← Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Natasha Bedingfield — on feeling the rain on your skin and life lessons from Sia
00:44:58
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- [00:00]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
So I'm currently traveling abroad in London right at the moment, which is why so many of my episodes have people with British accents right now. It's amazing here. I love it. And until I need directions or restaurant recs or anything. And I've got no WI fi and sky high roaming fees, which is just. It's not cute. That's why I started using Saily. Saily is an easy to use ESIM app created by the folks behind NordVPN. It gives you instant mobile data in over 190 countries, and you only have to install it once. That means I didn't have to line up at the airport for a SIM card, get scammed outside the train station, or keep hunting for public wi fi signals like it's a rare Pokemon. Seriously, I sat outside of Wagamama the other day trying to get onto their wi fi for probably 20 minutes. I just opened the app, picked a regional plan, and boom. I had reliable Internet from Italy to Greece without switching a thing. Plus, Saily offers private features and 24. 7 support, which makes me feel a whole lot more secure out here. Get 15 off your saly plan with the code dinners on me. Just download the Saly app or head to saily.com dinnersonme S A I L-Y.com dinnersonme Stay connected and don't miss your dinner reservation. Okay, let's be honest. Staying hydrated is the only thing keeping me from turning into a raisin these days. That's why Fiji Water is always close by. Fiji Water really is from the islands of Fiji, 1600 miles miles from the nearest continent. It's filtered through ancient volcanic rock, naturally protected from external elements. And it picks up a unique profile of electrolytes and minerals along the way that gives it more than double the electrolytes of the other top premium bottled water brands. And that soft, smooth taste that I absolutely love. Unlike some other top premium bottled water brands, Fiji's water electrolytes are 100% naturally occurring. And Fiji's water has a perfect balanced 7.7 pH. I have no idea what that means, but I like the word perfect score. Okay? And since 2022, Fiji's water's 330 and 500 milliliter bottles have been made with 100% recycled plastic. So whether I'm backstage at home with the kids or planning our podcast recording, I know I'm hydrating the earth's finest way. Fiji Water. It's Earth's finest water. Hi, it's Jessie today on the show. You know her from her hits Pocket Full of Sunshine, Wild Horses, and of course, Unwritten. I'm here on a rainy day and I'm feeling the rain on my skin because no one else is gonna feel it for me. And I am here to meet Natasha Bedingfield.
- [02:55]
Natasha Bedingfield
Culturally, New Zealanders, they don't go inside when it rains. Like, they kind of just keep doing what they're doing. And it's a lovely metaphor. Like, just keep going. Just keep being who you are no matter what.
- [03:05]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
This is, dinner's on me. And I'm your host, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. I am so excited to be in London at the same time as Natasha Bedingfield. She is passing through. She's doing a million shows this summer. And I'm so excited that she agreed to meet up with me and have lunch. I'm such a huge fan of hers. Justin is such a huge fan of hers. I love her music. I love the positivity of her music. And it's a music that I feel like has been the soundtrack for really the last 20 years of my life. I'm so excited to meet her in person. I'm bringing Natasha to Mallow, right near the Borough Market. Borough Market is incredible here in London. It's very crowded, mind you, but it has incredible food, incredible shops. It's been here since like the 1200s, which is a long time ago now. Borough Market has never had a plant based restaurant until now. Mallow is the first. And I am so excited to bring my new friend Natasha Bedingfield to have some great plant based food. Let's get to the conversation. Where do you live?
- [04:08]
Natasha Bedingfield
Mostly I live in New York.
- [04:09]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Oh, you do? Okay, we're in New York.
- [04:11]
Natasha Bedingfield
Do you live Westchester?
- [04:13]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Oh, nice.
- [04:14]
Natasha Bedingfield
Near Martha. Martha Stewart. No.
- [04:17]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah, Martha Stewart.
- [04:18]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah.
- [04:18]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah. I've been meaning to go. So I'm really, I'm really good friends with Martha Stewart's, like, culinary advisor. I don't know what her exact title is, but they've been, they've been working together for like 25 years. And her name's Sarah Carey. I love her and she's one of my closest friends. At one point she was up there doing some prep work and she's like, just come up here. Martha's not here. Just come up and hang out with me. I was like, I feel weird, like going to Martha Stewart's house without her there.
- [04:44]
Natasha Bedingfield
I know. I actually went to Elton John's house without him there.
- [04:47]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
No.
- [04:48]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah. Cause my. You know how Elton and David Furnish are so amazing at encouraging new artists. My brother had Some hit songs. And then they invited me and my brother to stay the night. So we stayed at Elton's house.
- [05:00]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Is this the one that's in the south of France?
- [05:02]
Natasha Bedingfield
It's the one that's English. That feels like the queen's house. But I wasn't known yet. I hadn't released anything yet. And I never actually saw Elton. But I really bonded with David Furnish and that's when I noticed how good they are with really new talents.
- [05:15]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Oh, yeah, that's like.
- [05:16]
Natasha Bedingfield
And my brother was the one. And I was just the sibling, but they were so kind to me.
- [05:20]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
So your brother's also. I know that you performed with your siblings when you were young.
- [05:24]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah, yeah.
- [05:25]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
So your brother had.
- [05:26]
Natasha Bedingfield
My brother is the one who really knocked the door down for me because he wrote like he. He made music in his bedroom, so he would make your own stuff. And then it found its way into the desk of a dj and then there was a bidding war about him. So he's known as the father of garage music because his song is a really big hit.
- [05:47]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I don't know anything about that. I have to.
- [05:49]
Natasha Bedingfield
You'll probably know the song.
- [05:50]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I probably do.
- [05:51]
Natasha Bedingfield
Hello.
- [05:52]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Hi.
- [05:53]
Natasha Bedingfield
How are you? I'm good, thank you. How are you doing with the menu? Have you had a chance to look at the dreams? No, I would love a coffee, please.
- [05:59]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Oh, I think I would too as well.
- [06:00]
Natasha Bedingfield
What's the specialty thing? Do you have a. We do an amazing chai. I know that's not coffee. Amazing chai. Oh, yeah. But the coffee is also good for ch. I love chai. Do you have non dairy? We do. We have almond oat. Oat. Ch.
- [06:12]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
You're doing an oai? I'll do an OI as well. Can I throw a shot of espresso in there?
- [06:17]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah. Dirty chai.
- [06:17]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Dirty chai chai.
- [06:19]
Natasha Bedingfield
Lovely. And have you had a chance to look at the menu? I haven't looked yet.
- [06:22]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Is there anything we must try?
- [06:24]
Natasha Bedingfield
I would definitely try the wild mushroom ravioli. I'll have that for sure. Sure. Strawberry elm battoush makes a nice size there. Nice antidote.
- [06:32]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Oh, that sounds great.
- [06:34]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah.
- [06:35]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Okay.
- [06:35]
Natasha Bedingfield
Okay, so we're have the leek butter with some sourdough, the wild mushroom ravioli, the heirloom salad and the gobi. Amazing saffron pilaf.
- [06:45]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Were you on stage like last night?
- [06:48]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah, I was at the BBC on. On Friday. Big weekend.
- [06:53]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Looked huge.
- [06:54]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah, it was amazing. Yeah, it was amazing. So good. And then I was at another one in Leeds the next day. Yes, but I've just done four days in a row of shows. I did like eight days in a row. Six shows in eight days, but all in different places. So I was in Mexico City and I was in Chicago. I've just been doing so many different things at festivals, colleges, stuff like that.
- [07:13]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Do you still like performing live?
- [07:15]
Natasha Bedingfield
I love it.
- [07:15]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Your favorite thing?
- [07:16]
Natasha Bedingfield
I love it. I don't like the travel, but I like the performing.
- [07:19]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [07:21]
Natasha Bedingfield
I'm not nervous performing, which is nice.
- [07:23]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Oh, really?
- [07:24]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah.
- [07:24]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Have you ever been nervous?
- [07:26]
Natasha Bedingfield
I usually get, like, nervous afterwards, which I don't know if that's a familiar. If that happens to many people, but I don't get nervous before, but I usually feel like a kind of shame afterwards. Like this thing of like, oh, that outfit was a bad choice. Or like, oh, what do I think I'm doing? What a. This is a terrifying job. Because sometimes when you're actually up there, it's like, you know, So I kind of. My technique for not being nervous is to downplay it in my mind and be like, it's just a day at work.
- [07:50]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah.
- [07:50]
Natasha Bedingfield
But sometimes I arrive and I'm like, it's was not definitely just a day at work. It was like, that was at the, you know, O2 arena with 80,000 people. And I'm like, so you have, like.
- [08:01]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Retroactive, like, anxiety about, like, oh, my.
- [08:04]
Natasha Bedingfield
God, I can't believe what I did last night. Yeah. Shame spirit.
- [08:07]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I can understand that. Yeah.
- [08:08]
Natasha Bedingfield
You have had that before. Do you watch your things that you do?
- [08:11]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I do. Well, I used to watch, like, myself on, like, talk shows and stuff, and now I can't do it because of that very reason that you're saying. Because I'll watch myself, like, oh, why did I say it that way? Or like, so I'd rather it just, like, be in the past and, like, have it in my head and, you know, not have to, like, analyze it. But like, if I do watch myself, like, I watched every episode of Modern Family and part of it was. Cause I just really was. Thank you. Part of it was just. Cause I really enjoyed the people I worked with and I wanted to watch their work, and I was a fan of all of them and like, I was really proud of the show and I. You know, but sometimes I would. And I'd say, oh, they used that take. And I. It's not my favorite. And.
- [08:49]
Natasha Bedingfield
Right.
- [08:49]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
You know, or they'd cut it together strangely.
- [08:52]
Natasha Bedingfield
And yeah, it was like an angle of your face. Because when you're not. You're trying. You're trying to focus on acting. Well, you're not trying to focus on looking good. Right. So it's like one angle where you. Yeah.
- [09:01]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I discovered I was balding in the back of my head from watching Modern Family. I was like, what's that? What's that going on back there? Oh my God. Is that actually a thing that's happening?
- [09:09]
Natasha Bedingfield
That's super cool.
- [09:10]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [09:12]
Natasha Bedingfield
I love Modern Family and I really think it's changed the world.
- [09:16]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I mean, I tend to agree with you. I think that it did a lot of.
- [09:19]
Natasha Bedingfield
Particularly your character, particularly your. I really think you really made a huge difference.
- [09:25]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah. We have something in common and that we both grew up in religious families.
- [09:30]
Natasha Bedingfield
Oh, you did as well?
- [09:31]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah. I was raised Roman Catholic. I went to Catholic school from grade, you know, first through high school. I went to church like every morning and I sang in the church choir.
- [09:44]
Natasha Bedingfield
Really? Me too. I just remember noticing as a teenager that a lot of the Christian songs had sexual innuendos in them. It was because I was in the kind of very evangelical Christianity. And you'd be like, come, Lord Jesus. All those words can have double meanings. And I'm like, my dirty brain. Like, I just had to stop thinking of it like that. But there's something powerful about the music side, isn't there, with why I think all the religions use music? Because it kind of takes you. Takes you out of yourself and you're able to connect with other people and kind of relate to your higher self. Yeah, but we grew up with all that kind of very involved kids that was all very church based and really feeling quite passionate about it. You know, like there was a kind of a purpose.
- [10:28]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah.
- [10:28]
Natasha Bedingfield
I just remember thinking the world was a really horrible, terrible place. And then as an adult going, oh, this actually so much wonderfulness in the world and it isn't such a terrible place.
- [10:37]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I mean, I definitely, absolutely relate to that. You know, growing up queer and being raised in the Roman Catholic Church, I. So much of what was coming at me was stuff that scared me obviously, and like, you know, made me really worried about like the state of my soul and like what was going to happen to me. And you know, I had a very complicated relationship with organized religion and you know, for, I think for me and I don't know if I don't think this happens with a lot of people, but like, I had to really sort of step away from it. And now as an adult, you know, I'm coming back towards spirituality like on my own terms and you know, I found more peace, and I found more of a. I don't know, I guess like a church within myself that feels appropriate and correct.
- [11:27]
Natasha Bedingfield
There's an amazing priest who's not alive anymore, but his name is Father Richard Rohr, and he talks a lot about that kind of thing of, like, finding the parts of that religion that really were helpful. You know, I think he had a term called slaveholder Christianity. Like, there's a kind of exclusive Christianity that It's like a club. It's not really probably what Jesus would have taught.
- [11:51]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Right.
- [11:52]
Natasha Bedingfield
And it's kind of like people who are not really in touch with their consciences because they used to do terrible things, and then they go to church on Sunday with a pure heart and kiss their children and then actually do the most atrocious acts. So there's almost inherent in people this denial that is so thick and so much part of hereditary that's even hard to see. But when you go through hard things in life, like someone dying or, you know, that's when you really do need something to sustain you because those things are so incredibly hard. And you do need prayer and you do need fellowship.
- [12:27]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I 100% agree with you. I lost my mom in November, and I had such a. Thank you. I had such a. You know, because I'm not religious, I don't go to church every Sunday. But that was part of my history. And I found myself going back to a lot of those roots just for peace of mind. Because, you know, when you lose someone that's so close to you, there are those questions, like, where are they now? And, like, where is their soul, and how am I gonna stay connected to that person? I went through a real. I don't know, evolution with, like, how I feel about death. And, like, it was something that I feel like I had to do in that moment. Like, I don't think I could do it without having the actual loss in front of me. Like, I needed. That is sort of an impetus to sort of recalibrate and rethink about, like, how my. How I like my relationship with.
- [13:22]
Natasha Bedingfield
Well, that's apparently, again, what this Father Roar was saying is like the valley of the shadow of death. That's a moment where everyone faces at some point, but some people experience it much sooner. But that's a moment where you discover a new part of yourself and a new connection, like, a deeper connection with everybody else who's experienced the same thing.
- [13:39]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah.
- [13:40]
Natasha Bedingfield
And a lot of people do experience when someone dies is you can actually feel the spirit leaving. Like, there's something. There's something beyond just blood and guts. Like there's some energy exchange that happens.
- [13:54]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
For sure.
- [13:55]
Natasha Bedingfield
It's amazing, but it's horrible.
- [13:59]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I mean, no loss is very, very difficult.
- [14:04]
Natasha Bedingfield
I have a song called Wild Horses. It's a huge gay anthem. It's like so many people come up to me and say that's the song that they came out to encourage them to come out to their parents with. For me, it's like religious repression was powerful. And why did I write a song that lots of gay people feel such a resonance with? And I think it's because I understand repression.
- [14:27]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
What was your. Oh, yeah, interesting. I was gonna say what was your. What were you thinking about when you wrote Ryle Horse?
- [14:34]
Natasha Bedingfield
Well, just freedom. Being recklessly loving whoever you. Whoever you need to or want to and being. Yeah. Being allowed to be reckless. I don't know, who knows, like why you start writing a song and why sometimes you write a song for one reason and then it becomes true in many other ways.
- [14:54]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Right.
- [14:54]
Natasha Bedingfield
Because it's kind of like a deeper. You're kind of channeling in a way. Something I think.
- [15:00]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, Natasha tells me about how a poem for her brother turned into her biggest hit and the double edged sword of having success so early on in her career. Okay, be right back. This summer I'll be spending a lot of time in New York City working on Shakespeare in the park, which I am so excited about. But it also means I'll be away from home and Justin will be juggling the kids and the home fort, which is hectic without also having to worry about home security. That's why we use Simplisafe. We've got the full setup. Cameras, sensors, 247 monitoring. So whether I'm backstage in Central park or Justin's doing bedtime back home, we both know the house is protected. Simplisafe's professional monitoring team is amazing. If something suspicious happens, they can talk through the camera, trigger lights and even alert the police before anything bad happens. No contracts, no hidden fees. Monitoring starts at about a dollar a and there's a 60 day money back guarantee. Visit simplisafe.com Jesse to claim 50% off your new system with a professional monitoring plan and get your first month free. That's S I M P L-I S A F E.com Jesse there's no safe like SimpliSafe now that Beckett is 5 and Sully is not far behind at 3. I've been thinking a lot about school options. I want to set them up for success, but also make sure they're learning in ways that actually work. For who? That's why I love what K12 powered schools are doing. These are tuition free, online accredited public schools for kindergarten through 12th grade. Kids can learn at their own pace, in their own space with the curriculum that meets them where they're at. And let me be clear, this isn't homeschooling where you're on the hook for teaching everything. K12 has state certified teachers trained in online education using interactive tech that actually keeps kids engaged. Plus they offer clubs, social events and activities that make sure students don't miss out on connection. With over 25 years of experience, K12 has helped more than 3 million families. And it might be just right for yours too. Go to k12.comjtf that's the letter K, the number 12.comjtf to find a tuition free K12 powered school near you. And we're back with more dinners on mean. I know you've told this story so many times. I just find it so fascinating that, you know unwritten, which is one of the songs that you're most known for, was written for your brother. It was a poem for your brother.
- [17:46]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah. It's not so.
- [17:47]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
You were so young when you wrote that.
- [17:48]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah, I was 21, but he was young. He was 14. Maybe. I was 20 and he was 14. Yeah, yeah. It was my birthday presentation to my brother and. And that even like 20 years later, it's that age group that keeps on rediscovering the song.
- [18:05]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I mean, so many graduations.
- [18:07]
Natasha Bedingfield
Play it. If you look on Spotify, it's. It's mostly 17 to 25 right now that's playing it, which is, I mean.
- [18:15]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
The, that lyric that you were sort of talking about, about the rain is. It's such a evocative lyric and it, it's one of the things that's most quoted from that song. But I mean, saying feel the rain on your skin, no one else can feel it for you is very powerful.
- [18:31]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah.
- [18:32]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Did you see when else. Did you see when Drew Barrymore was like standing in the rain?
- [18:36]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yes.
- [18:36]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
That's what made me think.
- [18:37]
Natasha Bedingfield
It's called rain talk.
- [18:38]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah. But that's what made me think of it. She's like, go out in the rain and feel it.
- [18:42]
Natasha Bedingfield
Feel it.
- [18:42]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
You have to go out in the rain. It's the most wonderful thing.
- [18:45]
Natasha Bedingfield
There's also some funny ones where people are like, Natasha Benningwell, you like, basically you suck because this is not pleasant because it's like freezing cold or something.
- [18:52]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But it's not for everyone.
- [18:55]
Natasha Bedingfield
It's also like, my family comes from New Zealand, which rains every day.
- [18:59]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yes.
- [19:00]
Natasha Bedingfield
And so I realized that when I was in New Zealand at Christmas, that culturally, New Zealanders, they don't go inside when it rains. Like, they kind of just keep doing what they're doing. And it's a lovely metaphor. Like, just keep going. Just keep being who you are, no matter what. And.
- [19:14]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah.
- [19:15]
Natasha Bedingfield
Even like when you, like. I mean, I've done so much therapy, but like, people who encourage you to feel all your emotions, I feel. Feel them, like, feel the anger. Let it burn through you. Like, don't block it out like that. All of those things are really very powerful for growth.
- [19:28]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah, yeah. When you create something at such a young age and your first album was, you know, so successful and had these. This huge hit with Unwritten. Do you remember? I mean, and it's easier when you're younger because I feel like I let pressure roll off of me when I was younger. Like, I had. I just had no fear. I was like, next thing, bring it on.
- [19:50]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah.
- [19:51]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
And as an adult, you know, when you. When you create something or make something that's really good, I. Now I'm sort of saddled with immediate, like, oh, God, what next? Will I be able to top that? Or will be. Will I even be able to match that? Do you remember having any feelings like that when you. When you wrote your first songs and they were. They were so popular and how to, you know, keep up with this thing you've created?
- [20:15]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah. My second album in England was a flop. I wrote a song, it was really funny. It was called I Wanna have youe Babies. Like, songwriting is really fun. Like, I co write with people and it's. We feel like we're in snl. We're just writing bits all day and we write a lot of funny songs. And like, we wrote one song, my first album called Size Matters. Like, but not how you think. You know, like, we just kind of love playing with a double double entang. And so this one song was I want to have your babies. And it was all about what women are really thinking when they're on a date. I'm trying to find the father of their kids, of course. Like, you're just looking at their eyelashes and going, wouldn't it be great if my kid could have those eyelashes? But the British radio, they banned it on radio too. And they thought it was going to encourage young women to go out and have babies. You're just completely missing the point.
- [21:05]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
And that's also such an overreaction.
- [21:07]
Natasha Bedingfield
So weird. So, so weird. And so I went away to America and I added, like, seven new songs, and one of them was Pocket Full of Sunshine and Love. Like this huge hit.
- [21:17]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah.
- [21:17]
Natasha Bedingfield
And those end up being great. But that was a hard feeling to feel like, you know, you have a hit and then your label is, like, by the way, just to let you know, anything less than number one isn't a hit to us. Like, so just a number six is not. That's a failure to us.
- [21:33]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah. I feel like one of the reasons I connect so deeply with your music and so many people do, is that there's a lightness to it and there's a positivity to it. And kind of at a time when so many writers are writing about, like, yearning for love or, like, loss of love or, I don't know, just heavier topics, there's a lot of heartbreak. Like, if there's not. If there's no pain, like, they're not necessarily interested in writing about it. And I know that some of your songs do have that pain in it, but I think that you do lead with a positivity that feels. I don't know, it just feels very. I don't know, it feels very front footed, and it just feels very. It feels very positive.
- [22:17]
Natasha Bedingfield
Thank you.
- [22:19]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Does that.
- [22:20]
Natasha Bedingfield
I have to write a lot of sad songs to get to the happy ones, to be honest. Like, you just. I write hundreds of songs that don't get used, but I think resonating is the most important thing.
- [22:31]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah.
- [22:32]
Natasha Bedingfield
So for me, I guess the more. For some reason, the more positive stuff resonates more.
- [22:37]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Right, Right. I mean, you're now a mother. How would you describe your songwriting now? As, you know, a parent. And has it changed?
- [22:47]
Natasha Bedingfield
I don't know if it's changed. I think it's deepened. I think, like, I just don't have any writer's block in anymore. Like, I think it helps you make decisions quicker. Don't you think? You're like, this is my valuable time.
- [22:58]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Right.
- [22:59]
Natasha Bedingfield
I could be spending this time with my kid.
- [23:01]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah.
- [23:01]
Natasha Bedingfield
So this better be amazing.
- [23:03]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Just my focus is all over the map now. I don't have the focus that I used to have.
- [23:07]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah, me too. Yeah. Do you have mom brain?
- [23:09]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I do have mom brain. Yeah. Absolutely.
- [23:11]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah. You don't sleep enough.
- [23:13]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah.
- [23:14]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah.
- [23:14]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
And how did you meet your husband?
- [23:16]
Natasha Bedingfield
Okay. I met my husband in up the. In Nashville, in the Opryland, in A Gibson Guitar center in the Opryland Mall.
- [23:25]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Oh, interesting.
- [23:27]
Natasha Bedingfield
I was doing.
- [23:27]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
What was he doing there?
- [23:28]
Natasha Bedingfield
I was doing a radio showcase, and he was a friend of my friend, and he came along to watch.
- [23:32]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Oh, okay.
- [23:33]
Natasha Bedingfield
I think it was like, we, like, hung out all night with a bunch of friends, and then I. The next day I was just asking my friend, I'm like, was he hot? I think he was hot. Should I stay in touch? And then we started texting and. And then the rest is history. We've been together like 18 years.
- [23:48]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah.
- [23:49]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah.
- [23:50]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Is he.
- [23:50]
Natasha Bedingfield
He's a director, so he is a multi talented person. He does a lot of things. So he does real estate, he does directing. He makes music. He writes.
- [23:59]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Incredible.
- [24:00]
Natasha Bedingfield
He doesn't, like, have like a one. He's not like a, like one talent kind of person.
- [24:05]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah.
- [24:05]
Natasha Bedingfield
He's annoyingly good at everything.
- [24:07]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Oh, God.
- [24:09]
Natasha Bedingfield
He can play. He can play instruments better than me. But he doesn't go around saying that he's a musician. It's incredible. Yeah.
- [24:15]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Have you guys ever played together?
- [24:16]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah, I mean, just around the house. Like, we just. Just play. You know, our house is very musical. Have you ever written him playing the music? Not me. Yeah, we've written.
- [24:25]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Is he a good songwriter?
- [24:26]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah, he's great. He's. He has a record in Denmark.
- [24:29]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
He does that.
- [24:30]
Natasha Bedingfield
An artist he wrote all the music for.
- [24:32]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Oh, no way.
- [24:33]
Natasha Bedingfield
An artist called Aura Dion.
- [24:35]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
He's incredible. Hi. How are you? That looks incredible.
- [24:39]
Natasha Bedingfield
And the. Thank you.
- [24:42]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
That looks so good.
- [24:43]
Natasha Bedingfield
Should we put it on a different plate as well? Have you ever had the, Like a massage of your vocal cords? No, I had that. I know that sounds a bit dirty.
- [24:54]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
No, it. No.
- [24:56]
Natasha Bedingfield
That'S a double meaning right there.
- [24:58]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [24:58]
Natasha Bedingfield
Well, maybe I have, actually. No, but somebody actually.
- [25:02]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Thank you.
- [25:03]
Natasha Bedingfield
She. She. You go up in there and it actually warmed your voice up. It's kind of incredible. Yeah, that. All the way in there.
- [25:09]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I mean, I definitely. I. I one time on Modern Family, I. I stifled a sneeze. Like, I covered a sneeze because I was trying to save a take. And then for the rest of the day, I was like. I was getting very raspy and I was like, this is very strange. And then I basically started, like, losing my voice and, like, whistle tones were coming out of my mouth.
- [25:31]
Natasha Bedingfield
Wow.
- [25:32]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
And so I went to the doctor and he scoped me with, you know, a camera down my throat, and I completely ruptured one of my vocal cords.
- [25:42]
Natasha Bedingfield
Wow.
- [25:43]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
And I was it bleed, like hemorrhaged. Hemorrhaged. Yeah, it was, like, full of blood. And so they're like, you have to go on vocal rest for two weeks or else, like, you know, you're gonna do a severe dance. Well, I mean, I really couldn't even make any noise. It would have been crazy for me to even try. But, you know, on stage or, like, you know, when I've done shows on. On Broadway, specifically musicals, I mean, they're really good about, like, Yep, yep. Take care of yourself. Take care of yourself. In Hollywood, they're not so much that way. Like, they weren't really understanding, like, what vocal rest was, and they thought I could sort of, like, bake my way through it and just be quiet in between takes. And I was like, no, no. I, like, literally cannot say anything. So I had to completely be quiet for two weeks, and I had to still shoot because we had an actress in who was in just for the week, and we had to shoot the stuff with her. And so I basically just stood there and mouthed my lines while someone off camera said my words.
- [26:42]
Natasha Bedingfield
And then you had to go.
- [26:43]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
And then I had to go back and, like, try and match it. Like, two weeks later. It was a disaster. I mean, I opened that up, episode pops up. I'm like, oh, wow, I look like a bad ventriloquist.
- [26:53]
Natasha Bedingfield
I'm gonna look now. I'm gonna go through now and try and find it.
- [26:57]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
It's awful.
- [26:59]
Natasha Bedingfield
Who is that? You must always get asked, but who is the person in the show that is, like, your best friend or the stayed in town?
- [27:06]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Oh, my God. I don't think there's a single. I have such a different relationship with all of them. I mean, Julie Bowen and I have a very special relationship. She really does feel like a sibling. I'm really close with the kids. I'm close with my daughter. I go to, like, see her school plays.
- [27:23]
Natasha Bedingfield
Oh, that's lovely.
- [27:24]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
But that relationship feels different than the one I had with Julie. Yeah, Sophia's like, the one. I text her, like, you know, random videos of me. Like, who are you dating now? Why am I not getting any information? I treat her like a.
- [27:38]
Natasha Bedingfield
Like a cool cousin.
- [27:38]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Ty Burrell and I, you know, he's. We're like brothers.
- [27:45]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah.
- [27:46]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Ed o' Neill really is like a father figure to me.
- [27:48]
Natasha Bedingfield
So then you stay close then. That's so cool.
- [27:50]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah. I'm close with everyone now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, Natasha tells me about an embarrassing moment with Sia and what it's like to have unwritten continue to go viral after all these years. Okay, be right back.
- [28:12]
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- [29:36]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Hey, it's Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Being in London this season has been such an adventure, not just for me, but for my whole family. Justin and I recently packed up the kids for a whirlwind trip to Disneyland Paris. And watching them experience it all for the first time was pure magic. Of course, we also got to see the Eiffel Tower, which was what Beckett said he wanted to see when he came to London. Gotta work on that geography a little bit. These little getaways are what memories are made of, but as any parent knows, they take plan. That's why I love Airbnb's co hosting feature. If you're traveling for a few days or a few weeks, listing your space on Airbnb is such a smart move. And with their co hosting feature, you don't even have to manage the details. A trusted local co host can handle guest communications, check ins and everything else so you can be present for moments that really matter. Let your home work for you while you're away making memories. Go to airbnb.com hosts to find out more. And we're back with more dinners on me.
- [30:42]
Natasha Bedingfield
Have you ever, like, directed. Have you directed or written an episode or anything like that?
- [30:47]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Never did that. No. No, I think that would be a.
- [30:50]
Natasha Bedingfield
Good acting in general.
- [30:51]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I am going to direct. I actually am going to Direct.
- [30:53]
Natasha Bedingfield
I feel like it.
- [30:55]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
That's something I'm definitely gonna do. But I never directed an episode of the show.
- [31:01]
Natasha Bedingfield
Do you write? Are you a writer?
- [31:03]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I write a little bit. It's so funny when you're talking about lyric writing. I wanted to write a musical when I was younger, and I really wanted it to be about the Snow Queen.
- [31:16]
Natasha Bedingfield
The Snow Queen.
- [31:17]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I was obsessed with the Snow Queen. I was just like. I thought it was really fascinating. I loved kind of Evil, Mysterious Creatures. Fast forward. Frozen is about the Snow Queen, basically. That's basically what the story is.
- [31:27]
Natasha Bedingfield
Oh, wow. That's cool.
- [31:29]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
But I remember writing a song and the lyrics were so bad, and I still could play it on the piano. Actually, I'm friendly with Sia.
- [31:39]
Natasha Bedingfield
Oh, I love Sia, too.
- [31:40]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I love her so much. And I was at her house with some friends, and she was like, does anyone play the piano? I was like, I'm gonna play you the song I wrote when I was 14.
- [31:48]
Natasha Bedingfield
That's amazing.
- [31:49]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
And I kind of forgot how it went. And I was really embarrassed because. And I was nervous. Like, I was. I was playing Sia's piano and singing for her, and she's like, I have a video of me, you know, playing. Cause Justin immediately took out his phone and started recording my husband. And she's sort of standing behind me like a very supportive mother who's, like, not super into it.
- [32:08]
Natasha Bedingfield
That's very. That's when you go. That's very creative.
- [32:11]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I was not a very good lyricist.
- [32:16]
Natasha Bedingfield
But you had the passion.
- [32:17]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I had. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And I've never finished that musical.
- [32:22]
Natasha Bedingfield
I was late for a session with Sia one time.
- [32:25]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Were you?
- [32:26]
Natasha Bedingfield
It was before she had her, like, whole pop thing, because she was it.
- [32:30]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
When she was just writing music.
- [32:31]
Natasha Bedingfield
So I was a fan of her when she was in 07 and when she had her own solo CIA furlough. CIA furlough stuff. I've been, like, following her for years. And then I wrote a few songs with her. And one time I was late. And this was. This is before chandelier and all of that. And she. I think I was probably half an hour late. And she was like, I just decided to have a day off. If it's not that important to you, then it's not important to me. And I'll just give myself a day off. I just was always late. I was always late. There was a good day.
- [33:01]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Very promptly.
- [33:02]
Natasha Bedingfield
I was like. Had only had my career for about a year or two, so I was brand New artist. So you were number one. You know, I was busy. And then a lot of times your schedule gets packed, packed, packed. So you're kind of a bit late because it gives you a little bit extra time.
- [33:15]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Okay. Have you gotten better with that?
- [33:17]
Natasha Bedingfield
A little bit. Now I just tell people to lie to me, what time to come.
- [33:21]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I do that. I have some friends where I just know I have to do that.
- [33:23]
Natasha Bedingfield
Well, yeah, that's the kind of lie I don't mind. But it was a good lesson. It was like a kind of like. Oh. Oh, wow.
- [33:29]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Did you ever have a makeup session with her?
- [33:31]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah. Yeah. And we wrote some amazing stuff. That never released yet. Not yet.
- [33:36]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Oh, really? Oh, interesting.
- [33:38]
Natasha Bedingfield
I actually went back and listened to it and it's. There's one song that feels like a huge hit.
- [33:42]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Really? When did you write it?
- [33:44]
Natasha Bedingfield
It's irrelevant. Especially now, since after all the things that the world's been through. Honestly, I can't believe it. It's in the archives. And I was just like, this song would be a hit.
- [33:53]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
So you wrote it a long time ago.
- [33:55]
Natasha Bedingfield
Like 19 years ago. It would be a hit. If I put it out right now, will you? I could.
- [34:02]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Do we need to call Sia and make sure that we can.
- [34:04]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah, no, we could. It.
- [34:06]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
It's gotta be so weird. Like, when you wrote Unwritten, social media wasn't even a thing.
- [34:14]
Natasha Bedingfield
I know. Yeah.
- [34:15]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
And now you've got to witness it, like, go through, you know, obviously was the theme song of the Hills.
- [34:23]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah.
- [34:23]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Which, you know, which a lot of people came to you through just being a fan of that show. It must be so weird at, you know, 20 something years later to see it have this whole other life with a whole new generation of people on this platform that never existed. We didn't have phones in our hands.
- [34:43]
Natasha Bedingfield
No.
- [34:43]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
You know, 20 years ago.
- [34:44]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah. I mean, you couldn't put a picture of yourself out without, like, checking with the record company, like, is this picture approved or do I wearing enough makeup? But yeah, I remember when YouTube first started and people started singing people's songs, like, miming to people. We were like, this is so funny, you know, Like, I remember. Do you remember that?
- [35:05]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [35:06]
Natasha Bedingfield
And then Vine.
- [35:07]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Vine.
- [35:08]
Natasha Bedingfield
So the first. So the first time Unwritten went viral after being. It was like six years after it was released when it was a kid in a car, he's singing Unwritten as he's got a traffic light out the window. And that went viral. Ed Sheeran just recreated that act, actually.
- [35:23]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Oh, he did?
- [35:24]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah. Because it's one of those ones that people remember. Yeah. It's amazing. I actually do like TikTok because I. I feel there are so many different communities on TikTok. There's quite a lot of positivity. And it's not just dance. I'm not really a dance moves person. When I first came out 20 years ago, every pop girl in England was. Was dancing. Pole dancing, but like dancing and miming.
- [35:48]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah, yeah.
- [35:48]
Natasha Bedingfield
Like, that was what a pop music was.
- [35:50]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [35:51]
Natasha Bedingfield
And I was like, no, I'm singing live and I'm not doing any dance moves. And that was in itself such a battle.
- [35:57]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah.
- [35:58]
Natasha Bedingfield
Like, what are you thinking? Like, why aren't you doing dance? Because I'm just like, that's not the. I can't mime. I just pretend I can't do it.
- [36:05]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah. When you say miming, you mean like lip sync?
- [36:07]
Natasha Bedingfield
Lip syncing?
- [36:08]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [36:09]
Natasha Bedingfield
Using a recorded voice and pretending.
- [36:11]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Right, right, right. Who are some of the people that you like, young artists that are coming up now that you're admiring?
- [36:20]
Natasha Bedingfield
Oh, yeah. I love Olivia Dean.
- [36:24]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I know her.
- [36:25]
Natasha Bedingfield
So great. Such a great voice. And there's an artist called Mauro who's from Portugal. His voice is so silky, so wonderful. I love Lola Young. Super fun and real and honest. And I really also love Chapel Roan.
- [36:44]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Chapel Roan's great.
- [36:45]
Natasha Bedingfield
I play Chapel Rome before I get ready for my show. It really puts me in a good mood. She's an amazing singer, so I can sing along, belt along to all her songs.
- [36:53]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah, yeah. Have you ever met her?
- [36:55]
Natasha Bedingfield
No, I haven't yet. Loved to meet her.
- [36:56]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I'm dying to meet her.
- [36:57]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah.
- [36:58]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I'm dying to hear this song that you wrote with Sia.
- [37:01]
Natasha Bedingfield
I know, it's so beautiful. It's called Build It Up. It's. Oh, it's powerful. Like once you've been through something devastating and that you were going to just keep building it up brick by brick, it's truly a stunning song.
- [37:17]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Why have you not released it yet?
- [37:19]
Natasha Bedingfield
Well, the label just chose not to use it and then I just found it again recently and was like, this song is genius. So I think I should put it on my record. I think you should, but I've got a bunch of new songs. I'm very excited when they're like my babies.
- [37:34]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah, I bet. When is new music coming out for you?
- [37:37]
Natasha Bedingfield
I don't know exactly when because it's kind of like I have to have the bandwidth to really promote it.
- [37:44]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah.
- [37:45]
Natasha Bedingfield
But ideally as soon as possible. Could be great to put new music out.
- [37:50]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
- [37:54]
Natasha Bedingfield
Do music videos.
- [37:57]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Do you like?
- [37:58]
Natasha Bedingfield
Should I get all my famous friends in there?
- [37:59]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah. I did Taylor Swift's video. I'll do one of your videos.
- [38:02]
Natasha Bedingfield
You did?
- [38:03]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
You did. I did a Taylor Swift video.
- [38:05]
Natasha Bedingfield
Oh, my gosh. That would be amazing.
- [38:06]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
You need to calm down.
- [38:06]
Natasha Bedingfield
Can you please be in one of my videos?
- [38:08]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I will absolutely be one of your videos. No one ever asked me to do fun stuff.
- [38:11]
Natasha Bedingfield
I would love that. That would be so cool.
- [38:13]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Oh, Betty who?
- [38:14]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah, I love Betty.
- [38:14]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I was in a Betty who video, too.
- [38:15]
Natasha Bedingfield
Amazing.
- [38:16]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Did you like?
- [38:17]
Natasha Bedingfield
It was a good experience.
- [38:17]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Betty who and Taylor Swift. There's another two people who asked me.
- [38:20]
Natasha Bedingfield
Well, I'm asking you now, so I'll.
- [38:22]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Absolutely be your video.
- [38:23]
Natasha Bedingfield
Amazing. That's so cool.
- [38:26]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Do you like doing that part of it?
- [38:28]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah. The creative part. The parts that remind you that this is art, you know, and there's parts that make you feel like it's a brand or.
- [38:39]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah.
- [38:41]
Natasha Bedingfield
You know, there's parts and then you go, oh, yeah, this is art.
- [38:43]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [38:45]
Natasha Bedingfield
Do you feel like what? No, I'm just gonna ask you so many things, too, because you've asked me so many things.
- [38:53]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
You can ask me anything.
- [38:54]
Natasha Bedingfield
I'm so interested. When you said that you grew up in the church, do you feel healed from the kind of difficult parts of that? Like, from having to.
- [39:05]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah. It's an interesting question.
- [39:06]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah. Like, does it still hit you sometimes? The shame or the.
- [39:09]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Like, the shame doesn't hit me. I get.
- [39:12]
Natasha Bedingfield
Remember that moment. Shame. Shame in Game of Thrones.
- [39:17]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah, that's right. That's right. It's not shame. It's more. And I hate to hold resentment because that's not helping anyone, and it's something I'm working through. But, like, I do have a bit of resentment toward just the environment that I was placed in at such an early age. You know, being a gay kid, it's a very difficult thing. I have so much empathy for kids who are growing up in a place where they don't feel like are part of the country, where they don't feel like they have a community. It's one of the reasons why I do love what you're just saying about the social media and TikTok and how you have a community. You can find people in any part of the world that you can relate to, and I think that's really important. It's one of the great things about social media.
- [39:58]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yes.
- [39:58]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
And things like, you know, podcasts and. And television. Shows and.
- [40:02]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah.
- [40:02]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Why I'm so proud of Modern Family. You know, these. The stories will reach people in places that they need to be reached. I didn't have any of that growing up. I had.
- [40:10]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah, you didn't.
- [40:11]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I had the environment that was around me and, you know, limited resources. I didn't have cable tv, you know, and I didn't. I had a very microscopic sense of the world, and so it was. It was hard. It was really hard growing up.
- [40:29]
Natasha Bedingfield
Did the environment make you feel like you. There's something wrong with you within it or that you had to. Did you have to pretend to be something or.
- [40:37]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I was never ashamed of myself, which. I'm really proud of myself for not being ashamed.
- [40:42]
Natasha Bedingfield
That's good.
- [40:43]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I did feel like I had to really keep a secret, though, and any sort of exploration of the LGBTQ community felt really wrong and dirty and it. That's what I resent. I didn't feel like it was, but I felt like any. Any. Any opportunity I took to, like, look into it was going to get me in trouble.
- [41:09]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah. Yeah.
- [41:11]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
So, like, any outreach that I might have given. Reached out for, like, any. Anyone I would have reached out to would have. Would have felt wrong.
- [41:18]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah.
- [41:18]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
And that I resent.
- [41:20]
Natasha Bedingfield
Rejected.
- [41:20]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah. Yeah, I resent that. And, like, I. I have incredibly supportive of parents, but at the time, you know, they were. They were struggling with it, and I don't blame them at all. Like, I think, you know, I think growth is really beautiful. I think everyone has. Everyone should feel like they can grow. Like, we should never feel like we're. We are the people who we are. Like, we're not raised to be a certain way. And my. Both my parents did an incredible work on themselves and really understood so much about who I was, and they came so far with that.
- [42:00]
Natasha Bedingfield
Did they, like. Did they. Was it kind of that thing, like, this is what boys do, like, kind of be. Be a man? Like, was it that kind of thing?
- [42:08]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
You know, it's interesting you ask, because I was sent to a psychiatrist when I was young. It's almost like they needed a medical professional to tell them that I was gay, even though, I mean, like, the signs were all there. And they could have just asked me.
- [42:23]
Natasha Bedingfield
But it was a secular. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's good.
- [42:26]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I remember the psychiatrist, and I didn't. I didn't know at the time that that's what it was, but it was pretty clear. You know, I go in and play with this person, they would have, like, Barbies and they'd have, like, gi. Joes. And, like, they're like, what do you. What do you want to play with? Like, I remember, like, that was. They would just observe me and watch me play, and I was, like, always playing. There's a board game called Life, and I was, like, always interested in playing Life. And they're like, well, it sort of like, sits right in the middle, doesn't it?
- [42:50]
Natasha Bedingfield
It's a nice, serious kid.
- [42:51]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. They weren't getting the answers that they wanted because I wasn't. I wasn't attracted to Barbies or GI Joes. Like, those weren't. Yeah. I was a kid. I was interested in, like, coloring.
- [43:06]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah.
- [43:06]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Like, what are you coloring? I was like, I'm just coloring a house.
- [43:09]
Natasha Bedingfield
So almost overanalyzing at that point. Yeah.
- [43:12]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
But, yeah, I think that they. They needed answers. They needed someone to sort of tell them how to navigate that. But after I left and I went to New York to study acting, and I became more of, like, who I ended up becoming, like. And I felt I found my community and I found my people that I was able to open up to that allowed me to be more open with them. And, you know, we met somewhere in the middle, and, you know, my parents were both at my wedding to my husband. And obviously, I told you my mom passed away, but, like, she loved her grandkids, and my dad loves his grandkids, and they really are wonderful. They were wonderful parents, and they are wonderful parents. And. But it took a while, and I think a lot of it was the environment I grew up in, and a lot of of it was the. The church. I mean, it was. It was hard.
- [44:04]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah. And. But. But even in Hollywood, you. I feel like you were. A lot of times, gay characters were played by straight guys.
- [44:13]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah.
- [44:13]
Natasha Bedingfield
Like, I feel like you actually were able to bring the authenticity that was. Hadn't been allowed either. Even in Hollywood, I was proud to.
- [44:20]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Be an out gay and playing an out gay man on tv. Yeah.
- [44:24]
Natasha Bedingfield
Man. I thank you on behalf of everyone, really. That's very sweet.
- [44:28]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Thank you.
- [44:29]
Natasha Bedingfield
Because that's how I feel is that the gay community has just brought so much freedom to me and so many people, because it's just. It's all about authenticity. And, you know, Apple, you know.
- [44:44]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah. I mean, it's why. I mean, they resonate so much with your music.
- [44:47]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah.
- [44:48]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Yeah. You have a huge LGBTQ fans.
- [44:50]
Natasha Bedingfield
I really do. Yeah. And I love it. And I feel like the only crowd who really understands what I'm singing about for some reason, and who kind of care about the words. Yeah, yeah. We're not the only crowd. But like, there's a deep understanding that.
- [45:04]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
In a very deep way.
- [45:05]
Natasha Bedingfield
Yeah, yeah.
- [45:06]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
So nice meeting you.
- [45:08]
Natasha Bedingfield
You too.
- [45:08]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
I'm such a fan of yours.
- [45:09]
Natasha Bedingfield
Thank you. Me too. Likewise. It's a really pleasure. Thank you for having me on this.
- [45:14]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Absolutely.
- [45:14]
Natasha Bedingfield
I'm so glad to do this.
- [45:25]
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
This episode of Dinners On Me was recorded at Mallow in Borough Market in London's Southwark neighborhood. Next week on Dinners On Me, you know him from queer TV favorites like Looking and American Horror Story nyc. It's Russell Tovey. We get into growing up queer in 90s Essex, his new exciting project called Plainclothes. And we get emotional talking about special furry family members. And if you don't want to wait until next week to listen, you can download that episode right now by subscribing to Dinners On Me. Plus, as a subscriber, not only do you get access to new episodes one week early, you'll also be able to listen completely ad free. Just click Try free at the top of the Dinners on Me show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial today. Dinners On Me is a production of Sony Music Entertainment and a kid named Beckett Productions. It's hosted by me, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. It's executive produced by me and Jonathan Hirsch. Our showrunner is Joanna Clay. Our producer in the UK is Grace Laker. Our associate producer is Alyssa Midcalf. Sam Baer engineered this episode. Hans Dale. She composed our theme music. Our head of production is Sammy Allison. Special thanks to Tameka Balance Kolasny and Justin Makita. I'm Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Join me next week.