Hi, everybody.
I'm one of your hosts, Brian Austin Green, and I'm really excited for my guest today, who is literally redefining herself in chapter two. You know her from roles in movies like the American Pie franchise, Scary Movie. She has an incredible foundation helping wildlife in South Africa. She just got divorced this week, not kidding, and we're going to dive into that and so much more so here she is Shannon Elizabeth.
I can't believe that we've never met before, right.
I don't think so, but I feel like we should have.
Isn't that bananas? I was like, how is that possible?
Like, I we we met everyone during that time period.
What was what was the timeframe of the American Pie movies? That was like.
Ninety nine was the first one and all right.
So our show was already sinking at that point. So that's why that's why.
We never met, because our ratings were going to s as you guys were just like blowing up.
That explains Yeah, it's.
Yeah, I don't, I don't.
It's fine not to put you on the spot or anything.
So yeah, that's usually it's and it's funny too, Like the business was so much more segregated at that point. It was like you were either film or you were TV. And what TV always wanted to do. Film film never wanted to do TV. Film was like no, no, no, forget it, Like this is this is the life. I like being a movie star. TV is beneath me, which it felt like it was. Now it's all, uh opposite everybody.
Field has evened out and people realize, I think, if I want to have a family and I like I want to be around, I need to do a show that is set kind of in one place compared to traveling all over the world doing stuff.
And I mean there's not a lot of sitcoms anymore. But doing the sitcom was amazing, Like there was no better sense.
Yeah I did. I did a couple.
I did a couple of sitcom things that were like just game changers. They were so easy. It was so great. But like being on a lot, having like specific hours and all that, it was unbelievable.
I mean yeah, especially if you lived close to the lot, if you live nearby, like.
Just all of it, Like honestly the lot is close no matter what. Now, like it compared to having to fly to Canada to shoot everything, or you know, both Garia or all.
Over the place.
Well, do you know where I am right now?
You're in South Africa right now?
Yeah?
Yeah?
Do you live there? Yeah?
I pretty much look here, Yeah I do.
Do you do you what do you travel back to the States for at this point? Like just to buy buy groceries? No, there's a Whole Foods in Texas I really love.
Well, I love Whole Foods. Yeah, anywhere I travel back for jobs. I travel back for appearances for my fundraiser at the end of June, so things like that, you know, and seeing family and friends. But I mean, there's lots of reasons to travel back.
Families all here, right. Where are you from originally?
I'm from Texas originally. But the only I mean, I have lots of aunts and uncles and cousins, and my cousin and New York is like a sister to me, so I probably see her most of anyone. So when I travel back a lot of times, I'll stay with her, and you know, we're we're always looking for ways to work together and do things together, because you know, she doesn't have a sister. I don't have any brothers or sisters. So it's kind of you're a child.
I am amazing.
I So I have an older brother and an older sister, but they're from my mom's first marriage, and there's a nine year age difference between my sister, who I'm the closest with. So I grew up feeling like an only child. Also, so I get I understand that, can we? So I I just in doing research on you, there was so much about you that I didn't know. So then you bringing up like, oh, I'm in South Africa right now, It's like, okay, yeah, let's go there first, Like this
is really interesting. So this show is I don't know if you've ever listened to it or checked it out.
It's I Do Part two.
And to me, the concept of this show is people that have lived these full lives and have experienced things and then kind of go in after the first time where things have gone a bit sideways, and they and they start sharing these lessons that they've learned and sharing who they are and how they've grown. But then we all were sort of a community, so we grow together. Okay, only child, raised, born and raised in Texas. How how many pets did you have?
When you were a kid. One well, just one.
There was a moment where I had a bird as well. Somebody gave me a bird, but then the bird died. And my parents had a poodle like a miniature poodle when I was born, and they would never allow me to have more animals.
Did you want more animals?
Though?
Yeah? I would cry and be like, when I grow up tons of animals around me, I'm gonna have like a farm of animals, was always my threat to them.
Cut two rhinos and all that.
Well, when I lived in La and I started my charity, I had seven dogs at any given time. I always had seven dogs in my house.
Like rescues like fostering, you know.
They became mine, so I did. I would foster and sometimes animals. It kind of it was weird because it started out that we would foster these animals and or we would find an animal and then somebody a friend would come over and be like, oh that's a cool dog, and we're like do you want them? You know, And that's kind of how it started. That's how the rescuing kind of started. It's like, oh, you like this dog,
do you want a dog? And they would take them and and it just kind of naturally developed from there and then you know, they're just became. You just kind of knew when it was your core animal or a rescue that was going to move on to another home, you know, but it was always So I have one dog sitting next to me right now, in the chair next to me.
So what's really funny is my fiance she before me, she owned a house off of beech Wood, just under.
The Hollywood sign, and it was her and her.
Two dogs that she had rescued, and she lived this very simple life, but she would like foster dogs all the time and like that was a big part of everything for her. And then we ended up together. She now we had a baby together, but I already had four kids, so all of a sudden she had this
like massive family. And then when she decided she wanted to foster, it was like, you've got to we already had three dogs, Like this has to fit into our world, which is it's difficult because foster dogs sometimes have a lot of issues from you know, like previous traumas and
things that they've this one here. We have little dogs and one named Daisy, that is she's I love Daisy, but she is so complicated, like there's just so much going on in her head, and she is like constantly growling and sort of snapping and worried that somebody's gonna hurt her. So she's got that little dog syndrome. Plus she's getting old now, so her hearing is going, which
just makes it twice is worse. Like she's running around the house and she's panicking, thinking she wants to find you, and you call her name, but she doesn't even hear you, like she just keeps running in the opposite direction. But so we fostered dogs that were pregnant and had puppies, and we ended up having these puppies and we have a bunch of friends that have them now that adopted.
Them, and we love them.
But it is, it's it is a choice to gold the route of animal activism. I mean, can we jump into your I don't want to say personal life because it's not, but because this show is, I do part two, Like I want to get into relationships stuff a little bit because I think people need.
All the help they can get.
I know I did, like I you know, I just sort of I learned it was trial by fire for me. So you were you were not you were not married at the point when you moved to South Africa. That was you were married before then.
So I was married in early two thousands for a few so I was with a guy named Joe who is now my manager.
And yeah, I think I think the people that actually put this together they spoke to him all, which is fantastic.
I love that you guys have that.
Joe actually was on nine O two one zero for an episode because he's yeah, you're kidding, he was cut out. He got cut out because it was a controversial episode and they yeah, yeah, they were worried about it. But that was one of his first jobs.
He had said, that's hysterical.
So we were together for ten years. So we were. We were together for seven before we got married and then married for three and then then I dated way too much and then I moved to South Africa. I'm just kipping over. I moved to South Africa and then I met someone here and got married and just got divorced and it got finalized two days ago.
Congratulations is that?
Yes?
Yes, that is absolutely congratulations. And that's the end of my dating. I'm done, is it? Yeah? I don't see me dating ever again, not for a very long time or not on purpose. Yeah, No, I'm absolutely not getting married again. And I just I don't have I don't have any desire right now today, Like I don't.
Do you feel like your your pickers broken at all? Like what do you think? Because it's it's it's hard,
Like I get it. I have again, five kids, three different mothers, and I went through two relationships one we were married for almost ten years, very public divorce, and I remember at one point going thinking, God, I am like I'm the common denominator with everything that's gone wrong, Like so I have to accept some sort of responsibility because I didn't want to be single the rest of my life and I didn't want to carry into my next relationship what I had done, what I felt my
part was in the first two relationships that didn't work. Have you had any of that or are you just sort of like I just want to focus on what I'm doing now and I'll get to that later.
What do you mean you have any like working on myself?
Yeah? Like do you is there are do you have? Uh?
Do you feel like you're in a place where you want to work on yourself to better yourself for the next relationship, or do you feel like I just want to work on myself to be the best conservationist I can be right now, on the best human being on my own.
I had a lot of working on myself after my first relationship. After I did all that Deity, I did a lot of work on myself. So after I went a little wild and crazy, I did a lot of work and I definitely did a lot wrong in that relationship, and it took a lot of responsibility for that. Eventually that was one hundred percent on me.
This last it was, well, it's two people in a relationship, so I feel like there are but they each person triggers each other, and then it triggers the worst in people. And I'm sure you could have made a ton of mistakes and done things, but never one hundred percent you, I don't think, But go ahead.
Sorry, yeah, I mean.
I'm taking responsibility for it though, like he knows. We've talked about it, and I acknowledge that I did a lot wrong. I was for whatever reason, I just wasn't. I wasn't myself, to be honest, like, I just wasn't. That wasn't me. I wasn't myself that wasn't authentically who I am. And I think that's why now we are best friends and we could come back to working together and loving each other in a different way.
How could you possibly authentically be you? Though?
Like how there's nothing authentic about what it is we do professionally.
Like there is.
It's a very weird place to be and especially because you were young, I was like, it's not there is? Well, what who do you possibly meet or ask questions to get any sort of like good perspective on it. It's a very upside down, crazy world to be in. So I feel like you'd like I not to preach to you, but like people have to give themselves a little grace sometimes in growing and figuring something out. And the world that we're in that we live in professionally is not
a normal, healthy place to be in. You can make a lot of wrong turns if you allow yourself.
Yeah, no, absolutely, And I think I definitely had those moments where I just went off the rails, you know. And I have a lot of regrets from back then, and I've worked really hard to try to make amends to things that I did and said and the ways I acted and I'm not proud of that period of time at all.
I think.
I mean, like regrets are I regret what are to me are good if you recognize them as periods of growth, Like I don't. To me, any of the failures that I had in my life leading up to now, all of them created who I am now.
So I wouldn't change any of them.
But I definitely look back and I go, boy, that wasn't handled well.
I definitely could have been better in this situation. I could.
But I love them now, like I embrace all of them because they all have Look at you, look at you, look at the life that you're that you're living, and look at what you're doing. And the better the betterment that you that you are providing to the world. But it's all of those all of those crazy missteps, it's you know, it's you from American Pie.
It's like all of the stuff.
That you went through leading to who you are now, which is which is really amazing.
Well thank you for that, I mean, and that's very sweet. But I do have the regrets, and I would change things, and I think I would still be I would still be where I was supposed to be now, whether it would just I would have gotten here in a different path. I would have taken a different road, a different yellow brick road. I would have gone a different direction, but
it would still have led to the same place. I think I think it had to, you know, I feel like I was supposed to be here no matter what.
What was the biggest lesson you think that you learned through throughout?
Like if you could looking back on the twenty five year old Shannon, like, what would you what advice would you give her now.
Compared to the way you were living then.
I don't know, to be honest, as far as like the relationship side of it goes, you know, I think there was a part of me that always thought I was missing out on something, that the grass was always greener, that there was always something else out there I was supposed to be doing and it's just not the case. And I don't really know how to answer that, to be honest, I think I just I went through a
very dark period. I think like attracts like and when I started going through a bad time, I was attracting a lot of bad things. And likewise, if you're in a good place, you attract good things. And that's why it's so important to try to always be energetically in such a good place. So it's you know when people say, oh, one thing goes wrong, everything goes wrong, Well, yeah, because you're attracting other things and that low vibration.
That's exactly right, especially if you're putting that energy out, Like if you believe in manifesting at all, which I do, is like, if you're putting out nothing but negative energy, that's what you're going to attract, Like you attract exactly. That is what you to me, that's what you have control over. Like that is the control in your life. All the rest of it is bananas all the time, and it will be your entire your entire go at it.
The only thing that we have control over are these choices that we make in how we deal with them, who we are, how people experience us, and whether we see the silver lining and everything or we just sort of fade into the tough situations.
Yeah. Yeah, I think there's a lesson in everything. I do believe everything happens for a reason. It doesn't mean that I don't wish I could go back and change some of the things that I went through and that I've done. There are definitely pivotal moments that change things in my life and in my career that I would love to know had I gone a different way, what things would be like, you know, And one day I
probably will put it all in a book. Yeah, you know, I think there's a lot of things that I feel like more and more I can, I'm getting closer to being able to talk about them. It's tough because you know, we're in an industry. When you start talking about things, it does involve other people in the industry, And what are you allowed to say? What do you want to say? What are you who are you protecting?
Like?
And at some point you just want to let it all out and release that.
Sure.
Yeah, transparency is tough, for sure. It's really hard.
To know what to get into and not like I am. I'm in a place now where I definitely share more than I ever did. But at the same time, you're right, like, there's a part of me that is like, hmmm, is that going too far? Am I implicating somebody that's not ready to get into it?
On their side?
Like, you know, it's you do you do edit yourself and the things you talk about a little bit, which sucks. It's it's not a great feeling because then you're not getting everything out.
Yeah, I mean there's definitely things people asked me about that I have to lie. We've got to be like, oh, I don't.
Get everything out in a book, Like I can't.
Writing a book terrifies me because it's like, oh, man, do I really want to? Like because those words on page those are truly forever. Like I can change my mind in interviews and go in different directions, and people sort of see the evolution of me compared to like how many books am I going to write? You know, like I may I may write two, and at that point it's like you've only seen two iterations of me on paper. I'm much more of like I'll just choose to do interviews and talk about things.
See. But with the interviews sometimes I mean for me, I say the wrong thing and then I like stress about it till it comes out. I'm like, oh, maybe I shouldn't have said that, Oh why did I say that? Like, and there's nothing I can do. I've lost control at book. At least I can go back and I can edit it. I can have a lawyer look at it and like, Okay, get it to the boy where I'm like, I've sat with it for two years before I decide.
Interviews, though, you can take you can take your time when you're speaking to people, Like most most of the interviews that we do aren't live, so it's like, take your time. If you have to think about a question for five minutes, you think about it for five minutes.
You know.
If somebody needs to cut it out for time, then they do. If it's a print interview, it doesn't can matter anyway. They're just literally going from answer to answer to answer. But yeah, it's a very uh, it's a weird it's a weird kind of fish bowl thing that we I mean, especially now for you, Like all of the attention that you're getting with only fans is it's mind blowing, Like were you expecting at.
All to have the attention that you're that you're getting. Not No at all.
No, I have no idea, no idea.
So I'm engaged.
So I don't have any only fans subscriptions. I did, yeah, So like I can't even say, oh, well, so I've watched your content and so here's how it differs from other things that you would imagine. But from what I've read you're very specific of like, no, this is a piece of my life that people don't.
Normally normally get. Do you feel like that has.
Been therapeutic in some way because people get to see like an authentic part of you where you don't feel quite as worried about what you put out or do you feel like you're.
Much more.
Much more controlled and you're much more careful now of what it is you say.
And it's it's starting to allow me to drop my my walls a little bit, you know, whereas everything was always had to be so perfectly done and so perfectly manicured and so perfectly put together.
And the more I do this, the more I'm like, h it doesn't matter. I can do this with no makeup. I can do this without like wry as I go to bed, as I wake up in the morning, like I'm getting used to being able to share and not care as much. I still care, but it's allowing me to get more comfortable with myself in a weird way, like it's.
It's happening me.
It makes sense, Like, yeah, be authentic. Is it's crazy? It's counterintuitive. You would assume that people would not connect with you the same way if you're not perfect all the time when you're on camera and you're not saying all the right things. But the reality is people connect more with you when you are human and you are absolutely yourself in all moments, whether they're flawed or not. People really love authentic people because then they feel like, oh, Okay,
they're normal people just like I am. So it's sort of it levels the playing field a little bit. It seems like the more. When I got to a point where I was like, Okay, I'm a little more willing to share and just kind of be open and honest, people responded really well to it. I was like, oh man, this is addicting. It feels good to not worry so much. It makes life way simpler. Yeah, I've put so much stress on my life and I've made life so much more complicated than it ever had to be.
But it's the same way though with dating.
For me, it's when I got to the point where I was dating again, I was like, God, I'm going to stop putting on the mask of like what I assume people would love and all of that, and that whole honeymoon period. I'm going to not have any of that I'm just going to be me from the get go, and if you don't like me, I don't want to waste my time doing this and being in something new. I've got so much other going on, Like you know, you have rhinos to save.
I have kids to raise like I don't have.
We have way bigger lives than then, you know, dating or being in a relationship with somebody. I want to find somebody that matches the life that I'm already living, that I can then have as.
A teammate through it all. Yeah, you do you feel like you.
Do? You feel like you want that again eventually, or like you're fine without it right now and you're really set in who you are and what you're doing.
I'm absolutely fine without it. I don't feel like I need it. I feel more myself, more alive, more free. I don't feel like I'm missing anything. In fact, I feel just the opposite. And having this freedom now to I mean hanging out with my girlfriends, it's just for me. I mean, it's just as fulfilling as hanging out with a partner.
It's not more so because you're finding yourself and you're not putting any other pressure of like how how am I being perceived by the other person that I'm with right now? And yeah, it's it's a it's a completely different situation. And I think it's important for people to to like really cherish that time when they are single and alone, to really find themselves and.
Find again who you love being.
So then when you go into the next relationship, which for me was totally unplanned. I wasn't dating, I wasn't actively searching for somebody.
It just worked out that way.
I ended up meeting someone that I had so much in common with. Naturally it was like, oh, I can let's hang out, Like let's see you know why, Like we should just absolutely be friends, and then it went from friends to just we we have an amazing relationship.
But it's I think it's important to do that. I think people that don't spend time with themselves and with their friends, they really miss out on that finding of who they truly are with their friends and by themselves and waking up in the morning and doing your own things. I think I think they're they're they're short changing themselves, and then they go into a new relationship putting too much on this other partner. You depend on the other person too much compared to like you figured out how
to do it yourself. I don't really need you to do any of this stuff, but let's just do it together. It's let's just share all of these things.
Yeah, I mean, I I don't see me going into another relationship ever, so I'm not you know, I'm I've got my charity, my charity work then I'm doing. I've got my friends, I've got acting, I've got not only fans and all like connecting with all of my fans that way. My life is full. I don't even have time or room for a partner. I don't want one. I'm so happy the way things are right now. I've got my my cousin who's like a sister to me, and we're looking to do things together like They's just
I don't have time for a partner. It means I would neglect doing the things that I'm loving doing right now. So yeah, I'm good.
You're also just two days out of divorce, so I'm sure.
I'm sure there's.
A part of you too, And that's like, like I'm.
Free of this, thank goodness.
Yeah, it's a whole different feeling shitting in your home, but it's amazing. I mean that is a that's I envy that for sure, and I think that's a great place to be in.
You can't end me that because you're engaged.
Well, but never say never say never to a relationship, but I do.
I do envy that feeling. Luckily.
Yeah, No, I am engaged, and it's we're in a place now where we are we're able to really sort of find ourselves still, but we're just partners in doing it, so I don't I'm not alone now in this search for life and the things I want to do and the things I want to accomplish and and lives I want to change in a positive way. She's very much aligned with me that way. So we're just really realizing now that it's like, oh power and numbers, we can do so much more together than we could do separated.
Well, that's amazing you found that, congratulations because that's not easy to find. And I'm sure you're easy together in past lives if you're like disconnected now, so you've been together lifetime after life.
Yeah, I for sure for sure feel that way. It's funny you we were talking about before that all of a sudden there when when my marriage ended. I and I wasn't really dating, but I was just sort of living life and I was raising my kids and all that. Australian women started coming in my life in random ways, and I was like, I've never once been friends with an Australian. Like, I've never dated an Australian woman. This
doesn't make any sense to me. And then at the point when my business manager was like, oh, I've got a client that I think you should meet. You guys just remind me a lot of each other when I'm with either one of you.
And I met her and she was Australian, I was like, what.
The fuck is Like, why what is it about Australia about Okay, this is like I'm gonna trust the universe wants this for me. Now, this is a new space I'm supposed to be in. Yeah, like all all you know, hands down, cool, let's go, let's do this.
Yeah.
And it's been such an amazing relationship because it's opened my eyes to a different way of viewing the world and a different way of really honoring people that are around me. We have just an unbelievable relationship. I Sharna is her name, and I love her more than I've ever loved anybody in that life.
Aside from my kids. Yeah, Dancing with the Stars.
Oh yeah, I know who that is. That's amazing. Oh I don't remember if she was on when I was on.
Oh way, you did the show?
Yeah, season six, so it was a long time ago, so I don't think she was on yet, but I know of her because of the show. Yeah.
Yeah, So we have been We've been together for almost five years now. It's unbelievable. We met during COVID. We had a business manager in common who suggested we meet each other. And this person is not like, she is not somebody that normally sets people up, like that's not her mo, you wouldn't meet her and go ooh matchmaker this one. You know, she's like great at her job and what she does with money in it, so she's very We very much were like, oh, she's great with that.
So when she suggested it, it was like, oh, that's interesting, Okay, sure. So we ended up meeting for coffee and we had this amazing six hour conversation. But we talked about our strengths, our weaknesses, all of it. Like it was very unfiltered because she'd been single for five years.
At that point, I had come out of my marriage. I was like, I never.
Again want to make the same mistakes. So I had been heavy into therapy and sort of working on myself and very much connected with un the common denominator in things that have gone wrong. I want to fix that, if not for a relationship, just for myself. So we were very aligned morally and we had this amazing conversation.
We never had a honeymoon period where we started seeing each other in the ways of like, oh my god, you don't handle stress very well, or you like, you know, you can only maintain the facade for so long before you get into real life, and it's like, oh man, this is it's it's it's impossible to sustain this, this fantasy that I've painted for someone else.
So we never had that. So we had this amazing relationship.
But you have to be in the place where you honestly just don't give a ship at that like I didn't care whether in meeting her there was a love connection or not. It wasn't like a blind date for me. It was I didn't have my fingers crossed and I was hoping that something would come out of it. I was just like, oh, this is yeah, let's sit down and have coffee and meet and hang out. And then we left that situation. I was like, oh, that was
really amazing. I've never I've never dated someone where it was a six hour conversation over literally nothing sexual, Like that was the last thing on my mind. I just wanted to sit down and do it again. I was like, this is a great connection. This is a really cool thing to have. We had like four more of those before we were even like even kissed or like. It
was just it was a really cool, cool connection. And I'm okay, I'm not going to put pressure on you, but I think if you continue on the path that you're on, that'll be the next thing for you, because it seems like you're you're on that path now.
Yeah, I sure.
Again, I say, am I'm not looking for it. I'm not going to look for it. I feel very full without it. If it's meant to be, then we'll see. But at this point in time, no interest.
That's the place to be. Okay.
So Shannon, I could uh just talk your ear off and I have this conversation all day, but I think what we should do is we sh to make a Part two out of this, so people come back and they they listen to more of this because we have so much more to get into it.