Always Here | Episode: Breakups, Bankruptcy, and Becoming a Mother – with the Abbys
Airdate: January 16, 2026 | Hosts: Abby Howard & Abby Howard (Daylight Media)

Episode Overview

This episode of Always Here, hosted by the dynamic sister-in-law duo Abby Howard and Abby Howard, is an intimate and funny conversation about the major "eras" in each of their lives—breakups, business heartbreak, becoming mothers, and all the hope and hard moments threaded through. With their signature humor and vulnerability, the Abbys swap stories of high school first loves, college mishaps, career pivots, financial challenges, and family-building, inviting listeners to both laugh and reflect. As always, they wrap hope and struggle together, modeling friendship and resilience.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Hopes, Hards, and Everyday Life [02:09–12:00]

• Hope Moments:

  • Rose shares her excitement over renovating the family fireplace, despite marketplace quirks:
    “We found one for like 50 bucks off Facebook Marketplace... but it does whistle. Like it's just plugged in and it whistles all the time… almost sounds like a cricket.” [03:37 – Rose]
  • Abby plans a solo Disney trip with her kids while the men have their own Universal adventure:
    “I feel like I'm always talking about Disney, but I really am looking forward to it.” [05:58 – Abby]

• Honest Hards:

  • Abby opens up about ongoing struggles with fear and anxiety in the wake of loss:
    “I'm just struggling with fear recently… I can't really quite get a break from it.” [06:16 – Abby] Rose commends Abby’s emotional processing:
    “I feel like you've done such a really good job and you're so wise when you share things… you have it, you’ve… done a really good job of processing and sorting it in your mind.” [06:50 – Rose]

• Motivation in Fitness:

  • The group discusses post-partum fitness and the humility of rebuilding strength:
    “It's humbling. I'm like, I know I moved… It's gone. It is gone. And we were rebuilding from the ground up.” [09:53 – Rose]

2. Pop Culture Corner: "The Housemaid" Movie Review [11:39–17:37]

• The Abbys and Addie recount a recent girls’ movie night, diving into both the plot and the movie’s surprising graphic nature.
• Glowing praise for Amanda Seyfried’s performance, with sidetracks onto her career:
  “She is so talented.” [13:59 – Abby]
• Real talk about how explicit scenes can be awkward—especially sitting next to your mother-in-law:
  “I said, I can't watch this next to you.” [14:49 – Addie]
• Mixed recommendations:
  “I recommend it. But also, just know what you're getting into before you… I mean, maybe if it's not your thing. Like, it's not Abby's thing. I like that type of story… good acting. Well done.” [17:14–17:23 – Abby]

3. Book Chat: Abby’s Cozy Book Corner [17:56–27:17]

Abby reviews her most recent reads:

• The Locked Door by Freida McFadden (5 stars): “It's just like, a good suspenseful thriller… cliffhanger, so you just tear through it.” [19:14 – Abby]
• Turtles All the Way Down by John Green (4 stars): Praised for authentic portrayal of OCD and a compelling reward-driven plot.
• The God of the Woods: Noted for its Taylor Swift-approved buzz and “million characters,” given 3–4 stars.
• Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfield: Enjoyed the workplace setting but disliked COVID and politics themes:
  “I don't want to read about it. We lived it.” [24:13 – Abby]

Book Taste Chat:

• Short vs. long chapters, audiobook merits, and staying motivated after a book club “disbanded.”
• “I told Matt... I could literally sit and read a book cover to cover and I'm so happy… my attention span is really long for reading, but with kids, it's interrupted.” [27:13 – Abby]

4. Life Eras: Behind the Scenes with the Abbys [27:56–70:51]

A deep-dive, “Eras Tour”–inspired sharing of pivotal seasons from youth to adulthood:

Rose’s Eras:

• Bleachers at Sunset (Volleyball Era):
  Rose’s athletic identity, college volleyball dreams, and the shock of a toxic team dynamic:
  “I remember crying almost every day. Like, I would go in the showers and just cry. And the whole time I was at that school, I was actively transferring to leave…” [30:25 – Rose]

• Red Cubs to Redemption (Party to Faith):
  Partying to Bible study and personal transformation:
  “I had this totally two different worlds of, like, pursuing faith and also pursuing the party… after a couple years of reading the Bible, I was like… I gave up the party girl life.” [39:03 – Rose]

• Stitched from a Daydream (Girl Boss/Entrepreneur era):
  Founding a clothing boutique, moving, facing business debt, and the eventual closure and recovery:
  “I didn't realize at the time when I was 21 and signed up for a credit card that that debt would become my personal debt… it just racked up so fast and it literally… I've never felt like I was drowning so deeply.” [50:49–51:04 – Rose]

• The Comeback Era:
  Post-business closure, social media opportunity, and regaining confidence:
  “Slowly I was able to build my confidence back up. I feel like just day by day, when you just continue to show up… you just slowly start to feel like, okay, we're fighting our way.” [58:14–59:00 – Rose]

Abby’s Eras:

• Passion, Paths, and Friendships (High School):
  Energized activity and first major romance:
  “I actually loved high school… that's why I also am like, I don't—I love that I was able to just, like… try everything.” [33:15 – Abby]

• First Steps in Heartbeats (College):
  Light-hearted fun, church group antics (like dressing up as founding fathers at a frat party!), and “Goop Coop” house memories.

• Newlywed Dreams and Humble Beginnings:
  Married in college, living in subsidized housing, and the eye-opening humility and joy of shared community and tight budgets:
  “Living in this government subsidized housing for the year and a half that we lived there was honestly, I needed it. I really needed this… I had all of my needs met… these kids… their playground was the parking lot.” [53:10–56:52 – Abby]

• Waves of Change (Pandemic/Move to Hawaii):
  Pandemic job loss, YouTube career beginnings, a difficult season in Hawaii, loneliness, and adjusting to a new marriage dynamic:
  “That was just a really, really hard year… it was also mixed with the fact that my husband was living his best life… and so it felt like for a while I was like, I got to just, like, keep doing it because I can't bring him down.” [63:53–67:36 – Abby]

• New Roots and Bright Skies (Moving to Arizona/Family):
  Establishing new community and roots in Arizona, building family, entering adulthood confidence, and finding excitement in the unknown:
  “I have, like, confidence, and that's different than what I had as a young adult… I feel like we're getting to a more comfortable place and just really grateful for where we're at.” [68:33–70:36 – Abby]

5. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On overcoming business setbacks:
  “I've never felt like I was drowning so deeply… but there's hope. There's light at the end of the tunnel. You can get through it.” [51:04 & 51:38 – Rose]

• On friendship and showing up:
  “You would just come over and help me pack orders… that was one of the most, like, meaningful things ever.” [52:33 – Rose]

• On marital transitions:
  “I had always been, like, so close with friends, and it did put a little bit of me on a weird playing field with my peers because I'm not living on campus. I'm living in an apartment off campus. And I'm married. So, like, my first person to go to is my husband now.” [53:10 – Abby]

• On life's unexpected turns:
  “I feel like I have navigated enough things, like, where I can say, like, now I'm like, okay, I feel like an adult now.” [68:33 – Abby]

• On resilience:
  “You radiate confidence… you come out so confident and strong… I'm amazed at the woman that you are.” [70:37 – Rose, to Abby]

6. Audience Q&A [72:36–end]

• Finding community as a new mom:

  • Utilize local kid-centered resources and go “first and be weird”:
    “John Deloney says this is go first and be weird… you gotta just, like, throw it out there.” [73:27 – Abby]
  • “No one’s at fault” if there’s a friendship miss—just keep reaching out.

• Toddler tantrum strategies:

  • Distraction and “taking a break” with empathy at young ages.
  • Naming emotions for kids:
    “I want them to know, I'm like, it's okay to be angry. Like, we can't be mean, but it's okay to be angry.” [78:45–79:57 – Abby]

• Tips for college freshmen:

  • Say yes to everything, join clubs, get hands-on.
  • Don’t go into avoidable debt—be disciplined early:
    “Remain disciplined in your finances from the very beginning, because it is just the first time in life that you can make this pitfall…” [81:45 – Abby]

Timestamps: Important Segments

• 02:09 – Start of hopes/hards/house projects
• 05:58 – Abby on fear and emotional processing
• 11:39 – “Housemaid” movie discussion
• 17:56 – Cozy Book Corner
• 27:56 – Major life “eras” sharing
• 50:49 – Business, bankruptcy, and recovery
• 63:53 – Hawaii "waves of change" era
• 68:33 – Arizona, family, new confidence
• 72:36 – Listener questions: community, tantrums, college advice

Original Language & Tone

The episode blends humor with gravity—Abby and Rose balance “heart and hope with heart and humor,” as they say. Teasing, laughter, and self-deprecating banter give way to open, sometimes tearful admissions about hardships, loss, and financial fear, all framed within deep, multi-generational family connections.

Final Takeaway

The Abbys don’t shy away from messy truths—breakups, bankruptcy, hard motherhood days—but wrap each era in hope, honesty, and practical love for each other and their listeners. Whether you’re moving cities for a fresh start, closing a business, or just trying to find your people, you’ll find yourself laughing and tearing up right along with them.

“Remember, we’re always here.” [82:49 – Rose]