Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Mom's Car: Briegh Morrison

Date: October 21, 2025
Guests: Aaron, Dax Shepard, Briegh Morrison

Episode Overview

This episode of Mom's Car, an Armchair Expert offshoot, features a candid, affectionate, and deeply personal conversation between Aaron, his ex-girlfriend Briegh Morrison, and Dax Shepard. The trio reminisce about their shared past, explore themes of vulnerability, growth, relationships, addiction, parenthood, and survival—both literal and emotional. The honest, humorous, messy, and tender dialogue reveals how their histories intertwine, how trauma can lead to transformation, and what it means to truly celebrate and support those you once loved, even as life moves on in surprising ways.

Key Discussion Points

1. Modest Roots, "Trash Monsters," and Car Talk

• Chevy Bolt & Car Buying During COVID
  ([01:22]-[01:43])
  The conversation opens with lighthearted banter about cars, with Brie choosing a practical Chevy Bolt during the height of the pandemic, touching on the absurdities and frustrations of car buying during that era.

  "I got the absolute last one. It was like Covid mad dash for them." —Brie, 01:38

• High-Low Tastes & Materialism
  ([01:50]-[03:16])
  The hosts reflect on their shifting relationships to money and status, sharing how, despite greater means, they often "go lower" as success grows—except for hotels.

  "In fact, the more money we have, the lower I go in general." —Brie, 02:23
  "Hotels. I'm such a fucking snob." —Aaron, 03:07

  Brie self-identifies as a "trash monster," delighting in fancy but already slightly trashed vintage goods.

2. Wild Road Trips, Bar Hopping, and Motorcycle Stories

([04:03]-[07:56])
The group reminisces about legendary cross-country motorcycle trips, falling asleep on the back of the bike, wild nights in Wisconsin bars that were actual houses, and the camaraderie of being "so dirty" at the end of a long day.

"One of the greatest things I ever did was that stretch of highway where there's no exit...I went, like, 135 miles an hour." —Brie, 05:58
"You'd be so dirty. Your arms would just be so dirty..." —Brie, 07:36

3. Smoke-Filled Memories and Apartment Life

• Smoking In the House and Nostalgia
  ([09:36]-[11:52])
  The nostalgia for old habits, like smoking in their tiny apartment—even on 9/11—shows up alongside stories of hosting friends with asthma and creating a cozy, albeit hazy, home.

  "We like literally lit up cigarettes. We were like, fuck it. We could smoke inside. It's 9/11." —Brie, 09:47
  "So cigarette smoke in interiors is actually like a Proustie and Madeleine for me." —Brie, 11:28

4. Chemotherapy, Cancer, and Survival

• Nicotine, Cancer Diagnosis, and Sobriety
  ([12:27]-[19:23])
  Brie reveals her journey with breast cancer, the shock of the diagnosis, and its indirect path to her sobriety, describing how deep suffering gave her access to equally deep joy.

  "Cancer led to me getting sober. It's funny when the thing becomes a gift, like the hard thing." —Brie, 19:00
  "You're only able to experience the amount of joy in direct opposition to the amount of suffering..." —Brie, 19:12
  She candidly recounts the missed detection due to breast density, the role of a "hippie dippy" doctor, and the grim surprise when the cancer turned out to be a large, almost undetectable lobular tumor. "You couldn't even feel it. Even when I had the full tumor in there, you could not feel a lump." —Brie, 20:51

• Treatment Trauma and Resilience
  ([21:07]-[23:32])
  Brie details her surgeries, chemo, radiation, reconstructive procedures, and the absurd moments along the way, like being “lopsided” post-reconstruction and joking about “God smiting” her because she valued her boobs too much.

  "I was so devastated about losing any of the tissue...and now I'm, like, super stoked." —Brie, 23:18

  She discusses the waves of support—and abandonment—from friends, and the different ways people deal with someone else’s illness.

  "You kind of had three different camps. The people who want to spend as much time with you before you die...those I was super happy about...then the people who just—your cancer is too hard for me. They're just gone." —Brie, 24:10

5. Parenthood, Guilt, and Life-Altering Accidents

• Isaac’s Near-Drowning & Maternal Guilt
  ([14:13]-[17:33])
  Brie tells the harrowing story of her son’s near-drowning, her teaching instincts kicking in, the aftermath, and the overwhelming maternal guilt and depression that followed.

  "The one literal. One section of the pool I could not see. He was laying face down in it...I ran across the water, pulled up lifeless—just no breathing, no anything...I started doing compressions." —Brie, 15:25

  She describes the heavy depression after, being put briefly on benzodiazepines, and the physiological toll of acute terror.

  "It turned me black into bright white...like Obama...like stress." —Brie, 17:19

6. Addiction, Sobriety, and the Social Experience

• Addiction’s Spectrum & Open Relationships
  ([32:30]-[34:06]; [49:15]-[54:10])
  The trio explores how drinking and drug use colored their lives, how Brie often judged herself by her messier roommates or partners, and how she transitioned from heavy partying to productive adulthood.

  "I almost would rather just be a drunk. And then you gotta quit, and then you don't even have to even ever evaluate it anymore." —Aaron, 33:57

  They openly tackle their years in an open relationship, how that worked (and didn't), and the eventual healthy detachment:

  "By all accounts, [our open relationship] was quite successful. To go nine years open..." —Aaron, 49:22

• The Social Role of Alcohol, Post-Sobriety Joy
  Brie reflects on how people are almost “sad” she’s sober, as her presence gave others “permission” to have fun, and how she now brings just as much to a gathering—without needing to drink.

  "One of my gifts is really just being in the moment with the people I’m with. And alcohol especially can loosen people up...but now I’m still last one up, still talking. And I get to wake up and remember it..." —Brie, 54:12

7. Love After Love: New Partners and Blended Families

• Finding New Love & Letting Go
  ([56:28]-[59:18])
  Both Aaron and Brie touch on their anxieties and hopes for each other after their breakup; Aaron admits he truly wanted Brie to find love again, feeling closure when she did.

  "What was hugely important to me...I pray she meets someone that she falls in love with. I just thought about it a lot, and I was just so hopeful..." —Aaron, 56:18

  Brie, meanwhile, discusses the difficulty of giving up a future she’d imagined with Aaron but feels so grateful for her whirlwind romance and marriage to Brad—and how, after breakups, new family can be built with intention.

  "So when I met Brad and was, like, very much swept off my feet, never looked back...So grateful." —Brie, 57:37

• Friendships with Exes and Family Connections
  ([40:00]-[43:15])
  The hosts discuss being friends with exes, the challenge for new partners, sustaining parental bonds after breakups, and feeling the bittersweet loss of those relationships.

  "Losing the relationship with your mom was one of the hardest parts." —Brie, 42:19

8. Admiration, Growth, and Lasting Affection

([62:39]-[63:12])
Closing the episode with profound mutual admiration, Aaron reflects on the unique gift of being able to truly admire someone you’ve loved, and how it all worked out—messy, but good.

"I just admire you so much. I like who you are so much." —Aaron, 62:39
"You're just one of the greats of all time. I'm glad our lives worked out so well." —Aaron, 62:54

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "In fact, the more money we have, the lower I go in general." — Brie, [02:23]
• "We were like, fuck it. We could smoke inside. It's 9/11." — Brie, [09:47]
• "Cancer led to me getting sober. It's funny when the thing becomes a gift, like the hard thing." — Brie, [19:00]
• "You can only experience the amount of joy in direct opposition to the amount of suffering..." — Brie, [19:12]
• "I want to be wherever I am and talking to the people that I'm talking to." — Brie, [52:35]
• "You kind of had three different camps. You had the people who were just like, I want to spend as much time with you before you die...then the people who...just leave." — Brie, [24:10]
• "The whole human experience is so complicated. Why would you waste any time, like, begrudging someone?" — Brie, [49:49]
• "You're just one of the greats of all time. I'm glad our lives worked out so well." — Aaron, [62:54]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:22] – Opening banter, car buying stories
• [03:07] – Hotels, luxury, and changing tastes
• [04:03] – Epic motorcycle road trips
• [09:36] – Smoking, nostalgia, and apartment life
• [14:13] – Isaac’s near-drowning, motherhood and guilt
• [19:00] – Cancer diagnosis, suffering, and joy
• [23:46] – Surviving cancer: treatments and community
• [32:30] – Addiction, relativity, and friendship
• [40:00] – Exes, new families, blending relationships
• [56:18] – True wishes for an ex’s happiness
• [62:39] – Admiration, acceptance, and closure

Tone and Style

The episode is unvarnished, warm, and laced with the easy humor and candor that define Armchair Expert. The hosts laugh at absurdities, lay bare their regrets and pride, and model a kind of mature, affectionate friendship rarely seen between ex-lovers—one that has survived all the "messiness of being human" and come out wiser, if a little more weathered, on the other side.

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This episode is a masterclass in loving well, letting go, and living with the past. Through unsparing honesty, riotous stories, hard-won wisdom, and playful teasing, Aaron, Dax, and Brie show what true intimacy and growth look like—even among exes. The main truth: You can survive hurt, love, and loss, and find connection, laughter, and admiration through it all.