Joy 101: Jennie Garth

“Two of our cast mates now have left us. And, all the things you experience… they all make you who you are. They show you, like, if I survive that, I can survive anything.”-Jennie Garth, recorded in front of a live audience with Hoda Kotb in Cannes, France. Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb is Presented by CVS. Shop your local CVS, right around the corner. Experience the full conversation on the "Joy 101 podcast with Hoda Kotb" wherever you listen to podcasts. For more information please visit us at www.joy101.com/podcast https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.joy101.com%2Fpodcast&data=05%7C02%7CBrianBurton%40iheartmedia.com%7Cf2533a5866be490acf8608dedecb5c99%7C122a527e5b714eba878d9810b495b9e3%7C0%7C0%7C639193162162040713%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=w5LTjFe9gJJR0SCe8Uh5Dy2WhWpHO7CoTZdpgpmon4U%3D&reserved=0 See omnystudio.com/listener https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:10Speaker 00

  All right, let's get started. Who's excited to hear a fabulous conversation tonight? Thank you, thank you. All right, I've been super excited about this conversation all week. It's been a lot of fun getting a chance to spend some time with Hoda and watch her interact in person with other people. You of course know her from the Today Show, but having that opportunity to see her in person, I don't know that I've ever seen anyone with a warmth and a passion for life and a joy that is as contagious as Hoda's. And you'll see that when you're up here tonight. And without fail, every time you see someone meet her and walk away, almost every single

• 0:52Speaker 00

  time, they'll say something like, "I love her so much."

• 0:58Speaker 00

  "I love her so much." "I think she might be my soulmate." It's very confusing. We're gonna work through that on the podcast tonight. But we're super excited to have the opportunity to partner with her on this new podcast that stems from her brilliant new company called Joy 101. The podcast is also called Joy 101. Let's give it up for that if you have not. Absolutely.

• 1:22Speaker 00

  And it is so fitting that she gets to interview one of my favorite people on the planet who brought her sweet little puppy tonight. You're gonna love this as well. From 9021 OMG and I choose me, the one and only Jennie Garth.

• 1:38Speaker 00

  So let's get to it. Without further ado, Hoda and Jenny, come on up.

• 1:46Speaker 01

  This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.

• 1:50Hoda Kotb?

  Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb is presented by CVS. I've realized that joy doesn't always come from those big moments. Sometimes you find it on the most ordinary day. I'll pop into a CVS for toothpaste or paper towels, and it never seems to be just a quick errand. Maybe I'll grab a delicious Well Market Trail Mix or wander over to the Joy Word Collection. That's part of the fun. So the next time you're checking something off your to-do list, stop by your local CVS pharmacy. You might go in for one thing and leave with a little more joy. Visit your local CVS pharmacy, sponsored by CVS. Every purchase is a financial decision. So it's worth asking, what am I getting out of this? If you're using the Chase Freedom Flex Card,

• 2:34Hoda Kotb?

  you can maximize your cash back on things you need. More ways to earn, more ways to get rewarded. Sign up for the Chase Freedom Flex Card. Learn more at chase.com/getflex. This is a paid collaboration with Chase Freedom Flex. Cards issued by JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., member FDIC. Subject to credit approval. Offer subject to change. Terms apply.

• 2:56Speaker 03

  My name is Jessa. One of the things I love the most about working for United Healthcare is that everybody matters. Every moment matters. There's a person behind every problem. I care because it's what I was put on this earth to do.

• 3:12Speaker 04

  I'm Ben, and I work at United Healthcare. I am just one piece of a larger puzzle, but every piece matters. It's more than just work. We want to make the healthcare system better for everyone. I care because I want to make a difference. That's what committed to care means to me.

• 3:26Speaker 05

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• 3:58Hoda Kotb?

  Hi. Look at us together with Dottie, your dog. Hi, guys. Jenny, first of all. Jenny's also one of my favorite people in the world. She is quintessential everything to me because her life is full of pivots. And I admire someone who has a full bunch of different acts in her life. And Jennie Garth is that person. So Jenny, first of all, I'm so happy you're here. Are you just randomly in France? Like, what's happening?

• 4:30Speaker 06

  I was just passing through, yeah. No, I was in Paris earlier. I'm doing a job there. And the timing worked out. When iHeart Family called, you answer, you know? You do what you can.

• 4:40Hoda Kotb?

  Of course you do. Who wouldn't? And by the way, can I just ask quickly about cute Dottie?

• 4:45Speaker 06

  This is Dottie.

• 4:46Hoda Kotb?

  Tell me about her.

• 4:47Speaker 06

  She's my little girl. And she, this is her new Parisian outfit. I hope you like it. She just got this today.

• 4:54Hoda Kotb?

  Super cute. Um, this podcast is called Joy 101. And anybody who I select to be on this podcast needs to exude joy. And what I've learned through the podcast and through life is when you have such high highs, often the counterpart is there as well. The people who experience the most joys of joy are the people who've been on their knees, the people who've struggled, the people who've gone through it. So I love this podcast for so many reasons because you're walking living proof of how good life is. So I want to start with the 90210 days.

• 5:35Hoda Kotb?

  You went straight from like small-town girl to sort of global star, almost like that.

• 5:42Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 5:42Hoda Kotb?

  How did, how did you, how does a kid handle something like that? How did you?

• 5:48Speaker 06

  I don't know, honestly. Literally, one minute I was playing in the cornfields and riding my pink Duffy dirt bike through the graveyard.

• 5:56Hoda Kotb?

  Where'd you grow up?

• 5:57Speaker 06

  Illinois. In very rural, all right, Midwest. Come on. Um, yeah, so very small town. Um, I still have family there, but it was just by complete luck, you know, life, I've always kind of let life go where, where it wants to go. Until very recently, and I still do that to a certain extent. Example, I'm here tonight.

• 6:19Hoda Kotb?

  Yes.

• 6:19Speaker 06

  But, um, I just was always like, this is just great. Life just works itself out and I somehow ended up in Hollywood.

• 6:28Hoda Kotb?

  How? No, that, no, no, no, you don't get to say I somehow made it to Hollywood. So you were in the cornfields riding the dirt bike. And then how did you make that trek?

• 6:39Speaker 06

  Well, my father got very ill. We lived in Illinois. The weather's very harsh, as you know. Um, and he needed to be in a warmer, drier climate. So we moved our family caravan style. Couldn't afford a moving company. We had like our trucks and trailers full of things and we went to Arizona.

• 6:57Hoda Kotb?

  Okay.

• 6:57Speaker 06

  And he recovered there and I went, started back in high school. I started high school there, junior high and high school there. And, um, I was just living my life. I was dancing on the, at the corner dance. It's called the dance shop. And I was teaching little girls how to tap dance, your age girls. And, um, I ended up in a pageant for a scholarship to help my parents for college. I wanted to become a teacher. And one of the, the, um, judges at the scholarship was the ex, exec, uh, executive casting director for ABC television. Who had just left that and had to pivot his life and started his own management company, talent management in LA.

• 7:40Speaker 06

  And he, he was there with his wife on kind of like a little getaway, but doing this for a friend. And she said to him, Randy, I really think you need to talk to her. She has something. So they, they, you know, had a conversation with myself and my mother. And, uh, we started communicating via tech telephone.

• 7:59Speaker 06

  And um, letters in the mail.

• 8:02Hoda Kotb?

  The mail?

• 8:03Speaker 06

  I would do videos at my acting classes he set me up in and we would send the VHS tapes to him and he would review them. Send back his notes and so I did that for about a year and then he said, you know what, I think. You've learned as much as you need to if you want to come out for pilot season and so my mom were like, okay, let's give it a try. And we did.

• 8:21Hoda Kotb?

  And nine oh two one oh was the one?

• 8:23Speaker 06

  Knock, knock, knock. Hi, I'm here.

• 8:25Hoda Kotb?

  Are you kidding?

• 8:25Speaker 06

  I think he panicked a little bit. But nine oh two one oh wasn't the first thing I did. I did a show called um. Growing pains, one episode of Growing pains.

• 8:33Hoda Kotb?

  Oh yeah.

• 8:34Speaker 06

  Yeah, it was a really big episode. I was like girl number one. And I had one line, but it consisted of one word and that line was sticky, sticky, sticky. I don't even know what it meant. And then from there I did a show called Brand New Life with Barbara Eden where I played her daughter. And I was just transfixed by her and studied her every move and that's how I fell in love. With the, the industry and the like, actual like. Occupation of acting.

• 9:03Hoda Kotb?

  And so you land a role like nine oh two one oh, which is incredible. But it also propels you. I mean, you remain sweet. I, I see it today. Um, but often when a young person gets into Hollywood. They quickly go through the meat grinder somehow and they're not the person they were. So how did you navigate? That part of it?

• 9:27Speaker 06

  I mean, I, I, I don't know how I survived, quite honestly, because I was very much thrown into the deep end. Um, fending for myself, emancipated so that I could work longer hours. And um, I learned really quickly what it took to survive in the business.

• 9:44Hoda Kotb?

  What did it take?

• 9:45Speaker 06

  It took staying home. It's, it took staying away from the business to. Survive in the business. So I would do my job and then I would go home and try to have a regular life because. That's all I knew how to do successfully. And even at that point, you know, I was struggling to figure out like who I am in the confines of, of this world that's so. Different than where I come from and I I'd never known a famous person. I had never mingled with anyone, you know, this was all new for me and just thrown like here's it. You own a house now. Here you have a car payment. You have a manager, a lawyer, an assistant, all the things.

• 10:21Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 10:21Speaker 06

  And it was just like kind of sink or swim. And I think a lot of the things in my life have been like that, like thrown in. You figure it out and you sink or you swim and I prefer to swim.

• 10:30Hoda Kotb?

  Do you think it's because, I mean, because you're grounded, obviously, from your upbringing. I mean, the fact that you were trying to go to a pageant so that you could make money so that your parents didn't have to pay for school really says everything about you. So you had that kind of foundational stuff, but isn't it a slippery slope? Come to this party, meet this person, you know, it's just like, it's so, it must be so intoxicating.

• 10:57Speaker 06

  It was not intoxicating for me. It was, I was afraid and um, I can, I sense people's energy and I can, I, I don't like to put myself in dangerous situations and I have a good sense of when something could potentially not be the safest environment.

• 11:14Hoda Kotb?

  Okay.

• 11:14Speaker 06

  And so that started off for me very young and I, I really did stay home. I would go to work for 12, 14, 16 hours a day. I would go home and I'll wake up and I would do it again the next day, five days a week.

• 11:26Hoda Kotb?

  What was the best, like, what did 90210 give you? What was the best thing that came out of that experience?

• 11:33Speaker 06

  I'm here with you today. Like, I, if I hadn't done 90210, I wouldn't be where I am right now. I wouldn't have three beautiful daughters. I wouldn't be sitting here with the hottie, talking to all of you. Like, life just takes right where you're supposed to be and you don't understand it in the middle of the journey and, and, and all the twists and turns of it all. But as you get older, you really are able to sort of step back and look at your life in a, from a bigger scope and see things big picture. And after I turned 50, I really started to do that, to step back and to sort of like think to myself, because I had spent many years struggling to figure out who I was within all of this.

• 12:13Speaker 06

  And who am I if I'm not this to someone or playing this role or fulfilling someone else's need or being a mom to these little girls? So I had a really, at some point, when they started not to need me quite as much, they were getting older, I had to think about like, who, what, what am I doing here? What, everybody around me has this incredible purpose that they feel driven towards. And I don't know what mine is. Like, I know what mine has always been because someone else told me it was.

• 12:40Hoda Kotb?

  Right.

• 12:41Speaker 06

  But I don't know what mine really is. So I had to get very contemplative and quiet. And I spent a couple of years doing that. And then I spent the last couple of years writing a book where I dove even deeper into. And that's one of the conversations that I love the most about having my podcast, I Choose Me, is that I, I want to know who you are and why are you the way you are? And how did you get here? Because I think it's fascinating. I think how I got here is fascinating.

• 13:08Hoda Kotb?

  I think we spend so much of our lives waiting for the big moments, the birthdays, the vacations, the milestones. But the truth is, some of the happiest moments show up on the most ordinary days. So like this, I'll stop into a CVS because I need one thing. Somehow, the best part of the trip is never the thing I came for. So maybe I'll grab a delicious well-marked snack, or maybe I'll wander over to the Joyward Collection. It's really full of fun, cool, seasonal decor, thoughtful little gifts, and those little discoveries that make you so glad you stopped in. I have to tell you, if you're an Extra Care member, you're going to save on things you're already buying. And those extra bucks really do add up.

• 13:51Hoda Kotb?

  Just watching that total go down at the checkout never, ever gets old. I know life's busy. We're all juggling a lot. And that's why I think those little unexpected moments of joy matter so much. So the next time you're running errands, stop by your local CVS Pharmacy. You may go in for something you need, but don't be surprised if you leave with something that simply makes your day a little brighter. Visit your local CVS Pharmacy, sponsored by CVS. Halloween has a funny way of making you buy things you'd never normally buy. A 10-foot skeleton? Sure. A full-size fog machine? Why not? Three bags of candy that somehow become six bags of candy? It happens.

• 14:34Hoda Kotb?

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• 15:15Hoda Kotb?

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• 15:25Speaker 05

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• 15:54Speaker 05

  Hi, I'm Jenna Oshkowitz. You might know me from "Glee." This is "At the Table."

• 15:58Speaker 06

  The Food Allergy Podcast, a show about food, connection, and what it really looks like to live with food allergies. Each episode, we hear stories from real people like Daniel.

• 16:09Speaker 07

  People would always think I was lactose intolerant. So I just kind of shortened my explanation to I'm deathly allergic in a big way that defined a lot of my childhood.

• 16:20Speaker 06

  And while there are challenges, there are moments that remind you you're not alone.

• 16:25Speaker 03

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• 16:31Speaker 06

  So join us and hear their stories and more. Because living with food allergies isn't just about what you can't eat. It's about still having your seat at the table. Brought to you by Genentech and Novartis. Listen to At the Table, the food allergy podcast on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Follow At the Table and start listening on the free iHeart Radio app today.

• 16:51Hoda Kotb?

  I think, first of all, I think it's so interesting because I think all of us, whoever is listening or whoever's in this room with us in this moment, we've all wondered, like, are we in the right purpose?

• 17:02Speaker 06

  Right.

• 17:02Hoda Kotb?

  Like, sometimes, you know, when you're in flow, you feel like this must be right. Because I, I used to work at Dateline and I would go to Afghanistan and scary places. And I always weirdly felt like I was swimming upstream. I was fighting, but I kept thinking, if I keep pushing, it's going to feel right. If I keep trying. But there are times when you're putting a circle in a square. It's not where you're meant to be. And the minute I sat with Kathy Lee, and you've sat with us many times, Drunky Monkey, we were just, you know, throwing back, who cares? And all of a sudden, I felt in flow and not because of the booze. It was just, you were in an environment that felt like home.

• 17:47Hoda Kotb?

  It felt like you, you had a warm hand on your heart. It felt like you were in a resting place.

• 17:53Speaker 06

  I felt that. I'd never really felt that in the entertainment business, to be honest with you. I've always felt like an outsider, felt like, ooh, am I, is this, am I good? I don't know. I'm sure that, you know? All those feelings of inadequacy and questioning. And it wasn't until I started meeting women after 50, women like you, women like other people that we met through QVC, that one, you know, conference. And just, all of a sudden, I felt like, oh, I found people that are. More experienced than me or have done things that I want to do in my life. And then I started to look at them as mentors, yourself included, and think like,

• 18:33Speaker 06

  if they can do it, I can do it. And if they can support me in me reaching those achievements as well. You know, finding those people that want to pull you with them forward to where you're meant to be. Then it starts to feel right.

• 18:48Hoda Kotb?

  So you're, you feel like an outsider. Everyone's like fangirling you and oh my God, there's Jennie Garth. But you feel like you're outside looking in. You're not in the center like all of those people. When did you start to feel, you know, enough or whatever the word is like, I belong here. I'm not an imposter. I'm not a phony. I'm, I belong in this space.

• 19:12Speaker 06

  I think it really wasn't until I found that peace within myself where I felt like I belong here. Well, so wherever I am, I don't, I don't need to be in the it crowd. I don't need to go to the clubs.

• 19:26Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 19:27Speaker 06

  I don't need to be the one at the parties. I don't, those things are just not important to me. I want peace within myself. And when I found that, and I found that by going back in my life and looking at the places where I hadn't felt that. And really acknowledging them and thinking like, is something wrong with me? Why, why doesn't that do it for me?

• 19:46Hoda Kotb?

  Mm hmm.

• 19:47Speaker 06

  And I, for so long, I thought, I'm, I don't fit here for a reason. What is it? But once I figured out that the reason was because I really didn't know, love myself enough to say like, I love you.

• 20:00Hoda Kotb?

  Mm hmm.

• 20:01Speaker 06

  Period.

• 20:01Hoda Kotb?

  Period. You know, there's so many things to admire about you and all of the highs in your life are your greatest hits. And we all know those. But where you're formed, the part of your life that gives you your, just your moxie and who you're made of, for all of us, it's when we're on our knees. Like, nobody said, oh my God, I had this great epiphany about my life when I was drinking margaritas. No, it's like, it, it's usually when you lose a loved one. Or when you have an illness, like that's when you actually say to yourself, I know what I am made of because I made it through that.

• 20:42Hoda Kotb?

  What did you have to make it through? What was the most difficult thing you had to go through? That taught you the most about life and brought you here?

• 20:53Speaker 06

  I had to survive the industry that I was, found myself in.

• 20:57Hoda Kotb?

  Yep.

• 20:58Speaker 06

  I had to lose my father, who is my soulmate, like my mate, you know, my guy. We share a birthday.

• 21:09Speaker 06

  I had to have my marriage ended after seventeen years and three girls. You know, just had a, my daughter got just mysteriously ill and I thought I was losing her. We were losing her. We had to go through, like, accepting the fact that we might lose her life. We, I, there's just so many things, like health-wise and

• 21:33Speaker 06

  just challenges that we go through in life and losing very, very close friends far too young. You know, two of our castmates now have left us and you know, it, it, all the things you experience and that get you to the next place, they all make you who you are. And they show you, like, if I survive that,

• 21:51Hoda Kotb?

  Right.

• 21:51Speaker 06

  I can survive anything. And then you have this beautiful confidence that goes with you wherever you go. So whatever room you walk into, whatever meeting you're at the table for, you feel like you belong there because you belong in your own skin.

• 22:05Hoda Kotb?

  You know, it's so interesting when I think about your life, because when we talk about pivot. So when you had to leave this iconic role, everyone knew you in that role. So whenever you stepped out to try anything else, didn't matter what it was, you know, your intro, it's always the same intro. So how did you kind of step into the identity you wanted? That, that wasn't who you were, but yet it's hard when you are associated with such an iconic character.

• 22:36Speaker 06

  Yeah, and I always will be. And, you know, I talk with this, with the cast of the show, the original cast, like, it doesn't matter where we go or what happens to us. If I get arrested tomorrow, they're gonna flash a cast photo and every one of their names is gonna be pulled into it. We joke about that, but it's true. And then I think accepting the fact that that is one of the most, you know, important stages of my life and my self-development, whether it was stunted by ten years, which I always think it was because that world was not real. And so just trying to create a real world outside of that real world was difficult. But I, I really didn't do it until I was out of that environment.

• 23:20Speaker 06

  And I went from doing 90210 to doing, you know, comedy. So I feel like there's, and I was terrified to do that, because I thought, how do you do that? I only make people cry. Like, if my character gets burned and stalked and shot and all the addicted, all the things they put Kelly Taylor through. But just really embracing all of that, and also when I was writing the book, going back and looking at what an impact all of, even the characters that I've played, the things that they have gone through, that my body actually processed in, in, you know, playing that character. Like, it leaves a mark in you, and it takes up that social battery that, you know, that's your emotional well-being.

• 24:03Speaker 06

  So it's, um, just really looking back at all the things, to find out, like, what felt right and where did it not feel right? And then learning to just keep going to what felt good, where, you know, there was one line in the show in 1995, that I had said, it was three words, "I choose me." She was choosing between Brandon and Dylan. And I didn't really understand it then, because I was just, you know, doing my job as an actress. And later in life, I met women who had grown up with me. When I meet, you know, when I meet anybody on the street, they feel like they've, "I feel like I grew up with you, like, I feel like I were friends." I'm like, "We are, we grew up together, I get it, like, I understand."

• 24:47Speaker 06

  But I, I found out that those women had told me, "I never knew I could choose myself until Kelly chose herself in that moment."

• 24:57Hoda Kotb?

  Wow.

• 24:57Speaker 06

  And I felt like a little weird about it, because in the next moment, Kelly chose some other guy, Colin, the coke heads of New York, but, um, so she really didn't follow through on that, which I'm not proud of. Uh, but I, I felt like, oh, this is something very, very important, that needs to continue to be discussed and talked about and given a spotlight. And it was, it was in those little interactions, women, those connections with women, that are just from the heart, that I, I found my purpose. That I realized, like, because I know I've always been here to sort of teach people, like, it's in my blood, and I, and share something, I never knew what it was.

• 25:38Speaker 06

  And I tried to share things that didn't warrant me, that I was trying to be sharing those things. When I found out like sharing my authentic self, how that impacted other people and how they were then able to share their authentic self with me in turn, like gates opened up and that's when I really thought this, this is my purpose, this kind of connection.

• 25:59Hoda Kotb?

  Isn't it hard not to be a people pleaser?

• 26:02Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 26:03Hoda Kotb?

  I mean, isn't it hard? Like, because I feel like, you know, because we want people to be happy. You want people to be happy to see you.

• 26:12Speaker 06

  You want them to have a nice.

• 26:13Hoda Kotb?

  You want them to have a nice experience. You, but also you want to take care of you. So, how do, did you step out of people pleasing? Are you still in the business of it?

• 26:24Speaker 06

  Well, I, I, I stayed home a lot.

• 26:26Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 26:26Speaker 06

  Um, and what, especially after my divorce, I, I got to the point where I had to learn how to please myself.

• 26:34Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 26:35Speaker 06

  And that's pretty much all the people pleasing I focus on now because in me is all those things wanting other people to be happy and have a great experience. That, those are authentic to me. It's not like I have to fulfill your needs. I'm actually fulfilling my own needs and wants, but it's actually in turn making you feel better.

• 26:55Hoda Kotb?

  Mm hmm.

• 26:55Speaker 06

  So it's just coming from a completely more like honest, real.

• 26:59Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah. What are your tattoos? I didn't see on your arm. What does it say?

• 27:03Speaker 06

  My daughter's handwriting, so it's very hard to read. She was in, uh, she was at school at NYU and she wrote a thesis and in, in, it was about a ritual that we always did every night when I would put my little girls to bed, I would kiss them on the forehead three times and I would say strength, courage and wisdom, these things I give to you. And it was, um, from an India RE song. I don't know if you're familiar with such a good song. Um, and it stuck with them. So she wrote this paper about it. And she was telling me, I said, write it down in your handwriting and I'm going to get a tattooed on my arm and, and she did and it actually looks terrible. It says, it looks like it says this.

• 27:45Speaker 06

  The current with

• 27:47Hoda Kotb?

  It says, no, I can't.

• 27:48Speaker 06

  The triple beep of my UPS on your, I don't know, something. Don't go to the place in Austin. If you want a nice, fine tattoo, don't go there.

• 27:59Hoda Kotb?

  But by the way, I love the ritual.

• 28:02Speaker 06

  I know.

• 28:02Hoda Kotb?

  Forget about the tattoo.

• 28:03Speaker 06

  And they, it's still something that they love and they want to carry on to their children, like just filling them with that.

• 28:09Hoda Kotb?

  First of all, I love the fact that your daughter's here.

• 28:12Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 28:12Hoda Kotb?

  And she is your right hand, your stylist, your everything.

• 28:18Speaker 06

  Yes, she's a, she's 23. She's the chief creative officer for my brand. We have a fashion brand called Me by Jennie Garth and it's exclusive on QVC. You've worn some of it.

• 28:29Hoda Kotb?

  Of course.

• 28:29Speaker 06

  And she does everything for me. And I, I've kind of like say, you take care of everything because I, I don't need to succeed. I could want her to learn.

• 28:40Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 28:40Speaker 06

  How to do it. Like I can do it, but I, you go lead the way and I'll be right here. You tell me what to do.

• 28:46Hoda Kotb?

  By the way. And also to be able to work with your daughter at this stage, I just want, parenting when you were younger, how did you keep your kids on the straight and narrow? Especially given that I'm sure there were people who were coming up to them and saying, you know, who are you? And that kind of thing. How did you, how did you take care of them?

• 29:05Speaker 06

  Well, they really learned to take care of themselves, first of all, and which I think has made them all stronger and just intelligent and very self-aware people. My Lola, for example, would, I would always call her the skeptic baby because she'd be standing there. And then she'd be like, this look on her face, like, what do you want from my mom? Like, you know?

• 29:25Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, that's what she would.

• 29:26Speaker 06

  But I think I just brought my morals. I was born in a very normal family, you know, and I just made that their environment, their norm. We didn't go to parties and, you know, do this Hollywood thing with them and they knew about it. It was all around them, but it was about having dinner at night and giving each other a rosebud thorn every night.

• 29:52Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, you did that?

• 29:53Speaker 06

  You know, connecting with them and reading books, just being normal.

• 29:57Hoda Kotb?

  I think we spend so much of our lives waiting for the big moments. The birthdays, the vacations, the milestones. But the truth is, some of the happiest moments show up on the most ordinary days. So, like this, I'll stop into a CVS because I need one thing. Somehow, the best part of the trip is never the thing I came for. So, maybe I'll grab a delicious well-market snack, or maybe I'll wander over to the Joyward Collection. It's really full of fun, cool, seasonal decor, thoughtful little gifts, and those little discoveries that make you so glad you stopped in. I have to tell you, if you're an Extra Care member, you're going to save on things you're already buying, and those extra bucks really do add up.

• 30:41Hoda Kotb?

  Just watching that total go down at the checkout never, ever gets old. I know, life's busy, we're all juggling a lot, and that's why I think those little unexpected moments of joy matter so much. So, the next time you're running errands, stop by your local CVS pharmacy. You may go in for something you need, but don't be surprised if you leave with something that simply makes your day a little brighter. Visit your local CVS pharmacy, sponsored by CVS. Halloween has a funny way of making you buy things you'd never normally buy. A 10-foot skeleton? Sure. A full-size fog machine? Why not? Three bags of candy that somehow become six bags of candy? It happens. Which brings me to the Chase Freedom Flex Card,

• 31:26Hoda Kotb?

  the savvy decision that will earn you more cash back on the everyday purchases, plus the extraordinary Halloween tricks and treats. With Freedom Flex, you earn even more treats on your Halloween and everyday needs. You get 5% cash back on popular rotating quarterly categories, 3% on dining and drugstores, and 1% on all other purchases. More ways to earn, more ways to get rewarded. That's no tricks, all treats. More ways to earn, more ways to get rewarded. So, sign up for the Chase Freedom Flex Card. Learn more at chase.com/getflex. This is a paid collaboration with Chase Freedom Flex. Cards issued by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member, FDIC.

• 32:09Hoda Kotb?

  Subject to credit approval. Offer subject to change. Terms apply.

• 32:15Speaker 05

  Your team is on a deadline, but moving all your enterprise data will take time your business simply doesn't have. IBM Technology lets AI work with your data where it already lives with an open hybrid cloud approach designed to build on your existing investments. It's another way IBM helps you put your data to work. Let's create smarter business. IBM. Visit ibm.com to learn more.

• 32:44Speaker 06

  Hi, I'm Jenna Oshkowitz. You might know me from Glee. This is At the Table, the food allergy podcast, a show about food, connection, and what it really looks like to live with food allergies. Each episode, we hear stories from real people like Daniel.

• 32:58Speaker 07

  People would always think I was lactose intolerant, so I just kind of shortened my explanation to, I'm deathly allergic in a big way that defined a lot of my childhood.

• 33:09Speaker 06

  And while there are challenges, there are moments that remind you you're not alone.

• 33:14Speaker 03

  One of the best guys that I dated, he made a point to memorize all my food allergies.

• 33:20Speaker 06

  So join us and hear their stories and more because living with food allergies isn't just about what you can't eat. It's about still having your seat at the table. Brought to you by Genentech and Novartis. Listen to At the Table, the food allergy podcast on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Follow At the Table and start listening on the free iHeart Radio app today.

• 33:40Hoda Kotb?

  What is it like parenting adult children? Because you don't stop being a mom. And you do, you know, I know your daughter's working with you here, and that's so interesting. But there is a whole other phase of life when it comes to parenting kids who are grown. How do you, how do you stay in their lives and also help them if they let you?

• 34:03Speaker 06

  Yeah, well, they, they have turned into, even when they were younger, my greatest teachers. So I just am like a sponge around them, learning everything that brings them joy or makes them happier, makes them feel fulfilled or capable. And then in turn, I'm like, OK, you got that from somewhere. So I must have that in me that I've offered you too. But I I feel like as an adult, as adult kids now, they have each other in a completely different way. And I don't know what they say about me when they're together. Mom, you know, and I'm sure their experience is unlike other kids' experiences and, and the, in the atmosphere that they've grown up in with a famous mom and an actor father is famous too.

• 34:47Speaker 06

  And I can't imagine what it must be like, but that they turn out to be these really decent, self-aware, caring, kind people. I, I feel like my, I, I should get a trophy for that. Like I, like I, I feel like I've done something very, very well when I see how well they do in the world without me. And that's the goal, but it's also very, very tricky to know when to like step back and let them make their own mistakes. And that's really difficult because there could be very large consequences for the, the mistakes that they're making out there in the real world now.

• 35:23Hoda Kotb?

  I think it's so interesting that we keep, like I have a seven-year-old and a nine-year-old and I'm always like telling them things. And I, I knew from growing up that when I learned the most was when my mom was showing me something. I don't remember very, I remember very little of what she said or talked about. But there was a moment, my mom ran her first marathon at age 60. She decided she was gonna do it. And I remember it like it was yesterday because she was trudging down, it was like the Marine Corps marathons, you know, sweating to death, doing it. And at mile six, by the way, she was totally wiped out.

• 36:07Hoda Kotb?

  My brother, sister and I were watching her and they looked at our shoes and they were like, you have sneakers on, go in with mom. Mom needs somebody. And I ran with her that last 20 whatever miles. And I remember stopping at the bottom of the Iwo Jima memorial, just when she was running up and we were delirious. And I had a towel and I was just whipping it around and I watched her run up that hill. And I have the vision in my head. And I remember my sister and brother were at the top. And my sister was bawling and my brother was crying. You know, my brother said I, he was actually hungry, not crying, but whatevs, brother. But anyway, I remember that she did that.

• 36:46Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 36:46Hoda Kotb?

  And it's like when they, when we watch our mom overcome something, whatever it is, we think, so if she did that, then I can do this.

• 36:54Speaker 06

  It's so valuable and I've always, I'm the person, like I am an emotional person. I always talk about, you know, some people will try to shame you for your being emotional or, you know, to this too much or whatever. I'm an emotional person. I feel like it's a superpower. I think we all have it. We just let it come out, but um, being, being that way in front of my girls, see, letting them see me in my highs and my lows, letting them see me fall and get back up over and over again. Letting them see me at fifty, fifty-one, fifty-two, fifty-three, keep reinventing, keep doing things that scare me. Keep taking chances that I've always thought I might not ever get to do that.

• 37:35Speaker 06

  But and I might, no, somebody might not choose me for a role, but I can choose the role I want to play.

• 37:42Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 37:42Speaker 06

  In my life. And so they, they are witnessing that firsthand. And I think that that's incredibly valuable for kids to see their parents go through failures and, and, and live through them and find their feet again.

• 37:56Hoda Kotb?

  Right. Instead of trying to dress it up and it's no big deal. So you're, you're all about, this was hard.

• 38:01Speaker 06

  This was painful. I was on the floor and you honestly, you picked me up. Like, that's what we do for each other because we're family and we're women and that's what we do for each other.

• 38:11Hoda Kotb?

  That's what we do. That's what we do. God, I love all of that. That's what we do. This podcast is called Joy 101. I think, I personally think joy is a choice. Like, look, you're choosing it daily. I mean, you are deciding. You didn't say, oh, nine, oh, two, one, oh. Boy, you know how people talk about their high school football days and you're like, please stop talking about that. We know you won the title, but it was so long ago. Like when I've visited with you, you rarely even bring it up. I knew I had to hear, but you talk about where you are, where you're going, what your next thing is, what your next idea is, and joy must come into that. But how do you,

• 38:55Hoda Kotb?

  like, how do you find joy on, on a daily basis?

• 38:59Speaker 06

  There was a good portion of my life where I couldn't find joy.

• 39:02Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 39:03Speaker 06

  And um, That was what that had, that was one of the scariest things for me is really, why can't I be happy? Like, why I have all this goodness, these healthy kids and this wonderful house and all the things, but I couldn't find joy, like really joy within me. And I would see everybody else having it or finding it. And I would be happy for them, but think still like, what's, what, am I damaged?

• 39:29Hoda Kotb?

  Right.

• 39:29Speaker 06

  Is there something really wrong with me? And I, it wasn't until I really further explored all of the things that I found the joy, even in the hardships.

• 39:41Hoda Kotb?

  Oh.

• 39:41Speaker 06

  And then you pull that into the next thing and you pull that into the next thing. And you're right, like joy is a choice.

• 39:48Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 39:48Speaker 06

  Like, you make thirty-five thousand choices every day.

• 39:51Hoda Kotb?

  We do?

• 39:52Speaker 06

  Starting with opening your eyeballs.

• 39:53Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

• 39:54Speaker 06

  Like, that's a choice.

• 39:56Hoda Kotb?

  Right, right, that is.

• 39:58Speaker 06

  But i- if you, like, do you wanna go through life feeling unhappy? I, I, cuz I've done it. It's not fun. It sucks.

• 40:05Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 40:06Speaker 06

  Like, but I would much rather find joy, even in the darkest times. Because I know what it feels like to live in this world of darkness and not, and wonder, am I ever gonna feel joy again?

• 40:23Hoda Kotb?

  How, how old were you when your father passed?

• 40:26Speaker 06

  I was thirty-four.

• 40:31Hoda Kotb?

  In your thirties, thirty-four? Yeah. My dad, my dad passed when I was in college, like, very shocking and surprising to have that kind of just pulled out from under you. Was your dad's passing sudden, or was it?

• 40:45Speaker 06

  He had been sick for a very long time.

• 40:47Hoda Kotb?

  You've been sick.

• 40:47Speaker 06

  But I, the shocking part for me was that I had wanted to be by his side in his final days. And the person in my life was adamant that I needed to be somewhere else.

• 40:59Hoda Kotb?

  Who?

• 41:00Speaker 06

  You know, being happy when there is no chance I was happy doing that. Cause I was called to be with my father at the time.

• 41:07Hoda Kotb?

  Yes.

• 41:07Speaker 06

  And I was, it was a very tough decision and I chose to the wrong one. And um, I remember the day my dad, my mom said, you need to come today. He's not doing well. I raced, I got a rental car in San Diego, California. I left my family with their dad, my girls with their dad. And I drove like a maniac to Santa Barbara by myself. And um, I got there a moment after he died.

• 41:32Hoda Kotb?

  Hmm.

• 41:33Speaker 06

  And it's, it's like the biggest mistake of my life, not listening to my instincts and knowing what I needed to do. You know, and, and I'll never, I always regret that.

• 41:44Hoda Kotb?

  Do you feel him?

• 41:46Speaker 06

  Yeah, I do. I feel, I feel my dad all the time and I feel Luke all the time.

• 41:52Hoda Kotb?

  Oh.

• 41:53Speaker 06

  Was another very important person in my life that suddenly passed.

• 41:57Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 41:57Speaker 06

  You know, still really very unable to accept that reality. Cause it just, it doesn't seem real to me.

• 42:04Hoda Kotb?

  No.

• 42:04Speaker 06

  Um, I know it seems real to the children, but I, I it's, when you lose someone like that so suddenly.

• 42:11Hoda Kotb?

  Mm hmm.

• 42:12Speaker 06

  It, it's hard to accept it.

• 42:16Hoda Kotb?

  So life and death, I mean, I, it was so funny. My, my seven year old was in, we were in bed and she was saying like, what happens? After we die? And I said, well, honey, we, you go to heaven. And she said, um, well, I still have diabetes in heaven. She's, she has diabetes and I, and it's a lot for a little kid. And I said, no, honey. She says, we won't have that. She goes, will we all be together? And I said, yeah. And she said, will we remember this life?

• 42:46Hoda Kotb?

  The one we have right now? And I said, I don't know. It may actually be so good that we don't remember this life. I'm not quite sure, but it reminded me that I would, I was never able to talk about death. After my father passed because it was so painful. It's like you, it seemed unreal. Or when I, when you lose someone who you care deeply about, you don't even want to discuss. Then your little seven year old blurts something out about how we're pain free and all happy and together. And all of a sudden, you feel like a lightness and all of that. This podcast is called Joy 101, so I'm gonna take us up to joy.

• 43:28Hoda Kotb?

  But will you, let's just talk a little bit more about, like, I feel, I felt joy when the Knicks won. I, I mean, sorry, but I know that it's not, come on, like, the Knicks winning to me was like collective effervescence. It was, my head was exploding. By the way, I took my girls, they love OG and Inobi. And he was at Dick's Sporting Goods, shout out to Dick's. And I, I brought my kids in the back and they were squealing like it was Disney World. And when he walked in, it was like their heads exploded. And I was thinking to myself, this is joy. Like, I'm watching my kids watch a guy who did something incredible.

• 44:11Hoda Kotb?

  Talk to me about when, like, I know some things are circumstances and some things are inside out. Your book, choose me, is a New York Times bestseller, a great book, and it's full of life lessons. But tell me about the joy that you unearthed when, when writing that book.

• 44:29Speaker 06

  I think it was just the joy of living the life that I've lived.

• 44:35Hoda Kotb?

  Yes.

• 44:35Speaker 06

  You know, I'll never forget, I'm sorry if my daughters here are hearing this again, but when I was going, when I was just told that I was gonna be getting a divorce, my then husband said to me, someday, you'll, someday you'll thank me for this. And I thought, well, yeah, I don't think so. But he was right.

• 44:56Hoda Kotb?

  He was right.

• 44:57Speaker 06

  He was right. And I, it took me a very long time to. Accept that and to believe it, you know, because I wanted that to be wrong for so long.

• 45:08Hoda Kotb?

  Mm hmm.

• 45:09Speaker 06

  And once I said, you know what? I think you were right. Like, we're both doing great. Our kids are great. Like, I feel like I wouldn't have the life that I have now with my new husband if it hadn't been for you disrupting things like that. And I'm actually really grateful. You know, and it's just finding like the gratitude in even the darkest and the hardest points in your life. Finding those moments that like, you can say that that is why I'm here thriving right now. Because of that pain, you know? And that's where we find the joy to keep going. Because, yeah, there are gonna be more painful moments.

• 45:50Hoda Kotb?

  Mm hmm.

• 45:50Speaker 06

  There are gonna be more hard times. But it's about finding those little like connective tissue.

• 45:55Hoda Kotb?

  Yes.

• 45:56Speaker 06

  That can get us to the finish line.

• 45:58Hoda Kotb?

  Wow, well, girl, you're not even anywhere near the finish line. You are cruising. I am so happy, Jenny, to be sitting with you. You're a dream. I'm ha- oh, we board your dog into a snoozeville.

• 46:11Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 46:11Hoda Kotb?

  Dottie's snoozing, it's so sad.

• 46:14Speaker 06

  She has jet lag.

• 46:15Hoda Kotb?

  She has jet lag. But I want to thank you for flying here, Denise, to be with me, to can. And I want to thank your daughter, too. Um, you guys, give it up for Jenny Garth.

• 46:25Speaker 06

  Thank you, thank you so much.

• 46:28Hoda Kotb?

  Thank you, Jenny. Oh, my God.

• 46:31Speaker 06

  Dottie says, thank you.

• 46:37Hoda Kotb?

  I've realized that joy doesn't always come from those big moments. Sometimes you find it on the most ordinary day. I'll pop into a CVS for toothpaste or paper towels, and it never seems to be just a quick errand. Maybe I'll grab a delicious Well Market Trail Mix or wander over to the Joyward Collection.

• 46:55Speaker 07

  That's part of the fun. So the next time you're checking something off your to-do list, stop by your local CVS Pharmacy. You might go in for one thing and leave with a little more joy. Visit your local CVS Pharmacy, sponsored by CVS. With ChatGPT, you can do more than get answers. You can get things done. Whether you're leading a big project, planning an elaborate trip, or trying to balance work and life, ChatGPT can help. Give it a goal, plus things like files, notes, or project plans. Develop a trip itinerary with daily updates, or create a prioritized schedule. So you can spend less energy sorting out the details and more on bringing your biggest ideas to life. Get started at ChatGPT.com.

• 47:36Speaker 07

  She's been thinking about this sleepover all week, but I think about her food allergies

• 47:40Speaker 05

  all the time. Fortunately, her doctor prescribed Zolair, omalizumab. It's proven to significantly reduce allergic reactions if a food allergy accident happens. Zolair 150mg is a prescription medication used to treat food allergy in people one year of age and older to reduce allergic reactions due to accidental exposure to one or more foods. While taking Zolair, you should continue to avoid all foods to which you are allergic. Don't use if you are allergic to Zolair. Zolair may cause a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. Tell your doctor if you ever had anaphylaxis. Get help right away if you have trouble breathing or if you have swelling of your throat or tongue. Zolair should not be used for the emergency treatment of allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. Zolair is for maintenance use to reduce allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, while avoiding food allergens. Serious side effects such as cancer, fever,

• 48:24Speaker 05

  muscle aches and rash, parasitic infection, or heart and circulation problems have been reported. Please see zolair.com for full prescribing information. Ask an allergist about Zolair. This is an advertisement for Zolair, paid for by Genentech and Novartis.

• 48:36Speaker 01

  This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human.