Call Her Daddy – Madelaine Petsch: PSA: You Can’t Fix Him

Host: Alex Cooper
Guest: Madelaine Petsch
Date: September 17, 2025

Episode Overview

In this deeply candid and often hilarious episode of Call Her Daddy, actress Madelaine Petsch (best known for her role as Cheryl Blossom on Riverdale) joins Alex Cooper for an energetic, vulnerable, and wide-ranging conversation. Madelaine opens up for the first time about her tumultuous family history, childhood trauma, mental health, and years of therapy—while also sprinkling in wild Hollywood anecdotes, relationship wisdom, and plenty of laughs. The heart of the episode centers on personal growth, breaking cycles, setting boundaries, and realizing: "You can't fix him."

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Madelaine's Nonstop Career & Difficulty Relaxing

[02:17 – 04:30]

• Madelaine shares her fast-paced filming schedule and struggles with change.
  • "This is the thing about my job that was not made for me is I don't do well with change in my schedule." [02:34]
• The pandemic forced her to learn stillness; she even got her brain scanned due to anxiety.
  • Quote: “I was so anxious all the time that I was like, there's something genuinely wrong with me...I’m actually just a crazy person because I’m fine.” [03:14]

2. Halloween & Embracing Scary Fun

[04:50 – 05:49]

• Talks traditions of legendary Halloween costumes with friends, but they're too busy this year.
• She's excited about Six Flags’ Stranger’s Maze, featuring actors playing her character:
  • Quote: "Top 10 most important things to my entire life existence is having a haunted house with me running around in it that I can go and attend." [04:52]

3. Firsts & Worsts: Lighthearted Anecdotes

[06:00 – 12:10]

• Worst fashion phase: full "scene kid," had double zero gauge earrings in 7th grade.
• First kiss: with her brother's childhood nemesis (turned first boyfriend), in the family minivan.
• Early jobs: window salesperson using, as Alex jokes, "savvy" (making herself cry to convince people to buy windows—high return rate, obviously).
• First major purchase after Riverdale: a Cartier ring per season. Lost at least one; rarely wears them.
• Worst Riverdale plotlines: acting with her brother’s ‘corpse’ for a season, and when the show ignored her plea not to do “lasers from hands” during a witch storyline.
  • Quote: “Roberto, is this my camera? When I became a witch on that show, there was one thing I told you. I said, I never want to see lasers coming out of my hands. Okay, what did he do?... I’m like, Scarlet witching up in the air, singing and crying with lasers shooting out of my hands at a comet.” [11:15]

4. Opening Up About Childhood & Family

[14:34 – 24:36]

• First time Madelaine publicly discusses her complex family background.
  • Parents are South African immigrants raising kids in Washington State; Madelaine felt different due to culture, plant-based upbringing, and lack of religion.
  • Her mom is “meant to be a mother,” endlessly protective; her father had "extreme highs and lows" with undiagnosed mental illness.
• Crucial Childhood Memory:
  • At 8, her dad told her he didn't love her and left her alone—a pivotal moment she learned wasn't about her, but his own struggles.
  • Quote: "I told him I loved him...He told me he didn’t love me. And he left." [17:53]
• The household didn’t discuss diagnoses; therapy would later validate that her father's behavior was beyond just moodiness or “trauma.”
• Role as the Family ‘Fixer’:
  • Madelaine was triangulated into family conflict and tasked with 'fixing' her father's mood—even as a child.
  • Quote: “I would be called to come and fix the problem. So no matter what the issue was...I would be sent in to essentially disarm him emotionally.” [19:48]
• Resentment built as she saw others treat her father as “normal” while she was forced into a quasi-parental role.

5. Therapy, Healing & Generational Cycles

[28:22 – 39:38]

• Nine years in therapy, with the same therapist—her “longest relationship.”
  • Initial spur: unhealthy romantic relationship that echoed her father’s behavior.
  • Quote: "My relationship...was echoing very similar things that was happening with my father." [28:50]
• Therapy helped Madelaine accept that her father's actions weren't a reflection of his love, but his own chemical imbalance.
• She discusses supporting her family financially, sometimes resenting the return to that caretaker role.
• Therapy breakthrough:
  • “Not dating carbon copies of my father over and over and over again. Even if I tell myself, ‘this is not that,’ it always was that.” [32:49]

6. Patterns in Love & Self-Growth

[33:46 – 40:28]

• Admits to repeatedly dating men similar to her father—drawn to the feeling of being loved and security, even if not real.
  • Quote: “I think watching my mom be with my dad and just decide to be with him forever made me believe that love is actually just staying no matter what.” [36:10]
• Stayed in relationships she knew were over, sometimes for over a year, mirroring her mother’s “staying” mentality.
• Through therapy, learned to set boundaries, spot unhealthy dynamics, and resist the urge to ‘fix’ men or relationships.

7. Rewriting Her Relationships: Boundaries, Growth, & Current Life

[40:39 – 51:22]

• Relationship with her father: complicated love, strong boundaries, sometimes going months without speaking.
  • "There are times where I don't talk to him for six months...I'm doing what I can, but I love him a lot." [41:30]
• Her mother: “best friend in the whole world,” wishes her mom could feel the love she deserves.
• Advice to listeners:
  • If you need validation from a parent and can't get it, "cut them off."
  • Quote: "As an adult, honesty and saying your truth. And if you need validation, go seek it out. And if they don't give it to you, cut them off." [43:36]
• Wishes she could have “just felt like a kid.” Finds healing in her career, which lets her “play” as an adult—“my job is playing all day long.” [44:13]

8. Motherhood, Changing Her Mind, and Feminine Energy

[45:01 – 49:44]

• Formerly adamant she didn’t want children (for both societal and personal reasons), now feels ready after realizing she can choose a healthy partner.
• Inspired by the idea of being able to give love to a child, rewriting her family’s narrative.
  • Quote: “I can change my narrative. I can rewrite history and I can decide what this looks like, and I have the power to do that.” [47:13]
• Discusses society pressuring women about motherhood, embracing changing her mind, and now feeling safe to step into her "feminine" energy after years of “fathering” herself.

9. Love Life & The New Madelaine

[49:50 – 52:13]

• Playfully coy about her current relationship status (“I do, but you don’t”).
• What she wants in a relationship now: “Consistency, kindness, love, communication, support for my career...and trust.” [50:43]
• Her best quality in a relationship: “I’m a fucking amazing girlfriend now...Brilliant.” [51:22]

10. Rapid Fire: Dealbreakers, Friendships, & Riverdale Rumors

[54:28 – 61:15]

• Fun “in or out” dating scenarios—she’s out if a guy just left a messy breakup, but more flexible otherwise.
• Friend approval is critical: “If my north star friend hates my partner, I’m literally out.” [55:10]
• The biggest lie she’s caught a boyfriend in: being spotted out with another woman while insisting he was home. Ended the relationship over the lie and ensuing gaslighting.
  • Quote: “The lie was enough for me to be like, I’m done.” [56:56]
• Disproves Riverdale co-star hookup rumors:
  • “I did not fuck a single person on Riverdale. I never touched them. That’s what happened. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.” [58:42]

11. Female Friendships & Support on Riverdale

[61:15 – 62:33]

• Strong bond with costars Lily and Cami; navigated success by supporting rather than competing.
  • “Instead of pitting each other against each other, we were leaning on each other in every second of the day.” [61:31]
• Still processing the end of Riverdale; rewatched the pilot and was overcome with emotion about how special it was.

12. New Projects & Enjoying the Craft

[63:28 – 66:21]

• Discusses The Strangers: Chapter Two: an intense survival horror movie.
• Maintenance Required: a rom-com with a feminist twist; Madelaine plays a mechanic and did her own mechanical work for the role.
  • “I get paid to learn new skills. Why would I not want to do it?” [65:01]
• Now producing her own films—a natural evolution from being so involved creatively on Riverdale.

Notable Quotes & Time Stamps

• "I was so anxious all the time that I was like, there's something genuinely wrong with me...I’m actually just a crazy person because I’m fine.” – Madelaine [03:14]
• “Top 10 most important things to my entire life existence is having a haunted house with me running around in it that I can go and attend.” – Madelaine [04:52]
• “I had to act with my brother's dead corpse in a wheelchair for an entire season...His corpse should have absolutely rotted.” [10:42]
• “Roberto, when I became a witch on that show, there was one thing I told you. I said, I never want to see lasers coming out of my hands...In the season finale, I’m like, Scarlet witching up in the air...lasers shooting out of my hands at a comet.” [11:15]
• "I told him I loved him...He told me he didn’t love me. And he left." – Madelaine (childhood story) [17:53]
• “I would be called to come and fix the problem...I would be sent in to essentially disarm him emotionally.” – Madelaine [19:48]
• "My relationship...was echoing very similar things that was happening with my father." [28:50]
• “Not dating carbon copies of my father over and over...It was always that.” [32:49]
• “I think watching my mom be with my dad and just decide to be with him forever made me believe that love is actually just staying no matter what.” [36:10]
• "If you need validation...and they don't give it to you, cut them off. That's how I feel." [43:36]
• “I can change my narrative. I can rewrite history and I can decide what this looks like, and I have the power to do that.” [47:13]
• “I did not fuck a single person on Riverdale. I never touched them. That’s what happened. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.” [58:42]
• “I get paid to learn new skills. Why would I not want to do it?” [65:01]

Conclusion

Madelaine Petsch’s visit to Call Her Daddy is a vulnerable, hilarious, and ultimately uplifting exploration of overcoming childhood chaos, breaking out of destructive cycles, and learning what it means to love—and be loved—on your own terms. With deep emotional honesty, she makes a PSA that resonates: “You can’t fix him.” Instead, you fix yourself, set boundaries, and reclaim the narrative—while never losing your sense of humor or the instincts that make you unique.