Call Her Daddy – Nelly Furtado: Embracing the Single Life (FBF)

Host: Alex Cooper
Guest: Nelly Furtado
Release Date: December 26, 2025

Episode Overview

In this candid and lively episode, Alex Cooper welcomes Nelly Furtado—Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and pop icon. Nelly opens up about her journey embracing singlehood in her 40s, navigating love and breakups, motherhood, her evolving relationship with confidence and body image, and her return to music. The episode is packed with honest reflections, playful banter, and memorable insights that will resonate with anyone navigating reinvention or heartbreak.

Main Themes

• Embracing the joys (and challenges) of single life, especially as a woman in her 40s
• Navigating love, heartbreak, breakups, and self-worth
• Evolving confidence, sexuality, and body image as a public figure and mother
• The power of friendship and gut instinct in relationships
• Creative renewal: Nelly’s return to music, her songwriting process, and lessons from her iconic hits

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Full Circle: Generational Daddy Gang

• Nelly’s daughter is a huge Call Her Daddy fan and encouraged her to do the show. Her daughter and friends were present at the taping, though Nelly insisted her daughter stay in another room to keep from making it “awkward.”
  (02:21)

• Nelly and Alex bond instantly over mutual admiration and generational appeal—highlighting Nelly’s influence and relevance across ages.

2. Nelly Furtado on Happiness & Having Multiple Sides

• Two sides of happiness:
  “Probably when I'm at the park with my children…But then I'm also quite happy when I am kind of waving my freak flag at a concert…Because it's also my other chance to really be myself.”
  — Nelly Furtado (03:16)

• Blending public and private life:
  Nelly describes herself as “chameleonic” and says she can blend in easily as “mom Nelly” when she wants privacy (04:10).

3. Dating Canadian vs. American Men & Embracing Single Life

• On dating types:
  Nelly, at 45, is single for the first time in years and enjoys dating on her own terms:
  “My type is changing…Now my type is like: come correct. I adore confidence.”
  — Nelly Furtado (05:12; 05:56)

• Message to single women:
  “You have to enjoy being single authentically…If you're looking for a relationship, be authentic about that. But if that's not what you're looking for, ask yourself what you want.”
  — Nelly Furtado (06:27)

4. Working with Drake, Toronto’s Music Scene, & Glam Priorities

• On singing “I'm Like a Bird” with Drake:
  Nelly recounts declining a late-night performance invitation from Drake—because she wouldn’t go onstage without proper glam:
  “He asked me at 11PM to show up at 1AM and...I’m not showing up without glam.”
  — Nelly Furtado (07:06)

• Nelly reflects on Toronto’s transformation into a global music hub, crediting Drake:
  “He kind of really put Toronto on a map in a different kind of way.” (07:58)

5. Humble Beginnings & Family Work Ethic

• Worked as a chambermaid at Robin Hood Motel:
  Nelly credits her work ethic and humility to growing up in a working-class Portuguese family, where her mom ran housekeeping and family members all pitched in:
  “You really can’t get bougie on people when you come from those [roots]. You get canceled in your family.”
  — Nelly Furtado (10:51)

• Staying grounded: Nelly’s daughter jokes about her “diva” routines now that Nelly’s back in the spotlight (12:24).

6. Confidence, Body Image, and Industry Pressures

• Magazines and the music industry would frequently edit her appearance early in her career:
  “Paint my face in your magazines, make it look lighter than it seems…shove away my ethnicity.”
  — Nelly Furtado, quoting her song “Powerless” (16:24)

• Finding confidence in her 40s:
  “I feel the most confident now. I just had, like, I had the 40s glow up. I…feel super happy with myself, even when I get criticized.”
  — Nelly Furtado (18:23)

• Her body has been labeled “polarizing” online, but she finds power and playfulness in showing her curves:
  “I just kind of. I love feeling this confident, you know. I literally didn’t even wear underwear on stage till, like, a year ago.”
  — Nelly Furtado (20:32)

7. Owning Adulthood, Love, and Personal Growth

• Alex and Nelly agree that confidence and self-knowledge grow with age, contrary to the myth that your 20s are your best years:
  “…it actually only gets better because you do get to know—when you’re young and you’re 20…you don’t fully know yourself yet.”
  — Alex Cooper (21:02-21:53)

• Nelly introduces her invented term “flingationship” to describe a fling-relationship mix:
  “Flingationship is like a fling relationship. So, flingationship of love…”
  — Nelly Furtado (22:11)

8. The Stories Behind Iconic Songs

“I’m Like a Bird”

• Written about a real breakup:
  Nelly wrote it during a lonely period in LA, inspired by her need for freedom from a relationship:
  “I did want to break up, you know, with that guy. So I kind of wrote the song.”
  (26:23)
• She even sent the song to her (now-ex) boyfriend before breaking up:
  “Did you write the song and then break up with [him]?...Well, I sent it to him and he…was like, ‘Hey, I feel like I heard the song. Like, what’s up?’”
  (26:32-26:40)

“Maneater” & “Promiscuous”

• Inspired by a real-life friend’s powerful energy and her own experience with masculine and feminine duality:
  “I really did kind of base that off of a woman...She did personify that man eater energy…It feels primal. It’s like a verb—you’re man eatering right now.”
  — Nelly Furtado (30:20-31:15)
• “Promiscuous” was co-written with Timbaland and embodies sexual autonomy:
  “That was the energy we wanted to capture…It’s a choice. It’s an even playing field.”
  — Nelly Furtado (37:05)

9. Sexuality, Empowerment, and Self-Experience

• On developing sexuality:
  “To feel sexy, to feel sensual, you have to spend time on yourself…Joy is pleasure. Right. So if you really feel and embodied…like I feel pretty sexy when I’m dancing.”
  — Nelly Furtado (36:50)

• Encourages women to explore their own pleasure and not seek validation through others:
  “No one can tell you and you shouldn’t ever search for it through someone else.”
  — Alex Cooper (37:50)

10. Navigating Breakups, Toxic Relationships, and Healing

• Nelly opens up about a past breakup that shook her sense of security: “I had finally kind of arrived at that yellow brick road…And then it turned out that it wasn’t. And that’s why it hit so hard.”
  (41:11)

• On toxic/abusive relationships:
  She extends empathy and honest advice for women feeling stuck:
  “You could have all the money in the world and all the resources, but in the mind, really, that is your only wealth…If you can’t feel strong enough and clear enough to move out of a situation…”
  (43:00-44:28)

• The importance of friends during crisis:
  “Those people that are telling you what you don’t want to hear, those are the ones you need to keep close…Hopefully they know you well enough to not repel you with judgment…But tough love doesn’t work all the time…It’s in doses.”
  — Nelly Furtado (46:35-47:57)

• On shame and slow healing:
  “It’s natural to want to…still feel a multitude of feelings…I mean, how many band-aids do you have? And how long do those take to heal? It takes time.”
  — Nelly Furtado (49:56)

• Advice to her kids:
  “You gotta be best friends…But also, stay you, man. Stay you.”
  — Nelly Furtado (50:25)

• On always trusting her gut:
  “Your gut is always right…The little voice in your head…is always right.”
  — Nelly Furtado (51:16)

11. Reclaiming Confidence & Starting Fresh

• Finding confidence post-breakup through fashion, going out, dance, and creative work:
  “After my breakup, I was ready. I was like, okay, I’m dating now. This is awesome…clothing and fashion…dressing up again.”
  — Nelly Furtado (51:50, 52:25)

• The role of music as therapy:
  The studio became her social life and creative outlet during her healing (53:30-54:35). She wrote 400 songs for her comeback album, inspired by friends, open jams, and creative freedom.

12. Modern Dating & Self-Worth

• Nelly’s single, happily dating, and recommends “daytime dates” as they’re low-pressure and authentic:
  “I recommend the daytime date for a first date because it’s broad daylight…”
  — Nelly Furtado (61:09)

• Non-negotiables in a partner:
  “Someone who’s worked on their self in an authentic way…some growth in that department…specifically ego…I think for partners you want somebody with a good heart.”
  — Nelly Furtado (62:58-63:54)

• Strong advice:
  “Listen to your friends. If they’re like, ‘he’s a dick,’ there’s a reason. And they’re only seeing a percentage!”
  — Alex Cooper (64:18)

13. Creative Renewal & New Music

• Nelly describes herself as a “mad scientist” in the studio:
  “I am more interested in the craft of making it almost than the outcome…I found such confidence in there this time around…before, I used to not like writing songs in front of people, and now I don’t care.”
  — Nelly Furtado (65:44-66:33)

• Most proud of the new album’s emotion and purity:
  “If you just want to escape…music that makes you feel something for real, I will humbly say that I think a lot of the songs do.”
  — Nelly Furtado (66:55)

• Dream collaboration?
  “I still think it’d be cool to have a song with Drake. I think people would love that because we’re both Canadian…”
  — Nelly Furtado (67:37)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "This is my chance to just be as weird as I want to be. I fit in when I'm on stage."
  — Nelly Furtado (03:16)

• “My type is like: come correct. I adore confidence.”
  — Nelly Furtado (05:56)

• On magazine Photoshop:
  "Paint my face in your magazines, make it look lighter than it seems..."
  — Nelly Furtado, quoting “Powerless” (16:24)

• "I feel the most confident now."
  — Nelly Furtado (18:23)

• “Flingationship is like a fling relationship.”
  — Nelly Furtado (22:11)

• “I literally didn’t even wear underwear on stage till, like, a year ago.”
  — Nelly Furtado (20:53)

• "After my breakup, I was ready. I was like, okay, I'm dating now. This is awesome."
  — Nelly Furtado (51:50)

• "I just had, like, I had the 40s glow up."
  — Nelly Furtado (18:28)

• “Listen to your friends. If they're like, 'he's a dick,' there’s a reason…”
  — Alex Cooper (64:18)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:21 — Nelly Furtado joins, discusses her daughter as a Call Her Daddy fan
• 03:16 — Duality of happiness: family vs. stage
• 04:33 — Secret to blending celebrity and normal life
• 05:12 — Nelly on her type & embracing singlehood
• 07:06 — Stories of Drake & Toronto’s rise in music
• 10:51 — The family work ethic and staying grounded
• 16:24 — Racism, Photoshop, and body changes in the industry
• 18:23 — Gaining confidence with age
• 22:11 — Inventing ”flingationship”
• 26:23 — “I’m Like a Bird” story & songwriting
• 30:20 — Real-life inspiration for “Maneater” and “Promiscuous”
• 36:50 — How Nelly’s sexuality & confidence evolved
• 41:11 — Breakups, motherhood, and loss of security
• 43:00 — Speaking up about toxic relationships; power of friends
• 46:35 — Advice for women in unhealthy relationships
• 49:56 — Time heals; advice about shame
• 51:16 — Trusting intuition/gut and red flags
• 51:50 — Rebuilding confidence after heartbreak
• 53:30 — Songwriting as catharsis and creative process
• 61:09 — Tips for dating in your 40s & “daytime” dates
• 62:58 — Non-negotiables in partners: self-work, ego, kindness
• 65:44 — Nelly’s newfound confidence and vulnerability in the studio
• 66:55 — Her hopes for the new album
• 67:37 — Dream collab with Drake

Episode Tone

The tone is playful, honest, and deeply relatable. Alex and Nelly foster an atmosphere of non-judgment, humor, and vulnerability, making the big themes of heartbreak, self-discovery, and reinvention feel approachable and inspiring.

Summary Takeaway

Nelly Furtado reinvents herself—embracing single life, celebrating her evolving confidence and body, and candidly sharing wisdom about love, loss, and resilience. Her message to listeners: Know yourself, trust your gut, own your worth, and don’t be afraid to start over—no matter your age or relationship status.