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Jemma Spa
This is an I Heart Podcast.
Podcast Announcer / Host of Beyond the Script
Guaranteed human I'm Jemma Spa, the host of the psychology of your 20s. Have you ever been at the pharmacy counter and your mind goes blank when the pharmacist asks any questions? That is why you need to listen to beyond the Script from CVS Pharmacy and iHeartMedia. Hosted by Dr. Jake Goodman, this podcast answers the questions you'd wished you'd asked, like which meds may not work well together, what what vaccines you might need before a holiday, and even some of the questions you're too embarrassed to say out loud. Listen to beyond the script on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience scenic views and private rooms that let you stretch out. Enjoy hassle free travel as it should be on Amtrak. Book some Z's at Amtrak.com Amtrak Retrain Travel A big priority for me in 2026 is to make healthier, better choices so I can take care of myself and just have more energy for my everyday life. That is of course easier said than done when life is so chaotic all of the time. But that is where Premier Protein shakes come in. They have 30 grams of protein, no added sugar, and tons of delicious flavors from cake batter to peaches and cream caramel. They are a healthy choice you'll actually want to make because they never feel boring for Focusing on fitness and health can be really overwhelming, but having 30 grams of protein immediately in the morning with Premier Protein can really get you moving and enjoying life. Premier Protein powers you to say yes to more, whether it's crushing a big presentation at work, building an epic fort with your kids, or hitting the hiking trail with friends. Find your favorite flavor@premier protein.com that's P R E M I E R protein.com or at amazon1, Walmart and other major retailers. The future won't wait. And neither should you. That's why American Public University offers Master's programs designed for momentum, affordable, high quality and flexible so you can keep moving forward with career relevant programs in business, healthcare, education, I T and so much more. You can gain skills you can use right away and the confidence to power your next move. American Public University made for what's next? Learn more at apu Apus Edu. The best kind of Internet is the kind you actually don't even notice because it works so efficiently and so fast. No buffering, no cutting out, no going to start the next episode of your favorite TV show and it not loading when you've had a very long day. Especially for somebody who works from home. Broadband Internet is something I rely on every single single day and reliability matters. Good Internet makes all the difference. For more information, go to smartmove.us. Hello everybody, I'm Gemma Spake and welcome back to the psychology of your 20s. The podcast where we talk through the biggest changes, moments and transitions of our 20s and what they mean for our psychology.
Jemma Spa
Hello everybody. Welcome back to the show. Welcome back to the podcast. It is so great to have you here back for another episode. I have been really looking forward to this episode because today not only do we have our first guest for our Netflix episodes, if you are watching over there, but we are talking about something a lot of us have experienced in very small ways, but very few people have experienced on a massive kind of life defining scale which is growing up on the Internet. Over the last two decades, as social media has become more omnipresent and posting, our entire lives has become more normalized. I think a lot of us are having this weird experience whereby our identity, our mistakes, our awkward years, our best years, our relationships are all documented. Not just for us, but for other people on a small scale, that might mean like embarrassing Facebook memories. For others it means like millions of people getting to see you as you are still trying to figure out your life, expecting you to be the same, expecting you to grow in a certain way. And today's guest is somebody who has lived through all of that and more. She is one of the original YouTube creators, or I would say YouTube it girls of our generation. And she built a platform where I think at a time when nobody really understood what the Internet could really become. And now as she enters her 30s, she is here to talk to us about that experience and how it has shaped her and her relationship to creating now art and rose. Welcome to the psychology of your twenties.
Arden Rose
Hi. Thank you so much for having me.
Jemma Spa
Oh, I'm so excited.
Arden Rose
I'm so excited to be here. I feel like you gave me a really nice setup.
Jemma Spa
Really? Did you like my intro?
Arden Rose
I really did, yeah. Because I think it gave a good, I don't know, like a grounding of how I felt for a really long time. But I never put it into words.
Jemma Spa
Oh my God. That's what we always endeavor to do. We're going to talk about. It's so much. But you know what we were talking about on the elevator app is that you used to have a podcast.
Arden Rose
Yeah, I did, I did. It was called Crash on my couch and it was really cute. It was me and my husband doing it together before we were married. And we would just talk about, like, random stuff. Like, he was really into the idea of getting to eventually go on a treasure hunt, which I think all straight CIS men have some kind of fantasy for. And so we used to go on these, like, deep dives about, like, hidden treasures that we might be able to find and stuff like that. And then my segments were all about, like, animals that were extraordinary in the news. Very, very diverse, very interesting topics that we were tackling. Important stuff, honestly.
Jemma Spa
Wait, this gives me a business idea.
Arden Rose
Oh, yeah.
Jemma Spa
There is money on the table for people to do themed birthday parties for grown men where they set up treasure hunts for them.
Arden Rose
100%. 100%. It's kind of the same thing as, like, an escape room in a lot of ways. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. If you think about it that way,
Jemma Spa
they yearn for it.
Arden Rose
They yearn. They yearn to be trapped somewhere and to have to steal a golden idol. Yeah. My God, it's like the Indiana Jones of it all.
Podcast Announcer / Host of Beyond the Script
Yeah.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Jemma Spa
Would you ever do another podc?
Arden Rose
I would. I just. I think I. I need a partner like you. I need, like, a. A cool gal pal to. To chat with.
Jemma Spa
Gal Pal. Podcasts are.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Jemma Spa
Really, really what it is. You know what I've realized is that I didn't even let you introduce yourself. So for people who may not know who you are, can you briefly introduce yourself, tell us about your work, tell us about yourself and. Yeah. How do you think most people know you?
Arden Rose
Yeah. Okay. Well, my name's Arden Rose, so that is my name. My actual name is Arden Rose Ricks, but I've always used my middle name just cause like, every basic white girl, I have the middle name Rose. Beautiful. And also, my first name was so weird that I feel like I needed, like, kind of a normal second name to back it up.
Jemma Spa
Where is your first name from?
Arden Rose
You know what? It's so funny. My mom came up with it. She used to live in Texas while she was pregnant with me, and she had a neighbor who used to make her baked goods who was like quite an older lady. And I think her name was Arden, or her second name was Arden, or her last name was Arden. And I'm assuming because I've looked it up a few times, that it has something to do with French spelling of Arden, which is like a R D E N N E S. But my name is a R D E N, like garden without the G is what I tell every barista that ever has to write my name down.
Jemma Spa
That is a great mnemonic device. Yeah. Because I've never heard the name Arden before.
Arden Rose
It's a weird one, man. It's a weird one.
Jemma Spa
If you had kids and not to, like, we were literally talking about this before, would you give them a unique name?
Arden Rose
I totally would. I think about it all the time because I think it's, like, it's. I think it's, like, really lame that men are allowed to carry their names down and women don't have as much of an okay to do it because Arden is such a cool name. I remember being a kid and being like, I've got a cool name. You know what I mean? I wasn't bullied for my name. Maybe I would hate it if I was bullied for my name. But I, like, I really want it to be, like, my kid's name now.
Jemma Spa
Make the rules.
Arden Rose
Maybe I will.
Jemma Spa
You should totally do it.
Arden Rose
I'll do a Lorelei Gilmore thing.
Jemma Spa
Well, I think that we must. Yes. I actually saw this post the other day that was like, middle names used to be the way that women could pass down their names to their. To not be erased from the history of. And I was like, so I think it's going to be the new trend.
Arden Rose
Yeah, I think that's a good idea. I think Arden's a good middle name, too.
Jemma Spa
Yeah. Beautiful middle name.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Jemma Spa
I completely interrupted you as you were talking about your beginning.
Arden Rose
No, I appreciate it. No, I so appreciate it. Well, I think it's so funny. I think I have, like, different iterations of people who have watched me. Like, there are some people who have literally watched me since I was, like, 14 years old in my, like, childhood bedroom in Little Rock, Arkansas. And to those shouts out, y' all are the real ones out there. But, yeah, that's a very different crowd than the people who probably found me in, like, their college years when I had, like, just moved to LA and I was, like, living with all of these girls. We had kind of, like a. Not a content house, necessarily, because that was not a thing at the time, but it was, like, four girls who were all YouTubers living together but doing, like, kind of separate things. And that was an era of time that people might know me. And then, like, as I grew up, then I started traveling more and met my husband, and eventually now have immigrated to the uk.
Jemma Spa
What was it like in that content house? Like this YouTube house that you were in, or. You said it wasn't a content house, but what is it like?
Arden Rose
It feels like content house, like, has a derogatory, like. Because I just think of, like, the Hype House or, like, Team 10, which now feels like the ancient texts. Like, you know what I mean? Even though that was, like, what, 10 years ago? It feels like it was, like, 20 years ago. But it was. It was really cool. It was like, kind of a funny thing because it's playing off the theme of, like, growing up on the Internet, but I experienced a lot of, like, the. What people probably would have had in university or in college. Like, that same socialization with people who are in the same, like, peer group as you. But I was having it visibly online with other girls that were also having it visibly online while we were all maintaining friendships together. So I think that was complicated because when you're 18 and 19, like, that's a. That's complicated relationships anyways.
Jemma Spa
Oh, my goodness.
Arden Rose
And so. But I really enjoyed it. It was like. Yeah. And then also. This is so random, but, like, the whole reason that my husband and I got together was because Rebecca Black of Friday. Yeah. Came over to our house and, like, we had had a night out the night before, and she stayed over, and the next morning we were all having breakfast together, and I was like, who's this random British guy that keeps sliding into my DMs, like, who is this? Little did I know that I had already met him, and I completely forgotten that I had met him. But she, like, vouched for him and was like, oh, no, he's really cool. And you two would totally hit it off. Like, you guys should go on a date together.
Jemma Spa
So, like.
Arden Rose
Yeah, so it's kind of butterfly effect. Like, if I hadn't, you know, lived with those girls, I probably would have never. I wouldn't be sat here, probably.
Jemma Spa
I know. Yeah. Take me back to, like, your first YouTube video and before, because I have a lot of questions about this era of your life, but when did you post, like, your first video online?
Arden Rose
Yeah, you know what? It's so funny. It's like. It's really funny to think about how the history of YouTubers, like, the history of the Internet, like, I was kind of not there for the creation of it, but I was there watching people go from doing, like, makeup tutorials online to being, like, personalities online and, like, how that transformed and, like, why that shifted and changed. And I think in my case, it happened really organically because I was admiring all these, like, beauty gurus, you know, like, the. The OG Beauty Gurus at the time, like, Juicy Star 07 and all the, you know, Blair Fowler and Elle Fowler and, like, you know, all these people. And Gigi. Gorgeous.
Jemma Spa
Gigi I. I used to watch her religiously.
Arden Rose
Girl, like so many different people. Bubs Beauty, I don't know if you remember her. She was. She's like an. I think she was Irish, but she was like an amazing Michelle.
Jemma Spa
Ha.
Arden Rose
Oh my God.
Jemma Spa
Yeah, I do. And she had read. Is this what I'm thinking of? Bugs Beauty.
Arden Rose
Bugs Beauty, I think is different than Bubs Beauty. Oh, okay. But. But she had their names back then. I know. It's just so fun. Everyone had such cute usernames. I wish we stuck to usernames, but, you know, it was the era still of like the stranger danger era, which is so funny because now everyone posts everything always. But I was just watching these people and really loving it. And then I had a friend named Kennedy who went to my school when I was younger and then moved to Texas for, I think for her dad's job. And when she moved, we would watch YouTube videos together, like in middle school. And so I started sending her, like, we would make kind of like fake beauty guru videos, like, to each other, like getting ready in the morning and. Right. And so we would send it back and forth. But then it became a bit of this thing where, like, we both started getting followers from like people watching us get ready for each other. And so it became this thing where, like, that's kind of where it started. And I lost all those videos, which I'm really sad about. Like, I think I privated all of them when I was probably like 18, because I just thought I'm so young in these videos. Even at 18, I was like, I'm too young to be like, have these videos on the Internet.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
Which is also really funny because even at that. That time when I was posting as like a 14 year old girl, I. And I mean this sincerely, never had a creepy comment. Not really. I was complete. I don't know what, I don't know what was looking out for me really, but I was completely sheltered from like pervs.
Jemma Spa
Were your parents worried about that? Were they. Did they ask you?
Arden Rose
Well, they didn't exactly know about it initially. I. The only reason I told my parents about it when I was. I think I was 16 years old when I finally told them. So I've been like two years of very intermittent posting. Like I would post like a video and I would post like four videos a week and then I wouldn't post for like two months.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
You know, like just team stuff. And then I Google adsense became a thing and you needed to have a bank account and you needed to have your parents permission if you were going to sign up. I was 16 years old and I was like, I think I can make money doing this. Like, that was the first, like, wow, inkling that anything. And I think I probably had like, 20,000 followers on YouTube at the time. Granted. Also, the other thing about YouTube at that time was that it was such a small ecosystem that there weren't that many people to watch that were making content like that. So, like, it's so ubiquitous now. Anyone. Everyone has access to it and everyone feels.
Jemma Spa
Everybody's thought about it.
Arden Rose
Yeah, totally.
Jemma Spa
You have to admit, like, everybody has thought about.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Jemma Spa
What if I. What if I made YouTube videos? What if I posted TikToks?
Arden Rose
Absolutely. So it was. But it was like, at the time, for me, it was like a thing like, you can make money doing that. You know what I mean? Like, oh, okay. Well, that's interesting. So I remember I told them when I was 16, and they were like, well, are you being safe? Like, not knowing what question to really ask me for that, but, like, are you, like, an amorphous? Are you being safe? And I'm like, yes. I think, like, I'm. I'm 16. Like, I don't know. But I was also. I'm one of four kids. So I think they were just, like, happy that I wasn't, you know, joining some kind of cult or. Yeah. Doing something else. Nefarious.
Jemma Spa
It's so interesting that you're like, I never got a creepy comment, but your first video you posted when you were 14. Yeah. And what. What was that video? It was like a get ready with me.
Arden Rose
Yeah, I think it was a get ready with me. It also could been, like, a review of something. You know what it might have been. It might have been so, like, silly, like, so lame now to think about. But I think at the time, you know, Mac Cosmetics was, like, huge. And I remember there was a significant. Right. And there was this brush called the Mac 217 brush that was like the blending brush everyone was, like, obsessed with. I can see it in my mind's eye to this day.
Jemma Spa
What color was it? Black.
Arden Rose
It was, well, all the black, like Mac handles. And then it had white, like, really soft bristles. I remember this. I want this brush now. But maybe they've changed it.
Jemma Spa
I don't know.
Arden Rose
But I remember I went to Mac and I bought that, and I bought, I think, a single eyeshadow. And I came home and I did a haul with my two items.
Jemma Spa
Oh, my goodness, my heart.
Arden Rose
I probably thought I was being so Cool. Because Michelle Phan used that brush, so I was like, I got it.
Jemma Spa
Well, this is what I was gonna ask you about is like, what is it it. What was it like back then? Which you've kind of already answered. And what is it like to watch those videos back now, knowing what the Internet is these days? Because back then it was such low production value.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Jemma Spa
And it was really organic. And now it's this. It's mega. Like, literally, people now realize, like, being online can make you a millionaire, could make you a billionaire in some situations. Maybe we're not at that level yet, but pretty close. Like, what was it before that kind of. What was it like before that took over?
Arden Rose
Yeah. I don't. It's. It's interesting because it's like, you're so right. People just didn't really have, like, the means to figure out that. That it was such a thing until it was. And then everyone who could possibly exploit it kind of like figured out how to work algorithms and stuff. I think that was like a really interesting phase of YouTube. But I think before that point, there was this real kind of like ooey gooey center core of people on YouTube that were like kind of not anti social people, because I think that has like a negative connotation, but people that maybe felt more comfortable being creative in their bedrooms on the Internet. Which is like a very different thing than wanting to make money on the Internet. Right. Like, that's like, those are two different types of people.
Jemma Spa
Oh, yeah.
Arden Rose
And sometimes that Venn diagram exists, but for me, it was like I didn't feel like I had a lot of friends at school. My friend Kennedy had just moved. You know, I was like joining cheer and I was like, very awkward. And I was just like, I had a really bad haircut at the time. And I think all of that to be said, I think like I was looking to express myself to someone or thing. Like, just like gab out loud. I was kind of screaming into the void.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
But by just like showing Mac eyeshadows,
Jemma Spa
you know, be like, accept me.
Arden Rose
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Love me. Accept me. Help me figure out how to be like a young woman.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
So, yeah, that was sort of like the genesis of it. And then also, like, I. There were limitations as far as, like, setup. Like, I had to wait for my dad to come home because his crappy laptop had a. Had a webcam in it.
Jemma Spa
You filmed on the, on the MacBook.
Arden Rose
It wasn't even a MacBook. It was like an HP. It was so buggy. It was so bad. I remember, like, there were months where I couldn't record anything because he would get so many viruses on his laptop that he would have to, like, go get it wiped. Like, I remember when that was a thing. Yes. McAfee, babe. Oh, yeah, big time. So, yeah, there was like. Yeah, just moments where, like, stuff like that would happen and it was just kind of like an organic break.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
And then. But I remember there were times like that where I would go on my. My comment section and, you know, there'd be like five, six or. Or five or six comments on a video, and one of them would be like, where's she been all this time? And it's like, it's so funny to think that that was the reason I wasn't there.
Jemma Spa
Yeah, I mean, you were like. I feel seen, like, people miss me. Don't worry, girls.
Arden Rose
I'm coming back. All three of you watching. I'm coming back.
Jemma Spa
Yeah. Sorry, guys. I've been on a little break. I just want to be completely transparent about what's been going on.
Arden Rose
Yes.
Jemma Spa
Let's address it.
Arden Rose
Lots of stuff happening in my personal life. Lots of viruses on my dad's laptop.
Jemma Spa
What was the first video of yours that went, like, viral? It was. And was like, virality even a thing back then?
Arden Rose
Ye. Yeah, it definitely was. I think virality had a. Had a different connotation. Like, I'll use Rebecca as an example. Like, Friday had a very different virality than what viral is today. Like, viral today is something popular for a week.
Jemma Spa
Y.
Arden Rose
Like, viral back then was popular for years.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
Like, talked about for years. Like, where have they been kind of vibes, you know, like, when you think about the Chocolate Rain Guy. T. Or Rebecca for Friday, or like, all these people, like, they still have these, like, statements next to them, like, you know, capital Chocolate Rain Guy.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
Because they were like, you know, integral parts of the Internet. Whereas now it's like nothing can really.
Jemma Spa
And nobody can trace it back to who started it.
Arden Rose
No, exactly. Yeah. And it's. Yeah. And I don't know, we can't just anything nowadays. So it's just like, hard for. For anyone to, like, be 100% on anything. Yeah. We live in a really weird time, but at the time, I think I did a video. This is so lame.
Jemma Spa
But.
Arden Rose
So the bad haircut happened and then I made a video where I had researched a bunch of stuff as a. Probably 15 year olds. Okay. 16 year old maybe, of ways that I could grow my hair back.
Jemma Spa
So wait, what was the haircut? We need to Know the haircut, it
Arden Rose
was just a bob.
Jemma Spa
It was a bob.
Arden Rose
Like, it was just a bob, but
Jemma Spa
it wasn't like a funky little bob. It was like a.
Arden Rose
No, no, it wasn't chic.
Jemma Spa
It wasn't a chic.
Arden Rose
It wasn't French Claire. But it was, was fine. It wasn't atrocious. Like, I think I was just like insecure and I was a, you know, a Southern girl who.
Jemma Spa
15, 16.
Arden Rose
Yeah, exactly, exactly. So I had made this video and it went really, really viral. Like, I think it had like millions of views, which is so funny because it was obviously just people. Like before I knew what SEO was.
Jemma Spa
Oh yeah.
Arden Rose
It's like someone just searching how do I grow my hair back? And they're getting some dumbass 16 year old in Little Rock, Arkansas, telling them how to grow that. Like I know anything.
Jemma Spa
What was your advice? Was it like.
Arden Rose
I don't even remember. It was bad. You could barely. The audio is so bad. And again, I'm recording it on like either. Do you remember those flip cameras?
Jemma Spa
Yes.
Arden Rose
It was either one of those which sounded like you were. It sounded and looked like you were in the ocean, or it was my dad's MacBook, which also looked like it was in the ocean. So.
Jemma Spa
But being in the ocean is good for the hair. You know, it so true.
Arden Rose
Wait a second. It's all coming together.
Jemma Spa
That is so funny. This brings me to, I think, the real big question of this episode, which is like, what's been the hardest part of growing up online? Like, you've spent half of your life on the Internet. Do you feel like as you've entered your 30s, like, people who know you from back then have like, expectations for you?
Arden Rose
Yeah, I think, I think I have like a really interesting audience. Like I said, I've like picked up these like little core cool girl groups, I'll say, like throughout time and space. But for the most part, I have always had like a really intelligent, really emotionally mature and very kind audience. Like, I've always had really, really sweet people follow me. I've never felt bullied by my audience and I've never felt like, put on the back foot. And I think part of that is because I've never been someone who has like that serious viral fame that usually comes with some kind of outrage or, you know, like, I don't know, like, I always just think about how, like, as women, you, if you get to a certain point of virality, there will always be like a guillotine waiting for you. You know what I mean? Like Chapel Road is a great example. Now, like, don't even get me started on that because I could go on for so long about that. But, but. So I've had kind of like this weird privilege where. Because I've been a bit of a middling creator in the sense that, like, I've, you know, I still have like millions of followers, but people have tens of millions of followers now. People have like hundreds of millions of followers now. I've always been able to maintain this, like, cool, smart, sweet group of people all the way through.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
And that's been like such a blessing.
Jemma Spa
Yeah. I, I honestly relate to that a lot. I have this full theory that it's like an elevator. It's. It's a Taylor Swift lyric.
Arden Rose
Okay.
Jemma Spa
It's like an elevator that rises. Yeah. Elevator that rises too fast. Like, never lasts. And I genuinely do believe it where it's like, a lot of people will get online, be like, I want to be famous and I want this and I want that. And it's like, be careful what you wish for. Like the slow burn of like really caring and about what you're doing is gonna take you so much further.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Jemma Spa
And it's really interesting something you said before of like, you started YouTube because, like, it sounds like you just really want. Wanted to make videos because you just liked it. And you know, you were waiting for your dad to get home and you were trying to communicate with your long distance friend and you were just like enjoying it as a craft. And I think that's something that people these days don't have.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Jemma Spa
People always like how you start a podcast. Like, how did you make money off your podcast up about? It's like you don't start at wanting to make money.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Jemma Spa
Like, that's literally, you've already lost like the moment. You're like, I want to do this so that I can be famous. Yeah. I feel like 1% of people who have that intention may. Maybe it happens, but it like drops off so quickly. It's like this whole crazy, crazy thing.
Arden Rose
You don't have the inner. Well to keep up the energy to keep doing stuff. If it's, if that's the main goal, then once you get famous or once you get enough money, then like, where's the spark to continue it?
Jemma Spa
Yeah, it's nowhere. Or once you get your first, like, have you ever had any controversy? Because I feel like once you get your first thing like that.
Arden Rose
Yeah. Then it knocks you off.
Jemma Spa
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Arden Rose
I know. I, I haven't really ever had like, A big controversy. I, like, I. I stream video games, so I do, like, I play coz games online. Really? Yeah.
Jemma Spa
Oh, my God. I didn't know that.
Arden Rose
Oh, yeah.
Jemma Spa
On the Twitch.
Arden Rose
Yeah, yeah. And like, especially on. I used to play a lot of Animal Crossing, so, like, Animal Crossing was my big game all through lockdown. And during, like, the whole Black Lives Matter movement, I raised a bunch of money for the bail project, like the most money I've ever raised for charity. And it was like, such a big deal to me, but my family's very conservative, and so the only controversy as I have ever been in with interpersonal relationships. I'll feel really good about something that I've done online and I'll be like, I'm really glad that I did that. And I feel really proud of, like, my audience to be able to do something like that. And then I get like, pushback from my personal.
Jemma Spa
You have the reverse.
Arden Rose
Yes. Yeah.
Jemma Spa
That is really interesting.
Arden Rose
Totally. So it's like a weird thing of sort of just being like, you know, having to kind of be my own best friend in that situation.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
You know.
Jemma Spa
Well, and it's often because people will find, you know, controversy online and seek protection in your family. And it's like, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. She's doing it different.
Podcast Announcer / Host of Beyond the Script
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Jemma Spa
I'm trying to balance a lot, and
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Jemma Spa
can we talk about something a bit more personal? Yeah. Which was you obviously shared a lot of, you know, shared some of your experiences going through an eating disorder when you were online.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Jemma Spa
Do you think that like being online at a young age kind of contributed or do you think it was already there and just kind of followed you through those early years of the journey.
Arden Rose
Yeah. I think it's so funny. Like, I mean nothing about eating disorders
Jemma Spa
is fine, but sometimes you gotta, you gotta laugh.
Arden Rose
Sometimes you gotta laugh or you cry. But it's I think, for me, I think, I think disordered eating but a lot of like less understood but very culturally prevalent Mental disorders are, or like mental health problems are things that people broadly understand but don't. But like the minutia of them are kind of like complicated. And so for mine I had such like a combo where I felt really out of control when I was growing up and when I was a like a teenager, like felt very isolated from people in my school. And I also have trichotillomania which is like a hair pulling disorder. It's so bad right now. Like I have no eyelashes, but I
Jemma Spa
used to do that as well. But I started getting fake lashes.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Jemma Spa
And it helped me.
Arden Rose
Well, you have trick.
Jemma Spa
Well, I would just do my eyelashes. I just, it was just like a nervous thing. But I never really identified as having. I would just put my eyelashes out.
Arden Rose
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I pull my eyelashes out too. It's funny. It's, it's, it's, that's a weird one because it's like, it's like, you know, because like you understand like clinical psychology but there's so many like layers and cross layers of what things could be. Right. So when I was younger I was like, I think I have OCD because I do this hair pulling thing. It's compulsive. And I also, my eating disorder was very wrapped up around like threes. Like I would tell myself I could only eat three things. So it was like, I remember for a while it was like apples, Triscuits and cheese. And I could have as much of it as I wanted, but I just needed to eat those three things. And there was no reason, like there was no religious reason, which threes are usually kind of a religious reason thing. And there was no like doom spiraling ocd. If I don't do this, something bad's gonna happen. But I just had this like feeling of control that was really important to me. So that's what my eating disorder kind of like started out as. And then as the Internet developed, veganism got really big because of cowspiracy. And again completely think that is so like valid.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
But then there was this huge like the way the pendulum swings. There was like that banana lady, what was her name?
Jemma Spa
Really? She used to girl. So girl. Fun fact. She lives still near where I grew up.
Arden Rose
That's so scary. That's so dark sided. I know.
Jemma Spa
She lives actually like deep in the rainforest of Australia.
Arden Rose
She always looked like she did.
Jemma Spa
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
Arden Rose
How is she getting all those bananas?
Jemma Spa
I don't know. And now her whole thing is like drinking. Okay.
Arden Rose
No, no, because she just started posting again, didn't she. Yeah, sorry, sorry, I'm getting off topic
Jemma Spa
and with you sharing sensitive stuff. I'm sorry, but yeah, so freely the banana girl, I think she genuinely. Not to make, you know, irreputable claims, but triggered a lot of people into
Arden Rose
a state that was not great, I think. So I think part of the problem was that she was a very visibly thin woman who was, like, attractive by societal standards and was also had the craziest diet you've ever seen. Like, that was a crazy diet. And so I think it did like, push a lot of people, like, both this sort of rise in veganism and this kind of moral guilt of eating animal byproducts, and then also this rise of, like, this conventionally attractive person with a crazy diet, I think pushed me and I started eating vegan. And again, I have vegan friends who eat very healthily and eat so well and take care of themselves. I was not doing that. I was, like, restricting. Girl. I don't think I had a solid bowel movement for, like, three years.
Jemma Spa
Like, the size. People don't talk about. People don't talk about it. It's gross. Yeah.
Arden Rose
You eat a salad, you poop a salad. It's like, it's really something. You can put that strap line of this episode. Eat a salad, you poop a salad. Yeah, but, yeah, just like, in general, it was just like, I. Again, it became this way of controlling. And then it became also this, like, moral thing as well, where people associated me on the Internet with, like, eating vegan food. And I don't think it was healthy either, because I think I was too thin at that point. Point. And I was showing other girls that the way to be thin. Boop yourself every day was by eating vegan. And, like, I wasn't doing it well. I wasn't giving, like, whole meals. I wasn't showing people how to do it right. I was just, you know, picking the thing that was the most vegan on a menu, even if it was, like, the cucumber salad with no protein and no carbs and nothing but a cucumber, you know, so that's kind of like where I was like, I kind of need to do something else with this because I'm having headaches all the time and I'm really tired and I can't stop pooping.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
So. And, you know, I think I really messed up my digestive system. That's the other thing that, like, people don't really talk about is, like, even now, to this day, I have so many digestive issues because of all of the eating, the disordered eating that I was doing in my developmental years from when I was like 14 or 13 even until, you know, maybe six years ago. Yeah, yeah.
Jemma Spa
Well, it is a big thing, right? Your stomach starts to eat itself, basically, like totally. Which is again, like, I think a lot of people these days with Skinny Talk, it's like you just, you don't understand what you're doing to your body long term. Can I actually come back to this? This what sounds like kind of a big realization for you, which is like, maybe I wasn't doing this the right way. Like, how have you kind of felt about that as you've gotten older? Been like, I don't know. Not to say you misguided people, but have you ever been like, I don't know, like, how do you feel about it now? Yeah, maybe I don't want to say set an example for other people because I don't think you deserve to feel like guilt about it, but yeah, how do you feel about it? That, that was like something you lived through online.
Arden Rose
Like, I, I still, I feel really guilty about certain videos I posted. There was like, I remember there was one video that I posted, it was supposed to be kind of like a, a clickbaity title that then I would flip it on its head and I would be like, you don't need to worry about this because this is stupid. And it was like five Ways to look Thinner. But it was when you got into the video, I was like, this is so dumb. Like the way that people do this, like, these are. I basically like gathered all these different ways that people talk about it online and then was how people are trying to look thinner online. Isn't this so silly? Like, this is so silly journalism.
Jemma Spa
Like a real like journalistic video.
Arden Rose
Almost like journalism.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
But I took it down because that video got crazy views. And what I realized in the comments was like my audience at the time was like 19 year old girls. And they weren't reading it the way that I was posting about it, if that makes sense. They, they saw the title and they clicked it so that they could actually get advice. And I was pushing them into these corners of the Internet that was, were basically Skinny Talk before Skinny Talk existed. Tumblr pages, like talking about stuff, you know, and like, I didn't even realize it until I got older. And I remember when I first posted that video, I was sort of like, wow, this video is doing really well. It's getting millions of views. And like kind of ignored the moral complication of it. And then. Sounds so crazy. But Amy Poehler had a production company.
Jemma Spa
She.
Arden Rose
I think she probably still does. She might run her podcast through it. But I had a meeting with her production company because I was like, would love to just do something with you. Anything. If you need, like, a host to do something, whatever. It was just one of those, like, Hollywood meetings that I was having. And I remember I sat down with one person from her production team, and the only thing she said to me as like, a 20 year old was she was like, we can't work with you because your content doesn't align with us. And I was like, what? What do you mean my content doesn't align with you? And it was that video. She had seen the thumbnail. She had seen the title of it. And she was like, this girl is promoting eating disorders. Like, this girl is promoting, like, yeah. Like, yeah. And like, I was so. I remember, like, my stomach dropping and, like, me trying to explain it. And I remember being really mad about it afterwards. But, like. And that was before the era of, like, clickbait titles are the only thing that you read, like, when you only read a headline. Right. I feel like now that's so prevalent. Like, I'm even bad about that. So I was kind of annoyed at her that she didn't take the time to, like, look at the context of the video. But after that meeting, I immediately went home and took it down. It was, like, one of my most viewed videos. And I was, like, taking that down and also feeling, like, so ashamed and so horrible for, like, you know, months. But also feeling like, righteous fury where I was like, she doesn't even know me. She doesn't even know me. But I was like, that's defensiveness. Like, that was a. That was actually probably a good thing that she had said that to me because I'm really glad that I, like, had a chance to.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
Like, fix that, if that makes sense.
Jemma Spa
But it's so interesting because it's like, I see your intention.
Arden Rose
Right.
Jemma Spa
I see your intention of being like, if somebody is going through this or is going to look for this.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Jemma Spa
This is kind of like a reverse psychology thing of, like, I'm gonna lure them in and be like, don't.
Arden Rose
Yes, that's exactly what I was trying to do. Exactly. But.
Jemma Spa
But it was ahead of its time.
Arden Rose
Totally. But also, it's coming from the wrong person. I'm not the person that should be talking about that, period.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
You know what I mean? It's this, like, funny place where I'm the person that they're gonna listen to about that kind of thing because I'm their age and I, like, look like them, but also I'm not the person that should be.
Jemma Spa
But also I'm your age and I look like them. Yeah, like, that's the thing. It's like, way. Yeah, yeah. Because at that time, had you been open about the fact that you were maybe struggling with disordered eating?
Arden Rose
Yeah, I think I had talked about that a lot on the Internet at that point. Like, I think that had been something. And I think that was also a time when a lot of people were starting to talk about body positivity. But then also, I think I resonated less with that because so much of my disordered eating, like I said, was about control. And so it was like, like, the everything. Numbers was really important to me. My trichotillomania was really bad. Like, you know, I was just, like, struggling of my other mental problems. And then, like, then the eating disorder was the way to kind of, like, gain a bit of control back, you know, So I couldn't really understand, like, I don't know. I feel like I was coming at it from, like, a. Like a. I felt like it was a really, like, personal angle when in reality, that's how, like, a lot of people deal with eating disorders. Like, that's a very common way to be introduced into an eating disorder is, like, lacking control. But it definitely opened my eyes, like, to what, like, body neutrality could look like. And that seemed to be.
Jemma Spa
That's freedom. Genuinely. Everybody tries to. Body positive is fine. Body neutrality is the best. I really love it. I could sink my teeth into that.
Arden Rose
Oh, it's delicious.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
Oh, yeah. And as I get older, I think that's the other thing, too, is, like, I think I also like being in Hollywood and going on auditions and stuff, because I was auditioning and I was acting. Acting from when I was 16. So I would go, like. That's how I originally kind of got slightly bigger on YouTube, was because I got picked up by this, like, show called AwesomesTV, which was.
Jemma Spa
Oh, my goodness, Flashback.
Arden Rose
I remember that. Yeah.
Jemma Spa
And they would do, like, all these TV shows, but on YouTube.
Arden Rose
Right. It was like. It was. I think it was backed by Nickelodeon.
Jemma Spa
Yeah. Yeah.
Arden Rose
And so it was basically, like, supposed to be, like, a tween. Like, in the same way that Nickelodeon has always done a really good job of making tween content. They tried to do that for. For YouTubers. So I became. And I lived, like, down the studio, like, down the road from the studio. And so I used to just walk to work to, like, film episodes with them. And. But that being kind of like my jump off point, I started auditioning and doing all this stuff and being critiqued as like a 21 year old. A 20 year old on your body, your looks, like, everything. Like, I remember walking into auditions where they would just like, immediately turn off the camera. Like, they wouldn't even. They, like, they would let me go through with the whole thing, and then I would look and I realized the camera was never on because I was just not. Not the look. And that's fine, but there's just, like an ego death that happens, like, every time. So I think that was also just like, I was in a unique circumstance in that way as well.
Jemma Spa
I think this is something that you wouldn't know unless you were in industries that a tangent in entertainment industry or tangential is, like, there is always this thought of, like, would I be more successful if I was skinnier?
Arden Rose
Totally. Totally.
Jemma Spa
I have thought about that. I think about that all the time.
Arden Rose
Yeah. No, completely. And it's also. Also, like, I think it's. Again, it's kind of a control issue, because when you're in industries like that, where there is literally nothing else is in your control, you are not the Nepo baby that can have the, like, mom and dad call to make sure that, like, someone actually pays attention to you in a room or, like, sees your name on a sheet. So if there is anything that you can control, it's learning your lines and starving yourself. Like, that seems to be, like, the two things that at the time, I thought I had control over, which was not.
Jemma Spa
And if you're thin, everybody's gonna look at you. Like, that's the thing. It's like, you're gonna be noticed.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Podcast Announcer / Host of Beyond the Script
More.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Podcast Announcer / Host of Beyond the Script
It's such a.
Jemma Spa
Such a mindful.
Arden Rose
Yeah. It's funny, though, because I think that. And then I think about, like. Because sometimes I think about, like, what I would do now if I was in that same situation. I'm like, I actually think I would have looked a lot more unique and I think I would have been a lot more castable had I just been, like, very normal. I think if I had just been like, like very normal, I could let the Nepo babies be, like, the really hot, thin people, and then I could be, like, the normal girl, which is usually what I got cast for anyways.
Jemma Spa
Yeah. So do you do much acting these days? No. Have you kind of been like, I'm. I'm done with that, or I'm kind
Arden Rose
of done with it again. I keep coming back to this, like, problem of control, but, like, yeah, even when you do get cast, there's, like, a very good chance the person who cast you is, like, a man who likes you in some way. And so it's just, like. It's just not. I don't know. Like, my husband's a filmmaker and a writer and a director, so he is totally in on that. And, like, I love the writing side of things now.
Jemma Spa
Yeah. Interesting.
Arden Rose
Yeah. And I've always said, like, I would do acting again, but only if I had, like, a lot of control over it. Yeah, I, like, so enjoyed. I got to work on a. A comedy for four years that was really amazing. It was so fun. Yeah, it was really, really cool. It kind of got like. Like, put into the bin of history because it was, like. It was for one of those, like, apps where it has, like, a weird timing of, like, run time for each episode. Like, it wasn't a half hour, and it wasn't split into quarters, so it was kind of a weird one to place.
Jemma Spa
What was the. What was the comedy?
Arden Rose
It was called Mr. Student Body President. Oh, my God.
Jemma Spa
Mr. Student Body President. Okay. Yeah, everybody go and give this woman some royalties.
Arden Rose
I have no idea where it's playing, and I don't know if I've ever gotten a royalty for it, but. But if you can find it. But the guy, my good friend Jeremy Shada, who's the voice of Finn from Adventure Time, he was the lead. So I became, like, really good friends with him because we hung out so much for the last, like, four years. So it was, like, really good things that would happen.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
In tandem with, like, the show.
Jemma Spa
Terrible stuff. Really terrible stuff.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Jemma Spa
Yeah. That makes so much sense. And you know what? The segues into the next questions have been so smooth because this is what I was going to ask you about next, which is like, how is your. Your relationship to, like, the media and social media and your career? Like, how have things changed in recent years? Have you felt more of a desire to be online? Like, I'm sure there was a period when you were an actor where you were kind of like, maybe I shouldn't be online as much. Like, maybe I should have this more professional look. Like I'm putting words in your mouth. How is. How have. How has it changed for you?
Arden Rose
I think I'm gonna be honest, because I did social media from when I was a kid, and I did it, like, without earning money and enjoyed it so much, and it was like, my Emotional release. It was, like, my social release. And it gave me, like, all my friends, it gave me my future, like, all these amazing things. I. I stopped wanting to do it for a while because I hated the idea that, like, I was just doing this now to make money. Like that. That, like. Yeah, that. That inverse relationship between, like, making money and posting, posting on, like, authentic content, like, became really unbalanced.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
Where I was like, I'm doing this because I need to, like, make my rent. I'm not doing this because I necessarily want to be posting these things. Yeah, yeah. It kind of got to that point, and I've had, like, ebbs and flows of that. And I think when it came to the acting stuff, I always really loved the. Like, I. I was really passionate about it. And I think of it as, like, an art form, obviously, and filmmaking is an art form. And. And if there was ever a world where I could have actually done that and made money and, like, felt secure in that, I think I would have thrown my phone into the ocean and, like, never posted anything ever again. But that's just also not realistic because that didn't happen. And that's like a, you know, like a retrospective fantasy. But I think nowadays, I think that's, like, not how that would have gone. Yeah. Like, I think I probably still would have been posting stuff.
Jemma Spa
Just because you loved it so much.
Arden Rose
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Jemma Spa
Like, that.
Arden Rose
And I'm like, I'm a blabber mouth, as you can tell.
Jemma Spa
This is what I'm saying. You need to start a new podcast. The. It is the ultimate medium flower mouth. Yeah. It's amazing. So do you think you're gonna keep posting for, like, the rest of your life? This is something people ask me, probably. Yeah.
Arden Rose
Yeah. Like, it wouldn't shock me.
Jemma Spa
Yeah, yeah.
Arden Rose
Well, because also, like, not to, like, segue too early.
Podcast Announcer / Host of Beyond the Script
No.
Jemma Spa
But because you are doing my job for me, and it is. This is what I'm saying.
Arden Rose
So how's your day been today?
Jemma Spa
Are you looking at you? The question.
Arden Rose
So as I'm wanting to segue into the night now.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
I've just realized how important it is. And, like, I've gone from being kind of resentful of, like, feeling like this is the only way that I can make money. Because also, I'm not college educated. I didn't go to college. Like, I.
Jemma Spa
What. What was that decision? Like, quickly?
Arden Rose
Well, your parents, like, well, okay, so it's so funny because it's like. It's the political burblings of, like, what conservatives were valuing in like 2008 Obama era.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
Which was like, actually we don't like college anymore. Like the anti intellectualism kind of started popping off. But also it's so funny because all three of my siblings are really highly educated. Like two of them went to grad school. So I'm like, I don't know where. One of them went to law school, one of them went to grad school. So I'm like, I don't know where the hell I became the one. But. But also I think part of it was that my parents were like, are like middle class Arkansans and they were like, oh, one of them doesn't want to go to college. That's kind of cool. And she's money. And like my dad was the one who would fly me to LA and like be with me when I would do like the awesome TV stuff. And like when I would get these little for Awesomeness TV, I was getting $600 a week to like come in on the weekend. And then that is low. Huge. Huge for a teenager.
Jemma Spa
Yeah. But like for a. Huge for a teenager, but. But not for life.
Arden Rose
Yeah, no, yeah, totally. But like in my head, working in
Jemma Spa
the weekends, like doing all this crazy stuff.
Arden Rose
Oh yeah. Oh yeah.
Jemma Spa
And it is for a teenage, like, wow.
Arden Rose
Totally. And also that being said, it would be once a month. So it was 600amonth.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
To get flown out. And I thought it was the most glamorous thing in the entire world.
Jemma Spa
And it was.
Arden Rose
But like I was like, I've got my own money. I could pay rent because I've been saving all my money. Like I wasn't. What was I spending my money on in Little Rock, Arkansas. So I would just like save all my money. So I had this like little fat paddle had from when I was 16 until I was like 18 to be able to get rent. And. And so I applied to nyu.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
And I applied to ucla.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
And those are the only two schools that I applied to and I got waitlisted at ucla and I didn't get into nyu. So I was like, well I guess I'm gonna fly to California and see what happens because like maybe I'll get into ucla. Maybe they'll. Oh, so sweet to think that was.
Jemma Spa
I actually love that. I love that you were like the big unis.
Arden Rose
Yeah. I was like, they're gonna let me in.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
Do they not know who I am? Awesome to see me. Come on. But yeah. So I ended up getting like a really shitty apartment at this place called Park La Brea Where?
Jemma Spa
What part of LA is it in? It's it.
Arden Rose
Okay. If you know la, you will know this place. It is. And if you visit, you will know it. It's in West Hollywood. It's. Or it's in Hollywood and it's right by the grove. It's like right down the road. It's those giant towers that are always saying, like, cheap apartments. Cheap apartments. The reason why they're cheap, allegedly, is because they are. Absolutely. I can't tell you how many cockroaches and how many bedbugs.
Jemma Spa
Oh.
Arden Rose
Oh, my God.
Jemma Spa
The bedbugs are the one. Cockroaches. I can live with bedbugs.
Arden Rose
Crazy.
Jemma Spa
Maybe. Probably not.
Arden Rose
Now, listen, you can live with a cockroach until they start coming out of your faucet like a horror movie. Like, it is a devious. Quite devious. And also the other thing I didn't understand about these apartments. Sorry, I'm going on a random.
Jemma Spa
No, I love. Please.
Arden Rose
But they also. They. Their windows were so high. I lived on the. The 30 50th floor, and the windows didn't have screens on them. Oh, my God, girl, you're asking for someone to take a. Take a tumble.
Jemma Spa
Oh, my God. Like, somebody could just have an, like, fall through. That is crazy.
Arden Rose
Crazy. It always freaked me out. Like, you know, like, I think that's where my fear, like a large fear of, like, heights has come from. You know when you're, like, looking over something really, really high and you're like, I could just fall off of this right now. Or, like, I could just jump. Like, there's something about staring like into to that that. I remember doing that a lot when I was in my apartment. Not like, in a creepy way, but just in like a. Like, I really don't want that to happen. Like, I kept, like, having dreams about accidentally slipping out of the window.
Jemma Spa
I feel like that's very earthy decoded to be real with you, like, this obsession around, like. Yeah, it could happen. It could happen. What's to. I used to have this where I'd be like, what's to say that I actually didn't fall yesterday? And this is just bit of. Anyways, we'll not get that. Sorry. Should not put that in people's heads.
Arden Rose
Whoa. Oh, I got. I got some then. Exciting to mull over later.
Jemma Spa
I know. Well, hopefully you don't live on a 34.
Arden Rose
No, thank God. Third floor. Way better. Very much safer. Way happier about that.
Jemma Spa
Safer.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Podcast Announcer / Host of Beyond the Script
I'm Jemma sp, the host of the Psychology of your 20s. Have you ever been at the pharmacy counter and the pharmacist asks you do you have any questions? And suddenly your mind goes blank? That is exactly why you need to listen to beyond the Script from CVS Pharmacy and iHeartMedia. Hosted by Dr. Jake Goodman, a board certified psychiatrist and health educator, this show takes you behind the counter to answer the questions you'd wish you'd asked, like what medications might not mix well, what vaccines should you consider before a big trip? And even those questions you're a little bit too embarrassed to say out loud. Each episode bust myths, decodes health trends, and gives you real trustworthy advice from the experts you see the most. Your neighborhood CVS pharmacist. No white coats, no lectures. Just real talk, real answers and maybe a few laughs. Listen to beyond the script on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. I feel like in every episode I talk about how exhausted and overwhelmed I I am because it's true. I'm trying to balance a lot and taking care of myself often falls off the list. That is where Premier Protein Shakes come in. They have 30 grams of protein, no added sugar, and tons of delicious flavors like cake batter, peaches and cream caramel. Premier Protein shakes are a healthy choice you will actually want to make. Premier Protein powers you to say yes to more. Whether it's crushing a big presentation, building an epic fort, hitting the hiking trail with fresh friends. Find your favorite flavor@premier protein.com the future won't wait. And neither should you. That's why American Public University offers Master's programs designed for momentum, affordable, high quality and flexible so you can keep moving forward with career relevant programs in business, healthcare, education, IT and so much more. You can gain skills you can use right away and the code confidence to power your next move. American Public University made for what's next. Learn more at apuapus.edu.
Garnier / National Park Foundation Representative
garnier is proudly partnering with the National park foundation, the official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service. Garnier's support of the National Park Foundation Service Corps program is enabling young adults and veterans to help care for and enhance the national parks that we also love. The National park foundation and Garnier are proud to support these individuals as they explore future careers, gain practical field skills, develop confidence as leaders, and help address priority projects across our national parks. Together, Garnier and the National park foundation are committed to a shared vision of preserving and protecting our most treasured places for future generations. Want to lend to hand explore Garnier's partnership with the National park foundation and learn how you can help support our national parks@garnier USA.com NPF the best kind
Podcast Announcer / Host of Beyond the Script
of Internet is the kind you actually don't even notice because it works so efficiently and so fast. No buffering, no cutting out, no going to start the next episode of your favorite TV show and it not loading when you've had a very long day. Especially for somebody who works from home. Broadband Internet is something I rely on every single day. And reliability matters. Good Internet makes all the difference. For more information, go to SmartMove. US.
Jemma Spa
How's your career? What are you doing now? I feel like you're kind of in this period of like starting afresh.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Jemma Spa
What is it like to start afresh as like you enter 30?
Arden Rose
Yeah, it's, I think it's been like a cool. That's been really, it's fun. Felt like, like an appropriate time to start something new, you know, like. Yeah, a turning, a turning over of a leaf really. Especially since like turning 30 is the time when you're supposed to like shrivel up and turn into like an old hag and yeah, I don't know, maybe start performing hexes on people. I don't know what like the general consensus is.
Jemma Spa
Sounds fun.
Arden Rose
I'm already doing that. So I'm already way ahead of you guys. But I think it's just like funny to like step across the threshold of 30 and not like immediately pass away.
Jemma Spa
You seem pretty healthy. You seem, you seem happy.
Arden Rose
I'm feeling really good.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
And I think that's the secret is that. And my mother in law has told me this because she was like, was and is the most fabulous woman. But she was like, your 30s are like the best years of your life easily. And then she was like, but actually your 40s are the best, but actually your 50s, like it only gets better I think for women as we get older.
Jemma Spa
I've.
Arden Rose
Yeah, like I really do heard this and I feel that, like I feel it in my bone. How old are you?
Jemma Spa
I'm 26 now.
Arden Rose
Oh my God. It's only going to get so much better.
Jemma Spa
You know what? I also feel like I've documented my entire 20s. Yeah. So I've literally been doing this podcast since I was 21.
Arden Rose
That's so.
Jemma Spa
So I honestly think that 30 is going to be a, not like a liberation but like a whole new chapter. I don't know to go, yeah, to make this about me. But like I just think it's going to be, you know, I turn 30, it's like a new a New chapter of life that maybe I don't document and I do just get to live and like, yeah, so many things. I don't know.
Arden Rose
It's very transformative. Just like, I'm excited again. And maybe it's also my ocd, but like, having a number where I'm like, oh, this is when things start or whatever was like, very freeing for me. Like, before I left LA, I was, was 28 and I was like, I feel really sad that I haven't oil painted in like a really, really long time. Like, I hadn't done an oil painting in probably 10 years. And I used to do like semi competitive oil painting in high school. If that's a thing.
Jemma Spa
Everything can be competitive. Everything can be competitive if you're a high achiever. Yeah.
Arden Rose
If you try hard enough. But I used to do these conservation paintings for this thing in Arkansas called the 4H center, where it was like a fish and wildlife conservation conservation. And so I used to do these like hyper realistic oil paintings of endangered species. And sometimes charcoal, sometimes chalk, pastel, but I would just like do these. Like, I learned how to kind of like replicate nature in a way that was really cool. And I was really competitive. So that would. That was something that I did all throughout high school and I loved it. It got to the point where I had, from the little bit of money that I had making. Been making from AustinIsTV, I had asked my art teacher if I could come to studio that she would work out of with all these other like, cool adult artists. And I basically got a little corner of her, like, studio with my friend Sarah, who also wanted to do the same thing. And we would oil paint together, like in this like, adult studio. And it felt so cool, like, you know, to come on a Thursday and like oil paint. So anyways. But that was like such a positive memory for me and something where I really got into flow state. And then as I got older and I was living in tiny, tinier studio apartments, I was like, I just don't have room for this.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
And so I would just put it off and put it off and put it off. And I would do, you know, like watercolor paintings. I would do anything that was like, not messy in my apartment. And then when I got to the point where I was living in LA and I could like buy my own house, I bought a house and still didn't oil paint, even though I had the space for it. And I was like, well, this is like stupid. Like you're just. You've literally created a barrier for yourself. And now you're just not breaking it because you are nervous about being. Being bad. Like, because it's been so long. It was like I had such a competitive spirit for it when I was younger that the idea of going back to something and being bad at it immediately because I was going to be bad.
Jemma Spa
Oh yeah.
Arden Rose
Like, that's just how it's going to be.
Jemma Spa
How liberating.
Arden Rose
Yeah, exactly.
Jemma Spa
Crap. And just get a try.
Arden Rose
Be bad. Just try. And so then when I started painting again, I started recording myself painting and kind of told the story of what I just told you, which is that I used to really love doing this. And then I felt really like a lot of shame around being bad at it eventually and so kind of trying to like, re. Reinvigorate my like, artistic side of myself. And that also coincided with us realizing that we were going to be very kind of last minute and unexpectedly going to be moving to London.
Jemma Spa
Wait, that was just like a last minute. That was quick decision.
Arden Rose
That was something that was. We knew was going to probably happen in like the next couple years, but for like, unforeseen personal reasons, it ended up being like, I had like two and a half months of like, oh, I think we're moving. And then it was like, oh, I'm trying to get my visa now. Like, oh, we're like in process. And I was kind of in denial of it the whole time that it was happening. I don't know, it was just like all these things like, that felt very like, left behind. Because even like when I bought my house, I bought basically half a house, which is like so weird to say, but it was like under construction.
Jemma Spa
Oh, really?
Arden Rose
Yeah, because that's what I could afford in the area. But my dad's a builder and so I was like, I'm gonna be the person that like, can make money off this house because I'm gonna flip it. Like, I'm gonna. I'm gonna do it and then I'm gonna live in it and I'm gonna feel. And then everything was like $300,000, like minimum for everything. And I was like, cool. So that's just never gonna happen. So we ended up living in kind of like half a house for like the entire time that we were living in la. That was also preying on me because I was like, oh, this is such a failure. Like, I wanted to be able to redo this house and like all these things. And so in the middle of this, while I was waiting to get my visa, I had started oil painting. And I started. I went around my neighborhood and I started taking film photos of all of my favorite houses in the neighborhood. And then I set myself up outside and painted my view from my window so that I could see, like, what my neighborhood looked like when I lived there. And then also did, like, personal portraits of all of the houses around me. And it became, like, the way that I came kind of, like, exercise that feeling of being sad about leaving and also memorialize them and then also, like, could kind of tap back into my artistry in a way that felt really, like, therapeutic. Yeah, it was really nice. But then also, I. I felt really good because somehow I managed to do all of that and film it, which is not normally like, that's the other thing about doing art and filming it. And you probably know this, like, it's. It feels like you take a bit of the soul out of it if you have to film it. Yeah, sometimes.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
But I think because I was so comfortable, like, filming myself, that I could kind of, like, get past that and just be like, this is another example of being able to hopefully help other people feel like if you haven't done this artistic pursuit, whatever that may be, for a really long time, it's, like, never too late to come back to it and be bad. And so I think that's what, like, the first video that did, like, well, about my art on YouTube was. It was called, like, it was something like, it's okay to be bad.
Jemma Spa
Honestly, a very profound statement that you realize the older you get of just, like, being bad is. I feel like we've talked a lot about control and then a lot about freedom in this episode.
Arden Rose
Yeah, totally.
Jemma Spa
And this is what I'm hearing. I'm hearing you be like, wait. Like, this journey towards just letting yourself be bad at things, letting yourself explore old hobbies in a way that doesn't sound as. As, like, restrictive anymore as it probably was at times.
Arden Rose
Yeah, I think that's true. Ooh. We're finding. We're finding themes here.
Jemma Spa
We're really finding some good themes and a little theme to, like, dig into. I have one final question for you. This is a question that we. I was going to ask you about moving to London, actually. Let me ask you about it.
Arden Rose
Okay, this.
Jemma Spa
Everybody else can tune out. This is. This is a me question, because I have just moved to London and. And how do you enjoy it? Because I'm really struggling with it, and I'm sure a lot of people have moved to cities and been like, o. I have this whole romantic idea of what this was going to be. And it's not that. So somebody who's just moved to London, I. E. Me or somebody listening.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Jemma Spa
What's like some advice that you would have?
Arden Rose
What, what would you say is, what are you struggling with? Do you feel like the social situation is a thing?
Jemma Spa
I've gotten so lucky. I've made so many friends really quickly. It's actually funny. I like, went out and was like, I'm a very practical person and I had been here for a month or two and I was like, great, so I need to make some friends. So I booked like seven, like, friendship making activities in one weekend and was. And just made all my friends on one week. And now I'm like, good to go. So. And obviously. But I think it's just like realizing this isn't what I thought it was going to be and like, making peace with that.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
What did you think it was going to be?
Jemma Spa
I think I love how to the tables. Oh, no, I think that I thought it was going to be a lot more like, exciting and go, go, go. And like, easy. And I. You know what I think I thought, I didn't think the city was this big. Right. I thought that things were going to be closer and maybe that's what it is. Where I was like, oh, there's going to be so many opportunities to do things. It's like there are, but it takes you two hours. So you actually can't do it all because of a commute.
Arden Rose
Yeah. Yeah. You're not wrong. Is that not how Sydney is?
Jemma Spa
Oh, no, no, no. Well, also, I like, would never go over the bridge. So, like, there's two sides of Sydney. It was like three technically, but. But I don't know, like, I lived where, like, in the heart of it.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Jemma Spa
No, it's not how Sydney is, like, at all.
Arden Rose
But you know what's funny is even you saying, like, I don't go over the bridge in Sydney. That's. That is the knowledge that you will have of London. Like, yeah, in like three or four months, you'll be like, oh, I don't go. I don't go there because I. I don't like my connections there. Like, you know what I mean? Like, you will have moments where you go, you'll know the city. It just takes, you know, it's like you have to carve your little mark in the city by experiencing it until you get to the point where you understand the groo and you can like, figure out where you're going.
Jemma Spa
Oh, I love that. Yeah, that's a really beautiful analogy.
Arden Rose
Well, it's like, you know, your, your pathways where you end up like going the most is kind of like river runs. Yeah, totally.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
But I found it okay. I think like in a similar way to you. I found my friends really quickly because my husband was the entire reason I came to London. Like, we were long distance for years and years and years. And we started dating when I was 19, I want to say. And he was 20, 21, a little older than me. What can I say? Love an older man. But because he is from London, I basically kind of got to like plug into his whole friend group. And what's really cool about my husband is that he is like. And I mean this in like the most positive way. He's like Mr. Ally. We're like, yeah, like our entire friend group is queer people. So that, that was really cool. So like, I don't know, coming from Little Rock, Arkansas, where I was like so shel to then be living in Los Angeles where like my mind was expanding a little bit and then moving to London and being like in the epicenter of like just cool people was just such a different. I don't know. I think I. I really liked moving here because it was. I was just absorbing so much. Yeah.
Jemma Spa
This is what I need to do. I need to get out there and find my. I found. Definitely found great people, but I think I need to like focus on experiencing the city for what it has to offer.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Jemma Spa
And that being like, it's a big horizon expander. Yeah.
Arden Rose
And I also think that people are very locked in on their borough. Like I have noticed like big time. Like. Yeah, I'm like, I'm a big like. Like I used to live in southwest London, which was great, but it's like the sleepiest place.
Jemma Spa
Where is that? What's. Give me a suburb. It's.
Arden Rose
It's like near Hammersmith. Like Notting Hill would be like southwest. Like, you know what I mean? Like that kind of like area like
Jemma Spa
a lot of my geography. Well, yeah, right.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Jemma Spa
West.
Arden Rose
West in general. I feel like it's just like very sleepy now. But like, no, hate to west westies. Okay. But that then like I hadn't really explored a lot of the other burrows. And then I, Yeah. Have just been spending a lot more time kind of like east and north and a little bit of time in south. Kind of like expanding my horizons. But here's the thing. Like, you just got here. I just started doing that. And I've been coming back and forth here for like 10 years. So what excuse do I have?
Jemma Spa
I don't know. I need to get in on it.
Arden Rose
I need to.
Jemma Spa
But this is. This is like the wiser. You were the wiser version. Version of me of, like that. But no, but, like, I need to. I need to. I need to take a bigger bite of London, I think.
Arden Rose
Yeah. Well, we can. We can do that together.
Jemma Spa
We'll get dinner in the East.
Arden Rose
Yes. Yeah. I'm always trying to, like, pull people in different directions.
Jemma Spa
Like, all my friends. I'm in the east, by the way. And I'm like, yeah. And I'm like, what have I done? Because I live in, like, the Northwest. And I'm like, love where I live.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Jemma Spa
But every. All my neighbors are either very old or very famous.
Arden Rose
Right.
Jemma Spa
And we are neither of those things. So it's like, I think they're sometimes confused as to why we have there.
Arden Rose
Totally.
Jemma Spa
I don't think I've met anybody who lives in my neighborhood who's under the age of 35.
Arden Rose
Right, right, right, right.
Jemma Spa
Or under, like, the income level of 35 million.
Arden Rose
Right, right, right, right, right. Yeah.
Jemma Spa
And I feel like we just kind of messed up. But also we have, like, this really apartment that is technically not living. Like, I don't really think you're meant to live there.
Arden Rose
I love that about London.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
Sometimes it's just like. Yeah, we just live in this, like, rat hole.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
We live in a bucket and like, it's £3,000. But, like, exactly. They let us.
Jemma Spa
I remember Outlander, when we moved in, I was like, so what happens if there's a fire? He's like, well, there should be a ladder on the roof.
Arden Rose
There should be a ladder on the roof.
Jemma Spa
I can't. But we don't know where that is. Like, where is it? Because technically. Yeah. Anyway.
Arden Rose
Yes.
Jemma Spa
Awesome.
Arden Rose
No, that's like such a thing. But. But no, you'll have to. You'll have to come hang out with me over on my side town elsewhere and see maybe someone under the age of 30.
Jemma Spa
I don't think they exist.
Arden Rose
I don't know.
Jemma Spa
Do they not?
Arden Rose
I don't know. Unfortunately, I'm not going to hold up that statistic, but I'll find someone who can. 30.
Jemma Spa
I feel like 30 is the new 25.
Arden Rose
Hey, thanks, babe.
Jemma Spa
I've been saying that to my friends. Thanks.
Podcast Announcer / Host of Beyond the Script
I'm Gemma Spag, the host of the psychology of your 20s. Have you ever been at the pharmacy counter and the pharmacist asks you, do you have any questions? And suddenly your mind goes blank. That is exactly why you need to listen to beyond the Script from CVS Pharmacy and iHeartMedia. Hosted by Dr. Jay Goodman, a board certified psychiatrist and health educator, this show takes you behind the counter to answer the questions you'd wish you'd asked. Like what medications might not mix well, what vaccines should you consider before a big trip? And even those questions you're a little bit too embarrassed to say out loud. Each episode bust myths, decodes health trends and gives you real, trustworthy, worthy advice from the experts you see the most. Your neighborhood CVS pharmacist. No white coats, no lectures. Just real talk, real answers, and maybe a few laughs. Listen to beyond the script on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A big priority for me in 2026 is to make healthier, better choices so I can take care of myself and just have more energy for my everyday, everyday life. That is of course easier said than done when life is so chaotic all of the time. But that is where Premier Protein shakes come in. They have 30 grams of protein, no added sugar, and tons of delicious flavors. From cake batter to peaches and cream caramel. They are a healthy choice you'll actually want to make because they never feel boring. Focusing on fitness and health can be really overwhelming, but having 30 grams of of protein immediately in the morning with Premier Protein can really get you moving and enjoying life. Premier Protein powers you to say yes to more. Whether it's crushing a big presentation at work, building an epic fort with your kids, or hitting the hiking trail with friends. Find your favorite flavor@premier protein.com that's P R E M I E R protein.com or at Amazon, Walmart and other major retailers. The future won't wait, and neither should you. That's why American Public University offers Master's programs designed for momentum, affordable, high quality and flexible so you can keep moving forward with career relevant programs in business, healthcare, education, it and so much more. You can gain skills you can use right away and the confidence to power your next move. American Public University made for what's next? Learn more at apu Apus.
Garnier / National Park Foundation Representative
Edu Garnier is proudly partnering with the National park foundation, the official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service. Garnier's support of the National Park Foundation Service Corps program is enabling young adults and veterans to help care for and enhance the national parks that we all love. The National park foundation and Garnier are proud to support these individuals as they explore future careers, gain practical field skills, develop confidence as leaders and help address priority projects across our national parks. Together, Garnier and the National park foundation are committed to a shared vision of preserving and protecting our most treasured places for future generations. Want to lend a hand? Explore Garnier's partnership with the national park for foundation and learn how you can help support our national parks@garnier.usa.com NPF the
Podcast Announcer / Host of Beyond the Script
best kind of Internet is the kind you actually don't even notice because it works so efficiently and so fast. No buffering, no cutting out, no going to start the next episode of your favorite TV show and it not loading when you've had a very long day, especially for somebody who works from home, broadband Internet is something I rely on every single day. And reliability matters. Good Internet makes all the difference. For more information, go to Smart Move us.
Jemma Spa
Final question we ask this of every single guest on the podcast, which is what is the biggest lesson that you have Learned in your 20s?
Arden Rose
Ooh, I think. You know what? Again, I think it comes back to everything we've been talking about, but I think the biggest lesson I learned was that people aren't really looking at me like that. You know what I mean? Everyone's, like, so obsessed with themselves. And I think, like, I was so worried all the time, like, as someone who was, like, bullied in high school, that I was like, going to be always kind of watching my back or, like always saying the wrong thing or always being kind of awkward. And then I realized, like, actually no one, literally no one cares. And that was very freeing in so many ways. Like, I think I had a lot of, like, guilt and like, negative feelings around just like, like being a person in being perceived. Not even like a social media perception, but just like interpersonal perception. I think I actually cared less about what people thought about me online than people think about me in person. But I think I've just, like, completely, like, explained that.
Jemma Spa
Oh, God, I wish you could bottle that feeling and pass it out.
Arden Rose
I want to so badly. Yeah, Like, I think about that sometimes for, like, people in their early 20s, because I'm like, oh, girl. Yeah, I feel so bad for you. Like, women in their young, like, early 20s. Like, I don't think I would ever go back to being 21.
Jemma Spa
You could not pay me.
Arden Rose
No. Unless I had my brain now and I could be like, none of this shit matters. I'd be fine.
Jemma Spa
I think about that with dating all the time. I'm like, I wish I could be dating as like a 20 year old. Obviously, I love who I'm with. Sorry. Yeah, My beautiful boyfriend. Love of my life. But, like, sometimes I'm like, I wish that I had the brain that I have now and could have dated back then and actually had fun, because I never had fun dating until I met my boyfriend.
Arden Rose
Totally. I totally know what you mean. I feel the same way. It's kind of that whole thing about, like, what's the Sylvia Plath, the fig tree.
Jemma Spa
We literally just did an episode on that the other day.
Arden Rose
Yeah, it's similar where it's, you know, a little less depressing when you're talking about dating, but, like, it would just. Yeah, I agree. Just, like, being able to enjoy stuff because, you know, like, it doesn't matter. But you know what? That's also hindsight. Like, you know.
Jemma Spa
Exactly.
Arden Rose
I can still be nervous and, like, anxious about things now. It doesn't mean that, like, in five years, I'm not going to be like, I wish I just didn't care when I was 30. I probably will still say that.
Jemma Spa
You know, it brings back to that thing you said before of, like, getting older is, like, such a privilege. And I look at, like, my mom, for example, and, like, my aunts, and I also think it's so important to have friends who are a few years older than you as well. Like, and I also, a few decades older than you, because it just seems like it gets better and better. It looks so much fun.
Arden Rose
Yeah. Crazy what perspective can do. Like, when you meet someone who's, like, still rocking it and looking so cool and, like, doing, like, the best kind of life, and they're, like, 20 years older than you.
Jemma Spa
I'm paying for some gray hair. I know I'm going to do full gray if it happens. If I'm blessed.
Arden Rose
Clown.
Jemma Spa
Yeah.
Arden Rose
I'm so down to clown. I know. Like, do you remember that show?
Jemma Spa
It was called.
Arden Rose
There was that. There was a woman named Stacy London who was, like, a stylist on the T on T. Tlc. It was, like, a thing in America. But she. You need to look her up later. She had this show. It was called what not to Wear. And it was not great. It didn't age well. It was a lot of things being flattering or unflattering or frumpy or not frumpy. Like, not great body discussions happening. But she had the most fabulous streak of gray in her hair from when she was, like, at, like, our age into her 40s. And she still, like, maintains it. And she looks so, so cool.
Jemma Spa
Yeah. This is going to be the new trend. I think gray hair is going to be where it's at.
Arden Rose
Yeah, I think it's cool.
Jemma Spa
It's a sign of, like, being. It's a sign of total self acceptance and, like, push back against, like, the Aging Propaganda 100.
Arden Rose
Yeah. I think that's also, like, being able to move your face is the same thing, you know? Yeah.
Jemma Spa
Well, thank you so much for coming on the podcast. I hope you had a great time.
Arden Rose
I did. Thank you for having me.
Jemma Spa
I really enjoyed this chat.
Arden Rose
Let me know if you ever want me back.
Jemma Spa
Yeah, I know. Well, maybe people are going to be like, hopefully they think we have a good vibe.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Jemma Spa
Where can people find you? And what is something you're really excited about going on in your career, in your life right now you want people to know about?
Arden Rose
Yeah. Well, I'm on all my socials, as per us. I also just released a collection with Lisa says G company, which you are
Jemma Spa
wearing if you are watching on Netflix. I literally walked in and I was like, that's. That shirt is phenomenal.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Jemma Spa
And you painted that.
Arden Rose
Yeah. This is my painting. I think the saturation's been bumped up a little bit. But, yeah, I did a trip deck of blossoms in a field, kind of like a la Monet. It was my Monet copy. Not nearly as good, unfortunately. He's kind of a master, so that's kind of my attempt of it. But it made a fabulous shirt.
Jemma Spa
It does. It actually does. Okay, I'm going to get people to check that out. They can find you on the.
Podcast Announcer / Host of Beyond the Script
On.
Jemma Spa
On socials.
Arden Rose
Yeah.
Jemma Spa
As always, guys, thank you so much for listening. Listening. You can also find the psychology of your twenties on socials in the episode description down below. If you want to follow us on substack Instagram. All those things. I feel like every single episode, I. I give you a longer list, but it's all down below. And of course, you can also find Arden and see more of what she's up to by following the links in the description. But until next time, be safe, be kind, be gentle to yourself. We will talk very, very soon.
Podcast Announcer / Host of Beyond the Script
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Episode Title: Growing up online, early fame and rediscovering your creativity ft. Arden Rose
Podcast: The Psychology of Your 20s (iHeartPodcasts)
Host: Jemma Sbeg
Guest: Arden Rose
Date: April 30, 2026
In this candid and insightful episode, host Jemma Sbeg is joined by Arden Rose—one of the original YouTube creators of her generation. Together, they dissect the psychological impact of growing up on the internet, the changing landscape of online fame, healing from early exposure, and rediscovering creativity in adulthood. Arden shares her personal journey, from creating videos as a teen in Arkansas to navigating adulthood, mental health, and creative renewal.
(03:26–10:24)
(11:06–21:27)
(14:07–24:38)
(22:13–25:55)
(29:50–40:57)
(40:46–43:34)
(45:09–55:10)
(55:10–62:43)
Turning 30 provided a natural sense of renewal—no haggard decline, but a creative blossoming.
Arden returned to oil painting after a decade, learning to embrace being “bad” at something again and to create for self-satisfaction and healing.
She began recording her painting process, sharing online her journey of rediscovering old passions, to encourage others to “be bad” and try.
Quote: “Never too late to come back to it and be bad. I think that’s what... my first video that did well about my art online was. It was called, like, ‘It’s okay to be bad.’” (Arden, 62:05)
(63:14–69:13)
On the “slow burn” of sustainable fame:
“A lot of people will get online, be like, I want to be famous... Be careful what you wish for. The slow burn of really caring about what you’re doing is gonna take you so much further.”
—Jemma Sbeg (23:36)
On accidentally influencing disordered eating:
“I think she genuinely...triggered a lot of people into a state that was not great, I think. So I think part of the problem was that she was a very visibly thin woman...with the craziest diet you’ve ever seen.”
—Arden Rose (32:57)
On being ‘perceived’:
“People aren’t really looking at me like that. You know what I mean? Everyone’s so obsessed with themselves. I think I was so worried all the time, like, going to be always kind of watching my back, or always saying the wrong thing...And then I realized, actually, no one—literally no one—cares. And that was very freeing.”
—Arden Rose (73:26)
On creative renewal:
“If you haven’t done this artistic pursuit...for a really long time, it’s never too late to come back to it and be bad.”
—Arden Rose (62:05)
On aging and self-acceptance:
“Getting older is such a privilege...I also think it’s so important to have friends a few years older, and a few decades older than you. It just seems like it gets better and better.”
—Jemma Sbeg (75:32)
For more on Arden’s art and journey, and to follow The Psychology of Your 20s, check episode links and social media in the description.
Summary by Podcast Summarizer AI — elevating every episode for deeper listening.