I don’t identify as middle aged! Fearne's talking hormones and single parenting

What’s been going on for you this week? What are you happy about, and what’s making you not so happy? Fearne’s here with more chat about what’s putting her, Team Happy Place team, and you lot in a good mood, and what’s feeling a bit heavier. This is our space to explore what’s been on our minds. Want to join the chat? Send us a voicenote, DM, or comment on Instagram @happyplaceofficial! In this chat, Fearne explores: -Whether Instagram quotes are cringe or uplifting -Why midlife is about coming back to who you were as a teen -Prioritising her friendships -The joy of a morning routine -Examples of positive masculinity -Teenagers’ attitudes unfortunately not being a myth -The struggle of being a single parent working full time -Picking which jacket to wear for the weather (spoiler: you won’t make the right decision) -How good it can be to have a good cry -Hormones being a bit of a nightmare Child on the line is a three-part documentary podcast series celebrating the Volunteer Counsellors of Childline, and the brave children & young people who contact the helpline service. Listen here: https://www.childonthelinepodcast.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

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

• 0:00Speaker 00

  Hi, I'm Natalie Dormer and I'm proud to be an ambassador for Childline. This year, Childline turns 40. To mark it, I've made Child on the Line, a three-part documentary podcast. We hear why children needed a helpline in 1986, how it was built against the odds and the challenges children face today, from abuse and mental health to social media and AI. Search Child on the Line and listen wherever you get your podcasts.

• 0:30Speaker 01

  Hey, we're Nick and Jack, hosts of the best one yet. Behind every episode, there's research, emails, spreadsheets and our shared Google Doc, the headline hammer. With Google Workspace with Gemini, Google's AI is built right into the premium versions of tools we already use, like Gmail, Docs and Sheets. No new tools or extra logins, just personalized AI for the way we work. That means less time on the work around the work and more time finding the stories worth talking about. Get AI tools for work. Upgrade to Google Workspace with Gemini at goo.gle/workspacewithGemini. That's goo.gle/workspacewithGemini.

• 1:04Speaker 02

  Hello, I'm Joanna Fletcher.

• 1:06Speaker 03

  And I'm Marco Burchella.

• 1:07Speaker 02

  And this is Boots Off.

• 1:10Speaker 03

  We are friends who have spent a decade together, walking up mountains, across deserts and along coastlines with some seriously awesome groups of humans.

• 1:19Speaker 02

  And something happens when you're out there, feet on the ground, surrounded by nature. The conversations just spill out of you.

• 1:25Speaker 03

  This series is about the adversities that lead to adventure.

• 1:28Speaker 02

  The adventures that lead to adversity.

• 1:30Speaker 03

  And how life can be one big adventure in itself.

• 1:33Speaker 02

  Listen every Thursday, just search for Boots Off.

• 1:41Fearne Cotton?

  Now, I know that some people, friends of mine, hate Instagram quotes. They're like, "Listen, I'm... I love an Instagram quote." I think midlife is just becoming who you were at 16 again, but loving her this time. I am a Virgo and I like to do the same shit every damn day. I'm disliking my teenager's attitude. And I think the pressure for us to be holding it all together is mad. It's real beautiful, positive masculinity and I am so fucking here for that. I think this is the day before my period. I never remember to mark it down, which is, I'm 44. When will I learn? I went to my daughter's spring concert last night and they sang a song from Sudopolis and I cried.

• 2:25Fearne Cotton?

  Well, hello everybody. I'm Fern Cotton. Welcome, welcome one and all to Happy Place. And if you're watching this in our Happy Place studio, I tell you what, we have been in this studio a little while now and I feel so at home in here. I love it. And today, once again, I'm going to be chatting through our likes and our dislikes. So here I am in this fluffy chair. I'm quite sleepy today, so I need, I need motivating. I think this is going to be a motivating chat if you're feeling a bit sleepy too, because we've got a lot of stuff to get through. As always, I'm going to start with things that are making me and Team Happy Place feel happy. And I want to start with a quote. Now, I know that some people, friends

• 3:10Fearne Cotton?

  of mine, hate Instagram quotes. They're like, oh, they're so naff. I love an Instagram quote. If I read a good quote first thing in the morning, it could change my whole day. And this one that my friend Amelia sent to me this week, not Amelia from Team Happy Place, many Amelias, one of my mates, I thought this was just the most beautiful thing. It says, and she's not actually even sure who this quote is by, so it's anonymous, but if you wrote it, let us know. It says, "I think midlife is just becoming who you were at 16 again, but loving her this time." I love that. I love that so much. I know many of you listening

• 3:51Fearne Cotton?

  to this, watching this, will be in midlife, as I am, although I don't identify as a middle aged person. I identify as 24, but I very much am hurtling towards 45 imminently. And I so agree with the sentiment of that. I think this era of my life does feel like peeling back the layers to get back to the things, actually, which is relevant to this, that I loved as a teenager. But rather than feel like embarrassed about those things, or like they're not cool enough, or they don't warrant time, because I like myself and also know what I like, you can really dive into it all. So for me, and I've maybe

• 4:32Fearne Cotton?

  talked about this quite a bit recently, it's painting. As a teenager, I did nothing but draw. As soon as I got home from school, or even at school, I was meant to be listening to maths, I'd be doodling, but just painted as much as I could. And then during, really, my late twenties, thirties, That halted massively because I had babies and I was working a hell of a lot. And I just didn't see the value in it. And now I've definitely gone back to my 16 year old self. And I wanna paint all the time. And I also wanna more than ever hang out with my mates. Again, something that sort of took a bit of a slide maybe in my 30s really whilst having babies. I didn't see my friends anywhere near as much. And now I'm really putting effort into that.

• 5:17Fearne Cotton?

  Tonight I'm going out with my dear friend Charisse, which I cannot wait for. I have a little spicy margarita. And put the world to rights. Chat and chat and chat until there are no words left in the world. And I cannot wait. I can't wait. Now, as well as that gorgeous quote. I've got some likes from team happy place this week. Jenna, this is something that speaks to my heart. Jenna says, the first cup of coffee in the morning in my favourite mug. It is unmatched. Also, don't talk to me until I've drunk it. I am exactly that person. So I am a Virgo and I like to do the same shit every damn day.

• 6:00Fearne Cotton?

  The routine is the same. The routine is a non-negotiable routine. So when I get up in the morning. Before I've barely opened my eyes or fed the cats who are all meowing in my face at this point. I make myself an identical cup of coffee. It's very specific. It has to be kettle on. I do two heaped teaspoons of instant coffee because I'm coming as muck. I put a little bit of honey in there to make it fancy. Put the hot water in piping hot and a dash of oat milk. It is scalding hot, asbestos hot. That's how I like it. It's in a proper big old fashioned mug. Don't give me a teeny little one. I want a big one. If I travel, I go abroad, I take a mug with me because hotels have stupid miniature cups. I hate it.

• 6:45Fearne Cotton?

  So Jenna, I feel you. That is the peak of my day and quite often it's downhill from there on in. But it is, it's the best bit of the day without a doubt. Jenna, I hear you. There was another one I saw. Oh, Anushka has pointed out something that I also saw on Instagram just this week, which we've got to give hats off to. And it's the guys who are running Pints and Ponytails. I saw this on Instagram this week and I thought, this is so cool. Basically, it's evenings where dads all get together in a pub. They can drink their beer, their lager in a big old lager glass. And then they learn how to do hair. So they can do their kids' hair. How cool is that? Because it's one of those jobs that is always pushed upon the mum

• 7:28Fearne Cotton?

  that we should just be good at doing a complicated French braid at like 7.30 when you're knackered and trying to deal with all of the chaos before the school run. I think this is such a genius concept and it's real beautiful, positive masculinity. And I am so fucking here for that. Real, it's like really pumped me up that one. I love it. So Anushka, Anushka who runs Happy Place Studios and all of our audio, I'm with you babes. Right, let's move on to dislikes. Do you know what? I've had, I've had an up and down week, certainly. There's been some stressful stuff going on that I'm not going to bore everyone with here. But I'm really focusing on the positives right now. So I'm going to dive straight into some listener dislikes. We encourage you each

• 8:12Fearne Cotton?

  week to jump onto Instagram. Tell us what's going on with you. What's making you feel amazing? What's making you feel like a piece of shit? And I'll read them out. So a massive hello to Kat, who says, "I'm disliking my teenager's attitude." Do you know what? I am now in the teenhood phase two with my son Rex. And I thought it was a myth, right? The teenage thing. I thought, oh, whatever. It's gonna be fine. But I'm definitely in the thick of it with certain things like I'm not allowed to play loud music in the car as I'm approaching the school. I'm not allowed to touch him in any shape or form when I get out the car to give them

• 8:55Fearne Cotton?

  the bags out of the boot. I have to almost ignore him and he completely ignores me because I am embarrassment embodied, okay. So I hear you, Cat. Claire says, being a single parent, working full time and trying to hold it together all the time. Claire, mate, I massively feel you. I'm a single parent, I work full time of about a thousand jobs. I'm, you know, trying to juggle it all. And I think the pressure for us to be holding it all together is mad. Look how much we're trying to do. It's absurd. And the one thing I keep bringing myself back to, because this week has been absolute chaos. I've been trying to fit in so much stuff so I can take a little bit of time off. So I've been just

• 9:37Fearne Cotton?

  like doubling up on everything and trying to get all emails done and yada, yada, yada. And feeling then guilty if I'm like missing a school pickup or, you know, and then there was like a school concert and my daughter had to wear a specific outfit. It's just like all those little extra things tip you over the edge. I so hear you. And I think what we have to keep going back to is it's absurd for us to think we should hold it all together under those circumstances. It is too much. And I think the only thing we can do in those times is lean on really good mates. I've got two mates I'd be lost without in the conundrum of juggling it all. One's called Lavashni, one's called Ella, and they have been so helpful to me. If I can't do a school pickup, or if I can't

• 10:19Fearne Cotton?

  do the school one in the morning because I've got to leave super early, they've always got my back and I will try and repay them in whatever way I can in the future. But I think we've got to lean on good mates. So Claire, I'm with you. I hear you. I love you. And April says, wearing the wrong jacket for the weather. Yeah, this season is a nightmare. We went from this gorgeous little mini summery spell a moment ago to the other day, I was walking back from my therapist's house and it was sleet. We had sleet. What, why have we got sleet in spring? I don't want to see a magnolia tree in bloom and then be sleeted on, if that's a verb. I don't, I don't want that. I don't want that. What coat accommodates

• 11:03Fearne Cotton?

  this ever-changing weather? There are no coats that accommodate all weathers. It's a joke. I'm with you, April. I hate it. Let's have a look what everybody else in Team Happy Place is saying. Okay, Anushka, I'm going to say this one because it's kind of prompting me to get back to doing this. Breathwork, breathwork's positive, but Anushka says breathwork before bed. I love, but I do not love fully crying because the emotional release is so powerful. Well, I want to calmly drift off to sleep. Do you know what? I am mega emo. I was going to say at the moment, but it's just today. I think this is the day before my period. I never remember to mark it down, which is I'm 44. When will I learn?

• 11:46Fearne Cotton?

  I've been having periods for decades and I still don't remember to write it down. What is wrong with it? Or put it in an app on my phone. I'm an idiot. But I think it's tomorrow. Everything is making me cry. Everything. I went to my daughter's spring concert last night and they sang a song from Sudopolis. And I cried. I cried. I cried. It was like sort of rousing lyrics about we won't give up. And I was like, yeah, we won't give up.

• 12:15Fearne Cotton?

  Hormones, they are a fucking nightmare. Absolute nightmare. But it's good to have a cry, isn't it? Anushka, it's good to have a cry. We all need a good weep at some point. Lovely listeners, tell us what's making you feel really happy. What is your, what are your big likes for the week? And what are your massive dislikes? Things that are just making you feel properly crap. There's room for it all. This is, I don't like it when like wellness is all about sort of this toxic idea of happiness. We're just like happy all the time and we must look at the positives and don't look at the negatives. No, I think like give it all airtime. Look at it all. Feel okay about it being a bumpy ride, good and bad, up and down a roller coaster. That's what this is for each week.

• 12:56Fearne Cotton?

  So tell us on Instagram at Happy Place Official and we will flesh it out right here and give it the airtime it deserves. Thank you for listening and I'll see you soon. Love you.

• 13:34Speaker 05

  I've got big news. I switched to Verizon and got the new iPhone 18 Pro. Shh. I can keep my old phone. And I also get the latest iPhone every year. Shh. Anything else? Verizon let me choose Apple Watch Series 12 or iPad on them. Everybody, listen up. Shh. Switch to Verizon and get the new iPhone 18 Pro now. No trade in needed. And the latest iPhone every year with Simplicity Plan. Plus, choose Apple Watch Series 12 or iPad on us. Simplicity Plan with Simplicity Pro required. Plan and device payment purchase are separate agreements with separate terms. Service plan for Watch or iPad required. Additional terms apply for all offers.

• 14:04Speaker 01

  Hey, we're Nick and Jack, hosts of The Best One Yet. Behind every episode, there's research, emails, spreadsheets, and our shared Google Doc, the headline hammer. With Google Workspace with Gemini, Google's AI is built right into the premium versions of tools we already use, like Gmail, Docs, and Sheets. No new tools or extra logins. Just personalized AI for the way we work. That means less time on the work around the work and more time finding the stories worth talking about. Get AI tools for work. Upgrade to Google Workspace with Gemini at go.o.gle/workspacewithGemini. That's go.o.gle/workspacewithGemini.

• 14:39Speaker 06

  It's time. It's the most wonderful time of the year. Halloween!

• 14:47Speaker 07

  And you guys know we don't do Halloween by halves. Full costume, full prosthetics, full commitment. I'm a rat. And I'm the chef. It's our Ratatouille special. Then we're grabbing our broomsticks for the witches. We've got a spooky hotline caller. An update from our woman who was in love with the ghost of Prince Albert. And your tarot card dial levers. Listen to our Halloween specials. Search for The Girl's Bathroom.