0:00
Well, Sarah Shahi has starred in some of the most intense shows on television.
0:04
Currently featuring in the Emmy-nominated Paradise,
0:08
the actor first-grouped audiences in the much-talked about series Sex Life,
0:13
which had more than 170 million people glued to their TV screens.
0:19
One of the most important decisions you'll ever make is who to spend your life with.
0:24
I see you watching me with those eyes.
0:29
The time right after you blow up your life.
0:35
It's usually the most exciting.
0:38
But what many don't know is that very character is holding a mirror up to Sarah's real relationships,
0:44
pushing her to confront what she describes as life's messy middle.
0:48
And now she's opening up about the trauma and triumphs in a powerful new memoir,
0:53
reminding us all that no matter how tough a chapter may feel,
0:56
there's always a better one waiting to be written.
0:59
And Sarah Shahi joins us now live from LA.
1:02
Welcome to the Morning Show.
1:04
It's so lovely to be here. Thank you for having me.
1:08
Well, we're going to start with Sex Life.
1:09
We just saw the clip of that.
1:11
It really got the world talking.
1:12
When seeing the storyline and reading those very raunchy scenes,
1:16
did you know that it was going to be a hit?
1:18
Or did you jump in or with some reservations?
1:23
No, there were no reservations, you know,
1:26
prior to getting that show, like many women, I just felt overtired.
1:33
Self-care looked like adding that amusal to every meal.
1:36
And I wanted a life that was much bigger than the one that I was leading.
1:42
So when I got approached for the show and I got the role, it really kind of felt like the script
1:48
was just ripped from the pages of my heart.
1:50
Okay, how your character, Billy, quickly became the poster child for unhappy women sort of everywhere.
1:55
You will flood the word messages, won't you?
1:57
Like, you're getting messages from all over the world on this.
1:59
From all over the world, men were very scared of me.
2:02
If they knew that their wives or girlfriends were contacting me,
2:08
But yes, you know, Billy, the role of Billy, she became a buzz in my veins that I couldn't
2:13
escape because she had the courage to question all of those things that I was too scared to question
2:20
So she really did propel me into this new chapter of my life as she did for many women.
2:24
Yeah, you said that the show mirrored what was going on in your own personal life.
2:29
Can you tell us what you mean by that?
2:31
Yeah, you know, again, just the, this narrative, I feel like all women have abided by
2:38
from the beginning of time, which is you are to put your needs last, you know,
2:42
that of your family's comes first.
2:45
And you really shouldn't want anything more of than that,
2:48
that that's the stuff that should make you happy.
2:50
And if you have dreams, then you really should just bury them because you come last.
2:54
So, but, you know, again, she gave me the courage to question all of that stuff.
2:58
And to say, you know what, I think my life is meant for something more than just
3:02
dinner at the table every night at six.
3:04
Okay, you're new book.
3:06
We've got to talk about that.
3:07
Congratulations on it.
3:08
Yeah, what you call life's messy middle.
3:11
What made you decide to sort of open up and share all of this with the world?
3:15
What was behind that decision?
3:17
Yeah, well, you know, so sex life, we started filming sex life in late 2020.
3:25
And earlier that year, I had gotten my divorce.
3:29
People would ask me how I'm doing.
3:31
And I would just say, I don't know, life is life-y.
3:33
I guess you just got to follow your happy.
3:35
And so that kind of became my motto.
3:37
When the show came out, it was around the same time that news of my divorce broke.
3:42
And women from all over the world really flocked to me about how did you have the courage
3:46
to do it to go after the life of your dreams.
3:49
The actress strike happened two years later and I wrote an article for Glamour magazine that
3:54
went viral called Why Desire is Not A Dirty Word.
3:57
The show was also very sexually empowering for women.
4:00
And when that went viral, I just was like, you know what, I think maybe I have an audience,
4:06
maybe I have a voice and all the DMs that come my way, I can actually put them somewhere.
4:12
I kind of refuse to believe that my pain is ever in vain.
4:16
And, you know, at the end of the day, I feel like if you've learned something,
4:20
you have some kind of wisdom to pass on,
4:22
then it feels like a privilege and an obligation to do so.
4:25
So that's where the idea of the book came from.
4:28
And also, it's structured as an eye-to-zid.
4:32
So what was that important to you?
4:34
And how hard was it to get the title life is life-y across the line with the publisher?
4:38
Are they all in for that?
4:40
Yeah, they were actually.
4:42
You know, it was, I loved the title so much.
4:45
I felt like it was catchy, you know, but it wasn't gimmicky that there were a couple
4:50
publishers that they didn't understand what it meant.
4:53
And instead of me changing the title, I just said, you know what, let me align with somebody who
4:58
understands what this is because I'm not going to change this part of my vision.
5:03
And yeah, you know, I mean, as people on the go,
5:07
we live in such a fast-paced society that I feel like people don't really read anymore.
5:12
So I wanted something that almost felt like an encyclopedia,
5:14
that you could turn to any chapter at any point, read a couple pages,
5:18
you know, get some nuggets of wisdom, close it and be better off for it and move on with your day.
5:23
Great way to attack a book.
5:24
You're now starring in the Emmy-nominated Paradise Season 2 just come out.
5:28
Is it fun for you, you know, seeing all the fans trying to guess
5:32
these wild theories of where it's all going?
5:35
Oh, yeah. Oh, it is, it's such a wonderful part of the show, the fact that the audience is
5:42
constantly guessing and left in the dark and you get little pieces each episode.
5:47
It's exciting to see what the, what the fan messages are.
5:50
Yeah, I've watched see, I loved season one and I'm just saving season two.
5:56
Yeah, you know, it seems to gratification these days so it's kind of nice to save something up.
6:03
That's right, that's right, we want it when we want it, we don't want to wait.
6:06
Sarah, lovely to talk to you this morning.
6:08
This segment proudly brought to you by Metamusel.
6:13
Thank you so much. I love Australia.
6:15
It's really an honor to be here.
6:16
Thanks for having me.
6:17
And we love you, right?
6:18
Come and see us sometime.
6:20
Sarah Shahe's book is called Life is Life.
6:24
I feel the aid is said of navigating life's messy middle.
6:28
It's at March 17, just around the corner and you can pre-order it online now.