Leanne Morgan

Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Comedian Leanne Morgan joins Dax Shepard to discuss her unexpected rise to stardom in her 50s after decades of working the corporate comedy

Key takeaways

• Leanne Morgan achieved major Netflix success with specials like 'Leanne, You're Cordally Invited' in her 50s.
• She grew up in a small Tennessee community where her family supplied meat to country music legends.

Main topics

• Stand-up comedy career
• Marriage and family dynamics

Notable quotes

I didn't even think to invest in myself.

Conclusion

A deeply relatable and humorous exploration of finding one's true call

Transcript preview

Speaker 4 (0:00) Welcome, welcome, welcome to Armchair Expert. I'm Dan Shepard. I'm joined by Lily Padman. Hi. And Sharon Beasley. Hello. Today we have an incredibly funny and wonderful woman, Leanne Morgan. She is a comedian, an actor, and an author. And she has the most funny show on Netflix called Leanne, appropriately. And also you're cordially invited. And Leanne Morgan, I'm every woman. These are stand-up specials. She's a hilarious stand-up and a hysterical actor now. on a sitcom. I love her. Enjoy Leanne Morgan. Speaker 1 (0:52) and legs. Speaker 4 (0:53) Let's look at them together. Thank you all so much Speaker 1 (0:57) for having me. Oh, Speaker 4 (0:58) come on. Little Speaker 1 (0:59) Monica. Speaker 4 (0:59) Hi. My Speaker 1 (1:00) little baby is a huge arm cherry, and she cannot even believe I'm here. I can't believe I'm here. I Speaker 4 (1:07) didn't email him my notes. I'll be right back. Okay, my darling. Get all the drinks and stuff. I need to Speaker 1 (1:12) work out. Speaker 2 (1:13) No. Speaker 1 (1:13) I got that. Speaker 1 (1:16) It's Speaker 2 (1:16) just too hard to do. But we have to. Bone density. Bone density. And I saw Mary Claire Speaker 1 (1:23) on with y'all. Yes. I did a thing with Mary Claire with Oprah. Speaker 2 (1:27) Of Speaker 1 (1:28) course you Speaker 2 (1:28) did. Speaker 1 (1:28) On ABC about menopause. Speaker 2 (1:29) And what were the big takeaways? I Speaker 1 (1:32) had a podcast years ago that would be huge now. Yeah. But. I stopped because I got to touring so heavy. Yeah. But it was called Sweaty and Piss, Menopause and More. And it was a brilliant nurse practitioner with me who helped me with my hormones. But we made it funny. Yeah. And they asked us to go on tour. And I just got too busy. Yeah. And I think now, if we'd kept that. Definitely. It's all the rage. Everybody's now talking about menopause. No one cared about menopause until recently. I have got to live. And I enjoy it. I really do enjoy it. But then I get to a hotel room on tour and I just think, I've got to go stare at the wall so I can be funny. Yeah. Speaker 4 (2:15) How many days are you on tour a year? I'm all the time right now. Speaker 1 (2:20) You look like one of those Iron Man men. that are running and doing that Ironman that are swimming and biking and doing in Arizona. No, thank you. In Tempe. How about these like Speaker 4 (2:32) ultra marathon guys that are running and women that are running through Death Valley on like mile 97? I'm like, wow, I really can't conceptualize. Speaker 1 (2:41) I Speaker 4 (2:41) know. Speaker 1 (2:41) And I know a couple of people who do that. My orthodontist. is tiny and fit and looks cute in his pants. And he'll say, I'll give myself a little treat once a week. And I go, what is it? And he goes, I'll drink one of those little dentist cups of Diet Pepsi. And I'm like, oh my God. Well, Speaker 4 (2:58) he hates himself. That Speaker 2 (2:59) is not a Speaker 4 (2:59) fun line. No, he's angry at himself. Oh no, Speaker 2 (3:02) but Speaker 4 (3:02) I'm sitting here eating pork sausage. Yum. Wait, you have an orthodontist? Speaker 1 (3:08) I have an Invisalign. When I was 40 something. All of a sudden, I started looking like Joan Rivers, an alum term. God rest her soul. Speaker 4 (3:17) But Speaker 1 (3:17) I had a side bite, and all three of my children were in braces and me at the same time. And I said to that little orthodontist, because we have a chemistry, I Speaker 2 (3:27) said, Speaker 4 (3:28) what am I Speaker 1 (3:29) buying you, like a pool or a fountain? What is this? Literally. Because we were all, and it was money going out, and I would go with them and get mine. tighten while they got theirs tightened. And then I kind of let them go. I didn't wear my retainer. So then I had to do Invisalign again. Well, your teeth look beautiful. Thank you. Well, Speaker 2 (3:47) who Speaker 1 (3:47) knew I was going to blow up and be a movie star? Who knew? I'm Speaker 3 (3:51) kidding. Speaker 2 (3:52) But Speaker 1 (3:52) I had to have good teeth and not have a sound bite. Speaker 4 (3:54) That's true. Did you have orthodontia as a child? No. And my mama Speaker 1 (3:59) begged my little dentist. But back then, you know, they didn't let everybody have it or maybe in the country, but they were okay back then. And they didn't get twisted up until I was in my 40s. I Speaker 4 (4:08) had them from probably starting at like seven years old until 11th grade. It was a full all hands on deck operation to get my Speaker 3 (4:17) teeth to Speaker 4 (4:17) look like this. Speaker 3 (4:18) And Speaker 1 (4:19) you don't wear a retainer. I Speaker 4 (4:20) should have. One went rogue when my wisdom teeth came in. This one was like, not enough room. I'm going to hang back here. And now I have that. And currently, our oldest daughter has the same. matching fucked up tooth and I really love it and of course she's going to fix it but I kind of want her to keep it so we have something in common. When Speaker 1 (4:36) you Speaker 4 (4:36) have something different, I think Speaker 1 (4:38) that's cute. I don't think when everybody gets the teeth, the Hollywood teeth and they're pretty but I think there's something about your own personality and Speaker 4 (4:47) I think it's pretty. I think there's something to it. Speaker 1 (4:50) My orthodontist said we don't want land to you to just be odd looking and everything be almost purple, they're so white. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Speaker 2 (4:57) that's true. When you were not in here, we were talking about menopause. Speaker 1 (5:01) And Speaker 2 (5:01) teeth move around in perimenopause and menopause. Like everything gets loose, they say. So I'm waiting on this. What's the Speaker 4 (5:09) evolutionary benefit for women's teeth getting loose? I don't think it's just like staying at home. Exactly. Ready to die. Ready for them to Speaker 2 (5:17) die at home. Speaker 4 (5:18) That's right. You don't need teeth for that. Speaker 2 (5:21) What do you need Speaker 4 (5:22) teeth for? You're sitting at home with the grandbabies. Speaker 2 (5:25) Exactly. Speaker 4 (5:26) Do you remember meaning? Speaker 1 (5:28) Honey, at the Emmys, when I walked behind you and little Kristen and her little fanny and lower back was so beautiful in that dress. And we were right, I was right behind you when we did that. Where you get in front of a camera and it goes around you and all that. Make sure it gets every Speaker 4 (5:44) terrible. Because you're like, for me, before I go to those things, I'm looking and I'm like, okay, there's a two degree angle where I look fine. Just right here. I have not anticipated 360 up and down. How could you? Speaker 1 (5:57) What the heck? Speaker 1 (5:59) But, Speaker 4 (6:00) Liam, we met before that. We Speaker 1 (6:01) met before that at the Opry. Opryland. Speaker 4 (6:03) Yes. That's what means the most to me because you meet one million people at the Emmys. But we did get to see you at the Opryland. At Speaker 1 (6:10) the Opry. And I got to see your babies. They were there. Speaker 4 (6:12) Yeah. And that was our first time ever going to the Opry. Speaker 1 (6:16) What a joy. Isn't it special? Speaker 4 (6:18) It's truly special. I did probably an hour on it on this show over time. There's so many things that are wonderful about it. It's just like the most comforting, wholesome, pleasant experience. Speaker 1 (6:32) And when you think about who's been in that circle. Speaker 4 (6:34) Yes, yes, yes. Yeah, Speaker 1 (6:36) that's amazing. Speaker 4 (6:37) Patsy Speaker 1 (6:37) Cline. Yeah. Do you feel it when you're up there? Yeah. You do, yeah. It's very special. And the first time, I mean, very intimidating. And I'm thinking, what am I even doing here? Was that your Speaker 4 (6:46) first? That wasn't your first time. That was Speaker 1 (6:47) not my first time performing there. But I grew up going and seeing the Opry because my little mom and daddy had a meat processing plant. We would do the meet for country music stars and the people that ran the Opry, the president of the Opry. So we got free tickets every year. So I saw Dolly Parton, Porter Wagner, Roy Acuff, Minnie Pearl when I was a child growing up. But I also saw them out at the grocery store and stuff, too. Yeah. Because I was raised right outside of Nashville. Speaker 4 (7:16) Yeah. Adams, right? 624. Current pop. I always Speaker 1 (7:20) say 500, but there's 624 people now. And Speaker 4 (7:23) those 124 you've left out probably feel a little bit offended. And they're wondering, who have you edited out to get to 500? Oh, no. So first question I have for you. And I want to know a lot about the meat processing. That literally is one of my questions. And you already brought it up. But are you sick of telling your story at this point? No. Can I Speaker 1 (7:40) first say, though, that Brad Pitt was sitting here where I'm sitting. He sure was. Speaker 4 (7:44) He sure Speaker 1 (7:44) was. Speaker 4 (7:45) Yeah. Speaker 2 (7:45) Do you feel, again, as like the Opry, do you feel his energy? Speaker 4 (7:50) Yeah. Yeah. Legends of the fall. I said to Monica when he left, I would encourage you and I would not tell anyone if you wanted to smell the seat. Speaker 2 (7:59) Okay. Speaker 4 (8:00) Yeah. You know he let Speaker 2 (8:01) us drink out of his cup. Speaker 4 (8:02) With his straw, right? I think we shared a straw. Speaker 2 (8:05) We all shared a straw. Was he beautiful in Speaker 1 (8:07) person? Speaker 2 (8:08) Of course. Speaker 1 (8:08) Oh, Speaker 4 (8:08) he's so beautiful. Speaker 1 (8:09) And you're like. I just can't decide. Is he Speaker 4 (8:12) cuter now or is he cuter in Legends of the Fall or is he cuter in... Speaker 1 (8:16) Does he have a sweet spirit? Yes. Speaker 4 (8:18) Yes, incredibly. Well, you'd like him because he's a Missouri boy. Like, he's a bit country, more than you might think. Speaker 1 (8:24) Oh, Lord. Yeah. Speaker 4 (8:26) Cute. He's so nice. Speaker 1 (8:28) Oh. I know, I know. Speaker 2 (8:30) Cute. Good sense of humor. He didn't have us edit anything out. That's really good Speaker 3 (8:36) for someone of his Speaker 2 (8:37) stature. Speaker 4 (8:37) Yeah. Very competent motorcyclist. We've gone to the track together and he's very, very talented on a motorcycle. So he can really do it all. Speaker 1 (8:44) Oh, Lord. He's got Speaker 4 (8:46) style. It's Speaker 1 (8:46) a lot. He is cute. Okay. Okay, great. So you're not, Speaker 4 (8:50) because I'm wondering, you know, you have such a unique story and then you're kind of obligated to tell us the story nonstop. And I was just wondering as you're coming in here, like. Is she sick of telling this story? Speaker 1 (9:00) No, y'all. I'd love to talk about all that because I do think this is so crazy that this happened to me. Uh-huh. Yeah. Every day, I'm just like, what in the world? That's amazing. Yeah, especially from where I came from. Speaker 4 (9:12) Yeah. The first curiosity I had is it's very exciting for us, but literally, Monica, close your eyes and imagine next year Nirmala has a show on Netflix. Speaker 2 (9:23) That's my mom. I can't. It's impossible, right? Speaker 4 (9:26) Like, can you even? Listen, Speaker 2 (9:27) I love my mom, but what's the show going to be about? Speaker 4 (9:31) Debriefs on her YouTube. Oh, she could have a show on Speaker 2 (9:34) that. No, she could have a show about all the trials that are going on. And she could report on that. She loves a trial. She does. She loved that Amber Heard. There's Speaker 4 (9:42) a big Speaker 2 (9:42) trial right now. Which one's Speaker 4 (9:44) going on right now? Speaker 2 (9:45) Really sad one about. Okay, Speaker 4 (9:47) let's. No, we're going to talk about it. Speaker 2 (9:48) Oh, Speaker 4 (9:49) you're going to hear it. The woman Speaker 2 (9:51) who murdered her children. Oh, Speaker 4 (9:54) okay. I'm vaguely aware of that. And your little mom was Speaker 2 (9:55) following all that. Oh, to a T. She's watching the trial real time. Speaker 4 (10:00) Riveted. She's riveted. She really loved the Johnny Depp Amber Heard trial. She didn't miss a word. Even though I told Speaker 2 (10:05) her, I was like, that's unethical. Like, you're not allowed to like that. And then she was like, ugh. And then she just had like one earbud in. She was just like always listening to it. Just one earbud pretending like she wasn't. I was like, I see you. Speaker 1 (10:16) Does she love Nancy Grace too? Speaker 1 (10:19) I'll ask. Yeah. Because Nancy Grace, you know, she's on it. Yeah, she is on it. She's on it. Speaker 4 (10:25) She got the bone in her teeth. She's like the dog. I think my Speaker 1 (10:28) mom might think she's a little Speaker 2 (10:30) crazy. Speaker 4 (10:30) Okay. Speaker 2 (10:31) Oh, yeah. But I'm going to check. Speaker 4 (10:33) But for real, can you imagine? I mean, anyone listening, imagine next year your mother's incredibly famous. It's so abstract. You had a mother. Imagine at one point she got wildly famous at 60. Speaker 1 (10:45) I know, y'all. I know. Even though my mama could have Lucille. She's very funny. She's 83 now. I mean, she always cheered me on and was like, yeah, you're going to Hollywood. But always been very funny. Has got friends that are 20 years old all the way up to 80. Yeah, everybody loves her. Speaker 4 (11:02) How are your kids computing that? I Speaker 1 (11:04) do think they finally caught up with what's going on. I had somebody say to me that's another comedian doing really well that his therapist said. Your family's the last one to catch up with what's happening. Yeah. Because they're not out there seeing it. And see, Chuck Morgan, like I would say, I mean, this is a pretty big Chuck. And he'd be like, it could stop tomorrow. You don't know. Like, let's don't spend any money. Okay. My baby child is my makeup artist. Like, went to school for makeup for television and film and is in the union, which is a godsend because she's with me, helping me all the time. So she saw it. and would see fans and would see the crowds at a theater or whatever. So she got it. But my other kids and my husband, it took them and my parents and my sister. Like, it's taken everybody a while to figure out, oh, this is big. And I told them, I go, if this is too much and y'all don't want this, tell me now because I can stop this train. But once it starts going, I can't stop it. And everybody's like, ugh. And then nobody knew how big this would get. Speaker 4 (12:07) Yeah. You would think on the outside, people would be like, oh, they must be so proud. But I would argue knowing my children, like maybe embarrassed. like some bit of embarrassment, like, oh my God, my mom's everywhere. You know what I'm saying? I mean, your kids are old enough now. They're over Speaker 1 (12:22) now. Okay. 30, 33 and 28. So they're like, this is crazy, mom. I mean, they're tickled. I mean, they love it, but I've been a standup for 27 years. So when they were little bitty, I was on Nick at night's funniest mom in America. They wanted to show it at PE and that kind of stuff. So they've seen, but my career wasn't going. I mean, it was, fine. I was just grinding and they didn't understand. I mean, they were like, oh, she's a comedian. I might as well have been working at Target. I'm not kidding. Speaker 2 (12:52) You Speaker 1 (12:52) know, because it wasn't that much big stuff going on. The big night thing was pretty fun. They came and filmed us at our house. They were elementary age. That is so fun. Yeah. Speaker 4 (13:00) Okay. And now how about Chuck though? Because I would imagine again, you'd be so proud, so happy, but also. I would be a little bit like, do I have a role in this life? This is now a big chunk of your life. I know he traveled nonstop for work or maybe still does, but that could be scary as a partner. Have you guys been married, what, 30 years? Speaker 1 (13:20) 34 years. 34 Speaker 4 (13:21) years. Speaker 1 (13:22) And he's been the provider and a very overachiever executive for a company. He's worked for the same company and is prided. I mean, that's been his role and that's been very important for him. His identity. When this started blowing up, he said, you don't need me anymore. And I go, yeah, I do. Because I came from a mom and dad that had a business together. We're a team. He came from a family where the dad took care of everything. And do we have life insurance or something? He goes, I can take care of it. Don't worry about it. That's what he came from. So that's been a little Speaker 3 (13:56) hard for us. Speaker 1 (13:57) Yeah, Speaker 3 (13:58) that's hard. Speaker 1 (13:58) Yeah. But then now he's still working. People ask all the time, is he going to retire? I mean, he's running a division of a company. He probably doesn't want to retire. He doesn't want to. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And he, you know, needs purpose. He doesn't need to be out here fooling around, you know, with this. Sitting Speaker 4 (14:13) in a director's chair on the side of a set, getting bored out of his mind, going, what happened to our life? Yeah. Yeah, I just think it'd be scary. Not to say that it won't all be great, but it's just a real shakeup for something that was humming along pretty consistently for 30 plus years. Like, it's just a big event. Speaker 1 (14:31) I know y'all. And I was, for 20 years of it, I was making the same amount of money, which was pitiful, Speaker 2 (14:38) for Speaker 1 (14:38) a corporate gig or, you know, breast cancer fundraiser. I was working some clubs. Chamber of Commerce lunch. Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Dubuque, Iowa. Speaker 4 (14:49) Yeah. Couldn't book the dinner slot. No, they didn't want Speaker 1 (14:51) me Speaker 4 (14:51) for the Speaker 1 (14:52) nighttime thing. But all that happened for years, so. Yeah, there was no imbalance or anything. It was like, well, Leanne's making the money to get uniforms, haircuts. That's what I did. I got two headshots made in 20-something years, which was stupid. I didn't even think to invest in myself. My friend did my website. But I was having television deals. Hollywood was coming after me that whole time. I had like five deals for sitcoms over the years from the time they were little. Until now and one made it. Speaker 4 (15:24) Okay. So yeah. Now let's go through it chronologically because I do want to hear all the little steps of the deals and stuff. And I'm sure the excitement, the disappointment, the new excitement. It's like, oh my God, this ride. But yeah, back in Adams, Tennessee, which I guess is almost to the border of Kentucky, is it? Speaker 1 (15:40) It's on the Kentucky-Tennessee border. It is. Speaker 4 (15:43) But only 35 minutes from Nashville. 35 minutes Speaker 1 (15:46) north of Nashville. Okay. Speaker 4 (15:48) And as we said, 600 folks. The school, this is very new to me. I didn't even know they had these. Your school was straight K through 12. Speaker 1 (15:56) K through 12, 650 students. So I ate lunch with the kindergartners. Oh, doesn't that seem wild to have like Speaker 4 (16:03) 18 year olds and five year olds? I mean, it sounds fun, but also crazy. Yeah, Speaker 1 (16:08) it does. I know it was really sweet. I went to church with all my teachers. Like everybody knew everybody. It's a big farming community. All farming, really. So my high school was Future Farmers of America and Home Ec. I took Home Ec. Not a lot of college prep, but people went on to college. But a lot of people got out and farmed with their families. And Speaker 4 (16:28) what was your role in this school? Were you Klaus Clowney? I Speaker 1 (16:33) was Klaus Clowney and pretty cute. Yeah, that reads. I got Miss Jo Burns and best looking. The superlative I got was best looking, y'all. Really? That's like a dream. I really think I peaked in high school, really. Speaker 4 (16:47) But yeah, Speaker 1 (16:48) but I was always telling jokes. And then the teachers would say, can you do the announcements for this? Can you emcee this event? And I was like, yeah. Yes. And then we had speech and drama. And I loved, and we did improv in it. My heart almost burst. But I had a boy in my class out of 42 people. He went to Juilliard. Oh, wow. No way. And his daddy was a Methodist minister and a dairy farmer. And he's been in movies and television and on Broadway. Amazing. And then there were four boys, and he was included in that, that started a little country music band that I think maybe got some kind of record deal, cut an album. But then they all decided to stop, and they all went to college and became engineers and attorneys or whatever. But I had a lot of... Talented people. Yeah, kind of Speaker 4 (17:34) overachievers for this. You know, Speaker 1 (17:36) kind of fun people. My choir director, they were all darling. What Speaker 4 (17:40) about dating? That's a very tiny pool of folks. You date a couple people, you're halfway through all the options. Speaker 1 (17:47) I always had something cooking. She was Miss Jo Burns. I don't know if you've heard that. Speaker 4 (17:53) I don't doubt she was able to get boys' attention, but there's just so few. Speaker 1 (17:57) There's so few, and you go to church with them, and you go to school with them and all that, and they end up kind of like your brothers, really. Right, right, Speaker 4 (18:04) right, right. Speaker 1 (18:04) I've stayed close to all of them, but yeah, I flirted. I messed with a lot of people's heads. I did. I thought I was like Erica Kane in this little town. Speaker 4 (18:12) You were too big for that little town. Speaker 1 (18:14) I felt Speaker 4 (18:15) like that. Yeah. Would you go to the mall in another town to like keep boys? Yes, Dax. Speaker 1 (18:18) We would all drive to Springfield and ride around the McDonald's. and then park in the Kroger parking lot and flirt and do. And that's where I met my high school boyfriend that I think in the country, a lot of people, like you just latch on to somebody and you think, well, I'm going to marry them and I'm going to raise tobacco and I'm going to can my own food. And I thought that with. my high school boyfriend, and then he was two years older than me, and I followed him to the University of Tennessee, who then quickly broke up with me because I was a big nag because he was drinking and singing Super Freak at a fraternity house. You know, Rick James and I was coming off of Methodist Youth Fellowship, so I really ruined his time at the University of Tennessee. So then he broke up with me, but, you know, chased me after. Okay, Speaker 4 (19:01) sure. As they do. Speaker 1 (19:02) As they do. And Speaker 4 (19:04) you met a boy at 21, or probably before, but you met a boy and got married when you were 21. I Speaker 1 (19:09) got married at 21, y'all. And I think, honest to goodness, you could have been a therapist. I think I could have been too. Speaker 4 (19:17) We could maybe therapize each other. Speaker 1 (19:18) Some people have that thing, and I can tell you've got that thing. And you probably do too, baby. Thank you. I was at the University of Tennessee. That high school boyfriend, he was kind of my, like, I don't know if I'm even going to graduate. I'm probably going to marry him. I don't need all this. But always in the back of my mind thinking, I'm going to Hollywood. Speaker 2 (19:36) Yeah. Speaker 1 (19:36) But isn't that crazy? I didn't know how. It didn't even dawn on me, stand-up. I love stand-up. But anyway, I think that I was flailing so bad at the University of Tennessee. Speaker 4 (19:46) And away from home. Speaker 1 (19:48) I was away from home. Speaker 4 (19:49) Knoxville's a minute from there, yeah? Speaker 1 (19:51) Yeah, it was like, you know, three and a half hours. And I shouldn't have gone to a big university like that. I just chased my high school boyfriend. I should have gone somewhere smaller. But anyway, I went to that. I was flailing. And yeah, this guy who was 27, beautiful, smart, charismatic, built like a wide receiver in the NFL. Is he single now? Well, I Speaker 4 (20:13) don't think you want him. Speaker 1 (20:15) He is no longer with us. Oh, okay. But it was not a good relationship. It was abusive. He was mentally ill. You know, back then, nobody talked about it. Yes. And you didn't know. You just thought it was mean. But he had a lot of problems, and he couldn't help it. Now I look back, and I think, but yeah, he swept me off my feet. Love bomb. Uh-huh. And then would say terrible things to me. Speaker 4 (20:38) Here's my guess. He's older. You're younger. He's now living in this crazy fear that you're going to be too shiny, so he's got a shit on you so you don't feel confident enough to leave him. Was that the cycle? Speaker 1 (20:49) Yeah. Speaker 4 (20:49) Yeah, like I got to reduce you so you don't get any funny ideas about trying to do better than me. Speaker 1 (20:55) Yeah. It's a common pattern, Speaker 2 (20:57) unfortunately. Speaker 1 (20:57) And he would say things like, and I believed everything he said except this one thing. He said, your accent, people think you're stupid and you need diction lessons because everybody's making fun of you. And I remember thinking, no, they're not. I mean, this is who I am. And I'm so thankful that I held on to that part of myself because. I believed everything else he said. Yeah. Well, Speaker 4 (21:20) he's six years older. Did he have a good job and stuff? Speaker 1 (21:22) Yeah. And he ended up, after we divorced, very, very successful and a beautiful family and beautiful children and all that. It Speaker 4 (21:31) seemed like he had it all figured out. Yeah. It's clearly when you're 21, I'm sure. And Speaker 1 (21:35) I was a ding-dong, y'all. I was a ding-dong. Speaker 4 (21:39) And Speaker 1 (21:39) I was Speaker 2 (21:39) just young. Yeah, when they're telling you all these beautiful things about you, especially if you were a big fish and then you go into this. big university and you probably feel small. And then he's like, no, you're the best. Of course, you're going to be like, oh, yeah, I feel special. I love it. And then the Speaker 4 (21:55) day you're married, you're like, so anyways, actually, you're a piece of shit. And you should never think about looking at another guy because they won't like you. It Speaker 1 (22:03) isolated me from my friends and family, that kind of thing. How Speaker 4 (22:07) did you muster the courage to get out of it? Because I imagine there's a lot of. embarrassment over having to get divorced, especially where you're from and being religious. I Speaker 1 (22:16) had so much shame. But y'all, I was walking on eggshells every day. I wanted babies. He would say, there's no way. I mean, if you get pregnant, I'll do, you know. Oh, my God. So all these things happened. And then I was sitting in a restaurant with him. It was Christmas and he was just angry for no reason. It made no sense whatsoever. And we had ordered a Diet Coke or tea or something. And then he got mad at me and left me there. And this was before people had cell phones. Yeah. On Speaker 4 (22:47) Christmas Eve, did you say? It was Speaker 1 (22:48) right before Christmas. He was probably mad about Christmas, I guess. I don't even know. Speaker 4 (22:52) Sure. How could he not be? That's understandable. Christmas Speaker 1 (22:56) is very maddening. Everyone's pissed off at Christmas. And I promise y'all, God sent this waitress. I'm not kidding. It was a moment, a defining moment for me. He left me. I had no money, nothing. I guess I could have called somebody from the restaurant. I guess that's what I did. I can't remember that part. And I said, I don't have any money. And he's gone. And she said something like, I understand, honey. Don't worry about it. And in her face, I could tell she's been through this. She knows exactly. She looked like she'd had a hard life. And I swear, I feel like God sent her to say, it's enough. This is enough. You don't Speaker 4 (23:30) have Speaker 1 (23:30) to do this anymore. And I feel like God shut that door. And I was out. I left in the middle of the night when he was gone. And I went to an address at a friend's house where he wouldn't find me, even though I look back now and I don't think he would have come and done anything to me. I was just scared at the time because he was volatile. And then I never looked back. I mean, I never looked back. Did Speaker 4 (23:53) he try to win you back over? Because my imagination is, you know, this guy got a younger girl. He's going to be able to control everything. And now he loses complete control. That has to be infuriating. Speaker 1 (24:06) Yeah, he cried and begged me to come back and all that. And, oh, y'all, I've never been more sure of anything in my life. Thank God. I felt horrible for him and all that, but I thought this isn't my burden to carry. I can't. I got to get out of this because I wanted children and I wanted a good life. I mean, I couldn't live in that, even though, you know, I was raised in a... Christian home and all that, you don't want to get divorced. I just thought, no, God doesn't want me in this. I just knew he did. Yeah. And my parents were behind me. Nobody made me feel bad. Speaker 4 (24:37) They probably were a little nervous about the wedding to begin with. Oh, they Speaker 1 (24:40) were. And I've often thought with my children, if I ever felt like they're making a mistake, I'm going to say something. Because I think my little mom and daddy. That generation, you know, I was riding bicycles for 20 miles. Nobody knew where I was. You know, they just didn't helicopter. Speaker 4 (24:55) And I Speaker 1 (24:56) think they thought that's her decision. But anybody around me, if they had said, you don't have to do that. Speaker 4 (25:01) Maybe even if you were still in your hometown with your close-knit group of friends, some of those girlfriends were like, uh-uh. But you probably, I don't know how many people you knew at University of Tennessee. Speaker 1 (25:11) I knew a lot of people, but once I was with him and living with him, we were isolated. Yeah. Speaker 4 (25:16) So you found your way back to university. After the divorce. I decided Speaker 1 (25:20) to go back to school because, y'all, I was working behind the clinic counter in the department store and thought of myself as a makeup artist. Oh, sure. And they said, we want you to run a counter. My heart was beating out of my body. She was giving me the note where my salary was going to be, plus commission. And it was so low. I Speaker 4 (25:43) thought, this is poverty level. And I thought, Speaker 1 (25:47) I need to go back to school. And I called my precious daddy, who's 86 now. And I said, Daddy, if I go back to school, I'll be, now this is how young and stupid I was. I go, I'll be 26 when I graduate. He said, you're going to be 26 anyway. Speaker 2 (26:02) You Speaker 1 (26:02) might as well get an education. So my parents helped me and I paid for my apartment. I mean, I had nothing. I walked out of that with nothing. And we were young, didn't have anything. Speaker 4 (26:12) What did you major in there? Speaker 1 (26:13) I ended up going back and majoring in child and family studies, crisis intervention counseling. Oh, really? Because Speaker 4 (26:20) I Speaker 1 (26:20) wanted to be a therapist if I didn't make it in Hollywood. But at that point, I wanted to get that degree. And Hollywood was in the back of my mind. You know, I wasn't even thinking about that. I was just trying to survive then. Speaker 4 (26:32) Stay tuned for more Armchair Expert, if you dare. We get support from YouTube Premium. 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Like, did you know, Premium automatically downloads videos from channels you subscribe to? So even when I forget, my content is still right there for me. So if you're like me and you already like YouTube, you're going to love YouTube Premium. Try it now for two months free. Trial eligibility varies. Terms apply. Cancel anytime. We are supported by Allstate. Checking Allstate first could save you hundreds on car insurance. Not checking whether someone is actually waving at you before waving back. You saw the wave. You went big. And then they walked right past you to greet the person behind you. Yeah. Checking first is an excellent plan. So check Allstate first for an auto quote. It could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate. Potential savings vary subject to terms, conditions, and availability. Allstate, North American Insurance Company and affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. And you are working at Gladys? Speaker 1 (28:32) Grady's. Speaker 4 (28:33) Grady's, Grady's. As a waitress? Uh Speaker 1 (28:35) -huh. Speaker 4 (28:36) And then this is where you met your husband? Speaker 1 (28:38) That's where Chuck Morgan came in. Okay, so tell me Speaker 4 (28:40) about that day. Was he a regular or was he blowing through? Speaker 1 (28:43) He had come back to go to school to get an MBA. So I was a little bit older than him finishing that undergraduate. You know, it took me like nine years on and off to get that thing. Speaker 4 (28:52) Anyway, Speaker 1 (28:53) he came through to work, to train, and he was in the training group at Grady's. And Grady's was kind of the snotty place to work. Like everybody wanted to work there because you can make a lot of money. On ballgame Saturdays, University of Tennessee, they stayed on to wait all day. You made a lot of money. So everybody wanted to work there. And he was in a training Speaker 2 (29:11) group. Speaker 1 (29:11) training group. He's six foot four. I just looked at him and I said, boy, you're tall as a tree. And he said, sorry. And I thought, who's that butthole coming to work at Grady's? But honest to goodness, I didn't want to date. I'd gone through that. I was in therapy. I was messed up from all that. I cut my hair off. You're not a ding dong. therapy at that time that's like big thank you i've always loved therapy the best so chuck morgan i think fell in love with me that minute that he was you know oh sorry i think he fell in love with me i didn't know it he doesn't talk so then how would you for weeks i mean he'd just be lurking around staring at me so then he started wooing me and i was like thank you but i've gone through a divorce. I was the only one there, you know, 23 years old, divorced. Yeah. I'm sure people whispered behind my back, she's a divorce. You know, divorcee, she's 23. All the boys tried to date me because I think they thought, she's divorced. You know, and I was like. Speaker 4 (30:13) She knows it all. And I was bitter and Speaker 1 (30:15) angry, but I loved everybody I worked with. It was a great place to work. It was like his own fraternity and sorority. Like everywhere I go now when I'm. touring, people go, I worked at Grady's. I'm like, what? Everybody came through there. Speaker 4 (30:26) Do you ever eat at Grady's? Is it still around? Speaker 1 (30:28) No, they got bought by a big chain and then it kind of got ruined because it was fabulous before that. It was a fern kind of restaurant bar kind of thing, but really good food, really good customer service. And I feel like a wonderful training ground to even do what I'm doing now to be with people is waiting tables. Speaker 4 (30:46) No, you have a new set. Every time someone sits down. Well, Speaker 1 (30:51) and my managers would be going, because you're supposed to put a tea down, get their order, go and put their drink order down within 45 seconds. And see, I'd be sitting there going, I'm from Adams, 500 people, home of the Bell Witch. You ever heard of the Bell Witch? Andrew Jackson went. It's part of Tennessee history. You know, and they'd be going, but I made good tips, less tables. Chuck Morgan waited on more tables, made less tips because he would say. My name is Chuck. It's salmon, black bean soup. Oh, no. I would go, where y'all from? Yeah. Oh, you are so pretty. Why Speaker 4 (31:23) did Chuck think the customer service industry was the right fit for him? He just knew the tips were there. Yeah, he wanted the money. Yeah, he wanted to make money. Speaker 1 (31:30) But, y'all, he would get waiter of the year every time. Speaker 4 (31:33) Oh, because he did all the side work and everything. He did the sidewalk, the roll Speaker 1 (31:37) -ups. Speaker 4 (31:38) Yeah, what a kiss-ass. Speaker 1 (31:39) He did anything. Chuck Morgan's the kind of person. He's Speaker 3 (31:43) a good student. Speaker 1 (31:43) Everywhere he goes, he gets promoted because they're like, oh, he takes care of stuff. Chuck Morgan takes care of stuff. Yeah, Speaker 4 (31:49) we Speaker 1 (31:49) love that. That's Speaker 2 (31:50) his slogan. He might not talk, but he does take care of Speaker 1 (31:53) stuff silently. Speaker 2 (31:53) But he's Speaker 1 (31:53) a Speaker 2 (31:53) problem solver and Speaker 1 (31:54) a Speaker 4 (31:54) worker, and Speaker 1 (31:55) he's going to take care of things. Speaker 4 (31:56) Okay, so how long did it take him to woo you? I mean, you have the best joke in your first Netflix stand-up special, which is like, he bought you flowers. He did every, what's all the things he did? Tell me. Oh, Speaker 1 (32:09) Lord, y'all. He did all my side work. Oh, that's enough. He would clean my ketchup bottles and tops. He would clean the women's bathroom, which you know looks like Vietnam. And he would go and clean up before I ever said a word like I didn't ask him to. Speaker 2 (32:27) And there was Speaker 1 (32:28) many a time where I would say, You're so sweet, and this is so sweet, but I'm damaged, and I got to heal. I'm not ready for something. And he just, honey, he's a mobile home salesman. He doesn't take no for an answer. Yeah. Speaker 4 (32:41) And Speaker 1 (32:41) he just wouldn't take no for an answer. He would come to my apartment, knock on the door, bring me stuff. Were you a little nervous, though? Because this sounds a tiny, tiny Speaker 2 (32:50) bit love-bomb-y as well. Speaker 4 (32:51) I just... Well, it's not, but if you had Speaker 2 (32:54) just gotten out of a relationship where it started like that, I could imagine being like, wait, wait, wait, wait, Speaker 1 (32:59) wait. You would think. But that first one was more of like words of affirmation, which is my love language. Speaker 4 (33:06) Bullshit. Car salesman. But not like Speaker 1 (33:08) doing for me. Yeah. Acts of service. Acts of service. That's Speaker 4 (33:12) right. It's not love-bombing to me because he doesn't have the toolkit to be a love-bomber. He's not, like, wildly charismatic. He can't fuck you up with his charm. Speaker 1 (33:20) Yeah. It's not love-bombing. He was steady-eddy. Yeah. He wooed me, but it's not a, you know. Yeah. Chuck is more of, like, I'll take care of you, and you can have as many babies as you want to, and nobody's ever going to hurt you, and all that kind of thing. And Speaker 2 (33:33) see, Speaker 1 (33:34) I didn't have that. And I changed your oil. Speaker 4 (33:35) You didn't know, but it was 3,000 miles, and I changed it. Yes. And your gas tank's full, and I rotated your tires. Speaker 2 (33:41) This is a dream. Yeah. If Speaker 4 (33:43) you're big enough to accept that, because I got to say, a lot of people need something flashier in their whole life. They can't figure out why they don't have a good, you know. I think it takes your own kind of resolve, too, to be like, okay, yeah, I'm not going flashy. I'm going substantive, like real. Especially when you're young. Speaker 1 (33:58) Yeah, especially when somebody told you you couldn't have children and all that. That's all I ever wanted. Besides Hollywood. I mean, Hollywood was always this up here, but I wanted to be a mom more than anything. Speaker 4 (34:10) But you're joking the special is what now after 30 years? Speaker 1 (34:13) He would not pull me out of a burning thing. Yeah, this is what happens. Speaker 4 (34:20) I'm watching your special and I'm like, wow, man. Yeah, I'm at an age and I've been with someone for almost 20 years. This stuff makes so much sense to me. You know, if I were young, I just imagine my 21-year-old self watching me like, I don't relate to it. And I'm watching, oh, I'm so in this demo. This is all the truth. This is all so funny. Oh, Speaker 1 (34:38) well, thank you for saying that, my darling. Speaker 4 (34:39) But why it's so good is there's like so much truth baked into it that is kind of universal shit. Like if you're with somebody for decades, there's just some very predictable stuff we're all experiencing. Speaker 1 (34:50) Yes. And Chuck Morgan's MO is... Come home, he's talked all day at work, doesn't want to talk. I