Podcast Summary: The Squeeze – Olivia Culpo: Being Your Own Advocate

Hosts: Taylor Lautner (Tay) & Taylor Lautner
Guest: Olivia Culpo
Date: October 15, 2025

Overview

In this candid, compassionate, and often lighthearted episode of The Squeeze, Olivia Culpo joins hosts Tay and Taylor Lautner to chat about motherhood, mental health, career transitions, overcoming imposter syndrome, using your voice as an advocate, and living authentically in the public eye. Olivia opens up about her journey through pageantry to hosting her new Netflix cooking competition, adjusting to life as a new mom, advocating for herself through endometriosis, and how she’s learned to create boundaries—both in her relationships and with social media. The episode invites listeners to find comfort in shared experiences of vulnerability and resilience.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Early Pageant Experiences & Imposter Syndrome

• Pressure in Pageantry: Olivia describes not growing up in pageants and feeling like an outsider:

  "I never did pageants. I only did the pageant that I did when I was 19, which was Miss Rhode Island, and then…I had to learn how to walk in heels. I watched past pageants…faked it till I made it." (32:09)

• Imposter Syndrome: Olivia admits to imposter syndrome, largely focused on her height:

  "I was the youngest person actually to compete in that year. And…I was by far the shortest…You're gonna read what they're deciding to tear you to shreds about, and you're gonna internalize that and be insecure. For me, it was my height." (35:34–36:39)

Social Media & Setting Boundaries

• Navigating Public Critique: Olivia reveals the mental health toll:

  "I definitely find myself limiting my time on social media…just thinking of it as a part of you and not all of you...You need to have a really strong circle who really knows who you are. Lean on that and what they think of you. And when you need to take breaks, take the breaks from social media, it's toxic." (36:54–38:01)

• Motherhood’s Impact:

  "I really try not to scroll a ton with my daughter…It's just turned into a survival tactic. I don't have time to just aimlessly scroll on my phone." (39:01)

New Ventures: Netflix Show & Cooking

• Next Gen Chef: Olivia hosts a new competition for young chefs:

  "It's everything I've ever wanted to watch in a cooking show…They're competing for the largest culinary prize in history, $500,000…a huge opportunity to truly set their life up for success." (04:40)

• Food at Home:

  "I love Italian food, but…my husband…is basically a carnivore, so I cook a lot of meat." (05:40)

Motherhood & Postpartum

• Becoming a Mom: Olivia's reflections on the first 10 weeks:

  "Every day is so different, and I'm really just trying to…really sit in it because I know it goes by so fast…she's starting to just become so much easier…It's gonna fly by. It already is." (07:21)

• Birth Story:

  "She was breech from the beginning…really big baby…so I knew I needed to get a C section…It took a little bit of a grieving period…it’s a traumatic experience, no matter what… But now…I'd do it 10 million times over." (08:06)

• Postpartum Mental Health:

  "I do have an interesting thing called Demer...when I was breastfeeding I had this intense, horrible, depressing feeling...it's a temporary crash in your dopamine…It's very common." (19:14, [explains “D-M-E-R”])

Career Ambition, Identity, and Work-Life Balance

• Balancing Career with Motherhood:

  "There's totally a shift…You have somebody that's physically dependent on you…I did have a little bit of an identity crisis. I really did. And it's very common… If you want to work and you want to keep working, you will make it work." (21:04–22:46)

• Couple Care: Olivia and her husband work at finding time together:

  "We always try to go on a date once a week, and it doesn't always happen. Sometimes it’s literally just rotting in bed watching…our Netflix show... his schedule is really different…so we just kind of give each other grace." (23:33)

• Supporting Each Other:

  "One of the biggest ways that I can support him regularly is just letting him do what he needs to do to feel prepared…it's very reciprocal. He does the same for me." (25:01–26:50)

Advocacy & Endometriosis

• Explaining Endometriosis:

  "Endometriosis is when the endometrial lining that sheds grows outside of the uterus…painful depending on where these lesions…decide to grow." (45:08)

• Journey to Diagnosis:

  "The average diagnosis time for endometriosis is 10 years…even me, myself, suffered for years and saw dozens of physicians before I was actually taken seriously…it's one thing to live with chronic pain, but it's another to…feel like no one's hearing you." (45:08–46:42)

• Finding Answers:

  "...after I finally did enough researching…realized, okay, I think that I have this thing called endometriosis…Dr. A found it on an ultrasound after I went to so many other people..." (46:42)

• Being Your Own Advocate:

  "For anybody out there who is suffering, just know that you’re not alone... If you don't advocate for yourself, you're not going to always get the help you need." (48:51)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Navigating Criticism:

  "It's so hard because you listen to what the world thinks of you and you can internalize that and it’s struggle with it. I mean, who wouldn't? But that's why it's just so important to have a really strong circle who really knows who you are…" (36:54)

• On Parenting and Partnership:

  "We always try to go on a date once a week…Sometimes the date is literally just rotting in bed…We just kind of give each other grace..." (23:33)

• On Being an Advocate:

  "If you don't advocate for yourself, you're not going to always get the help you need." (48:51)

• Pep Talk to Her Younger Self:

  "I wish that I had told myself that there is hope…But then again, the pain of those moments is what preps you for the rest of your life." (53:12)

Important Topics by Timestamp

• [04:40] Olivia describes her new Netflix show, Next Gen Chef.
• [07:21] Reflections on the newborn phase and motherhood.
• [08:06] Her birth story and C-section experience.
• [19:14] Postpartum hormonal shifts and D-M-E-R.
• [21:04–22:46] On balancing career ambition and motherhood.
• [25:01–26:50] Supporting her NFL husband and reciprocal partnership.
• [32:09–35:34] Early pageant experience, imposter syndrome, and overnight celebrity.
• [36:54–38:01] Social media, boundaries, and mental health.
• [45:08] Endometriosis explained; path to diagnosis and advocacy.
• [48:51] Olivia’s advice for women advocating for their health.
• [50:11–54:18] Lemon 7 segment: rapid fire on mental health, social media, self-care, and reflection.

Lemon 7: Olivia’s Quickfire Answers

• Song for Mental Health: “Dreams” by The Cranberries ([50:11])
• Openness About Struggles: Very open with core friends, not others; "100% a defense mechanism." ([50:23–51:09])
• Top Social Accounts: A parenting account, The Moody Foodie, and feel-good pages. ([51:23])
• Self Care: Being in nature—"Nothing grounds me more." ([52:05])
• Most Misunderstood: People don’t know how goofy she is. ([52:38])
• Biggest Support: Husband and family. ([53:00])
• Advice to Younger Self: “There is hope…this is making you a better person.” ([53:10–54:18])

Tone and Takeaways

This episode balances intimate storytelling with practical advice. Olivia is refreshingly honest about her struggles and growth, and the conversation never shies from the hard stuff, while remaining optimistic, warm, and accessible. Listeners—especially women navigating identity, advocacy, and transitions—will find resonance and encouragement in Olivia’s story.

Final Note

Olivia’s journey highlights the importance of vulnerability, community, and persistence in both personal and professional arenas. The conversation is packed with wisdom, humor, and realness that make it both uplifting and useful for anyone going through their own “sour lemons.”