Some of us spent years doing what we never dreamed of, and only later found out it was the training ground. In this episode Krystle is back to talk about childhood dreams, the detours that felt like the wrong road, and how every one of them turned out to be part of the map.

Jess — host of the Remodeled Love podcast — joins the show for a conversation that starts with honeysuckles and ends somewhere much deeper. We talk about growing up as "the weird kid" before either of us had language for neurodivergence, the exploitative radio career that nearly buried her creative instincts, and how the pandemic accidentally handed her the podcast she'd been sitting on for years. From there we get into the real stuff: what it actually felt like the moment she realized polyamory wasn't a choice but a fact about herself, why she believes people confuse critique with hate, and — for the first time publicly — her journey with borderline personality disorder and what it cost her before it taught her anything. This one covers a lot of ground and I am so glad you are here!

Krystle J Bailey returns and joins Cherie for a raw, unplanned conversation that starts with losing her faith during COVID and ends up somewhere much bigger — three years spent rebuilding herself alone in her late stepdad's trailer, a whiteboard scribble that became a new relationship with writing, and the hard work of repairing a relationship with her mother. This one moves fast and goes deep — buckle up.

I've known some of these friends for 25 years. Long enough that when I went home to South Jersey after three years away, I wasn't scared of being judged — I was scared of being disqualified. Like any changed version of me might not get to keep the relationship we already had.

So this time, I finally told them the truth: I'm polyamorous, and I have been living that out loud for a while now. In this episode, I talk about what it's like to come out a second time — because being bi stopped being news years ago, but this one still felt terrifying to say. I talk about the cost of staying quiet when a need isn't in your partner's wheelhouse, and why that silence isn't fair to either of you. And I talk about what actually happened when I told my friends the truth: it went fine. Better than fine. It was exactly what I should have expected all along.

If you've ever been afraid that being honest about who you are might cost you the people who've known you longest — this one's for you.

Let's just say it: parenting sucks. Nobody tells you that going in, and if they do, you don't believe them until you're in it. This episode is me and Jess — childhood friends who found our way back to each other through the internet — sitting down and finally saying out loud what everyone's thinking but nobody posts about.

We talk about the stuff that doesn't make it into the baby books: postpartum depression, birth plans that go out the window the second labor starts, regretting the decision but never the kid, and why "it gets better" is kind of a lie. It doesn't get better. It gets different. Some days that's a relief. Some days parenting still just sucks.

We compare it to leveling up in a video game because honestly that's what it feels like — you clear one boss and there's just another one waiting. We talk about the darkest parts of postpartum, the shame that keeps parents quiet, and why it's fine to love your kid and hate your Tuesday. Parenting sucks on Tuesdays. It might be great on Wednesday. Both are true.

If you've ever felt like a piece-of-shit mom, questioned every choice you've made, or thought you were the only one who felt this way — you're not. Parenting sucks. It's also not going to break you. You're going to be okay.

In this episode:

• Why our generation is the first to say "I don't think I want kids" out loud
• Postpartum depression, regret, and the shame that keeps parents silent
• Birth stories and birth plans, and why neither one matters as much as you think going in
• Parenting as a video game — comparing struggles to leveling up
• The internet as both a lifeline and a battleground for parents
• Why parenting sucks one minute and feels like magic the next — and why both are allowed

I hope this resonates with you, and I wills ee you here next week for another amazing conversation!

Love, Cherie Leigh

Recorded on her 39th birthday weekend, Cherie opens up unscripted about her "famous by 40" mantra — and what she's decided that actually means to her. Rather than overthinking the message, she leans into talking it out in real time, reflecting on the growth of the last 20 months: a job loss that initially rocked her but ultimately confirmed she was exactly where she needed to be, and the slow work of stripping away who she was taught to be to rediscover who she actually is.

Cherie is not an astrology expert — but she has theories, and she's sharing them anyway. In this episode she gets into the Lion's Gate Portal, why she thinks astrology might literally be simulation code, and how digging into her chart helped her start figuring out who she actually is. It's woo-woo, it's personal, and she's winging it. Come along.