The Story Continues

All right, hey, then everybody, welcome to Amy and TJ.

TJ.

Hol Heer, Amy Rebrox sitting next to me as we give you episode two of our new podcast. Were very excited if you listen to episode one, and many of you did, and we thank you for that. But you'll notice at the top of that Robes started by saying she was nervous. So episode two, how you feeling still nervous?

I think it's very much mixed with excitement and gratitude as well. But I still have those butterflies, and I think it's just one of those things when you put yourself out there. When we were broadcaster as journalists, you're reading whatepy, you are okay, right, But when we were on the air and we had a microphone on us, we were talking about other people and we want to get to that place. So when you're putting yourself out there,

You know, you kept using the word terrifying. We talk about what's at stake, and what it's sake is a I mean, these are twenty five generally twenty five year careers, broadcasting careers, and it was it's terrifying to think like everything is on the line. If we don't nail, they don't get it right, we make a misstep. I think finally we can exhale a little bit that we've got that one under our belt. And we had expectations of it, right, We had expectations of maybe how we were going to feel,

We are so grateful. And we did not read the comments, I think to preserve our own sanity, and we had some of them given to us by our producers, and we were told ninety five percent were good. You got five percent that weren't. And that's, you know, I think a pretty good ratio. I thought it might be a little bit.

Oh my god, gat rotten tomato score right. He will kill for that.

Yes, So we were very much just my fears were calmed. I felt better about being able to tell the story the way it actually happened versus how it was written for us, and so we were just really grateful. So thank you every one of you all who left comments, good and bad, because that's part of what this is is hearing you and your thoughts and what you think and what you'd like to hear more of or less of.

I don't mean that from appreciate all feedback. Okay, you speak for yourself. I'm feedback. I don't want I don't want to hear it. Now I get what you're saying. You are right, and we do appreciate it. But there is a respect you don't have to agree with or you don't have to agree with what we say, but you also don't have to believe it. Yep, you actually don't have to believe us to still be able to respectfully have a conversation with us. And that is where we are so and going into it, we had no

And I just got chills. Do you remember? Do you know how many times I would get chills when we were on this at together. I was like, I just got chills. I genuinely just did, because after this year, I am so grateful to be able to get chills about something positive, and I think that's just where we are. We are appreciative of positivity, and we hear those of

That was And I feel almost that I need to apologize to people who are apologizing to me, because in the previous episode we did talk about that and that people don't know what to say to you when you're going through that, and some I think we've probably been the position with friends and people we know before where you don't know what to say, so you don't want to reach out because you feel like you're bothering or they are there in the middle of some right now,

I didn't know. I didn't really didn't know what you were.

Going through, and so we didn't want. We don't want to make anybody feel bad. That wasn't the point, but it's the truth of the matter. But don't feel bad about doing that and if there's anything we want to I absolutely say to folks and a ton of colleagues, former colleagues who reached out and some of them for the first time in all this. We want to say

And reach out, you're never bothering someone. I think someone even said I didn't want to add to the noise. Oh please, I'd like to drown out some of the bad noise with some good noise. So just one line, that's all it takes. And one of my favorite things to do, having walked this a couple of times with bad things happening and people not knowing what to say, whether it's cancer or being let go from your job in a very public way. It's just one line, and

And look, I didn't plan all. You and I talked about where we're gonna do in this episode. But this is something that there are some people in our lives that in Isaiah Thomas Right is a guy I've known for many, many years, and I always remember I was coming from your place in West Village and he called me and I didn't. I didn't answer the call, but I messaged him a short time later, and he's he hit me back on text and said that's not good enough.

I need to hear your voice.

He wouldn't let me avoid him and all seriously, And there are some that are built like that and people we are closer to who did that. But that's a very good example, and he's one of the folks. He does not We haven't been that closed. We don't stay in touch every month, every couple of months, but.

Over the years of knowing it.

But he is one who would not let it go. He would not let me sit and not respond and that was that means ever to me, and I know you had folks like that as well.

It just it means everything.

Well. Speaking of someone, we mentioned her in the last podcast, Sarah Haynes, and we joked, we hope she doesn't get fired.

Yeah, they we just found out she's they're not renewing her. I'm sorry, Okay, keep listening.

We just wanted to make it clear Sarah Hanes did not get fired from the view and she actually we're going to lunch on Wednesday, so it's it's all good. And it is funny how people pick up those things and make something out of it. But those are the people who just wouldn't take no for an answer and we appreciate it and we continue to appreciate any goodwill.

And who's another one we mentioned it last and he's absolutely great.

Byron Byron Allen out out in LA and a lot of people know that name.

Look, he is an absolute medium ogul and he and I have.

Known each other for years.

But just in passing, and he was one starting a year ago in December. He might be the person I talk to most. He wouldn't let up I certainly every week, but every couple days we'd hear from Byron, how are you doing, what's going on? What do you need? Getting on the phone with him, constant conversations, and so we finally were able to as we now tell you all about what we've been doing the past week, past week

La on that infamous day, November thirty at the day where a certain paper put out a certain set of pictures that set this whole thing into motion. So it was pretty cool, exactly one year later to reclaim that day. So really, yeah, we flew out to La proudly, didn't have to duck paparazzi, walked right off that plane, holding hands. It was amazing. It's funny how the smallest things suddenly feel so great, and that was one of them.

Okay, well, here's the funny thing about that. We have been avoiding Lax for the past year. We have righty because every time we fly in there, I can't remember his name. I'd love to give him credit to my man from TMZ. He's the nicest guy with long hair. He's always right in our face. All right, we haven't flown to Lax for a year.

This time we're.

Proud stepping off the plane, take our picture. Didn't see his asst all. We were like, well that was elect Like what are we going to say? What are we going to Nope, not even an opportunity. They were not there.

But still we were ready and we were smiling, just in case he wanted to know.

We were out there for the jingle Ball for the Ihar Jingle Bawl in La, and we had an iHeart party to go to the day after that. But the first night we got to sit down, why do we have a four or five hour dinner with wait Byron?

I think we thought we just might be able to catch them for an hour Byron and his wife Jennifer, and we thought this is going to be amazing. I finally got to meet him and his incredible wife. We walked away saying the nicest things about her. She was phenomenal. But it did. It turned into a four hour dinner. I think we were the last people at the restaurant.

But Byron is one love you brother. But he's here, he's hearing and to us talk about the story and how we come out of it and where you need to go now, and he's telling us, well, this is what you should have done, this is what I would have done. You shouldn't let anybody, and he's given us this whole scenario. I'm like, bro, I'm I'm not a billionaire mogul. I can't go in and talk like that. So but he is one that we absolutely want to give so much credit to and for how he supported us.

No, it was the first time we ever stepped out officially as a couple in front of cameras that we actually knew were going to be there. I did mine and did mine and smiled and we had fun and we were just being us. Apparently that's handsy and a lot of PDA. But you know what, we're in love. We're happy. I don't know how else.

To act when you say handsy and a lot of PDA.

Well that's what they wrote. I don't think it was that bad. We just held hands and laughed. Okay, maybe I did give you a pack on the cheek.

Okay, that wasn't that. That's not that much PDA.

Apparently that's PDA.

Okay, this is my bad. This is I have a bad bad.

Now you're gonna go there.

Okay, if you like that, go ahead, but never mind. No, you did not didn't like the way you looked at me. You saw that, right, Andrew? Okay, yeah, she didn't. She didn't look at me, right, Sidney, do.

You say that? Right? Would how would you vote? All right? Give given her reaction and you would say no though?

Okay, well you shaking his head.

Yes, we got two of our star Okay, we got two of our star producers in the room who are helping us with Look, I'm still I'm stalling because I'm not sure.

Green light, green light.

Okay. Look, it's a bad habit.

I suppose it could be sweet, but it could be sexualized.

Or viewed as such. But I have a bad habit.

Of when I put my arm around you, my hand ends up lower than the.

Waist, and it's crazy way to put it and it's not.

It's just that, it's just it's a bad habit and I'm trying to break the habit.

You kept trying to break the habit while we were on the carver. Oh I did it again. Oh I did it again. You had to stop yourself five times. But it was I think it's cute. It's I know, it's sweet. It's not what they say.

It is okay, but I don't even know where it was.

It was a fun night. We had a FUSI. Yes, we got to really actually step out officially as a couple and actually smile at cameras and welcome the attention and welcome the focus on the podcast. It just felt good to be able to be free of hiding and running and just avoiding.

And then the day after that, so we're building up now to Saturday. We get to spend a lot of time with a lot of the iHeart folks. Had a nice party out there, and really be grateful everybody out there and the folks we met and gave some encouraging worries, folks who were clearly know the podcast world better than we do, who were giving us tips on how to handle it and what's going to be coming, and.

We were getting tips and this is great Tamra Judge housewives. These are folks who spend their lives in front of the camera actually and then also have had incredible successive podcasts. So we were taking notes. You know, we were like, what is this thing called unwanted publicity? And how do we navigate this in a podcasting world where we are actually putting our lives out there, our hearts out there in a way we haven't before.

That is it's so funny to think we were talking, you know, a real housewife over there. We could use some career advice, and that was.

A legitimate conversation that was happening. We were taking notes.

We leave La, we come back here on Sunday, and then Monday is the day before the launch. Monday was a crazy day. We got prepared and hunkered down like there was a storm coming. We did, yeah, like that was about to be the apocalypse.

You made some healthy salads, I mean healthy salads.

We got battles of waters, some sardines, We got a bunch of prosecco.

We hunkered down, we really did.

And then we don't usually stay up that late. I mean by nine pm. Oftentimes we are asleep on a lot of it is because we're early risers. You're a little bit earlier than me. But when you get up that early nine o'clock is your bedtime. So to stay up until midnight, we needed a strategy, and we decided to land on watching episodes of Wipeout.

Yes, Okay, when you say it out loud, it sounds.

Ridiculous, but it's I think it's become one of our absolute favorite shows because you know what, you need.

An escape, right.

Some people have reality shows and escapism, but we had something we just knew was going to make us laugh.

It's just people falling in the water and getting banged by the big balls and whatever.

You see the show, right, because he knows it was like it was so sure enough we have become now and I'm worried about this. It was like watching election returns and all we were doing was refreshing the apple.

Right, the jury, where are we yes? And you start to get obsessed with it. So if you can take your mind off of it with people and then caris Hell, et cetera, you know, it got us to midnight. I'll put it like that.

So sure enough, twelve, twelve oh one, twelve oh two, twelve o three. It wasn't up yet, right, so it takes a minute. I don't know, it takes a minute to get it loaded or whatever it is. But we kept refreshing and refreshing.

It wasn't there was a video of us. We would have lookedlious, I don't have it yet. Do you have it yet? It's not loading, it's not loading.

So finally it shows up. We go, Holy hell. And even though we knew exactly what we said, and we had listened to it several times, we asked, we put the thing on the on our soundbar and blasted the entire episode in the house that night and listened to the forty five minutes of it.

Yes, we did, and we listened to it alongside Amy Sugarman, who was in La so it was a little bit earlier for her. But we were getting, you know, texting back and forth throughout the entire episode.

People know who Amy Sugarman is. We just said it, but people know who she is. I don't know they should Sugar Sugar is.

I think she can? We can we call her boss lady. What do y'all call her? Boss?

Lady words. Okay, she's she is the head of all. She is the creative mind and the person who's been so great to us at iHeart and wanting to help us get a podcast off the ground in large, so she has been great and so she was up with us until this thing.

With me until about two am. Yeah, that's when I finally could take no more and fell asleep. And it's funny because we went back and looked at the text and TJ and Sugar were going on until I don't even know three something and I was out. You don't see one more text for me until seven am the next day. But I looked at all the things I missed when I woke up. It was it was encourage.

You missed a lot, You missed a phone call. I had a full conversation. My oldest daughter calls me in the middle at three fourteen. Is when it was because she listened to it and deddeh, good job. And she was almost apologetic as well, like I'm sorry, didn't know you were going through because that stuff I had not shared. So I got that phone call. You still sleep and

So by the time we get to Wednesday, we really felt like we could sigh some relief and be excited and celebrate, and so it was pretty cool. One of my best friends, Nikki Spina, sent over a bottle of I never know how to say it, vuvkliko vev cliko, I don't know what it is, but that really fancy champagne, and we thought, let's do it. So we decided to really take this day to celebrate, and that we did, and we went out to lunch Trinity Place, right.

My friends, you're sending friends and give my friends sent me some booms farm.

Is anybody outside the South?

I'm going to get that, oh my strawberry wine. Yes, when you're eighteen.

Fifteen.

Was going to say fifteen, but then I thought I might get some shade for that. Did you see I almost said fifteen? It's more like fifteen. Yes, okay. So we had the fancy stuff and it started the day off right, and we continued the celebrations, and it just so happened we did party that day. My parents come in on the most on the craziest weeks, I feel they are there. And so it worked out. They weren't coming to celebrate our podcast. They were coming to celebrate

Boy, do we.

Make clear the last time they came here or last year, they just happened to be coming right, and that they were in the plane the exact day or the exact moment, yes, the that our private romance was revealed, yes, And so now they're on the way on this big day. So they're supposed to be coming back later this month, and we were like, oh, what's gonna happen.

They're coming back in two weeks everybody, buckle up. I don't know what's gonna happen. I'm terrified something is.

It's always.

But Wednesday we had the great dinner with them. It was Celibra, just so night. And I've known your parents for a long time.

So it's always.

I love hanging out with them. By the way, they're just as well. Go to the dinner that night, had a good one.

And you know, you know my dad well enough to know his tricks. He has this thing, so it's always who's going to pay the bill at the end of the night. And we had we ordered a lot of food, a lot of wine, a lot of booze I don't know. And I got him and he got him, got him.

I got to pay the sick and it.

Was fun because this was our first So we formed a corporation and we decided to name our company Banana Bean.

Uh.

My youngest daughter's name is Anna, I might call her Anna banana, Annalise banana. And TJ's Daughter's name is to Bean. He calls her bean. And you came up with the idea, I think to call our company banana Bean. And it's great. So we got to pull out the is it an actual official expense. We felt like it was a business dinner.

Okay, we are saying, we need to say that for irs purposes right now. It was a business had a business dinner with your parents that night, of course.

I mean it was absolutely tied to the podcast, so we were able to I don't even know if my dad knows we were expensing that dinner. But Dad, don't worry about it. We're expensing it. It was on the business card. So that was fun. It was, it was fun. My dad was, I mean, he was he was mad.

He likes to pay the bill.

Well he was, he liked. He wasn't mad. He was just like he got me.

Okay, tell him he can venmo me if he wants to the balance.

But no, I don't want him mad. But then the next day we got to.

Lunch with him, a lunch that was supposed to be twelve thirty to what.

We had, yeah, like maybe an hour. My mom and I had plans to go shopping and soho. That never happened.

So we ended up having this long, April sprits filled lunch.

I think again we were the last people because it was like in between servings and so looking between lunch and dinner.

It was that uncomfortable time where the whole wait staff is looking at you saying, when are they leaving?

Right, we would like to prepare for the next shift. Yes, so, but we were still there.

Yeah, but that was funny. That day we were leaving, I went to the waiter. I said, hey, man, we need to square up. He said, no, the gentleman already.

Took care of it, so he got your back.

It's okay, So our next meal is gonna be fine.

It's a ruined competition that I hope never stops. It's fun.

But then so that takes us now to Friday, the next day, which is jingle Ball New York, huge, huge event. And we were so excited about this because Sabine was so excited. I've been talking to my daughter, a ten year old Sabine, the little one, about this for weeks and we have been.

Planning her outfit.

She got to pick everything out, She got new shoes, she got some new designer.

What was it called a triple T.

I think I wish I could give the designer credit right now. But the church she was wearing had Elvis and Memphis on it, and we were so excited about the jingle ball.

She had her motorcycle boots.

Oh yes, we were very excited about that.

Did her hair with the braids on the.

Side, mohawk all thereby home.

It continues, But that was another great, great night to be able to go there, and you had to only be there for a short time, or we're only able to because you had mommy duty and you had to go see another show.

I had to go see Medisol for the second time. There was a change in the cast and so she wanted to have me see her play roles with different people. So it was great. But it's just one of those things that any mom knows what it's like. You know, you have a business. It was again, this is business, but it was fun. A business obligation that is fun. And also you've got you got mommy duty. So we figured it out and did both and had a rush

I was able to do both because my work event happened to be the fun event exactly. So we go out and you and I didn't see a lot of the concert in LA because we were shaking hands and doing that thing. But Sabine wanted to stay in the arena and watch everybody perform, So I had to go out there and fake like I knew the lyrics to some of those songs.

Actually, didn't you post something where I was laughing so hard? You were trying to pretend like you knew the words, but it was so obvious as you did it.

It's good for you, It's that's all I got.

Yeah. Meantimes, Tabe knows every word, every word, So.

That on Friday, that was another late night, and then Saturday we get together.

We have We just happened to have a wedding too.

We just happened to have a wedding. This is one of my oldest and dearest friends. And I don't mean to say she's old, it's just we go way back.

At NBC.

She's gonna love that. She is so young and beautiful. You wouldn't believe it, but no, she was. I was so excited for her getting married for the first time at fifty one. She found love and we were there to celebrate with her, and it was fun to see all my old colleagues from NBC. I was there for nine years so and it had been a long time since I had seen a lot of them. So it was an amazing way to end a very incredible week

Which part the dress you were wearing would tell you about, I'd say, I can't.

Even believe I'm on this thing now. About where my hand goes?

Oh right, because it had it had a lot of sequence, and it wasn't comfortable for you to have your hand it was.

This was a very difficult dress to do PDA in because we say sequence, and it was the larger one.

It was big sequence. Yeah, they like coin and they would flip up and down.

Yeah, yeah, it was so I mean we found a way to keep my hands to myself. You wear that dress often enough, it's like.

A training dress for you.

What does that mean?

Meaning after enough times if I wear it, you'll know not to put your hand there anymore.

Like you train a dog to do something.

Husbands need to be trained and so so to boyfriends. I guess, I mean, I think most women would agree.

But the wedding that night, I well, I we bring it up now because we have a I got a note this morning as we were preparing for this podcast, note from our producer Hanna, who we love, that was giving us suggestions about what to put in things we could talk about. And one of the notes she had said, you want to talk about the wedding you all went to and that you all were reportedly dirty dancing. So that's the note she sends. You were still asleep at the time. That's the time I came.

That's a trend. I'm sleeping and wait working.

But that is when I came.

Into the room and said, hey, baby, you're a waking. I did not know I've said this in the previous podcast. You absolutely know this. I do not read headlines. I do not google my name. I stay away from it. And so I had to ask, what is she talking about?

And I said, oh, I did see that yesterday. There was Yeah. I mean, sometimes ignorance is bliss, and that is part of your reasoning behind not reading all the headlines. But I got a kick out of it because I read it, and I thought, wait, it didn't just say that we were dirty dancing. It said that it was a very in front of it. It was like an extra emphasis on the dirty dancing. And I found it to be hilarious and probably not even worth me bringing it up to you, because you and I know, and

It's hilarious, the idea that we were dirt Okay, stay with me here.

We were dirty dancing.

At a wedding reception where the band and the genre of music.

Was yacht rock.

In fact, everyone on the dance floor at the end of the night had Sai caps on that they hand it out to everyone who was there to celebrate because it was a yacht rock party. And so there are some songs that I could tell you every word too, that you've never even heard before. Like there was one in particular, and it's one of my favorite songs by Christopher Cross Sailing. Everyone was like sailing and we run on the dance floor and he's like, how do you

In my see no, but it was It's just funnier.

Hannah's note is funnier because the theme of our night really was as soon as I hear a song by a black artist, baby, we're gonna be in there.

And I was waiting for a song I knew, or.

How okay, can you everybody right now close your eyes hear that song in your head and imagine me and Robot dirty dancing to it.

What do you even do?

It's hilarious. So I got a kick out of it.

It's a kick.

It's funnier because I literally did not dance a single song that night.

You did not because it was yacht rock, and I didn't know how. I didn't even try because sometimes I would be like, come on, come on, come on, dance with me. I knew it was a moot point. It's like, he's not getting on this dance floor. So it's very funny, okay to see someone say something that not only isn't true, but couldn't have been further from the truth.

And for your information, there were two songs by black artists that we heard them cover. One was sitting on the dock of the Bay is Reading and the other was a Gladys Knight in the pipsul Night Night Train. That was the only two that we heard.

And that was actually when we were having dinner and no one was on the dance floor, So you even missed that opportunity.

Well, look, we are laughing, we are cracking up. It's hilarious that that was a funny hand line that we can make light of. But there were Look, there were other headlines this week with agendas, and we absolutely anticipated but that was going to happen. There's nothing we can do about those. But this place, this podcast, its platform, is not and will never be. We are committed to a place that this is not going to be about gossip. This is not going to be a place where we

Upworth We certainly are, and you know what. We also are tired, even with all the sleep apparently I got while you weren't sleeping. We're tired. And I say this because it was a pretty funny moment. We get done with the wedding, so Bean's at home home. She's actually being Nikki, the aforementioned Nikki who got us the fancy Champagne, was watching Sabine and she was excited because we told her, Hey, as soon as we come home from that wedding, we are going to watch a horror movie with you, and

Again, we didn't get done with this wedding UNTI almost eleven o'clock. Yeah, and she was committed. Nope, nope, I'm gonna stay up and we're gonna watch a movie when y'all get back.

And she wanted to watch The Blackenning.

So we partied. After the week that was this is finally the last event. We can stop. We can shut it down, We can go and go to sleep. So me, it was like, uh uh, when y'all get home, she was texting. She was texting Bud, when y'all get home, the Black Inning, we gotta watch it. So sure enough, we get in and we set it up. You make the popcorn, you hand it out to everybody in the

They took a picture of it. It's a pretty funny photo. We can we can give it to the producers. Yep, it is documented. We didn't last I don't know. I think I lasted thirty minutes maybe into the.

Movie, but if you haven't seen it, but.

It was the third time we had seen it. We would never fall asleep during that movie normally, yes.

But that's the week that was. It was a wonderful one.

There were I guess you could say highs and lows, but there were so many highs that it almost seems like we are doing a disservice by spending a.

Moment on the lows.

So thank you all, we are grateful and we are off and running, and we've gone back a little bit too, and kind of the lead up to the podcast launch and all the events and good time and what parties and whatnot and things.

We had to celebrate. But it is Wild Robes that it started out.

Like as heavy as it could, but it helped us with perspective over the past week and a half because you lost someone near and dear to you. We found out about it just days before launch.

Yes, and I'm going to try to do this without crying, but I don't think that's gonna work, so I apologize ahead of time. But this is somebody who has been so special to me over the past eight years. And I met this beautiful soul, Olivia Hutcherson, right after I finished my breast cancer treatment. She had just finished hers and we were both declared cancer free in remission, and I did a story with her. She was so young

I remember if for folks, I only got to be around her, I think twice, but certainly once we had her on the show even once. But this was a young woman. If she walked into the room and on two front here looking at her, you would never you wouldn't even know she was dealing or fighting a battle with cancer, and two talking to her, you would never know she was struggling the way she was because her energy,

No, no, no.

They literally talk to you in such a way that they are encouraging you and your life and concerned about you.

I was always amazed by that.

With Olivia to that point, going through all of this and she's fighting for her life and she's checking in on me. I have a couple things I just want to share with you because I want you to know the love that Olivia gave not just to me, but to everyone around her. And it's just inspirational to the point where I think we all, I know, we all can learn something from Olivia and continue to live differently because of how she lived her life. Just a few months ago, she wrote to me and said, I had

I know I must sound crazy, but I just want to tell you how proud I am of you for being such a life force and choosing love so side noted, dear friend of mine transitions last week to heaven and I couldn't help but think of you.

Sadly, death teaches us how to live, she says to me. This is her quote. I am sorry I haven't checked in on you more, but please know I think of you often. I pray for your peace always hope you are well, my sister. That is remarkable to me that in what she was dealing.

With, literally fighting to live, and she's she's.

Worried about me, and that is just that takes a very special person in that situation. And I also just I really want to share with you. I know people who are familiar with Instagram, they know that when you have a post, you want people to check back in on or read you pin it. I don't I'm not that savvy with tech, but I do know that much. And so I was looking back because she was a

So let's love now, forgive more, and yes, pray for those who have come against us and our families.

The poison only makes us bitter. Life is short today is what matters most.