S2 Ep20: From Record Deal to Redemption | Haley Morgan Hunt | Bench to Bold

Haley Morgan Hunt joins Marnie and Alisa for a conversation about what happens when life doesn't go the way you planned it — and why that can be the best thing that ever happens to you. A singer-songwriter who landed a record deal at 16 and spent years building brands for professional athletes, Haley shares how a single visit to a juvenile detention center in 2018 changed the entire trajectory of her life.
That one visit became The Verb Kind, a mentorship organization now serving incarcerated and at-risk youth across multiple states, from Miami to Nashville. Haley talks candidly about identity, faith, service, pregnancy at 42, and why she believes God saved her from the fame she once chased.

Episode Highlights: 
00:00 — Introducing Haley Morgan Hunt: philanthropist, businesswoman, and friend
00:45 — From senior superlative "Most Likely to Become Famous" to a record deal at 16
03:27 — Building brands for professional athletes and navigating identity after sport
05:58 — The 2018 invitation that changed everything: teaching at a juvenile detention center
09:07 — Founding The Verb Kind and expanding mentorship across three states
13:29 — Singing the national anthem at six NFL games in six weeks
15:18 — What it's really like walking into a detention center for the first time
19:28 — Why service resets perspective more than anything else
25:20 — Where The Verb Kind is growing next and how to bring it to your city
29:19 — Expecting her first baby at 42 and her boldest moment ahead

About This Week's Guest:
Haley Morgan Hunt is a singer-songwriter, brand builder, and the founder of The Verb Kind, a mentorship organization serving incarcerated and at-risk youth in juvenile detention centers and foster homes across the country. A former record-deal artist and national anthem performer, Haley has spent the last several years building brands for professional athletes while growing The Verb Kind into a multi-state operation. She lives in Orlando, Florida.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:08

Hi everyone, welcome to Bench to Bold. I'm Marnie. And I'm Elisa. And uh we have just one of the most spectacular human beings on the planet joining us today. Her name is Haley Morgan Hunt, and she is a philanthropist. She is an incredible businesswoman. She is a kind person and she's my friend. And uh she's Elisa's friend now, too. So that's great. And she'll be your friend as well. So, Haley, thanks for joining us. And um, we just want to start from the beginning. I love what you were saying before we officially started. So I'm just gonna pass the ball to you. Go.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Wow, thank you guys so much. I'm running down the field about a score a touchdown, hopefully. Um, I am so humbled to be here today. Honestly, I'm coming to you live from Orlando, Florida. It's super hot here, but I'm sure it's hot everywhere. And uh I am so grateful. I love the name of your beautiful show, Bench to Bold. I think that so many listeners are uh can relate to those three words, bench to bold, and how uh so many times in life or a moment in our life we've been put on the bench when we're supposed to be the starter. And all my life I was the starter. And I in high school I uh was voted most likely to become famous. That was my senior superlative. And I was a singer-songwriter all the way from high school. I had a record deal at 16 and fast forward, I did a lot of really cool stuff with my music career, and um but what I envisioned for my life, uh, like a lot of people that are listening, and maybe you two as well, like life didn't turn out exactly the way that I planned. And when you're younger, you're refusing to accept that, you know, you just refuse. Like, no, no, no, no, no, like this is how my life is supposed to go. And then the older that you get, how blessed we are that you realize, thank God it didn't go the way that I wanted it to go. I mean, how many guys have we dated in our lives?

SPEAKER_00 2:11

I was just getting ready to say that. Thank God it didn't go the way that I thought I wanted it to go every time except for this time.

SPEAKER_01 2:20

You're talking to high school girls, you're like, trust me. Trust me.

SPEAKER_00 2:24

Then you get- they're so sad crying and can't get out of their own way, and you're like, uh, this is gonna be a fly on your ass soon. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 2:32

Then you get to college and it's you know, ring before spring. Like that is the goal, especially in the south. Like, your goal, okay, if you're not like woman power trying to be somebody, you're trying to be somebody's wife. So you're like, if I don't have a ring by the time that I graduate, I really don't know what I'm gonna do. And then you don't get a ring by spring. Well, we just would gotta tell all the college girls, right? We look back at our college lives and like, God, I am so glad Joe Schmo never became my husband. And to some of us, he did become our husband, and we are not with him anymore. Thank you to that as well.

SPEAKER_02 3:11

Right, like Ariana Grande said, thank you next.

SPEAKER_01 3:14

Exactly, exactly. So um, I the cool part about where I'm at right now, I'm just gonna throw this out there, but you know, I'm 42, and I my music career didn't turn out the way that I thought, and I honestly had some really cool relationships my whole life. My dad played football at the University of Alabama. I grew up in on SEC football. We um had some NFL players and and pro athletes in our family, and uh we I worked with pro athletes, and so in my 30s, I started building brands for athletes and would take a dream that they had or an existing company and just uh help them make it better and really help them, you know, make more money because that's what they need is more money and more, you know, glory and everything. Uh, I'm just kidding. But as a as a person who loves athletes and even my dad, and you know, just seeing the athl the what athletics can do positively but also negatively, and just like as a, you know, you have an identity crisis, kind of like everybody, but some, you know, athletes have identity crises sometimes. So I I would see them aching in their quest to be something great, you know, or to be a successful business person, or find their identity outs off the field, that outside of the sport. And one beautiful day in 2018, I was in a space in my life where God had closed some doors. And, you know, like the way that I thought some deals were gonna go didn't go. And I was 34 at the time, and this lady uh came to me and she said, You have such a great personality, you should come to the juvenile detention center with me here in Orlando, Florida, and I teach yoga to kids in jail. And I was like, why? And she's like, Well, because it it calms them down, it's like a you know, it regulates their emotions and it makes a huge impact on them. And you know, I don't, I'm not a huge yoga person, but I was like, I'll go and meet the girls. And so 2018, I came to a juvenile detention center and I walked into a room and there were 22 girls looking at me. And I'll never forget feeling I wasn't scared or anything, but I was feeling like they're totally judging me, you know, because women judge anyway. And so at 13, 14, 15, 16, I know they were looking at me like, who is this lady and what does she want with us? And the major of the detention center, the the warden, was like, This is Miss Haley, show respect. Um, and the first thing that one of the girls asked was, So what do you do? And I said, Oh, I'm I'm a singer-songwriter because that was my identity, like my whole life, like that is my identity, like singer-songwriter. And what do you think they asked? The next girl was like, Oh, for real, we'll sing then. And I was put on the spot immediately uh to impress these girls. It was a make it or break it situation in my life because if I couldn't sing, I probably would have been booed out of the room. But thank God I could sing and I sang some gospel song and I won them over. And then I brought this bag out and I started pulling out nail polish and passing out nail polish and fingernail files to all these girls, and they were going crazy. Now, as women, we know that to have our nails done is like very important, but especially when you're in a place in as a teenager and you dream so bad to be beautiful, you want to be accepted as a in as a teenager and going through hard things, but then you look at these girls and they're in jail for something, and you're you're not really sure why they're there, but they all are the same girls as us, you know, they all want to be accepted, they all want to be beautiful. And so I remember painting this little girl's nails, and she told me, she's like, I love jail. And I was like, What? She's like, Yeah, I like it here, and just so chill and nonchalant. And I said, What do you mean? And she's like, Well, it's way better than my house. And the other girl was like, Yeah, this is way better than my house. I'm here because I ran away. And I started hearing all these girls' stories about how they would rather be in jail than be at their home. And honestly, it it crushed my soul. It it hurt me. And it was something that I could not unhear. So I walked out of there that day, completely changed. And every Monday night, I started going to the detention center and I would bring in all kinds of fun stuff. We are I built a team. We started hanging out with uh the boys as well. I would bring in Chick-fil-A, we'd do birthday parties, we'd do Valentine's, we would do all these things. And I remember the first time I ever posted something on LinkedIn, this guy commented and was like, What about the victims family? And I'm sitting here thinking, like, there are kids that have done wrong things to people, but a lot of the kids that are in juvie right now that are locked up are in there because they're selling dope to provide for their siblings because they don't have parents. There's kids in there that are taking crimes for uncles that are over 18 because you know, the uncles are basically like, you need to take this charge for me and say you did it because when you're younger, it's a way less sentence, or you're you get ex it gets expunged when you're 18. So I started learning about all these things and it didn't make me excuse any behavior, but it did give me compassion for a lot of these kids that 80% of them have no fathers and 50% of them are in foster care. So, fast forward today, uh I have a huge organization called the Verb Kind because action, we are an action kind of people, love is an action, and we're in three states from Miami to Nashville. We have hundreds of uh mentors all over that go into juvenile detention centers, foster homes, and serve these young people that need help and hope. And God has given me an opportunity to go back to and obviously take some of the guys that I have also helped build brands for and pro athletes uh come to jail with me and give back. And the coolest part and the bridge that is being built is that when you go into a juvenile detention center and you ask a young boy or a teenager, what do you want to be when you grow up? There's two answers. They either want to be a rapper or an athlete, they want to be an NFL player. So to be able to have some of these guys come back to jail with me and meet these kids has been super incredible. And it's in honestly, it's the best way I could serve my athlete friends is to give them an opportunity to give back because it impacts them way more than a check ever would. You know what I mean? So I'm 42, I'm having my first baby, our organization has grown, and uh I am just so grateful that my life didn't turn out exactly the way that I thought. Uh, and I was benched. And sometimes God needs to bench us to rearrange a few things in our life or to humble us or to do whatever kind of work that we need to do uh so that when we get to that next season that we win the championship. So that's what I'm doing right now. I'm winning. It's a winning season right now for me. So I'm curious, do you still sing? I do sing, and actually yesterday I was in Jacksonville in the studio. Uh, I'm gonna drop a song really soon. I'm dropping it, uh maybe in the next few couple months, and uh two songs actually. And one is called Second Chances, and it's incredible. And uh it's so what kind of genre do you say? I would use the word pop because that's like covers everything, but yeah um kind of soul pop, like inspirational.

SPEAKER_02 11:20

So that's fantastic. I would like to do a game day anthem with you, Haley, because I think that I mean, and I'm sure that I mean when you sung to the girls, all right, because there is something so powerful about hearing live things, any kind of live performance, which is definitely what we love about sports, because it's a live performance. You can't re-loop it, you can't reshoot it, it's live. So I'm sure that when you sung to the girls that day, that was something that was certainly a game changer for you, but definitely for them, because that's probably, I mean, in many ways, I think that when they say they want to be a professional musician or a professional athlete, it is about that live stuff where you can't, where you like you have to really be prepared to go win the game, win the championship, win the audience, all of those things. So I would imagine that for you to be a professional musician, which is what you are, then you go in and you handle all these things, you're always prepared because you don't get a chance to redo it.

SPEAKER_00 12:22

No, and I'm sure a lot of those ladies would love to be a musician. I mean, so many people love Taylor Swift, right?

SPEAKER_01 12:28

I mean, you wouldn't believe how talented and smart these kids are. Like you're literally you're hearing these girls going, why are you not on the radio? Why are you not a stand-up comedian? Why are you not a doctor? Like these kids are incredible, you know. Um, I will tell you, speaking of live, that about five years ago, it was 2021, it was a lot of the BLM movement, it was uh America, it was crazy, it was a it was COVID, it was very chaotic in our country. And I love America, I also love um serving others, and I also love to sing, and so I decided to go on a little quest to sing at a bunch of NFL games, the national anthem. So one season I sang at six NFL games six weeks in a row, and uh it's the stupidest thing you could ever do because the national anthem is one, one of the hardest songs vocally to sing, but two, it's live, baby. And if you mess up, they're still talking about there's literally at national to anthem time game time. Uh there's probably 30,000 people at least in the stadium, if not 45, if they're not standing in line for a beer. And I'm singing the national anthem, and you better not mess up. So I I did that. It was a really fun experience. I don't really know why I do that to myself, but I was like up for this challenge because it was also when there was so much controversy around it. But I liked it, I wanted to do it, and um I was also helping incarcerated youth at the same exact time. So uh anybody who had anything negative to say, but you know what is so cool? I sang the national anthem so many times, and everybody no one had anything negative to say about it, and I didn't really care. So yeah, singing the national anthem live at an NFL game is one of the scariest things that you could probably ever do.

SPEAKER_00 14:25

I can imagine.

SPEAKER_02 14:25

Oh, I'm I'm sure. I mean, that is that takes a lot of courage, but again, but I think that you've done things that are courageous. I would imagine that in 2018, going with your friend to the um detention center to teach a yoga class when, you know, downward dog does not sound like fun, and then going and meeting, you know, that's a brave thing to do. So, I mean, I have I've I have not been to um I I have not been anywhere really near a detention center. Or I mean, I want to go with you though, but I definitely want to take a field trip with you to go do that. What were some of the things that you were maybe expecting to have happen? I mean, other than like seeing movies or you know, what was it, what was it really like? And like how do you, and then how did this become something that now you're so passionate about, which I love, and trying to make a difference in which you are for these youth?

SPEAKER_01 15:18

No matter if you've been to jail or not, no matter if you've come from a rough background or a privileged background or whatever, you walking into a jail and hearing the keys lock the door behind you, you it freaks you out at first. The first time you ever go, you're like, oh my gosh, it does like the nerves. And then you assume that these kids are what? Criminals, because that's what everybody says they are. And then you walk into a room and you meet these children, and the brokenness on their face, the kindness in their eyes, the things that you hear them say will literally blow your mind. And it literally it makes you humble yourself a little bit, ask for forgiveness for assuming, which we all would assume anyway, you know. I think that that was has been one of the biggest things that has blown my mind as a person who, you know, it's easy for us to assume about people, but you never know, right? You never you can't judge a book by its cover, and you you meet the cashier or the whatever, and then you find these people out, and you're going, oh my god, Lord forgive me for judging this lady or whoever. It's the same thing with these children. I think that everybody always asks, like, were you ever incarcerated? Was your dad incarcerated? No. I do believe that there are times in your life when you just become passionate about something. I don't know why I'm passionate about it. I also felt like if I didn't do something, no one else would. And if I didn't do it, like who was going to? So it was almost like it was put in my lap, and then so clean did it take me away from other stuff? Yes, like I'm a writer, I'm a speaker, I wanted to build my brand. Like I wanted to be on stage speaking and inspiring women, which I'm gonna do one day. You know what I mean? But are doing it. Thank you. But I like how much more is beautiful is it that one, I get to talk about this, but two, I've gotten to sacrifice, you know, a big uh uh the last seven years of my life where I could have been pursuing me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me. But the impact that the verb kind has been able to make. And you know what the coolest part is? The kids get impacted, yes. But you know who else gets impacted even more? The mentors. I have had so many people come to jail. Marnie, when you come to jail with me, it's gonna wreck your life in the most incredible way. And you're gonna be like, this is the coolest experience I've hands down ever had in my life. And people get changed from the inside out. It's like going on a missions trip, you know what I mean? Like you just are like, I will never be the same. Well, it's right down the street, honey. You don't have to get out of go out of this country to find a kid in need, you know? So anyway.

SPEAKER_02 18:03

I can't wait. All right. Well, it'll be, I mean, before the baby, before your baby, I'm going to jail with you, Allie. All right. We can, you know, we'll have a baby shower and then go to jail. How about that? I love that. I think that sounds like a per. But I mean, I love the fact, I mean, definitely, you know, and and you, you are the epitome of this. You know, people always say, like, oh, I'm having a really bad day, and this, and even my kids, like I've got, you know, three kids, and I'm like, the only way to get out of your bad day is to go volunteer. That is it. The only way you could do everything else. You could go take a, you know, maybe do an exercise. That will help too. But the only way to really reset yourself if you're having a bad day or if you're having a bad time in life is to volunteer. And you, I think, are the poster child for that because you understand what that really means and you're out there preaching it. And I love your commitment to being to your faith and to sharing that with the community and also going into these places that typically, you know, um pretty blonde women do not go to. I mean, I mean, they just don't. It's like you, it's not a place that a lot of people expect. So it's something that is so unexpected. I'm sure when they're like, oh, we're gonna have a visitor today, and then you walk in, everybody's like, that's not, I was thinking something else completely.

SPEAKER_01 19:28

They say, Have I seen you on ESPN? Are you a sports broadcaster? I'm like, that was my dream to be a sports broadcaster, but no, I'm here uh hanging out with y'all. Uh many of the people that are listening, and many of us women, specifically women, could potentially fire your counselor. We don't need a counselor as bad as we think we do. We like we we are addicted to uh wallowing in our pity, remembering all the bad things, really just loving to rehash stuff in our lives. And we're a selfie world. It's all about what you look like, you know, how many followers you have, how much money you're making, all the things. But a lot of us are stuck in that. And I believe God saved me from fame, to be honest, because and so many people have come served with us. You can serve anywhere. Go to the nursing home, go to the homeless shelter. It will change your whole perspective. And for some reason, you'll be able to just you're healing from the inside out by serving someone else, you know. And then when you hear other people's stories, you're like, God, I thought I had it bad, or I thought I couldn't make it through, but I just heard what this person, especially a child, but I heard what this person has gone through, or I could be sleeping on the streets tonight. And it does, it changes your whole perspective. So, yeah, we need more volunteers in this world. So if you're struggling with depression or anxiety or whatever, like Marnie said, go volunteer, go sign up somewhere in your community and give back. Go write someone a letter or call someone in who needs something. Give your money away.

SPEAKER_02 21:06

I know. Why is this message? Why, you know, is it it seems so natural? We're all very, you're all givers here, Lisa, myself. But why do you think that people is that a hard message for people to accept or they just don't know, or it's unfamiliar? I think what is it?

SPEAKER_01 21:24

Yeah, I think I honestly I think it's unfamiliar because when people get an opportunity to serve, especially with us, we haven't had a hard time inviting people. It's not like a, oh, please come with us to a detention center. No, people are like, actually, that's the craziest invitation I've ever gotten. That sounds really uncomfortable, but yes, I know I'm supposed to go. I think that it's just unfamiliar. I think we are so wrapped up in our own little bubbles, aren't we all? Like I am. And then someone interrupts that bubble and just pulls you out of it. So maybe we need to invite our friends. To maybe we need to gather a couple friends and go give, you know, our pickleball club or our such and such club. You know, maybe we go take one of the weeks that we're we're playing mahjong and go serve at the you know homeless shelter. I think it it's a surprise gift that people find and never knew they needed. Oh yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_00 22:22

I was a social work major and I did an externship at Crisis Control Ministry. And it was so humbling for me to sit in a room and in with people that would come in and you know have seven different social security numbers or no social security numbers for their children, people that were stealing power from other homes to have power, or people that did not have food, or we had a pharmacy there, people did not have their medication for diabetes or um cardiovascular, but that was a very humbling moment as well. And then I co-facilitated a narcotics and NA program and most of and all of those, it was a HIV NA program, and all of those people had HIV and obviously were recovering or still using um and had most of them had been in jail. And it was amazing to me to see some of the things that some of them would do to go back to jail to have a place to have, you know, a shower or heat or air condition or food or to be able to watch TV. If they were good, they got to watch a movie. Um so yeah, so I I get that. And then you know, working in medicine my entire life, you know, as a my first job out of um college was working as a hospice social worker. And if you've ever been in that situation, I had two parents die in hospice. But to actually work in, you know, a hospice situation and see people, you know, dying and with all kinds of things. That's also one of those things that's very humbling. Yes. And to have the volunteers, I ran a nursing um a nursing home. I was a marketing director for a nursing home, um, several nursing homes, and then I had uh worked a job in a nursing home for a pharmacy. Um and when you see people that actually are living in nursing homes and don't have one visitor, one family member, um, having volunteers is super important in any of those situations, especially jail, you know, and dealing with young people. But because a lot of those times those people get left behind and those young people that you're going in and mentoring become older people in jail, right?

SPEAKER_01 24:40

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 24:41

Absolutely. So uh along those lines, oh I actually the one prison that I I did go to was Alcatraz. I think we were a young girl, and you know, I was away with my mom, and uh, you know, I we I took the tour to Alcatraz, and I was like, yeah, no, I this was it scared me. I still sometimes, you know, yeah, it was scary, but um, but that's Alcatraz. And you'll so what happens to these youth, Haley? And then on top of that, so you know, the verb kind like, how do we grow this? Like, where do we go from here? But what happens initially to the youth that are in that are incarcerated right now?

SPEAKER_01 25:20

Uh some of them get out and they're thriving and they're they keep in touch with us and we help them with their next steps, like a job or or having a mentor or school or whatever. We also have kids that love the game and they never want to get out and and or they don't know how to get out, you know, and it's heartbreaking, but it's like one of those service situations that you can't really control people, you can just, you know, lead them to the water, right? That's that's what they say. So, but we have had on the positive side, we've had so many kids get out and change their life around and be so impacted in the middle of darkness, in their worst situation in jail, and be impacted by a group of people and then end up turning their whole life around. And so that's worth it to us. It makes it worth it to us. We our dream is to open all over, and uh, you know, LA and Charlotte is a big city for us that we've been asked. Um, Atlanta, Chicago, Baltimore. We just opened in Nashville, Fort Worth, and Dallas and Houston. So we are looking for partners and uh partnerships with people who have community in their cities that would want to build a team. And and the coolest part is that it's sometimes it's a church partnership, sometimes it's just a couple of people that know a couple people, and then they tell people, tell people, tell people. So we have 15, 20 people on a team that literally have never known each other and now they're family because they are serving people together, you know, they they didn't know each other, but they all live in the same city and they're all going in on a Monday night or a Tuesday night or whatever, serving incarcerated youth. And it's just a really cool community opportunity. So yeah, if if if someone's listening and they're like, oh my gosh, I want to do that in my city, let's do it. That's my answer.

SPEAKER_02 27:22

I think that's great. Well, I I have a feeling that there will be a lot of people, come not present company included, not excluded, that uh I mean, it's something that, you know, I I know that I've you know been fortunate and have had incredible experiences in my life, as have my children. But, you know, um, and I do have empathy for the children that are incarcerated and the victims' families too. There's definitely a delicate balance between all of it. But, you know, when certainly giving getting kids an opportunity to have success after an injury, you know, that's why we love the Ronald McDonald House after illness, after having unfortunate circumstances, those are things that really definitely um appeal to me. And so I I I love what you're doing. And and I'm sure that there's a lot of, you know, when you bring professional athletes into these um, you know, places where youth is incarcerated, I would imagine that there's a a a a kind of come to Jesus moment for everybody at that time.

SPEAKER_01 28:32

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And you work with athletes and have been around them a lot, so you know that sometimes they need a little reminder of, you know, what life is all about anyway.

SPEAKER_02 28:44

I think we all need a reminder. I think that we all can use a like I said, you know, it's like yeah, I mean, certainly I think being grateful for all the things that we get to do is something that um I do not, you know, take lightly. All right, so let's talk about the baby. And you're 42, or it's your first baby, and how are you feeling? What are the cravings? Like what now I'm gonna get by the way, my Instagram is now gonna be flooded with like baby, baby things. My phone is right here and we're talking about babies.

SPEAKER_01 29:18

It hears you. It hears you.

SPEAKER_02 29:20

It does, I know. And my kids are too young to be having children yet, but um, but soon. Um, all right, so let's hear about okay, you being pregnant at 42, having a baby, all the stuff. What's that gonna be like for Haley?

SPEAKER_01 29:34

Uh it's gonna be new. Um, she's already come to a couple of detention centers with me, actually. And I haven't had a ton of cravings, but you know, it's summertime, so it's hot, it's a hot girl summer, if you know what I mean. And uh so asay bowls, popsicles, ice cream, honey, uh all that is sounds good to me all the time. I will say that, you know, being older, they you know, I don't know if you know this, but they call it a geriatric pregnancy, which is so dumb. Uh I think after like 32 or 34, it's considered a geriatric pregnancy. But there's a lot of fear that that people put and instill in you. A lot of the doctors like are very, they call call it high risk. And I think that they're not realizing how many older women right now are having babies, you know, later in life, because there's been a wave of women who have been working on their career or doing whatever, and then all of a sudden they're now settling down and having babies and that kind of thing. So I'm really excited. I'm not afraid. Uh, you know, I always wonder how this baby's getting coming out. Like, I have no idea how that happens.

SPEAKER_02 30:46

Uh yeah, well, I mean, I've had I've had both, I've had a C-section and I've had the traditional delivery the first time with my son. It was, I was like, Yeah, the doctor said, Do you want to see the mirror? I was like, No, please don't. No, I'm like, uh, yeah, that doesn't seem right, but yeah. No, it's it's good, but it's great though. It's all great.

SPEAKER_01 31:10

They're like, Do you want a mirror? I said, No. Yeah, no, no, I do not want a mirror. Each their own. Like, I that's great, but I just would rather just never see that. So it's not something that I'm gonna be having, but uh, I'm really excited. My husband is very excited. He we have a little six-year-old boy that um I'm blessed to be a bonus mom for, and uh, and then Brighton, her name is Brighton, so I know it's a cute name, it means light or shining light or city on a hill. Uh, she's gonna be full of joy, and it just something that I to be honest, when I found out I was pregnant, I thought immediately in my head, I thought, oh my gosh, this is gonna slow me down. This is gonna change my life. Like all the things that people say, oh my gosh, like, sorry you're pregnant. Do you realize how broad how different you're but I don't know why people say that. Like, I realized how blessed I am, how many women out there are praying to get pregnant, doing all kinds of things to get pregnant, and I get the honor of getting to be pregnant as well. And what an honor, you know, what an incredible privilege. And then the experience of being a mom, you guys, like how cool is that, you know. Hey, if if you're listening and you're a man and you don't realize how awesome women are, freaking women are amazing. God, God created our body to do some insane stuff, like it is crazy.

SPEAKER_02 32:38

So it's definitely women are amazing, I would say. In whatever, in in any capacity, we are definitely strong and resilient and brave and courageous and cool and just can hang. And I mean, we're we have we we know we have it all. We don't know it all, but we have it all for sure.

SPEAKER_01 32:59

Give me some advice. Do you guys have any advice, either of you? I don't have kids, so okay.

SPEAKER_02 33:05

Fur baby. I have fur babies, right? Well, and you're a great fur baby mom. Yes. So um I would say, uh, so for me, I would say that, you know, and this is gonna sound so cliche, but really truly enjoy every like so every single second of it is precious. It really is, because you can't get that time back. And so like I'm with my kids all the time and they're in their 20s, but I'm still with them as much as I possibly can because I cannot. There's certain things like I can do other things, there's other things I can do, and I can do that another time, but I'm like, I cannot, where they still want to hang out with me. Like tomorrow, um Leo, my youngest and I are going away, his birthday is tomorrow. We're going on a mother-son trip. And I'm like, while he still wants to do those things with me, I'm doing them. So enjoy every single second, but get help too, because you need to have some rest and you need to recharge your own body. Like, no matter how great we are, we can't do it all, all right? At all times. So you do need some help and and your husband will, you know, put some responsibility on him because it will actually help your relationship. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 34:17

And he's such an amazing, he just he's a dad. He can't wait to be another a dad to another little girl, to a girl, and he's just so excited. So, yes, I told him as soon as a baby comes out, you can you can take care of her and help me. So I'm really excited about that.

SPEAKER_02 34:34

Yes, I think that, you know, it there's definitely obviously um a learning curve too. And, you know, that's part of life. And that's the great thing is that we get to learn things as we're going, whatever, whether it's, you know, our four-legged babies, two-legged, you know, children, there's so many things to be excited about. And that's one thing I love about you, Haley, is that you really love life. Like I love life. Like some days I'm like, oh, you know, I just want to, you know, sit in bed and turn the air conditioning on and, you know, eat a bucket of popcorn, but I'm which I do, but you know, but we love life and finding ways to give back. And that's something that that I that I love about you and what you're doing out there with making a difference. And then finding ways, like it's so funny because, you know, as you know, that um everybody now wants to be part of what you're doing philanthropically. So the people that didn't really want to hear from you in the other profession now they're, you know, like you're telling them, take a number, we'll get to you. Yeah. Wait, stand in line. Exactly. Stand in line. Take a number, sir. We'll get to you when we get to you.

SPEAKER_01 35:43

Exactly. What um was bench to bold on the on media row in at the Super Bowl?

SPEAKER_02 35:49

No, but you know, but I think we will be this year. So we're gonna, you know, work on that for for this year in you know, in Los Angeles, which as you know is either after living in Los Angeles, you know, you have a love hate with with LA, but I love it. And then I'm like, oh my gosh, we just spent four hours to go a mile. So that's not that's not so fun, but we'll figure it all out.

SPEAKER_01 36:13

So and if you are on Media Row, you're gonna, I mean, everyone's gonna look for you because uh I think your your podcast and message and everything is so inspiring. And I know that everybody is so proud of you. So uh get in line, right? People get in line.

SPEAKER_02 36:33

Well, thank you. Well, you'll be, you know, sitting there with us then. How about that? If we're there, you're there. I love it. I love it. Talking about what you're doing because it really truly is the thing is about finding ways to connect. We have to, you know, even though it might seem like we've said the same thing over and over again, but when it comes to charity and film philanthropy, the the more times we say it, I think that it's um just God hears it, and then other people will hear the message and understand what we're trying to do. That's right. I love it. So, you know, we'll keep talking about it. Yeah, we'll keep talking about it. And uh, all right, well, Haley, thank you so much for joining Bench to Bold. In closing, wait, what's a bold moment that you're looking forward to? A bold moment that I'm looking forward to.

SPEAKER_01 37:22

Um, I mean, not trying to be funny, but probably having this baby. That's a bold moment, yeah. Uh definitely having a baby and and then probably probably uh just expanding this organization, it seems really scary and like, oh my gosh, but I also know that it's gonna be amazing. So yeah, I have a couple bold moments coming up and I'm preparing for them because they're gonna be amazing.

SPEAKER_02 37:48

I know. Well, we're excited to watch them, and uh, I'm looking forward to uh to being there with you while some of those nice bold moments happen. So that is great. So thank you everybody for tuning in to Bench to Bold. I'm Marnie and I'm Elisa and Haley. Thank you so much for doing everything that you're doing.

SPEAKER_01 38:07

Bravo, thank you guys so much.

SPEAKER_02 38:09

Yes, you are a blessing. Thank you.