Pretty and Painful

Some fires don’t happen all at once. Sometimes they spark slowly. A bad season. A hard goodbye. A little grief. A little healing. A little chaos wrapped up in confidence and sarcasm. In this episode of Pretty & Painful, we’re talking about dumpster fire moments, emotional cleanup jobs, the people God sends into your life at the right time, and learning that being “hauled, not healed” doesn’t mean...

Episode 21 — the one someone buys I thought he was going to give me specs & storage… but turns out it was never really about the iPad. This episode is about what happens when you realize being “chosen” and being truly valued are two very different things. The gifts, the gestures, the convenience of having someone around — and the quiet ache of wondering if they actually see you underneath it all....

“Too much… or just finally honest?” This episode is for the ones who have been called too much. Too loud. Too emotional. Too honest. In this raw, unfiltered episode of Pretty & Painful, Bailey opens up about grief, healing out loud, and the reality of being misunderstood in a world that prefers things quiet and palatable. From accusations of “doing it for attention” to choosing what parts of her s...

Not everything is magically okay… but something feels different. In this episode of Pretty & Painful, I’m opening up about what it looks like when the blinders finally come off—when grief is still there, but it doesn’t feel quite as heavy. This isn’t me saying I’m done healing. This isn’t me ignoring the hard. This is me learning… I’m not alone in it. Through faith, through growth, and through the...

Some places don’t change… but the way they feel does. This episode is about going back— back to the places that raised you, the memories that shaped you, and the people who aren’t there anymore. It’s about expecting comfort… and being met with silence. About realizing that healing doesn’t always look like closure— sometimes it looks like sitting in the middle of what once was, and choosing to stay...

⸻ God Met Me Here I didn’t find God in a perfect moment. I didn’t find Him when everything made sense. I found Him… here. In the middle of the messy. The grief. The questions I didn’t have answers for. This episode is about the kind of faith that doesn’t look polished— the kind that shows up in quiet prayers, in car rides with tears you didn’t plan, in moments where all you can say is, “God… I nee...

Driftwood — BFFs & Suwannee River We didn’t drift… we just took the scenic route back. In this episode, it’s Bay & Shay— back in Florida, back by the water, and back in the kind of friendship that doesn’t need explaining. We’re talking growing up, growing apart, growing back together… and how the real ones don’t disappear—they just float steady until you find each other again. A little nostalgia....

This episode feels a little softer… but no less real. I’m sitting at the table with memories of my Aunt Judi — the kind of woman who wasn’t for everyone, but meant everything to the people she loved. The one who could bring sweetness into chaos, whether it was through her voice on dispatch or something homemade in her hands. Today feels like a bake sale kind of day… warm, familiar, a little bitter...

Healing Isn’t Quiet — April 19th Warning: This episode discusses personal experiences with sexual trauma and healing. Listener discretion is advised—please take care of yourself while listening. This episode is personal. Not for attention. Not for opinions. But because healing doesn’t happen in silence. April 19th, 2017 changed me. Not just in a moment… but in the way I saw myself, my body, and th...

Same table. Different plates. This Table Talk holds stories that don’t always get said out loud — the kind that change you. From loving someone who broke you… to learning how to live with the parts they left behind. These aren’t perfect stories. They’re real ones. About losing yourself in relationships… finding your way back… and unlearning the things that made you question your worth. If you’ve e...

In this episode, I’m talking about what it feels like to outgrow a version of yourself… that people refuse to let go of. The girl who was loud. The girl who reacted. The girl they labeled… and never updated. Because growth is a weird place to be. You’re not who you used to be… but people still treat you like you are. This is about: ✨ Healing without explaining yourself ✨ Letting people misunders...

Grief doesn’t come with a timeline… and it sure doesn’t ask for permission to stay. Some days you’re okay. Some days it hits you out of nowhere — years later — like it just happened. And somewhere along the way, the world starts expecting you to be “over it.” This episode? This is your permission slip. To still miss them. To still feel it. To still carry love that didn’t have anywhere to go. Becau...

A Life I Don’t Need to Escape From There was a time I was always looking for a way out. Not physically… but mentally. Scrolling. Staying busy. Filling every quiet moment so I didn’t have to sit with myself. Because if I’m honest… my life didn’t feel like somewhere I wanted to stay. But somewhere along the way… that started to change. Not in a big, dramatic way— but in the small, quiet choices. Lea...

For the first time, it’s not just my story. It’s hers. It’s yours. It’s what happens when we stop carrying things alone. From loss… to boundaries… to choosing peace—this episode is a reminder that healing doesn’t look one way, and it doesn’t happen overnight. But progress is still progress. And your story might be the lifeline someone else needs. 🎙️ A Seat at the Table Pretty & Painful Podcast Whe...

You don’t realize it at first… but we spend our whole lives watching. As kids, we watch the people we love— how they live, how they speak, how they carry themselves. And one day… we watch them leave. This episode is about grief, growth, and the quiet realization that the way we heal… is being watched too. I wasn’t always soft. I wasn’t always healing. But somewhere between the pain, the silence, a...

I used to think romanticizing your life meant pretending everything was okay… Now I know— it’s how you survive when it’s not. This episode is for the ones carrying grief quietly… still lighting candles, still choosing softness, still showing up. Because maybe healing isn’t loud— maybe it looks like love, little moments… and a touch of Easter grace. 🌷 🎙️ Romanticizing My Life… Even When It’s Falli...

I spent a long time thinking I needed the last word… like if I could just explain myself one more time, defend myself a little better, or finally be understood… it would fix something. But it never did. Because the truth is— not everyone is meant to understand you. And not every situation deserves your voice. This episode is about letting go of the need to be heard by people who were never really...

This one’s not easy to say out loud… There was a version of me that didn’t love right. I kept people close—but never close enough. I controlled everything. I broke hearts… to protect my own. Not because I was heartless— but because I was scared of how deeply I could feel. In this episode, I’m opening up about the walls I built, the damage I did, and what it actually looked like to take accountabil...

Welcome back to Pretty & Painful — where grief and joy sit at the same table… even when the table feels like it’s on fire. This week, we’re talking about those seasons where everything hits at once. The kind that leave you numb, overwhelmed, and wondering how you’re supposed to keep going. Less sparkle. Less sass. More honesty. More survival. Because not every chapter is a glow up. Some are just a...

Some days, it’s not sadness. It’s not anger. It’s just… nothing. In this episode of Pretty & Painful, I’m talking about the numbness—the kind that makes you feel like a stranger in your own life. The kind where you’re still showing up, still smiling, still doing what needs to be done… but inside, everything feels quiet. This isn’t a “I have it all together” episode. This is real. This is right now...

Some connections in life are easy. Some are tangled. And some… feel like invisible strings pulling us exactly where we’re meant to be. In this episode of Pretty & Painful, Bailey talks about the friendships that shape us—the ones that appear out of nowhere, the ones that hold us together through grief, and the ones that stretch across states, years, and life chapters. From unexpected best friends...

What starts as a frustrated joke about a broken Jeep quickly turns into real flames. In this episode of Pretty & Painful, Bailey shares the moment she went from being the responder… to being the call. From smoke behind the tire to the quiet crash of adrenaline afterward, this story explores guilt, chaos, and the strange feeling of needing help when you’re usually the one giving it. Because sometim...

What happens when you leave the place that raised you… and have to decide where you’re going to plant yourself next? In this episode of Pretty & Painful, Bailey talks about being rooted — not stuck. Not small. Not silenced. Rooted. From small-town football nights and Hardee’s parking lot conversations to finding belonging in new soil… this one is about identity, grief, growth, and what it means to...

Turns out remission doesn’t come with a glitter cannon. And grief doesn’t leave quietly. But somewhere between carrot cake recipes, decorating therapy, and my daughter asking, “Mom, can we make peanut butter cookies?” … I found pieces of myself again. This episode is about personality coming back online. About laughing without guilt. About being allowed to sparkle after survival. I’m still baking....

Grief doesn’t always whisper — sometimes it keeps baking, keeps winning bingo, keeps showing up. In Episode 2 of Pretty & Painful, Bailey talks about celebrating the ones we’ve lost while honoring the generational strength that teaches us to survive heartbreak. From peanut butter cookies to hospital rooms, from Grandma’s resilience to Grandpa’s absence — this episode is raw, tender, and deeply hum...