Eva Pilgrim: Why We Both Left ABC News

Some friendships don’t just stay with you… they shape your path.

In this episode of Unscripted Turbulence, I sit down with Eva Pilgrim—now anchor of Inside Edition and formerly of ABC News, where she co-hosted GMA3. But long before the national stage, Eva and I met as local reporters covering the same story in Pennsylvania. That moment sparked a friendship that would go on to impact my career in a major way—she even helped connect me with my first agent, accelerating my move to New York.

Years later, we found ourselves working within the same network again. And then, in March 2025, we both made the decision to walk away.

This conversation centers on Eva’s journey—her upbringing, her evolution, and the shifting priorities that led her to step into a new chapter. We talk about what it really means to leave something that no longer serves you, even when it once defined you.

It’s an honest, unfiltered conversation—one that feels less like an interview and more like catching up over coffee. Full of laughter, reflection, and the kind of real talk that only happens between people who’ve shared history.

Eva has been one of those “angel people” in my life from the very beginning. Having her share her story here is incredibly special—and I think you’ll feel that when you listen.

This episode is sponsored by Dude Wow Cocktails — bold flavor, real ingredients, and yes… it’s really good.
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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

This episode of Undescripted Turbulence is sponsored by Dude Wow Cocktails. Old flavor. No extra ingredients. And if you want to try them for yourself, just head to dudewowcocktails.com. Use my code Turbulence26 and get 10% off. Or just grab the link waiting for you in my bio. Shall we try this? Shall we take a crack at it? Okay, well, here we go. Welcome to Unscripted Turbulence. I'm your host, Reagan Maggie, and I have oh, I have such a great guest today. We're old friends. Yeah. Oh, wait till wait till you hear this story. I was trying to I was thinking about it the other day.

SPEAKER_02 0:55

Standing in front of the hospital?

SPEAKER_01 0:56

Yeah. Okay, so Eva, if you you probably know her. You should all know me. You know Eva. Yeah, she was on GMA, but I know Eva when she was at Channel 6 Action News in Philadelphia. Yeah. Oh my gosh. So here's the backstory of Eva and I, how we know each other. And I credit Eva. A little, I'm gonna get some little uh drops for you here, a little props here. Um, prop drops. Uh I credit you for helping me get to where I'm at. You're one of my people. Really? Yeah, I don't think I ever really told you that. So the surprise. Um so we, Eva and I, okay. So at the time Eva was at Channel 6 Action News, I was at Newswatch 16 in Scranton, but I was a Pocono Newsroom reporter. So because of me being closer to the Lehigh Valley, I got to the same story that Eva was on, which was in Allentown, Pennsylvania. And you were there before I was there. So I like rock off and I'm like, what the heck is happening? And you were so nice. Yeah, well, because first of all, for a couple reasons. I know what it's like to be that reporter who comes late to a right. So you're like, want to help out your peeps and all the you know. Meanwhile, we were both in the ABC family, so that was totally fine. Yes. But listen, I would do it to the NBC people, the Fox people, I don't care. So you were always nice to everyone. You know why? Because we're all doing the same job at the end of the day. The news directors can be. No, no, no.

SPEAKER_02 2:17

I can vouch for that because I saw you later in the field on um the women's soccer.

unknown 2:24

Oh.

SPEAKER_02 2:24

And you were at a Fox station by then. Oh my goodness. And you were still nice helping me figure out where to go.

SPEAKER_01 2:32

Because I I I can't let I can't let a good woman or a guy without like some kind of direction. If I'm there, like I I do it all the time.

SPEAKER_02 2:41

And you had a hot tip on comfortable reporter shoes that day. I remember that. Oh, yeah. They were like the waterproof ones that were flats.

SPEAKER_01 2:48

Oh, oh, oh, oh. Man, I really gave you a lot. Yeah, I know. I probably told you the side, the underwear I wear at that point. I don't. Yeah, no, so this so this hospital thing, uh, it was a really awful story. It was a bad story. It was, if I remember correctly, I believe it was called a compassion killing. Where, because I that kept me up at night because I'm like, what was it called? There was a name. So it was at a nursing home, and the husband went to visit his wife, who is at the nursing home, and he killed her and then killed himself. Yeah. It was like one of those, like a like the swan story, like it was really sad. Oh my god. It was horrible. So yeah. So those situations are very, very traumatic. But, you know, Eva and I just kind of, you know, you kind of, I don't know, the trauma bond, but like you're there. We all have to do the same job. Right. You're standing in front of this hospital, yeah, waiting to see if any family comes in and out. It was terrible. But this is also an opportunity to get to know one another when you're in the field, when you go on whatever story it is. And at that time of my career, I was collecting cards like they were baseball cards. I was collecting every card I could possibly get. So Eva's at the ABC station. She's also at the ABC station that I thought I was eventually gonna get to. I mean, I grew up watching Channel Six Action News. I'm like, oh, I'm gonna get there. So now I become like friendly with Eva, and through this we become friends. Yeah. And I mean, I mean, Eva's just fantastic. So, you know, you're doing your thing in Philly, and then I remember us striking up a conversation because I wanted to get to where you were at, and you mentioned getting an agent.

SPEAKER_03 4:24

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 4:25

And you had, and I don't know if you still do have, is it Matt King? Matt Kingsley? I had Matt Kingsley at the time, yeah. From Three Kings Entertainment. And you put me in touch with him, and he couldn't take me on for whatever reason. That's you know, it is what it is. But he then directed me toward the agent who I did sign with, which was Carolyn Kane of No Whining Talent.

SPEAKER_03 4:46

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 4:47

And because of you directing me in that way, Carolyn got me to the Weather Channel, which bumped me up like from Scranton area to New York City at 30 Rock. Oh no way. I didn't realize that's how it happened. That's how it happened because, yes, because the Weather Channel at that time was partially owned or did some kind of partnership with NBC Network. Yeah. So there's a there's like a real soft spot in my heart for the NBC because you know, I go from Scranton to like 30 Rock. I mean, it was it was unbelievable. And I thought I was, it was a it was when Sam Champion left GMA and they were gonna revamp the weather channel with Sam Champion everywhere. And they did with AMHQ with Sam Champion. That's the show I launched, or I was part of the launch. Oh, that's and then I didn't know, but then I was on Wake Up with Al with Al Roker in the morning. So imagine this kid from Scranton going from like, I want to go to you know, Channel 6 Action News, but like, no kidding you're going to New York quicker than you thought you would.

SPEAKER_02 5:42

I only told you that because I knew the Philly station, they basically only dealt with agents. So that was your way in. You had to have an agent make them the call for you.

SPEAKER_01 5:53

Yeah, yeah. No, I mean And it paid off bakers. Yeah, no, no, no. I mean, I was like I I mean I I I couldn't believe it. So yeah, you were you are the reason.

SPEAKER_02 6:01

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 6:02

I just like forever, like thank you.

SPEAKER_02 6:05

Well, you're the reason I made my deadline that day.

SPEAKER_01 6:09

And she woke up. So yeah, so even I go way back. So we kept in touch, and then you know, fast forward, I'm at the Fox station, and the next time I think I actually ended up seeing you in person, well I don't even know how I remember this. Was outside the Metropolitan Detention Center. I have no idea who was behind bars, but you were doing a live shot for network. I was at Fox. I I don't remember the story, I just remember you.

SPEAKER_02 6:34

And be like, oh my god. I'm trying to remember why. I think I know why we were there. But I don't want to just throw that name out casually.

SPEAKER_01 6:45

Oh. Oh.

SPEAKER_02 6:49

Do you think? Yeah. That's the only time I ever did live shots there.

SPEAKER_01 6:53

Really? Oh, maybe. Okay. Well we won't say that because we don't want to be connected to anything. But it was a big story. Yeah, that was a big story.

SPEAKER_03 7:04

But mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 7:05

So yeah, then you know, I get to ABC 7 and then I see you. I I literally almost jumped you and I saw you in the back. Oh my god. So we okay, so even so I got to channel seven eyewitness news and then alerted you, and we were all excited, and you would think that we would be able to have made it work to cross paths. You're in the building next door. I mean, like, we're right there. It just didn't happen until we got to the new building in Samoa.

SPEAKER_02 7:31

No, it was because the way, first of all, the way the buildings were split, you guys were on the one corner, we were on the other. Also, I was never in New York during the week. And I my schedule was so unpredictable. Yeah. So I'd be like, yeah, let's get coffee today. And then it'd be like, sorry, I didn't cancel on you again.

SPEAKER_01 7:47

Yeah, and I under, I mean, like when you're in the news, like I'm so used to the canceling. Like us, us as news people were so used to it because it's like, I get it. I know. All right, here, you know, like, you know, I'd get the I'm like, okay, that's fine. Because then at that point, I was up since 1:30 in the morning, I was like, that's okay with me. I'm tired.

SPEAKER_02 8:02

But it was just, it was like, I feel like there was a good two years, year and a half that we were like trying to get a coffee.

SPEAKER_01 8:09

Yeah. And then it didn't happen until randomly I was in the new building. Again, would never be there because I was always out in the field. Yeah. And you were like standing across the room. And I got so excited, I was like shaking, it was like, I can't wait to see her. I can't wait to go over. Oh yeah, we were by the Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 8:27

What do they call it? The the big circle.

SPEAKER_01 8:29

I mean, it was a desk.

SPEAKER_02 8:30

It was like, was that the net It was the hub where all the news I don't know what it they had a name for it. It's like the ring of something I can't remember.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

The ring of yeah. I mean, yeah, I don't I don't know what they called it for you guys because that was more the network area because we were right next to you, it's local. And it was just weird, the whole configuration in there from knowing what a if you're in a newsroom, there's like a desk where everybody's together in one line. Yeah. And then the new building, they're all in little pods, and the flow is just a little different. Yeah. But you were over by the ring of fire, the ring of dreams, the ring of disaster, the ring of questions. The ring, there were a bunch of TVs. Lots of TVs. So yeah. On the ceiling. Yeah, yeah. Hanging from the ceiling. Which, by the way, I feel like when we I looked at those TVs, local seven was never on. It was everybody else.

SPEAKER_02 9:19

Oh no, local was on there. Was it? Yeah, yeah. You could see the shot sometimes in the background. Did I look good? You always look good.

SPEAKER_01 9:27

You're so crazy. No, and you know what? The lighting was better there. The lighting was great. The lighting was really good at seven. They knew how to light. Not that other places didn't, but you know. But yeah, so I saw you and I ran over. And I think we did a a hug and a jump or something. We were real excited. We were very excited. Oh my gosh. And boy, were things gonna change soon after that.

SPEAKER_02 9:48

You know what was so nice. That I think about that moment a lot because it got weird, I think, for both of us. Um I think it's weird because we were hugging.

unknown 9:56

No.

SPEAKER_02 9:56

What she means is just like stuff happened, was happening around us that felt un unscript. Undscripted. Yeah, unscripted, yes. You can say it, my friend. So um it was like all of a sudden I was seeing you more, and you were sort of this like normal touch point of like, are you okay? Are you okay?

SPEAKER_01 10:20

Oh, we kind of looked at each other. Yeah, yeah, we're gonna talk. We gotta, uh, you have the it's like that look, and you're uh so many things to say. Yeah. Some things we won't say, yeah, but many things we're feeling. Do you need a hug?

unknown 10:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:36

Do you want a hug longer than normal? Oh my god, it is off the rails. Okay, so um, and you know, obviously in in my pod, I like to talk about how we know each other. We've got through that. Um, and uh there's just so much more. Um, but where are you now? Because you're no longer of the ABC.

SPEAKER_02 10:55

No, I'm at Inside Edition now, which is where Deborah Norville used to be. Yes, she was there forever. I literally grew up watching her. Like she was like on as my mother was making dinner in our house. My mother was obsessed with her, thought she was just like the most beautiful woman, and so I grew up watching her, and I was so excited that this was even a possibility. It wasn't something I saw coming. No, we'll expect uh-huh. Um yeah, and so I'm there, and it's been an incredible, lovely, like sort of recentering. Uh-huh. My nervous system has calmed down. Uh-huh. Um, it's a different phase of life, a different chapter.

SPEAKER_01 11:41

Right. Yeah, you seem calm. Yeah, you do. Do I seem calm or does it feel like I'm like a job already? And your skin looks good. Oh my god, really. Well, I just got new makeup. Well, again, and maybe it's just because you know.

SPEAKER_02 11:53

You're sleeping.

SPEAKER_01 11:55

I don't look like a dried piece of leather hanging out for days.

SPEAKER_02 11:58

Also, we're I mean, we're like casually drinking coffee because we wanted to. I know we have to.

SPEAKER_01 12:02

Not because we needed to stay awake.

SPEAKER_00 12:04

No, no, no.

SPEAKER_01 12:06

I would have my coffee brewed in the morning at what, one, yeah, one like 1.30, 145, and then I would be sipping it all day. But now I get to enjoy it and I journal in the morning. So nice. Oh my gosh, it's so great. I like a slow start in the morning. Oh, isn't it great when you don't have to like rush and be like, oh, your first thing when you wake up, you're like, I gotta get up, I gotta do this, I gotta get the deadline, I gotta get that thing. I don't know what they're gonna send me. I hope I can make it, I hope I'm gonna make it.

SPEAKER_02 12:31

I didn't realize what that was doing for my anxiety. I I didn't even realize I was anxious. I I thought it was just like adrenaline and it was like time to go and you were just working, and that's what it was. But now I realize, um, like when you start the day, even I have a four-year-old, so like nothing's like quite peaceful, let's be clear about that. But but I try to take like five or ten minutes by myself in the morning, and there's something about just sort of like the like you take a deep breath, you breathe in, you're awake, you get the coffee going, and then the chaos starts, you know. But it's not like constant chaos, like you don't come down from it.

SPEAKER_01 13:12

No, I no, no. I mean, you're going to bed in chaotic form, you wake up in chaotic form. I actually hug myself. I'm talking a lot about hugging today, aren't I? No, like when I when I wake up in the morning, I like put my hand on my chest and my belly, and I'm like, oh my god, thank God I'm not waking up at 1.30 in the morning. Thank you so much. I'm like so happy. It's just like this peaceful, like, yay, Reagan, you're here, you're safe, you're okay. And then I wake up and I'm like, okay, I can start my day. Like, I don't have anything that I'm like jarred about. Unless I had a bad dream, which I did last night. I had a dream that Pilate, we call my husband Pilate because he's so secretive. I had a dream that he left me. I don't know. He's not leaving me at all. No. Are you kidding me? He needs his home cooked meal, please. So I had this weird dream and I woke up with like, oh, he doesn't love me anymore. Oh, he's fine. He loves me. And then if he decides that he's gonna leave me, he's gonna not go for another one. He's like, this is too much. We've already had discussions about it.

SPEAKER_02 14:04

Did you eat something spicy at Easter?

unknown 14:07

You know what?

SPEAKER_01 14:08

Yeah, because it was Greek Easter yesterday. Did I eat something? Is that what happens usually? The spices. Oh, I don't know. My mom used to say that to me. That's why I Oh yeah? No, I don't know. What did I? I just ate Greek food, like spanacopita, which is spinach pie. I had I don't know what I I had red wine. Maybe that was Yeah, I don't know. I have no idea what it was, but I woke up and I thought, oh my god, did he leave me? Like, no, I'm I'm okay. He did it. Then I saw him, then he gave me a look, and I was like, okay, you're still with you're still with me. You're still for the fight. Did you tell him you were like mad at him though when you woke up?

SPEAKER_02 14:38

Because you know, Well, yeah, I feel funny.

unknown 14:41

You left at me.

SPEAKER_02 14:42

I was like, I I had a dream that you my husband holds grudges against me if he dreams something negative in his sleep. Like, still to this day, he holds a grudge about something that didn't happen that he dreamed.

SPEAKER_01 14:55

Because in the subconscious, you're thinking, was there some kind of fabric that connects this, some kind of thread? I don't know. He brings it up, and I'm like, babe, that was a dream. Yeah, I dream about like personnel things. And then pilot dreams. He was in the Navy. So there are and I think he watches too many military movies because there's many times that he is he is dreaming that he's in some kind of fight scene or that he's in some kind of flying scene like Maverick and Top Gun. I don't know. He's he's yeah, he needs to take a moment from those. I don't know what movies he watches before he goes to bed, but okay, so growing up. Let's go. Let's let's turn the clock back and talk about your upbringing, like where you're from.

SPEAKER_02 15:42

Um, so I I would say South Carolina is probably where I'm from, but I grew up like everywhere. I mean, my dad was in the military. Oh my god, was he in the Navy too? He was in the Army.

SPEAKER_01 15:50

Oh my dad was Army too.

SPEAKER_02 15:52

So we were all over the place, um, which is, you know, it's a good way to train as a journalist.

SPEAKER_01 15:59

Oh my gosh. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:00

You just sort of like learn to drop to meet people, you you know, figure out how to to make friends, you like learn how to get along with people, you never are too precious to like go up to strangers. So it was really like I think probably the best training ground. Um, and we lived all over the place. So I saw lots of parts of the world.

SPEAKER_00 16:22

Oh, worlds. You lived in other we were, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:25

My mom was Korean, so we were I was born in Seoul. Um, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:29

Just like wait, JNSU. Was she born in Seoul? She's Korean. I don't know if she's a big one. Yes, I think so, because I Did you know all of us Korean girls know each other? Yes, you guys are all connected. Do you know my friend Young Miha?

unknown 16:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 16:46

She was born in Seoul as well. You all were born in Seoul.

SPEAKER_02 16:49

Not all of us, no, not all of you. Um, but I was born in Seoul. So we were all over the place. Um there was never like which is also like in this field in television, you're sort of moving every couple years, very similar to kind of how the military grow growing up life was for me. We moved every several years.

SPEAKER_01 17:07

Oh, so this was like nothing in the city. Nothing. Very casual, comfortable. Oh my gosh. So is where's your mom now?

SPEAKER_02 17:14

She's in South Carolina now. Still.

SPEAKER_03 17:16

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 17:17

Okay. Wow. Yeah, that's my dad got out. He was he went to South Carolina, so that's where they ended up. And my sister and brother are both there.

SPEAKER_01 17:25

Oh, so you're the only you're the one that left. I'm the only one that left.

SPEAKER_02 17:29

The weather's nice down there, the food's nice down there. Apparently, it's cheaper living too.

SPEAKER_01 17:34

Yes. Yes. Do you think you'll ever go back go down there or I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 17:37

We'll see. I mean, I like a beach, so Who doesn't? Yeah. Okay. And now, do you speak fluent Korean? I speak some Korean. I wouldn't call it fluent. I wouldn't want to like interview someone in Korean. No. But I can like order food, find the bathroom.

SPEAKER_03 17:55

Really?

SPEAKER_02 17:55

Argue with my brother.

unknown 17:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 17:57

So my friend Young and I, we roomed in college together, my freshman year, and I don't speak Korean. That's a shock. Um, and she would be on the phone with her mom, and it always sounded like she was yelling, mom. And she would she would say, Oma, right? Oma? Yeah. And then just she would go. And then she got off the phone, everything's like fine. And then she was like, I know it sounds like I'm yelling, but I'm not. That's just how we talk. I said, Oh, I didn't know that. But it was really funny. So I op Opa is Opa dad? Oma and Oma is mom. What's dad?

SPEAKER_02 18:31

Um it's not Opa is like Or is that uncle? Is like like the Opa is like. Like the whole sorry.

SPEAKER_01 18:46

Okay. Well maybe I didn't hear it correctly. That that wouldn't be a shock. But yeah, she would she would say all these she would just it was fascinating to me because I don't I was I had somebody here last week and he is fluent English and Spanish bilingual. I I I only speak one language. So for me to know that people can speak out a language, I think it's like the coolest thing. Yeah. So she would just go. And I was just fascinated by the, you know. But yeah, so she she would always call her mom, and yes, it did sound like she was yelling sometimes.

SPEAKER_02 19:14

It sounds like my mom's yelling even when she's speaking to me in English, so it's just the tone of her voice.

SPEAKER_01 19:20

Oh my gosh. So then now you're at what point, like where did you start your TV career then?

SPEAKER_02 19:26

So I started it when I was still in college, I started working behind the scenes like a web producer. Oh on the early days of the World Wide Web. On the internet. Yes. Um when TV stations were first, that's how old I am, when they were first getting websites. So I started doing that. And it was actually a decent paying job for like a like a college student. Oh, no kidding. Um so and then I went to Bluefield, West Virginia for my first on-air job. Okay. And that's how the on-air part of it started after I graduated.

SPEAKER_01 19:58

Oh wow. So then you get eventually to Philadelphia and then you go from Philly to New York. To the network, yeah. How did you do that?

SPEAKER_00 20:08

Um Were you ready to do it?

SPEAKER_02 20:11

Like I I mean, are you I'm I am a like, I'm a Virgo. Okay. So I'm like a consummate, I'm like always planning. Everything needs to be perfect. So am I ready? No, I'm never ready. Okay. Like, I have a plan in my head, I have an idea of what I want. Is it perfect? No, let me try again. At some point, you just have to, you know, it's time to move on. Like, what are you, what are you doing with yourself? So I was sort of pushed up against a wall where I had to make a choice. Oh. And um, I think I can say this now. Shirlene Alcott, who is at Channel 7 in New York, yes, actually was the one who told me what I needed to do if I wanted to leave Philly. I'm sorry, Shirlene, if you didn't want people to know that you were the person. But she walked me through like what I needed to say, how I needed to say it, how to convince them. Because she was already at Channel 7 in New York by then. You know, Shirlene has helped me out. And so she walked me through it, and she was basically like, just be prepared to not have a job, because this could all go sideways very quickly. Wow. But you have to say this, and there has to be no turning back, and you have to do it. And if it goes really like call me if it gets scary, and I was like, okay. Were you close with her at Chimel's? We were friendly, but we weren't like best friends. Right. So the fact that she was so gracious with this information, I think is even more like speaks more to her character. Um yeah, so she was the one who walked me through it, and sure enough, they let me interview.

unknown 21:45

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 21:46

I somehow ended up with the job. I don't know how I got lost in the building, which is really funny the day I was supposed to interview. Oh. And uh I went to the wrong area when I went in. Yeah. I was lost in the building. I was actually messaging with The producer, the senior producer, Claire Brynberg, who is like this really smart, like you want to impress her, you don't want to look like an idiot. And here I am for like hours stuck in an elevator bank. And she's like, Why are you still here? And she finally got me to the place that I was supposed to go. She was like, What are you doing here? I was like, I don't know. They sent me to this floor to talk to Rich. And but they didn't tell me who Rich was or where he worked. And turned out Rich worked at News One and he was supposed to give me a writing test. But gosh. But nobody that the way ABC was set up, like there was like News One in one corner and there was radio in another, and then there was like world news on the back front area, whatever direction you would call that. But they didn't like intermingle the different areas. So people who worked at World News had no idea who some of these people were that were working, you know, which isn't unusual. It's a huge organization.

SPEAKER_01 22:56

That that happens in all of them. And they never interact with each other. So which is so bizarre. You'd think everybody's like, oh hey, hey, David, hey, Charlie, whatever. And it's not a good thing. I mean, everyone knows who David is, but like Yeah, let's say it's not David, but let's say it's like, you know, Bill. Like nobody not everybody's like all kumbaya knowing each other because really the stress of the game and you have your certain like group that you have to have deadlines. Because the deadline, I think, is really what gets in between a lot of us being able to have more interaction because you have a certain mission in mind, you gotta get it done. And it's like I don't have time to do so much happy chat because the minutes I use for happy chat are minutes that I could have used to get this deadline. Right, right. No, and they're like on the deadline all the time. And I feel like when you see people and always like, you want to say hi and do more, but you can't because like and you have to go. I'm on my way somewhere. Yeah. It's like a quick hi-bye. See you later. I'm already out of time. Yeah. I paused. Yeah. Yep. I'm now late. Yeah. But that, first of all, I want to back up a little bit with Sherlene. And I think a lot of what happens in the news that people don't realize that are watching that, we all do help each other. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 24:07

Like I wouldn't say all, but all most of us.

SPEAKER_01 24:10

I know. Caught me. It's true. Um you have a group that do. And it is nice when you find those people and you're like, oh, they're not. I actually think, to be clear, go on.

SPEAKER_02 24:24

I don't think all people help each other. I actually think the Sherlines of the world in the industry are more rare than they are common, right? Like to actually go out of your way to help somebody that you don't really know, that there's nothing in it for you. Um that doesn't really happen that often.

SPEAKER_01 24:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:45

And you're not that we were selective. Not that we were in competition with each other, but we could have ended up in competition with each other. You know what I mean? She wasn't like keeping me from something.

unknown 24:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:59

You know, she wanted to help me figure out my way. And that I do think is very rare.

SPEAKER_01 25:05

Yeah, because I mean I feel like we are designed as what we do in TV news is sometimes, you know, you're going for the same spot and there's not many spots open. And it's a competitive industry. It can be very sharky.

SPEAKER_02 25:20

Well, and even when you're not competing, people still feel competitive. So like I I say that to say what she did for me is actually, I think, a much bigger deal than just like being nice.

SPEAKER_01 25:32

Yeah, yeah. Kind of like somebody helping you when you come to a scene very late and give you. Sorry. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_02 25:41

No, no. Makes me laugh. No, I rocked up to that scene. I actually didn't know what had happened yet.

SPEAKER_01 25:46

No, I was like, hey, by the way.

SPEAKER_02 25:49

Yeah. No. That's the way I remember that story, is we got out of the car and we were like rushing. I think it was like four o'clock. Oh. 3 30. And I think our first hit was at four, and you were like, Oh, let me tell you what happened. And that's like, oh goodness. And like, and then this is the police officer. He's over there. Go find. Yeah. I remember that. I probably gave you my script too. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 26:09

I was like, here, you want this? Just read it off. It's the same thing. Um, okay, so now you're at GMA for how long were you at GMA for?

SPEAKER_02 26:15

Um, I was basically there for like 10 years. Oh wow. I got my tenure plaque at uh at Disney before I left.

SPEAKER_01 26:25

I, you know, so what happens is when you're at Disney, the company, which by the way, I was I was I worked at Disney World. I should have gotten something for that, being at a cast member. Yes, I was a cat, I was a cast member. I was not a character, although I did, I thought, well, some people down there thought I could have pulled off a princess because you could have been a princess. I had the bone structure for a princess. Somebody told me once. I was like, oh, okay. But I was a lifeguard for Typhoon Lagoon. Oh. Yeah, so if you drop, I know exactly what to do. You're in in in safety here. Okay. It's good to know. So yeah. I was there for like, you know, in the internship program. But when you are in Disney at the at the network and local, any of them, you get you get like a plaque or something for five years. Goofy pin for five years.

SPEAKER_02 27:14

Okay. And then you get a plaque for 10 years. And who's on the plaque? Um I have the plaque somewhere, but I don't know who's on it. But then I know for 15 years you start to get statues, character statues.

unknown 27:27

Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_01 27:27

What is Tinkerbell? Is that 50? I don't remember.

SPEAKER_02 27:32

It's a whole thing, though. I do know that. I think maybe Simba's the first one. I can't remember.

SPEAKER_01 27:36

I feel like there's a photographer.

SPEAKER_02 27:37

Jiminy Cricket is the oldest one, isn't it? If you've been there the longest, you get a Gemini cricket. Or maybe it's a Tinkerbell.

SPEAKER_01 27:42

Don't quote me. No, because there's a photographer who has been at local for so long. I think they ran out of statues.

SPEAKER_02 27:51

Philly was that way. I mean, people were there forever and they never left. And so there were just like statues on the desks.

SPEAKER_01 27:56

It's like a whole cast of Disney. So at what point, um, you know, again, you're gonna lead me where you want to go, wherever you want to go, wherever you don't want to go. I'm not gonna pry, even though you already know all the details. I kind of do. Um so obviously we get to a point in our careers where we're like, yeah, this is great, and then it starts not becoming so great, and there's like a shift. Obviously, my story is a call that changed everything from my general manager that kind of said, We're pulling back your hours. And that was the point, that was a point where everything just switched for me. And I thought, what am I doing? What am I doing? All of this blood, sweat, tears, sacrifice, can't go to this, can't go to that, I can't see the sun set. It's actually in my face as I'm going to bed. Like all these things you start realizing, like, what am I doing? At that point, I'm 44 years old. Now I'm 45. But you know, you start time starts looking back at you. People have families, people do this, do that, blah, blah, blah, blah. Where was that for you? Was it a slow lead up? Was it a slow? Because, you know, the the pivot for you, you ended up Yeah, I would say, you know, what's interesting is I was chaotic and crazy.

SPEAKER_02 29:14

But I I loved my job. And I I would even say that I was maybe the happiest I'd been in a long time. So I had this incredible producer, Nora, the two of us together.

SPEAKER_01 29:28

I would see you go.

SPEAKER_02 29:29

Yeah. I was like never without Nora if I was in the building. We were like two peas in a pod. Our brains were so synced, I didn't even have to finish what I was thinking out loud because she already knew where my brain was going. So we were able to get, I mean, I got so much work done because I was working with Nora. So I would, I would start on one thing, she'd be doing prep for the next thing, I would finish this, we'd slide it over, she would make sure it got across the finish line, I'd start working on the next thing. We had this assembly line going, and we were having the best time. I think she would argue that we were having the best time too. I mean, we were, we had these passion project stories that we were just things we were interested in, that we were getting to do like deep dives into. Um, we had sort of stimulated each other's brain in the same way. I was I had the show Monday through Friday that was GMA3, that was very steady. And then I would, I was still traveling like probably twice a month, maybe more than that, depending on the month. I was still traveling all the time. But and she was always with you? She was always with me. But then it was just like it started to get to this place where it was like, golly, there it's just more and more. And I'm like never catching up on sleep. I I mean, I said I had a four-year-old, I've a little girl. So the weekends used to be when at pre-children, the time that you would just like sleep. Oh, to catch to catch up on everything, right? And like reset and like, well, then this little person comes into my life who I desperately wanted. Yeah. And the weekends were no longer about that. It was like trying to cram in all of this time with her. And I found myself just like steadily not able to do it all. Like I was tired, I was exhausted, but I was like still go, go, go, go, go, pitching myself into the next thing, you know. And I remember, I think we had like three 2020s that aired in January. We were launching a podcast. We had a couple of like stories we've been working on long-term. There was this whole thing on psychedelics we had been working on that I think was finally airing. Um, and then March came around and they laid off the entire GMA3 staff.

SPEAKER_01 31:54

That was March 2025. That's when everything, that's when I got my call. Like the whole everything, I felt like everything shifted.

SPEAKER_02 32:01

And I I was not laid off. No. Nora was laid off. And I just remember it was like I couldn't process. I was like, even the people who talked to me in the immediate aftermath, like they were like, Did you get laid off? And I was like, no, but I'm like grieving in this, like, really, I couldn't explain why I felt so distraught. And then I felt guilty about feeling distraught because the entire staff that I was still working with every day. Yeah, and they were coming into work despite the fact that they had been laid off. Nora continued to come into work despite the fact that she got laid off. Oh, yeah. So it was just I couldn't, I was it, I was just in mourning and in shock, and I couldn't understand what was happening. Here it was, we were turning out like more work than I'd ever done, and I thought it was like great work, and I didn't, I couldn't understand why all of this was happening. And then all of a sudden, I don't even know what clicked. I just realized, like, Eva, this is a business decision. Yeah, they have made a choice, and if they like you or don't like you is not the point. Yeah, they don't value your happiness the same way you value your happiness because that's not what businesses do. No, and so I had to make like a really like pull the emotions out. Yeah, what do you need from this? Can this be what you need it to be? And I did an honest assessment of it. And I was like, no. If I stay here, they're gonna expect for me to do the same that I've been doing. And I don't have Nora to get ahead of me and behind me. I I can't continue to work at this pace.

SPEAKER_01 33:52

It's like losing your best friend, spouse, partner in crying, like your other, like your left hand. Like when you have somebody like that.

SPEAKER_02 34:01

We're still very close or still friends. Um, but I just was like, it doesn't matter how much they say they value you. If they can't, if this is how they choose to treat you, and that's not like a diss on them, it's a business decision, then then you don't matter that much. And that is like kind of a hard reality to accept.

SPEAKER_01 34:25

Pilot would remind me all the time, he was like, Listen, at the end of the day, he's like, You're a number, you do know that, right? And I feel like with journalists, we really wear our heart on our sleeve, and everything we are is what we do. Like there's no difference. I know, at least for me it was. And I pilot would constantly tell me, he was like, you know, they don't care about you. They don't care about you. He's like, my company doesn't care about me. He's like, I'm a number.

SPEAKER_02 34:52

I think some of the people cared about me. I don't think that it it's still a business decision, right? And at the end of the day, you know, it was just you you have to do what's right for you, and they have to do what's right for them. And I don't think they anticipated that I would leave. I I think, you know, when I told them they were surprised, but I I I just knew I couldn't stay there.

SPEAKER_01 35:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:25

It just it was never I had been so happy. I think that was the thing. Like it was such a perfect mix of all the things that I wanted. And I was trying to figure out how to sort of, okay, what do I peel back on? What do I lean into? I'm taking on too much, this is too much, I've gotta streamline this. But I was I was loving it, and I knew I couldn't go back to a less than version of that.

SPEAKER_01 35:52

That's the worst.

SPEAKER_02 35:53

And so it was like, it's time to move on.

SPEAKER_01 35:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:57

I had it's like a bad breakup.

SPEAKER_01 35:59

Yeah, I was gonna say, I had somebody tell me once who was sitting in that seat, Dana. She was like my first interview I had. She was like, you know, God gives you signs. Like she she was very godly. And she was like, God gives you signs. And she's like, if you don't go, the grace goes with it. And you're left behind feeling upset, you know, maybe not in alignment and angry, and those are the moments that you just have to follow where the grace is going.

SPEAKER_02 36:33

Yeah. No, I believe, I believe that so dear. I mean, I I'm very religious as well. I I'm I'm also not like a person that takes signs. Like, I I always joke, like, God, you can't give me a sign that's like a blinking light. I need to be like beat over the head to like, Eva, pay attention to this. This is what you need to do, or this is where you need to think. And I'm grateful for that moment because I did have a lot of time to figure out what I was doing. I was in the middle of my contract.

SPEAKER_03 37:06

Oh.

SPEAKER_02 37:06

So I had some time to figure out like what I was gonna do and how I could find my happiness. And my husband, who I still think is maybe my greatest life choice I've ever made, is marrying my husband, was like, you don't have to stay in something you're unhappy with. I mean, I went through like a whole mourning phase where I was like, I don't know how I'm gonna do this. And he was like, You don't have to stay there. Who says you have to stay there? Go find something else. And I was like, but how do I leave this? And he was like, very simply, find a new job and go there.

SPEAKER_01 37:47

It's hard though. It's it's hard to do that when you really are like in in alignment and in loving something so much.

SPEAKER_02 37:54

But what I knew was the version of it that existed post-March and the big layoffs was not the thing that I loved. It was such a stark contrast that it was very clear to me. Yeah, I couldn't stay there. And I was working like 4:35 in the morning until like 9 p.m. every night, like all across all the platforms.

SPEAKER_01 38:15

How did you balance motherhood with all of that? And you had your daughter, what, four years ago?

SPEAKER_02 38:19

So Yeah, I mean, it was I have an incredible husband who, you know, he works from home, so he was able to like really pick up where I wasn't, which was basically anywhere. Um and he, you know, he's again, best life choice I've made, never once ever says anything about the load being heavy. He just does it. And then later, when I was like, okay, so I'm gonna do this, and these are my hours, and he was like, okay, and I'm gonna take Ella to school every morning. And he was like, oh, praise be. Like, that's the moment when it's all shifted and he's like knows that I can handle it. That he's like, Oh, I'm so glad you're gonna do this because it's been a lot. But he would never, ever, in my like despair and like mourning moment, have told me that. He just got on with it. Very British of him, like, you know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:19

I mean, they know the partners know, right? Yeah, like they know when they can maybe say something or pull back, or when you need well, good ones do. Yeah, I mean, pilot's pilot doesn't have the best, like I always tell him, Doctor, you are not. Bedside manner, there are days where he's like a little too much straightforward, but there are also good lessons in those moments that make me stronger. Yeah. Well, that's somebody has to tell you sometimes, too. Oh my gosh. Yeah, it's a hard transition. I mean, I you pivoted, I pivoted. I mean, I went from broadcast to podcast, but how is like pivoting from GMA to where you're at now?

SPEAKER_02 40:01

So it's a whole different infrastructure. I think the big thing for me, whenever, first of all, the hours are wildly different. So I'm like basically 11 a.m. to like 5, 5:30, which is um like as a mother, just like the most incredible opportunity. As a journalist and a person who wants to tell stories, the other big part of it that's huge for me was that I'm allowed to do other projects. So ABC owned me, basically. Anything I did had to go through them, and all of my work was theirs. Right. And they owned all of that work. Um and they could say yes or no, and there was like really nothing more I could do with it. We you even like they could tell you not to post something on social media, even, you know, like there was a lot of rules and boundaries.

SPEAKER_01 40:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:52

In the current space that I live and operate in, you know, I I have I I go I go to them to tell them when I'm doing other things, but or if I want to do other things, but and those decisions are worked out. But there's not it's not like you can't do something else. Yeah. And so I have a lot more opportunity to do things the way I would want to do them.

unknown 41:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:16

And that's what I'm working on now. And I have this home base that is really nice and pleasant, and doesn't it doesn't exhaust me emotionally. Um the big network, I'm grateful I got to work there. I learned a lot. I saw the world. Totally changed who I am as a person, just seeing everything with your own two eyes and traveling that way. But um it wasn't sustainable.

SPEAKER_03 41:47

No.

SPEAKER_02 41:48

And I recognized that right away. I wanted to believe that I could, but it wasn't sustainable for me. And not in the current media environment where everyone is expected to do more and and the pay does not come with it. Um it just I also think life changes, right?

SPEAKER_01 42:08

Like you're in a different phase of your life, too.

SPEAKER_02 42:10

I have a daughter, I have a husband. Um I didn't have a husband for a long time because I was working all the time.

SPEAKER_01 42:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 42:16

So how'd you meet your husband? I met him at a friend's wedding. She's a TV reporter, well, former TV reporter. He was friends with the Grim's family. Okay. And I was friends with her. So we were at the wedding. I was like fresh off of a breakup.

unknown 42:33

Oh.

SPEAKER_02 42:33

And I like didn't want to meet anyone. And here comes over this like this guy. And he tells my husband tells the story. Like, he came over to buy us a drink, me and my friends. Uh-huh. And I was like, no.

SPEAKER_01 42:45

So dismissive.

unknown 42:46

Go away.

SPEAKER_02 42:47

Because I was just like man-hating. Well, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:50

But he's quite charming. I mean, he's British, so I mean, you have that going for you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 42:54

Well, he's just or he has that going for him. He's unassuming and charming. And he kept at it. I saw him like multiple times over the weekend. And then we just sort of like hit it off. My friends who were there were like, there were just you guys just were like sparks were flying. And I couldn't even realize it because I was so just, I was, I was already a correspondent at ABC. I was tired. I was angry about my breakup.

SPEAKER_01 43:21

I was tired, angry of correspondent.

SPEAKER_00 43:26

It was the greatest job. It was the greatest job. Yes, yes, yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02 43:30

Um, for that moment in life, it was a it was everything I dreamed it could be. I always said though, as a correspondent, and I've said this out loud to lots of people, I find it to be a privilege. It was a privilege to be a correspondent, to tell the stories that I saw and to talk to people that I talked to, travel the world in that way. But I knew that the moment I couldn't just jump on a plane and go, and I wasn't willing to do that anymore, I shouldn't be there. Yeah. And so, you know, all of those. Things were sort of converging upon me at after March. Was like, I don't want to go to a life where I'm just jumping on a plane whenever they want for the next story. Like, I don't want my story, my life to get neglected following other people's stories. Yeah. Um, and you have to sort of decide. And I knew like it's too much of a wonderful opportunity to steal that from someone else. You shouldn't be holding that job when someone else should get the chance at it, right?

SPEAKER_01 44:30

Oh, that's beautiful.

SPEAKER_02 44:32

Isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 44:32

I mean, in a way, I mean the way I'm hearing it. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 44:36

I mean, I just think like, if you're not gonna do it, get out of the way, let someone else do it.

SPEAKER_01 44:40

Yeah, a lot of people don't do, I feel like that doesn't happen. Maybe a lot of people don't think to do that way.

SPEAKER_03 44:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:46

You know, like there are a lot of people that want to crack at it. I did it a little bit, a weather channel, like you know, it's a calling. Only every time that I'd have to go somewhere, I was either wet, cold, hot, sweaty, because it was always in a storm. I was in a lot of swarms too. That was Yes, you were. That was like a little trying. You know, so but you know, I I it wore on me only for the two years that I did it.

SPEAKER_02 45:08

Yeah, it's a lot.

SPEAKER_01 45:09

Like it's a lot. It's just up and go, up and go. And there's, I feel, a certain time in your life where you're like, I'm ready to do that. I'll do it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, okay. The adventure's fun, but it's not fun forever. No. And some people are cut out to do it forever, and that's great. But I feel like the point where it got me was just, you know, some of the stories of I was getting sent on were a little odd. And they weren't really, I mean, it was the weather channel. Great company at the time when I was there, but like some stories are like just to go live to go live. And then I go back into the local, and that's the go live to go live. And and then it just and then you have that layer of it and different perspective than you. Um just the money wasn't there at one point. Put all that's that's the hard part about it. Like, sometimes I do sit back and I'm like, you know, what if I was thrown a lot more money? Would I stay? I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 46:05

Because life changes. It was interesting. So I was really careful to talk about the fact that I was making this shift and my reasons for it. My husband, who's again, best life choice I've made, said something very wise to me. He was like, Don't share why you're doing this unless you're ready to hold yourself to it. So every other decision you make has to fit into the same narrative. You can't go back on it. It can't be something you did right now because you felt emotional, because right now you do feel emotional. And you and those emotions are because of what's happened with your job and what's happening with you emotionally as a mother with your daughter, you're wanting to spend time there. But if you take this new job and in a year's time you've added on three other things and you're never home, you just lied. So make sure before you say it, you mean it. Are you gonna hold yourself to that standard? And it was a really like sort of, of course I am. But the more I thought about it, and as things have come up in discussions, the more I've realized that it's actually not that easy because we're always chasing this carrot. And I was doing that even at GMA. And that was sort of the thing that, like, when those layoffs happened to the entire staff that I worked with, I realized you're chasing this carrot. Never ever is it ever gonna be enough. There's always something more on the other side of it. At some point, you have to make a conscious choice about what it is you want and what you're willing to give up, yeah, and not just chase for the sake of chasing.

SPEAKER_03 47:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 47:43

And so I put in some like real boundaries for myself. And I know like where I'm willing to give, where I'm not, what I can add on. I'm trying to add in purposefully within the boundaries.

SPEAKER_03 47:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 47:57

Um, but my ever-wise husband was like, don't say it out loud if you're not willing to hold yourself to it. That's a good one. But then I started saying it out loud because I was like, I'm gonna do this.

unknown 48:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:09

And I hope people hold me to it.

SPEAKER_01 48:12

So, what are the some of the things that I mean, I don't know how much you want to share. I'm not gonna be like, so tell me everything. But are there certain like non-negotiables that you have now? Time. Time is the big one.

SPEAKER_03 48:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:24

I'm a very efficient person, always have been. So I can cram a lot into a day, and I'm willing to work like weird hours of the day, but like getting Ella to school three days a week at a minimum, non-negotiable. Being at home for dinner, three days a week, non-negotiable. Weekends with her, most weekends, I would say at least three, I would like every weekend. But like that's those were my boundaries. I want to spend time with my family. Um, you don't get a do-over in that time, right? Maybe stuff doesn't happen as quickly as I want it to happen for me in this moment, but I have time. I can it it can take more time. I can't do that time over.

SPEAKER_03 49:14

No.

SPEAKER_02 49:15

And so sort of realizing like where I have to sacrifice because that's what this moment calls for. I mean, it just And also what is it that I want my life to actually look like? Yeah. I mean, those are real questions I've had to ask myself because, and I've been having this conversation with so many of my friends because I feel like the job market's just like it's a it's a thing out there. Oh my god. Um I know. So are we too am I signing up for something that I'm just gonna be unhappy for? Is it just gonna be something that's miserable? People that I don't like to work with, like these are things that I really look at. I don't want something to drain my energy. If I'm gonna use my energy, I want my energy to be used towards things that are productive and positive. Yeah. Um, and minimize the rest of the stuff that I can't. That's the stuff when it goes wrong, you can't control it, and it just sucks the life out of you. Oh my gosh, I know. Oh, I know.

SPEAKER_01 50:18

It's it is it is tough. I mean, I always think back, you know, when I have, you know, not everyday's roses and sunshine and sparkles, um, especially when you're building your own thing, like I am. Um but I always think to myself, and maybe your husband will be proud of me. I always think, well, what if I stayed? And that I can't even imagine had I stayed. I had to go because it was about my time. It was about the energy I still had left. It was about the focus, it was about the drive and the ambition. And I just have this fire in my stomach, and I wanted to and I want to tell full stories and have conversations and go in uncomfortable places and not at the aftermath of the conversation, have somebody in my ear being like, Yeah, that wasn't good. Even ask this question, you know? That's what I want. And I always say, like, do I miss the the news and local news? Sure. I think I miss what I thought it was gonna be because at the end it it changed so drastically. And I struggle with, you know, people the comments. Some comments, I just are, you know, it looks like you're struggling with being off the news, we miss you, come back, and it's like, no, you're missing the point. It's not that I miss it. It missed out on me. And I feel like I have more to give in another avenue, which happens to be this. When you talk about the job market, I mean like in sp specifically in news. I mean, I just I just had one of my girlfriends post today how she left the industry and she's starting her own thing. Because it's not that TV journalism, not that journalism is dead, it's TV news she feels is dying. I'm in that camp. I think it could do better, but that's me.

SPEAKER_02 52:09

I just think there's so many places for people to get information. I know. And it's it's competitive for many.

SPEAKER_01 52:17

More so than just NBC, CBS, NBC, and Fox. It's beyond just them. There's so many more people who are just like doing their own thing.

SPEAKER_02 52:26

And they're very successful at it. So Yeah. So it's look. Yeah, I just think like it I mean, I I applaud you because I think it takes a lot of courage to chase your dreams and do something scary. Yeah. Um but then I think what's the alternative? You're just gonna be scared of sitting miserable in something that you don't like. But I think, you know, I've had this conversation with a lot of friends recently. In the industry or outside? I mean, multiple different industries. I feel like there are just a lot of people who we thought that at this age life would be different than it is, like more stable, more certain.

SPEAKER_01 53:08

Oh, yeah, I feel lied to from school. I feel like I got lied to. Like, oh, wait, wait, when you get here, you're gonna have this, this, that, and this. And you're like, I have like 0.5 of all of what I thought I was gonna have.

SPEAKER_02 53:18

Um, the world is different.

unknown 53:20

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 53:21

The world is just different than it was when we were growing up. And and what it takes to be successful and happy is different, I think. But also, I mean, people just don't stay at the same company for like 40 years anymore. It just doesn't happen. And so you have to figure out like where is your happy? Chase your happy, go find it, do that. Yeah. And and I did that for a long time. Yes. Journalism was that, yes, is that for me. But how we tell those stories doesn't have to be so one-dimensional. I actually think it's you have to shift with the changing world and tell the stories in the way and where people are.

SPEAKER_01 54:05

Yeah, meet them where they're at, which so happens to be on the phones a lot these days. Yeah, no, I mean, I I like that chasing you're happy, but again, that also takes the courage to do it because it's so much easier to be in a situation where you're like, okay, I'm comfortable. I always felt like whenever I got comfortable, it was time to go.

SPEAKER_02 54:22

I like being comfortable.

SPEAKER_01 54:24

You're comfortable in that seat, I can see, and you're not leaving anytime soon.

SPEAKER_02 54:27

I'm comfortable. I I am comfortable. I like to be comfortable. I'm not one of those people that like needs to feel uncomfortable. Yeah. But um I also don't like to be miserable.

SPEAKER_01 54:38

Oh. Sign me up and be miserable. Yes. Um Party of One over here.

SPEAKER_02 54:45

So, you know, it's I think a I I'm not alone in having had to weigh that. Like, oh. And that's what this podcast basically is all about. And and looking at something that was really happy and realizing I think that's the biggest lesson I've learned in all of everything I've been through is looking at it going, okay, this was I this was my sign I needed to exit. Right? Because you probably would have stayed there then. I don't think they intended it to be like a sign for me to exit. No. Um but I had enough respect for myself and confidence to know that I could do something else. And I think you start there and somehow the world just falls into place.

SPEAKER_01 55:31

It's wild that it does that, right? I mean, even in the even in the days where you're so like did I do yes, I did, because then you get a sign. Like today I was on the train coming here. And you know, I I I often think, you know, where is this going? How could you not when you start a business? I mean, you know what I mean? Like you start something, you're like, all right, I don't have a complete thorough business plan, but I'm just going based on my gut. That's just how I've always been. I don't know. And I happen to look on my YouTube channel, and somebody was like, I always loved you. I'm so glad I found you. I always thought you were too big for the local TV stations. And I thought, even if it's just one person saying that, it just made made me feel like I am on the right path. You get these little like I like to call godwinks. Like when you were in that moment of just being a little confused about something, you get the don't worry, I got you. I got you. I got a little godwink before I got here. And then you walked in the door and I was like, oh my god, Nazi!

SPEAKER_02 56:36

I know. My second god wink of the day. You're such a larger than life personality, too. I don't think people really I'm like not everyone on television is like big person. I'm not a big personality kind of person. You're like a person when you walk, when you walk in the room, the like energy moves.

SPEAKER_00 56:54

I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_02 56:56

I met you outside. So you know, like this is true. It it you do. You just like you've you're I I don't mean loud in a negative way, but you're like a loud. Oh yeah, no, I hear what you're saying. Loud and clear. Like loud and like friendly person who just like come, you're an energy that like moves.

SPEAKER_01 57:17

Because I like to, I like to get my my my force and I like to repel the negative energy. I don't like when negative energy comes near people that I love, I care about, my people. I don't like that. So I try to, and maybe the negative energy was coming too close. My force feel was getting like, we gotta get out of here, Medgie, we gotta get out of here. And that's why I decided to shift and do this because now I have a room full of all of this, you know, acceptance and this energy where I, you know, you can sit down. I want people to feel like, oh, this is nice. Yeah. We're just having coffee, which we are. Cameras somehow are pointing in our direction on our faces.

SPEAKER_02 57:51

Well, and the conversations are always, I mean, like they what did they say? Like, death and taxes are always like guaranteed, but I also think that like so is kind of like turbulence. Like, life is not easy.

SPEAKER_01 58:05

No. We all do it, we all have to figure it out, and so yeah, and I find it always interesting to see what life looks like after you get through the turbulence. Because on my show, the plane's always landing. Might be a little bumpy, but we're always getting down, we're always touching down. I I also think it just like makes you stronger and more appreciative. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I mean, any time of challenge and turbulence and you know questioning, like that builds you. Like I I couldn't, I could everything I went through with the news and just with because that's I mean, that's a lot of what I talk about, because I'm still dealing with like, you know, the adjustment, even though it's been a year out, I'm happy with my adjustment. But like, you know, I I would not take a second of it back. I don't regret a second of it.

unknown 58:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 58:55

Because that got me to where I'm sitting right now. Yeah. I would never damn the news. Mm-mm. But I just want people to know who might be in it or might be in a relationship or a certain job that they're at. There is a way through this turbulence that you're experiencing.

SPEAKER_02 59:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 59:12

You know, you just have to have the courage to get through it.

SPEAKER_02 59:14

Well, and I would say too, you know, I'm like, I've been, I feel so positive now. I'm more than a year out of it all. But I would say, even the first six months after I left ABC, I still felt uneasy. I don't know how to like quite put my finger on it. I wasn't unhappy. I was excited that I was getting to do all these things, and yet I felt like the the the floor was gonna drop out at any moment. I was just like uncle were too happy almost. I just like it what also it was like a whole identity shift.

SPEAKER_03 59:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 59:50

Like that was a whole I wasn't prepared for that. And I thought that I had like really mourned to the end of what you know, when you I'd planned to be do my whole career there. I I never anticipated I was ever gonna leave. And so when things don't go to plan, you mourn what you thought was going to be. And I thought I had done that, like sufficiently. It was lots of tears. And then once I was not there, I realized how much I was still I actually hadn't mourned it. I was like a bit in denial about it because I knew what I had was great.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:26

And it it was a weird place to be, to be so happy and like loving my life, and also strangely in mourning for this thing that was no longer, and I knew it needed to be no longer.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:39

Right.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:39

But didn't make it any easier.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:41

Isn't that like just so painful? That's like part of life when you know something has to end.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:47

Like you just know.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:49

I knew I had to walk away from it, but it didn't make it not sad. No. And I still talk to a few of my friends that are there. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:58

It's not like when you leave, you're like, because some people ask me, like, do you still talk to people in your work? I'm like, Yes. It's not like I'm like, I divorced everybody and I left. I'm like, you know, see you later, everybody. I never want to talk. No, like I accumulate my people. I don't, you know, push them away. Exactly. Yeah, you still talk, maybe not the managers. I don't watch television nearly as much. Oh, jeez, that's a question. So really, I don't even watch the news anymore.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:21

So not really. I mean, I'll like maybe like Because I am forever a journalist. I um and I have a four-year-old, I don't want the TV on in my house. I'm quite picky about when the screens are on. And it's not because I think screens are bad, screens are useful in specific moments, specific programming for her. But it actually, the worst kind of screen was the background noise screen, which was what I had on all the time because I was trying to keep track of what was going on in the news. And so that was the first thing that went. I just turned it off. We don't turn the TV on in the mornings. Oh, it is wonderful, isn't it? It's um I listen to podcasts on my way in for the headlines. Okay. And yeah. What kind of music do you listen to? All kinds of music. Well, it's she's corrupted my Spotify playlist. So it's like K-pop demon hunters and Disney princesses.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:23

Oh, okay. I was gonna say, um, you could always try the yacht rock. Maybe, maybe Ella will like the yacht rock if you start. No, she's like quite specific with her taste. Oh, we can't go to the yacht.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:33

She likes Bob Marley, so that's good. Um, and she likes um she likes the occasional, like random, like like kind of soul music kind of vibe. They have yacht rock soul. Do they?

SPEAKER_01 1:02:48

I'm pushing the yacht rock hardcore. I love some yacht rock. I I do. I I love it. I didn't know it was yacht rock. I like to believe I'm an OG of the yacht rock movement because I didn't know it was yacht rock until I was oddly on a yacht. Well, it was kind of a boat. And my mind was a yacht, but it was a my friend had a boat at one point in her life. Not a big boat. It was like a small boat. Anyway, we're on a boat, and I'm telling her this music I like. She goes, you know, that's yacht rock. I go, what? What is yacht rock? What is did you just ask what is yacht rock?

SPEAKER_02 1:03:21

I'm sorry, I'm not I'm not that cool.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:23

Eva, I don't know if I can hear this interview anymore. Yacht rock is like Holland Oates, Doobie Brothers, Stevie Dam. It's like 70s, 80s. Okay. And there's a touch of jazz with it. Yes. And kind of It's the music of my mother. Yeah, it's just, oh yeah. She's to clean the house to it.

unknown 1:03:42

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:43

And you should know what Yacht Rock is. Okay. It is the I didn't know that's what it was called. Well, you know, there is a yacht rock concert coming into the New York City area. I think I'm gonna have to grab another ticket so you can attend it with me, so you can understand the full elevation of what yacht rock is. Got it. Okay. Well, it looks like we're out of time. Wow, it's a whole hour. Yeah, can you believe it? Yeah, well, I was I glanced over once and I was like, I got a couple more. We just yap, yap, yap. Blah blah blah blah blah blah. Yeah. I am grateful for you. I am beyond grateful for you. Oh my gosh. I'm so proud of you. Thank you. Thank you. This is, you know, it hasn't been easy, but it's been rewarding. Thank you so much for being part of this. I totally appreciate it. Thank you. And I can't wait for more comments. Martinis. Martinis, baby. Okay, we'll leave to the camera. Five friends. Take what lands, believe what doesn't, and keep moving forward. Follow wherever you're listening, and if you are watching on YouTube, hit that subscribe button. It helps more than you know.