Bachelor Happy Hour Golden Hour

Episode: Kathy & Susan on Plastic Surgery and Divorce
Date: December 10, 2025
Hosts: Kathy and Susan (Bachelor Nation alumni)

Episode Overview

This episode of “Bachelor Happy Hour: Golden Hour” dives into the big decisions women face as they age—focusing on cosmetic surgery, parenting adult children, and navigating divorce later in life. Kathy and Susan offer candid, funny, and heartfelt insight into their own experiences, illustrating how life’s toughest choices evolve with time but never really get easier. Their banter covers everything from choosing not to interfere with grown children’s lives to the emotional complexity of ending a marriage and the liberating reasons behind embracing plastic surgery.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Nature of Big Decisions as We Age

• Decisions seem fewer, but weightier: Kathy reflects that while maybe there are less decisions later in life, “they seem bigger.” (04:12)
• Parenting grown children—a new kind of challenge: Both hosts discuss the struggle of knowing when to give advice or intervene in their adult children’s lives.
  • Kathy: “Deciding when to speak up to my kids and say, ‘You’re doing this wrong,’ it really takes a lot now for me to say.” (07:09)

2. Cosmetic Surgery: Motivations, Experiences & Social Pressures

• Personal empowerment: Both women are open about having had cosmetic procedures and view them as empowering personal choices, not done out of pressure or to please others.
  • Susan: “Absolutely not [a hard decision]. Once again—because it’s something I want.” (08:46)
  • Kathy: “You and I... we do it because it makes us feel better.” (08:52)
• Social perceptions and industry standards:
  • Kathy addresses societal youth obsession: “We live in a youth culture, and so we’re all chasing that eternal fountain of youth.” (10:08)
  • Susan pushes back: “When you put your age down, you can’t cosmetically change that. Your age is your age.” (10:24)
• Self-esteem and reality of results:
  • Both reflect that the results are subtle but noticeable, and ultimately self-affirming.
  • Susan shares how seeing herself on TV post-surgery validated her decision:
    “When I saw my face, I go, ‘Oh my gosh, thank God I did that.’” (12:11)
  • Humor and honesty about body image:
    • Kathy jokes: “If I wore a bikini, everyone would have said, ‘She needs to tie up all her skin, like a pantyhose, and cut the knot.’” (12:27)

3. Divorce: Why, When, and How

• Delaying divorce for children:
  • Susan shares she stayed in her marriage until her kids graduated high school, even though she knew “many, many years ago” it wouldn’t last. (20:34)
  • She sometimes regrets waiting, wondering how life could have been different if she left earlier.
• Children’s perception:
  • Upon finally separating, her sons asked, “Mom, why did you wait so long? We knew you’d been unhappy for so long.” (21:37)
• Therapy and self-reflection:
  • Susan did not pursue therapy before divorcing, but did so after. She sees therapy as most useful for people who “hold everything in.” (23:24)
  • Kathy relates her own experience with grief therapy after her husband’s suicide, reflecting on the ways deep loss ripples through family life. (22:57)
• Breaking up when no one’s ‘at fault’:
  • Susan: “You hit a point where you realize, I’m not that happy. What am I doing? Why am I here?” (24:11)
  • The women discuss how divorce isn’t always bitter; amicable, respectful endings are possible, especially for the sake of children. (25:12)

4. Supporting Adult Children Through Life’s Crossroads

• Guidance, not directives:
  • Kathy describes shifting from telling her kids what to do, to “holding up a mirror” and helping them reflect on their own feelings and priorities. (43:04, 44:18)
  • “I try not to tell them what to do anymore. I try to give them... I would try to get her to talk about it...” (43:55)
• Intergenerational differences:
  • The hosts note that today’s young adults face more volatility—career changes, job market uncertainty, making big life decisions earlier and more often. (27:27–29:12)
• On education and careers:
  • Both encourage finding a fulfilling path, but Kathy reminds that “not everyone has that luxury,” and career trajectories look very different now. (30:09)
  • “I believe in varied experiences… adults have the best chance of making good decisions if they’re given the opportunity to think problems through.” (38:15)
• Letting kids make mistakes:
  • Kathy: “Very few big decisions in life are not irreversible…fear stops a lot of people from making big decisions.” (38:49)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Kathy on the shifting parental role:
  • “I am always going to be their mother. But my role has changed.” (06:50)
• Susan on cosmetic surgery:
  • “Absolutely not [hard to decide]. Because it’s something I want.” (08:46)
• Kathy on societal pressure:
  • “We live in a youth culture, and so we’re all chasing that eternal fountain of youth.” (10:08)
• Susan, humorously self-aware, on her habits:
  • “Eating right will never be in my vocabulary, but I eat good and bad.” (11:49)
• Susan to Kathy:
  • “You don’t speak up with anybody else that I see.” (06:39)
• Kathy, advice for supporting adult kids:
  • “I try to hold up a mirror to her of what she’s saying… try to get her to talk about it.” (44:14)
• Susan on divorce:
  • “We both grew different ways and we’re still friends today.” (21:12)
• On parenting philosophy:
  • Kathy: “I believe in varied experiences… [and that] adults have the best chance of making good decisions if, as children and teenagers, they’re given the opportunity to think problems through.” (38:15)
• On the inevitability of getting it wrong sometimes:
  • Kathy: “Sometimes you make the wrong choice. And that’s okay. The biggest thing is picking up the pieces, moving on, and making the next best choice you can.” (46:14)
• Susan adds comic relief:
  • “I do make the wrong decision. Always wearing the cool ass shoes that hurt all night long. It was a bad choice.” (46:27)

Key Timestamps by Segment

• 03:48 – Show intro, holiday chit-chat, and episode topic set-up
• 04:12 – Kathy and Susan discuss how their big decisions have changed with age
• 06:12 – Speaking up (or not) to adult children; boundaries in advice-giving
• 08:23 – Cosmetic surgery: motivations and stories
• 10:06 – Societal pressure for youth, especially for women
• 12:11 – Post-surgery self-perceptions and reflections
• 19:39 – Kathy initiates talk about divorce, Susan’s candid sharing
• 21:37 – Susan’s sons reflect on her delayed divorce
• 22:57 – Therapy after loss and divorce
• 27:27 – Modern career and life pressures for adult children
• 38:15 – Guiding young adults through decision-making, mistakes, and experience
• 44:14 – How to support adult children making tough choices
• 46:14 – Accepting imperfect decisions and finding humor
• 46:27 – Susan’s quip about “wrong decisions” with shoes!
• 47:19 – Outro, call for listener feedback/questions

Tone & Style

• Warm, candid, humorous: The hosts blend heartfelt advice with lots of playful teasing and self-deprecating jokes.
• Relatable, conversational: Listeners easily feel like they’re chatting with friends who tell it like it is, both about their vulnerabilities and victories.
• Empowering & supportive: Stories are framed to encourage listeners—especially women facing crossroads—to act authentically, seek joy, and not fear change or mistakes.

Takeaways

• Big decisions never really get easier—they just change form.
• It’s okay to pivot, make “wrong” choices, and course-correct.
• Supporting loved ones is about listening, reflecting, and equipping—not dictating.
• There’s power and freedom in making choices for yourself—be it surgery, divorce, or career moves.
• And when in doubt? Make sure your shoes are comfortable.

Submit your questions:
Go to bachelornation.com/goldenhour or follow @BachelorHappyHour on social media to join the conversation.