Erin Andrews: NFL Sidelines, Setbacks, & Surrogacy

0:00What is up daddy gang? It is your founding father Alex Cooper. Aaron Andrews welcome to color daddy. Thanks for having me. You are a lead NFL side line reporter and you really have inspired so many women who are navigating male dominated industries which I guess is every single industry at this point in life. Also I love the fact that you know know more about football than any man that I know in my life. And it makes me so happy to be sitting with you today. I also can't wait to talk to you just about your career and all the things. So thank you for spending the time with me. Thank you for saying all those nice things. Do you get awkward when people pay you compliments with your vibes? I like to, I'm already this sweaty from the armpits. We've got a lot to take in here. That's what my therapist tell me. She's like, you have to learn how to make a compliment. But it's uncomfortable. We're going to get through it today. Don't worry. Should I lay down? No, just like, it just relax. Because I'm pregnant and you're you.

1:00And we're going to have a good time. Great. It's September, which means NFL season is upon us. It's upon us, baby. How are you feeling? I'm stressed. We just did a perspective. It's not like bringing your first child in your life, which girl get ready for the stories. I was already thinking yesterday as I was walking through lazy acres with this child. I was like, wait till I tell Alex what it's like walking with a kid and just being with the child, things I never anticipated. We just went through a move. We're not done with it yet. I didn't anticipate what kind of stress that was. I guess people have it ranked having a baby. I don't know if marriage is up there. Probably, you know, lose it while let's get dark right now. Losing a loved one. Moving is like one of the top three, four, five stressors. It's a lot. Holy shit. I didn't anticipate. Good morning, acne. How are you? And then I go, no, I had to hand them on. And then of course I have like football around the corner. So it's a lot all at once. But thank God it's here because it's always like Christmas. You know, it is Christmas morning.

2:00It feels like Christmas to you. Okay, that's exciting. Yes. And then I can't help but think, do your friends allow you to be in the fantasy leagues with them? Like are you in a fantasy league? No. You're not. No, and we have one, you know, as a group of friends, but I don't, first of all, I can't, I can't, I do care. I think I know too much, but I also am like, I wouldn't know when to get, you know, the players in and all that kind of stuff. Now, my husband's friends do pressure me for information. I was going to ask you, are they then coming to you being like, give us the tea, Aaron, like, who do you think is going to be? And what do we do? Everybody deals with that in sports broadcasting. They're just like, what do you know? And nothing. Could you know what? I'm not getting fired and I'm not getting you any information and there are paper trails. So stop texting me. Leave me alone. Oh, no. Okay, that's good. Maybe you tell your husband a couple things. Just to give him a one up. You're like, nope. I think he also knows better not to ask me because I'm just like, I don't have time for this. No, it's true. Okay, that's actually fair.

3:00I would love if I could give my husband any insight. So that's why I'm like, oh my God, like can't you give him something in me, while you're like, I give him nothing. How hardcore is he? He has a big group that he's been doing it with it for years and Matt doesn't really care, but he won his last year. Should I come over doing the draft? Maybe, because I feel like now, Matt's like, I won last year, like now I gotta really get into this and like care more. Yeah. And so I think now there's a little ego involved where he's like, ooh, like let's see if I can do it again. And I have nothing to give him. I'm like, who's that? Cause I don't know names, I know team, sure. What's it like being married to somebody that's obsessed with it and won? What are Sundays like? Cause I know what Sundays are like with me. I think that his dad is more obsessed. My husband's not obsessed with sports. He likes them. Okay. He's like, what are the plans that are obsessed? And it makes me actually more thankful that he's not obsessed. Okay. It gives me the yik when men are a little too obsessed and I'm like, well, like go then get on the field and you couldn't do any of that.

4:01And then they're screaming at the television. And they're like, why did you miss that? And I'm like, bro, you and your beer belly and you haven't worked out in 19 years, but you have an opinion on how you should have tackled him. Let's move forward. As a sideline reporter, I also am fascinated by like, you kind of gotta be in a little bit of shape here you're not just standing there. Sometimes I see you running down the sideline with your camera crew to like get in on an interview. Yeah. Or do you have any like pregame rituals or anything that you're doing to like mentally psych yourself up before the camera starts and game day begins? Oh, hell yeah. Well, first of all, let's talk about what goes on on the sidelines. You were so right. You just have to, look, you have to be, yeah, in shape because you're on your feet for think about it like four and a half hours, which is wild. Another thing that's difficult, you may have a fantastic outfit, but baby girl, you are wearing flats because if I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, because I can heal and be so cute like a booted heal. So fantastic. Even a little heal on your boot

5:01because let me tell you, let me set this scene. You got a field, you've got wires, you've got cameras, you've got 300 pound men, you have benches, you have trainers, you have a quit, you have trunks, you have, there is so much that you are high stepping, tip towing point, chewing on. It is banana land. I'd never want to heal. I can't, I would sink. Are you in your career? No, I just, yeah, and I'm pretty much a tomboy anyways, and I like to be comfortable on my feet. I've done a pointed shoe, I feel so, like fantastic and stylish. I'm like, give me the sneaker, give me the sneaker back. It's hard because totally. I hate being uncomfortable, I hate being cold, I hate being hot. So I gotta be comfortable out there, but it sucks. So yeah, that's why, I mean, being in shape is a big one. Pre-game rituals, I call my dad, I know you're close with your dad. My dad was in the news industry forever and ever and ever. I talked to him about my stories, I talked to him about what's going on with the game, kind of give him the tee, the gossip, because he doesn't have a fantasy league.

6:02And, eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, because it's really, I mean, eat a hardy breakfast, like, thurk breakfast. Oh my God, right, because then you're like, probably just like snack, you can't even snack that much. Interesting. Yeah. Oh my God, I, because I gotta get to your dad, because that's really cute, but I also am thinking about him, like, getting that call every time. That's like a very sweet father-daughter thing that you have in that bond. It's special. What is one of the craziest things that's has happened to you on the sidelines? Crazy is thing. I mean, there was an interview I did at the NFC Championship. This wasn't crazy, but we hadn't seen something like this happen before. It was my interview post game with Richard Sherman. When the Seattle Seahawks were trying to make it to the Super Bowl NFC Championship Seattle versus San Francisco, he made a game-saving play. I interviewed him about the play, and he just went off about the other player. It's, he was, and people took it like he was screaming at me. Like it was, first of all, I could kill my, like my whole delivery with him. I was like, take me through the play,

7:04and he was like, well, I'm the best corner in the game. And don't you, and I had this face, Alex, where I was like this, and people took it like he was scaring me. No, I was thinking to myself, holy shit, what is my next question? Because it better be good, because this is going viral. And it did. There were Halloween costumes made about it. Barack Obama talked about it in a speech. It was wild. It was one of the coolest things. But I've gotten, like, you talked about the sidelines. I've gotten almost run over by a player where I did, in fact, I ran, ran, ran. He was coming at full force, and you do have to be so aware on the sidelines, because it's dangerous. I remember before I didn't fall, holding almost onto the ground with my toes, like gripping, gripping, gripping. We went to break. They played it in slow-mo for my crew only to watch. And I laughed so hard I peed my pants. That's amazing. So I just did. So that was like being screamed out by a player who was so passionate and organic that it never happened before.

8:04And then peeing my pants from laughing, almost falling over with a player hitting me. It's interesting hearing you say that, though, because at an interviewer in those moments, where you're like, this is the last thing that I thought was going to happen. And the fact that everyone is judging, thinking you're looking like that, because you're like, oh my god, he's screaming. And meanwhile, you're like, Aaron, you better think of the best follow-up right now. You have maybe 10 seconds to get it together, and you're spiraling in your head, just quickly, racking your brain with what is the best thing, and all the training you've done to prepare for this moment. And all the things that you could have prepped, he went completely rogue. And so now you have to go rogue. That's such a high, though, when that happens. But then you also were like, oh my god. And then afterwards, you're like, did I ask the right thing? Did I do the right thing? And I ended up sounding like a crazy fan and whatever. But you're exactly right. You prep, you prep, you prep. I walk around. I almost say with a trapper keeper or binder of just this much of notes, I don't even use a quarter of it. And the best stuff is the stuff you didn't prepare for.

9:08Of course, of course. Okay, I wanna get your rapid fire thoughts on a few football things. Oh boy. Which team has the most intimidating fans? Well, I know you're an Eagles fan. Yeah. They are very intimidating. They are as advertised. I will say, have you been to a game in Seattle? No, wow. Oh really? Wild. Loud. Like, oh. Yeah. They bring it. They bring it. It is wild loud. I mean, rightfully so. Their team is amazing. Yeah. I feel like I had such a unique experience growing up with Philly being my teams because I didn't know anything else. And then I went to school in Boston. So it's like pretty crazy to there. So I just always thought that was normal. Then I moved to LA and I was like, what's going on? What's good? Why is everyone sitting? Why is everyone calm and just being kind of quiet?

10:10I'm like, at the Dodger game and everyone's just like, it's different breed, right? It's different energy. Who do you think are the nicest fans? The nicest Packers. Oh. Dallas. Oh. Yeah, just, yeah, Midwest, Southern. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's good. Okay. Haven't you been to a Packers game? No. Go in January too. Don't come on, girl. You're from Philly. You can do that. Yeah. Those are like minus temperatures, minus 10, minus 20. Oh, I live that life in Boston. Oh, yeah. I know a couple of things of like how to prepare and the heat warmers and your feet, the whole thing. Oh, yeah. Who has the best touchdown celebration in the league? Oh gosh. Well, that's really hard to say because guys come up. They actually choreograph them and think of them. I mean, you have guys sometimes bowling. They do like duck walks. I think they're a hoot. I love them so much when they're a whole choreographed situation. Yeah, I feel like I'm back on dancing with the stars. Dancing the touchdown celebration.

11:11Oh, yeah. So good. Seven. I actually love that voice. That was actually really good. Yeah, I hated it when I was being judged, but that's fine. But you got through it. Yeah, I got through it. Not with a lot of high scores, but that's okay. You crushed. What has been the best halftime performance of all time in your opinion? Well, I was there when I thought Shakira was amazing. I thought Lady Gaga was amazing, but I have to be honest. Dolly Parton at the Thanksgiving game in Dallas. And I was so jealous because we weren't there for that. I'm a huge Dallas Cowboy cheerleader fan. And the fact that girls got to dance with her and the fact she came out in the DCC outfit. And now the latest news. I'm just a legend. Yeah. And royalty. Royalty forever, Dolly Parton. We love you. You're always in our hearts like that. What? Know you're so right. Yeah. We love, love, love. Who are you dying to see perform at the Super Bowl? It's a fair question. I wanted an all country Super Bowl act.

12:12And I thought it would be cool to start from like speaking of Dolly like the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s. Have the bangers and then have like a current country. Come out. I think that would be sick. No, no, no, that would be cool because I was there when it was like Snoop 50s. And Eminem, that was insane. I was like, this is the most ballerine thing I've ever seen. Like that was pretty amazing. I went back. I was there alive and I watched it and it was fantastic. But then when you watched it back on TV because it was obviously choreographed for the people at home, it was so phenomenal. Even in the beginning, this is stupid, but I noticed things like this. Like Dre is like, you know, messing with his IFBE to turn up. I was like, this is just sick and he's just cool and he's playing it. It's like, it was so awesome. It was a really good one. Okay, let's go back. You referenced to your father who I wanted to bring up because I don't, yes, I don't know if everyone knows this, but sports and reporting have been in your blood like you referenced. Your dad was an investigative reporter and also a sports fan.

13:13When did you know that you wanted to kind of follow in his footsteps? I knew pretty early because that was our way of bonding. He loved the Boston Celtics loves loves the Red Sox and loved the Green Bay Packers because at the time the Patriots weren't great and my dad said they were always blacked out in his area. So he would watch the Green Bay Packers because they were good and networks would hold their games. Patriots, if a team is bad, if people don't understand that, if a team is bad, it's not going to a mass audience. You know, you're going to follow the teams that are good. Like we start with the Eagles this year. So my dad loves sports and my dad is a great storyteller and he always would tell me stories about the players and the coaches. And I learned about Magic Johnson and Larry Burn and my dad would tell stories where I would think they were my friends. So when I would meet these people in real life, I would talk to them even now like my friends and embarrass the shit out of myself. Billy, who are you and you're like, we go way back.

14:15Why? You know, what's really interesting because I had a similar experience with my dad was a sports television producer for the Flyers. So cool. And who were his announcers then? Jim Jackson, Keith Jones and Bill Clement. Yeah. And I remember getting to go to the television truck and running around NHL, you know, stadiums and like that was the normal watching my father do this job that he loved so much. And it seems similar with your dad where like they had such a passion that I recognize is such a privilege because there are also people that watch their parents grow up. And the job is the job and they're happy when they get home because they don't love the job where our father's passion was their purpose and their career. How do you think your dad's career just kind of shaped the way that you recognize what was possible for yourself? My dad did this six and 11 o'clock news in Tampa, Florida.

15:15We would go after the six o'clock news and meet him at the television station to pick him up and go to dinner on some nights. So like you being in the production truck, I would go run around the set, met the makeup girl learned about the dark Mac liner with the lighter lipstick and I thought it was a vibe. So being on a set, being in front of the camera wasn't a big deal for me. What was cool for me and what my dad shared with us was knowing the stories, making it personal and that's what I love so much about the guys that I get to cover is and why I get so emotional covering them or if a guy goes down or if a team loses, you know how hard they work. Do you know they work their ass off? You know they're coming back from ACL surgery or injury or their wife is at home having a baby or something like that. So I think trying to just tell people at home the stories about these guys. My dad was so good at that and that's what he brought into my life. There were not a lot of other women in this industry when you started in 1935.

16:22Yeah. You're like back in the age of age with Laura Ingalls. No, but it's it's true. Even you hear when I was referencing, you know, the announcers that worked with my dad, every single one was a man, right? But that industry was very male dominated. Was it intimidating at all for you to be like, I'm a woman going to try to get into sports? Yeah, I didn't notice because I was so pumped to just have a seat at the table. And then I remember when I got, you know, I started out in hockey, but when I got the job at ESPN, I just said yes to everything because I was I just wanted to do everything I could. I was so excited. I wasn't married. I didn't have a life. This was my life. And yeah, I didn't really notice the fact that there weren't women because I was there and I was so focused on doing what I was doing. Of course. So young that I agree totally that feeling of you're not even a good way. Yes, you're just so happy to be there and be a part of it. And like you're not going to ask questions. You're just like, I'm happy to be here.

17:23Tell me where to go. Your first job was with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Yeah. So you're in the NHL. You make the transition over to the MLB. Yeah, I would. So this is what it what a life. And you look back on stuff when you're younger and you're so naive and you don't understand what an opportunity it was and all that kind of stuff. I was right out of college. The Tampa Bay Lightning were the worst team in the league and they wanted a female presence, right, for their audience. And I got the gig and I didn't know shit about hockey. I didn't. Hockey was new to Tampa Bay. It just was. And my dad took me to the fairgrounds back in the day and I would go to see lightning games, but I was coming from Florida. I was Florida Gator football. It's all I cared about. And I got the job. And I was like, I don't know what I'm doing. Red cliff notes for dummies as embarrassing as that is. But I will say the coach at the time, John Torturella, he took me under his wing. He's a very, very hard nose coach.

18:24And he was that way with me. And it was so awesome to have early in my life because he taught me, asked hard questions, study your tail off. And let's go. Don't look back. And so that was incredible. And from there, I got a call from Turner Sports. They had the Atlanta Braves. They had MLB at the time. And I was hosting a studio and I was friggin terrible. I was so, so bad. I called my dad every night and cried. I felt like I was way over my skis. I wasn't good. I knew I wasn't good. It was killing me. And they let me go after two years. And they should have. I wasn't put in the best position to succeed. And I wasn't, for some reason, it wasn't working for me. I knew they were letting me go. And the NHL was still on ESPN and the Atlanta Thrasher's had a team. And I was like, I'm going to go get a job. I knew that the broadcasters, very much a broadcaster thing after a game would go get a cocktail in a bar.

19:26Hell yeah. I knew the bar that they were at. I knew my contract was up. I knew they were letting me go. I went right to that bar after the Thrasher's game that ESPN was covering. And I just said, hey, I'm Aaron Andrews. I need a job. My contract's up. You guys have the playoffs. Who do I talk to? Look at, I mean, networking. You're like, that is a perfect example. And I'll take a tub double tequila. Thank you so much on the rocks. No, I'm kidding. Yeah, but like, and look where that got you. Yeah. So I had a, I had a phone interview. I think a couple of days later, I did it. I crushed it. Again, I did verbal diarrhea. Verbal vomit told them everything I knew about the NHL because I just worked, you know, with the Tampa Bay Lightning. I got the gig for the playoffs. Guess who won the Stanley Cup that year? Who? The Tampa Bay Lightning. The team I started for. They're like, oh my god, they were so bad when I started. I know they wanted. I'm interviewing on my parents or center ice. And I signed a three year deal with ESPN and kind of blew up from there. I mean, I think that's why I love talking to people about the origin days because we

20:29see you as Aaron Andrews, right? And we're like, oh my god, you are such an icon. You've done so much and you're at the top of your game. And it's almost like no one can fathom you being in a situation where you don't feel in control and you don't hold that mic and do your job as perfectly as we see you do it now. Yeah. But I think it's inspiring, especially for young women watching to hear you talk about, I had no idea what I was doing. I had to make specific moves to show up to a bar and also just like try to get the job. And sometimes you have to put yourself in positions that are really uncomfortable. Get yourself out of your comfort zone. And then also half of it is just like winging it. Like you didn't know exactly how to do the job. But you're like, once I got the job, I just read about it and I figured it out. And I think that's such a good life lesson to anyone watching, right? I think now more than ever and you see it in people that you work with, people that you hire, people that are trying to come up in the industry, work your ass off. It's just the number one thing.

21:30I don't know. Look, that's what helped me. And I know that's what impressed the people at ESPN at the time is that I was just like, Hey, I'm showing up at a bar. Can I get a job? No, he said I knew where they were. I speak them out. My dad was always on me. Email them. Ask them if they're looking for anybody new. No, dad, I don't want to. I tell young girls that all the time. Send an email, send a text, stay on the top of their inbox, remind them, show people you want to work. That's like when I said I went to ESPN, I just said yes to everything because I was like, I'm not married. I don't have kids. I love doing this, but I didn't realize it was helping my stock. I was putting money in the bank in terms of like, oh, she can cover college basketball. She can cover college football. She can do major league baseball. She can do the spelling bee, although she can't spell. Just all that shit, it makes you more valuable. It shows people you want to work. That's all companies want. It's a hard worker. And somebody that'll just be like, I'm here.

22:31I can do it. What do you need? When I interviewed Katie Curric, we talked about how women often have to work twice as hard to get just as far. What has your experience with that been like in your career now in hindsight of where you're sitting? I agree with that. But I agree with it from a standpoint. I feel like I have to work five to six times harder because I didn't play the game I'm reporting on. So I don't know what a team is going through in the locker room when they're down 28 to three in the Super Bowl because I've never done it. I don't know the adjustments to make. I don't know what it's like. I don't even know when those guys go to the bathroom or how much they can eat. So I feel like it is very, very important for me to talk to guys. Have guys feel comfortable players, coaches, owners feel comfortable with me so they can relay that information. That's why I have to work twice as hard. Now there was a time that and I think this has everything to do because I care so much

23:35because I know it is a male populated industry because I know I feel like I am proving myself. And that's my chip on my shoulder. You're around these athletes. They always have a chip on their shoulder of like getting taken late in the draft or teams passing up on them. My chip on my shoulder, not that anyone's made me feel that way is that I didn't play. I got to show people still at the age I am. I belong. I screwed up on air a couple years ago and I had someone pull me aside on the sidelines and say, did you say this? And I said, oh my God, I miss not misspoke. I said it wrong. Like I added a word that made it seem something else. I asked my producer if he heard it. He said, I don't think so. Texted my dad on the sideline and I said, did I say that? And he goes, I don't think so. But he goes, let me go back and watch. And he texted me and he said, you did the chest tightness and palpitations I had. And I said to my producer, I need to address this. He goes, Aaron, we're in the third quarter.

24:36I said, I have to. I don't want this coach to look like this. So I came back on air and apologized. I didn't sleep for two weeks. And that's not because I'm a woman. That is because I care so freaking much. Of course. And I don't want to piss anyone off. You know, of course. And I think that makes me really happy to hear too because I have felt like that in my career too. You go between, do you share how much work you put into it? Do you not? Sometimes people don't also want to hear how much work goes into it. And so it's a weird thing, but I do think there's nothing better than feeling so prepared. But you're going to make mistakes. And obviously it is a lot more pressure when you have mistakes where the entire nation is breathing down your throat. And you're like, I'm sorry. They are. They are. And you just talked about how passionate fan bases are. So I should, as I'm sitting here having like a therapy moment with myself, say, give myself some grace. I'm not performing brain surgery, but these are these men's lives, you know? No, it's true. So I should go easier, but damn.

25:36And I do get nervous, still. I shake before my first hit. I get 20 seconds, maybe the first hit, maybe 15. And you'll see me on this sidelines. I'm talking to myself and people are staring. I'm like, I am doing it in my head over and over. And it doesn't come out that way when I do it. But and there's thoughts when I'm looking in the camera, I sound possessed right now. I'm like, oh my god. Don't mess this up. Get through this. Get through this. Who's ankle am I talking about? Oh my god. Yes, I got through. I'm like, yeah. And then full black cameras. I've done this for a hundred years. No, no, no, that's why it's like meeting you where you're at right now. That's why it's so fascinating to talk to you about it because you have hindsight and you have the perspective, but you also it's so fascinating hearing you still be in this position and being like, oh, I still get stressed. I still get anxious because it's adrenaline and it's still the nailed it. I was going to say it's a sick high. Yes. Like it is a sick high. Yeah. I don't know what it is. It's probably not good for my, you know, nervous system, but damn it's a sick high.

26:37I'm doing great. Fine. You know what I love so much too is you, your perspective on this career is so healthy and you're so secure in yourself and how you present is. I try. You're like, I'm showing up because I'm so confident who I am. I've got my dad since a young age. This is my, this is my bread and butter. Like I'm going to work my ass off. And then there's the sad realities of things that then you couldn't control. That happened in your life that came with all of this publicity and just being a woman in this industry early in your career. You faced an unimaginable violation of your privacy when you had a stalker. If you are comfortable, obviously, can you just explain to the younger women, maybe who aren't as familiar like what happened? What happened? Yeah. I think back in the day, you know, before, remember when the Apple phones were getting hacked and people's photos were up and so forth, I had this disgusting person following

27:43me around cities. It was very well publicized where college game day was going to be. We're Thursday night football was going to be. And I didn't have an alias. I didn't think I was a big deal. I didn't, you know, who wants to, who cares about what name I'm checking under? And that's as you know, the sad realities of what we do for a living. There's a lot of amazing things. When you deal with security, it's, it's a different level. So I found out I remember my contract was a, no, my contract was an app. I was going to get a new agent, you know, when you go to the agent meetings and dancing with the stars was calling and they wanted me to put things were going good. You know, I was working backstage at the SB's. I think Justin was hosting like it was just fun. I can already remember the dress. I was wearing dear God. So I got, I came back from a bunch of meetings and I got a call from my friend who was working a blog at the time. Blogs were the big deal. And he had been calling me all day and he just said, Aaron, I have to talk to you.

28:43And I was like, what's up? I'm getting on a red eye to go back to Atlanta. And he's like, there's naked video of you all over the internet. And I said, no, there's not, I don't do that. I, I just don't. And I didn't, you know, I was like, what are you talking about? This is made up. This is something that's not me. And he got really, really upset. And he goes, Aaron, I'm sending it to you. And I looked at it and I said, I have to go. I call my mom and dad right away. I was screaming crying because it was me. And it was me naked in a hotel room walking around. And I just, outer body experience started screaming. My dad said, when I called, he thought I was in a car accident because I was screaming so hard. And we talked about how much, like, I love the job, how I like kind of being the girl next door. And I just said to my dad, it's over. My career's over. Like, no one's going to take me seriously ever again. That's all I ever wanted, right? Was people to turn on me on and just say, oh my gosh, I would love to have a beer with her and talk football with her. I would love to do a sit-down interview with her.

29:45And I just thought, this is so dirty. No one's going to ever want to work with me again, talk to me again. This is gross. This changes who I am. We didn't know anything at that point. I come to find out after a whole investigation, the FBI gets involved. There's a trial. There was this disgusting person following me around. And he was setting up his cell phone right up to my hotel room. He would take off the people at the door. He would ask for a room next to me. And the hotel never alerted me that this was happening. So they would put this person next to me. He would wait and listen. And he could tell when I was getting into the shower because he could hear it. And he would stay on there with a camera. And he filmed me getting ready. And then he put it on the internet. And as you know, when something's on the internet, it doesn't come down. So it was a lot. It was a lot that I put my family through with all of it. It was a lot legally. It was wild. I am so sorry. Oh, thank you. And I know it's been a long time, but I think-

30:45Oh, there's parts of it that still just with me, you know? Who I was going to say, because I can see it in your face. It will never, when you are violated that way. Like I've sat with so many women, I just sat with a woman recently who was telling me how, you know, this person was threatening to release these photos. And it was like, you will never get over it because you're brought right back to that moment. And you can remember how you felt. How did you though, like, handle the violation? Like if you look back, what did you feel within your own body and your own, like, just gross, gross? Like wishing in my own hotel room, I had worn a towel. Like you're getting ready for a game. What are you talking about? Shame. I remember walking around stadiums. This is when I was doing college. So some stadiums have 100,000 people thinking everybody in the stadium has seen me naked. And I didn't have a choice.

31:46Just if I would talk to people, I feel like in the back of their head, they're thinking about it. My safe place, and I am so proud of this, was the football field, which is wild because you're sitting there and you're reporting to 20 million people and how is that your safe place? But it's been for a lot of stuff. I mean, the week I was diagnosed with cervical cancer and then had to have, you know, a pretty evasive surgery. They said, don't go on the field and stand on the field because you're not really capable physically. I was like, this is my safe space. So that's how I dealt. I threw myself right back into work, wild conversation. The night he was arrested, I was in a hotel room by myself. I got a call from the gentleman, that from the FBI and they said, we got him. We just got on a plane and got him. And my dad and I were like, what? And they were like, unfortunately, we have to release this entire document because he's just been arrested. And it's going to come out in an hour, but we wanted to give you guys a heads up.

32:49I had a game the following day at noon. I think it was like a, or probably a one o'clock kick. And my dad and I, we didn't know the specifics of where he followed me and it all was out on public record in this whole, like, you know, document. And I'm like, dad, I have to go study for the Tennessee volunteers, Auburn Tigers game right now. And my dad's like, okay, okay. You know, so just like, God, which so much wild stuff with that. Well, it's wild too, Aaron, because I feel like people, this wasn't something that was like, they were almost like familiar with this kind of violation. You're right. It was starting up with the. I did it myself. And that was the biggest part. Yeah. That's what I was going to ask you about because let's talk about the public's perception right? Because first we, there were no laws at the time to protect women from any of this. So this was a very new concept to people kind of like now, equating it to now is like AI. There are no laws, no laws could not keep up with technology. And yeah, so take me back.

33:49What do you remember the public's response at first being? I did it to myself that I was on the cover of newspapers, just a still frame of the video, my naked body. And it said ESPN's candle. I people thought I did it to myself for publicity or to, you know, help my career. Which was the exact opposite of how I was feeling. I was feeling shame like I would never get work again. I would never be taken seriously. And it was perceived, which is so sad. That's why I was going to ask like to be so misrepresented and to have to have the truth be so far from what the public is believing. Like how did you cope with that when you're reading people be like, she did this to advance her side? My home in Atlanta, I went to go stay with my mom and dad and I hid in my high school bedroom. I think for like the time I wasn't on air yet, I wasn't going back until college football.

34:51But yeah, I hid the crazy part now is just kind of seeing how the world and perception and how people aren't, you know, judged like this. If a crime like this had happened, it would have been a totally different situation. It's like every era, it's somewhat changes. But then also I'm like, oh, like kind of. But like sometimes it really is people do not want to believe. No. And they want to believe that the woman is somehow responsible for leaking this. What about your employer at the time? Like were they supportive? How did people that you worked with respond? Yeah, you know, I feel like in any situation, whether it's been my, me being so public about infertility issues, my cervical cancer, what happened, you know, with my stalking incident, even the trial that I had after that, where I went after the hotel, you find out pretty fast who's in your corner. And you don't forget the people that reach out and the people that don't. You know that. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. It teaches you a lot though.

35:52It really makes you realize who, who your OGs are. And I will say this as difficult as a topic as those topics are all being a woman, I have some of the best male, like friends, co-workers, bosses in my life. And I'm so grateful for that. No, and I, that makes me so happy because I agree, I think like in all of this, these issues, you don't want to alienate the men. There are some incredible men that actually can help you in these moments. But when these moments happen to a woman, it's like your entire life felt like it was crumbling from what a man did to you. You did nothing wrong. Yeah. Nothing wrong. Like you said, the fact that you went through, oh, should I have worn maybe a towel in my hotel? No. I know. It's crazy though. It took me really long time to accept that. I still need to continue therapy over it because little things will happen where like the PTSD of it comes up and you're like, holy shit, that's from all of it. Thank you for sharing. I just think the conversation in general, I just wanted to have and you just so eloquently put all of it

36:59of just like we go through these things in life that you in that moment all the way back to saying my career is over. Look where you're sitting. You have never been more successful. You have such a fruitful business and life and family life and you got through all of that. And I think in the moment, a lot of times, especially even we see as kids are growing up right now, with the internet and things and revenge. It's great. It is like you really can believe that your life is over in a moment that feels so much weight and understandably, but then it will pass. It will pass. You shouldn't have had to go through that. But the way that you got through it, like you said, you leaned on your family. You had some incredible men in the industry who were there to support you and you kept doing your fucking job and showing up. Yeah. And look, hotels have to go about things differently. Like, you know, I mean, luckily a lot of hotels had to watch my trial and see changes need to be made in security, you know, measures and so yeah, it's amazing.

37:59During that time, one of the positives is you met your now husband, former NHL player, Jared Stoll. Um, how did you two meet through my call straight hand? What a, I mean, can I do this guy? I mean, I don't have a job to this dude's resume. I mean, this guy. Good looking great friend, you know, so smart. So good. It is job. Super bowl, champ, Paula Famer. Yeah. He's the best. Um, I left ESPN to go work for Fox and I was working the baseball playoffs at the time. And Michael said to me, hey, there's a guy. He's a friend of mine and he wants to meet you. And I was just like, okay, well, is this, is this, would you recommend or yes or no? And he was like, I would. So, um, I said, okay, like, you know, figure it out.

39:00Well, that's fine. If you, if you're vetting for me, Michael's, tray hand, I will accept your, um, your, your, uh, suggestion. So I, you know, touch base, but I'm busy. Crowley, I'm busy. I am working the playoffs and it is a good series. It is the San Francisco Giants versus the Detroit Tigers. Let's go. Like it's good. I'm busy. So it is the world series. He had just won the Stanley Cup and they are, I guess the NHL was locked out at the time. He told me he was going to be at the game in San Francisco. And I said, cool. Well, I'll see you like whatever. Aaron, you're like, I have a hell of a pitching matchup tonight, Jared. Still, I could care less if you're showing up. Let's see if you can do it. And next thing I know, I am in the dugout and, you know, I think the, I think I was on the giant side. And, you know, here's the Giants and I'm in their dugout. And I hear this guy go Aaron and I'm like, yeah, and he got down there. He walked past past security.

40:01I think athletes will tell you any athlete knows how to get and talk their way through any sort of like sporting venue. Hockey players, they all say dress in all black and walk in with a Starbucks and loafers. Like, or, you know, they're little two shoes and all that. I don't know how he did it. But I was like, okay. Okay. And he was like, nice to meet you. Funny story about this. I had had a raging sinus infection at the time. And I, it wasn't a booger. It was almost like some sort of like sore from blowing my nose was on my nose. And I was kind of like looking over at him. But I was like trying to stay like this. So it was like shielding like the sore covered in like probably some sort of arm money foundation with a powder situation. It's like great to see you. Great. And he's like, we're going out later. If you want to go out, no, because I have like this. Yeah, so great. But grace me to congrats on the cup. Yeah. And then there you go. Wait. And didn't you like basically turn him down the what first?

41:04I was busy. I had the world series. I don't know like, you know, finally one night I was out and I said, do let's go to dinner. We went to dinner and all that. Okay. And got up a few times. Yeah. Fair, fair. I feel like hockey is having such a moment right now for that. I know, right? Like it's a lot of you know how great it is. But people that don't know get involved. It is growing up. It is the number one sport that was played in my household because of my father. And it's just such a good sport. But now seeing it get the praise because of all the television shows that have popped off. It is really fun. But for research purposes only. Okay. The girls need to know Aaron. What is it like to date a hockey player? They are the best. They are the best in any NFL players because obviously I'm around a lot of them and friends with some of them are like hockey guys are the best. They're so laid back as you know, a comes out of my mouth all the time. They are I'll be honest. Hockey players are good looking. They are.

42:04They are gorgeous. Great. But yes. Fantastic started their shoulders. Some of them you know. They're they're just the best. They're so chill. They're great guys to go to the bar with. They're great guys to they're just they're the best. They're like down to earth. Down to earth. A lot of them are farm boys. A lot of them from small, small towns. It's funny to make fun of the stories because they're all the same. My best girlfriends are all the wives that were on the Kings teams. Well, we were together and you know, we were weeding out some of our crap in our house and not that this stuff is crap. But he was like going through the other days sitting on the driveway and like the boxes his mom and dad had saved it for. And he's like he pulled this thing out and it looked like a meatloaf or like a pile of bronze poop. And I was like what's that? And he goes it's Buffalo babe. One of them MVP in 1996 at this Ontario, whatever. And so I took a video of it and I sent it to my girlfriends that you know their husbands played with mine. And I just said you guys have this stuff at home and they're like, yeah, we all do, you know.

43:04Like you're like, oh great. Are we supposed to put this on the mantel? Like where am I supposed to put this thing? Oh my god. Did he have all this teeth when he met him? No, he still doesn't. Oh, okay. No, they're fake. Perfect. Right. But I mean, my best friends husbands like have a flipper still some of them that they're still playing the vibe is, you know what? Like I'm going to get him hit again so I won't get fake teeth. That's what a lot of girls ask me. They're like, well, if I date a hockey player, they're going to have teeth. No, and you know what? It's pretty hot. It is. You know what? It is. It is part of the charm. It's the charm. He also has, sorry babe, I'm telling all your secrets. He has this black dot right here. It's pretty good size. He's like, I feel like people think it's a black head. It's a stitch. When he got his nose like slashed by a stick, he got, you know, obviously stitched up, but one of the stitches didn't dissolve. So now it's like a purple black like forever mole. It's like badge of honor. Do we want to get this taken out at all? Or... Did you try? No. If it was me, I'm like, you know, miss like I get in there. Right. And he's just like leaving it. Yeah.

44:04That's such a man thing to do. You're like, you don't want to just, he's like, no, it's fine. You're like, okay. You and your husband seem to be a really great team. You guys obviously work so much. You're traveling. Yeah. And then your son, Matt, you have together. Let's talk about your journey to my bad mood. Yeah. Because I know it was a long and challenging one. Oh, yeah. Can you just share more about that process and what it was like for you? Yeah. So I mean, when, look, I got married later on in my life. We tried to have a baby later on in my life. But I kind of knew in my like 35, 36, I should be freezing my eggs. Like, I don't know when I'm getting married. I don't know if this is the guy who knows. So I started doing that. And I wasn't having, I'm sure you've heard it over and over when you do IVF. You're like, I got seven eggs. You think it's so much. And then you're like, wait, only one of these turned into an embryo. And they're not okay. What's going on? So I am on because I'm currently still trying, which is crazy pants, USA. But I do believe my body can do it.

45:05I don't take no very well. I'm probably on my ninth to 10th round of IVF. So I have a hard time. I wasn't getting eggs. And then I got cervical cancer. So that was a whole other bag of tricks that came my way. And we just were having such a hard go. But once I had cervical cancer, turns out your cervix hasn't grow back. I was such an idiot when I went to go, you know, deal with that. And have multiple surgeries. I looked to my doctor. I'm like, wait, this grows back, right? And they're like, yeah, no, it doesn't. And honestly, because of my age and because I wouldn't have enough cervix to hold a baby and very graphic, let me do a presentation about it. They said a serigate would be the best way, especially when you've tried this hard to have get eggs and have a baby. Like you could lose these pretty easily. So that wasn't easy to kind of swallow or to eat. I mean, I don't know if I could have swallowed or taken. I remember crying to my husband one day being like, what am I going to do about a baby shower?

46:06If we're not even like having the baby, we're having a serigate. He goes, we're going to nap and we're going to drunk. Like that's what we're doing. Like that's your baby shower, which is kind of what we did. Shout out, Chris, up. She threw it. So yeah, we ended up finding a serigate. We put two in. We lost the babies. That was a huge deal. We went into that very, I think, naive as well. We thought, oh my god, we're going to do a serigate. But baby, it's not that easy. None of this shit is easy, which is wild behavior. I need to write a book about like, it ain't easy. Just get ready. And it's like, and people just, and it's like, you think it is until you go through it. And it's almost weird too, because I feel like you hear stories. But until it's happening, you don't really pay attention. At all. Right. You're 100% right. It's like, I've heard about these like pregnancies or the, and like, you know, struggling and all this. And then it happens to you and you're like, wait, what? Like IVF and you're, you have this vision in your head. And you're like, oh my god, I, I think I've seen someone talk about this before, but I never listened. Because I think a lot of times people weren't comfortable talking about it. I remember finally when I was fed up after trial number eight or whatever.

47:08And I said to my husband, I'm going to, somebody came to me and asked me about it. And I said, I'm going to talk about this. I'm going to say that this is really hard in this sucks. And Jared from a small town in Canada was just like, please don't, like, I don't want to talk about it. And I did. And we got so much support. People were like, yes, we're struggling to players random friends. We didn't know that we're struggling. So once we decided to do the syracusey route, yeah, we, it took a while. It was really, really hard. I'm candy coating a lot of it. But we got him. And he's here. And I mean, listen, all the things that I thought were such a big deal. And they were like, I'm having another woman carry my baby. How am I going to explain it to him? I don't care. He's here now. And he's amazing. The delivery room. Oh my gosh. What's that going to be like? It doesn't matter. It was great. I mean, there were wild stories about it. But he's here now. Isn't that true? And you obviously, I haven't gone through it. But like, when you then decide you want to have a child, we grow up and we have this idea of exactly how we would get the child, right?

48:12And you're sitting there and you're like, okay, like maybe I'm going to be able to carry. And you're like, okay, pivot. And you're having to pivot. And that I feel like is so much of every woman's experience is we're going to come up against something that is just not what we thought it would be. But you're right. It doesn't matter. It's like, this is your journey. And you're going to figure out how to get through it, not saying it's not hard. But it's like, you have to accept that so much of what we see and we're told at a young age is not actually what happens. Like all the way down to the movies, you see, it's first the water breaks and then the woman goes, oh, that's also very infrequent that that happens. Like, we have a vision in our head and then we have to deliver reality, which is most of the time, a lot scarier, a lot more complicated and really, really emotionally taxing on a woman. And we don't talk about it that much. Yeah. I'm happy though that people are starting to talk about it more, especially IVF because even sharing your experience, Erin, hearing that other people reach out to you being like, what? Thank you for admitting this.

49:13Sure. It's scary, right? Oh, yeah. I can imagine also, like you said, sugar coating around, you're like nine rounds of IVF at one point. That is a lot on you physically and emotionally. And then I can imagine that's also a lot on you in your partnership emotionally. What were some of the conversations between you and Jared about like deciding whether like to keep trying or just timing and timelines and all of that? I mean, there's a lot of guilt on my end. You feel like a failure. You know, we just, we just moved into this new house. It's a lot bigger than what we had before because we thought we were having another baby. We lost a baby last year. So sorry. And said, oh, thank you. But it's just that it air like, where are we doing this? Because we don't have the second. But it's like, stop. Like stop blaming yourself. Take care of yourself. Take care of your marriage. Let's see what we can do. But it's a lot. I mean, it weighs on you. It still does. I, you know, was hoping to get around done before football because I'm still trying.

50:18I really am. I, I've spoken to a doctor that's like, listen, women are so close to having, and I, I didn't, listen. Women are fierce. Like, I know we can do it. So it is still something in my head. But the conversations are he's so supportive. I'll be here for you. He would like to have another baby. I would too. Some days, though, walking around with my kid, I'm like, I'm trying to have another, or I pull the Sally, Sally feels from steel magnolars. Do you know what your mother went through to have you? So yeah, but he's very supportive. And I think, listen, when you do this as a couple, I, I can see why it makes or breaks people. It's, it is such a rollercoaster of emotions. When you then did have Mac and he was first born, like, what did that feel like to you after all of this, the process and the process and the process and the hoping, and then you get to hold your child? A lot. Please don't make us leave this hospital.

51:18What are we supposed to do? I mean, we didn't want our Sarah get to leave. She got to leave before him. And we were like, no, no, go. What do we do? It was a lot. It was overwhelming. I don't think any of it really, really hit me with my connection with this child. Yes, I love him. But I love him so much more. It just grows as you get to know this, this being, this person, this crazy animal that you have. I say that affectionately. Yeah, it was, I think we just felt like we were in the twilight zone. We had gone through through so much to get there. We get him. We don't really understand it all. The drive home was awful because it was very far from where we were in LA because she had the baby where she wanted to have the baby. And I remember my husband just driving, you know, at 10 o'clock at night, 45 miles per hour and we were chugging Starbucks and stuff. I feel like, and I'm interested to see if you feel this way.

52:19At three years old, I just sit and I stare at my child. Like he is crazy town USA and I say that with the best, but he is the best. He is just, he is hilarious and the best. But I will tell you, having a kid, and I thought of you yesterday, we went to the doctor for his three-year checkup, and then I want to go get him. He loves a green juice. Oh. He's got his bougie mom, like this kid. He loves a green juice. He loves a green juice. He loves a green juice. I love that for him. Mummy, I want a green juice. Okay, let's go. And then I, but he's potty trained him so proud. But, you know, sometimes you got to be like, you got to go to the bathroom. No, I'm on my green juice. Okay, we'll get the green juice after we go potty. Dealing with a toddler is dealing with your drunk 20-year-old girlfriend. Don't touch it. Get over here. No, come here. Come here. Come on, let's watch your hands. No, you don't need to, don't press that. Mack, let's go. Mack, don't turn off the lights. Get your hands off the floor. The best is when they take a poop and a public potty and you got to wipe that bum. He is all fours on the ground and that butt in your face.

53:21Oh, no. I'm sorry, it's the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life. Oh my god, I love how I'm about to go through the newborn phase. But that's what I've understood. It's like, once you hit like three and they're like a real person, you're like, get ready to just be running. They are your drunk girlfriend in your 20s. Oh, that's a great answer. They are. No, no, don't do that. Come here. No, sit down. Hold my hand. It is your drunk girlfriend in their 20s. How has mother had changed you? I'm a sap. I like, you know, everything with my kid, I'll cry about. He's now doing the whole thing of like, Mommy, don't leave me. Don't leave yet. And that's going to be a whole thing during football this year because I've gone six months out of the year. What are you going to do? I cry. The thing he's saying is hysterical. What you talking about, guys? What you talking about, guys? Hey, Mom, what are you doing over there? Like, it's hilarious. He has dropped an F bomb. It is a situation. Where do you think he learned that word from? Not a clue. Um, yep, we've had to, at first we just ignored it.

54:23Now we're like, hey, Mickey Mouse doesn't like, doesn't like little kids that say this kind of stuff. Oh, it's good. And Mickey will not allow you to come to the park if you say this. Yeah. We have you taken him to a game yet? No. No, he had, he went to, he's gone to King's game, of course. That's no problem. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Doesn't really get it. We did go with the Dallas Cowboys. We're so sweet enough to allow us to come to Oxenard to go to training camp. He walked up to Dac. And I'm very big on shaking hands saying what your name is. Ask what their name is. Introduce yourself, sir. Um, told Dac, thanks for being so nice to my mom. Um, and then I think he's going to go, he may go to an Eagles game this year. Mm-hmm. Whoa. On Thanksgiving. You're throwing him in the deep end. Sure are. Oh, Dallas though. Okay, okay, yeah, yeah. Philly, I was like, oh, yeah. Now what are we going to do if he doesn't like football?

55:24Yeah, I don't know. I haven't thought that far ahead. Go to a therapist. No, I'm saying that's a joke. No, no, no. He's going to love it. Yeah, I love it. So, yeah, do you have any message to kind of wrap out the motherhood conversation to anyone listening who maybe is trying to get pregnant and not going the way that they have anticipated or wanted? Do you have any advice hang in there? And when you feel like all your friends around you have babies and are getting pregnant so easy and everybody's having, you know, an easy go of it and you're not. And you feel like you can't talk to them, still talk to them. My girlfriends didn't know much about IVF. One of them, you know, did that had her baby that way, two of her babies that way. But, and my girlfriends hadn't had a surrogate either, but they were so invested. They were so sweet. Shoot, we even had, you know, one of my best girlfriends and her husband, he had a game that week. We went to Dan Tannas the night we found out that our surrogate was pregnant and they helped me enjoy way too much red wine.

56:27You know, like just, even if your friends have not experienced it and you think it's a hard time to, you think it's very hard to verbalize how you're feeling. You need to talk to people. You cannot keep this stuff in. It'll eat you alive. It'll ruin your relationship. It'll ruin you. You, you cannot keep it in. Yeah, it's great advice to like, don't just bear the burden between you and your partner. You can't let the people around you who also love you guys like help with it because I think a lot of people want to be there for their friends and their family. That's great advice. Just say it's, this is so hard and I don't know how to manage this. It's great advice. Yeah. You have a podcast too. Oh, hey. Called Calm Down. Do you like being a podcaster? It's interesting. It's so different from what I do in real life. Yeah, because we're so structured. Myself and Chris Atomson, who's also on Fox and Amazon, we thought, you know what?

57:27Everybody is, is, is trying this? Let's, let's give it a whirl. And it turned into discussing what it's like having to go pee with, which by the way, I'm going to say this. You know, where I have to pee for six months out of the year during football games is, is very adventurous. Oh, I can imagine. Oh, yeah. So you're just, you're kind of telling us everything from like motherhood to like life on and off the field. Like you're just going through everything and being very honest. Yeah, being honest. And it's good. You know, there's a lot of times we have a lot of men that listen because they think they're, we're going to tell deep dark secrets about football. But a lot of women that are interested in juggling motherhood and also interested in getting into the business. But what I was going to say about the bathroom situation in what I experienced six months out of the year, you're lucky if there's toilet paper. You're lucky if it, and it clearly says women, but the men go in there a lot. Yeah. It's hard. Interesting. Right. Because usually it's like the women's line is so long and then the men's, but no, you're in more.

58:28And that's why men are going in. Men are going in. It's a little dirtier. I will say it's hard when you're doing maybe a jumper situation. And it's got to be down on the ground and you got the I.F.B. And you're like, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. I will tell you with all the nasty bathrooms I've been. I go to I use your bathroom today because it takes an hour to get here from where I was. Can I just say the little treats in there? I mean, forget that you know the sanitary products. We got the list of green packages. We got the dry shampoo. We've got the deodorant. You're the all woman team here. Okay, we know what the girls need. And I took a good five minutes in there because I used all the products. I got a pamper yourself. So did I love going to a bathroom that has the thing. Yeah, and I used them. I used to be for noticing that. I did. I did. I didn't. Anyone's brought up my bathroom. You're on color daddy. Oh, I was listering it in there. I was like, yeah, rinsing the residue that I left after I listered it. I used the dry shampoo. I used the deodorant. I smell fresh. Okay, perfect. Perfect. In kind of, you know, the spirit of calm down.

59:29I mean, calm down. Yes. I want to, the girls need some advice today. Okay, we're going to wind down with some advice. I'm going to give you a situation. And you're going to tell us if we should calm down. Or if we can justifiably crash out. Okay. You were banking on your husband to go to a wedding with you. But he last minute has to pull out and now you have to go alone. Yeah, crash out, but make it a minor crash out. It doesn't have to be a full explosion. Yeah, but I'm annoyed. I'm annoyed on crash out. Yeah, you know what he should do? He should calm down. Yeah, yeah. And get it together. And get to the wedding. Yeah. When you're at an event like a wedding, do people try to talk sports with you? Yeah, which I would rather do because I don't want to talk about anything else. Oh, so true. You don't ask me anything personal. Yeah, great. Oh, the packers this year. Woo! But don't interject how you feel and what you think is going on because you know what, sir. I know what's going on. I know too much. Knock it out. You need to calm down. You need to calm down. Yeah. And listen to what I have to say. Okay, that's interesting. I like that. You ask your eyebrow waxer for a simple cleanup, but she accidentally makes them way too thin.

1:00:32Calm down. Oh, no. Okay, you're follow the stencil. Oh, you're saying calm down to the woman, not yourself. Oh, me? Yeah. Yeah. And give me my money back. And you're crashing out. Yeah, crashing out. I feel like every woman has gone through a phase of like beauty blindness. Like at one point for me, I had basically my blonde was silver-ish, bluish purple. Oh, yeah. And I really thought it was just, oh, who was so great. That was full blindness. What have you had in your past where you're like, that was a full beauty blindness moment? I had two years ago where I knew a girl that had fantastic eyebrows. And it was the kind that you could brush up and so fantastic. Oh. So somebody said, use this serum. And I did. And my hair was a lot lighter than, and I was using it. And she was growing in full black mustaches. And you can see it when you go back on our podcast, like Instagram site and see, it's like, what's happening?

1:01:32No one in my life decided it would be a good idea to say, hey, what's going on there? What's going on? So your eyebrows were like, bush city. Bush mustache city. Yeah, two years ago. And then it wasn't until I was shooting something that I had another makeup artist go, what's going on? What's going on there? What are we doing? I'm like, it's bad. I got so upset. I thought about bleaching them in the middle of the night. And I was still in season. And then I got in my girlfriend's like, no, go to like a freaking eyebrow person. It is really, I've had eyebrow blindness before. And when you look back at those videos of yourself, what's going on? So crazy. Sure is. We didn't see it right in front of our eyes, but you need perspective and you need a little distance. Yeah. And you need on and off to that. Yeah. Oh, just like the chunk blocky extensions. Yeah, really bad, really bad. Okay. Your kid starts throwing a temper tantrum in public. Are you calming down or are you crashing out?

1:02:34At first, I'll calm down a little bit, but I will probably crash out in the car with him. My mom was very big on. I'm not going to ruin anybody else's time. So let's, we're going. We're going. We're going. We're done. I'm not figuring this out. With no judgment, what is one of the most unhinged parenting things that you've done to get through a hard moment? It's just what you never thought in a million years, what you would be doing. Like I am such a germaphodom. I'm grossed out by public restrooms. I have to dress in them every week in a, you know, in an airport when I'm trying to get home. The fact I'm like squatted down because my kid, another thing, my kid, when he is going potty because we're not standing up yet to P P. We are fully sitting on the pot. We don't want our shorts on because he wants to spread him out. So I got to take the shorts off. Then you know what that means? I'm going to take the shoes in the socks off too because he doesn't want them on. So we are fully, you're in a public restroom. And I am, I am, I am touching the public restroom. I am on the floor looking at the little hairs and the little crumbs and his shoes are on.

1:03:39And my man, shoes are off and you want to know what is worse when it's the automatic one and I'm sitting there and I'm holding him and the automatic flesher goes and it, they're splatter, they're splatter in my face. These are the things I never, I wouldn't even, I have the flow. I've got pink dye. This is horrible. You have full pink eye all season. We're like, now we know why. Oh, Aaron, okay, this is interesting. You just interviewed a player and overheard him tell his teammate that your breath smelled really bad. That's never going to happen. It's never going to happen because I'm psychotic because I appreciate somebody like you having the listerine. I will swallow an entire listerine stack. No, I would never be calm down. I'm not calm down thinking of it. I'm crashing out and I'm having chest pains and I'm going to worry about it for four weeks. You will never have that breath. I am also going to write him a handwritten note and apologize. I had, I've told this story multiple times on our podcast, Luke Eakley just inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame.

1:04:40He is beautiful. He is, I have male friends that are like, what a good looking guy. He's Superman. He looks like Superman. I'm working a game, Panthers at Green Bay. It's cold. My nose is running. I go up to talk to him, pre-game. I come back, talk to my producer and he's like, hey, look in the mirror. Huge booger. It wasn't just a little one. It was massive. I am so mortified that I cannot see Luke Eakley to this day without being like, I am so sorry about that booger. He's like, it was 10 years ago. You need to get over it. That is the, that's a little traumatizing. Like a big booger. Yeah. That's going to stay with you. Yeah. So that last minute invited to a huge playoff game while you're traveling and you have nothing to wear. I don't calm down about that. I crash out because I'm not good. I would call my girl Daniella or, yeah, I would look up what is cool to wear. Yeah. I'm like a robot with that. I would crash out. No, I would go to my office and grab wear by Aaron Andrews, Alex.

1:05:45I was going to say plug it. Plug it. My people are like, what is wrong with you? That was a good transition though. But a lot of times here's the thing. I can't wear teams because I can't look like I'm biased. But here's what I'm going to say about a line called wear by Aaron Andrews. It doesn't have to be just for games. You can wear it to the dry cleaners. You can wear it to drop off. You can wear it when you're sitting on a public restroom floor waiting for your son to tinkle at lazy acres. That's why I was going to ask you. I think it's really impressive of everything you've done in your career. You decide to start this clothing line. Because there was nothing to wear for women. Right. And what a great way to just get in there and be like, I'm going to solve this for everyone. Are there any pieces that you are particularly excited about to bring out this season for the women? We, I actually just wore it before I got here. It's kind of like the whole Westerny vibe. Oh, yeah. And we have all the teams. We have nine different leagues. We have colleges. I wear the NFL stuff because I'm not showing any bias.

1:06:48I don't want the Philly fans to be mad at me. Yeah. Are windbreakers are sick. They're so vintage looking. I love our sweatshirts. They kind of got the like princess dive vibes when she was in the little spandex shorts. We all know love love love love. I love. I love windbreaker. Oh, you do. Oh, I just feel like it's, I don't know. I think having been an athlete myself, like I always gravitate towards the type of like athlete, or they just really feel like I just came off the field. Yeah. And I couldn't be more retired. Yeah. Um, it is pathetic. Um, you are also not preparing just for NFL season, but you are also coming back to host the show 99 to beat 99 problems. Yeah. Ken, John, how have you been around him? Never met him. Tell me everything. Obviously, we love him from the hangover. Great. But like explain to me what the vibe of doing the show with him is. So our show is like you said 99 to beat. It starts with a hundred people. You don't have to be the best. You don't have to come in first.

1:07:48Whatever you do, you can't finish last. There are the craziest little games for all these people to play. They are, I sit there in real life and I'm like, holy crap. This is like 99 to beat. Like they would have this adorable, by the way, jelly bean bowl and you'd have to pick it out with tweezers that are plastic and slippery. And the first one, you know, the last person is out million dollars on the line. So the stakes are high. There are, you know, people that are not too happy with other people. I love the drama. I love reading the body language. There's people looking to get other people out. There's kind of like, I'll say it. We have a guy that's like kind of like a Bill Bellicuk vibe. He's very stoic. He's not giving any pointers out to other people. He's like, you know, he's going to win. Oh, he's going to win. So yeah, that is really fun to have because I just feel like that competitive nature. I love competing. Yeah. I love anything that makes me be so. So competitive, which I love that for you. I would be crap on that show. Is there any challenge on the show that you actually think you could win? Well, not the golf cart one out of a small space because seeing how I hit somebody's

1:08:51wooden like trash can bin today. So definitely not that. What would I be good at? No, nothing. Okay. All of it would give me like reging anxiety. Okay, perfect. So it's better that you're hosting. Yeah. You know what? It would be having a three year old, use a public restroom without getting the flu. What you would. Anything mom related, you're like, I got this. I don't. I don't. Okay. Everything that we've talked about today from what you've, you know, taken on professionally and publicly and personally, you're so impressive. Oh, gosh. I know. Truly. Like, it's so refreshing to sit with a woman also who is so confident in her own right and not apologetic for her success and is so just truly confident in what she's done and not shying away or not trying to downplay what you've done. Like, you own it and I love that. What would you say you are the most proud of though? Through all of it.

1:09:54It's a fault of mine, but it's also something that has gotten me to where I am in my job and my family and my, probably my marriage is just I don't take the word no lightly. I figure out how can I get around it? Okay. You're saying no this way, but what if I try it this way? I mean, that's how we were able to have our son. That's hopefully how I'm able to have another baby. That's, you know, other jobs. Maybe I'd like to have in my life how I was able to get to where I am now with this job. Yeah. Maybe my persistence. I love it. No, I think that's a hard headedness. Yeah, but I think it's, it's very refreshing. I think also because I relate to you in a lot of ways and that specifically resonates with me of like, I work so hard. And I think sometimes it's, I don't know why people think it's like embarrassing to admit that you're trying really hard and you're putting so much effort into something. And I've always been someone that's just like, Oh, no, I'm working my ass off.

1:10:54I'm not going to hide that. And I love that you've been like, I'm studying. I'm reading everything. I'm coming prepared. And like, that's why then you show up and you are confident and you deserve to be there. And I don't think that we should shy away from that as women. It's like, you earned that spot. Now own it and enjoy it and enjoy all the fruits of your labor because you've had such an incredible career and it's only going to continue to prosper. So Aaron, thank you. No, I couldn't, thank you enough for coming. I think this was like the perfect balance of inspirational and also just honest, like good girl talk conversation that I knew that we would have today. But I love how we went kind of all over the place. That's me. We did me too. I get vertigo. Sorry. No, no, no, no. It's my favorite type of interviews when I dip into like nine different things. Oh, yeah. Because I love hearing your perspective on so many different aspects of life. But thank you so much for your time. I know I know I got so lucky because girl, you're about to be so busy. So busy.

1:11:54You are so real. You're going to be more different. You're going to be running on the sidelines and dealing with all that. And I'm going to be on full maternity leave. We are on opposite planes right now, but I guess we're both going to be in chaos. Yeah, it's a little different and we'll both be in where because guess what? Your baby has wear gear on its way. It's here because we have a baby line of course. Of course. What about me? Oh, my God. Eagles. Oh, that's coming home with me and my husband is going to full Rams fan. And I'm going to be like, we got Eagles baby merch. Oh, he's going to be pissed. Wow, we're tight with the staffers. So we're great. Yeah, we do love it. Yeah, we do love it. The staffers are the greatest. Aaron, thank you so much for coming on Caller Daddy. It was a pleasure. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. I'm going to go back to your bathroom and use all your products. Take it all. Take it all to the history.