Arlene Is Alone
Arlene is Alone is an intimate, modern podcast hosted by Arlene Dickinson (Dragons' Den star & entrepreneur) that offers space for real dialogue exploring all the highs, lows, and everything in between that shape our lives—acknowledging that everyone navigates it differently, regardless of relationship status, career, or social standing.
Arlene Is Alone
Arlene Is Alone with Morgan Hoffman
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Morgan Hoffman, entertainment reporter for Global's The Morning Show, joins Arlene for a deeply personal conversation. Morgan opens up about freezing her eggs at 40 while single—the hope, the science, and the questions nobody prepares you for. She also talks about navigating depression behind the scenes of a glamorous career and shares her experience being stalked, a reality that fundamentally changed how she lives her life. This is Morgan stepping away from the red carpet to get real about the hard stuff that doesn't make headlines.
I was here at 39 just to get an idea of my ovarian reserve. And she's like, listen, you're good. You're a good candidate for egg freezing, but you need to make a decision soon because you're turning 40 soon. So you need to figure out what you're gonna do. And then, you know, I was told how much it was. It was like $15,000 per cycle. Oh no, I had no idea. I had no idea. Um me either. $15,000. 15, yeah. So yeah, it's out of pocket. And so I was like, and then she said, and at your age, you know, you're looking at about two cycles. So now I'm looking at 30,000. And I was like, All because I didn't find a partner? Like, what?
SPEAKER_02What? Hi everyone, it's Arlene Dickinson. Welcome to this week's episode of Arlene Is Alone.
SPEAKER_00Morgan Hoffman is one of Canada's most recognizable entertainment reporters. The face you see interviewing A-listers on red carpets and delivering the latest celebrity news on Global's The Morning Show. She's interviewed everyone from Leonardo DiCaprio to Margot Robbie, covered major events like TIFF, and has spent over a decade in the spotlight. But in this conversation, Morgan steps out from behind the entertainment desk to talk about her own life. The parts that don't make headlines. Arlene and Morgan get deeply personal about freezing your eggs at 40 while single, navigating depression when you're supposed to be living the glamorous life everyone sees on TV. And Morgan's harrowing experience being stalked. A reality that changed how she moves through the world. This is Morgan Hoffman, unfiltered. No red carpet, no script, just honest conversation about the hard stuff.
SPEAKER_02Hi everyone, welcome back to this episode of Arlene is alone. And today I am alone with Morgan Hoffman.
SPEAKER_01Hi.
SPEAKER_02Hi, Morgan. Hey. Alright. Like, it's a little intimidating to interview somebody who's won best host awards from the Canadian Screen Award show.
SPEAKER_01Like it's crazy. Thank you. Listen, I'm more nervous sitting here because I'm not in control of this. You are not. You do you. I'm I'm gonna try to find uh the best way to be as natural as possible because I do. I'm not usually sitting in this seat. Yeah. So I'm more nervous than anything.
SPEAKER_02Okay. Well, we'll both be nervous together. We'll both be nervous together. Um I'm sure you recognize Morgan. I mean, you've done E.T., you've done like so many different entertainment shows, you've done the Royals, like you've done you've covered literally everyone, and you've talked to so many celebrities.
SPEAKER_01Like, who should be in your favorite? Oh my goodness. I've talked to so many people. I talked to Leonardo DiCaprio, Julia Roberts just this past year. Um I remember George Clooney was the first big one on a red carpet, and he was the nicest person. You expect like the bigger the celebrity they are, the more, I don't know, there's gonna be a persona about them. And honestly, the bigger the A-lister, the best personality I find that they have. Really? Yeah, I really do. It's really it's the D-listers you gotta watch out for. Um no, but uh I do. I find, you know, usually people are in really good moods, they want to promote their movie or be on a red carpet. Margot Robbie I've interviewed a million times. She looks to me like somebody who's just a really nice person you'd want to be a friend with. She is. I have interviewed her from when I first started out in the industry on a show called Inner Space, where I probably wasn't a very good interviewer, to being on the morning show and getting to interview her as well. And she's always the same. Yeah. Like her career has just done this, and the fact that she runs this production company and so many successful films under it, and she has the exact same personality from what I can experience from when I first interviewed her back in the day to 10 years later, it's great.
SPEAKER_02You can actually tell when people are being interviewed whether or not they're being genuine or not, you know, like you actually can tell. And I'm sure when you're this close to them, you can really tell, right?
SPEAKER_01You can, and it's funny, even if it's a five-minute interview or a 30-minute interview, um, or they're really good at being on and acting natural, but yeah, you can tell within like a minute.
SPEAKER_02You know what's interesting about that is that people always, you know, I get people say to me, Oh, you know so-and-so, and they'll say, What are they like in real life? And you just don't want to tell them that they're not as nice in real life as what you might think they are. Yeah. Um, but you know, hey, like we all have moments where we're not probably as nice as we probably could be. So that's that's that's a allowable, right?
SPEAKER_01I yeah, I think that. And especially when someone's sitting there and they're doing interview after interview after interview, you know, and a lot of people will say, like, oh, well, they get paid so much money. It's true, but they're they're humans. Yes. They're getting asked probably the same question 50 times that day. But generally, when I'm doing those types of interviews, everyone's in a pretty good mood.
SPEAKER_02Favorite part of doing those interviews and being a host on entertainment shows.
SPEAKER_01Favorite part? I think people are fascinating. I do. I have been told since I was a kid that I ask way too many questions, and then I was able to find a profession where I was encouraged to do that. Um, so and I you you mean I get paid for this? Um for talking a lot. And um I think people are really fascinating. I also, this is interesting, I grew up obsessed with movies, and I realized it was from uh my dad's love of movies. He worked a lot, and so when he was home, it was very like we watched movies together. That was how we bonded. And so I created this love for movies, so then getting to interview actors that I grew up loving, my dad loved, like it felt very, I don't know, there's something very special about that that I always thought, I was like, well, maybe this actually means more to me than I realized, than just like the idea of interviewing celebrities, you know? Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Well, and I think you got the opportunity to that that curiosity, I think, you know, that that whole kind of curiosity which leads to asking questions, which leads to good interviews, really is what makes you so good at what you do. So, you know, you you're you love people that makes you curious about them. And your curiosity leads to great questions. Yeah, you know. So I'm I'm hoping to ask some of those great questions of you today. I know that, you know, like it's one thing you said, you've been on the other side of this chair, and I want to have a conversation with you about your life, though, because you're busy exposing other people's lives. But what about your life? Tell tell me a little bit about you. I know you have your family of five, five sisters, right?
SPEAKER_01Uh well, there's uh I have two sisters and two brothers. I have two sisters, two brothers. People assume uh it's just sisters because you never see my brothers. They don't really have social media, I don't really showcase them. So I'm the oldest of five kids. So naturally I have some control issues. I'm just kidding. Um, I've worked on that with my therapist. Um yeah. The oldest kid always thinks they're the most we're most hard done, but thank you. Always. Um responsibility. Yes. Uh so I was a very theatrical kid. I was into theater when I was younger, I was always performing in some way or another. And then, so I thought I was gonna be an actor. And then I did the auditions in Toronto, got the agent, and realized I really didn't like this. No, I the job, like, unless you hit success, the job is auditions. And I was serving and I was doing it for four or five years, and I just didn't, you have to love it. You have to keep going. And I just was like, I don't really want to do this. So I pivoted and I went to school for broadcast journalism, and I realized, well, I really like entertaining, but maybe I can entertain people by just being me. I had my mom kind of encourage me and push me in that direction. I was like, I don't know if I'm that interesting. She's like, just try it. Um, and then I interned at ETalk, and then within a couple of years, I was somebody who's on this uh half an hour daily entertainment show called Inner Space, and that's kind of the show that introduced me to red carpets and TIFF and traveling to interview people. I was like, I get to travel to interview people, this is fun. Um and then that led me to Entertainment Tonight Canada, and then that led me to the morning show, which I'm currently an entertainment reporter on. But everything was very career focused for me, and and I loved it, and it was great. And then my dad got sick, and he started showing signs of Alzheimer's disease in his early 60s, and then he passed at 69. And I I don't know if that's when things started changing, um, but uh that happened a couple of years ago, and then all of a sudden my priority started changing a little bit. And I also just think I at 3940, I was like, you know, I've done what I wanted to do. I got the job, I got on TV, I got to travel around the world, and now I'm like, I think I'm ready for my next phase. And that's and what's your next phase? Well, I I think I was never somebody who wanted to always have kids, but I never said I never want to be, never have kids. Like that, I was never that person. It just was the last thing on my mind, even though I came from a huge family. And um, I was in lovely long-term relationships, but I was way too focused on my career. And then uh a relationship ended when I was 39. I'm 40 now, just like a year ago. It was kind of heartbreaking. I thought this was maybe the person I'd make those next steps with and have children with, and it didn't work out. And then I was like, okay, well, maybe I should do something about my fertility. I'm turning 39, and then it kind of started this whole new journey that I'm currently on.
SPEAKER_02And so now you have you frozen the eggs? Is that what you're doing?
SPEAKER_01So I frozen eggs, yeah. So I was 39. I had a friend of mine who just gone through multiple rounds of IVF, and she said, you know, you should go talk to a fertility doctor. Our age really affects our fertility more than you realize. And I don't know, maybe even now at 39, I at 40, I feel like I'm 27. And I was like, I got plenty of time. And she's like, I think you should just go and talk to a fertility doctor. And so I went and it was, yeah, it was eye-opening. It was being told, it's weird that I didn't really understand this about my own body, that egg quality and quantity changes after the age of 35. It gradually declines, and then after 40, 41, like it steeply uh goes down in terms of quality and quantity. And so I go see her at 39 just to get an idea of my ovarian reserve. And she's like, listen, you're good, you're a good candidate for egg freezing, but you need to make a decision soon because you're turning 40 soon. So you need to figure out what you're gonna do. And then, you know, I was told how much it was. It was like $15,000 per cycle. Oh no, I had no idea. I had no idea. Um me either. $15,000. $15, yeah. So it's about $8,000. Well, for my clinic specifically, it's about $8,000 for the procedure, and you're looking at about three to five thousand dollars for medications. Some drug plans cover it, most don't. Um, and unlike IVF, where um, you know, the first round, especially if you've tried for a year with a couple, you know, a couple's tried for a year and they're unsuccessful, the government will pay. That's not the case with egg freezing, right? Unless there's medical issues, this is something you're choosing to do. So yeah, it's out of pocket. And so I was like, and then she said, not your age, you know, you're looking at about two cycles. So now I'm looking at 30,000. And I was like, all because I didn't find a partner? Like what? And so yeah, it was a bit, it was a bit of a a shock. And then she said, listen, because you could tell I was spiraling. And she just said in that this one virtual interview I had with her, she's like, just think what would 44-year-old Morgan want you to do. Oh, that sounds like a pretty good line. I believe that. Come on, you're playing on people's emotions. What would you do? And so, but then what happened was for the next six months, I spiraled hardcore. I was no longer proud of my career.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I thought I'd wasted my life on my career. I bought a home with my sister in Toronto all by myself. I was so proud of it. Now I felt like I wasted all my money on that. I, oh my, I feel like it was bad. Yeah. And I, and here I was like chugging along, feeling like pretty good. And then boom, um, kind of the reality of fertility and fertility and women who were in their late 30s and early 40s, it really, it really uh it hit me and I just didn't know what to do. And I was comparing myself to other people, I was beating myself up. I thought, why didn't you prioritize relationships earlier? Like you messed up your life. Maybe this is like the older sister, like the the perfectionism in me that's kicking in. And I just woke up one day, I just turned 40, and I thought, okay, I'm gonna go freeze my eggs. And then everything changed and I felt great. Yeah. It's a lot of money. I had to put everything on my visa, but as soon as you made that decision, you felt good. As soon as I made the decision, I realized it was the lack of control I was feeling. And now I'm in control of my fertility. There's no guarantees when it comes to freezing your eggs. You people will talk about how many eggs they froze, but even within those eggs, you don't know the quality of them until you saw them. Oh, really? Yeah. It's wild. You're spending all this money to freeze these eggs, and then you you freeze them and you say goodbye to them, and then you hope that when you're ready to use them, some in there will be good quality. It's like taking a good steak out of the freezer and finding out that it's freezer burst.
SPEAKER_02Basically, it all is. That is a wonderful way. All that money. You go, I can't even eat it. I can't even use it. That's it. Oh, wow. Like I had no idea. I mean, I think you should have done like a smart thing and said, I'll trade you like some Instagram posts on this for I probably should have done that more.
SPEAKER_01As time has gone on, so I just wrapped up my second cycle. I'm about to start my third cycle. There is a bit of a break, especially with my clinic. If you do multiple cycles, you get a bit of a break on the price. How kind of them. Yes. Um, you're now at a like $40,000 range. Yeah, now we're now we're so I finished my second cycle. I was told that's about what you'll need. I end up with 15 eggs that we were able to actually freeze. And for a 40-year-old, it's really good. Eight were frozen in my first cycle, seven were frozen in my second cycle, in my first and my seventh, yeah, in my second, and then, but she wants between 20 to 25. Statistically, to give a 40-year-old the best chance at one live birth.
SPEAKER_02So I think I'm gonna get into this uh business. I'm gonna get into the business of helping people because what how long does the procedure take?
SPEAKER_01Like, it's about uh like let's say 10 to 12 days of uh injectable medication. Yeah. I was doing it all on my own. I live with my sister, I love my sister, but she's terrified of needles, so I was doing it on my own. She did help me one time. Um, and uh then you're going to multiple appointments during that time. They're checking your blood, you're doing ultrasounds, they're just wanting to figure out when the best day is to get that egg retrieval. Um so yeah, it's about let's say it takes up like a month of your life, but it is very intense for about two, two and a half weeks.
SPEAKER_02But the actual appointment time is not that long. You're going and getting checked, you know, check your blood pressure, check your temperatures. 15 minutes. Okay. Yeah. This is a good business. This is a good business model. I I I mean, only I would think about that. That was a really good idea how serious. But but I I'm I'm kind of fascinated. Like, why I had children very, very young. So I had my kids when I was like, I the first one I got pregnant when I was 19. Um, and so it I I was the I I could get pregnant as soon as he took his pants off. I got pregnant. It was like, okay, I'm pregnant again. And so I had six pregnancies um and had a couple miscarriages in there. And I think pregnancy is something that does change you for sure. It it does make you think differently about your life and kind of what you're doing with your life. And so I I think it's really mature of you to say, I want to have a child, I want to be prepared for that. Because many people don't think about it.
SPEAKER_01I wonder if it's a bit of my upbringing. My mom had me at 22, and then she had five kids by the time she was 31. Yeah. And her entire life, she will tell you she had the best job being a parent. She stayed at home while my dad was working. And but I I just remember thinking that's probably not the life I want. Um, and she was always encouraging of us to go out there and get our careers. But I I saw the hard work that she put into it, her dedication, and maybe I have really high standards now, but I just remember thinking, man, in my 20s and even in my 30s, I'm not emotionally ready for that. I'm not financially where I'd want to be to um have children. I I was just dealing with myself. I started therapy four years ago, that changed my life. I started dealing with my mental health and you know, symptoms of ADHD, and I was like, oh, this makes so much sense. So now, only now do I feel like I'm possibly ready. But I am always in awe of of women who have children before because I I'm like, wow, like I I sometimes I think maybe I overthink it. Maybe.
SPEAKER_02I mean, I think you like are you ever really ready?
SPEAKER_01You know?
SPEAKER_02You definitely are an oldest child. You definitely definitely have that, like it's gotta, you've got to, you're you're very methodical, very perfect perfection is a as a goal, right? Perfection is a good idea.
SPEAKER_01I'm working on my perfectionism. I want you to know that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02When you decided to go to a therapist, what motivated you? What was going on?
SPEAKER_01I was okay, so there's a couple of things, but the main thing, if I'm being super honest, I was 35, I was working at entertainment tonight. This is my dream job, and I was really unhappy.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And I didn't know why. I had just ended a seven-year relationship. I had moved back home. Very quickly after moving back home, my dad started showing signs of uh Alzheimer's. I moved back home to take a break, and then COVID hit. So a lot of a lot of things, and I could sit back and say, oh, well, a lot of people weren't happy, but there was something going on with me that I remember thinking I need to work on this. And uh, so I started seeing a therapist, and very quickly he identified that I'm a perfectionist and that that had really taken away a lot of joy in my life, and I had to work on that. Um, just being in TV in general, the pressures around that. I'd had some stalk that I had to face in court, believe it or not. So I had to deal with that, a breakup of seven years, and I just remember thinking, there's gotta be this is all I've ever dreamed of, and I'm I'm so unhappy. And so I worked on that.
SPEAKER_02How did that unhappiness show up in your life?
SPEAKER_01I I did not enjoy my job.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, like it was just pure like you were just not happy when you got up to go to work. It was what was that?
SPEAKER_01I um were you depressed? It was painful. Like everything felt painful. Doing an interview, overanalyzing the interview, um, not being as authentic as I could, not listening probably as well as I everything was just it felt very overwhelming. It took a lot every time I interviewed anybody. Um, and then once I started working on the perfectionism, all of a sudden my job became better, and I didn't have as much pressure put on myself. I felt really good. Then you start dealing with your childhood and things that I didn't even know bothered me. And then I was like, um, then we were focusing on who I date, why I date these people. So it was opened up this like massive here. I thought I was just like, hey, I have a perfectionism problem, and then it kind of opened up so much more. And then of course my dad progressively getting worse, it just it was it was a lot to deal with at once.
SPEAKER_02It sounds like it. I mean, I I I feel like I think sometimes we can be in those situations that people get on the the the hamster wheel for lack of a better analogy of getting in life and getting up and getting going to work and doing their thing and they don't stop and ask themselves, is this fulfilling? Yeah, you know, because they they just do it because they're supposed to do it, right?
SPEAKER_01And they don't know what else they would do. And it's funny because I have essentially the same job that I did back then when I but I'm so much happier. Like I I love it. I just had to really work on some things and all of a sudden I felt lighter and I feel younger at 40 than I did five years ago. Like I yeah, it really helped clear up some things.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. It's funny. I I did counseling for a while too. I think I did. Um, you know, I think I think your relationship with your counselor is very or your therapist is very interesting in and of itself. Like that yeah, it's very interesting.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02You got some and maybe some people need their therapist to be harder on them than others. I don't know.
SPEAKER_01And maybe some, you know, my therapist is very different than a a friend of mine who I grew up with, her therapist. And so, and she hears my story, she's like, I could never handle a therapist like that. And then I hear her stories, and I'm like, yeah, I need someone to push me a bit more than that. So it it really, you have to find the right person.
SPEAKER_02Which isn't that isn't the show Shrink all about that? Shrinking. Yeah, yeah, yeah. One of my favorite shows of all time. Yeah, yeah, it's it is because I feel like um um, you know, they they are very different types of therapists, right? Each one of them have a different approach with their patients, and it's really you can you can see how different it is. Yeah. Yeah. Harrison Ford is like the great, he'd be the guy that would push back.
SPEAKER_01He's like my therapist. He's the one who tells you things you don't want to hear, and you're like, but he only tells you when you're ready to hear it, and you're like, okay, I'm ready now. Now, are you dating though? So I am on the apps now. I do think, I don't know if it's because I've had stalk, I don't know if it's because I have different standards now. Um I find it, it's I always have really good experiences, but I don't get too far in it. I'll start talking with someone, I'll even go on a date or two. But then it doesn't click. Yeah. Aren't you worried about putting yourself on those apps? Oh my gosh, yes. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Is there your public personality? Like people know who you are.
SPEAKER_01Oh my goodness, yes. Uh it was really hard at first. Um I don't really say what my job is. Some people recognize me. Most people don't say anything, even if they do. I don't even get into what I do. I ask a lot of questions at first when I'm connecting with somebody, and then eventually they figure out what I do. And it is really fascinating. You think my job's cool. You think I think my job's cool. I like I think people would be impressed. Some guys are intimidated by it. Yeah. For sure. I didn't, I I'm naive. I did not think that that would be an issue. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I have a friend, uh probably somebody you know, uh I won't I won't say her name because she'll kill me. But she um she gave me a good analogy because she's also an interviewer. And she said that, you know, like what she found she was doing on dates what she was interviewing. I get told I interview. Wow. Wow. You've had someone ask me so many questions before. Too many questions. I just want to, I want to like, do you like your steak rare? Nah. I just want to talk about do you want broccoli or corn? And you're asking, what about your balance sheet?
SPEAKER_01Where you know, oh no, I'm like, what's your relationship with your mom like? Tell me about your dad. When was your last relationship on like date two? So she said the same notion she said the same thing.
SPEAKER_02She said she didn't realize it until somebody said, You really are I'm not here to be interrogated or interviewed by you. I'm here to have a date with you.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And to find out who you are, you know, in a in a calm way. So maybe it's just it's it's the uh it's jeopardy of the job. Like you just you learn those things and you do them. Tell me about your stalkers, though. Like how how did what was that about?
SPEAKER_01Like Oh my god, it was bad. I worked on a show called Inner Space. So it was a think of it, we would call it a genre show, but we would talk about comics, video games, movies. It was my first time in television, first time on a national show. And right away I was getting a lot of attention that the my male hosts weren't getting. I was confused, I didn't understand nobody kind of prepared me for this. And very quickly, I received letters from one person in particular who lived in Quebec, and he would drive down whenever we had events that we were hosting. And I remember thinking at the time, oh, he's driving an awful far away, a long way. To come down, we would kick this person out, um, our team would be alerted of this person, and everyone just kept saying to me, like, he'll go away, he'll figure this out. He got my work phone number, got the work phone number of my showrunner, and he would basically start harassing people on phones. And his whole thing was that he just thought we were supposed to be together. So he wasn't, there was no violence in his messaging or when he would approach me. He just was convinced we were supposed to be together and that I was being shy. And so this went on for a really long time, and then he ended up finding out where I lived. We're still not 100% sure how. I lived very close to where I was working, and I was working in a pretty public building, 299 Queen Street, where Bell Media is. Um, so anybody could find out that that's where I was working, and I would walk home all the time. So we just think he followed me home. And he got arrested on my property, had to go to court, and it was just, it was a it went on for three or four years, and then I had to testify against him, and he decided to represent himself. So because I was considered the victim, he had a uh an attorney uh working on his behalf whenever they had me on the stand and interviewed me, and he was so mean to me, and it was an awful experience, and the attorney was, oh my gosh, horrible. I was like, I'd rather be interviewed by my stocker. This guy's like reaming me out.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. What is it with the system that you know, like I've talked to a few people who have been in similar situations where they end up having to, first of all, it's expensive. You have to hire lawyers, you have to do all those things to protect yourself. Yeah. And then suddenly you're the you're the it's your fault?
SPEAKER_01It yeah. So when the police arrested him with uh harassment, criminal harassment, I was essentially just brought in as like a witness. I was just brought in, and because I was considered the victim, the court had to appoint this lawyer to work on his behalf because they did not want this guy who had been stalking me to intervene. So I just thought this would be kind of easy. He'd ask a few questions, but he, yeah, I don't know what it was. Just said, you're making all this up. I had to define what fear meant. Um he because he hadn't harassed me with like a weapon or in a violent manner, I was making everything up and it was so upsetting. And and at one point the judge asked the lawyer, Why are you working so hard? Really? Yeah. And so, because it was very clear, the the guy who had been stalking me was not well. When he started representing himself and asking questions to other witnesses, I mean, it was bad. Yeah, I don't think he understood what he was supposed to do. So um, yeah, the judge was very kind. He was essentially uh, there's a restraining put on for two years and court-appointed therapy, and it was it was a whole thing, but all this because I wanted to get into TV. It's just wild. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Well, I mean, it's funny that people will say, Well, you're a public personality, and that this comes with the territory, but there's nothing about wanting to be a public personality that says that you want to expose yourself to stalkers. I get, I mean, some of the the mail I get and and I've had people meeting outside and it's the same sort of thing. And it's it's frightening, and you don't know and you want to be kind, not cruel, which I think is just a a female reaction, which is you don't want to be cruel to these people, but uh no matter what you say, no matter how you shut it down, they don't go away until you get the police involved, until you get, you know, like until you make a move that says, okay, this is not okay anymore.
SPEAKER_01That's right. And even then, when my restraining order had lifted, I don't publicly post where I am or if I'm hosting events or anything like that. I did one time just recently, thinking this has been years ago, and he showed up.
SPEAKER_02No.
SPEAKER_01Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_02So yeah, this one will probably stick for life. Yeah. So you know what you so you want to say to that attorney, you want to know what fear is? Yeah. Fear is that dude in the room where I am again after having gone through everything I've done. Everything he's got. He's a criminal record.
SPEAKER_01That's and so what did you do? I reacted, I saw him. I because I I'm I am scared of him, but I'm also angry. This has taken up a lot of my time. I've been scared for a very long time. And so I'm more angry. I sort of looked at him, went and found security. He walked away. And you can't really do a whole lot when there's no restraining order and they're not threatening you.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry to hear that. That's not fun. That is not fun. It's not, it is not part of being a public personality. It is not, it is not, you know, like just go with it, you know, go with it because look how lucky you are, you're on TV. Oh my god, you do not deserve that. And there are so many horror stories of actors and actresses and TV personalities who have been harmed by people like that because you know the the everybody just shrugged their shoulders and said it's it's it's fine.
SPEAKER_01It's fine. Or like, oh, they'll figure it out, or it's not as bad as you think it is. I was told that a lot. I was like, I have the this guy's not letting this go. He's been warned by police several times. Like, there's something not right here, and they're like, Oh, he'll be fine. He lives in cab you know, he lives far away.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. No, it doesn't matter how far away they live, it doesn't have anything to do with it. I I have a lot of I have people who um you know that they have significant mental health issues who send letters and and I and I don't actually know what to do with it. You know, it's it's it's a real struggle. It's it's hard because you know, I you don't want to report them to the authority because you know they've got mental health issues, but you're worried about them because you know they've got mental health issues. It's it's really quite interesting. It's it's uh it's a dark side. It's a dark side, it's the underbelly of being um on television or being you know a public person where and I can't even imagine the level that the people that you've interviewed, these you know, very A-list celebrities, what they go through. You know, I know Jennifer Aniston's had stalkers, like so many of them have.
SPEAKER_01And they show up at their homes.
SPEAKER_02They break into their homes.
SPEAKER_01And you you think, well, they must have the best security in the world, and this is still happening. So yeah, yeah. I have to report on it. Yeah, it's wild. What was Leonardo DiCaprio like? Okay, so let me preface this by saying it was virtual. It was this one, I do get to actually interview a lot of people in real life. Um virtually, he uh is somebody who doesn't always do a whole lot of interviews, even though he's always in really big movies. Um, and he was funny. I said, he's in this movie where he's basically wearing a robe, and I called it a house coat, thinking that was normal. And he's like, a what? I said, and Vinicio del Torre is right next to him, and I was I said, a house coat? And Vinicio was like, I think she means robe. And he goes, Oh, here we call it a robe. And he like joked and kind of made fun of me, and it was highlight for me. Leo making fun of me, I'll take it.
SPEAKER_02And and do you think when you think about your career to date, you're happy again, you've frozen your eggs. You're still freezing your eggs. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's a lot of eggs being frozen.
SPEAKER_01There's a lot of eggs, okay. One of the better work.
SPEAKER_02One of the better work. Um, so you you've done all that work. Yeah, you're working on yourself through therapist. What does the guy look like that you wanted? What is what is he who is he? What is he I paint the picture?
SPEAKER_01Okay. Wow. Okay. Are you gonna be my matchmaker? I am. Are you? Oh my gosh, she knows people. Okay, uh to be fair, I'm really looking for someone who has settled in their life, whatever that looks like, and they feel good about their lives in their career. Um I have an idea that it would probably be somebody a bit older. I am looking for somebody who actually wants to have children. I'm very open if they have children already and have uh feel good about it and want to expand. Um but basically somebody I'm a lot of energy, as you know. I'm looking for someone who's calm, very relaxed. I'll take boring.
SPEAKER_02You you want calm, boring, and relaxed.
SPEAKER_01Yes, I do. So that you can be so somebody could go. Potentially there's like a I I actually am like once I'm not on TV, I'm pretty I go home, I watch Netflix, I'm pretty chill. Yeah. But I'm looking for very stable and calm, believe it or not. Yeah. How much older? I could go older. Like 60?
SPEAKER_02I would be open to that. Really? And have a bad is that at all? Well, no, I mean I think at 40 you know who you are. I think if you were 20 and you said you wanted to date a six-year-old, that might be for genius side that would have a conversation about the difference between a 20-year-old and a 60-year-old.
SPEAKER_01I would have to be aware that if they were interested in a child and a child was coming to this world, it you know. Yeah. You have to be aware of age and how much time and healthy years you have to be with a child. I do look at age differently. You know, my dad did have kids in his 20s and 30s, and then he passed before he turned 70. So I I look at age a little bit differently, maybe because of my experience, but yeah, they're healthy and active, and I'm hoping. Yeah, well, there you go. And and what's your mom, how's your mom doing through all this? How's my mom doing? Do I be really honest? Uh she can never see this. Uh, she's very private. But she, I think, went through quite an identity crisis after my dad passed. And I know when he was sick, it was very difficult for her. Of course, it was her husband that she was losing, but it was even more than that. There was no security, you know, safety. Um, she didn't know anything about finances. And uh she came off a small farm uh up north Ontario, met my dad, and he kind of controlled everything. And uh not in a domineering way, they were actually quite a lovely couple, but he was in control of that, and she was in control of the home and the kids. And so when that all happened, and then she lost him, it's like she didn't know who she was. I honestly I think she's still figuring out while all this was going on when he was sick and I was at home and COVID, she got breast cancer. Oh wow, my goodness. Yeah, she's okay, she's in remission, but she had a mastectomy.
SPEAKER_02So a real identity crisis, going through, you know, something that you know, women, you know, it's unfortunately like we look at our bodies as part of how we identify with our worth, right?
SPEAKER_01Absolutely so wrong. Absolutely. I can't you you nailed that. That's definitely something that she went through as well. What that would look like, what that means for her, for her future. And so um, she had a hard time looking. I we would look for her and let her know her the scars were okay.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um, but yeah, all all of that was going on. And so now that everything has settled, I think it's actually really hitting her even more that my dad's not there.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I and I understand the identity thing because I think women of of that's my generation, women of my generation, we we did identify as the moms, as the wives, as the you know and it was very hard, you know, you had to really fight to get outside of that to say, no, I am my own person. It was a very difficult generation of for women in particular. And if they if she came from a northern community where it was, you know, like all about being the mom and the wife. A lot of kids. So so the kids are grown and and her husband is gone.
SPEAKER_01And her husband's gone. And who am I? She's so healthy now and takes care of herself and works out and eats healthy. She looks phenomenal. Like she, to me, from not being her, of course, and her daughter, who cares, I'm like, mommy, you have this whole thing. You could travel, you could do it anything you want. And I think I think she's scared. She's never done this before.
SPEAKER_02It's hard, you know, when you when you like I travel a lot on my own. Um I really, really like it. I also love traveling with my family, and I also love that too. But I I just went to um Asia um uh twice now in the last six months and on my own. And I I've never been to Hong Kong, I've never been to Singapore or or to the Philippines or to, you know, or to Japan. And I did all of that by myself, and I'm super proud. Tell your mom that she will be super proud of herself when she comes home, and she'll realize that it's it's it's opens your eyes, it makes you realize that the world is so small.
SPEAKER_01I honestly want that for her. I I really, really do. She's worked really hard. It's time she does it for herself. I just think that's almost like a new skill for her to do things for herself.
SPEAKER_02She'll get there. It's only been a couple of years. She'll get there. And she's got you as a daughter. I don't imagine she's gonna be hiding under a rock for too long before you're pulling that rock back and saying, see, look, look at the world's out there. Yeah. Um honestly, I you are you are everything I thought you would be. You are Yeah, you really are. You you are what you see on TV is exactly what you get. Um in fact, I think you give more in person, like in terms of just being a genuine sharer of who you are. And I I I am I'm I'm actually really in awe of what you've done. Like that you took had the had the ability to recognize when you needed help, that you had the ability to go through a breakup in a long-term relationship and say, okay, what do I want out of my life now? Went to therapy, went to, you know, got the your three times lots of eggs frozen, went on dating apps. Those all take courage. And it's they're not easy to do.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I I it would be nice for things to be a little easier in the future, but they will. They'll get easier.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Although I don't think life's meant to be easy. I think life's meant to be lived. Yeah, yeah. Life's meant to be lived. What do you what's your parting words to our audience about kind of the journey you've been on and what they might learn from it?
SPEAKER_01Oh my goodness. Um, trust your instincts. That's something that I, you know, I asked everybody in my life, should I freeze my egg? Should I do that? Everyone's like, this is really you. And I I don't have a I've said this to people, I don't actually have a lot of regrets in my life, which I think is kind of cool. I told people I was gonna get on TV, and then I somehow didn't know anybody in the industry. I was gonna go buy a home with no help, and I happened to do it. And then I froze my eggs when people are like 40, that's too old. And so yeah, these are all things, and I it's not an easy journey. Highs and lows, sleepless nights, but I feel really good about my decisions, and I kind of always deep down trusted my instincts. I love that. Like, trust your instincts.
SPEAKER_02Honestly, I I would echo that like uh times a thousand percent, that the times when I needed to um to really trust myself is when I I I and didn't is when I wish I had. So um, Morgan, you're you're awesome. Um, I hope wherever you are in your journey in life that this uh has somehow touched a part of you that's made you think differently about what you can do and what you're capable of, and that your like your journey will continue to be a strong and happy one. So thank you very much for joining us on the show. Morgan, thank you so much. Thank you. See you next time, everybody.