The Moment Everything Changed for Riley Gaines

Summary

Podcast Summary

The Isabel Brown Show

Episode: The Moment Everything Changed for Riley Gaines
Air Date: June 5, 2026
Host: Isabel Brown (The Daily Wire)
Guest: Riley Gaines

---

Episode Overview

This episode of The Isabel Brown Show centers on an intimate conversation between Isabel and Riley Gaines, focusing on the transformative journey of motherhood, the challenges of being a public conservative figure today, and how personal and cultural crises have informed their values and activism. The two friends discuss the legacy of slain activist Charlie, the unique pressures on modern conservative women, motherhood’s joys and difficulties, and the urgent need for truth in a fragmented society.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Motherhood: Joys, Struggles & Personal Transformation

• Both Isabel and Riley share candid stories about pregnancy, childbirth, and early motherhood, emphasizing its humbling and empowering impact.
  • Riley describes her unexpected love for giving birth (“I loved giving birth. I loved it. I loved every part of it.” – Riley, [13:29]) and the unexpected appreciation for epidurals.
  • Both recount the exhausting and sometimes comical realities of labor and new motherhood, including Riley’s competitive approach to giving birth, and Isabel’s frustrations with prolonged labor.
  • They discuss how motherhood has brought a newfound softness, patience, and depth to their identities.
• Notable Quote:

  “I loved giving birth. I loved it. I loved every part of it. ...I wanted to be as natural as possible. I didn’t want an epidural.”
  – Riley Gaines, [13:29]

2. Political and Cultural Fatigue

• Riley voices her exhaustion with political discourse and online outrage, expressing the difficulty of remaining optimistic in the face of relentless negativity on platforms like X (formerly Twitter).
  • She articulates the sense of futility and isolation that comes with online activism: “You say one thing, you're criticized by this crowd, you say the other opposing view, you're criticized by the other crowd. It seems like you can't make everyone happy..." ([05:02])
  • Isabel agrees, noting the unique anger and toxicity online.
• The conversation touches on the shift in their circles since Charlie’s assassination, mourning a lost sense of purpose and authenticity among conservative leaders.
• Notable Quote:

  “I don’t see Charlie’s death, or any of the topics truthfully, as something that is politically expedient, as a way for me to climb the ladder and gain personally from it.”
  – Riley Gaines, [09:45]

3. The State of the Conservative Movement

• The duo reflect on the personal and institutional hypocrisy in the conservative movement, highlighting the difference between living by values versus merely proclaiming them.
• Riley expresses concern over "podcast vultures" exploiting tragedy for attention, and calls for genuine, values-driven activism.
• Notable Quote:

  “We have the tagline of faith, family and freedom really memorized, but they don’t live by it.”
  – Riley Gaines, [07:48]

4. The Erosion of Truth and Womanhood

• Isabel and Riley discuss how society is “outsourcing” femininity, motherhood, and even gender identity, referencing current developments such as artificial wombs and debates around womanhood.
• Riley details the profound sense of responsibility she felt holding her daughter, shifting her activism from personal grievance to generational protection.
• They decry the influence of media figures like Alex Cooper, who push hyper-sexualized, anti-family messages to young women.
• Notable Quotes:

  “I think the next target is the family unit.”
  – Guest Host/Interviewer (Isabel), [35:34]
  “It almost feels like an attempt to normalize pedophilia.”
  – Riley Gaines, [37:26]

5. Combatting Cultural Decay: Recommendations for Policy and Personal Action

• The conversation shifts to actionable ways to defend families and conservative values, urging legal accountability, removing liability shields from vaccine manufacturers, and defunding Planned Parenthood.
• They stress the importance of educational standards and the role of parents in shaping cultural narratives.
• Notable Quotes:

  “We want accountability. We want transparency. We want things to happen fast.”
  – Riley Gaines, [39:36]

6. Motherhood as a Force for Cultural Renewal

• Both women argue that promoting family and faith is an antidote to modern nihilism and existential crisis, insisting that gratitude and personal purpose are radical, restorative acts.
• Riley addresses criticisms of young conservative mothers and the "trad wife" ideal, advocating for realistic support systems and self-knowledge as a path to fulfillment.
• Notable Quotes:

  “I realized how selfish I was prior [to motherhood]. …This version of me now is so much better than the version of me even seven months ago and certainly prior to conception.”
  – Riley Gaines, [47:52]
  “Mother Teresa once beautifully and very famously said, if you want to change the world, go home and love your family.”
  – Guest Host/Interviewer (Isabel), [55:17]

7. Looking Forward: Unifying the Conservative Movement

• Riley identifies the biggest internal threat facing conservatives: factionalism and a lack of authentic values within their own ranks.
• She calls for a renewed focus on building strong families, supporting genuine leaders, and cautiously discerning between authentic and performative conservatism.
• Notable Quotes:

  “I think we need to kind of check what’s going on inside our own house, what’s happening right here in the conservative movement. There’s a big fracture.”
  – Riley Gaines, [53:07]

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments with Timestamps

• On Enjoying Birth:
  “I loved giving birth. I loved it. I loved every part of it.” (Riley, [13:29])
• On Political Fatigue:
  “I feel exhausted. ...I am just so tired. I'm tired of, honestly, even consuming political content. I am sick of creating political content.” (Riley, [03:56])
• On the Conservative Movement After the Loss of Charlie:
  "Charlie...was clear about the things that mattered: get married young, have a family, have children, seek true joy, pursue the eternal, pass down your values. ...His mission has now become his legacy." (Riley, [07:33])
• On Social Media Criticism:
  "You say one thing, you're criticized by this crowd, ...you can't make everyone happy, ...but it feels particularly bad right now.” (Riley, [05:02])
• On Gratitude in Motherhood:
  “I wake up every day and I feel so fortunate. …Being her mom, that’s the thing that has felt the most purposeful and rewarding and satisfactory…” (Riley, [46:21])
• On the Antinatalist Trend Online:
  “Newsflash. If you have to go online and declare you’re so happy with this angry face because you don’t have children, chances are you’re really not that happy.” (Riley, [33:06])
• On Unifying Conservatives:
  “I would love to see going into 2026 is maybe not even necessarily a reunification, because ...I don't think there's value in unifying with people who don't align with you at all.” (Riley, [53:07])

---

Segment Timestamps

• Motherhood, Childbirth Stories: [12:57] – [19:32]
• Political and Cultural Fatigue: [03:47] – [06:30]
• The State of the Conservative Movement: [07:33] – [10:17]
• The Erosion of Truth, Influence of Negative Media: [26:12] – [35:08]
• Defending Family, Policy Suggestions: [38:02] – [41:50]
• Hardest Part of Motherhood: [45:45] – [47:52]
• Trad Wife Aesthetics, Supporting Young Women: [49:13] – [52:39]
• Biggest Cultural Issue for Conservatives: [53:07] – [55:48]
• Closing Reflections and Resources: [55:48] – end

---

Conclusion

This episode offers a clear-eyed yet hopeful perspective on motherhood’s power to reshape lives, the calling to live out enduring values, and the responsibility to stand for truth in a turbulent culture. Isabel and Riley peel back the curtain on their private and public struggles, showing that the true revolution begins at home, with gratitude and courage—no matter how overwhelming the world (or the baby) might seem.

---

Transcript

[Narrator/Host]

Colorado is trying to silence free speech again. A state law forces businesses to use customers preferred pronouns even if they're biologically inaccurate. With the help of Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian bookstore and a sports apparel company are challenging the law, but a court recently ruled against them. They appealed the ruling and with ADF's help, they'll keep fighting another attempt by Colorado to skirt the First Amendment. Learn more about how you can support free speech by Texting Wire to 83848 or going to joinadf.com wire Brendan I'm

[Brendan Steinhauser]

Brendan Steinhauser, CEO of the alliance for Secure AI. We're a coalition of patriotic Americans who want to stop AI from taking our freedoms. Big Tech is propping up AI powered mass surveillance and exploiting our children online. This is not the future we want. The alliance is working hard to ensure that we put Americans first. Join [e-mail] to learn more.

[Alliance for Secure AI (Sponsor)]

Paid for by the alliance for Secure

[Riley Gaines]

AI I loved giving birth. I loved it. I loved every part of it. I wanted to be as natural as possible. I didn't want an epidural.

[Isabel]

Let me tell you, greatest invention in all of human history.

[Riley Gaines]

Oh my gosh, I loved the epidural. So if you're a mom and you're listening to this and you're thinking, you don't want an epidural, you go girl, you do it. I think you absolutely can do it. Don't get the epidural if you don't want it. But for me, I loved it. So much so that I still had like my legs in the stirrups. The doctor's down there, you know, and I say like, I'm ready to do that again. Like, Louie, let's have our second baby. And the doctor, he takes his mask off and he looks up and he's like, what did you just say? He's like, I've never heard someone in your current state, so they're ready for that. Truthfully, I loved it.

[Isabelle]

Hello, party people. I am headed to Texas today for annual conference put on by Turning Point usa. One of my favorite events of the entire year, the Women's Leadership Summit, where I will be giving a speech on Saturday. We'll make sure you guys have a chance to see it for yourself here on the channel as well. But one of my favorite people in the entire world will also be joining me this weekend at the conference as a featured speaker, and that is my beautiful friend Riley Gaines. You guys probably know Riley for all of her incredible activism in protecting women's only spaces, especially in athletics and saving women's sports. But I talk to Riley almost every single day among some of our other

[Isabel]

mom friends and our cute little mom

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

group text about what it's like to

[Isabelle]

be a mom and confronting all of the new challenges and hurdles in our lives of parenting. Her beautiful daughter Margo is absolutely a joy to be around. And my daughter Isla loves spending time with her. And you guys have had tons of questions you've been wanting to ask Riley about this beautiful journey of motherhood. So without further ado, let's dive right in.

[Isabel]

My favorite human being, maybe on the planet, joins us today on the show. Riley Gaines, thank you for being here. This is fun. Oh, my gosh. This is how we normally hang out.

[Riley Gaines]

I know. With the playground behind us. This is so exciting. Welcome to Nashville.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Thank you.

[Riley Gaines]

You rock. Super duper excited for this conversation. I think a little different, at least for myself, than what our audiences are used to hearing from us.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Well, so this has been a long time coming, and we've wanted to do one with a couple other of our friends who are also new moms that

[Isabel]

I know we're still working on on the back end because we have the

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

cutest little group text with all of

[Isabel]

us new moms this last year, talking about everything we're experiencing every day, all

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

of our questions, all of the things

[Isabel]

that we're frustrated going back and forth

[Riley Gaines]

about school and how it is a little more difficult when you're on the road and you're not in your normal setting and routine. So it is fun. You kind of get to go through, like, all the ups and downs and milestones with each other.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

And I wanna get into that because I think that's been the most fun

[Isabel]

I've had with you this year, is

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

not talking about politics at all, because we get so exhausted from that, but instead sharing the beauty of motherhood and

[Isabelle]

being that village for each other.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

That said, you said something right before we started recording that I think would be interesting to get into for a minute about political fatigue. How you feeling? Tired.

[Riley Gaines]

I feel exhausted. Just to preface, like, I certainly recognize the platform that I feel God has blessed me with and the ability to do good with that. But at the moment, I am just so tired. I'm tired of, honestly, even consuming political content. I am sick of creating political content. I don't really know what it is. I don't know if it's as much as what's going on in the news itself. I feel like there's a level of me that you kind of sit back and wonder, like, is what I'm doing even really making a difference? Yeah, I feel like a lot of the conversations and headlines now, they're so heavy and they're so dark and nothing is really changing about them. Hence, I mean, take for example, the third assassination attempt on President Trump that happened at the time of this filming, what, like, a little over a week ago. It's already totally out of the news cycle. And to me, that is such a telltale sign of where we are culturally that there was a third assassination attempt on the president. It's not even being talked about anymore. All that being said, I just feel fatigue. I feel like there's so much outrage online specifically. I think each social platform kind of curates a different audience and a different response. But even right now, over on X, which I generally view as more right wing, I find there's so much anger if you go through okay, but X

[Isabel]

has always been angry. I have had Twitter, the place dreams go to die for a long time. It does uniquely feel pretty bad, though,

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

the last couple of weeks.

[Riley Gaines]

It is true.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

I don't even like opening the app right now.

[Riley Gaines]

That is so how I feel. I have become a pro at what I call post and ghosts.

[Isabel]

Yep.

[Riley Gaines]

So I'll post my thoughts on a specific topic and then I'll, like, log out of the app and I won't come. So I bet my screen time on X, or really most of the social platforms is maybe 30 minutes a day, which it sounds like a lot, but I'll log on for a few minutes, scroll, and then I get off. Because the comments, the topics, it's just a lot, a lot of things that, of course, I care very deeply and passionately about, mainly the cultural issues, things that do affect our children, Margo and Isla. That's what I think. You know, I mean, really, how I guess I got the platform that I do or that I have now, but a lot of the international relations, truthfully, I can recognize it's a bit over my head and understanding it and certainly being able to provide commentary to it. You go online, you say one thing, you're criticized by this crowd, you say the other opposing view, you're criticized by the other crowd. It seems like you can't make everyone happy, which that's been the case really, since the beginning of time. But it feels particularly bad right now.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

You got into this business the same way that I did, although we talked about different subjects along the way to get to where we are now because you wanted to make a difference and because you cared about this idea of fighting for our country and our culture. And you were inspired by mostly our friend Charlie to get involved. And we've worked together for years in and out of the Turning Point USA Circle. I know this has been an extraordinarily difficult year for our family, and I know for your family as well. Every time I think I'm done crying, I'm not done crying about it, but I think I've seen this massive cultural shift since Charlie was killed in how we talk about cultural affairs. Because honestly, for Charlie, this was so much bigger than politics, what we do every day, Right. It wasn't just about electing the right guy to sit in the Oval, which he was very passionate about, obviously. But once he became a parent, it became so clear to me that what he was fighting for was so much bigger than that and so much bigger than Republican politics or the conservative movement. It was about timeless values of truth and being able to pass those down to our kids. And do you think our culture is losing sight of that? And where can parents make a bigger difference there?

[Riley Gaines]

You know, I think the thing about Charlie is the talking points weren't really provocative because he really did live it. He was very clear about the things that mattered in life. You know, get married young, have a family, have children, seek true joy, pursue the eternal, pass down your values. Like that was his mission. Of course, his mission has now become his legacy. I do believe it's our job to carry that on. But he really lived by what he preached. Now we have lots of, whether it's members of Congress, whether it's elected officials, whether it's people who, you know, label themselves as MAGA influencers, who I believe, kind of hide behind the cloak of conservatism, who have the tagline of faith, family and freedom really memorized, but they don't live by it. They are having secret affairs, they're sleeping with, you know, other women, maybe sometimes even many women, as they're married with kids at home. So seeing a lot of that, I think, again, it's kind of contributed to the fatigue, because as someone who is first and foremost a Christian, but secondly, a pretty principled conservative, it's hard to watch that and understand, again, especially when we're talking about those who are elected. Those are people who are supposed to represent me and you. And oftentimes they're certainly not representing us, especially behind closed doors. So, yeah, Charlie, him being gone, we really feel it. Our culture does, across the board. The conservative movement does. But I think especially our generation, younger people, there's a big void. And I think in that void, we've seen the emergence of what I kind of call like the podcast vultures who have utilized every opportunity to capitalize, to monetize, to benefit from his assassination, his murder. And again, maybe I think this is where you and I are a little different, where we didn't necessarily want to be in the position that we're in. It's never something that we were vying for. At least I'll speak for myself. Like, I didn't major in anything in school that would prepare me for this. Like, there's no part of me being totally transparent, even still, that, like, necessarily wants to be doing this.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Right.

[Riley Gaines]

We were just talking about offset, about how it's just not even natural for me to sit behind a camera or with lights. Like, I feel very uncomfortable sometimes. Of course, you develop and you learn and you grow from that. But I think that's another part of me why it's hard for me to open the apps. Because I don't see Charlie's death or any of the topics truthfully, as something that is politically expedient, as a way for me to climb the ladder and gain personally from it. Where I think there's a lot of people, again, those who call themselves MAGA influencers, who do view these things as that.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

And that's just one example. I think Charlie's assassination, this could be applied to basically anything that we talk about on a day by day basis. But I don't know about you, I noticed a pretty big vantage point shift in how I viewed the world when I stopped just being a student, going to these conferences and I started making content and joining the creator side of things. And it was almost like you get a peek behind the curtain in the

[Isabel]

wizard of Oz and you realize who the wizard actually is. And it's this, like, I didn't realize that there was this much crazy going

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

on behind the scenes. And I think that should be obvious to anyone watching this right now that of course, people who have some sort of public Persona usually have some stuff going on behind the scenes. But I was so really disappointed. I was really hurt when I discovered how many people I looked up to for so long in this world of politics, where, again, you think there are so many people who are in this for all the right reasons, faith, family and freedom, and that's what we're fighting for every day, don't actually live by those values on offense and put their actions behind what they're verbally saying every day.

[Riley Gaines]

I went to the RNC convention, I think in 2024. In July of 2020 24, leading up to the presidential election in November. You know, the app Grindr literally broke down at the RNC convention. If you don't know what Grindr is, it's like this gay hookup app. Dating. Yeah, yeah. Dating is.

[Isabel]

Dating is not the right hookup app.

[Riley Gaines]

It broke down because there were so many users lovely at the rnc. So, yeah, there has been lots of moments where you have the veil almost lifted. And I don't think it, at least for me, I don't think it's. I don't feel cynical about it. But there is a part of you that's like, oh my gosh, I had no idea. And again, that contributes to the feeling of, can I really even do something about all of this as one person?

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Right, right.

[Riley Gaines]

Which I think there are shining stars and great examples of this. People like Nick Shirley. He's proof that one person can really make a difference, especially a young person. Again, who has no intention, I believe, of causing the uproar that he really has, but nonetheless and doesn't wanna make it about himself.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Like ultimately his videos aren't about himself. And I love that about Nick. But that's also what I've always loved about you, is your entire mission and your entire fight has always been about handing things down to the next generation of girls and women and creating this platform that you lend to other people to use their voice and embrace that megaphone. That's why I love Charlie too. I mean, he really was a one of one in that world and they took the best of us when they killed him on that college campus several months ago. But I have loved seeing this new generation of people who were inspired by Charlie, including you, start to have families, start to get married and embrace this live it on offense concept that isn't just hiding behind a microphone and spouting all of this onto the Internet, but really with our choices and how we live our day to day lives. So perfect segue into what we're actually

[Isabel]

talking about today, which is being a mom. You and I have bonded more on this over the last year than any other subject, which is really fun as a change of pace, frankly. I'm so tired of texting people. Did you see what so and so tweeted? Like, I'm just over it, frankly. But I love asking you for baby pictures every day.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Let's just start with your experience giving birth to your daughter. Because I think one of the last times we had you on the show, you Were right about to give birth to her. You were kind of freaking out about

[Isabel]

all of the crazy fear mongering that you were seeing on social media.

[Riley Gaines]

The girl with the list. Yes.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

It's horrible. I know. What surprised you about having Margot.

[Riley Gaines]

You know what? I was just talking to Reagan about this. Reagan is, like, imminently about to go into labor. She might be in labor right now. We are not sure. The cutest little pregnant girl. Okay. I was just talking to her about this. I loved giving birth. I loved it. I loved every part of it. I will say I ended up being induced, which wasn't necessarily in the birth plan.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Ah, the plan.

[Isabel]

The laminated, underlined, bold plan.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Don't do a plan.

[Riley Gaines]

No, the plan goes out of the window. Like I had, which I feel like this is pretty standard, I think, especially for young conservative women starting their families. Like, I wanted to be as natural as possible. I did want epidural, let me tell you.

[Isabel]

Greatest invention in all of human history.

[Riley Gaines]

Oh, my gosh. I loved the epidural. It makes you feel, like, warm, almost like I felt like I had a heated blanket around me. I felt like the perfect amount of heavy. Like, it felt like you had a weighted blanket. So if you're a mom and you're listening to this and you're going into. Maybe you're going into labor and whatever amount of time and you're thinking you don't want an epidural, you go, girl, you do it. I think you absolutely can do it. I hated when I was. When I was, you know, Excuse me, when I was pregnant and telling people I didn't want an epidural. And they'd say, oh, you just. You'll change your mind. I'm not gonna say that to you. I think you can do it.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Absolutely.

[Riley Gaines]

Don't get the epidural if you don't want it. But for me, I loved it. I loved it. And it made birth the most. I don't think it was necessarily that, but the birthing experience. They broke my water at, like noon. I started pushing at, like 12:20. Baby was here at 12:30. So, like, it was super quick. I don't know if it's like the competitive side of me, maybe just like the athlete of me. It almost felt like, hurry up, get up. It felt like almost like a competition. I don't know who I was competing with or what. Obviously the prize was the baby. The prize was the baby. I wanted to meet her as fast as possible. I loved it. So much so that I still had, like, my legs in the stirrups. And the doctor's down there. You know, I will say I had, like, a very minor tear. And so he's down there doing whatever he's doing. And I say, like, I'm ready to do that again. Like, louie, let's have our second baby. And the doctor, he takes his mask off, and he looks up, and he's like, what did you just say? He's like, I've never heard someone in your current state say they're ready for that again. So I truthfully, I loved it.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

I did, too, actually. And I wasn't expecting to, because I

[Isabel]

suffered from something called prodromal labor for

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

about a week and a half. Reagan and I had.

[Isabel]

Have now bonded over this as well as she's getting ready to give birth.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

But no one ever warned me that you can be in, like, actual labor for upwards of a week and a half, two weeks, where you're actually contracting. It's not Braxton Hicks, but your cervix just isn't dilating. Nothing's happening.

[Isabel]

So you just have to deal with it, basically, until something happens.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

So I got sent home from labor and delivery three times, and they're, like,

[Riley Gaines]

so, like, feeling all the pain.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Oh, it was all the things. I timed it with my little timing thing. They're like, yep, it's time to come into labor and delivery. We're gonna monitor you. And then my cervix just wouldn't progress in any specific way. And they're like, okay.

[Riley Gaines]

Were they concerned at all? Could be six hours, could be six days.

[Isabel]

Come back when this happens again.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

But hopefully we don't have to send you home again. And by the third time they sent me home, I was so frustrated that I was like, that's it.

[Isabel]

I'm not going back to the hospital until I literally cannot stand up on my own.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

We're not getting sent home again.

[Riley Gaines]

Castor oil.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

No, I didn't.

[Isabelle]

I was too afraid to do it.

[Riley Gaines]

See, I did, because again, which I was doing this at life.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Maybe that would have helped.

[Riley Gaines]

I, like, 38 weeks, I don't know,

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

37 weeks hit, and I was like, get out of my body.

[Riley Gaines]

Right? I was so just. Again, it was like the feelings of just. You're overwhelmed with excitement to meet the baby. So I felt great, but I was like, I want to meet you now. So we're going to go do the curb. Walking the carb.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Walking the bouncy ball. To just sit on the ball.

[Riley Gaines]

Yes. All the things. I don't know if any of it Worked.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Oh, I tried sprinting down the sidewalk at 37 weeks pregnant. We needed footage of this 50 yards.

[Isabel]

It was excruciatingly painful. Do not recommend. Anyway, similar situation.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

And by the time I actually knew I needed to go into the hospital, we had been in the night before and they sent me home and I was 39 weeks to the day. So 39 and 0. And I woke my husband up at like 3am and said, I think we gotta go back to the hospital. I'm so sorry.

[Isabel]

I hate waking you up all these nights. I'm so sorry.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

But we got in and I think we were admitted by about 3:30. And Isla was born at 11:36. As a first time mom, they promised me that was not going to happen. Like you, I caved, so to speak, and kind of went against my original plan of not really wanting an epidural. But I got one around 5:30 in. I took a two hour nap, an actual nap, best nap of my life. It does.

[Riley Gaines]

The epidural makes you sleep like so good.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Yeah, your body's so exhausted but you're just fighting and fighting and fighting and I think it just helps you relax to a great part. But it was beautiful. I pushed three times for three contractions. That was it. She was out.

[Isabel]

No feeling whatsoever.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

It was beautiful. And I just remember feeling so ethereal in that moment. Like the veil between heaven and earth was so thin. I felt the presence of God more deeply than in the entire process of labor. Not just in the actual delivery moment, but than I ever have in my entire life. And it was magical. I just wished that I could have savored it even more because it went so fast.

[Riley Gaines]

You know, it's so interesting you say that about, you know, feeling the presence of God because I feel like being a mom, it really has allowed me to understand or at least feel like I understand. I don't think it's ever something we can fully truly grasp, Christ's love for us. Now having a little daughter, it's like, oh my gosh, there's nothing I wouldn't do for you. Like the altruism that you feel and the selflessness that you feel, you grow in all the best ways. You become more patient. I believe I've become more kind. I've become more compassionate. And again, there are certain areas where, I mean accounts and instances in the Bible I think of like Abraham who takes Isaac up to be sacrificed. I think to myself, like, no way I would do that. Sorry. Like if you needed me to sacrifice Margo, like I actually don't think I could do that. So all that to say, it's given me a deeper understanding of Christ's love for us.

[Isabelle]

So as I have incorporated texting my other mom friends every single day with

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

all the cute baby pictures into my

[Isabelle]

life as one of the ways to

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

keep me grounded during this crazy season

[Isabelle]

of new motherhood, one of the other things I've really prioritized this last year is centering my day around a routine of daily prayer. And Hallow, the world's largest prayer app, has made that so much easier than ever before in my life. It seems like there's a lot of people searching for that underlying peace in our lives right now as we're trying to keep up, to stay ahead, to manage all of the responsibilities in our lives. And at least for me, I don't know about you, even when life is going really, really well, there's still kind of this underlying restlessness that's stirring in my heart that can only be satisfied through God. June is the month of the Sacred Heart, and this year Hallow is launching a brand new challenge called the Heart of Jesus challenge. A 12 day journey into the heart of God. Guided by our friend, host of pints with Aquina, Matt Fradd, and Sister Maria Goretti, who's awesome by the way, the Sacred Heart of Jesus points us towards something dramatically different from the constant busyness and restlessness of the world by giving us a love that is personal, a love that knows us completely, and a love that remains even when we fail. A lot of the themes of this challenge actually come from Matt's latest book called Jesus Our Refuge, which is so

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

good, like one of the best books I've read in a very long time.

[Isabelle]

And this prayer challenge is an opportunity for us to get to know God and reflect on our relationship with him that much more deeply.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

All at the same time. This is happening.

[Isabelle]

The bishops are consecrating our country this month to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The whole nation of America will be consecrated to Christ's heart. And you can entrust your heart to Jesus today too. Download the Hallow App and get 3 months free for thousands of other prayers, guided meditations, music, podcasts, and so much [e-mail] Isabel and on the note of restlessness, I did not realize as an adult how horrible my sleep every single night was.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Was, was, was. Until I fixed it. Clearly I need longer sleep today too.

[Isabelle]

I used to wake up groggy every single morning. I would struggle and hit the snooze button like 15 times before I rolled out of bed, drag myself through the

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

morning and need at least six cups of coffee to like get through the day.

[Isabelle]

Truly it was bad. But now I am up before my alarm. I am so clear headed and I actually have the energy to start my day every single day. And that is all because my family switched about a year ago to a Helix mattress. It has completely changed the way my

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

husband and I sleep. I run really hot at night. If you're a mom, you know.

[Isabelle]

You know. And their cooling technology has been a total game changer. Especially going into summer in Washington D.C. i fell asleep a lot f stay asleep a lot longer and I wake up actually rested and ready to take on every day.

[Riley Gaines]

And here's the thing.

[Isabelle]

Helix is not one size fits all. They have tons of different offerings based on what might work better for you. 20 different options in fact that you can figure out based on their very easy to take online sleep quiz and they ship straight to your front door for free. They offer a 120 night sleep trial so that you can make sure it's the right fit for whatever you're looking for. And they're happy with Helix guarantee makes it totally risk free. They are also the most awarded mattress brand out there. So don't just take my word for it people. Head to helixleep.com isabelle for 20% off site w that's helixsleep.com isabel do you

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

feel like becoming a mom? And I'm curious especially given your situation as a working mom like me. I get criticized a lot. Because you're like not really a conservative trad mom right.

[Riley Gaines]

As you're working the fatigue because it's on both sides.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Yeah, it's horrible. It's exhausting.

[Riley Gaines]

But I feel them did this to Erica too.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Oh, all the time. Who is incredible by the way and spent the last several years of her life really behind the scenes entirely at home and not in front of the world. But. But regardless, I think being a mom has allowed me to embrace God given femininity in a really unprecedented way in my life. Whereas previously certainly I was a feminine woman. I wore makeup and I took care of myself and I wore a lot of dresses and I liked girly frilly things. I grew up doing ballet like all the girly things. But I think I felt this pressure to embrace a masculine dominant strength previously. Especially in a career field and especially being a mom to a daughter. Now I just feel a lot softer in my life.

[Riley Gaines]

It is so true. There's a level of just like serenity and Calmness and softness that comes with, I think, being a mom. Not even really just being a mom, being a parent. Because I've gotten to witness Louie change, too, which is one of the most amazing things. You think you love your husband as much as you can possibly love them, and then you watch him become a dad, and then it's like your heart grows 10 times. Watching how he has become softer, but softer in a masculine way, I think, of course, it's different, you know, his softness versus my softness. But, yeah, just the maternal instinct. It's instinctual. It's innate. It's very primal, which sounds kind of weird. And I always knew, like, I'm not one of those girls who, you know, wondered if they wanted a family. Like, I knew I wanted a family with lots of kids. I have lots of siblings. So I think growing up around that, that's what you want for yourself. So I figured at least the maternal instinct would really kick in. But boy, does it, you know, like, it's. It's amazing. And to the femininity piece, too, being able to nourish your baby, nursing, I think that contributes a lot to it, because, of course, it's something that only the mom can do. Louie can help with the diaper changes. He can help, you know, rocking her to sleep, whatever the task is throughout the day. But when it comes to feeding her, that's something only I can do. And there's a dependence and reliability and a really special bond that's created between baby and mom when you're able to do that, if you can do that. And it's one of the most magical things that really, I think, allows me to lean into that feminine role, because, like, you, again, I think it's being an athlete. I think it's being put in the position that we have been put in, where you do have to be a loud voice, and oftentimes with that, you have to be assertive, you have to be aggressive, you have to be dominant. Those are traditionally masculine traits. Women, on average, tend to be more emotionally driven and apologetic and very empathetic, which are great things. It's what makes us wonderful moms and sisters and wives. But our role, I believe it doesn't really allow for us to be apologetic. You know, we can't stand on our soapbox and preface by saying, I'm sorry for feeling this, but. So I do feel like we've had to kind of embody masculine features and characteristics over the past few years. But I totally agree. The past seven months, I've been able to Witness myself become softer. Not in a way that disqualifies me even from the role that we're in now. Yeah. But maybe a greater understanding into some of these issues and the perspective shift that you have when you have. I think especially a baby girl, it almost like reinforces the necessity and the urgency of which we must combat all the cultural chaos that's really plaguing our country.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

I know you believed this prior to having a daughter, and I certainly do too, that young women are uniquely under attack today and that our culture is just doing everything they can. Not just to ostracize femininity and attack womanhood the way that we saw with men, but I really think intentionally attempting to erase womanhood in every way humanly possible. We are outsourcing the most beautiful parts of being a woman, whether it be birth or breastfeeding or anything, to something else. Right. Whether it's a laboratory or a birth

[Isabel]

robot in China, which are real things.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

I mean, it's crazy.

[Riley Gaines]

Pete Buttigieg with that, like, bionic breast. I thought about that. Bionic breast.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Insane. I still can't believe that happened.

[Isabel]

You're probably next Vice President of the United States. All of that to be said.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

How has having a daughter made you think about that? Harder. Maybe not just in the realm of women's sports, but across the board.

[Riley Gaines]

Well, you know, again, it's. It's when you hold her actually even further back than that, before she was even technically out of the womb. You go to that first ultrasound appointment at eight weeks old, maybe seven weeks even, and you hear that heartbeat. Guess what? That was like. Undeniable life. But only you feel yourself changing. I changed radically then. Not in a way that made me. I've always been pro life, I guess, for context. Not to say like it was at that point I knew she was a living human being. No, I've always been pro life. But it was undeniable. Guess what? That heartbeat, it beat just like mine did, and just like yours does. It was amazing to be able to witness that. Hear that granite much faster than mine is beating, what, like 170 beats of

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

air at the time.

[Riley Gaines]

I'd be having a heart attack if that was the case. But nonetheless, it was a heartbeat. And then you go to the 20 week scan and you see little hands and little feet and the cutest little side profile. And they were able to tell me, you know, obviously it's a girl and she has a lot of hair. I remember being so amazed. Like, you know, you can see that she has hair and I'M only like halfway through my pregnancy. That is so cool. Then the labor and delivery process. You hold her in your arms for the first time, and again you look at her. And my perspective shift because I think a lot of how I viewed these topics, and understandably so it was pretty selfish. I approached it from the lens of what I had experienced, where it was how I had been personally and negatively and directly impacted by this. But holding her in my arms for the first time, it was like, you selfish woman. Who cares how you have been affected? It's not about you, it's about her. And so it was really right then and there, which was a very dark. Not to be dramatic, but I gave birth to her at the end of September. Charlie was assassinated on September 10th. And so those two weeks or so, I think I was like, you know, 39 weeks pregnant when he was assassinated. I was so just like. The emotions were so heavy. I think a lot of that was obviously the events, but the hormones that you're feeling. Like, I was in a state of, do I even wanna bring life into this world anymore? Like, what? For someone to potentially assassinate her mother for having the same beliefs that Charlie did, that to me wasn't that far out of realm to even think that or consider that. I still don't think it is. No. I've sat right at that table with him on these college campuses, like that very easily could have. And so thinking all these thoughts where I vowed to myself, I was done with this occupation, you know, my safety. I wanted to prioritize that because I wanted to be a present mom for her. But then you hold her in your arms and it's like, dang. The best and only way, really to protect her is to put yourself back out there. And so all of these emotions kind of all at once, but it did just. It reinforced why we must. Because you think about, again, it's not about the future that you want for yourself. It's the future you want for your kid. And what did I want for her? I want her to inherit a country that is more safe, more fair, more just, more moral, more righteous. And if I have the ability to do that or in some way shape or form can impact that and have lasting impact, then, goodness, I'm gonna do what I can to make sure I can do that for her.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

So how would you respond to this growing sentiment that it is such an unprecedentedly horrible time to bring children into the world?

[Riley Gaines]

You know. Well, that's first and foremost why we must. Because I do believe there's A part of our culture that has been overtaken by the radicals, by the left, by the woke. You know, dub it what you want to dub it. We need strong Christian conservatives with biblical worldviews reproducing. I mean from a biological sense and from like, you know, what is real and what is true in terms of just growing our population. That is why we must. But I think having a child as a parent, it causes you to be more conservative naturally. So I think if we're able to influence younger generations to consider having children, even if it's something that maybe they're not really wanting for themselves, to just consider the fantastic blessing it is to bear children, to bring life into this world, to nourish them, to watch them grow, to be a good parent, to set that example for them, I think we'll see a conservative culture shift. So to be a part of that is pretty special. And I do think we're living in kind of like this unprecedented time where actually Michael Knowles and I were just talking about it not even a week ago, where we're seeing Gen Z, specifically young men returning to church, converting to Catholicism. It's really amazing. So I think we are seeing a shift, but it's the generation before us that I think is really like looming very dark and heavy and making it seem as if the world is bad. But I think it's Gen Z who often gets the label that we're the ones that's going to destroy America totally. I really believe it's Gen Z that's going to save America. I think it's the generation before us that failed. And I often see with this like

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

antinatalism thing from other women based in a place of severe insecurity and doubting and rejecting the choices that maybe they made along the way, the number of angry, miserable, wallowing 40 year old women in my comment section all the time being like, how dare you tell 20

[Isabel]

somethings to have kids? I never had kids.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

My life's great. It really feels like this extra layer of projection and total self denial about what type of lifestyle they're actually living in. And I think our generation is looking at that, thinking to ourselves, you're miserable. I don't wanna live like you at all. I wanna embrace something that's bigger than myself because I don't necessarily love myself right now.

[Isabelle]

Right?

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

I mean our generation is walking through a very severe mental health crisis. We are being told nothing matters because everything matters all at exactly the same time. And it's this constant existential exhaustion that is creating an Understandable or a non understandable reality. Truly, there is no up or down or left or right or truth or. And so having something to anchor you that is bigger than yourself is a powerful draw. That exists in the church, but I also think it exists in the family.

[Riley Gaines]

I agree. And to the point you made about these angry women online. Newsflash. If you have to go online and like declare you're so happy with this angry face because you don't have children, chances are you're really not that happy.

[Isabel]

Yep, probably.

[Riley Gaines]

So, yes to all of this, the existential questions that young women are having. Absolutely. I have a younger sister, actually. She's 17, so she's a junior in high school. It's totally different even witnessing her. We went to the same high school. It's a public school. What she's experiencing in high school now, from when I was there, gosh, like 10 years ago, which I don't feel.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

I know that went way too fast.

[Riley Gaines]

I don't feel like I should say I was anywhere 10 years ago.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

I feel that.

[Riley Gaines]

But seriously, like from the time I was there, it's a totally different experience. There's so much confusion in being a young girl. You're told to be anything you want to be, except for feminine, except for faithful. I think a lot of that is to thank people like Alex Cooper, who is one of the actually probably, if not the most influential, largest female podcasters. Of course her target audience is young, vulnerable, impressionable. And what is the message or the advice? I don't even know if you can really call it advice that she's giving them. It's to hook up with whoever you want. It's to date around. She talks about sleeping with your teachers, sleeping with your professors, cheat on your husband. Oh my gosh. She's like graphically demonstrating how to perform sexual acts.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

She literally said the other day on the second night that you know a guy, you should let him have anal sex with you.

[Riley Gaines]

But that's not safe. That sounds safe, right? Like exchange bodily fluids through anal on the second day. So going somewhere like, oh my gosh, this is who young women are listening to, though. So to have voices like you out there to really counter that, really, really powerful, really, desperately needed. But I think people are just as much as you're desperately needed. I think people are desperate for it. Yeah, young women.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

We're starving for truth and just an anchor. I mean, honestly, even the idea of the erosion of truth to get us where you cannot answer the question, what is a woman? Our entire society broke over that.

[Riley Gaines]

What do you think is kind of like the next thing? That's a great question. It's hard to predict because I don't think five years ago we would have. Maybe five years ago. I don't think a decade ago.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

True.

[Riley Gaines]

We would have predicted that we would reach the place that we're at now.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

I've never thought about this before, funny enough.

[Isabelle]

And you've never.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

I don't think I've ever had anybody ask me this. They started with men. Men being toxically masculine. They went to women and are now trying to erase womanhood. I think the next target is the family unit. And I think they'll do everything they can from a legal perspective, if they ever regain power, which is probably likely to, in some ways, outlaw the concept of family as we have known it as the foundation of Western civilization. And I don't mean, like, legally prevent you from being able to have your own kids and do, like, the whole Handmaid's Tale thing.

[Isabel]

Maybe.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Maybe it goes that far. But allowing it to be a lot easier for the government to take custody of your kids. We've seen that in blue states all over the country. If you disagree with them, transing themselves at school, then the government will just take their kids crazy.

[Riley Gaines]

I think they make it easier. Not easier, but you get more benefits. I think we have 17 family incentive programs, such as, like, Snaps or whatever. They make it easier or. Excuse me, you get more benefits if you are a single parent. So much so that I was watching a video the other day of a young boy who came home, he was so proud, he got a job, and his mom was like, you better quit that. Because if you have a job and you're bringing in money, it messes up our opportunity. Yes. It disqualifies us from some of these government benefits. You're kidding. So I do. I agree with that. They'll make it, I guess, less beneficial to have children. So I do think the president has done a great job of incentivizing growing your family through his different childcare, tax cuts and no tax on tips, no tax on overtime. These are wonderful things, keeping money in the pockets, parents. But yeah, I agree with that. You think we'll ever reach a point where now we're denying, you know, sex, male, female. I wonder if we'll reach a point where you. Which this is kind of truthfully where I see it going, which is. Seems super Orwellian and super out there and, like, we could never reach this point. But again, who would have ever thought we'd get here I wonder if we'll reach a point where we deny age. It almost feels like an attempt to normalize pedophilia.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Yeah, I mean, there's been a lot of that for the last several years. And that's not even a new concept with this map thing that we've seen among the elite academic class. For those watching that might not know what that means. It's literally a more sustainable version of pedophile called minor attracted people to be implemented into modern vernacular. It's disgusting, but there's been a lot of professors talking about that for the last several years. Maybe I hadn't really thought about that, but it's possible, I suppose.

[Riley Gaines]

Scary.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

What would you recommend?

[Isabel]

And this might get a little interesting,

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

because, as you know, I'm no shy person to criticism for the people that are supposed to be elected to represent us, and they just aren't.

[Isabel]

I've been raging against the feckless conservatism

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

in Washington, D.C. a lot the last couple of months, because, honestly, how is it remotely acceptable that a Republican member

[Isabel]

of Congress is introducing a mass Amnesty bill for 10 million illegal aliens?

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

That's just one example, but different conversation for a different time. If you could tell those in Washington right now, whether that's the president or the vice president or anyone in Congress, a handful of recommendations to make it harder for the left to destroy the family and for us to go on offense today to promote it, what would you recommend?

[Riley Gaines]

You know, I hate to say we have to play their game, because, of course, I don't like stooping down to a lower level, but I think there is value in using some of the same utilities and resources to make change that the left uses. I will say I was pretty thrilled to see James Comey indicted. I think that's something that certainly would have, well, actually did happen under the previous administration, going after elected officials, people in powerful positions. And I think that would be my piece of advice. Pursue litigation. Hold people accountable. We are so sick as a society of bad actors not being held accountable. Like, what's the latest with Don Lemon? Do we know? Like, did anything really happen there?

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

If I know correct, we want accountability.

[Riley Gaines]

We want transparency. We want things to happen fast. Which, granted, that's definitely not how the legal system works. It's not always fast, but that's what I think we crave. That's how we would feel justified in putting the people in the positions that they're currently in.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Well, and as it pertains to the family, there are easy, easy ways to do that. I don't know. Remove liability shields for vaccine manufacturers 100% or defund planned Parenthood. Finally, please, why is that so difficult? I do not understand for the life of me how we control all three levers of the federal government. And we were only able to do

[Riley Gaines]

that for a year, which is so frustrating there too, because of course, this was passed in the big beautiful bill. Originally it was set to defund planned parenthood for 10 years, which would effectively put them out of business. They ended up compromising and changing it to one year. Guess what? Planned Parenthood can float themselves for one year. And now we're right back to square one. This is an organization, a business that received, what, $792 million of taxpayer funds annually. I'm right there with you. Why couldn't we do something about this? Not only do they perform abortions or of course promote gender ideology and administer these synthetic and natural hormones, but they support the Democratic Party politically.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Oh, that. And they write all of the sex ed curriculum in public schools across the country. So if you really want to make a dramatic change for the next generation and not normalize cross sex hormones or teenage sex leading to abortions repeatedly as a form of birth control, take away Planned Parenthood's ability, even just that, don't

[Isabel]

even worry about defunding them yet. Just make sure there's different educational standards

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

nationwide for how we talk about intimacy and bringing new life into the world. I think we just get so short sighted as conservatives. And this is why more parents, young parents of young children being involved in politics, I think matters so much. Conservatives are so used to talking the big talk on the campaign trail and then we get to Washington and we don't wanna be the bad guy. We don't wanna be mean, we don't wanna be pushy, we don't wanna be impolite. We don't wanna talk about the uncomfortable subjects like abortion. It's why Brandon Gill's moment in Congress last week went so viral. Because who else in the last 20 years has had the courage to ask those questions to an abortion advocate in a congressional hearing? No one, which the

[Riley Gaines]

really the most basic, like the most. It makes the most sense, but it does require a level of courage and intellect to think of even the most basic question. Because we get so convoluted in the weeds, but put it right there in front of them to walk into that trap. And that's again, that's what the left historically has done really, really well. They're really good at messaging, appealing to emotions. I think in that we could learn something and certainly utilize some of their tactics.

[Isabelle]

One of my favorite things about Riley is seeing how beautifully and eloquently she hand settles conversations about women and women's empowerment on college campuses, where everything related to women's rights seems to be wildly upside down right now. And she and I have traversed the

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

country over the last few years on

[Isabelle]

pretty much every college campus in America

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

dealing with all of the insanity. But one campus has stood out to

[Isabelle]

us a whole lot about a school that's actually worth pursuing higher education at, and that's Grand Canyon University. GCU is so special because they believe that education should be about so much more than just earning a meaningless piece of paper or checking a box on the list of adult stuff to do in America.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

America.

[Isabelle]

It's about helping people discover their strengths, to develop practical skills, and to prepare for a life of meaningful impact for the people around you. Whether you are on campus at their beautiful Phoenix location, or studying online from wherever you call home, GCU is 100 focused on helping people build careers and lives that actually matter. And what's really impressive to me is they've really remained focused on affordability. In fact, they have not raised tuition rates at their traditional campus for 17

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

years, which is is unheard of.

[Isabelle]

Most importantly, though, GCU remains committed and grounded in Christian values, preparing students to lead our culture with integrity when our broken culture really seems to need it the most. If you're looking for a place to call your academic home for the next several years, GCU is 100% worth checking out. They are private, Christian, affordable and nonprofit. Head to GCU Edu to learn more. I am on a mission as a mom to make sure that family matching PJs do not only live for Christmas Eve, they are in every holiday celebration situation.

[Isabel]

Okay?

[Isabelle]

Especially for my favorite holiday coming up right around the corner, 4th of July and this one being extra special with America 250. A couple of days ago I told you guys about our friends at Holy Pals, the very first company ever to hit the market with matching family pajamas and baby wear, especially dedicated to the word of God and inspired by Jesus Christ. And they have absolutely adorable offerings for every season of life, but have a new collection that's rolling out right now dedicated to America 250 and the idea of freedom with the cutest design saying Set free in Christ Christ all over them. They also have bedding and tote bags and dog bandanas and like everything else you can possibly imagine when you just need a little bit of extra Christian inspiration in your life.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

We just got ours in the mail

[Isabelle]

and I am so psyched to be wearing them for our Fourth of July

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

week here in Washington D.C. and all

[Isabelle]

of our family vacations together this summer. And they are running an extra special special this week where if you spend a hundred dollars on their website, they will even throw in a 29 value to tote absolutely free from now until June 21st. You guys can earn 20 off your purchase with Holy Pals using code is definitely make sure to check out their set free in Christ collection because you will absolutely love it. It's available for pre order right now and all orders will ship out starting June 22nd. Again, that's holy pals.com using code isabel for 20% off.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Well, let's bring it back home to your home for our last couple of minutes together, Riley, because I think these are all great suggestions and please start listening in Washington, please.

[Isabel]

We just, we beg of you over and over again.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Nothing about parenting is easy. And I think it's so tempting for people like you and me to only post the highlight reels on social media. Because it's social media, right? That's true of everybody's life. I try to be really authentic in, hey, look at the bags under my eyes.

[Isabel]

I haven't slept in nine months.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

And it's not always easy, but it's worth it. And here's why it's worth it. And because it's difficult, it builds something so much more beautiful within you. What would you say has been the hardest part of being a mom this first year and the biggest lesson you've learned from it?

[Riley Gaines]

You know, currently, what I find to be the hardest part is when I'm trying to get something done. It could be as simple as putting things away in the house, cooking things that are pretty mundane task, but I sit the baby down on the floor, she's crying, she wants to be held. I hold her, she's pulling my hair. It's kind of like the overstimulation of it. When Louie's gone, my husband, he's at work doing whatever he is. I'm left alone with this feral little beast who I love very much. But now she's all over the place. I just find myself getting overstimulated. Yeah, I don't know if that's a good way to put it. Now, even when I'm nursing her, it's like ripping the necklace. Ripping.

[Isabel]

Oh, yeah.

[Riley Gaines]

Oh my gosh. That to me, I'm like, this is the hardest part of pregnancy. Getting my hair ripped out. This is. It makes me. It drives me mad. I have to, like, unclench her fingers from my hair all the time, which, in the grand scheme of things, I do. I have to take a step back and be like, Rylee, if that is the hardest part for you, is just feeling as if. If you know, you're overstimulated in the moment, you are so very, incredibly blessed. And I find myself, like I said, the feeling of just serenity, but gratitude that I have felt these past seven months now. I seriously. I wake up every day and I feel so fortunate. Not because of the position that I'm in, certainly. Yes. That comes with lots of blessings and opportunities, and you meet amazing people and you go awesome places. And again, if you have the ability for lasting impact, those are all great. But. But being her mom, that's the thing that has felt the most purposeful and rewarding and satisfactory and left me feeling so grateful. So I would say that. And the thing I've learned, I've learned how selfish I was prior to this, which is innate. It's, I think, instinctual. It's natural. I think people are lying if they say that, especially prior to having kids, if they're not selfish in their own lives to a degree, you have to be right? But I realized since having her, you know, maybe I'll go out. I haven't showered in a few days. My hair's crazy. You don't have time to shower or you.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Riley Gaines]

So I realized how selfish I was prior. And so, yes, I've changed, but this version of me now, currently, is so much better than the version of me even seven months ago and certainly prior to conception.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

So I think about that a lot, actually, especially in the moments that I'm

[Isabel]

so overstimulated and I'm about to be on the brink of a nervous breakdown. The dog's barking, the dishwasher's going off,

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

the baby's screaming her head off. My husband's like, where's the ketchup? I'm like, it's in the fridge right

[Isabel]

in front of your face. I don't understand why you can't see it. And I find myself sitting in those moments, just laughing, actually not getting angry,

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

but laughing because it's everything I prayed for, right? It's a beautiful home that I live in with my beautiful family.

[Isabel]

It's a sweet doggie who's my little sidekick.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

We are working incredible jobs that allow us to give something back to the world instead of just collect a paycheck. I might be sleepless in my nights, but I get to hold my baby when she's awake at night. And we get to just snuggle and laugh and tell stories. It is so beautiful. And I think that gratitude is the foundation of how we as a generation recapture the soul of our country. I wanna end with this. We have a lot of people who watch the show who are huge fans of Riley Gaines. And a lot of people say you are living like the true dream life. You've got the homestead with the highland

[Isabel]

cows to boot, which is my absolute dream. I need more cow pictures, by the way, on a daily basis.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

You have an amazing husband who's very, very handsome. You have a beautiful daughter. You guys just are the picture perfect all American family. And giving something back to your community in the process. For those that are trying to embrace that type of lifestyle for themselves someday, is that possible? And how can people walk in your footsteps to do that?

[Riley Gaines]

100%. First of all, it's possible, number one, if you come to a red state, especially a state like Tennessee, where there is an abundance of land. We live outside of Nashville, which is fantastic. I think oftentimes with the whole trad wife aesthetic that young girls are kind of sold, especially even from our side of the aisle. It's not overly realistic a lot of times. And it bothers me because you want that. I think there are tons of young girls who crave that so desperately. I think you have to kind of get your life in order and prioritize the things that really matter before ultimately achieving that. So what does that look like? Find a supportive maybe boyfriend that will then turn into your husband. I cannot overstate how much of who I am is because of who my husband is and how he treats me and how he really kind of runs the roost in the best ways. He is the best dad. He is the best husband. He is so supportive. He dropped me off here at the studio today, like there is nothing that he wouldn't do for me. And if you are a young girl and you're listening to this, maybe you're dating someone or you're married to someone and he doesn't do that for you. I would really consider sitting down, having a conversation about what can be done to achieve that. Because my husband and is hands down just the best. And I'm so grateful for him and being, again, just a shoulder to cry on. My confidant, like, a constant throughout all the ups and downs, my rock over the past. Gosh, we've been dating since 2018, so the past eight years actually this month is our four year marriage anniversary.

[Isabel]

Oh, my gosh.

[Riley Gaines]

So find that person. And I think from that, everything else falls into order. Create a family. Start a family again. Coming to a red state with land. You need a cow. I'll hook you up with cows. One of our cows, she's pregnant. What?

[Isabel]

Depends on the baby.

[Riley Gaines]

I know, I know. A little baby highland cow.

[Isabel]

That is the dream.

[Riley Gaines]

We have donkeys and alpacas and all the things.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Your guys little farm vlog.

[Isabel]

The other day we decided to turn it on.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

And Brock goes, this is gonna be

[Isabel]

a mistake because you're gonna say that we had to move him immediately and get a bunch of cows. And he watched. We told you this story already, but he watched you say that your husband

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

was just gonna magically build a barn

[Isabel]

in the middle and it'll be done in like three days. And we watched this happen on the video. And then you cut to the next scene and the barn is built and it looks perfect a few days later.

[Riley Gaines]

And he goes, of course, of course, of course.

[Isabel]

Louie just built a barn.

[Riley Gaines]

Another thing, though, get a man who is a doer. My dad, God bless him, I love him to death. He is a fantastic dad. Not really a doer, though. Like, if a light bulb is out, he's gonna call someone to fix it.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

A light bulb?

[Riley Gaines]

No. Like, no, he's not climbing a ladder. Okay. I have found so much respect and enjoyment. And of course, there are benefits to having a husband who does. He wants projects all the time. He wants things to work on. He's a real man. Find a real man. It allows me to be. I'm a very, like, independent person. I feel like generally. But when I'm around him, I am so dependent almost to fault. Like, I hate even carrying things in from the car.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

I don't like driving in the car. No, I know.

[Riley Gaines]

That's not my job.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

I never drive.

[Riley Gaines]

No, not the girl's job. So find a man who will like for all that to happen. I love that you'll find it to be fruitful.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

What would you say going into the rest of 2026 and beyond? We're going to have some pretty big presidential campaign announcements next year. It's going to be a big shakeup. I mean, think of how much the conservative movement has even changed since Charlie was killed, what, eight months ago? Not even eight months ago yet. What would you say is the biggest cultural issue facing us and how we as conservatives can go on offense to combat it for the rest of the year?

[Riley Gaines]

I will say, for our movement Specifically, not necessarily the biggest cultural movement to the country, but the biggest, I think, shakeup and fracture that we're seeing amongst the right is within ourselves. And so what I would love to see going into 2026 is maybe not even necessarily a reunification, because I don't. I don't think there's value in unifying with people who don't align with you at all. There have been calls to reunify with the left. Of course. Of course I want unity. I want unity. But is it possible to have unity with someone who disagrees with you on the most fundamental foundational things? Like we are created in God's image. Of course I think we should spread that message. But not necessarily unifying and linking arms with those who don't believe that. When it comes to turning out to the ballot box or to the polls in 2026 for midterms, or certainly 2028 in the election, I think we need to kind of check what's going on inside our own house, what's happening right here in the conservative movement. There's a big fracture. I think it's proving itself to be true that Charlie really was the glue in this. He's like a connecting fiber of the conservative movement because he was a coalition builder. He really cared, again, not to climb. He was doing things behind the scenes that no one would know about. No one will ever even know, even help, as far as as helping with my husband get his green card, which we had a whole problem with that when Biden was president because he wouldn't get the COVID vaccine, which I'm sure they checked the tens of millions of illegals across the southern border, made sure they had their COVID vaccine. Anyways, it was Charlie who facilitated that and helped, that he worked behind the scenes. We need to fix what's happening in the conservative movement. So what does that look like? I mean, you have the Nick Fuentes types. Do I even really think he's conservative? He labels himself as far right or he's often labeled as far right. I don't think he's far right at all. I think he hides under this cloak of conservatism. Therefore, do we unite with someone like Nick Fuentes? I don't think so. But anyways, I think we focus on what's happening in our own homes.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Mother Teresa once beautifully and very famously said, if you want to change the world, go home and love your family.

[Riley Gaines]

That's it.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

And I think that's true at the individual family level. Obviously, you are living. You were changing the world. Before in fighting for women's equality. But I certainly think you're inspiring an entire generation of people to embrace family and the timeless truths of our faith. But I think that's also true for the conservative movement. We gotta go home, we gotta love our family, and we have to take care of one another and link arms to really fight against the evil that wants nothing more than to see our destruction.

[Riley Gaines]

That's it.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

I'm incredibly grateful to be in the fight with you, Riley. You have an amazing show that's pretty new still. Tell us where we can watch it.

[Isabel]

And I can't wait to have you

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

back on with some of our other

[Isabel]

mom friends in the next couple.

[Riley Gaines]

I know you've been on the Riley Gaines show before. You can find it on YouTube anywhere you get your podcast. You can follow us over on Instagram hereillygain show. But you're the inspo. I'm always looking at your stuff. What are the topics? What are we talking about? So just appreciate you and for being like the counterculture to Alex Cooper.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

We'll try.

[Isabel]

We'll do our best.

[Riley Gaines]

Call her daddy. These are the podcast hosts. You need to listen.

[Guest Host/Interviewer]

Next time we're podcasting, may it be in front of your field of cows.

[Riley Gaines]

Exactly.

[Isabel]

Bowing it right now on the screen.