Lauryn & Michael Answer Your Questions: Relationship Dilemmas, Hustle vs Balance, & Advice To Our Younger Selves

Summary

The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast Episode: Lauryn & Michael Answer Your Questions: Relationship Dilemmas, Hustle vs Balance, & Advice To Our Younger Selves Release Date: April 18, 2025

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In this engaging and insightful episode of The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast, Lauryn Evarts Bosstick and Michael Bosstick dive deep into their listeners' most pressing questions, offering candid advice on relationships, balancing hustle with personal life, and reflecting on their journeys to success. Hosted by the dynamic entrepreneurial duo behind Dear Media and The Skinny Confidential, this episode seamlessly blends personal anecdotes with actionable wisdom, making it a valuable listen for anyone navigating similar challenges.

1. Starting a Podcast: Tips for Aspiring Podcasters

Question from Namita Moore [02:05]: Namita, an aspiring podcaster, seeks advice on how to kickstart her podcast, emphasizing the importance of organization, consistency, and maintaining balance while managing multiple tasks.

Lauryn's Advice [03:21]: "If I were starting a podcast today, right now, I would be like, what is my unique point of view? How am I bringing something fresh, unexpected, disruptive to this industry?" Lauryn emphasizes the significance of identifying a unique perspective before launching. She suggests treating the podcast like a book, outlining 12 episodes with detailed bullet points to ensure comprehensive content planning.

Michael's Insights [05:23]: Michael adds, "It's getting much more competitive than when Lauren and I started. Pick who you're speaking to and who you're trying to serve. Put the audience first and give them a reason to come back." He underscores the necessity of persistence, noting that most successful podcasts require at least a year of consistent effort before gaining substantial traction.

Notable Quote: "Do not expect an extraordinary life if you want to work a few hours a day." — Lauryn Evarts [09:07]

2. Navigating Being Cut Off for Political Reasons

Question from Mae [09:15]: Mae addresses the delicate issue of being cut off from family or a partner due to political differences, seeking strategies to maintain relationships amidst ideological divides.

Lauryn's Perspective [13:04]: Lauryn advises, "Be yourself, but not in a way that's shoved in people's face. Employ finesse and read where you are." She highlights the importance of context, suggesting that certain environments like family dinners may not be the right time for heated political discussions.

Michael's Take [25:06]: Michael humorously asserts, "If a guy wants to pick up the phone and call you, he will. If a guy wants to pursue you, he will." He emphasizes the value of mutual effort in relationships, indicating that genuine interest will manifest through actions rather than superficial gestures.

Notable Quote: "You have to be comfortable knowing you're not going to please everybody all the time." — Michael Bostic [10:22]

3. Relationship Challenges and Moving Forward After a Breakup

Question from Selena (Kiki) [19:17]: Kiki shares her tumultuous breakup with an NFL player, grappling with feelings of betrayal and seeking advice on maintaining composure and moving forward.

Lauryn's Guidance [21:09]: Lauryn delves into the complexities of relationships, stating, "When you're in a relationship, it's easy to start molding yourself into the other person." She advises focusing on self-confidence and personal growth, suggesting that building one's identity independent of a partner fosters resilience and attracts positive relationships.

Michael's Humorous Intervention [24:41]: Michael lightens the mood with humor, discussing the unrealistic expectations of how quickly someone should move on, while still acknowledging the emotional turmoil involved.

Notable Quote: "If something happens, if you really want someone, you should see them pursue you, not download Raya." — Lauryn Evarts [25:37]

4. Building a Brand vs. Personal Branding

Question from Courtney Coucher [27:50]: Courtney inquires about differentiating between building a personal brand versus a company brand, seeking clarity on how Lauryn and Michael managed their identities alongside establishing The Skinny Confidential.

Lauryn's Strategic Approach [28:43]: Lauryn shares, "I launched the Skinny Confidential as a brand to be bigger than Lauren Bostic." She discusses the importance of creating a brand that stands independently of personal identities to allow for scalable and sustainable growth. Lauryn emphasizes building both personal and company brands simultaneously, ensuring they reinforce each other without one limiting the other.

Michael's Example of Gary Vaynerchuk [34:42]: Michael illustrates with Gary Vaynerchuk's approach, where a strong personal brand supports a larger corporate entity, enabling diversification and expansion beyond individual recognition.

Notable Quote: "You need to build both personal and company brands simultaneously." — Lauryn Evarts [30:37]

5. Hustle vs. Work-Life Balance: Reflections from the Early Days

Question from Courtney Coucher [42:50]: Courtney reflects on the early stages of building their ventures, seeking insights into how Lauryn and Michael managed the intense hustle alongside maintaining their personal well-being.

Lauryn's Honest Reflection [43:24]: Lauryn candidly recounts her relentless schedule in her 20s, balancing college, blogging, bartending, and running her blog seven days a week. She emphasizes that achieving significant success often requires sacrificing personal time and enduring long hours without immediate rewards.

Michael's Sacrifices [48:05]: Michael echoes Lauryn's sentiments, detailing the immense workload and personal sacrifices they both made, including limited sleep and extreme dedication. He advises that meaningful achievements demand hard work and consistent effort, often at the expense of social activities and personal downtime.

Notable Quote: "Anything in life worth pursuing requires a sacrifice." — Lauryn Evarts [49:00]

6. Forgiving Past Betrayal and Rebuilding Trust

Question from Amy [50:54]: Amy struggles with forgiving her partner for a past infidelity discovered through an accidental read of his journal, seeking guidance on rebuilding trust and moving forward.

Lauryn's Practical Approach [53:25]: Lauryn advises a balanced perspective based on the overall quality of the relationship over the years. She suggests assessing whether the relationship has been predominantly positive or negative and making decisions accordingly. If the relationship has been strong aside from the incident, she recommends moving past it; otherwise, ending the relationship may be necessary.

Michael's Supportive Insight [55:20]: Michael highlights the importance of context, encouraging Amy to evaluate the entirety of her relationship and whether this incident is part of a larger pattern of trust issues.

Notable Quote: "If you've been in a good relationship overall, a past mistake doesn't have to define your future." — Lauren Evarts [53:06]

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Conclusion

In this episode, Lauryn and Michael offer a blend of personal experiences and professional advice, addressing a spectrum of topics from launching a podcast to navigating complex relationship dynamics. Their transparent and relatable approach provides listeners with practical strategies and emotional support, reaffirming their role as trusted voices in the realms of entrepreneurship and personal development.

Key Takeaways:

• Authenticity: Maintaining a unique voice and perspective is crucial in both podcasting and brand building.
• Consistency & Persistence: Long-term dedication is often necessary to achieve meaningful success.
• Self-Awareness: Understanding personal limits and the importance of balance can enhance both personal and professional life.
• Relationship Integrity: Open communication and mutual effort are foundational to sustaining healthy relationships.

Listeners are encouraged to engage with the hosts by submitting their questions through the hotline at 512-5377194, promising more insightful discussions in future episodes.

Transcript

[Lauren Everts]

The following podcast is a Dear Media Production. She's a lifestyle blogger extraordinaire. Fantastic. And he's a serial entrepreneur, a very smart cookie. And now Lauren Everts and Michael Bostic are bringing you along for the ride.

[Michael Bostic]

Get ready for some major realness.

[Lauren Everts]

Welcome to the Skinny Confidential. Him and her.

Aha. An unfiltered Q and A. Your burning questions are going to be answered. We did a hotline where you guys called in and did like a voicemail of your questions. And the fun thing about this is Michael and I are going to be surprised by the questions. So you're going to get real, honest, raw, candid answers.

Well, it's also kind of vintage because this is for listeners that are new to the show and have not been here since the very beginning. This is how we started the show. We used to take two to four questions every week from the audience. Old school. They would write into the blog or they would write into social and then we would answer the questions. My sister Jordan helped us with the show in the very early days in our kitchen, living room. And we would answer questions from the audience. In the early days it was called the Ask him and Her Show. And then we moved away from that and we got into guest conversations and different kinds of solos. So we're excited to do this. Cause it's like Back to the Roots where we get surprised by questions from the audience, the people that have supported us for so long, and hopefully we can answer them. We have not. Emily and Carson, who are in the room with us, have got the questions and they've got the voicemails. So Lauren and I have no idea what they are. Hopefully we can answer them. Hopefully it's.

And Carson is our producer in Austin. Taylor's our producer in Los Angeles.

God forbid we forget to mention Taylor.

And Emily is sort of like our right hand woman when it comes to podcasting. She helps us streamline everything and schedule and briefs and research. And so it's really fun to have her in the room with us. And if you want to call our hotline, it's 512-53771 94.

We gotta update the voicemail on the hotline. It's been like five years. But anyways, Carson, what do we got?

[Carson]

All right, here's the first one.

[Namita Moore]

Hi there. This is Namita. Namita Moore. I wanted to ask a question. Oh, actually first of all, my social is Namita N A M I T A M O O R E. That's it. And my question is, I am starting a podcast And I would like your biggest advice for starting a podcast and really how to tune into yourself. Stay organized, stay on top of your research. I guess, like, what is your weekly cadence for everything? And basically being on top of all of your stuff while you started podcast, It's a lot of work. I understand, but how do you guys do it? How did you guys start it when you first started the Skinny Confidential, but that's it. Really appreciate your questions, your comments, and your answers. I love your podcast. I listen to it every week and I'm a huge fan.

[Lauren Everts]

Thanks.

[Namita Moore]

Bye.

[Lauren Everts]

Thank you, Namita, and thank you for listening to the show and for calling in. Lauren, you want to go first? You want me to go?

Is that how you're going to sit?

I don't know. I'm so. Yeah.

You need to get comfortable. It's making me uncomfortable.

I'm comfortable. The reason I'm sitting in this seat this time is because last time you couldn't look at me. You were so concerned about your angle.

Know I know my angle.

I'll just lean back like this is this look. Okay.

How did. How to start a podcast? Personally, if I were starting a podcast today, right now, I would be like, what is my unique point of view? How am I bringing something fresh, unexpected, disruptive to this industry? And I would start with that. And that sometimes takes a, like a second to wrap your head around. Right? It's not something you just know right away. I would think about it for, like, a week or two. You don't want to go over a week or two because then then you're getting into inaction. So I would think about what your unique point of view is. I would write that down, and I under that, I would think of it like a book. So I would do, like, essentially 12 episodes. Or with a book, you would do 12 chapters, and I would have each episode have, like, 20 bullets under it of what you're going to talk about. So you're almost like you're creating, like, a little book with your podcast. I also don't think that every single podcast and show needs to have guests. Some shows, it doesn't need guests. It just depends on, like, what you're gonna talk about. I don't think you need to have 12 great guests for your first 12 episodes. I think you can just throw yourself out there, throw things to a wall and see what sticks. And then the other thing I would say is it is important to invest in nice equipment. You don't want bad sound. There's nothing worse. And I was just Listening to this huge podcast the other day and all of a sudden her sound was bad. And I found out it's cause she was sick and she was at home. And it made a really big difference to the point where I turned off the podcast. So I think getting your sound dialed out is important. It's not crazy. Like, it's not a crazy amount of money. You can actually go on the Skinny Confidential blog and search podcast. How to start a podcast. And our equipment that we started with shows up so you can shop it seamlessly there. Those are like my pillars. If I were to start. But I'll let the. The media mogul over there respond. Yeah, let's hear what you say.

Listen, the first thing I would say is when Lauren and I started, and I say this a lot, especially coming from the perspective of, I guess, quote unquote, a media mogul, from sitting in the seat of a. As a CEO of Dear Media, when I talk to aspiring new podcasters, even if they have huge brands on other platform, the first thing I say is that, you know, it's gotten to be much more competitive than when Lauren and I started. When Lauren and I started, we used to have to create videos to show people where to find the podcast app. And we weren't the first people to do podcasts by any means, but it was still early enough where you could stand out. Our focus at the time was kind of all over the place. We talked about a lot of different subjects in a 2025 podcast landscape. I hate when people say things are oversaturated. They're not. But you can't do the same formula that everyone else has done over and over and expect success, namely being. Because they've already found success in that format themselves. So to Lauren's point, you have to come in with a unique perspective. I think it's very important to pick who you're speaking to and who you're trying to serve. Lauren and I will say you have to put the audience first and give the audience a reason to come back so that they're getting value for the time they're spending consuming your content. I also think that you have to buckle in and get ready to be very consistent for at least a year. A lot of times on the Dear Media side, when we see new shows start that end up either quitting or not lasting, they give themselves a short period of time and then it doesn't work out or they don't monetize as quickly as they'd like and they end up quitting and it's typically the shows that stay past a year and put in the work for long periods of time to start to see that exponential growth. But again, I think it's very important that you have a unique perspective. And even if the show is just based around you and your personality, you have to really hone in on that. I would pay as little attention as possible to what other people in the medium are doing. Personally, even though I run a company like Dear Media, I spend almost no time these days looking at what anyone else is really doing. I think it's distracting and it gets you out of your own voice and your own authentic perspective. And so, again, like, pick an audience that you're trying to serve. Even, like, get down to the nitty gritty of, like, you know what that individual is looking for. Figure out how you can get them to come back week after week by providing them value. Do it in an authentic way. I think now the shows need to be not only audio, but audio, video. So investing in equipment is important. And when I say investing in equipment, it doesn't have to be a full studio like this. You can get a simple zoom recorder and a good mic and maybe a decent camera and start recording. There's so many free platforms right now. You can get on libsyn and either art 19 megaphone, whatever it may be. It's all cost effective to stand these things up, create a YouTube channel, some social channels. But for me, it's consistency, a unique point of view. I wouldn't get too scripted. I would have conversations, but I would make sure that you're bringing some kind of value and perspective that only you can bring and that it's serving the audience more than it's serving yourself, and then go from there.

Jay Z said the genius thing we did was we never gave up. That's true. About that.

I might give up, but I'm gonna give myself, like, one more year. We'll see.

No, that's what the trick is. You gotta not give up. Like, you have to keep putting in the reps and the work. It's like. It's like lifting weights.

I'm gonna give up if you don't look at me during this interview.

I'm looking at you. I can see you loud and clear.

Yeah, I mean, listen, like, I.

There's so much going on.

Anybody that wants to build any kind of business and anybody that's looking to get into the world of creating content, if you think you're going to do it in a year and have tremendous success, you're likely Not. And even if you do, the question is then can you keep that success and keep that momentum? So it's all about the slow, consistent exponential build. Lauren and I have been doing this show for close to 10 years. She's been creating content online for close to two decades. It takes time. We feel like we're still just getting started. So. Yeah, of course that's a given. Like you have to be patient and consistent.

Next question.

[Carson]

Carson, this one, I wish you would have elaborated a little bit more, but you guys will get the idea.

[Mae]

Hi, Lauren and Michael. I have a topic that I would love to go over with you guys regarding being cut off due to political reasons. I think you'll really like that one. I have more lots of information to give you guys. My social handle on Instagram is at M A E May xo M A E xo. Yeah, I think you guys will really like this one. So I would love to be featured. Thanks.

[Lauren Everts]

Cut off from your family, cut off from your spouse, cut off from your job. What are we talking about here?

[Carson]

I'm pretty sure she means like cut off from her family. At least that's what I'm like taken away from it.

[Lauren Everts]

Well, I'll probably give two perspectives. I think. One, if you're an adult male or female over the age of 18 and you are disrupted by your family cutting you off financially, there's probably some soul searching to do to figure out how to become self sufficient and not be.

I think it sounds like not cut off financially. I think it's just like cut off energetically.

[Carson]

That's what I thought too.

[Lauren Everts]

Yeah. What if it's like cut off from a job? Okay, well, we're gonna need some more details on this. But listen, I think that, you know, there's a fine line between speaking your truth and standing in conviction and then trolling people over and over. I think Lauren and I are no strangers to speaking our truth and doing what we think is right. But you know, you're not gonna win everybody all the time with those kind of perspectives. And we have come to the place in our lives where it is more miserable, I think, for both of us to not be able to speak our truths than it is to kind of try to placate and to cater to everyone all the time. It's a minefield. Especially if you're creating content on the Internet or sharing an opinion. It's impossible to please everyone. You have to be comfortable knowing you're not going to please everybody all the time. We've said this a million times. I don't know if this goes down the line or the direction for what she's looking for, but my perspective is I would rather speak my truth and be myself and stand in those convictions without worry about, you know, people cutting me off as opposed to trying to placate and please everybody.

I am someone that definitely wants to speak my truth and be myself. I'm always going to be myself. But at the same time, I think there's a finesse in reading the room. Meaning, like, if I'm at Thanksgiving dinner, I'm not going to bring up certain topics because I know it's like hot button issues. Certain topics. Not even politics, really. Maybe there's something with health or wellness that's like really crazy that I've found out. In fact, we had a guest on that was really polarizing and he said some things that I agreed with. And there was something in particular that he said that I wanted to like, go tell friends and family. And I realized as I was telling certain friends and family this, this one topic, that some of them weren't taking it well. And so I was like, okay, I just need to like, adjust my approach or maybe not say anything at all. I think everyone is smart enough to know when they're putting their toe over the line. And for me, what I try to do is like, be myself, but not in a way that's like shoved in people's face and, and, and try to employ some finesse. And reading where I am, like, read where you are. If you're at church and you're at a church luncheon, maybe it's not the best time to bring up politics. As far as if someone's cutting you off and you really didn't do much, I mean, that's their prerogative. If they want to cut you off, then let them cut, I mean, let them cut you off. I feel like everything's happening for you and if they're cutting you off, maybe you just need to take a beat and take some space to begin with.

Yeah, it's hard to answer like a vague question without specific details. But I think both of our perspective is like, one, you gotta be yourself. Two, you gotta make sure you have the right people and friends around you. Three, be self aware and don't be screaming things aggressively about politics in the wrong settings. And I think four is, you know, you have to know your audience. Like Lauren and I, if we go to a pleasant dinner with someone and we're just out socially, I don't know if it's the time.

I'm not gonna bring up stem cells in your dick. Yeah, Like, I'm not gonna be like, you know.

Yeah. I mean, listen, I think you just.

Gotta read the room.

Yeah. We try to live by example and talk about certain things, but we're also not the type to start pushing things down people's throats if they're not open to it.

Yes, I agree. I also though, do want to say, I personally like being at dinner tables or having conversations with people. We're not like, we don't have to agree. And that doesn't mean I have to cut you off. And that doesn't mean you have to cut me off energetically in a friendship if someone's going to cut me off because we don't agree. Like, maybe that's not the right relationship. Foreign we're all about skin care, self care, and mindset shifts. But what about our libido? Yep, we're going there because here's the deal. Millions of women struggle with low sex drive. And if you've been struggling to get in the mood, you are not alone. But guess what, ladies, there's an option for you. It's a little pink pill called Addi. The first and only FDA approved pill to treat frustrating low libido in certain pre menopausal women. Addy is clinically proven to increase sexual desire, decrease stress from low libido, and help you actually enjoy sex more often. So if you're ready to prioritize this part of your health this year and reconnect with your desire, talk to your doctor or head to addy.com that's a d d y I.com because you deserve to take back your sex drive.

[Kiki]

Addi or flibanserin is for premenopausal women with acquired generalized hypoactive sexual desire disorder who have not had problems with low sexual desire in the past who have had low sexual desire. No matter the type of sexual activity, the situation or the sexual partner, this low sexual desire is troubling to them and is not due to a medical or mental health problem, problems in the relationship, or medicine or other drug use. ADDI is not for use in children, men, or to enhance sexual performance. Your risk of severe low blood pressure and fainting is increased if you drink one to two standard alcoholic drinks close in time to your ADI dose. Wait at least two hours after drinking before taking ADDI at bedtime. This risk increases if you take certain prescriptions, OTC or herbal medications, or have liver problems and can happen when you take Addi without alcohol or other medicines. Do not take if you are allergic to any of Addi's ingredients. Allergic reaction may include hives, itching or trouble breathing. Sometimes serious sleepiness can occur. Common side effects include dizziness, nausea, tiredness, difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, and dry mouth. See full PI and medication guide including boxed [e-mail] PI addy that's a D-Y.

[Lauren Everts]

I.com I.

[Michael Bostic]

Have an intimate relationship with the RealReal because not only do I buy pieces on the RealReal, I also sell on the RealReal and I've had such a good experience with them over the years. I have found the best clothes and bags, wallets on the RealReal. What I like about them is it's like attainable luxury that upgrades your personal style. So sometimes it's like 90% off retail. There is this Hermes vest that I found on there that was so affordable. Everything that they sell is authenticated in person so you know that you're getting real items. And then what I do is I also use it as a place to sell my clothes that are gently used. And the whole process just makes it really, really easy. What's cool about them is that they found new homes for over 37 million million authenticated luxury items. So they know firsthand the impact of resale and what it has on the planet, which is awesome. I like to use them specifically if I need a dress for a wedding or maybe something for vacation or maybe I want like a pop of color. I love going on this site just to shop around, peruse. It's a good one. If you have not checked it out, you have to go look up all the brands they have. It will literally blow your mind. They have like Gucci, Fendi, Prada. Like I said, Hermes, the RealReal is the world's largest and most trusted resource for authenticated luxury resale. With thousands of new arrivals daily. No one does resale like the RealReal. And now you get $25 off with your first purchase when you go to therealreal.com skinny. That's therealreal.com skinny to get your $25 off, start shopping now at therealreal.com skinny simply.

[Lauren Everts]

You have seen simply everywhere. I am a big fan and they have launched a new prebiotic soda, Simply Pop. It's like a juicy soda. There's five flavors.

[Michael Bostic]

They have pineapple, mango, lime, strawberry, citrus.

[Lauren Everts]

Punch and fruit punch. Personally, I am a big fan of the lime. That's my favorite.

[Michael Bostic]

I'm a real citrus girl and what.

[Lauren Everts]

I like about this is it's made.

[Michael Bostic]

With real fruit juice.

[Lauren Everts]

Simply Pop supports gut with 6 grams of prebiotic fiber. There's also no added sugar. It's sweetened with monk fruit extract and it even has zinc and vitamin C in it. They really thought of everything. I'm really into the 6 grams of prebiotic fiber. This is known to support gut health and the added vitamin C and zinc for me is amazing because it supports your immune function. But mostly what I like about this is I like sparkling everything. And this specifically has no added sugar. You have to try the lime, but.

[Michael Bostic]

Don'T sleep on the pineapple, mango.

[Lauren Everts]

Those two flavors you cannot go wrong.

[Michael Bostic]

Go to cokeurl.com simply pop to find where you can try Simply Pop find.

[Lauren Everts]

Simply Pop in any of its five juicy flavors by visiting them online at.

[Michael Bostic]

Cokeurl.Com Simply Pop that's cokeurl.com Simply Pop.

[Lauren Everts]

Next question.

[Selena]

Okay, my name is Kiki. I don't want to give my social handle because so many friends and people.

[Lauren Everts]

Watch your show so they would obviously.

[Selena]

Know it's me calling in. But yeah, so I've dated this NFL player for two years. We also went to high school together. We have so much history but we live together and all that stuff. I gave up so much to go live in Seattle with him and during his trade we broke up. He got transferred to the Carolina Panthers and it was just too much pressure for him for me to also move there. We unofficially broke up, but we ended up breaking up because I found out that he went on Raya and he told me he went on Raya because he needed to get over me in this relationship. When I found out that he's begging again for me, but I officially have gone. No contact. It's been three weeks. No contact. It's been very, very hard. But my best friend recently let me know he texted her saying that he's going to go to an event and asking if it would be weird if he's going to the event because I will be there. So my advice is how the hell do I maintain my composure but also just not give a fuck and move on with my life and become more of a badass and thrive without him. If you want to look up my.

[Carson]

Instagram, my name is I'll just stop. But I like how she put her Instagram in there anyways.

[Lauren Everts]

Well, I was going to say Kiki, even if you didn't put your Instagram for the sports fans out there, there's people are researchers on the Internet. They probably deduct okay, this person Went for this team, then got traded at a girlfriend. They're probably. They're gonna find you in two seconds anyway, is what I'm saying. Lauren, I'll let you take the question here.

I think we have to start at the beginning. And the beginning is, I think when you're in a relationship, it's really easy to start molding yourself into the other person and being a chameleon. And I notice a lot of, especially women doing this, they'll chameleon to the guy's life or the girl's life, and they'll make themselves available to the person when the person wants them to be available, and they'll move where the person wants them to move, and they'll sort of like, change their entire life to accommodate another person. And if I were to give my daughter advice on this, I would say that change. She needs to go out and be confident in herself without anyone before accommodating someone else. Listen, I know relationships are compromised, but, like, if I'm just starting to date a guy and he wants me to move and he wants me to do this and he wants me to do that, and he wants me to not work on myself, it just feels like it's. It's like placating to him. And this guy sounds like it's sort of like his life on his terms. And I feel if I'm just giving you honest advice that he's not the one. And I think it's great that you're on this new found journey of saying, you know, I'm not going to give a. I'm going to go do my own thing. That's what I would tell you to do. Go get. Go get your confidence up. Go do things that make you feel good about yourself. Go work on your job or your fitness or. Or your personality, and people will flock to you. They'll feel that confidence.

I'm. I. I'm gonna just let you take that part of it. But I would. What I would say is, I think a common misconception with Lauren and I is that we've been together so long that people think, you know, because they hear that story, that we've known each other since we were 12, that we've been together that whole time. There's no way we would have lasted if we were. I went off and had different experiences until I was done with college. She went off and had different experiences. I think, like, you know, even though we got back together and were monogamous at a young age, we had both kind of felt like we had lived a lot in those years where we were apart and experienced enough in those years we were apart, and at that point, we were both ready to be in a relationship. It sounds like you guys have known each other for a very long time and are now entering a really serious relationship while you're getting into serious careers. And I think it's, like, it's worth it to have a conversation to say, like, are there parts of life that you both need to go experience before you settle down, especially for young men? I talk to a lot of my guy friends that are younger about this. Like, if they're not done running around and having a good time, like, it's. I think it's worth it to be honest about that. So it's not to say I don't know the guy and I don't know you, and, you know, who knows? It could be a really good situation and it could work out later. But I think you have to be realistic about people being able to go through different phases of life and let them experience those phases and make sure that they're actually ready to be in a committed relationship where both people are going to have to make compromise.

I also think it's settling if someone's going on Raya two seconds after you broke up. Like, what the fuck is that? If I was. If I was dating you and you went on Raya right after we broke up, I'd be like, bye. I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna convince someone to be with me. I'm not going to convince someone to get off Raya. I really don't care what the excuse is if you're gonna go on Raya.

Well, okay, but what is this? Is the person supposed to wait around and, like, be like.

It sounds like he just jumped right in. Well, how, Michael? You can't even keep a straight face. Let me tell you guys.

What's the grace period?

Michael cannot keep a straight face. He knows exactly what happened. The guy probably got on Rio right away. And to be honest with you, if he was going to an event that I was going to, I wouldn't go.

You know damn well I would starve.

Him of my presence. There would be no present. I would starve you there. I'd be so absent. You wouldn't even know what to do.

Know plenty.

Starve him of your presence.

We know plenty of women, plenty of girls that are on these apps and in different relationships and on different dates, like, right after they get, this is guys and girls.

This is situation. I'm not Saying, guys, girls, whatever. All I'm saying is that if you're going to get on Raya right after I break up with you, you're not going to see me, you're not going to get access to my personality, you're not going to get access to my wittiness, you're not going to get access to my body.

What if he waited, like two weeks? Is that appropriate?

No. Gross. Get a life. You can't wait two weeks.

No, but what's he supposed to do?

[Michael Bostic]

Sit around for me?

[Lauren Everts]

I'm not doing that. Like, no, that's. And then you're texting my best friend. Like, that's immature.

Okay, but let's be honest. I don't think this is. I think this is where a lot of women aren't being realistic. Most guys I know, as soon as they're on a breakup, they're doing as much as they can can to try to get into the next thing. Same with girls. Because nobody wants to sit in the misery of being alone by themselves.

I'm not doing that. I don't, like.

I don't know, Carson.

If something happens, if you like, if you. If you really. If he really wants you, he would put Raya away and pursue you.

You know what Lauren and I do, people?

If. If a guy wants to pick up the phone and call you, he will. If a guy wants to pursue you, he will. And I think that the. This guy, instead of pursuing you, picked up the phone and downloaded Raya. I don't know. That's my opinion.

Well, I'm just saying, like, maybe they're not ready for a committed relationship yet. And that's no bash on him or her, but I think that conversation exists.

[Michael Bostic]

Go out and kiki it up.

[Lauren Everts]

Yeah, they put the insight. Kiki. Maybe you should share Instagram, see who else is out there. See who slides in the DMs. That's what I would do.

Yeah, maybe.

You know what Lauren and I do, Carson? We talk, we fantasize about if we were to split up, we carve up pieces of the world in cities. We're like, okay. We don't want to end up in the same cities. We're like, which city do you know do this?

Yeah, but I would you.

I claim all the places that I've taken and shown you.

Antarctica.

Okay, honestly, that be kind of nice. But we carve out. We're like, okay. We don't have any, like, crossover. We don't, like, end up running into a place.

No, you wouldn't get to see Me? If we broke up, you would never see me again.

What I got, I got.

Think about it.

I got New York, Paris, south of France. I got Lake Como.

You don't got all this.

I got Miami. I get Texas.

You can have la, San Diego, and Switzerland.

You can have Switzerland. Fine. Okay, Fine. That's a. That's a call. I don't. You know, that's a tough one. People are like, oh, look at these bougie places you're talking about. But we talk about this. You know these things. You can have New Orleans. You can have. What else do you want? You can have Colorado. You can have Colorado.

I'll be on the moon. Actually, you know what?

I want Colorado.

You can have Utah.

You can have Utah. I get.

Think about life without me, how boring that would be for you.

But that's why we have to carve up.

What's the next question?

Next question.

You'll be in hell.

[Courtney Coucher]

Hi, Michael and Lauren.

[Lauren Everts]

This is so cool.

[Courtney Coucher]

I just saw it on the TSC story, and I wanted to call it to see what it was all about. So my name is Selena, and my handle is Selena Lavisato. L O V I S O TTO and my first name is spelled C E L I N A. And my question for you both is about building a brand for yourself versus your company. So I'd love to know how you differentiate that, Lauren, like, obviously for yourself versus the Skinny Confidential, you know, did the brand come first, or did you come first? Or was it more so simultaneously as I start to think about launching my next business? Thank you so much. This was so cool, and I hope my question gets featured. Okay, thanks.

[Lauren Everts]

Thanks.

[Courtney Coucher]

Bye.

[Lauren Everts]

Pretty simple. I launched the Skinny Confidential as a brand to be bigger than Lauren Bostic. So the Skinny Confidential is a resource. It's always been a resource. I launched it knowing I wanted to launch a product line, and 13 years later, here we are with the product line and the podcast and the book, and I hope that it's bigger than me. And as I build out the product line, everything that I do is to make it bigger than me. I want to get to a point where someone sees me out at night, and maybe I see, like, I don't know, mint roller in their purse. And I can go up to them and be like, oh, like, you know, you love the mint roller, and they can, like, have a conversation with me and not even know who I am. Like, I want to make the brand bigger than me. So that's important to always, in my opinion, build the brand bigger than Your personal brand. Personal branding, though, is just as important, in my opinion. And I think in the next 10 years, you're going to see everyone has a personal brand. That's their name. And so I think what I like to do is I like to put it in different buckets and put a different hat on. So we have our show, which is a brand. We have the product line, which is a brand, and I have my own brand. And I'm very methodical and thoughtful about how each one of those not only plays separately, but how they play together. So I think it's. It's a lot of strategy, and I think it's a lot of, like, trial and error. But I do think that the two should remain separate, because if you ever want to sell your brand, you don't want to be so attached to it, where you can't sell it because it's so reliant on you. And someone who's doing a really good example of that, I think right now, and you can tell she's building the brand to be bigger than her, is Kim Kardashian with Skims like you feel Skims is a lot of different players. She brings a lot of different influencers and celebrities into her brand, and it makes it feel bigger than just Kim.

I think about all this in. In. In relation to, like, limiting factors, and this may sound strange. I. I think you. We live in a time now where you have to do both simultaneously. I will speak about Dear Media in general. The reason it's called Dear Media and not the Bostics Network or the Skinny Confidential network or the Lorne and Michael Network is because when we were thinking about that brand, we wanted something that could encompass the reach that we wanted to have, and we wanted to encompass something that was welcoming to other shows and other creators and other platforms. I actually personally get excited sometimes when I sit down with people and they have no understanding that I'm involved, that I. That I'm the CEO, that we conceptualize it, or that Lauren and I, in the success of this show, kind of was the. The catalyst to launch the company. But if you think about other creators that have tried to create similar businesses and they've made it all about them, it becomes limiting because they. To be such an integral part of that business. And a lot of times, other people either don't want to put themselves under them or they don't want to. You know, they. They feel it's all about the other creator. Kim Kardashian is a great example with Skims. But if you think about it, Kim's personal brand reinforced the authenticity and the scale of skim, so they work hand in hand. I think you need to build both simultaneously, like I said earlier. And so if your personal brand can reinforce the overall brand that reaches greater people, that. That's what you need to work towards. So there's no, like, hey, build one or the other. You kind of need to build both. I like to think with Dear Media that a lot of my personality and perspective and kind of creative direction has been interjected into the or injected into the company, and that's given it some of the scale and credibility as a company. But now the company can go and live far beyond me or Lauren as an individual. And so I guess long and short way of answering that is that you need to build both. And you need to ask yourself what's a limiting factor and what's not. So if you're building a personal brand, at some point, that entire brand is going to be reliant on you as a person, which means you can't ever detach yourself or escape. And you always have to be performing as an individual or. But if you're going to build a company and your personal brand is the entire company, that's also going to limit the company's growth. So you have to. You have to think about it in both. In both perspectives.

Where people get in trouble with this is they launch a product or a brand and they want to be the star of it. And so what they do is they actually end up cutting whatever is around them to be the same height as them without letting others grow.

That's what I'm saying.

What I mean by that is like. It's like if you. I don't know if you. If you launch a product, but you only want to feature, like.

No, it would be. It would be like if, with Dear Media, if the success of every other show was based on my personal success and brand.

And then you also maybe even put in your own agenda. So let's just say, like, you were like, I'm only gonna sign people that believe X, Y and Z. I think you've done a good job of diversifying the difference of opinions and. And. And content and making sure that. That your. That the talent on the network can grow as tall as they want to grow. Like, they can grow out the window.

Yeah, yeah. So we're saying the same thing. But I guess what I'm saying is you just have to think about it from a limiting factor perspective. So, Kim Kardashian, we'll just pick on Kim Kardashian because she's easy and is a good showcase and she's obviously well known. The success that Skims has is tremendous success. It's arguable that it wouldn't have nearly the amount of success without Kim. But it's also now arguable that Skims wouldn't go on to be such a big brand if it was solely reliable. Reliant on just Kim Kardashian. It's able to go beyond her.

And then what she's done that I think she's done so well is she's brought people, people who are even like bigger than her on. So she's brought Nike on, she's brought the Olympic team on, she's brought Cindy Crawford on, she's brought Megan Fox on. She's. She's not afraid to bring on these conglomerates that are like, are these like huge models or actors or influencers who are bigger than her to help lift the brand?

Yeah. Or if you go another direction, like Gary Vaynerchuk, who's a friend of ours, Gary V. He built a really strong personal brand. But then a lot of people don't realize this. With VaynerMedia, he's built a much bigger brand and company that's able to go into all sorts of different things, whether it's, you know, Web3 Technologies or his agency or his books or whatever. And it's been built off the success of his personal brand. But now in addition to that, he has built another brand that is far greater than him individually. So I think again, you have to do both and think about both. And I would ask yourself constantly, is the brand or me individually limiting either. And if the answer is yes, then you need to reassess how your branding each. There are so many vitamins and supplements that Lauren and I talk about on this show regularly and you can extract such a benefit from so many of the good quality ones. All that being said, it is so hard to find a company that you can trust that does third party testing that has label accuracy, that doesn't have any banned substances. This is why Lauren and I love Momentous so much. Momentous is driven by the relentless pursuit of helping you achieve performance for life. And Momentous ensures every product in the range adheres to the Momentus standard, which is rigorous testing backed by science and high highest quality ingredients. Every product is NSF certified for sport or informed sport, meaning that every batch is third party tested for purity, label accuracy and banned substances. This rigorous level of testing sets momentous Apart in trust and transparency, you always know what's on their label is exactly what's in their product. This is so important because so much of the time, when it comes to supplements, which is a very unregulated space, you can't really entrust all the ingredients, all the labels, and you constantly have to worry if you're getting the right dosage. With Momentous, you don't have to worry about any of that. Momentous sells to 200 pro sports and collegiate teams and is trusted by all 32 NFL teams in collegiate sports. I think they make the best Omega product on the market. Their creatine is phenomenal. They have these little individualized sleep packets that I take on the go at home. What I love about their products is, you know, the dosage is on point. So if you're working with a doctor or doing blood work, you can get exactly what you need from Momentous supplements. So if you're ready to switch it up to a company who is doing it differently and putting you first, head to livemomentous.com and use code skinny for 35% off your first subscription. That's code [e-mail] for 35% off your first subscription.

[Michael Bostic]

I love my bowl of meat. And one thing I like to do to my bowl of meat is I like to make it different all the time. I have so many ideas there. Just like so many. Like, I could give you a scroll of ideas. And one of the ideas is that I've been doing a hamburger bowl.

[Lauren Everts]

It.

[Michael Bostic]

It is so delicious. You chop up a bunch of red onion, you do some tomato, you do some cheese, maybe some cheddar cheese. You do some jalapeno. You could do some white onion, lettuce and some meat. And the lettuce that I have been using is so efficient. It is by Taylor Farms. So they have so many different chopped salad kits. It's really easy to use these in your bowl of meat or just to make a salad with. So they have, like a sweet kale, a Caesar avocado ranch, a Mediterranean crunch. I used the Avocado ranch recently for my meat bowl, like my hamburger bowl, and it was absolutely delicious. Everything is all ready to go. So there's no chopping, slicing, or leaving, like, half a cabbage in your fridge. It's efficient. It saves you time. It's fresh greens. It's ready. Like I said, you could do a salad, a bowl of meat. You could do, like a fiesta bowl. You can get really creative with Taylor Farm's chopped salad. Kit. I just happen to like it in my bowl of meat. So if you're looking for something that your whole family will love, look no further than Taylor Farms. Grab a Taylor Farms chop salad kit and get your salad together. And don't sleep on the sweet kale. It is delicious with a little champagne vinaigrette. Are you looking for glowing, radiant skin? Well, let me tell you about a medical grade LED light. It is the Irestore Illumina face mask. This is a dermatologist recommended mask that packs double the power of most other masks. So they use a combination of red, infrared and blue light that targets everything from wrinkles to acne to sun damage to inflammation. I am a huge light person, okay? I love it. I love to use it in my office. I love to use it on conference calls. I love to use it while I meditate. I just think it makes so much sense when you do a deep dive on all the benefits of red, infrared and blue light. If you are looking for something that is not complicated and you want results, you have to check out the Irestore Illumina face mask. They're so confident in their products too that they give a 12 month money back guarantee so you can try it. And if your skin doesn't look healthier and more plump, you'll get a full refund. It's all my skincare concerns. So it's anti aging, it's increased collagen production, hyperpigmentation, it's even improved blood flow to the skin. Give your skin the love it deserves. This spring, for a limited time only, our listeners are getting a huge discount on the Irestore Illumina face mask when you use code [e-mail] head over to irestore.com and use code Skinny for our show's exclusive discounts on the Irestore Illumina face mask. Please support the show and tell them that we sent you. Unlock your best skin with Irestore. Do you know what I am wearing on my skin right now? I am wearing the caffeinated sunscreen by the Skinny Confidential. I created this sunscreen so it tightens the face with the caffeine and gives you a little tint, a natural tint.

[Lauren Everts]

And I'm so excited because we are.

[Michael Bostic]

Doing an anniversary sale. The sale is April 22nd to the 25th and the sunscreen is obviously on sale. So the discount that we're doing is 30% off, which we barely ever do. And what's exciting about this is not only can you grab the sunscreen that I'm wearing that is absolutely amazing under makeup. It doesn't pile or anything. It just lays so nice and gives you like a tight glow. I apply mine with a beauty blender. But you can also get our tools. You can get the dry brush, you can get the body sculptor. That's my secret weapon for pregnancy, cellulite. So here's the exciting thing. When you order a tool, you get a free. This is like we've never done this. A free full size depuffing oil. And this is the oil that I use for my fascia facial massage that you see me do on Instagram. So if I were to like tell you what to get, I would say definitely get the sunscreen because like I said, it's going to give you a really pretty glow under makeup. I wear it all the time though, without makeup up. And then if you're going to grab a tool, I would get the mint roller or the ice roller if you haven't tried it. And by far the body tool to grab is the dry brush that I have been using my entire pregnancy. You will notice a difference right away. It's one of those tools that you use and you immediately feel refreshed. So how I use the dry brush, if you want to know, for the anniversary sale, 30 off, you got to grab it is what I do is I do the dry brush on my entire body. I'll do it for three minutes and then I get in a freezing cold shower and when I get out of the shower, I'll put body oil all over me like a good osea or a pellet cure body oil, even agent Natur. And then I'll use the body sculptor to get in there to break up cellulite and just get my lymphatic system really activated. This is like my ride or die way that I shower in the morning because I have kids and I gotta be quick and I want to feel refreshed and rejuvenated.

[Lauren Everts]

So go shop the anniversary sale.

[Michael Bostic]

Get everything you can get birthday presents. This is the time. 30% off automatic. You don't need a code. It's site wide. And like I said, when you buy any tool, you get a free full sized depuffing oil. Go to shopskinnyconfidential.com for 30% off April 22nd through the 25th.

[Lauren Everts]

Let's do two more questions.

[Mae]

Hi, my name is Courtney Coucher ortneycoucher on Instagram. I'm located in Toronto, Canada. I've been following you for 13 years and I just Want to know the nitty gritty of when you and when Lauren and Michael were both building together in those early stages, the hustle, the grind, what did that look like and how did you manage your social and health life? I know it's evolved over the years, so I'd love to know the nitty gritty. And if you have any tips of people in their 20s that are in that grind mode today. Love you all so much. Thank you.

[Lauren Everts]

It's a good question.

It is a good question. And what's so interesting is that Gen Z, I can tell, has a really good work life balance and that's amazing. I did not have a work life balance when I was in my 20s and I'm not saying that that makes me better. I could have used more balance. But I do think that your 20s is a great time to work your face off. And the nitty gritty for me was I would wake up in the morning, I would teach Pure Bar. I would go to college, I was going to college full time at San Diego State. I would get home, I would blog at 3:00-4:00, write my blog from 4 to 4:30. I would shoot photos, I would upload the photos and then I would go straight in to my bartending job. I would post on social media in the back bathroom and then from probably like 5:30 to midnight, sometimes one in the morning, I would be bartending and then I would get home and I would probably work on my blog until 2 in the morning. And I would do that at least five nights a week. And the other two days were spent taking photos, researching and laying out how I wanted the blog to look. I was blogging seven days a week at that time. And that's just the very like that was the very, very beginning. As the blog began to grow and I started to monetize it, which didn' happen for like three years. And I blogged every single day. I still was working my face off until my 30s and then I got to my 30s and I realized to get to the next level like I needed to harness the power of no and boundaries. And so I sort of changed my strategy. But what I would tell any 20 year old right now and like again, I know this is not the, the answer that people maybe want to hear. It's like that's the time to, to really lay the foundation and lay the work and lay the bricks of what you want to do. If you're I, I noticed like some people are like, well I only want to work A couple hours a day, if that's, that's totally fine if you only want to work a couple hours a day. But don't expect an extraordinary life. And this is just honest. Do not expect an extraordinary life if you want to work a few hours a day. And I don't just mean with money. It's not just about money, but to me money equals options and money equals freedom. And so that's what I was doing in my 20s was I was creating options and freedom.

Lauren and I talk about this all the time. We wish. And there is some documentation of this. I'm sure you can go find old vlogs on our channel or even on Lauren.

Not really. It wasn't like that.

But. But I just want to paint a picture of what it looked like in relation at the beginning of this show. Like go 10 years ago and you can for sure go and look at that early episode.

And to give context, what he's talking about is after the blog was up. Yeah, for three years.

Yes, but okay, so first, work life balance is a myth. We still don't have work life balance. You're always sacrificing something. I'm not getting invited to the guys parties. I'm not out at the bars and clubs anymore. My friends don't invite me on the guys trips. I don't.

You don't get invited anywhere?

No, I don't. I mean, listen, either I'm working or I'm with my family and kids. So I'm, I. My social life is non existent right now. I think the first thing people need to understand is that anything in life worth pursuing requires a sacrifice. If you want to build a family, you likely can't be out running around with your friends all the time. If you want to build a business, you probably can't be out hungover all the time. If you, if you want to stay with your kids all the time and be at home, you're likely going to struggle to build a really meaningful business. Not to say you can't build a business, but like some you you're going to have if you're taking that kind of time, you're competing with the world. So I want to disillusion everyone to the idea that there should be balance, that there's sacrifices in everything. We made a shitload of those sacrifices in our early 20s. Me particular as a man, I focused on one woman. I didn't chase anything else. I wasn't with any other guys. I would work basically my face off every single day. When I started the show and when we started Dear Media I was running two other companies and then twice a week Lauren and I would get in our car around 8 or 9 at night and drive to LA. We would do the show, I would drive back, we'd do that twice a week. We weren't paying, we were not paid anything for two years. We edited, sold, produced, host and booked every single guest for close to 300 episodes. Then when I started Dear Media I basically got zero hours of sleep a night. I was stressed all the time, my hair was turning gray and we self funded the whole thing. Long way of saying that in your 20s you can do all that stuff because you have energy. I don't think I could do it now, but now I'm fortunate where we've had some success and we have a great company of people that can take on a lot of the physical exertion that we had take on in the.

Beginning but it's earned and I think that's, that's it was not handed and by the way like that's what you have to look at your 20s as is like earning it.

But I want to just like share like I. Now we're sitting in Austin, Texas in this beautiful office in this beautiful studio with this great company. But there was a time when we came out to Austin, Texas, we jumped on a Southwest flight. I had a carry on piece of equipment of luggage with a zoom recorder. I remember it like yesterday we went to Ryan Holiday's house who at the time we were so excited at the. We're not, we still are super excited to talk to you Ryan. But you know, carried all that equipment, set it up ourselves, did it, got back on the flight, edited. So the point is, is that we put in a shitload of work in our 20s. But guess what, it was super fun because we didn't have the responsibility of parents. We were working for ourselves. We didn't have a ton of employees. We didn't have to worry about, you know, their livelihood because it was just Lauren and I. So we're able to bet on ourselves we were malleable, we lived humbly in, in condos and always below our means and didn't spend and didn't overspend and.

A lot of saving things, A lot.

Of saving and you know, like I think that's it's a good time to do that but I don't want to disillusion anyone. Like if someone saw our schedule right now and I'm not pushing this on everyone like we still hustle and work as much as we can. And the key to that is, like, if. If you're going to do anything worthwhile and you want it to be meaningful and you want it to stand out, and you want it to be impactful. Like, it's going to require hard work and sacrifice.

And the thing with Michael and I is, like, we'll reach the top of a mountain, and then there'll be, like, 20 other mountains that we want to go up. And I think it's. It's just, It, It's. It's just a lot, like Michael said, of sacrifice. You know, you don't. You're not always out every Friday night. You, like, I am constantly in every single one of my businesses like a hawk.

It's why. It's why we both personally likely don't. And I'm sure people in the company feel this way sometimes, don't have a lot of sympathy when people come to say, oh, I'm working so hard, and I don't balance. Like, we never had any of that. And of course we built and own our own companies, and that was the goal. So, like, maybe there's disproportionate, you know, earnings at the end of that. But the point is, is, like, if you want to have anything in life, whether it's a relationship, you have to put the time in. If it's a, you know, a family, you have to put the time. It's a business, you have to put the time in. And you're always going to be out of balance and you're always going to be uncomfortable. And that's just the reality of it. And so I think, like, you know, when we started this show in the early days, we made no income from this show for years and had to put in our own earnings from other companies or other jobs. As Lauren was putting herself through college or teaching Pure Bar or bartending or starting her blog and making a little income, we would put the money we would make in other businesses or other jobs into this, making no money in this, and then eventually this paid off. But I don't know. There's sacrifices that need to be making. I don't want to lie to anyone, say it's been easier, that it still is easy. Like it's, It's. It's constantly a grind and a hustle.

Next question. One more.

[Amy]

Hi, my name is Amy. I am just wondering, any advice on how you would forgive somebody for finding out that they kissed somebody in a bar seven years ago and how to get past that, how to trust somebody that did that and also I found out by reading his journal, which was on a public onedrive, so I accidentally came across it, but I did read it and how to move on, how to trust, how to forgive. I'm still really hurt. Hurt. He's really hurt that I read his journal.

[Lauren Everts]

I'm sure he is.

[Amy]

I'm really struggling. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Selena]

Thank you.

[Lauren Everts]

Hold on, hold on. Before you say, first of all, I actually want to know what you yourself, don't lie to the audience. Would do if I had in my journal that I kissed someone seven years ago in a bar. I actually want to know what you.

Do at this point. I don't care. I just.

Seven years ago.

No, it's. I got to move on.

Oh, I got to show you my salad.

Yeah. I mean, listen, it's been seven years.

Really? You wouldn't care. That's a lie.

I swear to God. It's the seven year. It's the seven year old.

If you found out I kissed someone seven years ago.

Two kids, another one on the way. Like, are we gonna, like, say, like, someone had a slip up.

He would carry you guys. He would care.

I would be like, where the hell were we seven years ago? Were you drunk? I don't care. I don't know.

She's gonna. You're. That's just so funny that you're not being honest.

You know what? I'm gonna do the calculus. Yeah. Let's tear down all the companies, the marriage, and our children's life for a kiss. Seven years.

[Michael Bostic]

You would be like, why, what the fuck?

[Lauren Everts]

I always feel like, yeah, I'd probably be like, what the fuck? But then I'd like. I mean, what would you do?

First of all, I do want to say going through someone's journal is also not being trusting. So let's als. Let's just say that. Sure. He was not.

You're right.

It's her fault. No, I'm not saying it's her fault. I'm just saying, like, it's. It's sort of tit for tat.

Yeah.

Going through his journal, which. I want to be honest. If this guy was my friend, I'd be like, why the are you writing this in the journal?

Lauren, you go, Lauren, wait, hold on.

Why the. Are you.

Hold on. Are you going to sit here and say you don't go through my journal or my phone or my emails?

No, I do, like, little things. Well, I'm honest about it. What do you mean? I will, like, go on your phone and whisper Chihuahua into your phone. So you only get served Chihuahuas. Like, I mean, I'm not like going through your phone.

Listen, here's what I would say. Have the last seven years been really good or have they been really bad? If they're really bad, I would not forgive them and I move on. If they've been really good, it's like, oh, kissing a bar seven years ago. And there's no other pattern of.

What if it was a finger bang?

Well, finger banging a bar seven years ago. We're gonna up the ante a little bit.

Yeah.

First of all, what are you doing getting finger banged in the bar?

Okay, what if I got finger banged in the bar?

I'd be like, what are you doing?

No, he doesn't like it. No, no, no, just pull his face.

I'm more like, I would more be like, that's kind of like gross that you're doing that in the bar.

Okay. I'm just wondering. I'm just like wondering how far I can go.

What if I'm in there butt fucking someone in the bar? What are you talking about? Like, come on. Like, you know, I don't know. I think that the seven year kiss, I think you really like. Okay, here's what I would say. If it was Lauren and I and there are all of these things over the last seven years and things have been great and we have all these kids and these businesses and we've built a life. I'd have to probably be like, listen, are we going to get hung up on here? Was it a one time thing? Is it still going on?

Do you want to know what I would do?

I'd probably move past it, Amy.

I would squeeze it like a lemon.

[Michael Bostic]

And use it and as leverage every.

[Lauren Everts]

Second for the next year.

Am I being insensitive here? Is Amy going to be upset? I just feel like 7 years old.

I would use it in my back pocket in my Swiss army knife as a tool to use if you need to use it. Like if he acts up, I'd be like, remember when you kiss someone in a bar seven years ago and didn't tell me about it for seven years?

Wait, hold on. But were you guys just dating? Were you engaged? Were you married? Like, okay, if you, if we were married.

Yeah.

And then I found out you were doing something while we were married, I'd be like, well, that's pretty aggressive. But it feels like we just first started dating.

We were married seven years ago.

I know.

[Michael Bostic]

So what would you do?

[Lauren Everts]

Well, I'd be like, well, that's kind of what Would you do?

Yeah, he doesn't like it, but I'd also.

I don't know.

No, I just like it.

I don't like. I don't like it, but I'm not going to blow my whole life up about it.

I wouldn't blow my whole life up, but I. Michael made a really good point. If you have other things on your list of things that are not working and really not working, I would look into it.

I need a little more information on these, because if the guys, like, if she called and said, hey, I'm with a guy and he's an incredible father and he, you know, is a provider.

And he treats me sides to every.

Story, but the only thing he did is he kissed a girl in a bar.

My side and my side.

Seven years ago before we married. A. Like, I move. But if you're like, hey, he kissed a girl seven years, and he's also been a piece of. And he's doing this shady stuff, I'd.

Be like, well, you know, I do want to say something, too. And I'm going to look at Carson and Michael's face when I say this. Usually when guys say they kissed someone, they actually finger bang them.

Well, I. Yes, yes, I will say Carson. I don't write down my adventures in a journal like that. I'm not like, oh, I, you know, I kiss Susie at the bar to, like, I don't know what this guy's doing.

I'm just saying, if a guy says he kissed someone sometimes, that could mean he penetrated. I'm just saying, I know, guys, but hold on.

If you're writing in a journal. Hold on. If you're. If I'm writing in a journal and it's me and, like, someone's going to find the journal later and I penetrated someone, I'm not gonna be like, I had a kid. I'd be like, listen, I got it on. I was like, I was in there.

I'm just saying, I.

You would write that down?

I'm just saying.

Seems memorable.

I used to be a bartender with all guys, and I was one for four years, where I got to talk to men all day and I got to really hear them in their natural habitat. And I'm around your friends all the time. A lot of guys, lot of masculine energy. And if they say they kissed, it's usually more so.

Oh, and girls aren't the same.

I would start an investigation, Amy.

[Carson]

I mean, this is also a journal, though, so he's definitely being completely honest.

[Lauren Everts]

Yeah, but sometimes he might. Maybe he's not.

Why would you lie to your journal?

Kiss might be code for bang.

[Carson]

I don't think in a journal.

[Lauren Everts]

You know what, Amy? Fuck it. Light it on fire.

Was your boyfriend named Taylor O'Connor?

Yeah. Is that Taylor? No. You know, I think we need more information. But I would say if he's relatively it's been a good relationship, might be time to move on and just let him and forgive. If you can't, then it's got to break up. But what I would say is you don't want to be in a situation where we can't move on from this. And it's something coming up over and over now the relationship's toxic. All right, guys, this was fun.

You guys. If you want to be a part of the next episode, call the hotline [phone]. And you can leave us a voicemail with your first name, location, and your burning questions. Tell us your wildest story. Michael loves context. A hot take. We want to hear it all. And we're going to do so many more of these episodes.