Bronwyn Newport
Appearances
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
So much of the choices you make are about providing for this child and making sure she's really well taken care of. And it was never this question of was he going to accept Gwen or not. Between the two of them, it was always super easy. Gwen and I now joke that Todd is like boss baby. He was never actually a child who like... was sticky or ran around and played with his friends.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Like I always picture Todd at like six in his suit, you know, giving a word presentation to his dad about his allowance. You know, Todd's real serious. We can tell. Yeah. Todd's no nonsense. Don't fuck with Todd. Oh, I should have asked what I can say. Oh, great. Okay. I'm in a good company. Okay. Okay. Andy was beeping me and getting real mad on Watch What Happens Live. So I have to make
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
There we go. I was kind of worried, like, how they would relate to each other. And actually, I find myself being the odd one out more and more. Gwen and Todd are very close. They're kind of the same person. And they both really are sick of my shit.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
She was just turning eight because I still was taking Gwen to church at that point. I was still taking Gwen to Mormon church. So Gwen got baptized in the Mormon faith. And you do that at eight. And that was the first time Todd met my whole family was when it came to Gwen's baptism. Which was a wild ride.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Okay, so I would have been 27 and Todd would have been, I'm trying to think back, Todd would have been 54, 55. What's the age gap? We're 26 years apart. Yeah.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah. okay well so you're in good company it's kind of cute I love an age gap too it does lovably it does put me in a weird position everyone thinks I'm a gold digger everyone thinks you know I suck dick for bags Todd Stodgy I'm gonna push him around Anna Nicole Smith style in his wheelchair one day like the jokes kind of write themselves oh I was child bride I was not child bride yeah
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I did not fly coach here, but I flew in the bulkhead and I almost hate that as much as I hate coach. I don't like when I don't have all my stuff with me. Like, what if I need chapstick? What if I have to plug something in? I feel real antsy when my stuff is in the overhead.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I mean, to enunciate the points everyone else would make, my husband is really rich.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
We're married. It's your money, too. A lot of people ask about this.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
We do not have a prenup. And it's not like, oh, we don't have a prenup because we have a postnup. We don't have a postnup either. And it's not like, oh, we don't have a pre or postnup because he has trust. No, it's all mutual. It's all shared. Yeah. So you're rich. Yeah.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
You're so rich. I'm going to sugar baby somebody one day.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
We're going to flip the script on this. Yeah. Season 17. Bronwyn has a 26 year younger lover. Yeah. Here we go.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I went to work two days after I had a baby and everyone was calling me a whore at the Mormon church. Like I've seen some things.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
All because Whitney said she thinks Lisa's a villain. But I think I'm okay now because then Lisa went on TV and called me a villain. So is this podcast your game?
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah, Lisa definitely has Lisa color goggles, not rose color goggles or glasses or whatever you want to call them. And honestly, good for her. If I could live in a world in which what I say went 100% of the time and no one checked me and no one questioned me, I would kind of love that.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Thank you. I mean, we still have a long way to go.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Thank you. Not just the podcast, my first podcast. Your first. Round of applause for all of us. We're popping your cherry. Oh, my God.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Oh, man. The things I've learned. Yeah. The things I've learned. Not garbage bag.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
It was a heart shape. Yeah. Garbage bag. Garbage bag.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
That could be a bag of dog shit for all I care if it got me into Rihanna.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah, did you get set up? Oh my gosh, the dog poop. Okay, I mean, I have a lot of dogs. You have a lot of dogs. I have a lot of dogs.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I wouldn't say I got set up. It was a perfect storm. It was a perfect storm.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
The cameras are in my house. I was anxious. I was anxious about Heather. I'd also called Lisa on FaceTime that day. I'd had a very long FaceTime with Lisa, really trying to like make sure she was comfortable coming. It was snowing outside. My dogs don't want to go out when it's snowing. I had a puppy. We could make all the excuses. Ultimately, my dogs got caught with their pants down.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
There was dog shit in my house. But to be clear, they couldn't film it if it wasn't there.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
No, me and my dogs do not utilize the floor as a restroom on a regular basis. No.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I pick it up so much I could tell you which cleaner works and which cleaner doesn't work. And in a way grosser vein, I can tell you which dog it is. Ooh.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Oh my gosh. So you just can't, you can't do anything because it'll always bite you in the ass later. When we got, we rescued our first dog and his name was Bo and he was this badass half, you know, boxer mix. And he just had this like gangly under by, you know, a little snaggle tooth. And he just was too tough to be a Bo.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Thank you. I don't know if that's, I don't know if that's a compliment. People are like, you're made for this. I'm like, oh, am I the worst? No, you're great.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
And my husband loved House of Cards at the time, pre Kevin Spacey scandal.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Editors know Bronwyn did not know what was to come. Too late to change the dog's name. So we named him Francis. Yeah. And then he was really quirky. He had a lot of dog. He like was scared of other dogs and he'd been abused. And we lived in this condo in San Francisco and it was just this disaster trying to have him out and about on the street in San Francisco.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
And somebody gave us our dog Claire as a puppy thinking if he had a friend, he would like an emotional support dog.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
via Facebook's, a mutual friend had just reposted his obituary.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I think I was so surprised. He was young at the time and we had no contact. So it's very shocking. And it feels like a real, an abrupt stop, right? To break up with somebody, to not see them. I always had this idea in the back of my mind that he and Gwen would have a relationship in the future. I didn't have a paradigm in which her dad would never have a relationship with her.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I think I really have had a lot of therapy at that point and continuing since then. And I always felt like maybe he wasn't ready for responsibility then. Maybe he told some untruths to hide himself at that point. And it was really hard. It's always hard to take that first step in the right direction when you've been going the wrong direction. But I thought it was coming.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
So this felt like a brick wall, right? We're never going to fix it now. And just so, so, so much sadness for Gwen. She was very little at the time. I mean, this is, okay, I'm going to be really honest. And also a little bit of relief for myself. Like I never have to share her. We never have to do this custody thing. I know that sounds really awful, but I'm putting myself on reality television.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
It's tricky to share custody with someone. It's tricky to share custody with somebody you don't like.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
And I think when you are raising a child by yourself, I'm not going to speak to everybody, me raising a child by myself, I think I always felt like he was going to come in one day and be the cool dad and like swoop in and like want to fix it. And she's going to be so grateful to have him. I'm going to be like, what? What about all the times I was here when it's hard?
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
And that's so, so selfish, but it's a real feeling.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yes, he is. When I met Todd, I was super in a great place about it. Gwen and I had been together for a long time, just the two of us. It was all she knew, and we were fine. And shortly after Todd and I got engaged, I did have contact with his family. And like a big thing kind of came out with them.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
And Todd watched me go through that whole process then of where they're going to meet her then and how upsetting this was to me. And when that didn't work out, that I really shouldered the responsibility of telling Gwen it wasn't going to work out, you know, all those kind of things. And I think Todd is still to this day incredibly protective that that not happen again to me or Gwen.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
less with the ladies on other cities than on my own. There was a much steeper initiation process with the women I film with than any other city. Yeah, of course. The other cities have been really nice to me.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Ultimately, I think Todd wants what's best for both of us. And that's also a tricky thing to hold to what's best for me and what's best for Gwen are probably different in this scenario.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I've been telling Gwen since she was little. Since she was a baby, we used all the grown-up words for everybody's anatomy. And she called adults by their first names. And I mean, she grew up with a single mom who was not ready to be a parent. I made a lot of mistakes.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
But I just always told her from the very beginning, even when she couldn't understand, super little when we'd talk about moms and dads or whatever at two and three years old. And I'd say, and you have a daddy who's not alive. And he wasn't here when mommy had you. And I always felt like if it wasn't a shock, it couldn't be hurtful.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
And that's something I really had to learn later as Gwen grew up is that it's always hurtful, no matter how you were told, no matter how a part of your DNA it is. There's nothing I was ever going to do that was going to make up for that absence. Yeah. There is no right way to handle it.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah. And, you know, to be fair, they've had a rough time with new people. Sure. After I filmed, I went back and watched all the episodes. I would have hated me, too. I would have hated any new person coming in after what they've been through. But every time someone new comes on the show, they get burned.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I mean, how did I not end up? Like, was this always going to happen for me? Yes, you do seem like you were meant to be. I mean, I'm a disaster dressed in a red heart for delusionally saying I'm one of three people who have it. Like, I was made for this in a sick way.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I mean, I am a Bravo fan. And I'm a Housewives fan.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I was not a Salt Lake Housewives fan. You were sleeping on Salt Lake? I was sleeping on Salt Lake. I had talked about it at different points. And I knew Lisa outside of the show, before the show. And I knew Meredith socially in Park City. And I love a lot of the places that I would see them on social media going and acting like idiots, you know? You know, like I love Vaulters.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Don't make Vaulter mad. Like I respect and love Vaulter. So I just always felt like it was too close to home. And especially as the show started airing, the Lisa I knew wasn't the Lisa that maybe other people were talking about. And it felt like when I saw her, I didn't want to always talk about the show. I want us to just be friends. And Todd definitely didn't want to talk about the show.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
When like Todd and John and Lisa and I would go to dinner, Todd would have like five minutes worth of show talk.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Can I play the fifth already? Like, we're so early on. No, they're not totally the victims. Of course not. But I want to give everybody the benefit of the doubt. Maybe some of it was just we don't like new people.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
No, he doesn't hate it. I mean, I hate it for him now. No, Todd is really supportive of what I want to do. But we are very different people.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
He's doing it. He's there. He went to Palm Springs. He paid for Palm Springs. I mean, like, it's, um, Todd really supports what I want to do. Todd is wonderful in that he wants nothing to do with what I want to do, but he loves it for me. I think he would love it from a little more far if he got it.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I mean, I would say nagging works because that's kind of my MO usually about our relationship is if I just ask enough times, Todd will do it. But in this case, it was much more organic than that. I really went on this season, not with an idea of who I wanted to portray myself as, but definitely with things in mind that I wanted to film. I do a lot of charity work in Salt Lake.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
My daughter is turning 18. My husband still really works. I really kind of wanted to showcase what I was really going through at the time, which was what's my next act? Like, what do I do with the rest of my life? And really quickly, this revelation with Lisa, knowing my daughter's family came up, my friendship with Lisa struggles. I did find it hard to integrate in this group of friends.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
And so you see Gwen and Todd getting brought in in a way that I really didn't plan for them to. But I'm very clear that I said I would do this and I was going to film what was really happening. And that's what ended up really happening.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I wish I wasn't so committed to that. Like, it'd be awesome if I had had this pre-planned persona that would have like shielded my real self a little bit.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
It's easier to film it than it is to watch it,
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
It has. I'm going to be honest with you. It has. Of course, I don't want to be micromanaged and I don't micromanage Todd. And I don't with Gwen either. They are allowed to be whoever it is that they want to be. I've worked really hard to get to a place of Todd could pretty much tell me anything. And I don't know if we'd stay together, but I'd still respect him. We'd still be friends.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
We'd have like a really honest, cool conversation about it at all times. I love Todd enough that I don't think there's anything he could tell me that I couldn't handle. Again, I don't know how it changed, like how we went forward. And I think that Todd feels that way about me. So I didn't like prepare him, which now obviously everyone is upset with me about after Palm Springs. You really got.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Or are you just like... Yeah, I have a tendency to come in real hot. I always do. If I could give myself advice, I would never take it. But I would give myself the advice to go easier on them. Like, let them get to know you a little bit at a time versus kicking the door in, which is kind of what I did.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Both. Both. I think the response to Todd has been a little bit of like, does this man not know he's on camera on Housewives? What does he think they're not going to argue? You know, that kind of thing. That's really what Todd thought. He knew John and Lisa outside the show.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I don't know. I'm not mad about it. I see what people are saying. And it has caused some really amazing conversations for Todd and I. Watching other people's perspective of your relationship is an interesting thing. I'm not going to say that it's going to make a ton of changes in our relationship. What it feels like to us is more important than what it looks like to other people.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
But you also can't deny what it looks like if everyone sees it that way. So we have talked and yeah, talk to be softer when he talks to me. I could stand up for myself a little bit more.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
The trailer does make it look that way for the second half of the season. You gotta see. We gotta see. No, I can speak about Todd and I. Of course I can. Todd and I are very, very different people. I mean, Literally everything about us is different. I handle things in a way that's very different than Todd.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I'd rather just say it straight out and talk about it and be real, not aggressive, but very direct. And Todd is also direct, but Todd takes a minute to be in a place to hear somebody else. I love you, Todd. Todd's never going to listen to this. I can say whatever I want. Todd will tell me how he feels and I know he needs a minute till he's ready to hear how I feel.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
So when you see Todd kind of laying down the laws, you said, and I do the Bambi thing, I didn't realize I was doing that, but that's really me giving Todd a very clear indicator. I've heard how he feels. I've respected it. I've accepted it. I'm processing it. I'm going to take it in. And I know when Todd is ready for me to respond. It's not that I never do.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
But can the cameras sit there all day while Todd, you know, has a refractory period and then I get, you know, I'm ready to go? No, of course not. So it's not anybody editing us weird. It's that that's our process.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
So for anyone shying away from interviews, they're going to Vegas together tonight for press.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Todd is on the phone with me when I came out a baggage claim. And I was like, I have to go. Someone is dressed as a dog. My life is complete. You know what I mean?
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Say that one more time and I might just stick with it.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
It's not for everyone. But Todd and I have a relationship that works for us. I totally understand who Todd is. I understand how to talk to him. I understand how he talks to me. I do see what it looks like. I'm not immune to the criticism and the commentary and all of those things. I hear it and I see it. And Todd and I watched this episode together.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
And at first he was like, is that what everybody's mad about? And I was like, okay, I'm going to hold your hand while we talk about this. That is what everybody's mad about. And it's fair. It does look like you're telling me what to do and all these kinds of things. And there is room for him to be softer and to hear my side of things more.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
There is also room for me not to be a hot mess that spirals out of control. Todd does know me very well. And I think a lot of the times when you see Todd kind of being like, no, we're not going to do this, is because Todd knows, like, cue the ambulance, the lights, like, Bronwyn's going to have a full meltdown. And I also know myself well enough.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
And that scene in Palm Springs, not full meltdown, but when it comes up about Gwen's family, right? You see me real, like, I'm just going to tell you right now so you can watch it with the rest of the season. If I'm playing with my fingers, if I'm touching my chest, if my hand is over my face, I am freaking out internally. A thousand percent. Okay. I'm a very twitchy person when I'm upset.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
And there's also a lot of like, it's okay. It's okay. It's okay. So-and-so didn't mean to do that. And I did it first. And like, you see that over-explaining start. And that's when Todd was like, nope, we're not doing this. He knew I was uncomfortable. I honestly... In his own way, Todd's really protective of me.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah. And I don't need to defend Todd. But I think when you see it the way I saw it, Todd knew that I was not going to handle that well, that I was going to make excuses. I was going to spiral. I was probably going to say something I didn't want to say. I was going to overshare. And he did not care if he was not well received at that table.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
If that was what was best for Gwen and I, he was going to shut that conversation down. Yeah. Yeah. And Todd really stands on that. I do this thing where I'm always like, I want everyone to like me. I have a crazy aggressive mouth. I can really be a gutter mouth and I can be really eviscerating, especially if I'm upset. But then I regret it and I want people to like me and I feel so bad.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
And it's like this, like, where did that come from in me? I've really worked so hard to push that down and have all this therapy. Todd does not care whatsoever if people like him or not.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
It's a good quality. That is a great quality. And it's a really good quality to be married to if you don't have it.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah, who's the boundary enforcer here? Nick, 100%.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah, exactly. And it was also a very odd scenario in that we were not planning to discuss this on camera. The last I spoke to Gwen's family, they lived in a really teeny tiny town. They did not live by anybody I know.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I hope so for Gwen's sake. Yeah, I do. I mean, I think we'll explore it a little teeny bit more. I always feel gross kind of teasing Gwen's real life as a part of the show, but you will see it. And then I also hope that after that, you won't see it. I hope that it'll really just be between Gwen and them. She's big enough for that.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
It's hard for me not to say how upset I am with what happened for me and them and how heavy that's been. There is a part of me that feels like I've carried the secret for them for a long time. And I still am in my own way. I really protect their identity and who they are. And I am still to this moment doing that because I think that's what's right for them. And it's the best version of me.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I mean, I want to be very clear that I'm nodding in agreement with what you're saying about me, not about what you're saying about Brittany.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
So I just kind of keep my feelings about it in so that Gwen can have whatever she wants with them. Yeah. Yeah.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Todd can parallel park. And also, Todd is wealthy enough to buy a car that parallel parks for him. So I don't know why the rest of the cast can't get on that.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Of course. I'm not going to act like it wasn't. I love it.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I mean, I just always want to point out I did not do it in front of anyone. I just wore it in front of everyone.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Heather and I are better. I've always wanted to get along with Heather.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I had to pause the episode. I had to like pause the episode, change my shirt. I felt so sweaty when she said that. I was like, I don't know what happens for them after this.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
So I don't, I didn't know if I've thought that through. And it's frustrating to watch. But also maybe I have a little sympathy for her as somebody else who's left the Mormon church. It is a hard thing to get all the way away from. And I know that Heather's really struggled with finding herself. That's my take on it. She hasn't told me that.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
My take on it is that she wants to be totally free of it, but it's hard to be totally free of something you grew up in.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Differently, yes. When people are like, Bronwyn and Brittany are new, I'm like, Bronwyn and Brittany don't belong in the same sentence, Jess. That may be true. Just a quick catch up from Bronwyn's perspective.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
All I've known her as is very tight with Lisa. My experience with Heather, she's always been very tight with Lisa. And that did affect my friendship with Lisa. And it has affected me getting to know Heather. Do you think it was like a... It sounds like they're happy.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I think I was definitely jealous. I'd known Lisa a long time. And I think it's really interesting when you add other people in the dynamic to think, did something change or were we never super close? And I just didn't realize in a different setting than this. And that's something that I definitely go through throughout the course of the show. I think you'll see more of that.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I don't want to spoil anything. But yeah, I have to come to terms with, is it more hurtful that you were close with somebody and it changed or that maybe you were never that close with them to begin with?
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Oh, you think people don't really truly change. You think you just realize it was not right.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah. I love in Parks and Rec, Ron Swanson said once, they're not even my co-workers. They're my workplace proximity associates. And sometimes I'm like, that is so true. You have friends. You have acquaintances. You have social people you know. And then you're like, that person just happens to live down the road. We share a garbage man. That's it. You know what I mean? Yeah.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
yeah so it has is that like the most shocking realization you've had about your friendship with lisa since filming this show is just kind of like she's not who you thought she was i think lisa is who she says she is i do think that i don't think lisa's pretending anything i think lisa is who she says she is um i think i knew her in a different setting we were we were much more social friends and that's okay you have more data points now
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I have. Yeah. And you know what? Maybe I'm the problem. Maybe if she got to know me better, she didn't like me.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I could definitely be the villain. I mean, she said so. Who knows?
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah, I don't back down. And I think Lisa's son knew my daughter. They had spent time together. And Lisa and I had done a lot of social things together and she knew Todd. And I think in the same way that in that little preview, Todd's like, I've never seen you behave this way. Todd absolutely knows my mouth is ruthless. He's just never seen me yell it in a hot tub.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
And I don't think maybe Lisa had either. And that's a new thing to realize about somebody is that there's only so far I can push them before they come back. And I can't deal with the way they come back. And I already said on this episode with you guys, I didn't even know that my baby daddy was seeing other people. Like maybe I misread situations. I thought he and I were together.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I cannot turn away from it. I was so many times, I would be just like mouth open watching her. Like, what is this woman going to say next? What is she going to ching her glass for to make an announcement about today? I was also invested.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I thought Lisa and I were much closer. So maybe it's me.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I mean, I'm not an expert. I didn't grow up drinking. I'm Mormon. What would I know? But I do know that Todd does not like it. Yeah.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I had to make a whole... Our old house in Austin, we had a whole cabinet for them. And then Todd loved it.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
We bought a house for them in Austin. Todd has to go to Austin to have coffee. No, and then I had to put one in this house. We have a wall of mugs at the end of my kitchen.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Really? Yeah. And he loves to come in and be like, do you know why I picked this mug? And I'm like, I don't care. If you need coffee, if it's early enough that you need coffee, I don't care what the process, what mug you picked.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I got kicked out of BYU. What do you think Todd's doing with me? Yeah, who doesn't? I picked this man up at the airport in costumes. I mean, we don't use them later. But we are both weird. They would seem hard. For sure. Yeah, the inflatables are not lending to any time. Sexy time. No, for sure not.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
You don't get invited. You don't know. I had to watch that when everyone else watched it.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Does Brittany like me? I wouldn't know because I don't talk to her because I don't like her. Period. Why don't you? No, no, no, no, no, no. We had a rough go of it. I mean, it started off bad. Okay, to be fair, I was not actually that mad that night. I thought it was kind of funny with the costume. Yeah, I that is not far cooler people than Brittany have offended my clothes before.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Let's start with Whitney. I think. Whitney, Whitney, Whitney, Whitney. I want to pick the right word here. I was not prepared for this. Come back to me with Whitney. Start with someone else.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
She's so fun. And my friendship with her is fun. Even when I watch her, Angie and I have a moment to come. You'll see. That is maybe a little shocking. But even in that, I was like, damn, it's kind of fun to fight with Angie. Okay, okay.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
meredith meredith meredith just gives me this vibe of like upper echelon that's two words but we could hyphenate them everything the accents you know she's very serious about her arguments she's very serious about her outfits meredith is all class i love meredith the lawyer in her i drink a smooth glass of meredith for sure yeah chilled yeah meredith and some smooth jazz i could almost get hard for seth if i had enough meredith
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I'll regret saying that. Mary. Mary. Mary is really sweet. I would say sweet. Really?
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Like that was not I was not surprised. People don't like my clothes. No, I was kind of joking around. I did feel bad for her in between Mary and I on the couch. That's a hard. She was in the wrong spot sitting between the two of us. But I was kind of rubbing her back like I was like, oh, girl, you're really putting your foot in your mouth.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
There's a real sweetness as I get to know Mary. Obviously, I mean, I live in Salt Lake. I have social media. I'd heard things. Every time I looked at Mary, she and I were both nodding or we were both shaking our heads or rolling our eyes. Like we really kind of, you know, everything we thought synced up. And I think Mary loves her family. And that's important to me.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I think Mary can be real soft and real sweet and real vulnerable. Yeah. I love that. Heather. Heather is just witty. The first word that comes to mind with me is witty. Look, I've taken on a bad bitch or two in my life. And Heather's a formidable opponent. I like it. I want to be friends with you, Heather. But I also love fighting with you. Come for me and go. Again, what else do I want to do?
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
She did. She did. But she also finished that up by saying she would also never get them a plane. So I feel like that was like a half from Mary. Like she understood that like it was uncool for me not to fly them home private. But she also never would have done it in the first place.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah. I mean, I didn't actually see Lisa panicking because I was not in coach. Okay. Lisa. Lisa. Lisa is authentic. I would say authentic. Love Lisa or hate Lisa. That's who Lisa is. She's not going to change.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Who are misunderstood? I hate the conversation this season being about parenting. I really don't love that. I know it comes up because we're all friends and we all have kids and we all parent different ways. But I wish we could like slow up a little teeny bit on the parenting talk sometimes. I think all of them, including myself, we want to be good moms. We do our very best. And it's hard.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
All of us have different kids and different kids need different things. So the comparison about parenting, I would say all of us are a little misunderstood on our parenting.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah, I mean, it's a topic we explore. I keep saying to everybody, as I've gone back and watched the old seasons, there's always like a Scooby-Doo of it all, right? Like, are we uncovering Jen as a criminal? Are we figuring out who Reality Von T's is? And I'm like, I kind of love that. Like, I wish we all just were Scooby-Doo for Halloween.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I'll even be Scooby-Doo if I have to be the dog, just so everyone else can be a cute character. But this season, I always say, I really feel like what I hope everyone takes away is that it's much more about friendships.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
what you want in a friendship, what you give in a friendship, what you accept in a friendship, what it looks like to give and receive different things and want different things from someone. And I think that's a big part of friendship is can you see something in someone else that you don't like in yourself and still appreciate them and love them and care about them?
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
There were other things that progressed where I just got this vibe of like, I don't think she so lovably puts her foot in her mouth. I think she does it on purpose. And then it's like, oops, I didn't mean to say that. I think she means to say it. And I'd rather somebody say it with their whole chest.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
And also we're all delusional bitches. Yes, we're all like, I don't like when you do this as we're doing it, you know? So, I mean, I gave Heather a pretty half-assed apology and then was like, and will you give me a real one? You know, I mean, like we're all assholes, of course. Yeah. That's what makes it funny.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I love Whitney. I do love Whitney. I think a big thing for me on the show with these ladies getting to know them is I didn't really know any of them. And I think once I want to have fun with somebody or I like you, then it becomes Bronwyn's co-signed everything you've ever done or said. And that is not true. I am team nobody. Not even team Todd. I'm only team Bronwyn. No, I'm team Todd too.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
So team Todd and Bronwyn and like a little bit Gwen. But she's very different than me. So it's questionable.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I mean, you'll have to see. Who knows? I mean, do I say the truth? I have never met Monica. You haven't. No. I don't even know if I've spoken to Monica. I've received a Reality Bounties DM.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Could be anyone. Could be Tanisha. Is that the hairstyle state? That is. I think so. Oh. What did it say?
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
It was a video of Jen yelling at somebody, a designer maybe, a dress designer of that video. And then saying like, you should buy stuff from him and you should be good to him. And I was like, I mean, lovingly, I'm in Mexico. During COVID, my husband and I lived in our house in Mexico and I was like, I'm just not really buying any dresses right now, but Mazel, you know, like I hope everyone's okay.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Wishing the best. Best of luck for your employees, you know, but no, I don't, I don't like anybody talking to anybody that way, but I was really not involved in it at the time. Yeah. And I don't think the reality bounties of it all is still going on. They don't message me. Okay. Yeah.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I would love it. So no, but I've never met her. I've never run into her. I've never seen her.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yes. We have a lot of fun fashion still to come. We have a real Utah moment. I hope you'll notice it when you see it. The first thing I think of when I think of Utah is soda. So there's a soda moment coming.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I haven't even seen it. Should I be watching Secret Lives of Mormon Wives?
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Somebody told me a little something about Fruity Pebbles and that's my favorite cereal. And I felt like I might be out once I heard that.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Okay. I take it back when I said Fruity Pebbles is my favorite cereal. That is not how I meant that.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah. I'm a weirdo who likes it. I like the feedback. I like therapy. I like a self-help book. I'm kind of a masochist about it. I love it. It's interesting to me. I don't ignore it. I don't immediately say, oh, you jealous hater. No, I'm kind of like, ooh, does that hurt because it's true and I need to make a change or does it hurt because it's malicious? Why do you want to be malicious to me?
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Did I run over your cat? Did I date your ex-boyfriend? Like, I like it.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
So yeah, but it's also an overwhelming amount of feedback. So I'm trying to like stand in who I am, but also be open to the idea that I need to evolve. But also I want the season to play out the way it played out. Like, I don't want to start going back and trying to rewrite what happened. There's some real selfish things that I've done and said. You're going to see them.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
There's some real funny things I've said. Hopefully you'll see it. Don't cut the funny things out.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I saw Angie at the Humane Society Gala in Utah. Yeah. We took a picture with our daughters. We did the whole thing together. Yeah. Angie and Whitney and Brittany. Shocking news. All came to my birthday party in Salt Lake City. Ooh. I thought you don't like each other. We don't. That's why I said shocking news.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
No, I invited everyone. Okay. I'm an equal opportunity offender. I let everybody come. Just not Heather. No, I invited. Well, I've learned my lesson, obviously. Now in September, you know, after filming, I invite everyone now. You can say whatever you want about my husband. Please come to my birthday.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
She might be. I don't know. I don't know. When we were filming, I knew very little about her relationships. So I might have been harsh about that. Yeah.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Who doesn't love talking about themselves? Right? Ask me anything. I'm here. What do you want to know?
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Because I didn't know how devastating what she's gone through. I've learned more since then.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I think you'll see Brittany and I talk about a ramification of that at some point. I've worked really hard to be good with my daughter. We've had a lot of ups and downs, being a parent in general, being a single parent, having a stepdad. We're very different people, and I've worked really hard to have a good relationship with her. Even if that meant I needed to change, I needed to apologize.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Not even if. Every time I need to apologize, I need to change. I need to find a way to relate to her in a way that makes it's the parent's responsibility to be the right parent for the child that you have. So, yeah, I think it was hard for me to feel like maybe the relationships were most important to her. I want her to stand up a little bit.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah. Really? Yeah, I was born in Brazil. My mom and dad, both of them are not from the US. And my dad worked for Chevron for forever and moved around. And they just happened to be in Brazil. This will tell you a ton about me. My mom had had other kids, big age gaps. They had two girls and a boy, totally done. She thought she had some kind of like a stomach tumor.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
But also everyone was telling her that she didn't need me to jump in, you know.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Oh, my gosh. Okay, I love old New York. Sorry, new New York girls. I like you too.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I mean, I've yet to watch an entire New York episode.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
episode all the way through you guys are the big leagues i love all new york i like the beverly hills girls a lot i've watched everything from that from the beginning i love potomac i'm scared to death i could never ever hang with the atlanta girls they would read me to the ground in a second i would be in tears there would be no i don't ride their dicks like it's my job that they would not fly in atlanta that just would definitely not those girls would not tolerate my mouth what about oc
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I like OC. I know less of it. I wasn't invested in the beginning. And I went back. And I think it's hard when you go back and rewatch stuff from a long time ago. I didn't watch that. I didn't follow it as it was happening.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I'm following this season. You are? Of course. Okay. Thoughts? Yes. I mean, Team Shannon, first and foremost and always. Yeah. Alexis is the worst. Yeah. Lexi. What are we supposed to be calling her? Johnny J. I can't. I can't say any of those things. Tamara's nice to me on social media. I see that she has problems with other people. I have not had a problem with Tamara.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah, I think that's tricky. I think it's hard to judge what somebody else is going through. And I know a lot of people say it's easy for me because I just spend Todd's money or, you know, Todd came in and swooped in and saved Gwen and I. But I would love to see both of them have like an evolution of themselves where they really are in charge of what's best for them and their kids.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I'm not going to I'm not going to shit on what they've already done, but I would love to see both of them really step into being powerful. Yeah.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
What can I say? I'm going to help launch it next week.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah, I'm going to be in New York with two other I will not name them castmates. And I have an ice cream outfit planned. Of course they asked me. Of course they asked me. They wanted to make sure there was somebody, you know, dressed as Mr. Frosty to pass this thing out. I'm very excited about it. I love ice cream. And yeah, something saltier than us, ladies. Right.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah. Because it's SLC. Salt, lavender, caramel. They're so tricky.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
We'll have to see how things end. We'll have to see how things end. I'm in a tricky place in some of my friendships right now, post-filming, and I always want to be in a good place.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I always have more story. I always have more things to say. I always have more insults to scream across the hot tub. I guess it would really depend on how my relationships were able to move forward. A lot hinges on the reunion. Yeah.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
And the doctor in Brazil was like, no, amazing news. It's like, oh, it's a pregnancy. Like this is a cause for celebration. She was like, The stomach tumor might have been easier. And shockingly enough, I'm her hardest child. So a tumor might have been easier. Tumor she could have potentially removed.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Oh, no, no, no. I'm not saying that at all. I'm saying I would want to come back in a really realistic way. If there's no path forward for some of my friendships, then I think I shouldn't be at a dinner. I shouldn't be at your house. You shouldn't be at my event. So if we could figure out a civil path forward, some of us, then I think there's more to explore there. Yeah. Yeah.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
wow what a tease i'm not saying that they could keep me out never but i'm just saying i would want to make sure it was real okay all right okay what i filmed thus far has been really me like it or not we like it we like it i don't know yeah i think you've been excellent thanks what about todd you really like todd i don't yeah no i don't this feels like the pool with me and lisa can you say i'm not two-faced can
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
But he's also a little bit messy. I love when he makes little polygamy jokes on the side at lunch or he's calling tequila mediocre. Todd acts like he's above it and housewives is not for him.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
And then he likes to twist that knife a little tiny bit.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Years ago, Todd, I love pandas. It's like this weird... He bought you a panda? I wish he'd bought me a panda. God, Todd, get on this. I want a panda for Christmas, Todd. It's only a couple months away. No, he got me a Louis Vuitton hat box, like a special piece of luggage. And they had my favorite panda painted on it. And I freaked out. I totally freaked out about it.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
It's not very usable because I want to destroy the painting. So it's just in my office. It's beautiful. Todd likes to buy me art. He likes to buy me art and jewelry. Those are smart gifts. I can already hear the jokes coming. They're all resellable gifts. They're not resellable gifts. But just in case.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Always an insurance. It's an appreciable asset.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Well, I collect Judith Liebers. Do you? So I have to say Judith Lieber. Oh, yeah. I have tons of Judith Liebers. Yes. You have to go back and watch all the episodes. I'm always holding a Judith Lieber. And I've given a Judith Lieber to Gwen, to Todd's mom, and to a woman who was like a second mom to me. And Natalie Joy. And I give one to one of the ladies at some point during the season.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
And that should tell you a lot about my family, that that's like the first Bronwyn story my family's ever started repeating. Yeah.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I mean... serious friendship I was extending to them serious friendship happening here do you get along comfy wearing five million dollar necklaces like or no no I always have I mean I always have tons of jewelry no because something okay first of all something that ridiculous nobody thinks it's real Nobody would look at that and think like, of course it looks like costume jewelry.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
A lot of the pieces I wear that are actually the most expensive, you would not know. Like I love those Dolce & Gabbana enamel boxes that they make the purses that are so elaborate or the Judith Liebers. I have a couple of really rare, special Chanel bags. And that's not what people would think is the big, you know, people would think jewelry or like a Birkin or those kinds of things.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
So yeah, the weirder you are, the more under the radar you are. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
This was so easy. Maybe I should film this all the time instead of other things, right? Thank you guys for having me.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
No, I was about one when we moved to California. And then we were outside of San Francisco in the East Bay. And then my dad moved again for Chevron and he was working with refineries in Europe. So we were in Amsterdam. We were in a suburb of Amsterdam in Fastenar.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah, thanks for having me, both of you. Of course.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I was there for part of elementary, middle school, and then back to the same house in the East Bay in California for high school and everything. Yeah.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I mean, the suburbs of San Francisco are not real hard of a place to grow up. Yeah, but a little stint in Amsterdam. My siblings were all in high school and everything, so they probably saw more than I did. Do you speak any other languages? So we took Dutch. We went to an American school in Holland, but we had to take Dutch.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
and honestly i've been pretty high maintenance and fussy since birth so i was not up for the gutturalness of the language i wouldn't say i was like deeply invested in the second grade and learning dutch um you've always been fancy oh it's been fancy nancy yes yes my parents tell the story when we moved to holland i had this whole outfit on i was moving to a new school in the middle of the school year like a little plaid skirt and matching beret the shoes matched and this kid in my class told our teacher in front of my parents oh we have ourselves a real california babe
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
And they, like all the adults thought this was hysterical. And I was so mad. I was like, obviously this is a French look. Like whether or not I'm from California, this moron.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
You know, like I've always been that bitch for sure. Yeah. Yeah. Brittany had no chance.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I don't take, I have no chill about my outfits. Oh my God, that's funny.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah, I went to BYU super unsuccessfully or really successfully depending on. I got kicked out. You got kicked out? I got kicked out of BYU, yeah. For what?
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Well, I mean, I left pregnant. So yes on that. But pretty much.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I mean, I hear things are different there. I'd be surprised. No, he did not. The list of things I didn't get kicked out for is probably shorter than the list of things I did. I tried to throw like mini sorority parties. I used to, I made this one guy who wanted to go on a date with me, buy me a pet chick, which apparently you're allowed to have a dyed pink baby chick in your apartment.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I definitely, I have hundreds of parking tickets. At BYU, you have to wear certain clothes to go in the testing center. And I would push that boundary every time.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah. So like when you go to take a test or turn in a paper, you don't take it in class. You go to a, they used to have like a center that proctored the test for you and you had to be clean shaven, no unnaturally dyed hair, shorts or skirt to the knee, fully covered shoulder. So yeah, I'd come in and like a unitard, you know, and be like, Can I not take my test like this? Sorry.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah, so my parents are. When my parents moved to the U.S., they met a couple. My mom worked at a bank, and the teller next to her husband worked with my dad, and they were a Mormon couple. So they introduced my parents to each other and to the Mormon church. So that couple was a really big deal in my parents' life. Yeah. My parents are still Mormon. My dad worked for the church when I was at BYU.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
So he was so proud of me getting kicked out. My siblings, my siblings don't listen to podcasts. I'll just fully put them on blast. My siblings definitely don't care about it, but pretend to my parents that they do. I'm fully not Mormon anymore. Obviously, Big Daddy Todd drinks wine by the gallon. And we lived together before we got married. And I'd already had Gwen years before the joke was up.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
There's a place in San Francisco called The Battery. It's like a Soho house. And we were both having lunch alone in the middle of the week. And he was talking to me and I totally thought he was a bullshitter. Everything out of his mouth was like so extravagant and so over the top and really funny. And I sat there all afternoon and talked to him. And then he invited me to go to Mexico with him.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
He was building a house in Mexico. And I was like, oh, this is how you end up in a bathtub full of ice, you know, with no kidneys. You wake up just like, I hope it was worth it. So I didn't go to Mexico with him. We did other dates first. And when I trusted him, then I went to Mexico. Wow.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
There's always a fine line of telling my story and not telling Gwen's and definitely not veering into her family's. Well, it's also you aren't. Well, we could explore that line.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
I'll go against the grain and say I think the producers and editors do a really fair job. I don't know who else says they don't. I know that's always like people regret things they've done on TV and then try to say, oh, I was edited badly. It came out of my mouth. They should play it for sure. Yeah.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah. Okay. So even from there, see, this is going to be a disaster of a story to tell. I thought he was my boyfriend. When I found out I was pregnant, he was shocked that I thought he was my boyfriend. There was definitely other girls he was seeing. So it's a lot to process at once.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah. Yeah. I didn't know in 2005 were situationships. Like that wasn't a hashtag. That wasn't a thing yet. No. And definitely not in Provo, Utah.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
He was not serious about me. He's not serious about you. No.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Not on board. My family has done a really beautiful job from the beginning of supporting Gwen and the or the baby I was going to have, but not necessarily being proud of maybe the choices I'd made, which at the time felt like a really hard line for me that they couldn't find a way to be supportive of me.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
But they were really upset with the choices I'd made in the situation I found myself in for sure.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
And my parents have, I should know, 16 or 17 grandkids. Gwen's definitely their favorite. Gwen's definitely the closest one with them, even though she was born under these auspicious circumstances. Yes. They've done a really beautiful job, especially when I first had Gwen. My mom didn't want me to have a baby shower, like no celebrating what Bronwyn's done kind of a thing.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
But when I had Gwen on a Monday and I went to work on Wednesday, I was a single mom. Yeah. I went to work on Wednesday. Yeah. Oh, yeah. What was your job? I worked in finance at the time. Yeah. And a lot of it is kill or be killed for sure. Somebody else would have wanted that spot if I wasn't going to go. I hadn't been there long enough to have this big maternity leave, you know, whatever.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
So my parents weren't like, they were never going to give me money. But if I needed someone to watch Gwen, they would have watched Gwen.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah. I had Gwen Monday morning. I went home from the hospital Tuesday. I stopped to pick up some clothes that had been being altered on my way home. Gwen has been baby on the go since the beginning. She went on an errand with me on her way home from the hospital. And I went to work Wednesday morning.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah. I mean, I wasn't curing cancer. I wasn't changing the world. You were surviving. But I was paying for my everything for my child, for sure.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
Yeah, there's a lot of motivation when it's just you. When it's just you and somebody else is depending on you. And there's this huge shadow from what I've had, Gwen, on everything I do of, is a single mom good enough? Could I do this by myself? There was a lot for me to prove in choosing to keep Gwen and to raise her by myself. And that has really motivated and dictated a lot of my choices.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
So Gwen has actually been the greatest deal breaker for me ever. I mean, I was 19 when I had Gwen and she weeded every asshole out from the jump. I mean, anybody in my age range up until she was, you know, six, seven years old was not interested in somebody with a four year old or a five year old, that kind of a thing.
The Viall Files
E844 Going Deeper with Bronwyn Newport
And it was really easy when I was dating people to be like, they're a lot of fun or they're really sexy or whatever, but they're not getting up at eight o'clock on a Saturday to take her for donuts or sitting through a swim lesson on a Wednesday night, that kind of a thing. Todd was totally different. He was like, oh, I see how this has really shaped you as a person.