Dumb Blonde Podcast: Reby Hardy

Date: February 19, 2026
Host: Bunnie XO (Don Blonde)
Guest: Reby Hardy

Episode Overview

In this candid and hilarious episode, Bunnie XO sits down with Reby Hardy, model, viral creator, wrestling personality, and wife of Matt Hardy. Reby opens up about her wild life journey, from growing up in Queens to being a child bride, her modeling and wrestling careers, and her current "gothic baby" viral fame. The conversation covers family, trauma, internet drama, overcoming adversity, and what it means to build your own identity when you’re so often defined by those around you.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Being Known as "Matt Hardy’s Wife"

• Reby shares frustration at being reduced to her husband’s identity.
  • “It really does, like, discredit literally everything I've ever done in my life. Like, all the cool shit that I've ever done. It was before I met him, really.” – Reby Hardy (03:22)
  • She explains feeling overlooked and dismissed by outsiders who only categorize her as part of a celebrity couple.

2. Growing Up in Queens, NY & Family Dynamics

• Turns out Reby lived a colorful, hands-on childhood in Queens.
  • Her father was the superintendent of their apartment building, influencing her love of DIY and antiques (04:26).
  • “Shout out to my dad because he busted his ass. I feel like everything I have now, even like the gothic baby stuff in my life and my DIY stuff is watching him.” – Reby (04:26)
• Parental relationships:
  • Parents eventually separated; mother moved to North Carolina, father now lives near Reby in NC (05:22–06:18).
  • She felt somewhat like an only child, as her siblings were much older.

3. Teen Turmoil: Child Bride & Family Trauma

• Reby tells the wild story of being married at 16.
  • “The whole thing started when I was 15… I was sort of in the foster care system for a minute. I was in the troubled teen industry.” – Reby (12:29)
  • Placement in a "troubled teen" facility, a rocky relationship with her mother, and being pushed into marriage to avoid CPS trouble.
  • “My dumb ass at 15, I'm like, oh, I love him... It's like this random dude I've known for a few (months). What do I know?” (15:00)
• How the marriage unfolded:
  • Lasted about two to three years, never truly felt like a marriage, both had to work to survive—Reby worked as a belly dancer at weddings and bar mitzvahs (16:13–16:28).

4. Modeling Breakthrough: Accidental Playboy Feature

• Modeling career launched unexpectedly after uploading glamour shots online.
  • “We shot some stuff that ended up being the guy who shot my first Playboy pictures. My first Playboy pictures. I didn't even know we're gonna be… I got a call from this guy six months…he's like, no, no, we're gonna be in Playboy.” (17:45–18:32)
  • Used the opportunity to aggressively market herself and “hook my trailer up to that,” building her name in modeling.

5. Unexpected Route to Wrestling and Meeting Matt

• Radio work and sports fandom led to wrestling.
  • “I was like a showbiz kid… I never thought… I would have any involvement in wrestling at all… I ended up being a fill-in host… kept doing that kind of stuff… and then eventually… everyone who would come in would say, man, you should be in the business…” (07:17–11:23)
  • “Literally, two months after I started training, I got a deal with MTV2 for a wrestling TV show.” (11:57)
• First match aired on live TV with little training—thrown right into the fire.
  • “My first match, my first proper match was televised on live tv.” (19:59)
  • Describes the hazing culture and “pecking order” in wrestling (22:26–23:22).

6. Meeting Matt Hardy, Internet Romance, and Industry Drama

• Met Matt Hardy through Twitter, thanks to a well-intentioned wrestling fan.
  • “Literally, it just started with bullshit flirtations back and forth because, like, this random fan on Twitter decided that we needed to be together out of thin air.” (24:34)
• Navigating backlash:
  • Immediate backlash from wrestling fans and industry insiders, especially around starting a relationship while Matt was undergoing personal struggles and breakups (26:26–27:32).
  • “I've always had a very, like, troll mentality. Like, you're not about to talk crazy to me.” – Reby (27:17)
  • Discussion about the impossibility of pleasing everyone online and setting boundaries (32:49–34:39).

7. Building the Hardy Family Compound & Lifestyle in North Carolina

• Life on 100 acres, living in a family compound next to generations of Hardys.
  • “Matt had the 40 acres on it, and then we've sort of built on. Jeff, his brother, is next to us, and then across is their dad, who's passed, and then next to that is my dad.” (29:20)

8. The Viral “Gothic Baby” Phenomenon

• Originated from her passion for antiques, inherited from her father, and viral misunderstandings online.
  • “The whole gothic baby thing started as like a satirical response, like, to what these people were saying. Like, oh, this gothic baby just mopes around all day surrounded by darkness…” (33:00)
  • Clarifies the difference between “gothic” (a design style) and “goth” (a subculture).
• Balancing viral fame and authentic lifestyle:
  • “It started because that's what the hell was happening in my house, you know?” – Reby (33:57)
  • Plans for “Gothic Baby” branding, including a children’s book centered on inclusivity (33:57–34:24).
  • Older kids react to anything “black” or “gothic” as “gothic baby” now (34:58).

9. Wrestling Legacy: Kids and the Hardy Path

• Discussion about homeschooling, kids' involvement in wrestling, and possible continuation of the Hardy legacy.
  • “I feel like the older one…he's almost like a jaded vet. Like, he's over it…The other two…very much into it.” (37:04)
  • Mixed feelings about letting her kids follow in the wrestling footsteps due to the harshness of the business (37:57).

10. Manifesting the Future

• Reby’s dream for the Hardy family:
  • “I would love to have like a… like a reality series or something and make it sort of like a modern-day Addams Family.” (38:41)
  • Desire to show positive alt-family representation on TV; talks in the works for TV projects (35:39).

Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• On being known as Matt Hardy’s wife:
  • "Just fuck me, I guess. What am I, chopped liver over here?" – Reby Hardy (03:32)
• On her child bride youth:
  • "I was married before I went to my first prom." – Reby Hardy (15:23)
• On the origins of gothic baby:
  • "The whole gothic baby thing started as like a satirical response, like, to what these people were saying…" – Reby Hardy (33:00)
• On handling internet negativity:
  • "You're damned if you do, you're damned if you're down. So just live your life like, who cares?" – Don Blonde (34:51)
• On what she wants for the future:
  • "There's already so many misconceptions about every single person in this family at this point that it would be nice to, like, one, clear the air and then two, like, just share the the good parts." – Reby Hardy (39:17)

Important Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamp | |---------|-----------| | Reby on being reduced to “Matt Hardy’s wife” | 03:22 | | Childhood in Queens, NYC; influence of dad | 04:14–05:48 | | Family drama, parental separation | 05:53–06:18 | | The child bride and trauma | 12:11–15:34 | | Early work as a belly dancer | 16:28 | | Accidental Playboy modeling story | 17:32–18:32 | | Getting into wrestling, MTV2 debut | 11:23–11:57, 19:59 | | Wrestling culture, hazing, “pecking order” | 22:22–23:22 | | Twitter romance with Matt Hardy | 23:31–25:15 | | How the Hardy compound came to be | 28:13–29:32 | | Origins of “gothic baby” | 30:31–33:29 | | Branding plans for Gothic Baby | 33:57–34:24 | | Wrestling legacy & kids’ interests | 37:04–38:06 | | Manifesting a future “Adams Family”-style show | 38:41–39:27 |

Flow & Tone

Throughout the episode, both Bunnie and Reby maintain a raunchy, fast-paced, irreverent tone—openly laughing about life’s traumas, internet haters, and the absurdities of both fame and family. The chat flows easily from serious topics—like being a child bride and dealing with public scrutiny—to playful banter about Gothic décor, belly dancing, and reality TV dreams.

Final Thoughts

This episode serves as a unique blend of raw storytelling, comedy, and genuine inspiration. Listeners are treated to Reby’s resilience and humor, gaining insight into how she built her own identity through adversity, transformed pain into viral success, and continues to carve a distinctive path for herself and her family both online and off.

Social Links:

• TikTok: @RebyHardy
• Instagram: @RebbySky

“Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Dumb Blonde! See you next week.”