EP21: De'dy Co Founder of Irene Cares | The Irene Revolution

The Origin of Irene GPT and the Growing Irene Cares Community

On the Irene Cares podcast, Hope interviews her business partner and close friend De'dy about the origin and evolution of IreneGPT. De'dy shares how personal struggles with poor communication, boundary-setting, and needing support led her to explore using ChatGPT for healthier, non-manipulative responses, then discuss the concept with Hope’s husband Travis, who quickly began developing the tool and became her business partner. They describe IreneGPT’s growth into features like organized documentation storage for legal needs, journaling to support therapy, and tools to reduce chaos and potentially break generational trauma. The conversation expands to building the Irene Cares community to reduce loneliness, provide resources and support, and guide a longer-term healing journey, grounded in prayer, faith in God, and shared stories.

00:43 Origin Story Setup
02:33 Communication Struggles
04:11 Pitching Travis
06:21 Building Irene AI
08:18 Documentation and Safety
10:26 Journaling and Therapy
11:18 Irene Cares Community
13:06 Healing and Letting Go
14:53 Worthiness and Purpose
15:52 Stopping Generational Trauma
17:01 Faith and Partnership
20:59 Finding New Confidence
22:20 Stepping Into Partnership
22:59 Hardship Before Growth
24:00 Trauma to Trust
26:24 Chaos to Peace
27:19 Power of Community
28:00 Retreat Vulnerability Breakthrough
30:43 You Have a Voice
32:21 Men Need Healing Too
35:15 Building a Safe Home
37:18 Friendship and Gratitude

Check out Irene Cares on other platforms:

- Irenegpt.ai
- Instagram
- TikTok
- Youtube

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hello, welcome back to Irene Cares Podcast. Today I have a very special guest and I'm so excited to introduce her. My business partner and one of my true dearest, truest friends, Dee Dee.

SPEAKER_00 0:14

Hi everybody. I'm super excited to be here and part of the Irene Podcast, Irene Cares Podcast. This is exciting to actually be a part of everything. Yeah, not sitting off camera. Yeah. Usually I'm sitting there watching the production and listening to the guests, and this is fun to be here and talk about Irene. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:43

So I want you to introduce yourself a little bit. We're gonna talk about the origin story of Irene, I guess, today. Because we really want you to get a feel for why we do what we do and how it all came about, and maybe like a little sneak peek into the future of some things that are coming down the road for us.

SPEAKER_00 1:04

Okay. I am happy to tell everybody because the adventure that we started just bare like a few months ago and what it is progressing into today is very exciting for us. Yes. And we have a lot of new things in the pipeline, and I want to share it with I guess with every everybody. Yeah. So uh start from the beginning.

SPEAKER_01 1:27

So tell us start with how the idea of a re Irene, of Irene came to be.

SPEAKER_00 1:33

Okay. I can definitely do that. Even though you know it, and it kind of feels weird just sitting here talking to you because you were at the very beginning of it. Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

Because it's it's interesting to me, and I'll just give a little snippet before you start. Like it's so fascinating to see how it's been what, like eight or nine months since the concept was initially started, right? Like since you talked to Travis about it.

SPEAKER_00 1:58

Yeah, I think it was around August or September of last year.

SPEAKER_01 2:01

Yeah, so from that point to now, so much has changed. Like it started like this, and we've grown it our idea into something way bigger and way better.

SPEAKER_00 2:11

Oh my goodness. And so it makes me happy every time I even talk about it. Like this is like the most exciting thing I think I've ever done in my life. Oh I agree. I agree for me too. Oh yeah, I'm I'm glad because I like being on this journey with you. So, okay, I guess we will start, I don't know, the yeah, the very beginning. So you have this idea. Yes. So I was also in a situation that many of the people that we are, that we have spoken to, that we have, I mean, you even. Like, we I have been in a situation in my life in my past that made me kept contemplating like how how can we help, how can we help the situation? Like, how can we help other people? And how could I even help myself? So communication was a really big deal for me because uh the communication that I had wasn't very good communication, and I had people in my life that were helping me communicate, but sometimes you don't want to ask people to help you all the time. And I'm I'm a grown woman, and why am I why am I constantly, constantly asking people for help? And this idea had come to me, obviously, well, not obviously, but Chat GPT started becoming like a really big deal, and being able to use that for helpful communication was very eye-opening for me. And I had a friend tell me, why don't you just start using that to communicate? And I didn't even know that that was even an option, to be honest with you, because I was having, you know, doubts about how to communicate or what to say or what to do, or I was stuck in a communication train for like hours on end because I didn't know how to set boundaries and make it stop. So an idea had come to me because I'd been searching and searching for different options, that there was nothing out there for people who were in these kind of situations, and it just so happened that one day I was talking to your husband, and we were talking about rugby, and he and I just had gotten on some kind of rugby board, and him and I were discussing it, and I had heard that he had made a website with AI for the rugby stuff. So, of course, I started like picking his brain about it, and then I told him this concept about Irene. They said I there needs to be something out there and for women, because I, you know, am a woman. I'm a woman. So in my mind, I'm thinking honestly, so solely about me. I was being very selfish and well, that was your perspective, right? That's all you knew was your your Yeah, my story and the things that had happened and and and what I wanted to do to like, you know, help me, future me, or or people who'd been in situations like like me. And so when him and I started talking about it, I'm like, is there anything out there for AI that can can help that can help women or or you know, analyze conversations, reply, like help reply, you know, do all these things because I I can't find it. And it'd be amazing if I mean you could create it or, you know, I can't remember every like everything because I was so expecting it.

SPEAKER_01 5:28

But you are looking, yeah, but you're looking for something that people could use to better their communication because chat GPT can do so much, but the thing about Chat GPT that we've learned along this journey is that you can manipulate ChatGPT to kind of speak how you want Chat GPT to speak.

SPEAKER_00 5:44

Yes, and we need to- I didn't want that. I needed something that would be able to steer me straight. Like, hey, here this is what I don't know what to say. Don't say it like that.

SPEAKER_01 5:56

Say it like this kind of thing.

SPEAKER_00 5:58

Or don't manipulate the situation. Like I the I didn't want any manipulation, I want it to just end. I wanted it to just, you know, I I needed to learn how to put boundaries up. I needed to have short replies, I needed just conversation to be what it was, answer the questions that needed to be answered, and then be and then before.

SPEAKER_01 6:15

And then have the hour-long back and forth, and then you're spinning in your head again.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

Yes, yes. And then also, my, you know, uh it evolved into other things, but after I'd hung up with Travis, you know, I I kept thinking about it, but not like kind of put it on the back burner. And then a couple days later he called me and he was like, I'm this is how I picture it. Him being like, I've already developed it. You know? So how does this look? And then I'm like, wait, what? And it was only like a couple days later, and he's like, I I've already started developing it. And I'm like, so are we business partners? And he's like, Yes. And so there is Irene. This is how Irene became a part of our world. Yeah. Is simple a simple conversation between your husband and I, and then him wanting to help all these other people out there, and him having the, you know, the wherewithal to be like, I can create this, I can do this, this is going to be something amazing and wonderful, and you know, and he was so selfless and and helpful, and you know, and then all of a sudden, here it is. Here it is. Well, you know, if you could have seen what it was back then to where it is now, like the evolution of Irene. Yeah, the concept of it to today.

SPEAKER_01 7:35

And then even just like like there was Irene, you know, that first iteration of Irene, and then a couple months later she shifted, and then a couple months later she shifted, and it was just kind of like, oh, we need to add this, we need to take this away, oh, we need to clean this up. We like, I mean, just like anything else, it's a process, right? But I feel like he was able to put something up pretty amazing in a pretty short amount of time.

SPEAKER_00 7:59

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:00

Like he did a lot of time, like from the beginning, just knowing, like just believing in your idea. And I think that's beautiful. That is like he saw what you saw, and then together you guys just made this beautiful, beautiful website that that's everything that you needed and wanted when you were going through.

SPEAKER_00 8:18

And it's like, and it keeps evolving too, because the more that him and I would have conversations and I would be like, hey, some of these things happened in my life, and especially when it came to like documentation. Documentation is huge. And when you're in the thick of life, thick of everything, and and you don't even think about stuff like that. And as you're walking into, say, your attorney's office or where whatever it is, and and you're handing them stuff and you're disheveled and your mind is all over the place and you're just trying to survive, we were able to create something where you can store it in one place and and at the touch of a button, you can give it to your attorney. Like how how beautiful is that? And you don't even have to look at it anymore. Yeah, it can just be sitting in this place in this in this protection, protected space, and you knowing that, hey, if one day I need this, it is here. If not, then that's okay. Yeah. But if one day, hey, I am I I am protected. And I think that that is also beautiful, is because I sometimes didn't know how to feel in a protected space. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:26

Or I felt lost or confused. And you felt like at some point it wasn't going to be safe anymore because historically, when things felt safe, there was always a moment or two later where that was unsafe again, right? Like historically, like that's exactly our nervous system gets used to the chaos. Yes. And so when we have something that's not chaotic, it's like I don't know what to do with this. Because we have to relearn how to be how to be comfortable with peace again. Yes. And how to be comfortable with like knowing, okay, I put everything there and I don't have to think about it anymore. I logged it all in Irene. It's all organized. I have folders I can put it in. I can do folders for my children, I can do folders for myself, I can do folders for a trip, I can do full folders for whatever. For whatever it is, so that I can keep very, very, very organized track of all of the things that I might need for court someday, or hopefully not. Hopefully, at least again, hopefully not.

SPEAKER_00 10:20

But if you do, I mean it is there.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

And it's there, and you don't have to relive it. That's the big thing, I think.

SPEAKER_00 10:25

Yes, and I think it is too, and like journaling. Yeah. I am very big on journaling. I mean, even if you ask my my parents, my parent, I guess my parents from a very young age have always taught us to journal. You know, like we would set goals at the beginning of the year, and and my parents would always talk about us, you know, journaling and doing stuff like that.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

And Irene has that for you to be able to journal on a daily basis if you want to, or you can give it to a counselor or a you know, a therapist, and you can show them the things that you've been thinking about during the day to help you in in your sessions and to help them understand where your brain is on a daily basis so that they can go, oh, okay, if we address this right here, maybe that can help all of this to kind of soften or go away.

SPEAKER_00 11:10

Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:11

So beautiful. I love it. I love it. I'm so excited. I know, I love all of that. So there was Irene GPT.ai. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 11:18

But now we have now we are going to be, we are creating a community. Yeah. And this community is called Irene Cares. And I believe deep in my soul that this is going to help so many people out there, men and women, because that feeling of loneliness is is real. It's it is a place where I don't ever want to be again. And I believe that when we are all in it, in the thick of it, at least I'm speaking for myself, that I didn't think that there was anybody else that had ever experienced the things that I had experienced, and oh boy, was I wrong. You know, like starting this journey with you and being able to speak to all these beautiful women and men, and them being able to come forth and and speak about their stories and the things that they have gone through. We have all been in the darkest of dark places, and sometimes we don't know how to get out of it. And I believe that this community, this Irene Cares community, is going to help hopefully thousands of people. One person I'm gonna be happy with, but hopefully thousands and thousands of people so we know that we are not alone. And I think that's the best.

SPEAKER_01 12:34

You know what I love, I love that it started as Irene GPT.ai, this tool that people could use to get organized and learn how to communicate better and all of these things. But now that's like a small piece of what we're doing because Irene cares is the big piece because we really truly care about the journey too, not just like you're in the thick of it, here's what you do, and then feeling stuck in this trauma situation and this mindset of like I'm divorced and this and that. And you can go down the the path of all the the negative, but we want to show people, and that's what we've been doing with the podcast too, is we want to show people that that's a small piece, and yes, it's good to process those feelings, it's good to feel all of the feelings that are around that, but then let it go.

SPEAKER_00 13:20

Yeah, the letting go part, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:22

It's very hard, but it is very well. Once you start to peel those layers off and you because it's not like a one big let go. No, it's a it's an it's a process, it's like an onion. You have to peel the layers out, peel the layers off so that you can get to that like good part. So that you can get to the point where when someone's name is brought up or a situation happens, or you know, you you you have a conversation with somebody that might be connected with someone else, that it doesn't trigger you into this whole like spiral situation where you can just be like, oh, okay, that's what that was. Because you've shifted your whole nervous system to respond in a healthy way to it instead of responding in the way that you were trained to respond to situations. And I think that when we get into Irene cares and people really understand that it's not just this AI, that there's a whole big heart behind it, and this community of people that we want to support and help them to learn how to regulate their nervous system better.

SPEAKER_00 14:30

Give them resources. Tell them that there's advocates out there and therapists out there, attorney, you know, attorneys and other people that have been through it that we can help them make a path. Yeah. Because eventually, after our community, we're going to build a different community too to help just healing. Yeah, a healing.

SPEAKER_01 14:48

It's a whole healing journey because it doesn't happen overnight.

SPEAKER_00 14:50

No, it doesn't work.

SPEAKER_01 14:51

And you know, I wish I would have had a roadmap because I think that would have helped my brain kind of process better if I knew that there were like steps that I needed to work through to get to a place where, oh my gosh, I'm free of all of it.

SPEAKER_00 15:05

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 15:05

Like it's something that happened to me, but it's doesn't define who I am to this day. The only way it does define who I am is I use that as a as a bouncing board to get to like the best place I could ever imagine being in my life. Like to marrying the man of my dreams and having three beautiful children and having this life that like I wake up every day and I'm just so grateful for because I have beautiful people in my life. And now I'm I'm doing something that lights my soul on fire, which is helping people to heal and see that they are worthy of every amazing thing in the world. And it doesn't matter what you've been through, you're always worthy. Oh my goodness. Always worthy. Like you feel unworthy, but there's never a point in your life where you're unworthy of every blessing you could ever imagine. You're always worthy. I love that.

SPEAKER_00 15:52

And speaking kind of along that same line, I was just telling you this in the car because it it hit it it has hit me very hard recently. And I believe that with our tool, Irene GPT, theai can also help teach yourself to, you know, communication. Like it's going to help you set boundaries, it's going to help you reply quicker, it's going to just help you kind of put a lot of stuff aside that you no longer need. And I believe with that, it can also stop generational trauma. And for me, with the journey that I've gone through, I do believe that my ancestors and my family and people have been there alongside helping me so I can help this generational trauma stop for my children, for my children's children, for their effort to go further so that they they know that they are worthy. Yeah. So that they know that that things that have happened in their past no longer has to happen and they can can continue on this amazing course of life. And then like along along with that, I want to put a big shout out to God. Like a huge shout out to him because I do not know where I would be without him to this day, because Irene GPT wouldn't be here without him, without him or without my family. And a little side note about that is I left God for a very long time. For I would say about 13 years, maybe. Like I made a conscious decision decision to really no longer have him a part of my life. And a couple of years ago, one of my dear friends asked if I would go on this journey with her to find God again. And how blessed and how lucky I am that she asked me to go on that journey with her. Because I believe to this day that it I would not be where I am at today if it wasn't for him and if it wasn't for the journey that we've been on. Because just starting this, the people that I have met, the people I've met with you, I know I would never have met them if it wasn't for him. And the calm, the calm and the peace that I feel because now I'm able to just give it to him and be like, whatever happens is going to happen.

SPEAKER_01 18:24

I trust that you have my best interests at heart. And I'm whatever it looks like to get there, I'm willing to go through that because the the journey is what creates that strength and that power within you. And I've seen you grow so much in the six months that we've been doing this, and it's just beautiful to watch. Like I last night I was watching back the first podcast that we filmed together that we never aired.

SPEAKER_00 18:48

This is much better. I was not ready.

SPEAKER_01 18:50

But that's okay. But that's okay because like who you are today and and the growth that you're seeing, I truly agree with you. I know that it's because you've brought God back into your life, and miracles are performed when we partner with God. Just like He's helped to heal you. Together, we're gonna help to heal thousands upon thousands upon hundreds of thousands, hopefully millions of men and women who have been through similar situations. And it's not just with Irene GPT, it's with our whole community and and the systems that we're going to create to help people to plug in and have something that they can follow that brings that purpose back to their life, that shows them I'm capable, I'm worthy. And this thing that was so traumatic that hurt so much is actually going to be one of the greatest blessings when we look at it from the other side because it actually pushed me into becoming this most beautiful, wonderful person that I crave to be. You know, like I I want everybody to see that and to feel that. Yes. And I think that the energy that we put into it, we I don't know if we've ever talked about it on the podcast. I don't think so because I've never had you on. But before we podcast every single week, Didi and I pray. Because we know that we're partnered with God on this journey, and we know that through him, true healing can happen. And when your business partner is God, nothing feels impossible. It's it's good, there's gonna be challenges and it's gonna be hard the growth, but I feel in the depths of my soul that the way we're doing this is the way that we're supposed to be doing it.

SPEAKER_00 20:28

Yes, and I 100% agree with you.

SPEAKER_01 20:31

And I just love having a partner, not just God, but you that's on the same page with me on that because it's so important to me to use the greatest resource that we have access to, which is the Lord. And I'm I'm so grateful that your friend challenged you to get closer to God again because I think that's what's making all of this possible. And this is God showing us like, look, just talk to me and we'll work together and I'll make this a beautiful thing.

SPEAKER_00 21:02

Like reteaching me, I said learning, but reteaching me that I am capable. Yeah. I did not know I was capable of all of these things that you and I have done in the past six months. Like this is mind-blowing to me because I'm sitting beautifully. Yes. Because I was sitting in my home. I was not doing anything to now being able to be among people. Like I did not know that I would ever be able to be in a room. I mean, recently we went to an event and it was all women. No way would I have ever been able to do that and have conversations with strangers. Like no.

unknown 21:42

Like no.

SPEAKER_00 21:44

I I and I feel very blessed like to have that, these opportunities, because we all have stories to share. Yeah. It doesn't even m it doesn't matter what walk of life you came from, and it is fun to listen to people. Yeah. And and learn well us being talking with people that are in business, I didn't even realize how many women are doing what they're doing. Yeah. Like in a business sense, because I was stuck at home thinking I wasn't capable of doing doing hard things.

SPEAKER_01 22:19

Like and for me before like when this all first started, it was just, you know, you and Travis working on this thing, and I thought it was so neat and so cool. And I was just like so proud of you for bringing it to him and so proud of him for building it for you. And like it was so beautiful. And then all of a sudden he's like, Hey, I need you to tap in. She needs a partner, and I'm like, You're her partner. And he's like, No, I'm not that kind of partner. And so I like stepped in, and little did we know from the beginning, like I was gonna do the podcast because like it wasn't time, like there were just some things we had to sort out, and it wasn't time yet. And like, I think it's like everything I feel has has been so purposeful, like like all the steps that we're taking. Like, I I literally, because I know that hardship comes when you're growing, like hardship comes before the growth, right? So I'm sitting here like waiting, waiting for the hard. And maybe some of this it would be hard if we weren't partnered with God the way we are. And maybe it would be harder. I mean, after meeting with our mentor, I know that there's gonna be some things that are hard for me personally.

SPEAKER_00 23:21

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 23:21

That I'm gonna have to grow in a certain way, that I'm gonna have to learn, I'm gonna have to teach myself some things. I'm gonna have to change my thoughts about certain things. Like, you know, that's like those kind of things that will probably be a little challenging. But if I keep my eye on the prize, I feel like the challenges won't be as great.

SPEAKER_00 23:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

And I need to focus more on like what we're gonna accomplish instead of how hard it might be to get there. But I just always want to be prepared. And like through there's something I learned a little while ago when I think the the first time I had this thought was after I had my daughter. And her birth was very traumatic. She was teeny tiny, she weighed a pound and a half when she was born, and I didn't know how I didn't know how it was all gonna work out. I didn't know how she was gonna be okay. I didn't know. I didn't I didn't know, but I did get confirmation from God that she was gonna be okay. And so I just had to keep turning and trusting in him, and every time a challenge would come up, I would just go, okay, God, what do I need to learn? I'm ready to learn whatever I need to, like teach me what I need to know because this is really hard, so there must be something in it for me to learn from. And from that point forward in my life, when something challenging comes across my path, I just recheck in and I go, Okay, God, what am I supposed to learn? Like, help me to see the lesson that I'm supposed to learn in this situation.

SPEAKER_00 24:52

Well, that's beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 24:54

I just I but for me, I feel like it's inevitable, so why not lean into it instead of running from it?

SPEAKER_00 25:00

So I've decided to be like a good way to look at it instead of just not wanting to do it or yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:06

The lesson's gonna come back another way if we don't learn it this time. So I'm trying to figure out how to learn it each and every time so we don't have those repeat situations. Because some of them I'm like, no, no, I don't want to do that again. Yeah, let's let's avoid it. Let's avoid that hardship. Let's learn the lesson, okay?

SPEAKER_00 25:23

Might like that.

SPEAKER_01 25:26

Yeah, so this journey is amazing, and this journey with you is is exceptionally beautiful, and I cannot wait for all of you to see what Irene Cares is going to be able to offer you because this is coming from our hearts and our souls. Yeah. And I hope that people that know us understand that we care deeply, we love so much, and we want nothing more than for every man and woman that hears this message to know that you're not alone, and there are resources out there available for you to get on the other side of that healing so that you can feel that true peace and get rid of the chaos, and that you can see that you are divinely worthy, no matter what's happened in your life, your worth never changes. You are always worthy of the utmost peace and joy and happiness in your life.

SPEAKER_00 26:24

Well, I'm glad that you said like getting rid of the chaos. Yeah. Because for me, living in that chaos was awful. Like just being in my head about it all the time or whatever it was and not having a sense of peace or a sense of calm. I didn't even think I would be able to get to that feeling ever again. Like ever again in my life. I thought that my life was always going to be a state of chaos. And learning how to communicate differently, learning how to set boundaries, learning just a different way of being, or again, back to communication, that chaos is no longer there. And and that is what I'm hoping our tool, irengbt.ai, helps, and then our community will exponentially make you get to that point where the chaos is is gone.

SPEAKER_01 27:19

It's because community is so important for us as humans. It's very important. I think during during COVID, we kind of like lost it a little bit. And I really want to bring that back, even if it's an online community, or you know, maybe there's retreats down the road, or maybe there's some way for us to get together. But no matter what it is, I think that community can be very supportive and make you feel heard and make you feel loved while you're trying to figure out how to hear yourself and love yourself.

SPEAKER_00 27:47

Well, I I know that sharing stories with one another helps you grow. For sure. And I know for a personal, you know, me, I I I would never want to tell my story. Like that was where my mindset was. Like there's no way I could I I went to a retreat. Actually, yes, I really, yes, I really want to tell the story because this really this makes me very excited. Yeah. I went on a retreat, I guess, yeah, a little over a year ago. And the vulnerability, like we had to sit there across complete strangers and and tell our story. And you you you bet your ass I was not going to. And I I remember this one's not for me. Yeah, I remember staring at this woman, and we had to like hold hands or something and look each other in her eyes, and and I was like, nope, nope. And she's sitting there like pouring her heart out, and I'm like, Yeah, not not gonna be a good thing. But I don't know anything. Super, super sad or whatever, like your trial was uh awful. Nope, not gonna share like anything about me. But by the end of that week, I I became more comfortable in my skin and being like, that happened to me. A whole bunch of stuff in my whole life, like these things did happen. And the more I was able to be vulnerable, the more blessings came my way. I i however weird that that may sound. And here's another side note about the journey to Irene is at the end of that retreat, we had to write a letter to ourselves and of of what we expected or what we wanted. And I went on a trip, so they were gonna mail us. So wait, they were gonna mail us that letter. We didn't know when some random children. Yeah, we didn't know when they were gonna mail it. They didn't know whatever, you know, like, but you had to write a letter to yourself. And I kid you not, uh, it took me like hours to write that letter. Like, I like I I wasn't sure what I wanted to write. I didn't know what I wanted the proper things to say, and I did. I wrote that letter, put it in that envelope, and went about my merry way. And around the end of the like school year, I decided I'm quitting my job. I didn't know why. I gave them notice that maybe I'd only work maybe one or two days a week. I was quitting my job. I went and watched my son play rugby, and and I knew that when we came back from that trip, I wasn't gonna have a job. I didn't know what I was gonna do. I had mapped out all these ideas from doing retreats to doing massage therapy in my home to doing, I I don't know, my mind was just spinning, but I knew I couldn't go back to the way of life of what I had had because I wasn't, I was no longer happy. Yeah, and I knew I wanted to help people, but I didn't know how.

SPEAKER_01 30:36

There was something more coming out of you that you just didn't know what it was yet.

SPEAKER_00 30:40

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Something, something more. And when I got back from that vacation or trip watching my son and my nephews play, that letter was there. And in that letter it said, You have a voice. And and I knew right then and there it is time. It is time to to share my story, it is time to give other people an opportunity to get to know me, and it's also an opportunity for me to get to know other people because to feel what they have gone through and to share those vulnerabilities, we can do great things for each other. Yeah, and we can we can move mountains, we can we can continue along this wonderful, beautiful path uplifting each other and showing each other that anything is possible.

SPEAKER_01 31:32

We're living proof of that. Yeah, yes, because this journey that we're on is helping us heal more and more every day. Like I thought I was really, really in a really, really good place, but I've even experienced growth and healing just since we've been doing this, because when you hear other people's stories and realize, wow, this isn't just like an isolated incident and it's not just a small amount of people. It's it's very interesting. And I always look at somebody's eyes when we're telling them what we do because within seconds I can tell if they have a story of their own. Like we went to go look at an office space the other day, and this woman, like within three words of what we were saying we did, she was like, wait, what? You know, like that's familiar to me and like sad but true, but also like that's what everybody needs to understand is like you're not alone. Like and the what surprised us the most, I think, was when we started growing our social media and seeing that like half of our following is men. Yeah, it's not just women.

SPEAKER_00 32:31

Yeah, that blew my mind.

SPEAKER_01 32:32

It's not just women because we only hear about women.

SPEAKER_00 32:34

Yeah, well, and I don't think they w want to talk. I think they're searching, searching for help or searching for knowledge or support or whatnot, but that is hard to talk about. I mean, it's hard for women to talk about it.

SPEAKER_01 32:45

And men are more talkative than women when it comes to that. Yeah, it's true. I talked to my husband and my son about this one time because my son was telling me a story about one of his friends, and I start asking all these questions. He's like, Mom, I don't know. I didn't pry. I just listened to what they had to say.

SPEAKER_00 32:59

You're like, no, pry. Please pry because I want to know what's the difference between men and women.

SPEAKER_01 33:04

Because I would ask questions because I want to know, like, is there a way I can support or help this person? I ask a lot of questions not to be nosy, but to see, like, is there something I can do or say, or something I can some way I can support this person while they're in this space to help them. Because I've always wanted to help people. That's just by nature, that's who I am. And I think that's why you and I get along so well, is because I think that we have that same thing in common. But also, like, we're not afraid to like rely on the Lord for strength and help when we're not quite sure what the next step is. We're gonna take the next step, but we're like, a little help.

SPEAKER_00 33:43

You know, a lot of help. What are you talking about? A little a lot, please. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:50

But he knows we're capable, and that's why he's trusted us, I think, with this with this journey.

SPEAKER_00 33:55

I agree.

SPEAKER_01 33:56

I really truly do. I really feel like you and I and our experiences were not in vain. It wasn't, it wasn't just like something terrible that we had to go through. It was something that we needed to experience so that we could be there in a way and show up in a way for the people who are in it now so that they see, oh, they get it. They've been there, they understand how I'm feeling, they get it. I might not totally understand everybody's situation, but I do have a heart for somebody who's been hurt by someone else because of their words or their actions or you know, an experience that they had. Like, I love the peace that I have in my life.

SPEAKER_00 34:38

Oh, me too.

SPEAKER_01 34:39

I love the peace. Coming home and I just feel so relaxed, so calm, so so just like, yes. You know? I don't know why. When I'm in your room, there's a piece there that is just like it's so comforting to be in your room.

SPEAKER_00 34:59

It's a little sometimes fun in my house. Sometimes fun chaos. Yeah, there's fun, there's more fun chaos. It's not the chaos that it used to be in the home. But yeah, yeah. But I like that. I want a full house. I want people in and out. That we had Caremy on here one of our first years. Yeah, one of our first, and she had asked me a few weeks before that, prior to that, like what one of my goals was, you know, for the future by the end of the year, whatever it was. I can't even remember the question she asked me. And I told her, I'm like, I want to, I want a home where everyone wants to be there. I want a home where people feel safe. I want a home where people feel loved, that they can come in and out. I don't need to lock the doors. I need them to be able to, hey, there's stuff in the cupboard. I'm hungry. I'm gonna go eat something, or hey, let's play games in the backyard. Let's have Sunday dinner together. I want a place of gathering. And I miss that. Like I was raised in a home where like my grandma lived like the next house over. My aunts and uncles lived around the corner. We had Sunday dinner together and birthdays and everything. And I feel like I'm missing that. Like I one day when I have, you know, cute little grandbabies running around and all the, you know, like all this stuff. I want that. I want a place where my children want to come and just stop in and not even call me and be like, I'm coming, that they're just there. Like that. And my friends, oh, I I miss my friends deeply, and they all live all over the country, you know? And how beautiful would that be to have a space for them? Yeah. And that is what I told Caremy. I'm like, this the this is what I want to see. And I have been lacking that for many, many years.

SPEAKER_01 36:46

And it's coming back because sometimes on the weekends you're like, okay, I wish nobody was here because I just need to refresh. But not in a like, I don't like the people around me, just in a way like I need an extra day for me in a way. Because we we also need that. Like we need to have that time, rejuvenation. Yeah, and you and I both like to be outside. Oh, like sit outside.

SPEAKER_00 37:07

Sometimes we do a lot of work outside in chairs or hammocks or or listen to an eight-hour long conference.

SPEAKER_01 37:14

Conference outside while we color. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 37:18

Beautiful. Oh, I love being your partner. It's been it's been the highlight of my days. Like for real. Like it's been amazing.

SPEAKER_01 37:26

Me too. I mean, I have three sisters, but I feel like I have another sister because I feel like our relationship has just it's almost like not like a trauma bond, but we've bonded over some of our experiences, and we've also bonded over our belief in what we could create. Which is so huge and so beautiful. Yeah. Thank you for coming on the podcast with me. I'm so excited you were here.

SPEAKER_00 37:53

That was hard. Everybody talking and being in front of things is difficult.

SPEAKER_01 37:59

I know, but you did you did a great job. And like, I'm so excited for our future. And please check out irene gpt.ai. Follow us on at Irene Cares on TikTok and Instagram and Facebook and YouTube. Yeah. And and new things are coming. Yeah, new big new things are happening here. We're we're creating this whole big shift so that we can support and love and care for and help so many more people. So thank you for being here. And we love you, and God bless.