The Amy Plus Podcast

A 140-year-old brand with that kind of growth rate,  that's a unicorn." For exclusive discount codes on my favorite luxury brands, visit www.amyplusjoe.com/discounts 💕 Today I'm sitting down with a true power couple in the Western luxury world, Tim, CFO of Lucchese, one of the most iconic boot brands in the country, and his wife Alana Kay, a designer, artist, and color evangelist k...

For exclusive discount codes on my favorite luxury brands, visit www.amyplusjoe.com/discounts 💕 What really goes on behind the salon chair? My hairstylist Jessica Berry has spent 25 years finding out, and today she's telling you everything. Jess is a seasoned hairstylist, certified health coach, devoted mom, and wife of Frank Berry, the luxury designer who did our Laguna Beach home and was f...

What's the most expensive home you've been involved with in Orange County? "$100 million." That's our architect, Chris Light, one of the most sought-after residential architects in all of Southern California, and the man behind our oceanfront home here in Laguna Beach. I sat him down the morning after we celebrated our Ocean Boulevard build going to market and he told me e...

We drop napkins at Michelin restaurants on purpose, and time how long it takes them to pick it up. (Single Thread? 21 seconds. Per Se? 55. Barcelona? Three and a half minutes.) In this episode, I sit down with my husband Joe for a fun catch-up on everything going on in our lives right now. We recap our 12-year anniversary weekend at the Bel Air Hotel, the spa, the Marilyn Monroe history, caviar an...

Why are luxury pieces so expensive, and are they actually worth it? Today I'm taking you inside my Laguna Beach closet to break it all down. From a $3,000 Brunello Cucinelli sweater I got for a fraction of the price, to the rarest Hermès bag in the world (a Himalayan crocodile Birkin that Joe gifted me for our 10-year anniversary), I'm showing you what's in my closet, why these piec...

Should it really take 30 minutes on the toilet? According to Dr. Patel, a board-certified gastroenterologist, if your poop is ready,  it should take less than a minute. In this episode, she breaks down the stuff no one talks about but everyone deals with, from pelvic floor dysfunction to why doom-scrolling on the toilet is actually making things worse. Dr. Patel is a keynote speaker, Instagram fav...

What happens when a fall from five stories up, Spinal cord AND brain injury in one shot? Trial lawyer Tina has seen it and fought for it. In this episode, she opens up about the cases that keep her up at night, the invisible injuries juries can't see, and why she shows up to court in Chanel platforms. I'm joined by Tina, a powerhouse trial lawyer who specializes in catastrophic brain inj...

Today on The Amy Plus Podcast , Amy sits down with Rachel Uchitel media personality, entrepreneur, and host of Miss Understood with Rachel Uchitel , a podcast built around the people and stories that deserve more compassion, context, and truth.  Rachel shares how her life was “reduced to a headline,” why that label follows women differently than men, and how she turned public scrutiny into a purpo...

Note: This episode includes wellness discussion for general interest and is not medical advice . Private clubs, couture, charity galas… and the real rules behind Palm Beach status . In this episode of The Amy Plus Podcast , Amy sits down with Taja Abitbol from Netflix’s Members Only: Palm Beach, one of the most talked-about new reality series set inside the world of elite memberships and high-soci...

In Part 2, Amy sits down with Alicia Zuckerman Stuard,  the concierge jeweler behind the sparkle for top PGA players and their wives, and the woman building a multi-million dollar “by-referral only” jewelry experience for serious diamond lovers.  This episode goes deep into what high-net-worth clients actually do: how they buy, how they insure, how they transport million-dollar pieces, and why “pr...

Ever wondered what it really takes to design, build, and sell a $21,995,000 oceanfront home in Orange County? In this episode of The Amy Plus Podcast , Amy sits down in her own home with legendary luxury realtor John Stanaland to pull back the curtain on ultra-high-end real estate, record-breaking deals, and the emotional side of letting go of a dream home. From his $45M sale in Newport Coast to s...

Welcome back to the A+ Podcast. In this Part 2 episode, Amy sits down again with Orange County dermatologist Dr. Zenovia Gabriel to get very real about modern beauty culture from oversized lips and overdone faces in Newport Beach to acne, Accutane, hair loss, lasers, and TikTok skincare trends.  They talk about why so many women in Orange County feel pressure to “keep up,” how social media and fil...

If you watched Season 2 of the Netflix show “America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders,” you saw the polished ending… but not the full story of why veteran DCC Kaydianna MacKenzie walked away. In Part 2 of my conversation with Kaydianna on the Amy Plus Podcast, we pick up after the cameras stop rolling and dive into what was really happening behind the scenes. Kaydianna opens up about: -...

In Part 1 of this powerful 2-part conversation, former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader KayDianna MacKenzie sits down with Amy on the **Amy Plus Podcast** to share what it’s really like to wear one of the most famous uniforms in the world. KayDianna opens up about: - The journey from college dance and TCU to making the DCC squad - What game day actually feels like on the Dallas Cowboys field - The beaut...

Dr. Zenovia “Dr. Z” Gabriel joins Amy Sexton on the Amy Plus Podcast for a real, no-fluff conversation on what actually matters in skincare, especially if you’re trying to age well, clear acne, or stop wasting money on random products. They break down the difference between subtle, natural-looking Botox vs the dreaded “stone face,” what a lip flip really is, and how to think about chemical peels a...

Emmy-winning journalist and Dallas creator Niyah Gonzalez sits down with Amy Sexton to talk about breaking into sideline reporting, covering the World Series, fashion and fit checks, and what it really takes to build a modern media career. Tap the chapters below to jump around. 🎧 Listen now on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-amy-plus-podcast/id1811885921 🧡 Weekly blog:...

Emmy-winning anchor Laura Harris joins Amy for a candid conversation about career, confidence, and timing. She shares how she left a secure evening anchor job in Tampa for a weekend role in Dallas because she believed in herself, why cutting her hair at 40 felt scarier than it should have, and how being “an introvert masquerading as an extrovert” plays out on social media and TV. From small-town G...

Professional pilot Stephanie (five jet type ratings) flew herself to the show—then unpacked a life that spans global business jets, network newsrooms, and front-row fashion. From Citation V and RV-4 aerobatics to L-39 military trainer G-loads, she explains the tech—and the mindset—behind high-performance flying. We also hit Paris/NY Fashion Week invites (McQueen & Givenchy), women in aviation,...

Designer Julie Miles shares the story of her brand, from Bali markets to New York showrooms, plus the resilience behind it: surviving stage IV cancer and returning to create non-traditional, statement-making pearls that empower women. We talk celeb clients, the Cynthia Rowley trunk show, leather-strung and silk-strung techniques, baroque pendants, quartz from India, and a travel-meet-cute that bec...

Joe picks up the story right before leaving Mercury: HP buys the company, a hardware exec freezes on stage during a Dallas roadshow, and an “urgent” call in the lobby ends with Joe being terminated then asserting his rights under a double-trigger clause. What came next set up the McAfee chapter that boardrooms still talk about. 00:00 – Who Joe is now: board seats and cyber leadership01:02 – Nantuc...

A milestone check-in: 20 episodes, big gratitude, and a few personal lessons (listening better, prep, balance, faith). I revisit standout moments, from Joe’s career series to Bonnie’s love for styling postpartum women, Kelly’s NICU journey (and my first-grandbaby news), Ash turning my home into a gallery, Sahar’s viral jewelry hustle, Tony’s culture playbook at Hammitt, Alicia’s concierge sparkle,...

Tammy Phan founder & CEO of Luxe Du Jour, breaks down building a multimillion-dollar luxury resale & rental brand, moving from Calgary to a new U.S. HQ in Irvine, surviving Dragon’s Den with a $30M ask, and why her rent-per-bag model works. We also get the wild “Only Authentics” text meltdown during a Himalayan Birkin hunt, how clients use bag rentals for content & write-offs, and why...

Reality TV firecracker Kelly Dodd (RHOC) drops unfiltered stories: bouncing back after a brutal 3-week illness, why certain real moments never make the cut, the Florida yacht fiasco that should’ve aired, and producers telling her not to drink in Ireland. We also get into home design obsessions (Venetian plaster, Waterworks), meeting at a Hammett event, and her 50th birthday travel plans to Hong Ko...

Stylist Bonnie Smith (Shop With Bonnie) walks through her process end-to-end: closet edits that create clarity, shopping only for gaps, and styling head-to-toe looks from pieces you already own. We get into the “third piece” rule, organization that makes outfits effortless, and how she rebuilds confidence for postpartum clients and moms-to-be. Plus: NYFW memories and Amy’s custom Christian Siriano...

Kristi Keith (Blondeswhoeat) shares the real origin of her food persona, why she sometimes films in the car, how ASMR sounds keep viewers hooked, and the Yonkers two-foot pizza that blew up her page. She also talks about moving from medical sales to full-time creator, the 2017 “go private” advice, getting hacked (and how to protect your accounts), and what’s actually working across YouTube, TikTok...