Cassie Kelley

all the best places to go, everywhere to eat. She is just fabulous. She's married to Charles Kelly of Lady to Bellam. They met over ten years ago and there's pretty much love at first sight with them. We talked about their love story. We talked about being on the road, how road life has changed ever since they had Warred, their child, who's so precious. We talked about their journey

to having a kid. It wasn't just perfectly easy for them, but he's an amazing miracle in their life, and we talked all about that, how motherhood has changed everything in the best way. We talked about her brand woman Issa that she started as a blog on the road as a as a road warrior wife and it turned into a huge company that she's sold. She's an incredible business woman. She's just so good at everything she does. She's a

great friend, she's such a supporter of women. She has truly the sweetest, biggest heart of anyone you will ever meet. And her story is amazing. So here's Cassie. Hello, Hello, Cassie Kelly, Caroline Hobby in your house in the Kelly House, which is so beautiful. We were just talking about how you love to decorate and design and your house is unbelievable because it makes you feel so peaceful and calm.

But then you have all these pops of like awesome color, And how did you get your vision for how you want to dick at your house? And what's your style? Well, this house, it's interesting because we did not intend on moving into this house. Okay, what happened to tell So we were living in our house which I we renovated and completely redecorated as a fashion of yours. I love it um and that was our in my mind, our forever house. But you know the saying, like you know,

want to make god laugh, make a plan. Um, And then we bought this house to flip because again I just like, when did you start flipping? Well, it wasn't this. This actually was the first project that we did intentionally. Um, Like, every other house that we've owned has not been on the market and just sold, okay, So which is a weird thing to say, but this was the first one that we like intentionally bought to renovate and flip, and we moved into it, renovated it and made it so awesome.

So we didn't live it. Well. We ended up getting an offer on our house that I thought was our forever house just randomly, someone just drove by and saw it. This was a little more you know, in in it than that, but basically, um, and it was you know,

an offer that we couldn't really refuse. And so my husband and I still didn't really want to move at the time, but my husband was like, I mean, we have this other house that we're we can move into, and so we ended up moving into this house, and um, it just it's been I mean, I love it so

all of that. To answer your question, the design of it, I mean I picked everything, like I you know, I loved everything that I picked, But I didn't do the design in this house with the intention of me living here. So did that make you do it differently than you would have if you thought you would have lived here? Um? You know, I don't know. There's a couple of things that, um, you know, in furnishings and stuff was all ours. But um,

as far as you know design picks, I don't. I mean, we didn't do custom cabinetry in there in here, in the kitchen, and I don't know. Maybe I would have done that, but I love it, Like you know, the only difference is um, which this is so nerd deal are probably not interested. But um, you know, the island height when you do custom cabinetry. In our old house, we did them taller because Charles is so tall. So like our island heights six six oh my god, maybe

six seven, I don't know. So in like the bathroom counter height is was taller, um, and we didn't do that in this house. Um. So it's just shorter. But little things like that that you live with and then they don't really matter. Oh my gosh, And are you still doing an a frame house right now? So because Michael's obsessed with a frame house. I am obsessed with a frame to move into one and live there. Well, this one, it was on Center Hill Lake. So this

is such a sad story. It's the one that got away. It's like an hour outside of Nashville, like a getaway. We were gonna probably renovate and flip that one too, or just accidentally right like it happens around here. Um. So, to make a very long story short about that one, UM, it was an elderly couple and they were selling this has been their getaway house for a long time, and

their kids were kind of handling the sale. And um, the mother, I think this was all relayed to me, so I don't know for sure, had some um dementia issues. And when the title company called to you know, we were closing to um get all the information, she kind of had a freak out. Ince at this house isn't for sale. I don't know what you're talking about. And so we just wasn't wasn't meant to be. And you've

got to trust those Oh my gosh. I told Charles, I said, you know, there's no more direct message than the owner saying this house isn't for sale. I don't need to buy this house, so we're not doing an a frame. Are you pretty good at following signs or messages? I feel like I try, you know, to pay attention,

but I don't know. I mean, I'm enough in touch with my spiritual self in my heart that you know, if there's a clear message like that, you know, I I try to, you know, pay attention, but I don't know. I also get caught up in life too. I know.

It's a balance. Yeah, I feel like before we started this, we're talking about surrendering and how important that is, and I always think I have surrendered and I'm like, they're in my spirituality, and then I'll just get hit with something else and I'm like, oh gosh, I'm really I haven't surrendered because I'm freaking out right now and desperately

under control of situations. Right, It's true. I mean, um, my grandmother one of my favorite sayings that she taught me was never get attached to anything that can be bought or sold, and that is, you know, something to completely remember in surrender. I mean, again, just our whole

house situation. You know, it's not like we didn't get to move into an amazing house also, but you know, the things that matter in life are nothing that you can you know, hold tangibly other than people, so I know, and even with people, you know, it's like this Christmas, I talked to you about it, like my dad almost died, and I know you've dealt with a lot of pain

in that way. And then it's like and then we also last year, Michael and I are dealing with baby stuff and trying to have a baby and miscarrie, and we went through all of that and that Sorry, it's hard, it's hard, really hard, and I love I just talked to an interview with Caroline Brian and she was talking about it and she had had a miscarriage and it's just like son. People have gone through infertility or struggling

with it. And that's another thing. How do you deal with those bigger moments in life when it's like you want something so badly it's not a object, but it's like a life, right, but it's not happening, or something you lose someone. How have you navigated those waters? Um? I think in the hardest times in my life, you know, Like we talked about surrender, the key message for me, which you asked if I pay attention to messages, maybe

I do. Um, the key message for me is just you know, trust we're walking through it, and you're gonna feel growth, You're gonna feel better on the other side. I mean every time that we've walked through something hard, whether it was our infertility struggle before we had Ward, or you know, anything in our marriage or careers. UM, I have always just trusted in the Lord and and you know my heart that us to stay the course.

And UM, you know, you never grow without change and hardship, so you know, sometimes God teaches us lessons through that kind of hardship. I'm trying to learn the lesson that things aren't good or bad, that they're all for growth, right, you know, because like in my younger days, I would be upset when things wouldn't go the way I wanted

them to go. And now I have learned through living through many things that have not gone as planned or really shook my world, that Okay, there is a big growth here, and I would have never gotten it without

this experience. I think a lot of times for me to you know, in my marriage, UM, Charles, he like really kind of focuses hard on things that aren't right and you know, can really kind of stew about things, and so I've had to be the one that's like roll with it a little more, um for better for worse. So you know, I don't know if I've just been like forced to have that mentality of nothing's like you said, nothing's good or bad. It's just for growth, it is. Um.

You know. We were talking a little bit earlier about trying to conceive Ward and we were married for probably said, well, we were married for seven years, um almost we had him, and I mean we probably started trying to have a baby four years into our marriage, so it was for three years. Yeah. I mean at the beginning it was more just like let's give it a world, right, right. Um. When didn't start getting serious for you, well, probably a year before he was conceived, we were like, okay, we

need to probably go to see a specialist doctor. So we went to Nashville Infertility or Nashville Fertility it's called it's not infertility, um right, and uh, you know, went through a lot of testing and started to um, you know, after all of tests and results and everything. Our doctor, dr Abby Evelyn is who who we saw, and she's amazing, but she said we had a one percent chance of conceiving a baby without IVF. Wow, so how do you

take that? New? So that was hard, That is very hard, um, but you know, so that was I guess in April of two thousand fifteen, and um, Charles had a big, busy summer tour coming up. Um what tour was it? It was the It was with Sam Hunt and Hunter Hayes. I can't remember the title of it. I'm the Worst and a lot of tours. Um, it was a great one. It was great. But so they were about to just get really busy touring and I had, um a bunch

of work stuff, um coming up. I had was just about to partner with a bit in Nashville to take womany stuff from my blog to a media site. So it was just it was a busy talk about woman. How you launched that? Well, okay, because you're like on the forefront of blogging. Well that it was fun, yes, Um, So it was just it was a really busy season for us, and so we thought, okay, we'll just take the summer off and then do IVF in the fall. And I ended up getting pregnant in May. Do you

think it's because you weren't stressing about it. I don't know. I mean people when they do I V or I B I v F I v F. You don't have to do IVF for anything, I know. So one of my Philippian tubes was blocked, and of course the ovary on the other side was the week ovary, so of course, naturally obviously um so he was a little he made it through the blocked Philippian tubes. He either went through the blocked one or he was a really weak egg.

He was a little one percent miracle baby. So truly, I mean I felt like, um, after going through that, the creation of life is not in our hands. Did that really rock your world? Like having that all happen here, Like trying for three years, hearing you have one per cent you're probably gonna have to do and v true and then miraculously getting pregnant, Like what does that do to your brain? And I guess your faith? It's yeah,

you know. The thing about going walking through that, um fertility struggle for us and having to have a ward is life was so good otherwise, so it was hard for me to try to, you know, feel sorry for myself. Not that you feel sorry for yourself if you're you know, it can be a sad season though, and it can be a very isolating season. It is, especially if all your friends are having kids and and of course you're so happy for him, but you're like, oh, when is

it going to be me? And I don't know, I mean a in I guess just my faith and you know, the Lord, by the grace of God just sort of walked me through that because I, um never felt like I was missing anything. How amazing is that? And I can't I don't like attribute that to my own thought whatever. I mean, that was just the way that I was carried through that season. You had faith that you were

on your right. I just knew we would be parents somehow. Um, you know, whether that ended up being doing IVF and getting pregnant that way or adoption. I just I knew that we would be parents somehow. And you know, gratefully we didn't have to work that hard. Um. And you know he was He's just a little miracle, perfect baby, and he came in the right time for himself, so and for us. Um. You know, we were married long

enough to really be able to do a lot together. Um. Through Charles's career that we maybe wouldn't have been able to do had we had a child at the time, and which Scott to be together, and that was such a gift in hindsight, that is such an incredible gift to get to just navigate the craziness of the music business life in your first couple of years of marriage, especial when you're so young and you're doing all of

it for the first time together. I have really learned to appreciate that with Michael, Like so we started dating when he was twenty one and I was twenty four, and like this whole journey, the good, the bad, all of it, we've been able to experience it together. And I just feel so thankful for that foundation and all of these first things that we've done because it's just so wild, right. And I remember when you and Charles started dating, he was I was twenty three and he

was twenty. It was in January two thousand seven, so I was I guess almost, and I was born in eighty three, so I was almost twenty four. I was twenty three, and then he was I know he was twenties five or twenty six, and you he was working with Victoria Shaw as like writing a polisher and up. And so when you all started dating, I remember thinking like, oh my gosh, this is so crazy and cool because I followed y'all's journey and I had I had never really been in the music business. I was so green.

I know, you were so young, so young, and just seeing y'all's evolution, I feel honestly like one of those weird grandparents or something. He's like, it's watching y'all because y'all have always been such an example to me of

a great couple. And I've always just thought y'all were so awesome and you're always been so beautiful, and just to see y'all grow and evolve and all the things that you've gone through his career, your career starting Womanisa, Yeah, how is all that just starting from meeting this person? They're just getting going and you're in a whirl one. I grew up in Nashville, so and my mom was in the music business. Um, she's a great stylist. She was a wardrobe stylist. Did you do Martina and everybody?

She's like. She was a single mom, you know, for a couple of years and basically just took every job that could put food on our table. So she's styled everyone, and she's got incredible style, which has obviously been passed on to you. Yeah, she's amazing. She has three boutiques in Nashville now, but they're called Hero. She has Haven, which is in frank the first one that she had, and then she opened Hero which is in twelfth South, And now she has Parish, which is in Parish. Is

your mom stop it. I don't even go in that store because I'm like, I cannot fall in love with anything in there, you know, higher price point, but it's amazing. It's so impeccably merchandized, and she's so talented. When I was in a band with Taylor Len, We're in a band called Steeling Angel, and Taylor would shop at Haven all the time, like she lived in there constantly. My mom loves Taylor so much. She is a nut job and I love her. She's the best, the best. Nobody

like her, right, no, one of the kind. Um, But you grew up here, So I grew up here in music, right and or just you know, via my parents. My mom, you think that you would date an artist. No, So when I met Charles and he was like yeah, you know, we're trying to do the music thing. Um we met.

I had. I moved to New York after college, and then I got a job back in Nashville, and I it wasn't really personally ready to move back to Nashville, but it was a great job opportunity, and I thought, well, I'll move back for a couple of years, saved some money, and then moved back up to New York. And I met Charles a month after I moved back here. You're like, well, I guess I'm not moving that I'm not moving? Was it kind of love at first? It was? It was

truly like magnetic instant. Like we were going to um a group dinner at what's the place above South Street, like the tree House. Is it called South Street? Well, I think it has a different name, but it's it's like the second story of South Street. Um, for those of you who don't know Nashville restaurants, it's one of the old O G O G s um last man

standing in that area that was been there. But anyway, we were at a group dinner and um he arrived late and he like walked in and our eyes just locked and it was like that magic, truly instant love at first sight. I had only been back here a month, and um, I was living with my parents, and uh, I told my mom the next morning, I said, I think I met the guy I'm in to. Mary, Are you kidding? Crazy? Years old? You just felt so different, it was so different. And then we just h was

an instant dating right away, instant dating. So we ended up staying up talking, like truly just talking until about five that morning, and so our first date and then I you know, stumbled on home and then our first Nate wasn't that night because we've been up till five in the morning, but it was the very next night, and that oh my gosh. Yeah. What's the secret to

marriage in the music music industry? Right? I'll going on ten years and we ten years in July, So ten years married in the music industry starting off as babies. How do you navigate this and do it well? Well? I don't know. If we do it well, I'll do

it well. Um. I read a do you know Beth Moore because she's like this amazing she's an author and she's she's a Christian author, and um, I read a quote that she said one time because She's very vocal about she and her husband have been married for forty years, and she's like, it's been of the time good. But she jokes about how her marriage has not been all

roses and neither has ours for sure. Um, but she said one time, she said, sometimes the secret to a long marriage is just waking up and say, I'll give it one more day. I love that. It's like just every morning, you say, even in the hard, hard times where you just want to be so much easier to not hang on, I'm just gonna give it one more day. I love that. So and then one more day turns into a week, turns into one day at a time, like anything, and then you're through it. You're through that

patch and into something else. That's one thing I've learned. I've been with Michael. Now we've been together ten years. We had a two year break. We did a tumultuous start, like our first four years. We were so young. He was Puma, you know, a little older. But we're still such a hottie, such a hottie mess. Hot mess is more like it insane. In my twenties, oh gosh, thank god, I'm through my twenties. But I have one thing I have realized is the good, the bad, all of it.

Like it's like if you stay and if you stick it out, and if you realize that things will not always be the mountaintop and not always be the valley, but if you just stay and love that person through everything, you get through it. And now looking back, I look at our ten years of everything and like the hard parts make me emotional in a good way. So I'm like, oh my god, like I even get tear you, and like we've made it through some really hard parts, you know,

and we got stronger because of it. And then you have this strength in your marriage that you could have never gotten if you hadn't just stayed with it. Well, and it's our history. I mean, it's it's our history. And now we have a child together that you know, we're going to be connected no matter what for the rest of our lives. So you might as well make it work with each other, I mean, rather than introduce

other people into it just to make it more complicated. Um. So you know, I think that that's that's the lesson. Like we've we haven't been perfect to each other. Um, We've just never given up. And that is you know, a gift that we get to have now in having an almost in your marriage and hopefully you know, for as many more years as we're on this planet marriage, what makes you I'll reconnect, Like if you all want to have a moment where you're getting back to you guys,

what do y'all like to do? We like to sit out just on the patio and listen to music and have a glass of wine and um, just talk. You know, we'll get We'll go through seasons. Um. You know again, we have a toddler, and it's can be stressful. We travel a lot um because the whole fan goes on the road. Yes, get haven't slept in one hundred years? In case you can't tell, that really does go away? The sleeping yes like audios, yes forever. When does it come back? Uh? Well, I think once your kids are

teenagers would have been told teenagers. When your kids are teenagers and sleeping, then like you are, you just started season to not sleep. That was that was such a struggle for us because we were both such sleepers before ward. I remember thinking like if I had to do something before ten thirty am, like that was early not happening. It's happening now, oh now ten thirties like lunch. I mean truly, it's just you just get used to it, or you don't get used to it, you just do it.

So what's road life like now? What was it before? Like in the early days? What was road life like with Lady A? And now what is it like with Lady A and all the families? Because every s a one of the members has baby. Yes I have three, which is just she got that double whammy, those twins. But I know, I like don't know how she does everything with such grace that she does. She's such an amazing mom. And she toured pregnant with twins too, right, Oh my gosh, she so well. The twins were born

in January. So the last tour, I mean they had a couple of like one off shows, but it was Europe in October. She was pregnant with twins in Europe in October. Dang, I know, wow, yeah, she's done. And then with Osle she toured up until Osley was born. Um she was born on Prince William's birthday, I think or not. Prince William, Prince George, the oldest little kids, the little buddy. Um so Asley was born end of July, and she toured up until the beginning of July with Aslie.

I know, I know, gosh Renaissance woman, but life on the road. I mean again. When Charles and I started dating, they weren't assigned banned, so they were in his jeep Cherokee like drive into Chicago to play Joe's Bar opening up for she Daisy and Phil Vasster. He opened up for Phil Vaster on my birthday in Chicago. I remember, I love Philaster. I saw Lululemon the other day. I was like, oh my god, I love you. Just another

day in paradise. Yeah, every day, um right, and then uh they got signed and I remember, um, like one of Charles and I first big fights was they were opening up for the Doobie Brothers in Ohio, which was like a big thing. This is a big one. Yeah. They had a Winnebago okay, which was like huge sleep in it a sleeping thing. Yeah, there was like a bed in the you know. Um. And he asked I

was going to go. We've been dating for probably like five months, and he asked if I would sell merch and I was like, uh no, we need the help. I know, which in hindsight that was so rude of me. But I was like, I, this is not mixed, Like I okay, So you drew boundaries from the beginning, which again maybe I shouldn't have. I should have sold the freaking T shirts. He was like, well, we don't have room for you if you're not going to do something

to help you have a job, which is true. Um, But anyway, that was a big fight that we had. I wouldn't sell merch. Did you end up going or not going? No? I didn't go. Oh wow, okay, he drew boundaries to everybody has their their undred um. So then they you know, we're in their Winnebago. And they took that Winnebago also to open up for Carrie Underwood

and Doe b that's a big deal. Yeah, they had some good They signed with CIA before they signed with anyone, so they got some good shows for everyone listening to booking company. Yes they book all the shows, yes of artist agency. Um. And then they got signed and they went on radio tour um that fall, and um, I mean played every kind of show, like on a pontoon boat in Texas and at a gas station. The opening of Deer season in Wisconsin. That's the thing with the

radio tour. It's not glamorous, No, it is grinding. And you played the craziest shows because radio stations have all sorts of events that they put on for their listeners and they need artists. Yes, and when you are new and that's say, you got to get in there. The opening of Deer season, when Maybe takes the cake for them at a gas station, they were like standing singing Acapello by the cashier while everyone's like getting there sausage biscuit after going out that morning. Is that recorded? I

think they have footage of it, which is amazing. Um, and then their album came out that following April, and um, you know things things really went fast went fast for them and we ended up actually breaking up. That may how long have you been together? I guess we've been together, um for like a year and a half. I feel like sometimes a break is a good thing. It was huge, it was amazing. I mean he and he was so busy, So we were broken up for pretty much that whole

summer two thousand eight. Kind of lets you like see do I really want to do this with this person or not? Because when you get to that point, especially with this lifestyle, you gotta you gotta really know. Yeah, and I think for him too, he was like, I just have so much to focus on and so much on my plate, Like, can I mentally also have a relationship totally because we all know men can't multitask. That is very true. Um, but it was great, and I

uh dated other people, and how was it? Was it weird or I mean it was My heart honestly was always with Charles. UM, but I met a lot of nice people. Yeah, hey, it's a good try. It was fun, right and um then he was basically gone that whole summer anyway, So even had we been together, like I wouldn't have seen him. And he was on the road so much. And then he um called me one day like early August and said, you know, I'm coming back from the road and I just want to talk about,

you know, maybe next steps for us. And I was thinking like just getting back together, and he was talking about getting engaged. He was like ready. So his summer of uh solo nous made him really, I'm ready to do this. Yeah. He got to see what else was out there and realized he didn't want any of that. Yeah, that's really awesome. It was good. It was It was good for us because then he came back to our

relationship knowing ready. Some people are so afraid of a break, and like for me and Michael, we had a two year break. We would not be happily married if we had not broken up, just because I don't know, we had things we just sort out and we just couldn't do it as a couple at that point. Yeah, so we all got engaged right away. We got engaged, so that was in August, and we got engaged um that Christmas Day, and then got married the following July. Oh

my gosh, did you all get married at thirty eight? No, we got married in Bahamas, you guys. But we got married on Harbor Island because y'all beach people. Yes, we're beach people for sure. Okay, you love thirty A, y'all, that's your second little getaway. We love it so much. That was our first like a trip together, was thirty A. And Charles had grown up going to beaches on the East Coast and he'd never seen white sand like that.

So yeah, we love it. Something about the beach. I feel just so peaceful y'all just got back from the Bahamas. So is it a regular thing that you'll do go to the Bahamas? I mean, I love it so much. Um, this was and it ward. This was his third trip to the Bahamas, which is hilarious. And I love that he's saying Bahamas everything he's got. He's got such a charmed life. It's it's amazing. He's so charming, he's a sweet, so cute, he's really just his heart is in the

right place. I hope it stays like that forever. It will. Um. Yeah, we just got back from Mohamas. It's about to get busy for um Charles, and so we just had one more family getaway. Y'all be going on the road again this year. We are we he starts his he has a Vegas residency. Oh heck yeah yeah. So there, Um there's five shows and people are asking me like, are you moving to Vegas for the year. And it's not like a Britney Spears residency. It's um, is it five

shows total? No, it's fifteen shows total. But there's five shows in February, five shows in May, and then five shows in August. That's gonna be awesome. Yeah, so our first jaunt is out to Vegas in February. We are just kind of post up at a hotel. We rented a house. Yeah, we're gonna have Ward with us. Um, and you just like need a kitchen and a washer and dryer and not to be in a casino, which

is a good thing that we learned this. Or we went ahead and rented a house because in the Bahamas we were staying at a place called Bahamar that has a casino, and we went to dinner one night with him at a restaurant that was off the casino floor, and he Ward was so furious that he couldn't play all of the games. He was like, yeah, I mean he thought they were kids games. Why can't I touch

any of these machines? Oh my gosh. Good to So anyway, had we decided to stay at the Palms where their residency is and had to like be in the casino every day with a crazy little toddler, I don't think that would have worked. Vegas is so pretty. The Strip is wild, but outside of Vegas it is so pretty. Yeah, we left a hike and um, so I think there's some really good hikes around there, and I'm excited. Okay, so you actually never told me. So how has read

life changed with the babies? Yes, I got off on the tangents. I mean I definitely don't watch every show anymore. Yeah, that's a thing like watching every show in the beginning. Oh yeah, every show. Um. But now um, and thankfully we have an absolutely amazing nanny and um she comes with us, and so if I do want to go out and watch a show, I can. I don't have to leave my kids so along the bus probably the baby monitor stretches right, but you know, he goes to

bed before they go on stage. So if I do want to watch the show, and he's an early riser, the timing of a show, you know, if they don't get off stage till eleven o'clock and then you kind of unwind and you don't end up going to bed until at the earliest midnight, and then your child wakes up at six am. It's not the most conducive schedule. So um, our nannie will wake up with him. Um some and then if I have to get up with him, a lot of times I just won't watch the show.

But now it's filled with I mean, you're up early you're not sleeping till noon anymore. And we try to find fun activities for him to do in the cities that we're in and just so he's not on the bus. But he likes the camaraderie of just running around with the other kids when they're out there. He's worship sizely. He does. She the Queen Asley is the queen. She she's five, she'll be six in July. Um, and she he like gets on her nerves sometimes she's like, I

just need some space. Word did she say that? Oh my gosh, that's so cute. But he just adores her and wants to do whatever she's doing. So cute. Um. And then he plays so sweet with Cash, who's Dave's oldest son, and he is four, so he'll be five in Charles Ward will be three in February, and then Cash will be five and staid Org is to hang all the big kids. He does. And then Lily Haywood just turned one, and then the twins are about to turn one at the end of this month. My god,

he's right in the middle. How fun. So just kids own, it's kid's own. Dave is like super dad and he when his kids are out. He always plans for a fun backstage activity. We'll have a bounce house, We'll have an ice cream truck come stop. He always has a Disneyland dad mentality, and it's like, what can we do for the kids? That's awesome? I know. He always brings really good toys Cash, and we have like one toy for awards, and Cash has like a slew of amazing

toys back there. So Ward's super happy when Cash is up, I know, because Dave always has something fun planned. So it is. It's just it's not hanging out and drinking after the show anymore. So it's probably nice to transition. I mean, I'm almost thirty six years old. Like the hangovers get bad, right, I can't really have a hangover anymore and me out for the rest of the day. And if you have to get up with a toddler with a hangover, like pure torture. Yeah, not worth it

on a moving bus. It has to be worth it for me to like really go hard. And I say, I'm okay, I'm gonna like embrace the party. I'm gonna go hard. I still even when I try, I get a point, I'm like, I just have to go to bed. Nothing's fun enough for me? Is that bad? No, I'm the same way. I'm like, I don't get fomo. I used to think I wanted to do everything, and now I'm like, oh my gosh, when I get tired, it's over for me. Like the thought of staying up past

one am really eleven pm. But if we want to get into party zone one am, I don't think I can physically do it. Michael, he could stay up forever if there's people around that he likes to hang out with and something fun to do. I mean, he could say untill the sun comes up, and he wouldn't care if you told me how to wake up two hours later to be like fines great, That to me would

wreck my week. Yeah, I'm the same way. And you know it goes from club and on a Friday night to date line on a Friday night and that is like the best time ever. So I don't know, We're just we've grown up. So tell me how you started. A woman used to back in the day because you were one of the very first bloggers, and this was a huge deal because you're blogging road life, you're blogging just all things fashion, fabulous, travel. So I um, really just needed a creative outlet to do while on the

road or that I could do from anywhere. And um, so blogging fit that niche and blogging was just getting going to well maybe in Nashville, but people like had blogs. Um I uh, I went to a blogger conference. So I started Woman used to uh in like all the back leg work of it in February two thousand twelve. Um, and then I my first post went live on my word press site. So it was like, you know, word pressed woman to dot com or whatever it was in

uh March and then a woman easta dot com. Like I did a site design which at the time felt really legit. That launch, um, and that was such a great name. Thank you. I loved that name. I still love that name. Such a great name. UM. So you know it has an air of feminism but doesn't feel preachy. It feels like all encompassing totally. So anyway, I was very happy with that. So how did what was it like having woman soa What did you do to keep

it running? Um? Well, in the beginning, I mean it was just I wasn't doing it with the intent of make growing some giant brand. It was more just like a creative outlet for me and if I had I remember, you know, the first week I had like fifty people click on a post, was like I have made it. There, people have watched this or read this or whatever it was. Um. So that gave me a lot of pride and you know, again just being able to create something with no um,

worry about any sort of production of it. What were your favorite topics? Um, I did a lot of travel. I did fashion, I did beauty, I did food. Um, we were obviously traveling so much. You know. I think the first week I did UM, we were in Calgary and I did like we went to dinner and I was like taking pictures on my iPhone at like the quality of the production of it was terrible looking back, I mean, hey, what you're doing it? Yeah, it was

just fun for me to do. UM. And so I started doing that and then just toned in on it a little bit more and my photo quality got better. I had a professional photographer taking pictures, and UM, you know started planning, like not just so what am I doing this week? It was like making a plan for content. When did you realize it was a business? Um? Well, you know, it got to be a business for me, like a viable business where you know it adds right part? What is it? Like? What do you have when it's

a business as a blog like ads sponsors? So yes, all of that. Um, but that didn't really happen for me until I partnered with a company here in Nashville to relaunch it as a media site. So is that like a like an all encompassing website. Yes, so there's more than just a blog that it was more than just like my perspective on something. It was truly like a when you read Pop Sugar or Refinery twenty nine, you know those are media sites. Um, so that's a

big deal. Yeah. And the the irony of it was the week that I signed the paperwork to partner with this company to you know, relaunch as the media site was the week I got pregnant. God. So and that sign wasn't lost on me either of like, wow, what a transition, what a new chapter. How amazing is that? I know? So uh yeah, that just became incredible. I learned so much and what it takes to run media site,

you know that to make something a viable business. Um, you know, I'm sort of on the content creation side, and I am a dreamer, and you know that doesn't always keep the lights on. I mean, you really like the amount of back in technical the way something appears in a Google search, Oh my gosh, all that stuff that it knows about that stuff. Not me, I mean the whole other team that is much smarter than me.

But you know, and just for instance, say you're doing a content calendar for no member, Google actually um categorizes what the top searches are for for each day, so like pumpkin pie might be the top search at nine am on November nine, and so we would try to do our content calendar based on those key searches. I mean that wasn't always the case. But you can just dive into the tech side and even if you're the content isn't great. I mean I thought our content was

was good. But even if it's not great content, just the traffic that you'll get based on those tech decisions alone, Oh my gosh. So people can just track all that and it's crazy, it's crazy. Yeah. Well, I know, my iPhone listens to me right again. If I'll like talk

about something, it pops up. So I mean it doesn't shock me that you can track literally anything that's trending, right, So anyway, I learned a lot and then, you know, the gift of it was then I had my son the following February, and I mean, as all new moms can attest, like trying to do anything when you have a newborn, it's impossible. It's divine timing that it had partnered, that had gotten this new wasn't just up to me

that it was running on its own. You can now do what you love, which is adding blogs content, but you don't have to keep the whole thing going. But I really had such a um guilt that went along with like letting go of some of those pieces because I felt like it was in the first year of its um you know, birth essentially in this new form, and that after you know, I had ward, I just I didn't have any I couldn't give it what I wanted to, and so I had a lot of guilt

about that. It just felt like, you know, because it was a startup um and we had it was completely incapable hands, like they didn't need me for anything. But but I was you maybe your little dream that has now grown into this big flower. Right, So my own personal I went through like a really a period of a lot of which was probably also a postpartum depression. At least you had somewhere to put it right right.

Um So, I you know, we did that and we grew it and then um my partner also had a company called comic book dot Com and we ended up repackaging Woman Needs To and Comic Book as pop culture dot com oh wow, called pop culture dot com cop pop culture dot Com. And we sold it to CBS last April. Well, okay, so hello media mogul. Well I mean that what a big deal? Yeah, it's it was of csh my god, like legit, I know it was legit.

That's what like I love so much, is like this tiny little thing that you started just because out of passion, out of passion, got attention to grow it into media website, got more attention to grow it even bigger, and then sell it to CBS. How does that make you feel? I know you have all the feelings that go along with creating something from scratch, but like, how do you feel the end of the day that your little dream

went all the way? Honestly, Caroline, I don't know if I've even like processed that because it coincided with the beginning of my son's life, and so I just like and we were on the road, like it was such a couple of years of complete exhaustion and insanity that um and so many blessings, but it just was like insane. I hope you know how incredible that is to have something start from your passion to develop into something that CBS wants to buy. That is really I'm very proud

of it, thank you. But the something I start to think, like, well, what have I contributed to this family? And then I'm like, oh, wait a second, lot do you think as women, it's hard to realize what you contribute because like you're just always doing things. It's part of your nature. And we talked you're an Instagram number two. Yes, you're a helper, so you're already always doing things. So you probably don't even realize all the things you do because it's just

so natural. I think it gets especially in this job or you know, any job that's in the entertainment businesses, you get so hyper focused on you know, whoever's the performer their career, and you know the things that you're doing is to you know, that makes your family go. You know, if my husband can't do his job, then

you know, we can't pay O bills. So you know, a lot of the things that you end up doing as a wife, at least in my case, is you know, you're you're helping this whole machine run, um, and as much as you contribute to that, there's not really like a tangible paycheck obviously, UM that comes with that. And so for me to think about, you know, the sale of pop culture, it's like, wow, we were able to

accomplish that. Wow, life was insane, and you know it feels I mean, women can do anything that they want to do. They can't even while they you know, have an infant. And also being the one who is the soul caretaker mainly of the child keeping. You have a lot of help truly, but keeping the family together, being that rock for Charles, I mean that makes a huge difference, having stability, having someone keeping the family together. It just

really shines a light to you know how. I mean, we have full time help, but you make sacrifices to live on the road, I mean, to sacrifice your dreams. You know, not that you have you found ways to get your dreams out there, right, but you know, you never moved back to New York like to be that support for Charles. It takes a lot to be willing to sacrifice like that. I think that this life is

not for everyone. It is definitely not. I mean it is it might look glamorous, and I'm sure every wife who you've interviewed has said that, like, it is not glamorous at all. Like here, I am, Um, you always know you always look glamorous, but it, Um, it's not for everyone. I mean I feel like there's probably a lot of twos who are you no country music wives? Because it takes a mentality that isn't selfish. You just see the bigger picture to have a to be in

a happy family. Yes, um, you know if you're expecting to sign up to be in like a rap video, like, it is not like that whatsoever. I mean, we get to do a lot of amazing things. And we were talking just the other day about all the travel that we've done and how it's like ten lifetimes for a lot of people. And I love to travel, so that

has been such a gift getting to do that. So we get to do so much and we get to live in a beautiful home and UM not have to worry about putting food on the table or paying for our healthcare crazy experiences. Yeah, I mean there are so many gifts that come along with it that don't take for granted. But the emotional toll that it can take UM as well as physical just it's the amount of God yeah, UM is high, and so I think you have to have a a real resilience and a real

sense of self UM too. You know that's what you sacrifice, is the emotional toll that it can take on you totally talk to me about all your girlfriends because we're talking before. The girl group in Nashville is so strong, and I know you have some incredible girlfriends that are your rocks. How is country music different with like the wives and just the support because I know that you are such a supportive person and you've surrounded yourself with

women who are so supportive. I just feel lucky, um, to get to be in the same business as women who are such good people. UM. I truly feel that's the case. You know, we all UM don't take anything for granted, I think for the most part, and we know we aren't trying to put on a show about what life really looks like to each other, especially um, we can all just be really honest with each other. I mean, is that so? I don't know. I think

we all just are innately that way. I think because you know, we see other people being that way and being vulnerable and um, you know, not feeling like we have to show outwardly anything that isn't often tick to us. I don't know, we just all are that way because that's rare. It is rare, especially in entertainment, it is rare. Um. You know, I definitely have a whole closet of nice shoes that I used to wear when I was younger, but now, like, what you see is what you get.

And I think, um, you know, we're going through a phase of new motherhood um together and you know, a lot of I know what it's like to be married to someone whose success is taking off on a rocket ship and what that feels like. And I think a lot of my friends um have recently gone through that too. And it's just when it comes down to it, you know, faith, family and friendship is what keeps us all afloat in any business. So I think I just we share those

commonalities and I feel incredibly lucky for that. That's amazing. And I think being in Nashville too, Like obviously National is growing so much, but it's just it's not a fake place. No it's not. There's pockets of you know, b s, but Nashville to me just feels so thriving in every way, Like it just feels like a place to thrive and to just be the best version of yourself. Which another statistic off topic, but you'll appreciate this. Um, Nashville has the most the most number of women UH

created companies, businesses really in all the US. Well, you know what, I could totally see. Yeah, so I feel like, you know again, as a woman here, like it is a place to thrive. So maybe that plays into you know, friendship and not feeling stifled and feeling like you have a creative outlet. Yes, and I feel like the men support it too, you know. Yeah. My husband every day is like what do you what do you love? What do you want to wake up and do? Or where

do you want to wake up and be? You know, one of our favorite things to say is like being a human being, not a human doing. I love that, So you know, I don't have to like have any kind of job or anything that I produced other than

taking care of you are right. That is something I've had to really learn because in my twenties I was very much I'm a four on the Instagram, So like finding my self worth has been a journey for me, I have had to feel I felt like I needed to prove myself with accomplishments and validations to to feel like I was a worthy person to exist, and that if I hadn't gotten a few big things checked off

of a list and I wasn't worthy. And I think in my thirties especially, I have learned that you are worthy because you're here and coming to terms of that and just realizing that me being a human being put on this earth, being myself loving is enough and then anything is great that I want to pursue out of love and passion. But I don't need that. I don't need to prove to people that I'm a worthy person

because I've done something. And that was what my twenties are all about, was just proving that I'm good enough for me to um, you know, becoming a mother didn't automatically give me that. Oh my purpose as a mother now not. I mean a lot of women have that, and that's incredible, but I didn't feel that. I felt almost the opposite of I'm you know, I don't want to say I'm just a mom, but I had to really walk through that same mentality of like, Okay, I'm

not doing anything even though you're doing everythreething. Um. You know. I really struggled with that too, of feeling like my purpose was you know, me achieving um. And when you're a mom, you know, especially the very early newborn phase, sometimes all you can achieve is like changing from one pair of pajamas to another pair of pajamas, Like you just it's you're keeping a human alive and not sleeping, and it's it's a really hard season. So how did

you overcome those lies? I mean I feel like I still, you know, battle that um. But again, my girlfriends like just the validation that you get of like, hey, you're great, just exactly what you just said, just because I'm here on this earth and I am a breathing, you know, thinking,

loving person. That makes me enough. That has been my biggest lesson in my whole life is just being okay with myself and just like and I've gone through all sorts of seasons when I felt like I was on a hamster or chasing and everything seemed to be happening, and then losing all of these goals and dreams come crashing down, and all these things have taught me that, Okay, you've got to get okay with just being here just exactly as you are. Who cares what's going on around you.

But that has been a big, big lesson for me, and I'm sure it will continue to always be the lesson ever evolving. My mom, I mean, so much of my you know, parents got divorced, and my mom was always you know, working and supporting herself. And so the model that I got um from a mother, which I think is very positive, is you know, never let a man, never rely on a man like never you know, always have your own thing. And that's just not the case

in our marriage, um, at least financially. And so you know, for whatever reason, overcoming that too has is just a you know, in the same way of like I feel like I need to be doing something that is, you know, doing X, Y Z in order to have self worth.

But you're right, I know, like sometimes like if I don't have something to do I'm like Caroline, you can just not have anything to do, and that people would die to not have anything to do, So embrace it because what a blessing, right right, It's just getting out of the head. But I mean, I think everyone goes through that, especially as women, especially as women's men too, who have big careers, and you know, like you said, like with me and Michael, his schedule is always going

to come first. It just is. So I think that's why I tried to navigate my life into fitting around it, to figure out an outlet for myself, like hosting that is flexible and on my own terms, but I can still do it well exactly. I mean that what you're doing right now with everything that you have going on, that's all amazing and creative. You know, you created that platform, But I built it around Michael, right, you know, and that's how blogging started for me. It was like, all right,

what can I do that? Like I can do wherever I am exactly what can I still do to fill my passion? But I can still be there, right because I know, And it's just I think that women are I do think that falls on women a lot, and I'm happy to take it because I want to have a family that's connected. It's always been a priority for me. And so I'm like, Okay, if I'll just figure it out, and here we are, and here we are, I could talk to you forever. Obviously I've got to wrap up.

You have a sweet boy sleeping sticking an app. I like to end my episodes with leave your Light, And this whole podcast with you is light inspiring. But just what is some advice that you would want to share with someone maybe who is struggling, or just something that you've learned, Just some wisdom that you would like to impart to anyone listening that you have gathered through all

of your experiences. Maybe a lesson you've learned that you wish you would have known, or just a piece of advice that you would want to live by that you've learned through everything. Oh man, I don't know. I don't know if I have any advice. Um, I don't. I think, Uh, I don't know. Just being kind to yourself I think is so important and most um you know, if if you can you know that, like be do unto others

as you would want done unto you. I think flipping that on its head and saying do unto yourself, how you would treat others is really important because we definitely I I don't always do that. So not to put yourself down or to think of yourself last right, um, and you know, I walked through a lot of body issues, um in the years since I've had Ward, and I still like basically in the same way I was when I was nine months pregnant. But you know, learning to

have self acceptance of you know what, who cares? Who cares? Who cares? Who cares? That is a hard one. I've I've had to eating disorders and struggle to wait my whole life. Also, I think that's a woman thing because we put such a value on beauty and perfection, and when you get to a point where perfection and beauty isn't your goal, you know, like, of course we love it, but it's not the goal, right, like being a great mom, having Ward, right, being a wife, having your family. So

how have you flipped that script? Honestly, I just prayed about it so much. Last August, I like really hit a low point and just so much just self I mean really just body hatred, and I just prayed about it, and I heard very clearly, like you don't have to fix everything, just sweat every day. I love that, Yeah, I mean that was the message after I prayed, Like, you don't have to fix everything to sweat every day. And so I've just made it a point to have health in my life in that way, even if I'm

not moving the needle on the scale. Um, and I've you know again, I just it's changed everything. Like my body hasn't changed very much, but my mind your right, because all that our body does for it, I know, you know, I think about that because like the things I used to do to myself with like bulimia and diet pills and laxatives and all sorts of awful things to be away in Caroline that nobody cares about, right, you know, Like, and that's the thing with you. You

are so stunning. No one but you even thinks about you know what I'm saying. But that can take away so much joy. I mean, had I been in the hot Bahamas, in this beautiful, stunning place with my dressing and husband and like been insecure in a bathing suit, you would have missed it? Who would have missed it?

You'd have missed the whole moment or not, you know, eating a slice of pizza or a taco or enjoyed, you know, a margarita, and you would have missed the experience obsessing about this number and this body image that no one else is obsessing about. But because we have this standard of perfection, miss playing with my son in the pool, you know, like I can wear a large swimsuit. Who cares? It's a cute cares. Who cares. That's why

I'm obsessed with women like Ashley Graham. I follow her religiously because to me, she's one of the most beautiful people have ever seen, and she flaunts her curves all the time. And it's all about the way you few yourself and speak to yourself. I've had to work on my self talk a lot this year because I realized I am so hateful to myself, like my self talk

I are. We're friends with I don't know if you know Michael and Bree Chandler, They're like, Okay, he talks about self talk all the time and just like having positive self talk. So I started noticing mine and I was like, I am so awful to myself. I would never speak to anyone the way I speak to myself to do unto yourself as you would do unto others.

And so I've really tried to catch myself on that and be like, because when we were trying to get pregnant and went through miscarriages and all that last year, it was really like sad year for me, and I was so hateful to myself, just feeling like I wasn't worthy, that I wasn't good enough, that I hasn't chosen, you know, like even the baby doesn't want you, and just like I know it makes me sad that I could be so hard to myself. But then I started checking myself.

Why am I being so brutally awful to myself? You know? So I've tried to, like you're saying, retrain myself, like if I go off on one of those tangents, turn it, you know, because it's just lies and it's just trying to be perfect, which is not my goal. Right. Well, all of that said, I felt like hearing that message

of you don't have to fix everything. Just sweat every day, you know, in the same way that maybe you just have like one mantra that makes you feel good, and just treating myself with that kindness of a sweat or a run, or just today I just stretched. I was like, I'm really tired, I need to just do a couple of yoga moves and like just stretch and treating myself and my body with that kindness has just it's changed my mentality about it. That is so inspiring. And thank

you so much for sharing that. Thank you for Katty, this is so fun. You're the best. Thank you for joining me. Thank you, Caroline. I appreciate it. I appreciate you and your heart you too. Bye. Thank you all so much for joining me. I know you're so inspired by Cassie's story and just what a bright light she is. She just blesses anyone that she touches and anyone that gets to be around her presence. So I know her story inspired you all just like it did me. Next week,

I have the beautiful, amazing Kaylee Dickerson. She is married to Russell Dickerson, and we talk all about the past year, how it has been a rocket for them. Russell has been on a giant wave to stardom, had two number one songs. She talks about how it was before they had all the hits and how life has changed and just how grateful they are their journey with God. It's really truly inspiring, so tune in next week for Kayleie Dickerson The Apple about