my husband's also very much okay with having an only.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
Child, and y'all went through We had a podcast before
we talked about this week. Y'all had a very intense
pregnancy and Andy came early, very early.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
When was she born, she was twenty eight weeks twenty
eight weeks, and she weighed one pounds. So that that
was the driving factor for us having an only child,
because we'd.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Always thought like, we'll have one and see how it goes.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
And then I think both we realized like, oh yeah,
we want to give her a sibling, of course, But
then when Andy's birth was so traumatic, and she spent
three months in the in the hospital, and there were some.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Times we didn't know if she was going to make it.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Once we got her home and we figured out how
to be parents to this little girl and realize that
she's healthy and she's gonna be fine, then we're like, Okay,
do we want to start this all over again? And
the answer was like there was still a lot of
trauma there. Yeah, not just for me, but I think
for Justin too, because I talk about this a lot,
and I think all all births are traumatic, right, even.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
If your birth is perfect, a trauma, it's trauma.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Right.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
We are usually the.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Only ones who go through the trauma as moms. The
dads don't usually go through with it, go through the trauma.
They're kind of lucky that way. But I think with
our situation, I think Justin dealt with a lot of
the trauma because he was like, the liaison people didn't
want to call me to check on Andy, right, it
won't upset me, so they were calling him and he
was just like constantly inundated with kind, well meaning requests
(16:46):
from people, and then going back and forth to the
hospital and again not knowing if her daughter is going
to make it, it's it's.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
A whole nother.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
So I think by the time we all realize like,
oh we can do this again, it was like, but
do we want to?
Speaker 1 (16:59):
We just caught breath. Yeah, we just are like, actually
it's hailing. Yeah. Yeah. So how big was any when
she came home?
Speaker 2 (17:08):
One pound four ounces when she came home. No, I'm sorry,
when she was born. She was one pound when she
came home. So one of the rules to come home
for the nick you your baby has to weigh four pounds.
They have to be able to take a bottle on
their own and breathe and breathe on their own or with.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Honestly, that's probably nice though, that you know you have
that support totally, because like that would be terrifying if
if you had to figure out how to get them
a bottle without the help and h No.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Yeah, so they said she weighed four pounds, but I'm
convinced one of the doctors like put a thumb down there,
like because they knew she was ready. She just tiny.
So yeah, she's probably a little under four pounds.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Was it nerve wracking when she came home or was
it were you like ready for her? I was so ready.
I was so ready.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
I mean, of course I was nervous, but I was
also kind of like, this is just the way it is.
I didn't see her as small as everybody else did.
But I remember taking her out a couple places and
people be like, oh, like almost like shocked, like did
she literally just come out of your your body? Like
why do you have this newborn? And I'm like, oh no,
she's six months old. But I didn't see her that way.
So talk about tiny but mighty.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Yeah. Andy has the most like energetic. She has spunky,
bunky personality in that little body. She has more personality
packed in she does. She is feisty and spunky.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
And I left seeing her and Sonny together because Sonny's
so tall and so beautiful, and you've got little Andy.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
Who was like the most precious little thing.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
I mean, Sonny looks like like a seven year old,
yeah yeah, and Andy looks like a three year old.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
But they're like little Bessie's they are, they're the same.
Sonny was talking yesterday. We were on a walk and
she's like, mom, we've got to find walkie talkies that
stretch from my house to Andy's house so we can
talk to each other and like we can like talk
back and forth and then we can like always know
if we can play and just like have them in
our rooms. And I'm like, I love that. I mean
that's kind of the dream, right, that is so sweet. Okay,
so it's gonna happen. Yes, yes, we got to find
(18:55):
we're going to hang out. Well, we were on a
walk with our other neighbors, Sarah John, and John was like, well,
I have these walkie talkies that stretch a mile. He's like,
y'all can have effect. I'm like, okay, we're ready. We're
in business here. She's gonna love that. I know. I
can't wait for You'm to even this summer. Yeah, that's
what they're telling us this summer. I just drove by
and it was it like building a house.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
It's a wonderful. It's stressed out. It's stressful. I don't
want to complain about it because it is such a
blessing to be able to do this, and it's it's
the dream. But it's stressful and it's hard.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
What have been the stressful parts?
Speaker 2 (19:27):
And how do you even know what to put in
there and what to leave like, that's the thing I
don't like. I mean, you know, you go through somebody's
house and you're like, oh my gosh, I really like that. Yeah,
and you think like, I got to remember to put
that in, and then do you write it down? And
then do you tell somebody like that and they're like, okay,
we can do that. And then you have a tile
meeting about the last four hours just to pick out tile,
and you're picking out for each bathroom by the time
you get to the last bath and I don't care.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
How do you even know how they all match?
Speaker 2 (19:50):
That's the thing, because I know what I like. But
then I'm like, oh, this, this doesn't go with that, that.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
This looks weird. I have I would not in front
of a house, you know, I would have a schizophrenic acount. Yes,
I would be like, I have no idea. I would
pick out all sorts of stuff and say I would
not go like different themes, yes, or like a Mediterraneans
like ship lap exactly, and that that was what I
was doing because I'm true Gemini and I'm all over
the place.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
So that's why you hire people who who.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Know you hire.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Yeah, Okay, she's amazing. Her name is Stacy and Vonnie
at Vannie Designs. If you ever need somebody to be
like your project manager, slash designer, slash just backboard.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Yeah, she does it all. Yeah, it's a lot.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
Yeah. So what's been the most un part probably just
like all the things that you think that you want
to have in your dream home, being able to put
those in there, Like all the things you're.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Like, oh my gosh, one day we could do this.
So what were the ones doing a heated floor in
the bathroom? What's that even going to be? Like, I'm
coming over to your house.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
All this amazing. Yes, we're gonna have spots. I'll walkie
talk to you to come over. Yes, yes, I'm excited
about that. I'm excited to be really organized with all
of our things and you have space for it.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
Yeah. So those are all just little things. And what's
gonna happen in your office? We're going to do a
podcast in there in your office? Yeah heck yeah. So
what's the podcast called?
Speaker 2 (21:19):
Well, it's the one I've started with my friend Ashley
who we got We got scammed and that's a whole
other story. Ashley Houston, who many of you all maybe
know Nashville wife styles. She's friends love her. I love Ashley,
So hopefully we'll get that off the ground again. It's
called influential.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
Then I also want to start another one, and you'll
start with you. You want to do another one?
Speaker 1 (21:38):
Well, what's it about? I don't know? Sure?
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Why not?
Speaker 1 (21:42):
I mean why not? I mean I love to chit chat. Yeah,
we can just like check in weekly or something. Yeah, okay,
we call it neighbors. Neighbors do have to be serious.
We just talk about she's a ship for the day. Yeah, okay,
so we can like practice right now. Yeaes see. Okay,
So what's in your heart? Oh my gosh, what's going
off you right now? Are you feeling? How are you
(22:02):
on your meter of like feeling good to stressed out,
to want to cry, to want to jump for joy?
I go back and forth. I'm I'm good right now.
Stressed out? I mean I've got a lot going on,
but stressing you out.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Just I have a lot to do this weekend, and
I kind of get stressed out if I don't have
like built in rest time because I commit to too
many things.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
Okay, like what do you commit to? Past? Are packed?
Speaker 2 (22:29):
No?
Speaker 1 (22:29):
Not usually. I mean because you're in bed at seven.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
Yeah, Pickingndy up from school and we have activities and
then I'm usually in bed by seven. But when I
commit to hosting events, which I love doing. I love
being out in the community and doing things, but then
that cuts down on my sleep and I like, do
you need this?
Speaker 1 (22:44):
I need downtime.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Oh, I need a loan time, whether it be like
zoning out and watching Law and Order or just like.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
Law and Order is the one I love Law Order.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Or Real Housewives or just you know, anything mindless.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Have you been following this Blake Lively just yes, yeah,
Oh my gosh, I don't know. I was just gonna
shake out. I know. I don't normally get into celebrity gossip,
but I'm like.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
This is gnarly because I was convinced one way me too,
but now I'm like, oh my gosh, me too.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
I know, who do we believe? I I'm the Trials
not until next year, I know. I'm like, how are
we gonna hang on this long?
Speaker 2 (23:21):
We're gonna have to hold our judgments. And now Taylor
Swift is involved, I know she's.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
Like unfringing Blake Lively. Wait, I didn't know that. Yes,
she said not a press release syesterday that she's taking
a step back from Brick Blake Lively stop it right
now on the Daily Mail. Yes, it's getting, it's getting.
This is gnarly. Wow. Hopefully she'll be getting married soon
and she'll she'll be busy. I know. But I'm like,
how talk about stress? To be in a lawsuit like that,
(23:48):
that's so public. I mean that I would have went
to that plague. You know, this is a narrative.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
I would very much like to be excluded from exact
all I would say, and I would just walk a Yeah,
no drama.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
Have you ever had anyone try to see you?
Speaker 2 (24:05):
I got in a car accident once and somebody, somebody
tried to sue me.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
Yeah. Is that stressful?
Speaker 2 (24:09):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (24:09):
But I knew she was lying. So what do you
do when you know someone's lying they try to sue
you based on a lie. You just let the lawyers
do the work. Okay. But it was hard for me
to keep my mouth shut.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Yeah, yeah, and not be like you're a bad person,
like I know you're not telling the truth. But the
truth prevailed, Okay, So it worked, it worked out. I
mean I did I did rear in them, but it
was this was like, oh my gosh, this was probably
like fifteen years ago.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
Yeah, never been in a car wreck. What I've totaled
three cars? Wow? Because I don't ever ride with me.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
Okay, good to know now these are all when I
was in high school?
Speaker 1 (24:47):
Are you not a good driver?
Speaker 2 (24:49):
I'm much better now. My sisters will say I'm not,
but no, I didn't know. I definitely should never. I
have not gotten a license when I was sixteen.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Are you distracted when you drive? Or yeah? But also
to be.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
Fair, like you know, mental health things like kind of
got in the way of my ability to focus on
the road, and I probably should not have been Like what.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Do you mean like breakups or like no, like like
my turrets and things like that. Okay, definitely to some
of those. And I want to talk to you about
true Yeah, because this is also amazing. You are the
news acre of Channel two. You are absolutely gorgeous and
amazing and so talented everything you do, and you have
done all this with Tourett's which is amazing to be
(25:29):
an on air anchor with. Yes, because I don't really
know a lot about it, and I don't is there
a level like can it be mild? Just since here
where would you say you are on? Now? It's definitely
more mild. How do you get it to be mild?
Speaker 2 (25:43):
A lot of times maturity and medication and behavioral therapy
because Tourett's. As people get older, it does get better
and it's great able to management. But it was absolutely debilitating,
like really for most of my life?
Speaker 1 (25:56):
Yeah, would you have like is it like outbursts that
happened that you can't control?
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Yeah, there's In fact, there's a show on TLC right
now that I saw Kalen.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
I love her, she looks but like she was having
She would like say things that she.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Hears are absolutely like a million times worse than mine.
I mean, minor Mike. I can control mine, but I
know when I have a tick coming on, and I'm
able to do which I learned through behavioral therapy. I
can do things to like quell that anxiety and that feeling.
So like, for example, like right now, if I really
wanted to do one, then I would be able to
(26:27):
do like a modified version of of it.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
So what is a tick for you? Is it making
it very? No?
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Usually my ticks come about with intrusive thoughts and things.
It comes from like a superstition almost that I don't
want that to happen to me. So it's really hard
anchoring the news. So if I read something that's bad
that happened to like a child, then like that makes
me like want a tip because in my mind, if
I don't tick, if I don't do this, then it's
(26:53):
going to happen to me.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
Oh and so.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
It's like these intrusive thoughts and then these like you
have to have to do it, You have.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
To do it. So I figured out ways, so you
have a lot of fortitude.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Yeah, So I'll do things to like, you know, kind
of like fix it, like quell that little feeling. And
then when I either have a loone time later or something,
and I'll let it out and I'll do what I
really need to do.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
So do you mind talking about like no, like what
do you need to do to get it out?
Speaker 2 (27:22):
It's funny because they evolve Like whenever I was a
kid again, they were way more severe. I would lie
on the floor and I would tap the floor with
my hands and I would look up at the ceiling
and it would blink and I would scream at the
top of my lungs, and then I would pray out
loud over and over, and I would repeat things and
I have to count things over and over.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
It got so bad.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
My sisters like they would when my sister tells this story,
it's funny now, when she would have friends over and
I would be in my room just like doing my tics,
and they would hear me screaming and they would say,
what is that?
Speaker 1 (27:56):
Is that your sister? And Lord's you know, it's just
a cat. So she would pretend that it was.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
Like a cat like screaming in the house, and it's
just me because it's like this really high pitch scream.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
Do you still do that sometime? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (28:09):
I usually do that one at night a lot, like
before bedtime. It's like the whole days, like stresses are
like kind of coming to the top and I almost
have to like clear it out of my body in.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
A weird way. You have to purge it kind of
like keep it in in and then you have to
just like let it out. Yeah, in a weird way.
Do it every day? M M Okay, So you kind
of have like a routine, do you have kind of
happen in a system now? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (28:32):
But I still they still pop up throughout the day.
It's just I don't do them whenever without control like
I used to before. I would be in classroom and
I would do them. One of my ticks when I
was a kid was math was a big stressor for me.
And a lot of times saying anxiety and stress brings
my ticks out even more, like when I am stressed out.
(28:52):
When I am anxious, my tics are a million times worse.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
Which is crazy because you have such a high stress
job and you are such a public figure doing so
many things, so you really are in the mix. You're
really like putting you're in a pressure situation a lot
with this.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
Yeah, so pressure would would be a big issue and
math was a pressure for me. And one of them
was I would write my homework or race it. And
I would write it and I would race it over
and over. It'd be like a hole in the paper,
and so my dad would have to like write out
my homework for me. This is all through middle school.
I specifically remember this, like sitting at the at the
dining room table and he had to write out my homework.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Does it stress you out when you're having them or
is it a.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
Relief yeah, no, it does. It stresses me out because
I need to do them. I have to do them,
but then I'm consciously aware of everyone around me, either
watching or being annoyed or waiting for me to do them.
I always liked to school every single day because I
was ticking out and doing all these weirdo things. And
my mom and my family understood, of course, like Nikki
shes they called us, they called him my habits. Nick
(29:54):
has to do her habits before she can leave. But
then I would be late with my sister. And I
was always like to school for or ticking out, and
if something happened, I would have to like start the
whole tickover. And there's a lot of like OCD crossovers
there too.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
Do you do you know how it comes on? Just
how you get die you can start. They don't know.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
It can be like maybe hereditary, maybe just like a
chemical imbalance. I mean it is a chemical and balance,
but like who knows how it manifests. I think everybody
has like a little bit of a nervous tick or something,
you know, Like I've noticed my husband doing some things.
I've noticed people sometimes blank into things, and that's one
of my ticks. As well, but I don't know. Nobody
(30:36):
in my family that we know of has turettes. One
of my grandmothers had OCD, and that's kind of along
the same veins, so maybe there's something there.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
But were you nervous when you started angry on the news.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
No. And it's the weirdest thing because I never thought
that I couldn't do that, Like, I never it was
never even like, oh, that's not something I should pursue
it because I have tourettes.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
It was just not even a thought mind.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
I think that's just a testament to my parents, you know,
because when I got to college, it got really really
bad because I was on medication. I was on all
these pills that was I was able to control them
through high school, and I was surrounded by this really
great group of friends that if I was bullied, I
don't really remember. Maybe I was just so insulated and
I was like a popular kid. So I was really
(31:22):
fortunate that way that I had this great support system.
But then when I went to college, things changed, because
change is really hard for people with chemical imbalances like
that to you know, get your routine going along again,
and you feel anxious about leaving home and you know
how hard that is, Like.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
Oh, it's all difficult.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
So when I went to college, things got really bad
because my tics got really bad, and I became so
depressed I was suicidal. I didn't get out of bed
for like two weeks. My roommates finally called my mom.
I'm like, you need to come and get her, like
this is not good. She hasn't gotten out of bed,
but she hasn't gone to class, she hasn't showered or anything.
(31:59):
My mom took me to the doctor, got me in
all this medication, and I was taking like nineteen pills
twice a day, like it was a fistful of pills.
And I didn't want to kill myself anymore. But I
was like a zombie, you know. And I'd gained thirty
pounds in a month. And my mom was finally like
this is not okay either, Like this is this is
not normal.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
No child should be like this, no adult should be
like this.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
So she did all this research and helped wean me
off of those and get me onto one pill, which
is what I'm still on today. That's amazing, and through
like therapy and support and immaturity helps a lot. I've
been on those ever since. So I still had these
tics all throughout college, and they would wane and wax
and wayne and they would go up and down and
they would evolve and change. But when I knew what
(32:44):
I wanted to do, which was to be in TV news,
it was never like, oh, you shouldn't do that because
you're you have tourettes. Now, doctors did tell my parents,
She's never going to have a like a regular person job.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
This will be a debilitating thing for her.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
She's never going to be able to like do They
didn't say she's never gonna be able to be a
news anchor, but they never said like, yeah, this is
going to be like how her life is.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
She's going to have to put those labels on right,
Like who who has the right to put those labors
on anyone? And how do they know? But also it's
almost good they did that. It put a fire under you.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
Yeah, that's great because I was kind of like, Okay,
nobodys gonna tell me what I can and can't do.
It almost like propelled me and fueled me and you know,
made me want to succeed.
Speaker 1 (33:30):
And then after now being an acre person long you're married,
you have a kid. Do you feel more stable with
it now? Do you feel is it more balanced? Do
you think is that what you're kind of staying with
maturity because your life kind of gets more stable, Yes, and.
Speaker 2 (33:42):
You get more confident in things, and then I and
I also think it's with when you are, when you
get your your depression and your anxiety and those things
under control, then these other things are lessened. At least
in my case. I know that's not a case for
the case for a lot of people with Tourette's. You know,
like the bailing girl I was telling you about bless
her heart, I mean hers or she has the TLC. Yes,
(34:05):
she has the type of touretts where she screams out cusswords.
And I never had that kind. I just screamed out
random things and tapped and blinked and grunted a whole
lot and sometimes would fall on the floor. But I
can't imagine having the kind where you just like scream
out in public cuss words. How debilitating that must be.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
You know, what do you think what strengths have you
gained by navigating touretts?
Speaker 2 (34:31):
The desire to if I'm going to do something, then
I'm just going to do it, and I almost like
it when people doubt me, you know, It's it's almost
like it's a motivator for me. It's also made me
be like it's almost like a protector. So when I'm
doing the news, a lot of what I read is
really bad stuff, and it affects me a lot more
(34:54):
than since becoming a mom than it used to. And
because I have to be so hyper focused when I'm reading,
and then my.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
Add is also a big factor.
Speaker 2 (35:03):
It's almost like I'm so focused on what I'm reading
that it's out of my mind when I'm done, and
I don't.
Speaker 1 (35:10):
Really let it sink in.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
I don't really let it sink in, which is probably
for the better it is. I think it's a self protective,
self preservation, protective mode because if I were to like
let it sink in and absorb it, it would keep
me up at night and then I would tick. My
husband always jokes he's like, what's the weather like this weekend?
And I'll say, like, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (35:27):
He's like, don't.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
Don't they do the weather like every fifteen minutes the
three hours for you? And I'm like yes, and I
hear it. But then like my brain has to switch
and I have to be singularly focused on something else
and I can't absorb it because it'll.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
That's amazing that your body does that. It's like a
coping mechanism, I think. Yeah. But honestly, even if you
didn't have to rets, I feel like you would have
to do all the news that I was going to
ask you about that too, aside from this, like how
do you handle knowing every single bad thing that's happening
in our city? Sucks? It sucks so bad.
Speaker 2 (35:58):
And it's like the war part about my job because
they do genuinely love my job, but I hate that
a lot of what we talk about is bad.
Speaker 1 (36:05):
I hate it.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
It's important we need to tell people what's going on
in their communities, and there are bad things that are happening,
and you can't ignore it just to protect people's mindset
or to only portray rainbows and butterflies. It's important to
talk about that, but we also need to talk about
the good things that are going on, because there's a
whole lot of that.
Speaker 1 (36:24):
Yeah, yeah, and you okay, So I feel like one
of the things you focus on is rescuing animals. Where
did that come into your how did you get so,
I mean, how did that become such a spot near
and dear to your heart because you are like passionate
about rescuing animal. Well, everyone has a thing, right, like
is that your number one thing? That's my number one thing?
Speaker 2 (36:41):
Yeah, I think, but that's heartbreaking too, but it's amazing.
But there's redemption, there's redemption, and there are I think
it's it's fixable.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
I think it's fixable.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
I think that if everyone would go and adopt dogs
and foster and even just volunteer, I think that we
could fix the animal crisis out there. We stopped unnecessarily
breeding dogs, especially these backyard breeders, I think that we
would be able to reduce the pet population. And to
answer your question about how I got started in it,
(37:10):
my mom, My mom loves animals too. We would just
I mean, I remember specifically this dog we picked up
off the side of the road. He was he was astray.
He had been shot by all these BB guns like
he had. He could barely walk.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
His name was black Dog.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
And because he was a black dog, and he was
a black dog, and he had the vet told us
that he had just been eating rocks, so his teeth
were like grinded down. I know, I know, but we
gave him the last like year of his life was
like the best, you know, and who's grunt? Grunt was
our first family dog. Because you wrote a children's book
called yeah Grunt. Yeah, you guys have one right, yes, okay,
(37:45):
it's so good.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
Also on your list of achievements, Niggy has written a
children's book, to be Fair.
Speaker 2 (37:50):
My dad wrote it, he did, Yeah, he wanted to
write it together.
Speaker 1 (37:54):
Well how did that come about? That's sweet.
Speaker 2 (37:56):
Well it started because when we were kids, my dad
would try to teach us, my sisters and I life
lessons about how to be a good person. And you know,
he's always he's a motivational speaker, and he's a leader
in all these ways.
Speaker 1 (38:08):
And your dad his career was in the Marine Corps.
The Marine Corps. Yeah okay, and you know he's very
mentally strong, very strong. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
He was actually just diagnosed with PTSD, so he's kind
of going through a whole renaissance as well, like trying
to heal that inner part of him. But growing up
a big part of you know, any parent is trying
to teach their kids how to be good people. And
he realized, like, they're not listening to me. They're obsessed
with this dogs. Like every time we would come home,
(38:39):
it was.
Speaker 1 (38:39):
Like, oh hey Dad, oh Grut.
Speaker 2 (38:41):
You know you line the floor just like kids do
with your family doc like you love your animal because
they are just consistently, always there for you, and they
love you regardless of anything that's going on, that unconditional love.
And so my dad would put little notes in our
lunch box with like daily thoughts by Grunt, how to
live a good life, Daily thoughts by Yeah, it was
(39:02):
Grunt's daily thoughts, and they would be in our lunch box,
and then we went off to college. He would email
them to us and it was always a picture of Grunt,
Like one was Grunt like lying in the grass and
it was like on warm days, don't forget to lie
on your back in the grass and enjoy the sunshine
or something, and it's a picture of Grunt out there.
And after I had Andy, you're reading all these kids books,
(39:22):
and I thought, you know what, I wonder if my
dad still has all those So I called him and
I said, do you still have daily thoughts by Grunt?
He said yeah, So he emailed them to me and
we added a whole bunch and we found a publisher
and we put that into a book. So those are
like the original thoughts my dad came up with.
Speaker 1 (39:38):
How special was that? Yeah? Has it been so cool
having a children's book out? Yeah? It was really.
Speaker 2 (39:42):
It's really easy to do. Like everyone's like, oh my gosh, No,
anybody can write.
Speaker 1 (39:48):
Anybody can do it.
Speaker 2 (39:49):
You could write a children's book right now and get
it published.
Speaker 1 (39:52):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
You just have to contact a publisher and give them
the idea and if they say it's good, then yes,
you do it.
Speaker 1 (39:58):
Not everyone has good ideas.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
Yes, yeah, that's right. One about Ruby and Sugar and Kirby.
Speaker 1 (40:15):
That's right about Kirby. I mean, man, our bearded dragon.
She has taken my life over.
Speaker 2 (40:21):
That's what I'm saying. Write a children's book Aboutkirby.
Speaker 1 (40:24):
What would Kirby tell people? I'd have to get a
theme daily thoughts by Kirby. Bask in the sun. Don't
move too fast. Yes, she's always looking for food though,
same ship. Wherever you feel like it. Yep, poop on anybody,
enjoy a bathtub? Enjoy bathtub. Poop in the bathtub. Yeah,
let it go, Let it go. Whenever you need to
(40:44):
don't hold back, don't hold bag. See be chill. She's chill. Yep, yeah,
there you go. Yeah, man, you should see her eat
some roaches. I saw her eat worm. She eat roaches,
which is her next level. I better. So we go
to the pet store and have to buy like a
live roaches. Oh, it is so disgusting. So I fed
her like twenty roaches the other day in one sitting. Yeah,
(41:08):
she girl can eat. Oh yeah, And she like gets
over and she like hunts them and then she like
sticks your little tongue out and grabs them and just
munches them down. I'm like, oh, And then when she poops,
you know, it's just rope roaches coming out. It's disgusting.
It's disgusting. I mean it literally grosses me out. And
now she's pooping all the time. I thought she's only
supposed to poop once a week. She poops like every
other day now. So I used to feel like way
(41:28):
more confident holding her. Yeah, I'm like, okay, once a
week poop. But now it's like it's happening. Do you
have a newborn again? Yes? Has she pooped on you?
She pooped on Michael and she pooped on Sonny, Oh no,
but not on me.
Speaker 2 (41:40):
Can I just say that you are the mom of
the year because if my kid came to me and
said I want to get a beater Dragton, be like
absolutely not, Like you're you can go get a fake one,
like that's you and you were like, yeah, let's do it.
Not only am I gonna do it, but I'm gonna
take care of it. This is gonna be my thing.
Speaker 1 (41:54):
I love creatures, so I grew up having so many creatures.
I had like two pet rats, a pet mouse. We
had a hundred rabbits in our back. And this is
why I love you too, because you love creatures like it.
I mean, I love creatures. I love creatures, lizard creatures,
but I love Kirby. I never knew. I was, well,
you know, you kind of think lizard people are kind
of their own kind of people, you know. So I
was like, am I a lizard person? I don't. I don't.
(42:15):
I'm a lizard person. I've never really been a lizard person.
But I who knew that I would step right into it.
And I love having a wizard. She's so sweet, it's fun.
Speaker 2 (42:25):
It's just promised me something Okay, we're not going to
be snaked people, okay, never Okay, no, you promise, yes, Okay,
So I will never be around you again.
Speaker 1 (42:33):
I won't. I will not do a snake. No. I
hate snakes and having to feed them mice. I love mice,
I know, like I love mice and I love hamsters
and like feeding a mouse to a rat doing no. Never,
Like they don't have shoulders, No, like they don't have
the arms, like little demons. Well, I don't think they're demons.
Speaker 2 (42:53):
I understand they are an important part of the ecosystem
and God put them here for a reason.
Speaker 1 (42:56):
They're just not mine. Yeah, but like the serpent, you know,
they just they can't simpolized. I think that's what it is. Okay,
So what are you loving the most about this year?
What's going great for you right now? Let's see?
Speaker 2 (43:09):
I mean I have I don't know, because I want
to talk to you about this specifically too, because I
feel like you're so good at seeing people and saying no, no, no,
this is what you need to be doing, Like you
need to focus on this. I've been feeling so uninspired lately,
me too, are you too?
Speaker 1 (43:21):
What is it? I don't know, and I've been having
a real crisis. It's in stressing Michael lot because I'm
like with this baby thing, I'm like, do I need
to try to have a baby one more time at
forty one years old, after I've had five miscarriages. It's
not a good idea. Everyone in my family has told me,
Like my parents are like, don't do it, Like, just
just enjoy what you have, because like it's it's hard
when your family sees you go through all this, Like
(43:42):
you went through your journey with Andy. Yeah, find the carriages.
It's a lot, and then you're forty one. But I'm
like something missing? Should I try one more time? I
can't close the door, Like I'm stressing about that. You
need to listen to your gut because my gut changes
though really one day it will be one go for it,
do it, try it, and just like try one more time.
And the next day it's like, girl, you got a
(44:03):
great thing going. You are so lucky with Sonny, Like
you just enjoy this, don't stress out about it, Just
like be happy with what you have because I am. Yeah,
of course, and I feel literally insane just.
Speaker 2 (44:15):
Because you're you're happy with what yard doesn't mean you
you shouldn't try for something else that this or not.
Speaker 1 (44:20):
But it's so risky at forty one, and I know
I would step up to anything that God, whatever came
our way would be would be our blessing. But I'm
also like, man, I am an emotional wreck, and like
you know, like I just I don't know. I decided.
I don't know if I can roll the dice. So
I'm living. My stress is that I'm constantly stressing about
that because I feel like I'm giving myself like three
months to think about this, and I'm officially closing the door.
(44:42):
That's a good.
Speaker 2 (44:42):
Timeline, but it's like where to just like shut the door,
I mean, don't shut the door?
Speaker 1 (44:47):
If do you think a lot of women feel this way? Yeah,
you can't figure it out.
Speaker 2 (44:50):
Yes, if I had a husband who would leave the
door open for me, I would probably be in your
same shoes.
Speaker 1 (44:56):
But be glad that, yeah he didn't.
Speaker 2 (44:58):
He's not tell Michael to make the decision for you.
Speaker 1 (45:00):
Well he is starting to now because I told him
I wanted to leave the door up, but and he's like,
uh no, I don't think so. But then I was like, well,
well see that's the hard part. I know, I know, okay,
but I also feel uninspired completely inspired. I don't know.
I usually really enjoy social media and like creating funny
on social media. Boll I used to be.
Speaker 2 (45:18):
I used to like still are thank you. I used
to love like just creating trends and like showing off
clothes or whatever. And I've just been so annoyed and
uninspired by everything. And I don't know why.
Speaker 1 (45:28):
I feel the same way. I usually have like twelve drafts.
Speaker 2 (45:31):
In my phone, like oh, I'm gonna do this next,
and I have nothing. I'm annoyed by everyone and everything
except for you.
Speaker 1 (45:36):
Okay, good, great? No. I feel like Jame Way yeah
and Maddie, who says a lot of our content social
spark if anyone needs a content creator. I don't know, Nikki,
I don't know, okay, but I want to go back
to you get there at three o'clock. When you do,
We're we're gonna full circle back to your day at work.
So you wake up it used to larm goes off
it too, wake up at two thirty out the door.
You get to work by three. You do your own
(45:58):
hair and makeup there, Yes, when are you finished with.
Speaker 2 (45:59):
That, so we go on air at my hair and makeup.
I mean I'm usually done like twenty minutes, okay, and.
Speaker 1 (46:06):
You look great. Way to get that down to an
art well, you know what?
Speaker 2 (46:08):
Yeah, once you get it going, like you know, like
you can't mess around and you got to paint that
stuff on.
Speaker 1 (46:12):
Yeah, get those bags under. Do you own your clothes
or do you do like a d I do.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
Rent the runway Okay, I mean a pausitive this month,
but I usually do rent the runway.
Speaker 1 (46:19):
I was gonna say, how do you have a different
outfit every single day? No? I don't.
Speaker 2 (46:23):
And I've also like realized the more outfits that I'm
really gravitating towards lately, or like piecing, like having like
four basic bases that I love, Like I have a
great black skirt, have some great black pants that I
just rotate, and I have different tops.
Speaker 1 (46:36):
Yeah, And I found that's.
Speaker 2 (46:38):
The easiest way to get dressed, because you have one
piece that you know works, you can just alternate all
the other little.
Speaker 1 (46:42):
And the bottom is the hardest piece, it is. Yeah, Yeah,
Like to get something to fit your bottom half correctly,
it's like you gotta find it.
Speaker 2 (46:48):
I wear this almost the same shoes almost every single day,
just because I find something that works good, you know.
Speaker 1 (46:53):
So yeah, So I go in. The first thing I
do is make coffee.
Speaker 2 (46:55):
I want to get to work, and then I do
my hair makeup, and then I read over scripts and
sometimes I get to read over like the first few minutes,
and then the rest of it I just do like
while my co anchor is reading or in the commercial break.
But when do I'll start the news four We go
on air at four.
Speaker 1 (47:12):
Okay, so you get there like two thirty. No, you
get here three three, So you get an hour aead
of time, okay, like kind of thirtyish minutes to get
ready to have coffee, yeah, thirty minutes to prep yeah.
Speaker 2 (47:21):
Yeah, And sometimes it's a little bit sometimes I don't
get there to like three fifteen, but yeah.
Speaker 1 (47:25):
And then when is the news wrapped?
Speaker 2 (47:27):
Four to seven every day? Four to seven every day,
and then we have cut ins in Good Morning America
And those cut ins are like seven twenty, eight twenty
and then seven fifty six or eight fifty six.
Speaker 1 (47:37):
So you look at an entire day by like eight
in the morning, and then I run home.
Speaker 2 (47:42):
I can't get done on air it's done.
Speaker 1 (47:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (47:46):
I usually run home after that and I help get
Andy ready for school and then I take her to school.
Speaker 1 (47:50):
You take her to time, go back to work? Yeah?
What do you do when to go back to work?
Speaker 2 (47:53):
Special projects? Like tomorrow I have a shoot with Actually,
you would love this guy. His name's Thomas Mappin and
you heard of him. No, he's a flat foot dancer. Oh,
I'm so fascinated by him. I was assigned the story
and I'm like, this guy. I love anybody who's like
a master at what they do, you know, and like
how they love it, like it's what feeds their soul.
(48:14):
And that's what this guy does. I've neverous think it's
like clogging but.
Speaker 1 (48:17):
With flat feet. Okay, so what does that mean? I
don't know. I'm gonna find out tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (48:21):
So that's a lot of what I do is after
the morning show, I'll either work on a special project
or you know, and what is the special?
Speaker 1 (48:28):
Then? Do you like? Go film it and then they
put it in the next segment the next day, not
the next day.
Speaker 2 (48:32):
No, Usually it's it's like usually we go film it
and then come back the next day and we I
log the sound and then we write it the next day,
so I usually have like week or so, a couple
of weeks to put it.
Speaker 1 (48:43):
To right the did you produce it too? Yeah? Yeah,
I mean I write it.
Speaker 2 (48:46):
You don't really have to produce individual segments, Like I
just write it and then my photographer edits it together.
Speaker 1 (48:52):
So I put in the time codes for so you
write the whole concept of what the piece will write.
Speaker 2 (48:57):
The story, yeah, man, and then the editor and the
photographer who do the real work, like they're the ones
shooting at all, you know, Like I just take the
sound from this person, and I write the story around
that person's sound. What does that mean? The sound like
their interview? Like if I were an interview right now,
and I would do a story about you, like I
would ask about your life and you know, whatever the
(49:17):
angle is that you're telling, Like why am I interviewing?
Speaker 1 (49:19):
Is it about your podcast? So it would be about
like why you started the podcast? So the sound like
the center point sound bites. Yeah, so the.
Speaker 2 (49:25):
Soundbites that you gave me, I would plug those in
and then I would write around your sound bites to
tell the story and get it down to like a
minute and a half.
Speaker 1 (49:32):
We're such a badass. No, yes, you are. That's incredible.
What is success to you? Just being happy? What is
happiness for you?
Speaker 2 (49:46):
Good family life and balance. It's used to be about
like career, and it's not anymore same it. I mean,
that's a big part of it, don't get me wrong.
And that's a huge part of my identity that I
need to work on, not being my whole identity. But
I would say happiness is just having like that life
balance where you're happy with what you have. It's not
(50:07):
about like constantly going for the next thing. For so
long in my career it was like going after like
the next market, the next job, the next promotion. And
now it's not at all. I am perfectly content and
happy at the level I am. And I think it's
because I found what I'm good at and I can
just I don't want to say coasts because that sounds
(50:28):
like it sounds like giving up, but it's not. It's
you're just built being content. Yeah, happy, that's amazing and yeah,
and I think that's it's a beautiful.
Speaker 1 (50:37):
If you've reached the level that you feel it's like
you're worth this. You're worth anything, but like this matches
You're worth Yeah, it's like, Okay, I feel valued here. Yes,
I feel like this matches where my soul wants to be,
and you're there. It's a perfect way to put it.
Speaker 2 (50:54):
You find like you check all the boxes right, Like
you're balancing your home life and your financial and your
family and your work, and it is such a delicate balance.
And not every day is good, right, Like some days,
most days you fail at one of them because it's
impossible to succeed at all of them. But when you can,
the average is that you're succeeding or you're happy in
all of those things.
Speaker 1 (51:15):
Then I think that's helping us and that's that's success. Amen.
What makes How does one stay married for ten years
and happily married? A lot of patients?
Speaker 2 (51:27):
Justin and I have been together, like you and Michael
for so long, and we just like really get each other.
We both know that we each other need our space
and our relationship. In the beginning, we were long distance
for like seven years before we got engaged, and everyone's like,
how are you guys doing this?
Speaker 1 (51:46):
I'm like, I think it's.
Speaker 2 (51:47):
Why we're successful because I moved around a lot from
my career and he stayed in DC and we just knew.
He was like, I know she's going to go chase
her dream and do this, and I'm supportive and I'm
staying right here for whenever she's ready. I'm going to
be right here. And I think our whole relationship has
been like that. And when I moved down here to Nashville,
he's like, yeah, let's do this, So here's where we're
(52:09):
going to build our family.
Speaker 1 (52:10):
He was ready to move to Nashville. He wanted to
move to Nashville where I did. I thought I was
going to chase the network dream. I wanted to go
to New York or a Good Morning in America.
Speaker 2 (52:18):
Yeah yeah, I mean that's most people on TV like
that's what they say you would want to do. I mean,
you could totally do that, but now I don't want
to because it would take over your whole life. I
am so thankful, so thankful that I didn't do you are.
In fact, I was offered the job in Nashville and
I almost turned it down. They got it didn't because
I was like, oh no, I'm not ready, Like I
want to go do this.
Speaker 1 (52:37):
I want to try New York.
Speaker 2 (52:38):
And my husband's like, I understand, and I will support
you and you can do that. But like everybody you
love is in Tennessee, this job is a great job.
Look at this house that we are about to buy.
This is the life that you dreamed of. We were
in DC and I was hustling, and he was like,
you were unhappy all the time, you were stressed out,
you were exhausted, you were working like fourteen hour days.
(53:01):
That's not sustainable. And he's right, And I've never been
happier in my career and home life.
Speaker 1 (53:07):
Nikki, that's awesome way to get to the balance. It's
so hard. It's so hard.
Speaker 2 (53:12):
But I feel like everybody in their twenties and thirties,
like I was, like, what's it like turning forty? Like
FORTI has been the best, the best, there's nothing like it.
Speaker 1 (53:20):
I agree.
Speaker 2 (53:21):
I think it's confidence too, and like like let them,
Like we're letting other people do whatever they want to
do because it doesn't affect me because I have this constant,
I have my people around me, I have what makes
me work, what makes me tick, and I have the
support and everything else is just kind of like small potatoes.
Speaker 1 (53:41):
I love that so much. Niki, You're amazing. I love you.
Thank you for coming on in chatting.
Speaker 2 (53:46):
Thank you for I always feel Can I just say
I always feel so weird when I'm on podcasts because
I feel like I talk about myself the whole time,
which I know is the purpose. But I will leave
here and I be like, oh my god, did I
talk too much emotion?
Speaker 1 (53:59):
It's a vulnerability hangover? What is this vulnerability hangover? I
can't tell you all the people that have called me
afterwards and like should we just like not hear that?
Speaker 2 (54:07):
Really, there's like this feeling of like narciss Like am
I narcissist because I just talked about myself?
Speaker 1 (54:14):
No? Here's what heres the beauty in this. This is
what is so wonderful about coming on and sharing your story. Yeah,
because you who are on the news, who are this
beautiful person who has this amazing life when people can
see the real life behind what we just see. Yeah,
and you're so good about sharing stuff. I mean, you
shared Andy's story, you share about Tourettess, you shared about
(54:35):
your journey to your career and stuff. But like when
people can really like get a glimpse and be like man, okay, shit,
they've like gone through it. Yeah have It's not been easy,
Like they have struggles. Okay, I have this struggle. I
felt like I was all alone, and now I'm seeing
this person who moved through the totally and like overcame
this and now look at what they're doing and it's
(54:56):
not holding them back even when doctor said, like you
can't do something. It's like that's inspiring to people. People
nearly need to have inspiration. And I feel like I
like to hear the whole story because I want to
see the beginning to the end where you started, where
your mindset came from, what were your struggles, and then
how did you navigate it right lost in the middle
of it, maybe overcome it, and then you actually get
to a life where you're like I really love what
(55:18):
I feel here. Yeah, And I think that's what people
need to hear to know, like it doesn't matter what
you're you're up against, you can get to your dreams.
Speaker 2 (55:26):
I need to remember that that it's not about being
self indulgent. It's about like sharing your story because I
remember being a kid and not knowing anyone who had tourettes.
Speaker 1 (55:35):
Like, what about a kid out there right now who's
listening to this, Yeah, finds out that you the news
anchor of Channel two in Nashville and of the biggest markets.
Doesn't made me cry Ha's Tourettes and like you're on
the news. That is so inspirational. I do hear people
need you to say that, because you're right. It is
like so easy to make fun of Tourett's. Like I
feel like that's the only time we hear about it
is like a punchline, you know. And while the people
(55:58):
who cuss.
Speaker 2 (55:58):
Like it's that's very very rare, it's mostly people like me,
And you're right, I don't I need to share it more?
Speaker 1 (56:06):
Yeah, because I mean navigating that and figuring out how
to like and even how you say, like you can
now have a system with it and you can kind
of hold it in until the night and you have
your routine when you let it out, like knowing that
you figured out a way to get it into a
situation where you can like manage it, Like that's good
stuff for people to know.
Speaker 2 (56:23):
Yeah, you're right, and it does get better and that's awesome. Yeah,
thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1 (56:27):
For sharing, thank you for having me. I always wrap
up with leave your light, and it's just super open ended. Basically,
what kind of inspiration do you want to leave with people?
Speaker 2 (56:36):
Oh my gosh, Caroline, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (56:42):
What do most people say? What is like? It's the
first thing that comes to mind. Can I quit? Mel Robbins? Yeah,
like just let them.
Speaker 2 (56:50):
Yeah, it feels plagiaristic, but like, just no, it's spot on.
Speaker 1 (56:55):
Just to have.
Speaker 2 (56:56):
Confidence in what you are, what you bring into the world,
that what other people do or say cannot affect you
because it does not matter, and other people's opinion of
you is.
Speaker 1 (57:06):
None of your business. That was a hard lesson for me.
I'm still learning it me too. I used to, but
I used to make it my job to make sure
other people's opinion of me was what I thought. Yes,
I wanted it to be it. I would work my
ass off, like I said earlier in this podcast, to
try to make sure everybody loved me. Can I think
have the whole world to love me? Yeah? If I
thought one person didn't like me, it would just eat
me alive.
Speaker 2 (57:26):
It didn't matter all the people who loved you. You
focused on the one person who Jett Yeah, yep. And
you know it's actually a testament to our character that
people don't love us and that don't like us because
those aren't our people. And the people who aren't our
people love us, then we're frauds totally.
Speaker 1 (57:42):
And I realized that with myself, there's some great people
out there who I just they're not my flavor. That's okay,
you know, I don't want to hang out with everybody. Yeah,
it's not that like there's anything wrong with you. I
just don't gel with you, and I don't really It's
not that I don't think you're bad. I just don't
really like your flavor. Yeah, And so I feel the
same way towards people. So why wouldn't people feel that
wage right? You know, I think this is maturing. I
(58:03):
think it is. We're so wise. Look at us at
forty one. Come along way. I figured it out. Well,
thank you so much for coming, Thank you for having me.
And where can everyone find you?
Speaker 2 (58:12):
My Instagram is where I post a lot just at
nicky bird eye and I KK I b U R D,
I n E and I do a little TikTok too.
Speaker 1 (58:18):
I need to get better about God. I can't even know.
I'm too old, but I need it. It's not an excuse,
I know, I just not I'm too old. Ton't want
to do it. But that's not a good excuse either.
It's fascinating, well, I wish I was fascinated by it,
well or not. Thank you for coming next, for having
amazing and y'all follow Nikki because you're funny on Instagram.
You do really funny videos and a lot of behind
(58:38):
the scenes stuff which is just fun to see what's going
on behind the scenes as you news anchor.
Speaker 2 (58:42):
I can't wait to be neighbors and we can just
create content all the time.
Speaker 1 (58:45):
Okay, Neighbors podcast coming up. Okay, Bye Nikky Bye,
Carry line. She's a queen and talking and so she's
getting really not afraid to feel the episode and so
just let it flow. No one can do we quiet
carry line is sound for Caroline. I'm here with my
(00:31):
favorite bird eye. Hi. Hi, we're comfy, cozy. I texted Nikkoto,
was like, can we please? Do you want to wear
comfy clothes? And You're like, yes, I always want to
wear comfy clothes. Well, because you have to dress up,
like you have to like dress up every day. Yeah,
like heels and all that.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Yeah, so I almost feel like clothes can be over stimulating.
Do you feel like that?
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Well, I don't dress up, so I kind of get
excited when I will you dress up? Because you're the
anchor of New Channel to everyone is the face of Nashville.
To keep her done. Welcome, Welcome, if you watch the news.
I mean I do not watch the news, but I
love the news because of you. Have you right there? Yeah? Yeah?
But you dress up every day?
Speaker 2 (01:11):
I do.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
So it's almost like when I'm not at work, the
second I get home, my clothes just I feel so
ever stimulated. So I take off my jewelry, I take
off my braw I take off like all and I'm
like sweat.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
So this is yes, this is me. What is your routine.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
In the mornings? You mean like, yeah, okay. I actually
am very strict about my routine because sleep is so
important to me.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
And I go to bed. We'll start there.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
I go to bed at about seven pm before my
daughter does. My husband puts her to bed, and I
wake up at about two forty and I am out
the door.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Forty Yes in the morning. Yes, so you're in bed
by seven thirty, seven o'clock, seven o'clock. Is it hard
to make yourself go to sleep at seven? Now? Aren't
you tired all the time? Not at seven? But I
got to like nine thirty. But I also sleep till
like seven. Yeah, it's kind of it's the same, But no,
it's not. You get less two thirty. Yeah, why to thirty?
Because I have to be at work at three. You
(02:06):
have to be at three, But you don't come in ready? No,
so I do.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
I mean, pack your bag the night before, pack everything
the night before. It's all sitting by the front door.
I shower the night before. So literally when I wake up,
all I have to do is brush my teeth, wash
my face, put on my skincare and get dressed, and
I'm out the door.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
And I mean I'm probably up and out the door
in ten.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Minutes, okay, and get to work and then I do
my right are Yeah no, no, I snooze for half
an hour?
Speaker 1 (02:30):
You do? Yeah? Oh yeah, so you wake up it two? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (02:34):
No, I start start the process then, but yeah, I'm
not out of bed.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Till like two forty five? Does it wait justin up?
Speaker 2 (02:40):
No? You would think it, I guess because we've been
together for so long. He's probably used to it. How
long have you all been together? We've been together, We've
been like we started dating in two thousand and seven.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Michael and our two thousand and eight.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
See that we've only been married ten years.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Say Taylors, because y'all just had your tenure. Yeah, September.
What did y'all do for? It went to Cabo so much.
It was just and it was just us too. But
then my sister and her fiance went.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
You know, because when you've been married that long, you're like,
you can hang for so long, but then you want
another coup, like you want friends.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
I'm like, Michael and I have talked about everything. We
always have things to talk about, and we always have
ongoing conversations. But it's like, yes, it is so nice
to have friends to hang out with. Yes, we know
every little bit about each other.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
We'll be each other's travel companions now because you're my neighborite.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Yes. And it's just so good because not only do
we get along so great, Justin Michael get along and
our daughters are the exact same age. It's really perfect
and we're only child moms. It's perfect. I know.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
We're so lucky. It's God saw both of us and
he was like, that's a good tho. I'm like, but
you're like my favorite ditto.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
I'm like, literally, how I not been better friends with
you before? Because I've known you for so long, but
like I've never like now we're like, oh my god,
I'm obsessed with you.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Did oh I feel the same way. Okay, when you
have saying Justin and Michael get along like it is true.
My husband knows this, so I'm not like talking a
bad about him, like he doesn't like a lot of people.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Why not? But I think that's a good quality.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Like I love everyone until you like prove me wrong,
you know, and I usually do get taken advantage of
quite a bit.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Because of that.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Well yeah, I mean, I'm just like I love everyone.
My sister calls me the collector of stray cats because
I always just I'm like, yes, the more the merrier
come in and I'm trying to learn boundaries better. But
my husband is the opposite. He's like, no, I don't
like that person. But he actually adores Michael and he
has said that multiple times.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
He's like, that's a great guy. And if Justin says that,
then like you're you're in Okay. Yeah, well I'm glad
we didn't even know how cut through this was when
I slid through the cracks. It is. I mean, it's
a good thing he is. He is when he selective
of his people, well you know what, that's good. I
think it can't serve his energy. Yeah he does. I
(04:42):
have been a chronic people pleaser my entire life, kay,
but not anymore. I'm working on it. I had a
life coach. I hired a life coach when I was
thirty eight years old, really, and then I have done
extreme therapy measures to get to the root of my issues,
which is I'm a high functioning codependent person, which means
I walk into a room not anymore, and I need
to make sure everybody's happy and everybody's happy with me,
(05:05):
and like if you are not, if your vibes are off,
and if you're not like feeling my vibes, then I
kin fix it. I'm going to be like up in
your face, getting to know you, wondering what's going on,
getting to the root of your issue, trying to make
you happy, to make sure that you walk away feeling
happy and that you love me. I feel like I'm
like that a little bit, but it finally wore me out.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Yeah, it's exhausting. It's exhausting. I'm getting better at that.
I definitely used to be like that, especially with the
TV news, because when people would send me mean comments,
I would like try to convince them, like no, no, no,
like I'm a nice person.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Like you would like me. People are coming after you.
You're awful. I mean you can't get it too, No,
not like you. I mean not.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Everyone gets if you have any sort of online or
on air, like any sort of public persona like people
are gonna talk.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
To you get it on the regular. You know what,
Since I became a mom, it's been a lot easier. Really,
what if people used to say and why are they
nicer now?
Speaker 2 (05:54):
I think they used to say things like mostly about
my appearents, you know, like I'll you know, you always
remember the main comments like somebody called me the lunch
lady arms. Lunch lady arms, I had fat arms, and
of course, like that's your you know, everybody has their
own thing, like of course my arms are insecurity, and
I know it's ridiculous and stupid. We all have our things,
we all have our things, and I recolunze lately arms zobe,
(06:15):
what is it awful? And then one guy sent me
a tweet that was like, I can't the fact that
someone marriage you is shocking. The fact that someone impregnated
you is shocking, and the fact that you have a
job being on TV is even more shocking. Kind of thing,
like people say really mean things. When lady told me
I was going to help because I wore a sleeveless
dress on TV. So my old instinct back in the
(06:38):
day would be to like convince these people to like
find their profile and message them or email them back,
like almost like shaming them at first for making them
feel bad about that, and then convincing them like, no,
I'm a nice person like you would like me.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
You would shame them first, and then convince them.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Yeah, almost almost make them feel bad about like you're
you're a jerk for thinking that, because they are, yeah,
or not jerk for for saying it.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
Anyway, you can think whatever you want, right for taking
the time to write you, I mean compact to someone
they don't know to make me feel bad, it's totally
to yourself. That's a your yeah, because they're one sole
purpose in that wasn't for change to hurt your feelings,
It was to hurt me, right, And so my purpose
in doing that was to make them see the error
in their ways and then convince them like, oh, no,
you you'll I'm a nice person. But it's not about me.
It's about them, right, and they have Yeah, I know,
(07:24):
not my problem, not my problem. I had this situation
coming up the other day where somebody actually like did
something intentionally to hurt you, just to like, yeah, to
like take something away from me. Who do I need
to fight? Well, I'll tell you later. Yeah. But I
was like, oh my god, And then I was like
all pissed and I want to like fight them in
my head. But then I was like, you know what,
not my issue, not my problem, and not my bag
(07:46):
of demons that I'm gonna carry around. If if someone's gonna
go out of their way to try to like take
something from someone else for no other reason than they
just don't want me to have it, but it's not
making them get anything, then I'm like, Okay, that's not
my problem. It's not it's not my that that's what
you're going to spend your time doing. Yeah, that's exhausting. Yeah,
it's like have you listened to Mel Robins? Let Them? Oh?
(08:07):
Mel Robins? Is she not changing the world? Is changing
the world? Give people the idea of what them?
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Let Them is a book where I listen to audio tape.
It's just about letting people have their thoughts, their feelings
about you, about anything, your opinions about life, or even
like the little inconveniences. I love the example that she
gave that she was checking out the grocery store and
the lady checking out was being so slow and she
was getting annoyed and she wanted to like complain, and
(08:33):
then she was like, let them let this clerk be
slow checking people out because me getting frustrated and bitching
about it and doing anything is not going to speed
her up. Let me instead figure out how to deal
with this anxiety and why I feel this way and
then respond in a better way, and.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
So profound it is game changer. And she talks a
lot about family because someone family dynamics. It's like, let
your parents have their expectations of you. Let her parents
have their own belief system that you don't have to
necessarily agree with no one to check out of a
conversation if they get going on something, let them and
just and to let me exit if I need to.
You don't have to fight everyone, prove everyone you have
(09:12):
to prove.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
You don't have to convince them that your way is
the right way.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
No, let them keep their way.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
But then I like how she said, but you the
let them theory could be a very isolating way to
live because then you're not ever dealing. You don't care
about other people's right that's sociopathic behavior. But then the
way she spinned it and said let them but then
let me, like, really, that's something I need to work
on because sometimes I don't have an issue just being
like I don't care what you I don't care, but
then you also need to sell reflect and like let
(09:38):
me fix this and why does this bother me?
Speaker 1 (09:41):
And how can I resolve this? Yeah? And that is hard?
That is hard.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
I've struggled lately because I've had like a close friend
who's like gone through divorce and it just like has
totally torn our friend group apart. And I've been taken
it all very personally and I've been very upset about
how it's gone down. It's not my problems, and it's like,
how do you separate yourself from other people's stuff when
it does affect you? But it's also I guess that's
(10:07):
to let me. It's like, okay, this like knowing boundaries,
knowing how to step away and knowing how not to
like try to meddle your way into situation. And also
like you can't make people do behave a way that
you want them to write, and it's like it's impossible.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
And then if you do make them behave the way
you want them to, is it really genuine and is
it really going to enact change in their life? No,
because they're doing it just to appease you.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Yeah. Yeah, God, maturing is some tough shit. Isn't it.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
It's even more hard when you're doing it in front
of a child, because then you're like, oh, I have
to do this now, and now I have to teach
this child I know.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
And now they're five and they're getting like their own brains.
And like I was talking to too earlier, well, see,
Sunny is just she just thinks about everything. She's just
like constantly analyzing everything, and she's like has so many
thoughts coming in at one time, she doesn't know how
to decipher them. And I'm like, I don't even know
how to parent this because like I feel like I
have so much, I have so many thoughts, but now
I know how to like distinguish between them. But I
(11:00):
guess when they all start hitting, you start waking up.
That's overwhelming.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
I'm sure, But can I just say something. Justin and
I have talked about this before this summer when we
start hanging out a whole lot more. Sonny is so
emotionally mature. I mean, when I compare her to mind,
I'm not gonna you know, you don't compare, but of
course you do. You think about it, and the way
that she handles her emotions and her feelings is just remarkable,
like you've done such a good job getting her to
express how she feels. No, I think it's a good thing.
(11:29):
It's remarkable. Well, I appreciate that, and Andy is remarkable too.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
We have two incredible daughters, which kind of leads me
to another question I do. I'm not going to forget
your schedule because I want to go through the rest
of your schedule because it's a wild on every day,
but kind of leads me to this question I wanted
to talk to you about. Do you think we're both
only child moms? Do you think moms of only children
usually end up that way for a reason, or do
(11:53):
you think it's a choice.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
I think some women do choose. I know a couple
of women at Andy's school who are only my only
children moms by choice? Really, I know you and I
was not a choice, right. It was circumstances and things
leading up to it, which we can talk about.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
But I know, I think it might be.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Like fifty to fifty you think so, Yeah, I know
I know a lot of women who is not by choice, though,
So what are.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
The women who do by choice? How did they what
are they saying?
Speaker 2 (12:20):
One of them that I know was an only child herself,
and she liked it. She liked it and went into
it with her husband. Wanted to be an only child,
wanted to have an only child. That's amazing, and they're
very happy with that. That's amazing.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Yeah. See, I always have in the back of my
head that there's something lingering out there. I agree. Do
you feel that way? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Not not really, because I had this desire to be
a mom again to a new baby. But it's because
I want to give her that because I'm so close
with my sisters.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
I know, because you have two sisters. Yeah, and y'all
are like the three freaking amigos. I mean, I got
Nikki Berdine's Instagram. Y'all are hilarious. When y'all do your
sister realis. I'm like, y'all are the most fun and
y'all all get along. We do. I mean, it wasn't
always like God, I feel like there's something but y'all
don't like competitive. It doesn't feel like one isn't anymore.
Y'all are all beautiful, but I don't you know, sometimes
there's like a power struggle and like one's totally the
(13:09):
Like you know when you watch in conto. There's like Isabella,
who's like the beautiful one, and then there's like Luisa,
who's a strong one, and there's Marabelle who doesn't know
what hers. That's a great comparison, but like everybody's kind
of defined by like their one role. Yeah, I feel
like y'all are all. It seems like there's not like
a power struggle. I could be right, think there is.
I don't really know the other two that well, I
don't think so. I mean we are classic, like I'm
(13:30):
a classic oldest child. I seek out the.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Attention and being the center of attention, and then the
middle child. Laura has always been like the most emotionally
mature and supportive and type A and successful. She just
got driven, just got engaged type of persons supportive, like
she's the one who does everything for everyone.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Has that worn on her? Or is she have good boundaries?
Speaker 2 (13:52):
I think she has good boundaries, good for a lot,
but I think it. I mean, you know, she was
single for so long and then she found her person,
so I think she is finally starting to be a
little selfish, which of course I give her shit about.
And I'm like, well, now that you got engaged, like
you're never here to babysit anymore. So like, that's great,
thanks Michael, But I'm joking. I'm glad that she's selfish
now and then the youngest test three kids of her own,
so she's just surviving.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
But you said she like handles it like a champ,
but doesn't even she dress her up.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
She is such a psychopath. I say that in eleven.
I love her so much. I say that to her face.
I'm like, I don't know how you do this, because
you and I are kind of like this, Like if
things are going crazy in the kitchen and it's chaotic,
I get like overstimulated, like okay, focus, Like I cannot
deal with this.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
I don't know how much calm. I need things to
be organized quarterly.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Need something, and she will just I'll come over to
her house and they're like two dogs and then chickens
see you doing something, and then like one kid is
screaming and like throwing food on the wall and she's
got a baby on her hip and the other one's
like riding at a motorcycle through the house.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
And she's like, what, I'm making you some pasta for dinner.
What do you want?
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Do you like this, and I'm like, oh my god,
what is Advid?
Speaker 1 (14:56):
How are you doing this?
Speaker 2 (14:57):
She's just like this is great some women, and I
think that's God knowing, like, oh she can handle thus.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Yeah, yeah, you know, yes, I know, I know. Okay,
So do you feel like you've shut the door on
another kid? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (15:09):
I mean I'm forty one, and I know plenty of
women have babies in their forties and that is amazing,
But I just don't see myself getting pregnant at forty
one having a baby at forty two. I know it
would be forty three now because I'm almost forty two.
And my husband's also very much okay with having an only.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
Child, and y'all went through We had a podcast before
we talked about this week. Y'all had a very intense
pregnancy and Andy came early, very early.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
When was she born, she was twenty eight weeks twenty
eight weeks, and she weighed one pounds. So that that
was the driving factor for us having an only child,
because we'd.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Always thought like, we'll have one and see how it goes.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
And then I think both we realized like, oh yeah,
we want to give her a sibling, of course, But
then when Andy's birth was so traumatic, and she spent
three months in the in the hospital, and there were some.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Times we didn't know if she was going to make it.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Once we got her home and we figured out how
to be parents to this little girl and realize that
she's healthy and she's gonna be fine, then we're like, Okay,
do we want to start this all over again? And
the answer was like there was still a lot of
trauma there. Yeah, not just for me, but I think
for Justin too, because I talk about this a lot,
and I think all all births are traumatic, right, even.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
If your birth is perfect, a trauma, it's trauma.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Right.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
We are usually the.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Only ones who go through the trauma as moms. The
dads don't usually go through with it, go through the trauma.
They're kind of lucky that way. But I think with
our situation, I think Justin dealt with a lot of
the trauma because he was like, the liaison people didn't
want to call me to check on Andy, right, it
won't upset me, so they were calling him and he
was just like constantly inundated with kind, well meaning requests
(16:46):
from people, and then going back and forth to the
hospital and again not knowing if her daughter is going
to make it, it's it's.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
A whole nother.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
So I think by the time we all realize like,
oh we can do this again, it was like, but
do we want to?
Speaker 1 (16:59):
We just caught breath. Yeah, we just are like, actually
it's hailing. Yeah. Yeah. So how big was any when
she came home?
Speaker 2 (17:08):
One pound four ounces when she came home. No, I'm sorry,
when she was born. She was one pound when she
came home. So one of the rules to come home
for the nick you your baby has to weigh four pounds.
They have to be able to take a bottle on
their own and breathe and breathe on their own or with.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Honestly, that's probably nice though, that you know you have
that support totally, because like that would be terrifying if
if you had to figure out how to get them
a bottle without the help and h No.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Yeah, so they said she weighed four pounds, but I'm
convinced one of the doctors like put a thumb down there,
like because they knew she was ready. She just tiny.
So yeah, she's probably a little under four pounds.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Was it nerve wracking when she came home or was
it were you like ready for her? I was so ready.
I was so ready.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
I mean, of course I was nervous, but I was
also kind of like, this is just the way it is.
I didn't see her as small as everybody else did.
But I remember taking her out a couple places and
people be like, oh, like almost like shocked, like did
she literally just come out of your your body? Like
why do you have this newborn? And I'm like, oh no,
she's six months old. But I didn't see her that way.
So talk about tiny but mighty.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Yeah. Andy has the most like energetic. She has spunky,
bunky personality in that little body. She has more personality
packed in she does. She is feisty and spunky.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
And I left seeing her and Sonny together because Sonny's
so tall and so beautiful, and you've got little Andy.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
Who was like the most precious little thing.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
I mean, Sonny looks like like a seven year old,
yeah yeah, and Andy looks like a three year old.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
But they're like little Bessie's they are, they're the same.
Sonny was talking yesterday. We were on a walk and
she's like, mom, we've got to find walkie talkies that
stretch from my house to Andy's house so we can
talk to each other and like we can like talk
back and forth and then we can like always know
if we can play and just like have them in
our rooms. And I'm like, I love that. I mean
that's kind of the dream, right, that is so sweet. Okay,
so it's gonna happen. Yes, yes, we got to find
(18:55):
we're going to hang out. Well, we were on a
walk with our other neighbors, Sarah John, and John was like, well,
I have these walkie talkies that stretch a mile. He's like,
y'all can have effect. I'm like, okay, we're ready. We're
in business here. She's gonna love that. I know. I
can't wait for You'm to even this summer. Yeah, that's
what they're telling us this summer. I just drove by
and it was it like building a house.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
It's a wonderful. It's stressed out. It's stressful. I don't
want to complain about it because it is such a
blessing to be able to do this, and it's it's
the dream. But it's stressful and it's hard.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
What have been the stressful parts?
Speaker 2 (19:27):
And how do you even know what to put in
there and what to leave like, that's the thing I
don't like. I mean, you know, you go through somebody's
house and you're like, oh my gosh, I really like that. Yeah,
and you think like, I got to remember to put
that in, and then do you write it down? And
then do you tell somebody like that and they're like, okay,
we can do that. And then you have a tile
meeting about the last four hours just to pick out tile,
and you're picking out for each bathroom by the time
you get to the last bath and I don't care.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
How do you even know how they all match?
Speaker 2 (19:50):
That's the thing, because I know what I like. But
then I'm like, oh, this, this doesn't go with that, that.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
This looks weird. I have I would not in front
of a house, you know, I would have a schizophrenic acount. Yes,
I would be like, I have no idea. I would
pick out all sorts of stuff and say I would
not go like different themes, yes, or like a Mediterraneans
like ship lap exactly, and that that was what I
was doing because I'm true Gemini and I'm all over
the place.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
So that's why you hire people who who.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Know you hire.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Yeah, Okay, she's amazing. Her name is Stacy and Vonnie
at Vannie Designs. If you ever need somebody to be
like your project manager, slash designer, slash just backboard.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Yeah, she does it all. Yeah, it's a lot.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
Yeah. So what's been the most un part probably just
like all the things that you think that you want
to have in your dream home, being able to put
those in there, Like all the things you're.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Like, oh my gosh, one day we could do this.
So what were the ones doing a heated floor in
the bathroom? What's that even going to be? Like, I'm
coming over to your house.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
All this amazing. Yes, we're gonna have spots. I'll walkie
talk to you to come over. Yes, yes, I'm excited
about that. I'm excited to be really organized with all
of our things and you have space for it.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
Yeah. So those are all just little things. And what's
gonna happen in your office? We're going to do a
podcast in there in your office? Yeah heck yeah. So
what's the podcast called?
Speaker 2 (21:19):
Well, it's the one I've started with my friend Ashley
who we got We got scammed and that's a whole
other story. Ashley Houston, who many of you all maybe
know Nashville wife styles. She's friends love her. I love Ashley,
So hopefully we'll get that off the ground again. It's
called influential.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
Then I also want to start another one, and you'll
start with you. You want to do another one?
Speaker 1 (21:38):
Well, what's it about? I don't know? Sure?
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Why not?
Speaker 1 (21:42):
I mean why not? I mean I love to chit chat. Yeah,
we can just like check in weekly or something. Yeah, okay,
we call it neighbors. Neighbors do have to be serious.
We just talk about she's a ship for the day. Yeah, okay,
so we can like practice right now. Yeaes see. Okay,
So what's in your heart? Oh my gosh, what's going
off you right now? Are you feeling? How are you
(22:02):
on your meter of like feeling good to stressed out,
to want to cry, to want to jump for joy?
I go back and forth. I'm I'm good right now.
Stressed out? I mean I've got a lot going on,
but stressing you out.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Just I have a lot to do this weekend, and
I kind of get stressed out if I don't have
like built in rest time because I commit to too
many things.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
Okay, like what do you commit to? Past? Are packed?
Speaker 2 (22:29):
No?
Speaker 1 (22:29):
Not usually. I mean because you're in bed at seven.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
Yeah, Pickingndy up from school and we have activities and
then I'm usually in bed by seven. But when I
commit to hosting events, which I love doing. I love
being out in the community and doing things, but then
that cuts down on my sleep and I like, do
you need this?
Speaker 1 (22:44):
I need downtime.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Oh, I need a loan time, whether it be like
zoning out and watching Law and Order or just like.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
Law and Order is the one I love Law Order.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Or Real Housewives or just you know, anything mindless.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Have you been following this Blake Lively just yes, yeah,
Oh my gosh, I don't know. I was just gonna
shake out. I know. I don't normally get into celebrity gossip,
but I'm like.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
This is gnarly because I was convinced one way me too,
but now I'm like, oh my gosh, me too.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
I know, who do we believe? I I'm the Trials
not until next year, I know. I'm like, how are
we gonna hang on this long?
Speaker 2 (23:21):
We're gonna have to hold our judgments. And now Taylor
Swift is involved, I know she's.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
Like unfringing Blake Lively. Wait, I didn't know that. Yes,
she said not a press release syesterday that she's taking
a step back from Brick Blake Lively stop it right
now on the Daily Mail. Yes, it's getting, it's getting.
This is gnarly. Wow. Hopefully she'll be getting married soon
and she'll she'll be busy. I know. But I'm like,
how talk about stress? To be in a lawsuit like that,
(23:48):
that's so public. I mean that I would have went
to that plague. You know, this is a narrative.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
I would very much like to be excluded from exact
all I would say, and I would just walk a Yeah,
no drama.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
Have you ever had anyone try to see you?
Speaker 2 (24:05):
I got in a car accident once and somebody, somebody
tried to sue me.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
Yeah. Is that stressful?
Speaker 2 (24:09):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (24:09):
But I knew she was lying. So what do you
do when you know someone's lying they try to sue
you based on a lie. You just let the lawyers
do the work. Okay. But it was hard for me
to keep my mouth shut.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Yeah, yeah, and not be like you're a bad person,
like I know you're not telling the truth. But the
truth prevailed, Okay, So it worked, it worked out. I
mean I did I did rear in them, but it
was this was like, oh my gosh, this was probably
like fifteen years ago.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
Yeah, never been in a car wreck. What I've totaled
three cars? Wow? Because I don't ever ride with me.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
Okay, good to know now these are all when I
was in high school?
Speaker 1 (24:47):
Are you not a good driver?
Speaker 2 (24:49):
I'm much better now. My sisters will say I'm not,
but no, I didn't know. I definitely should never. I
have not gotten a license when I was sixteen.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Are you distracted when you drive? Or yeah? But also
to be.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
Fair, like you know, mental health things like kind of
got in the way of my ability to focus on
the road, and I probably should not have been Like what.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Do you mean like breakups or like no, like like
my turrets and things like that. Okay, definitely to some
of those. And I want to talk to you about
true Yeah, because this is also amazing. You are the
news acre of Channel two. You are absolutely gorgeous and
amazing and so talented everything you do, and you have
done all this with Tourett's which is amazing to be
(25:29):
an on air anchor with. Yes, because I don't really
know a lot about it, and I don't is there
a level like can it be mild? Just since here
where would you say you are on? Now? It's definitely
more mild. How do you get it to be mild?
Speaker 2 (25:43):
A lot of times maturity and medication and behavioral therapy
because Tourett's. As people get older, it does get better
and it's great able to management. But it was absolutely debilitating,
like really for most of my life?
Speaker 1 (25:56):
Yeah, would you have like is it like outbursts that
happened that you can't control?
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Yeah, there's In fact, there's a show on TLC right
now that I saw Kalen.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
I love her, she looks but like she was having
She would like say things that she.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Hears are absolutely like a million times worse than mine.
I mean, minor Mike. I can control mine, but I
know when I have a tick coming on, and I'm
able to do which I learned through behavioral therapy. I
can do things to like quell that anxiety and that feeling.
So like, for example, like right now, if I really
wanted to do one, then I would be able to
(26:27):
do like a modified version of of it.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
So what is a tick for you? Is it making
it very? No?
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Usually my ticks come about with intrusive thoughts and things.
It comes from like a superstition almost that I don't
want that to happen to me. So it's really hard
anchoring the news. So if I read something that's bad
that happened to like a child, then like that makes
me like want a tip because in my mind, if
I don't tick, if I don't do this, then it's
(26:53):
going to happen to me.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
Oh and so.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
It's like these intrusive thoughts and then these like you
have to have to do it, You have.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
To do it. So I figured out ways, so you
have a lot of fortitude.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Yeah, So I'll do things to like, you know, kind
of like fix it, like quell that little feeling. And
then when I either have a loone time later or something,
and I'll let it out and I'll do what I
really need to do.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
So do you mind talking about like no, like what
do you need to do to get it out?
Speaker 2 (27:22):
It's funny because they evolve Like whenever I was a
kid again, they were way more severe. I would lie
on the floor and I would tap the floor with
my hands and I would look up at the ceiling
and it would blink and I would scream at the
top of my lungs, and then I would pray out
loud over and over, and I would repeat things and
I have to count things over and over.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
It got so bad.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
My sisters like they would when my sister tells this story,
it's funny now, when she would have friends over and
I would be in my room just like doing my tics,
and they would hear me screaming and they would say,
what is that?
Speaker 1 (27:56):
Is that your sister? And Lord's you know, it's just
a cat. So she would pretend that it was.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
Like a cat like screaming in the house, and it's
just me because it's like this really high pitch scream.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
Do you still do that sometime? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (28:09):
I usually do that one at night a lot, like
before bedtime. It's like the whole days, like stresses are
like kind of coming to the top and I almost
have to like clear it out of my body in.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
A weird way. You have to purge it kind of
like keep it in in and then you have to
just like let it out. Yeah, in a weird way.
Do it every day? M M Okay, So you kind
of have like a routine, do you have kind of
happen in a system now? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (28:32):
But I still they still pop up throughout the day.
It's just I don't do them whenever without control like
I used to before. I would be in classroom and
I would do them. One of my ticks when I
was a kid was math was a big stressor for me.
And a lot of times saying anxiety and stress brings
my ticks out even more, like when I am stressed out.
(28:52):
When I am anxious, my tics are a million times worse.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
Which is crazy because you have such a high stress
job and you are such a public figure doing so
many things, so you really are in the mix. You're
really like putting you're in a pressure situation a lot
with this.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
Yeah, so pressure would would be a big issue and
math was a pressure for me. And one of them
was I would write my homework or race it. And
I would write it and I would race it over
and over. It'd be like a hole in the paper,
and so my dad would have to like write out
my homework for me. This is all through middle school.
I specifically remember this, like sitting at the at the
dining room table and he had to write out my homework.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Does it stress you out when you're having them or
is it a.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
Relief yeah, no, it does. It stresses me out because
I need to do them. I have to do them,
but then I'm consciously aware of everyone around me, either
watching or being annoyed or waiting for me to do them.
I always liked to school every single day because I
was ticking out and doing all these weirdo things. And
my mom and my family understood, of course, like Nikki
shes they called us, they called him my habits. Nick
(29:54):
has to do her habits before she can leave. But
then I would be late with my sister. And I
was always like to school for or ticking out, and
if something happened, I would have to like start the
whole tickover. And there's a lot of like OCD crossovers
there too.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
Do you do you know how it comes on? Just
how you get die you can start. They don't know.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
It can be like maybe hereditary, maybe just like a
chemical imbalance. I mean it is a chemical and balance,
but like who knows how it manifests. I think everybody
has like a little bit of a nervous tick or something,
you know, Like I've noticed my husband doing some things.
I've noticed people sometimes blank into things, and that's one
of my ticks. As well, but I don't know. Nobody
(30:36):
in my family that we know of has turettes. One
of my grandmothers had OCD, and that's kind of along
the same veins, so maybe there's something there.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
But were you nervous when you started angry on the news.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
No. And it's the weirdest thing because I never thought
that I couldn't do that, Like, I never it was
never even like, oh, that's not something I should pursue
it because I have tourettes.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
It was just not even a thought mind.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
I think that's just a testament to my parents, you know,
because when I got to college, it got really really
bad because I was on medication. I was on all
these pills that was I was able to control them
through high school, and I was surrounded by this really
great group of friends that if I was bullied, I
don't really remember. Maybe I was just so insulated and
I was like a popular kid. So I was really
(31:22):
fortunate that way that I had this great support system.
But then when I went to college, things changed, because
change is really hard for people with chemical imbalances like
that to you know, get your routine going along again,
and you feel anxious about leaving home and you know
how hard that is, Like.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
Oh, it's all difficult.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
So when I went to college, things got really bad
because my tics got really bad, and I became so
depressed I was suicidal. I didn't get out of bed
for like two weeks. My roommates finally called my mom.
I'm like, you need to come and get her, like
this is not good. She hasn't gotten out of bed,
but she hasn't gone to class, she hasn't showered or anything.
(31:59):
My mom took me to the doctor, got me in
all this medication, and I was taking like nineteen pills
twice a day, like it was a fistful of pills.
And I didn't want to kill myself anymore. But I
was like a zombie, you know. And I'd gained thirty
pounds in a month. And my mom was finally like
this is not okay either, Like this is this is
not normal.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
No child should be like this, no adult should be
like this.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
So she did all this research and helped wean me
off of those and get me onto one pill, which
is what I'm still on today. That's amazing, and through
like therapy and support and immaturity helps a lot. I've
been on those ever since. So I still had these
tics all throughout college, and they would wane and wax
and wayne and they would go up and down and
they would evolve and change. But when I knew what
(32:44):
I wanted to do, which was to be in TV news,
it was never like, oh, you shouldn't do that because
you're you have tourettes. Now, doctors did tell my parents,
She's never going to have a like a regular person job.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
This will be a debilitating thing for her.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
She's never going to be able to like do They
didn't say she's never gonna be able to be a
news anchor, but they never said like, yeah, this is
going to be like how her life is.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
She's going to have to put those labels on right,
Like who who has the right to put those labors
on anyone? And how do they know? But also it's
almost good they did that. It put a fire under you.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
Yeah, that's great because I was kind of like, Okay,
nobodys gonna tell me what I can and can't do.
It almost like propelled me and fueled me and you know,
made me want to succeed.
Speaker 1 (33:30):
And then after now being an acre person long you're married,
you have a kid. Do you feel more stable with
it now? Do you feel is it more balanced? Do
you think is that what you're kind of staying with
maturity because your life kind of gets more stable, Yes, and.
Speaker 2 (33:42):
You get more confident in things, and then I and
I also think it's with when you are, when you
get your your depression and your anxiety and those things
under control, then these other things are lessened. At least
in my case. I know that's not a case for
the case for a lot of people with Tourette's. You know,
like the bailing girl I was telling you about bless
her heart, I mean hers or she has the TLC. Yes,
(34:05):
she has the type of touretts where she screams out cusswords.
And I never had that kind. I just screamed out
random things and tapped and blinked and grunted a whole
lot and sometimes would fall on the floor. But I
can't imagine having the kind where you just like scream
out in public cuss words. How debilitating that must be.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
You know, what do you think what strengths have you
gained by navigating touretts?
Speaker 2 (34:31):
The desire to if I'm going to do something, then
I'm just going to do it, and I almost like
it when people doubt me, you know, It's it's almost
like it's a motivator for me. It's also made me
be like it's almost like a protector. So when I'm
doing the news, a lot of what I read is
really bad stuff, and it affects me a lot more
(34:54):
than since becoming a mom than it used to. And
because I have to be so hyper focused when I'm reading,
and then my.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
Add is also a big factor.
Speaker 2 (35:03):
It's almost like I'm so focused on what I'm reading
that it's out of my mind when I'm done, and
I don't.
Speaker 1 (35:10):
Really let it sink in.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
I don't really let it sink in, which is probably
for the better it is. I think it's a self protective,
self preservation, protective mode because if I were to like
let it sink in and absorb it, it would keep
me up at night and then I would tick. My
husband always jokes he's like, what's the weather like this weekend?
And I'll say, like, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (35:27):
He's like, don't.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
Don't they do the weather like every fifteen minutes the
three hours for you? And I'm like yes, and I
hear it. But then like my brain has to switch
and I have to be singularly focused on something else
and I can't absorb it because it'll.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
That's amazing that your body does that. It's like a
coping mechanism, I think. Yeah. But honestly, even if you
didn't have to rets, I feel like you would have
to do all the news that I was going to
ask you about that too, aside from this, like how
do you handle knowing every single bad thing that's happening
in our city? Sucks? It sucks so bad.
Speaker 2 (35:58):
And it's like the war part about my job because
they do genuinely love my job, but I hate that
a lot of what we talk about is bad.
Speaker 1 (36:05):
I hate it.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
It's important we need to tell people what's going on
in their communities, and there are bad things that are happening,
and you can't ignore it just to protect people's mindset
or to only portray rainbows and butterflies. It's important to
talk about that, but we also need to talk about
the good things that are going on, because there's a
whole lot of that.
Speaker 1 (36:24):
Yeah, yeah, and you okay, So I feel like one
of the things you focus on is rescuing animals. Where
did that come into your how did you get so,
I mean, how did that become such a spot near
and dear to your heart because you are like passionate
about rescuing animal. Well, everyone has a thing, right, like
is that your number one thing? That's my number one thing?
Speaker 2 (36:41):
Yeah, I think, but that's heartbreaking too, but it's amazing.
But there's redemption, there's redemption, and there are I think
it's it's fixable.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
I think it's fixable.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
I think that if everyone would go and adopt dogs
and foster and even just volunteer, I think that we
could fix the animal crisis out there. We stopped unnecessarily
breeding dogs, especially these backyard breeders, I think that we
would be able to reduce the pet population. And to
answer your question about how I got started in it,
(37:10):
my mom, My mom loves animals too. We would just
I mean, I remember specifically this dog we picked up
off the side of the road. He was he was astray.
He had been shot by all these BB guns like
he had. He could barely walk.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
His name was black Dog.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
And because he was a black dog, and he was
a black dog, and he had the vet told us
that he had just been eating rocks, so his teeth
were like grinded down. I know, I know, but we
gave him the last like year of his life was
like the best, you know, and who's grunt? Grunt was
our first family dog. Because you wrote a children's book
called yeah Grunt. Yeah, you guys have one right, yes, okay,
(37:45):
it's so good.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
Also on your list of achievements, Niggy has written a
children's book, to be Fair.
Speaker 2 (37:50):
My dad wrote it, he did, Yeah, he wanted to
write it together.
Speaker 1 (37:54):
Well how did that come about? That's sweet.
Speaker 2 (37:56):
Well it started because when we were kids, my dad
would try to teach us, my sisters and I life
lessons about how to be a good person. And you know,
he's always he's a motivational speaker, and he's a leader
in all these ways.
Speaker 1 (38:08):
And your dad his career was in the Marine Corps.
The Marine Corps. Yeah okay, and you know he's very
mentally strong, very strong. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
He was actually just diagnosed with PTSD, so he's kind
of going through a whole renaissance as well, like trying
to heal that inner part of him. But growing up
a big part of you know, any parent is trying
to teach their kids how to be good people. And
he realized, like, they're not listening to me. They're obsessed
with this dogs. Like every time we would come home,
(38:39):
it was.
Speaker 1 (38:39):
Like, oh hey Dad, oh Grut.
Speaker 2 (38:41):
You know you line the floor just like kids do
with your family doc like you love your animal because
they are just consistently, always there for you, and they
love you regardless of anything that's going on, that unconditional love.
And so my dad would put little notes in our
lunch box with like daily thoughts by Grunt, how to
live a good life, Daily thoughts by Yeah, it was
(39:02):
Grunt's daily thoughts, and they would be in our lunch box,
and then we went off to college. He would email
them to us and it was always a picture of Grunt,
Like one was Grunt like lying in the grass and
it was like on warm days, don't forget to lie
on your back in the grass and enjoy the sunshine
or something, and it's a picture of Grunt out there.
And after I had Andy, you're reading all these kids books,
(39:22):
and I thought, you know what, I wonder if my
dad still has all those So I called him and
I said, do you still have daily thoughts by Grunt?
He said yeah, So he emailed them to me and
we added a whole bunch and we found a publisher
and we put that into a book. So those are
like the original thoughts my dad came up with.
Speaker 1 (39:38):
How special was that? Yeah? Has it been so cool
having a children's book out? Yeah? It was really.
Speaker 2 (39:42):
It's really easy to do. Like everyone's like, oh my gosh, No,
anybody can write.
Speaker 1 (39:48):
Anybody can do it.
Speaker 2 (39:49):
You could write a children's book right now and get
it published.
Speaker 1 (39:52):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
You just have to contact a publisher and give them
the idea and if they say it's good, then yes,
you do it.
Speaker 1 (39:58):
Not everyone has good ideas.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
Yes, yeah, that's right. One about Ruby and Sugar and Kirby.
Speaker 1 (40:15):
That's right about Kirby. I mean, man, our bearded dragon.
She has taken my life over.
Speaker 2 (40:21):
That's what I'm saying. Write a children's book Aboutkirby.
Speaker 1 (40:24):
What would Kirby tell people? I'd have to get a
theme daily thoughts by Kirby. Bask in the sun. Don't
move too fast. Yes, she's always looking for food though,
same ship. Wherever you feel like it. Yep, poop on anybody,
enjoy a bathtub? Enjoy bathtub. Poop in the bathtub. Yeah,
let it go, Let it go. Whenever you need to
(40:44):
don't hold back, don't hold bag. See be chill. She's chill. Yep, yeah,
there you go. Yeah, man, you should see her eat
some roaches. I saw her eat worm. She eat roaches,
which is her next level. I better. So we go
to the pet store and have to buy like a
live roaches. Oh, it is so disgusting. So I fed
her like twenty roaches the other day in one sitting. Yeah,
(41:08):
she girl can eat. Oh yeah, And she like gets
over and she like hunts them and then she like
sticks your little tongue out and grabs them and just
munches them down. I'm like, oh, And then when she poops,
you know, it's just rope roaches coming out. It's disgusting.
It's disgusting. I mean it literally grosses me out. And
now she's pooping all the time. I thought she's only
supposed to poop once a week. She poops like every
other day now. So I used to feel like way
(41:28):
more confident holding her. Yeah, I'm like, okay, once a
week poop. But now it's like it's happening. Do you
have a newborn again? Yes? Has she pooped on you?
She pooped on Michael and she pooped on Sonny, Oh no,
but not on me.
Speaker 2 (41:40):
Can I just say that you are the mom of
the year because if my kid came to me and
said I want to get a beater Dragton, be like
absolutely not, Like you're you can go get a fake one,
like that's you and you were like, yeah, let's do it.
Not only am I gonna do it, but I'm gonna
take care of it. This is gonna be my thing.
Speaker 1 (41:54):
I love creatures, so I grew up having so many creatures.
I had like two pet rats, a pet mouse. We
had a hundred rabbits in our back. And this is
why I love you too, because you love creatures like it.
I mean, I love creatures. I love creatures, lizard creatures,
but I love Kirby. I never knew. I was, well,
you know, you kind of think lizard people are kind
of their own kind of people, you know. So I
was like, am I a lizard person? I don't. I don't.
(42:15):
I'm a lizard person. I've never really been a lizard person.
But I who knew that I would step right into it.
And I love having a wizard. She's so sweet, it's fun.
Speaker 2 (42:25):
It's just promised me something Okay, we're not going to
be snaked people, okay, never Okay, no, you promise, yes, Okay,
So I will never be around you again.
Speaker 1 (42:33):
I won't. I will not do a snake. No. I
hate snakes and having to feed them mice. I love mice,
I know, like I love mice and I love hamsters
and like feeding a mouse to a rat doing no. Never,
Like they don't have shoulders, No, like they don't have
the arms, like little demons. Well, I don't think they're demons.
Speaker 2 (42:53):
I understand they are an important part of the ecosystem
and God put them here for a reason.
Speaker 1 (42:56):
They're just not mine. Yeah, but like the serpent, you know,
they just they can't simpolized. I think that's what it is. Okay,
So what are you loving the most about this year?
What's going great for you right now? Let's see?
Speaker 2 (43:09):
I mean I have I don't know, because I want
to talk to you about this specifically too, because I
feel like you're so good at seeing people and saying no, no, no,
this is what you need to be doing, Like you
need to focus on this. I've been feeling so uninspired lately,
me too, are you too?
Speaker 1 (43:21):
What is it? I don't know, and I've been having
a real crisis. It's in stressing Michael lot because I'm
like with this baby thing, I'm like, do I need
to try to have a baby one more time at
forty one years old, after I've had five miscarriages. It's
not a good idea. Everyone in my family has told me,
Like my parents are like, don't do it, Like, just
just enjoy what you have, because like it's it's hard
when your family sees you go through all this, Like
(43:42):
you went through your journey with Andy. Yeah, find the carriages.
It's a lot, and then you're forty one. But I'm
like something missing? Should I try one more time? I
can't close the door, Like I'm stressing about that. You
need to listen to your gut because my gut changes
though really one day it will be one go for it,
do it, try it, and just like try one more time.
And the next day it's like, girl, you got a
(44:03):
great thing going. You are so lucky with Sonny, Like
you just enjoy this, don't stress out about it, Just
like be happy with what you have because I am. Yeah,
of course, and I feel literally insane just.
Speaker 2 (44:15):
Because you're you're happy with what yard doesn't mean you
you shouldn't try for something else that this or not.
Speaker 1 (44:20):
But it's so risky at forty one, and I know
I would step up to anything that God, whatever came
our way would be would be our blessing. But I'm
also like, man, I am an emotional wreck, and like
you know, like I just I don't know. I decided.
I don't know if I can roll the dice. So
I'm living. My stress is that I'm constantly stressing about
that because I feel like I'm giving myself like three
months to think about this, and I'm officially closing the door.
(44:42):
That's a good.
Speaker 2 (44:42):
Timeline, but it's like where to just like shut the door,
I mean, don't shut the door?
Speaker 1 (44:47):
If do you think a lot of women feel this way? Yeah,
you can't figure it out.
Speaker 2 (44:50):
Yes, if I had a husband who would leave the
door open for me, I would probably be in your
same shoes.
Speaker 1 (44:56):
But be glad that, yeah he didn't.
Speaker 2 (44:58):
He's not tell Michael to make the decision for you.
Speaker 1 (45:00):
Well he is starting to now because I told him
I wanted to leave the door up, but and he's like,
uh no, I don't think so. But then I was like, well,
well see that's the hard part. I know, I know, okay,
but I also feel uninspired completely inspired. I don't know.
I usually really enjoy social media and like creating funny
on social media. Boll I used to be.
Speaker 2 (45:18):
I used to like still are thank you. I used
to love like just creating trends and like showing off
clothes or whatever. And I've just been so annoyed and
uninspired by everything. And I don't know why.
Speaker 1 (45:28):
I feel the same way. I usually have like twelve drafts.
Speaker 2 (45:31):
In my phone, like oh, I'm gonna do this next,
and I have nothing. I'm annoyed by everyone and everything
except for you.
Speaker 1 (45:36):
Okay, good, great? No. I feel like Jame Way yeah
and Maddie, who says a lot of our content social
spark if anyone needs a content creator. I don't know, Nikki,
I don't know, okay, but I want to go back
to you get there at three o'clock. When you do,
We're we're gonna full circle back to your day at work.
So you wake up it used to larm goes off
it too, wake up at two thirty out the door.
You get to work by three. You do your own
(45:58):
hair and makeup there, Yes, when are you finished with.
Speaker 2 (45:59):
That, so we go on air at my hair and makeup.
I mean I'm usually done like twenty minutes, okay, and.
Speaker 1 (46:06):
You look great. Way to get that down to an
art well, you know what?
Speaker 2 (46:08):
Yeah, once you get it going, like you know, like
you can't mess around and you got to paint that
stuff on.
Speaker 1 (46:12):
Yeah, get those bags under. Do you own your clothes
or do you do like a d I do.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
Rent the runway Okay, I mean a pausitive this month,
but I usually do rent the runway.
Speaker 1 (46:19):
I was gonna say, how do you have a different
outfit every single day? No? I don't.
Speaker 2 (46:23):
And I've also like realized the more outfits that I'm
really gravitating towards lately, or like piecing, like having like
four basic bases that I love, Like I have a
great black skirt, have some great black pants that I
just rotate, and I have different tops.
Speaker 1 (46:36):
Yeah, And I found that's.
Speaker 2 (46:38):
The easiest way to get dressed, because you have one
piece that you know works, you can just alternate all
the other little.
Speaker 1 (46:42):
And the bottom is the hardest piece, it is. Yeah, Yeah,
Like to get something to fit your bottom half correctly,
it's like you gotta find it.
Speaker 2 (46:48):
I wear this almost the same shoes almost every single day,
just because I find something that works good, you know.
Speaker 1 (46:53):
So yeah, So I go in. The first thing I
do is make coffee.
Speaker 2 (46:55):
I want to get to work, and then I do
my hair makeup, and then I read over scripts and
sometimes I get to read over like the first few minutes,
and then the rest of it I just do like
while my co anchor is reading or in the commercial break.
But when do I'll start the news four We go
on air at four.
Speaker 1 (47:12):
Okay, so you get there like two thirty. No, you
get here three three, So you get an hour aead
of time, okay, like kind of thirtyish minutes to get
ready to have coffee, yeah, thirty minutes to prep yeah.
Speaker 2 (47:21):
Yeah, And sometimes it's a little bit sometimes I don't
get there to like three fifteen, but yeah.
Speaker 1 (47:25):
And then when is the news wrapped?
Speaker 2 (47:27):
Four to seven every day? Four to seven every day,
and then we have cut ins in Good Morning America
And those cut ins are like seven twenty, eight twenty
and then seven fifty six or eight fifty six.
Speaker 1 (47:37):
So you look at an entire day by like eight
in the morning, and then I run home.
Speaker 2 (47:42):
I can't get done on air it's done.
Speaker 1 (47:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (47:46):
I usually run home after that and I help get
Andy ready for school and then I take her to school.
Speaker 1 (47:50):
You take her to time, go back to work? Yeah?
What do you do when to go back to work?
Speaker 2 (47:53):
Special projects? Like tomorrow I have a shoot with Actually,
you would love this guy. His name's Thomas Mappin and
you heard of him. No, he's a flat foot dancer. Oh,
I'm so fascinated by him. I was assigned the story
and I'm like, this guy. I love anybody who's like
a master at what they do, you know, and like
how they love it, like it's what feeds their soul.
(48:14):
And that's what this guy does. I've neverous think it's
like clogging but.
Speaker 1 (48:17):
With flat feet. Okay, so what does that mean? I
don't know. I'm gonna find out tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (48:21):
So that's a lot of what I do is after
the morning show, I'll either work on a special project
or you know, and what is the special?
Speaker 1 (48:28):
Then? Do you like? Go film it and then they
put it in the next segment the next day, not
the next day.
Speaker 2 (48:32):
No, Usually it's it's like usually we go film it
and then come back the next day and we I
log the sound and then we write it the next day,
so I usually have like week or so, a couple
of weeks to put it.
Speaker 1 (48:43):
To right the did you produce it too? Yeah? Yeah,
I mean I write it.
Speaker 2 (48:46):
You don't really have to produce individual segments, Like I
just write it and then my photographer edits it together.
Speaker 1 (48:52):
So I put in the time codes for so you
write the whole concept of what the piece will write.
Speaker 2 (48:57):
The story, yeah, man, and then the editor and the
photographer who do the real work, like they're the ones
shooting at all, you know, Like I just take the
sound from this person, and I write the story around
that person's sound. What does that mean? The sound like
their interview? Like if I were an interview right now,
and I would do a story about you, like I
would ask about your life and you know, whatever the
(49:17):
angle is that you're telling, Like why am I interviewing?
Speaker 1 (49:19):
Is it about your podcast? So it would be about
like why you started the podcast? So the sound like
the center point sound bites. Yeah, so the.
Speaker 2 (49:25):
Soundbites that you gave me, I would plug those in
and then I would write around your sound bites to
tell the story and get it down to like a
minute and a half.
Speaker 1 (49:32):
We're such a badass. No, yes, you are. That's incredible.
What is success to you? Just being happy? What is
happiness for you?
Speaker 2 (49:46):
Good family life and balance. It's used to be about
like career, and it's not anymore same it. I mean,
that's a big part of it, don't get me wrong.
And that's a huge part of my identity that I
need to work on, not being my whole identity. But
I would say happiness is just having like that life
balance where you're happy with what you have. It's not
(50:07):
about like constantly going for the next thing. For so
long in my career it was like going after like
the next market, the next job, the next promotion. And
now it's not at all. I am perfectly content and
happy at the level I am. And I think it's
because I found what I'm good at and I can
just I don't want to say coasts because that sounds
(50:28):
like it sounds like giving up, but it's not. It's
you're just built being content. Yeah, happy, that's amazing and yeah,
and I think that's it's a beautiful.
Speaker 1 (50:37):
If you've reached the level that you feel it's like
you're worth this. You're worth anything, but like this matches
You're worth Yeah, it's like, Okay, I feel valued here. Yes,
I feel like this matches where my soul wants to be,
and you're there. It's a perfect way to put it.
Speaker 2 (50:54):
You find like you check all the boxes right, Like
you're balancing your home life and your financial and your
family and your work, and it is such a delicate balance.
And not every day is good, right, Like some days,
most days you fail at one of them because it's
impossible to succeed at all of them. But when you can,
the average is that you're succeeding or you're happy in
all of those things.
Speaker 1 (51:15):
Then I think that's helping us and that's that's success. Amen.
What makes How does one stay married for ten years
and happily married? A lot of patients?
Speaker 2 (51:27):
Justin and I have been together, like you and Michael
for so long, and we just like really get each other.
We both know that we each other need our space
and our relationship. In the beginning, we were long distance
for like seven years before we got engaged, and everyone's like,
how are you guys doing this?
Speaker 1 (51:46):
I'm like, I think it's.
Speaker 2 (51:47):
Why we're successful because I moved around a lot from
my career and he stayed in DC and we just knew.
He was like, I know she's going to go chase
her dream and do this, and I'm supportive and I'm
staying right here for whenever she's ready. I'm going to
be right here. And I think our whole relationship has
been like that. And when I moved down here to Nashville,
he's like, yeah, let's do this, So here's where we're
(52:09):
going to build our family.
Speaker 1 (52:10):
He was ready to move to Nashville. He wanted to
move to Nashville where I did. I thought I was
going to chase the network dream. I wanted to go
to New York or a Good Morning in America.
Speaker 2 (52:18):
Yeah yeah, I mean that's most people on TV like
that's what they say you would want to do. I mean,
you could totally do that, but now I don't want
to because it would take over your whole life. I
am so thankful, so thankful that I didn't do you are.
In fact, I was offered the job in Nashville and
I almost turned it down. They got it didn't because
I was like, oh no, I'm not ready, Like I
want to go do this.
Speaker 1 (52:37):
I want to try New York.
Speaker 2 (52:38):
And my husband's like, I understand, and I will support
you and you can do that. But like everybody you
love is in Tennessee, this job is a great job.
Look at this house that we are about to buy.
This is the life that you dreamed of. We were
in DC and I was hustling, and he was like,
you were unhappy all the time, you were stressed out,
you were exhausted, you were working like fourteen hour days.
(53:01):
That's not sustainable. And he's right, And I've never been
happier in my career and home life.
Speaker 1 (53:07):
Nikki, that's awesome way to get to the balance. It's
so hard. It's so hard.
Speaker 2 (53:12):
But I feel like everybody in their twenties and thirties,
like I was, like, what's it like turning forty? Like
FORTI has been the best, the best, there's nothing like it.
Speaker 1 (53:20):
I agree.
Speaker 2 (53:21):
I think it's confidence too, and like like let them,
Like we're letting other people do whatever they want to
do because it doesn't affect me because I have this constant,
I have my people around me, I have what makes
me work, what makes me tick, and I have the
support and everything else is just kind of like small potatoes.
Speaker 1 (53:41):
I love that so much. Niki, You're amazing. I love you.
Thank you for coming on in chatting.
Speaker 2 (53:46):
Thank you for I always feel Can I just say
I always feel so weird when I'm on podcasts because
I feel like I talk about myself the whole time,
which I know is the purpose. But I will leave
here and I be like, oh my god, did I
talk too much emotion?
Speaker 1 (53:59):
It's a vulnerability hangover? What is this vulnerability hangover? I
can't tell you all the people that have called me
afterwards and like should we just like not hear that?
Speaker 2 (54:07):
Really, there's like this feeling of like narciss Like am
I narcissist because I just talked about myself?
Speaker 1 (54:14):
No? Here's what heres the beauty in this. This is
what is so wonderful about coming on and sharing your story. Yeah,
because you who are on the news, who are this
beautiful person who has this amazing life when people can
see the real life behind what we just see. Yeah,
and you're so good about sharing stuff. I mean, you
shared Andy's story, you share about Tourettess, you shared about
(54:35):
your journey to your career and stuff. But like when
people can really like get a glimpse and be like man, okay, shit,
they've like gone through it. Yeah have It's not been easy,
Like they have struggles. Okay, I have this struggle. I
felt like I was all alone, and now I'm seeing
this person who moved through the totally and like overcame
this and now look at what they're doing and it's
(54:56):
not holding them back even when doctor said, like you
can't do something. It's like that's inspiring to people. People
nearly need to have inspiration. And I feel like I
like to hear the whole story because I want to
see the beginning to the end where you started, where
your mindset came from, what were your struggles, and then
how did you navigate it right lost in the middle
of it, maybe overcome it, and then you actually get
to a life where you're like I really love what
(55:18):
I feel here. Yeah, And I think that's what people
need to hear to know, like it doesn't matter what
you're you're up against, you can get to your dreams.
Speaker 2 (55:26):
I need to remember that that it's not about being
self indulgent. It's about like sharing your story because I
remember being a kid and not knowing anyone who had tourettes.
Speaker 1 (55:35):
Like, what about a kid out there right now who's
listening to this, Yeah, finds out that you the news
anchor of Channel two in Nashville and of the biggest markets.
Doesn't made me cry Ha's Tourettes and like you're on
the news. That is so inspirational. I do hear people
need you to say that, because you're right. It is
like so easy to make fun of Tourett's. Like I
feel like that's the only time we hear about it
is like a punchline, you know. And while the people
(55:58):
who cuss.
Speaker 2 (55:58):
Like it's that's very very rare, it's mostly people like me,
And you're right, I don't I need to share it more?
Speaker 1 (56:06):
Yeah, because I mean navigating that and figuring out how
to like and even how you say, like you can
now have a system with it and you can kind
of hold it in until the night and you have
your routine when you let it out, like knowing that
you figured out a way to get it into a
situation where you can like manage it, Like that's good
stuff for people to know.
Speaker 2 (56:23):
Yeah, you're right, and it does get better and that's awesome. Yeah,
thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1 (56:27):
For sharing, thank you for having me. I always wrap
up with leave your light, and it's just super open ended. Basically,
what kind of inspiration do you want to leave with people?
Speaker 2 (56:36):
Oh my gosh, Caroline, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (56:42):
What do most people say? What is like? It's the
first thing that comes to mind. Can I quit? Mel Robbins? Yeah,
like just let them.
Speaker 2 (56:50):
Yeah, it feels plagiaristic, but like, just no, it's spot on.
Speaker 1 (56:55):
Just to have.
Speaker 2 (56:56):
Confidence in what you are, what you bring into the world,
that what other people do or say cannot affect you
because it does not matter, and other people's opinion of
you is.
Speaker 1 (57:06):
None of your business. That was a hard lesson for me.
I'm still learning it me too. I used to, but
I used to make it my job to make sure
other people's opinion of me was what I thought. Yes,
I wanted it to be it. I would work my
ass off, like I said earlier in this podcast, to
try to make sure everybody loved me. Can I think
have the whole world to love me? Yeah? If I
thought one person didn't like me, it would just eat
me alive.
Speaker 2 (57:26):
It didn't matter all the people who loved you. You
focused on the one person who Jett Yeah, yep. And
you know it's actually a testament to our character that
people don't love us and that don't like us because
those aren't our people. And the people who aren't our
people love us, then we're frauds totally.
Speaker 1 (57:42):
And I realized that with myself, there's some great people
out there who I just they're not my flavor. That's okay,
you know, I don't want to hang out with everybody. Yeah,
it's not that like there's anything wrong with you. I
just don't gel with you, and I don't really It's
not that I don't think you're bad. I just don't
really like your flavor. Yeah, And so I feel the
same way towards people. So why wouldn't people feel that
wage right? You know, I think this is maturing. I
(58:03):
think it is. We're so wise. Look at us at
forty one. Come along way. I figured it out. Well,
thank you so much for coming, Thank you for having me.
And where can everyone find you?
Speaker 2 (58:12):
My Instagram is where I post a lot just at
nicky bird eye and I KK I b U R D,
I n E and I do a little TikTok too.
Speaker 1 (58:18):
I need to get better about God. I can't even know.
I'm too old, but I need it. It's not an excuse,
I know, I just not I'm too old. Ton't want
to do it. But that's not a good excuse either.
It's fascinating, well, I wish I was fascinated by it,
well or not. Thank you for coming next, for having
amazing and y'all follow Nikki because you're funny on Instagram.
You do really funny videos and a lot of behind
(58:38):
the scenes stuff which is just fun to see what's going
on behind the scenes as you news anchor.
Speaker 2 (58:42):
I can't wait to be neighbors and we can just
create content all the time.
Speaker 1 (58:45):
Okay, Neighbors podcast coming up. Okay, Bye Nikky Bye,
Host
Caroline Hobby
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