Ashley Contacts An Ex | Chosen Family Podcast

[@DarkRulerHaDes666]

I officially nominate "I'm wearing airpods you twats", and the subsequent laughing fit, as a favorite moment.

[@elizabethcoleman5230]

When I tell you I CACKLED 😂😂😂

[@julzamidala2865]

I second the motion. I haven't laughed that hard since the before times! 🤣🤣🤣

[@Ehlair]

SAME! The way I have replayed this at least 5 times now. I had to come over from Spotify to see this moment 🤣

[@BartholomewAwakened]

🤣🤣🤣 I third this!!

[@helenogrady4544]

Omg I had a mouthful of water and was in stitches 😂 lucky I'm still alive!

[@kitarodos]

Alayna and Ashley whispering about Mak's relationship and Mak suddenly coming into the frame yelling "I'm wearing airpods you twats!" ⚰️

[@Mariethechaotic]

"I'm wearing earpods you twats" fucking killed me. That goes down in history as a favourite Mak quote.

[@OLIVIA_ISABEL]

Alayna looks astronomical in the red shirt I may add

[@RoxaneJ14]

I think at this point we can just say that Alayna looks astronomical period 😂

[@shobo4482]

i knowww 😭😭😭

[@maggiemulcahy4086]

“I’m wearing AirPods, you twats” that’s my favorite moment of all time. I almost peed😂😂😂

[@Lainey_D]

I really thought Mak was gonna pull out a fizzy bomb ring😂😂

[@craigjenkins5434]

"I'm wearing airpods you twat" is officially my favourite podcast moment

[@hannaheiserman1632]

Why is no one talking about Mak bro-ifying her period? This is so fucking funny 🤣

[@PeachNEPTR]

“That’s a new face” just fucking got me

[@Neveko]

This podcast is my absolute favorite! Every episode always goes so fast Also my favorite moment was Ashley lying down and demanding a bagel/sandwich and everything going off the rails. That episode was literally the best

[@Neveko]

The Barbie episode and good cop/bad cop fan fic were also iconic. I love you all. Everyone had such good moments

[@stephtaylor6292]

Same! The couch bagel episode!

[@stephaliexoxo]

Mack said *MENstruation* 😂 Also Ashley’s hinge celebrity impression.. gold 👌🏼

[@Mariethechaotic]

100% team Mak and Alayna on this one. As someone who fell in love with my best friend (I know she was just "catching feelings" but I don't know what that means) it's been 7 months and I would 100% get dragged right back in immediately if she reached out. She had a boyfriend when I fell in love with her. Knowing someone is in a relationship doesn't mean that much. Your intention can be friendship or sex but the heart wants what it wants.

[@janieisbored]

Can we please clip the whispering about Mak’s relationship and the wearing airpods part as a short please? Thanks 😂

[@frogxgorf]

I do, in fact, feel the fear, and worry about the rug being pulled out from under me. But seriously, I feel more represented in this podcast than in any other piece of media, as a teen lesbian who likes computer science, creative writing, comedy, and psychology and who has mental health struggles too. This is the only podcast I've ever regularly kept up with. I'm so glad I discovered this podcast. I really do feel like it has changed my life and how I feel about myself. Whenever I experience homophobia, ignorance, or shame about my sexuality now, I think to myself, "What would Ashley, Alayna, and Mak say about this?" and it genuinely helps. So, massive thank you to all of you for working so hard to give me and the other listeners the best chosen family :)

[@Princesswinz]

Ugh watching Ashley get emotional over this is heartbreaking …she has definitely put her time in over and over again…like so many people…❤❤❤

[@bogboybogboybogboyb]

The way Alayna instinctively goes "oh that's a new face" when there is a new face always gets me

[@amysebastian4701]

Omg I remember seeing Ashley's story! And it's so much funnier now that I know the context. Please let us know if she responds!

[@bethanygreenwood8259]

I have to admit, when I looked at getting into KZbin and doing coaching and that kind of thing to break away from the typical "9-5" I was unable to find a single person who had found success in that way that didn't end up completely burnt out with multiple mental health issues. I quickly realised having a job with set hours, a job description with strict parameters and a regular monthly wage wasn't actually a bad thing 😅 I have major respect for you guys and the dedication you have to your work 💛💛💛

[@blakemtg47]

I love the shade mak caught in the ad read 😂

[@julzamidala2865]

so subtle I wondered if I imagined it 😂

[@mommyissuesmusic]

“Pieces of Jen” is either a love song or the next David Cronenberg body-horror flick.

[@p1l1t1a1r1c1]

I would love to see a "highlights of 2023" episode from these three. Somebody needs to make that happen. : )

[@stephtaylor6292]

Haha! I didn't know how much I needed the backstory to the " top 10 misconceptions about open relationships" IG post. Finally it makes sense. 😅

[@MaeGal]

Exactly!!

[@Becca-llama]

As a small business owner, I found the last part very relatable so thank you for that :) My financial goal for the new year is being able to finally join the patreon for the bonus episodes.

[@Jon-T]

Love the talk of Unions being the hope of the working class!! Labor Unions are the only thing holding the Middle Class from falling into the Lower Class, but laws in some states make it hard to keep up

[@tarar7764]

Ashleys post should just say: The best way to get over somebody is to get under somebody else ♡

[@cael_aj]

Mac, I just renewed my passport. Go get your picture taken at CVS or Walgreens. DON'T go to the UPS store to do it because I made an appointment online with them a month in advance, then when I got there they said the guy who does it wasn't working that day, so I should just go to CVS 🙃

[@undrahh]

Ashley bringing huge f##k boy energy in this episode 😂

[@kerizella]

Mak went from looking like your hot teenage brother to looking like your creepy elderly uncle real quick

[@sunnydays9144]

I feel like the tiny early 2000s glasses were creepier

[@B2Roland]

Hot elderly uncle-brother? Who says no

[@fific37stream73]

Loved the passport digs in the Babbel ad 😂

[@kurenno477]

All wonderful moments, but I have a soft spot for Mak singing ‘Just Ken’ for Halloween…

[@swiftie4856]

Any episode where there was no order is my favorite. Some examples are the episode where Ashley was gone, the episode where Ashley and Alayna fingered each others ears, the episode where Ashley was laying down and requiring a bagel sandwich, the episode where mak was Barbie. That kind of vibe was my favorite. Also I’m scared for 2024 because kind of like Ashley, 2023 was the best and worst year of my life in the same year. The beginning was awful and it ended great. I’m scared for it to go back to awful because it’s the feeling where it’s so good that something bad has to happen now

[@cael_aj]

I often feel dread about my career because I went to college and got an English degree and for the last year I've been working my first office job in a role that I could have gotten without getting a degree (most of my coworkers didn't go to college). It just feels like I wasted so much time and money to work a low-paying job that I'm not at all passionate about. But I've been trying to fill as much of my time outside of my work hours as possible with my creative passions like theatre, singing, and writing, in the hopes that if I work hard enough, maybe someday I can get paid for it. It is all a bit scary and daunting, the thought that maybe I'll never have the life I want.

[@jjburnes5176]

I studied English (creative writ) too and had the same concerns! I ended up getting a great job where I don’t fully use my degree but being able to use those skills of structuring information are still valuable. On the side, I’ve found keeping in touch with my creative writing friends every week has helped me stay accountable and in that world. Not super useful to you maybe but just want you to know you’re not alone! I hope one day you do get to do the work you want :)

[@eyeseajujubee]

I relate to Mak’s year and feeling stagnant. The “I have AirPods in” was hilarious 😂 Alayna in that red shirt is slay

[@almasamocha3018]

Hi there, writing as a follower of the podcast and you guys' separate platforms who discovered your work only in the past couple months, sometime around October. This is a little difficult to word given very painful and deeply divisive context, but essentially as an Israeli your podcast provided me with a bit of a lifeline in the recent months. Ashley, your experience with cancellation is of course incredibly personal, but your reflections on it, on media literacy, on trauma and your fears for the future in an era of misinformation, all of which you've very bravely and openly shared on both of your podcasts struck a strange chord with me in a period where my life became weighed down with the difficulty of navigating misinformation and trauma, since I was witnessing the 7th of October and trying to cope with the ensuing situation in my home country while also being separate from it all living in the UK at the time. Beyond that, in a time when leftist spaces online became ones in which it was very difficult for me to function despite sharing the same values and ideals, it meant a lot to be able to engage with and celebrate being queer in such a wonderfully progressive but at the same time very thoughtfully and intellectually constructed space. You guys talk about parasocial relationships every now and then and I have to agree that there are hard limits to the level of connection which can take place across a screen, but what I did get from the content and art that you guys make and have worked so hard to put out was a space - during a time where I experienced a lot of hopelessness and pain regarding the future of the world - to see both positive and negative thoughts and experiences shared from a thoughtful perspective which aligned with my own identity and beliefs. That has been very powerful and unexpected and I'm so glad that I came across the podcast.

[@julitmolina]

I just saw you live in Las Vegas. You are such an amazing comedian. I hope everything goes the way it is supposed to go for you, Ashley. Love all three of you.

[@ashgavs]

Thanks for coming!

[@punkyyetgeeky]

I just now found this podcast like a week ago and its my new favorite thing I'm binging every episode so Ashley just remember that maybe some people left because they dont get you and they fell for misinformation and manipulation but more people will come around as new fans and hopefully they will be people that are not so judgemental and understand your sense of humor and the difficulty of trying to respond to hecklers live and making one mistake where you maybe didnt say everything exactly right means youre a horrible person??? Thats ridiculous!! Your apology was the most sincere KZbinr apology I've ever seen and people that cant see that would rather have an insincere person who puts on a facade of being perfect, because no one is perfect and to expect that of anyone is not fair!! These are just my off the cuff thoughts idk if any of you will ever see this but i wanted to say it anyway. I love you guys and please know you all do so much good more than you even know and i just know this podcast is going to grow a ton, theres something really special and unique here, thank you for making it 💗

[@matildemarrebrunenghi2992]

Omg think I actually remember Ashleys story on Instagram about the open relationship lol 😅

[@CamelaPatton]

You guys are literally my comfort pod. Whenever I'm missing my queer friends I listen to you guys. Had to breakup with my gf cause I moved to another hemisphere and missing her so much 😅 so yeah, love you guys. ❤

[@Mojohjohjoh]

Because of chronic pain and being neurodiverse, I can only work 25 hours a week and then spend most of the weekend in bed recovering. But I don't qualify for disability, so I'll be living at home forever since I get $550 a week Australian and a quarter of that goes to medications, treatments or saving for equipment that will make my like easier (I just got an electric bed which was so expensive 😢)

[@reallifejenni]

The grass is always greener. My parents were auto workers in the 70s-90s because they made good money and it killed them both physically. They encouraged me to be a self-employed artist and I had a very similar burnout feeling to Alayna and quit after a decade to get a solid 40hr job and I'm sitting here now missing the freedom. Morale, yes I am sad and fear the rug being pulled out from under me. lol but also like.. i didn't know I was standing or on a rug.

[@DanielleDrewa]

Me realizing we spent more than a year watching you guys!!! ❤ love it! Also anyone in Toronto wanna hang I’m headed that way! Two puppies and adorable company !

[@natty2271]

Mak looks really good in those glasses

[@lisajopegg1685]

Fave moment: When Ashley and Alayna were recording together, using the same pair of wired earbuds, and Alayna kept fiddling with the one in Ashley's ear. Mak was absolutely horrified.

[@scubagoldfish45]

I'm wearing Air pods you t****! 😂 That would be a great but somewhat aggressive T-shirt. I think this prank tops the last one! I LOLed.

[@asahiizaku6464]

This podcast has helped me so much! And I’m so glad for everything they’ve done !!! THANK YOU SO MUCH CHOSEN FAMILY PODCAST!!!

[@chinton4517]

How does this only have 98k subscribers. Love you guys. I look forward to tuning in every Wednesday

[@RedirectMyDay]

"I'm wearing airpods you TWOTS"

[@rachaelw.5608]

"IM WEARING AIRPODS YOU TWATS" killed me lol

[@chernubis911]

MAK... what you're describing sounds like PMDD...(Pre-Menstrual Dysphoric Disorder) That's when you are particularily sensitive to the hormonal changes like the drop in progesterone during the Luteal phare of your cycle... and thus once you start bleeding usually these symptoms subside. I have it. it's effing horrible for 2 weeks out of the month before my period. Depressing. But I've been taking SSRI's(fluoexitine AKA Prozac to be specific) after talking to a female specialist doctor and I have about 80% less pain both mentally and physically and it literally saved my life!!!!! Thanks for allowing me to share this because I wish I could have known about it several years earlier.

[@MaddieMadMoo1]

Just in time for my morning coffee and procrastiation break from work ☕️

[@iderskye]

Even though the title of this ep is textbook clickbait, it somehow does the opposite job of clickbait and downplays the insane thing that actually happened. Kudos to you!

[@melissaeastridge7402]

I watched this while in class because it was finals week this week and I had nothing else to do. Last day and now we are on break❤️😂

[@ttarotkidd]

LMAO @ the Babbel ad and Alayna throwing Mak under the bus with the passport hahahaha

[@mariannetfinches]

I really feel Ashley's pain. More than once I've worked hard to try to make progress, only to have a health setback, a vindictive boss, or a tanking national economy (hi other UK folks, hope you're ok), pull the rug from under me. You feel like you've been running on fumes & the finish line's been replaced with a wall. And missing weekends with your love is heartbreaking. I don't believe everything happens for a reason, or that you have to suffer to appreciate the good times. But I do remember thinking on a very bad day "maybe this is my quota of shit for a while", and that made me feel hopeful. And as it happens, it did get better. Also, I got some excellent cognitive behaviour therapy out of it! Thanks to the NHS it was free! So if you're in the UK make sure you have valid photo ID so you can vote, because I never thought I'd get PTSD, but this shit can happen to absolutely anyone

[@AubutCatherine]

What a year! And your podcast might end 2023 with 100k subscribers. I hope that for you three, you deserve it so much.

[@cyberjayjay]

watching this as I'm cleaning my brushes (I'm a makeup artist) at night is my meditation 😌💓 thank you for keeping me company, through thick and thin!

[@enigmatic-hamster]

NEW EPISODE! I have been going back and putting on old episodes while I work.

[@Mariethechaotic]

34:03 aw, don't cry Ashley, now I'm going to cry again. It was a year of grief for me too, and also in a non-traditional sense so I understand people not understanding why you're so sad when it's been however many months. In my case, because it wasn't a "real breakup" I just told my best friend of two years that I trusted more than anyone that I had fallen in love with her and I knew she didn't feel the same way, I just didn't want to keep a secret. Then 8 weeks later she quit our friendship in the most aggressive, careless way and without that context people can't understand when they catch you crying for seemingly no reason.

[@RoxaneJ14]

Gosh this talk about economic stability is so real. I'm in France and we definitely don't have it as bad as in the US, but quality of life and what you can afford on the average salary is going down and down. And the public powers (people we literally elected to represent us and fight for our best interest) are doing nothing about it while taking bribes from lobbies like oil, fast fashion, unsustainable agriculture, military industry etc 😔 I feel disgusted and completely hopeless that anything will change and we're just stuck in a modern slavery loop where the rich grind us for swear and blood to get even richer. The only way out I can think of is going off grid in a cabin and basically just exit capitalism altogether...

[@Grounded_Gravity]

Well shoot. Fleeing to Europe has been my backup plan if the US implodes in the next couple years (I have family there). But I guess it's a reality check that the rich are ruining everything all over the place, to some degree or another.

[@someonesomehow379]

41:23 NO IT'S SO REAL DUDE we're in this together -

[@ericadecopas]

It's hilarious to finally understand what those instagram posts were all about like months later 😂

[@IzzyTheLittlestJeep]

Just pickles and a Christmas tree while Ash continues to spiral … that really sums it up 😂

[@MrNordi999]

Best babbel ad yet 😂

[@Dencan_hi]

The rug has been pulled out for underneath me Ashley. Won’t lie I almost cried so- ah

[@gofortori]

Ashley, I feel you on 2023 not being my favorite year. I felt like I didn’t gain any traction on anything fulfilling, any attempts to invest in personal endeavors or relationships flung me right back to square one. I’m burned out and tired and feel like I have nothing to show for it. If it helps give you perspective, I’m in a straightforward 9-5 remote tech job, and while I appreciate the simplicity, I yearn for more creativity and fulfillment in my work. Either side of the coin has its pros and cons.

[@benjulesrun9057]

my favorite part of the podcast is still when mak was saying she, for the most part, fits western standards of beauty and got roasted for it

[@valley_sock_zero]

I am sad, fearful and the rug has long since rotted but still here! hoping to have some sustainable income in the new year, here's to hoping

[@bakicci]

17:00 then the “i’m wearing ipods you twats” GOLDEN LMAOO

[@kapowjam3462]

😂😂😂😂😂 "I'm wearing airpods you twats" 😂😂😂😂😂

[@nataliecohen814]

So hope that things get easier and not cancelled Ashley !!

[@gil8548]

All three of you looking particularly pretty today 💜

[@WAMilyFamily]

Flimsy bits was hilarious!

[@sapphos_roommates]

I love the babble ad so much. Honestly, first time I've enjoyed an ad lol

[@coolsenjoyer]

25:30 I don't get why anyone would think it's called bi panic when it's not bi person who is experiencing it. Like, a gay person having like not actually real attraction to the opposite gender has nothing to do with bisexuality

[@punishedcrow]

MAK GLASSES MAK GLASSES MAK GLASSES

[@FlaminTubbyToast]

“Peaching to the choir” - I will take this

[@rhaelity]

Favorite moment: Winter Solstice comedy Special: Chosen Family: how I deal with my seasonal depression.

[@TashaRansomArt]

Ashley, you will always have an audience. ❤

[@rhaelity]

Why the hell does this episode make me feel like each of you (and how you interact with each other) are personas of me through time? 😂

[@maxwee6949]

No 'cause I know this is an old episode, but Alayna looks ✨RADIANT✨❤ It is so underrated

[@anniechaput7636]

The part about how wages aren't liveable is so legit. Really hit home!

[@gabriel1205]

The problem is international, though in varying degrees obviously. Norway for example has had an explosion of bankruptcies, people losing their homes, people going to the food bank to feed their kids, etc. It's getting bad, and it's probably going to get worse for a while yet.

[@mayareads708]

Its 7am and im cryin 😅 Cant wait for 2024

[@Preston-Lee]

Ashley, I forgot to mention this to you at the KC show but with EDS, I don’t know if you found this in research you did but with that time of the month pain and dislocations and things will get worse because estrogen actually causes your connected tissue elastin to Become more stretchy/as the name of the connective tissue implies, more elastic and lax. It can be worse if or is worse when you actually have a defect in not only your collagen but your elastin as well. I have a defect in one of my collagen genes and my elastin so that was always hell And I am so glad I no longer have to deal with estrogen. That’s why transition was so huge for me in not just the dysphoria but also related to my overall physical and mental health. wasn’t helped that I had elastin defect on top of PMDD along with dysphoria with the EDS on top of all of that. Which is why I told you that the EDS and Blind thing were just the tip of the iceberg because there’s even more than just all of that too lol. Thankfully because of transition and things my mental health has also improved in large part because of the physical stuff improving so I don’t get super depressed about the physical stuff being so shitty like I used to. Wanted to let you know about that if you didn’t know. A lot of sis women who have EDS of any type, actually microdose on testosterone to improve the symptoms of it because a lot of it is caused by the estrogen. I found that shark week was made so much worse because of my connected tissues, I could tell when I was going to be having it come on because thanks to the PMDD. I get two weeks of pre-show crap and my sleep was always made worse because pain was worse and things pop in and out more and whatever.

[@beardlessdragon]

My new favorite podcast moment is "I'm wearing airpods, you twats" 😂😂

[@ROCKONplaceboforever]

Great episode as always always cheers me up and makes me smile ❤ 🔥 u 3 are the best also this podcast made this year so much appreciate so much

[@brightlittlething]

On the peanut butter conversation... If you get Peter Pan PB and add salt, it tastes like Jiff.

[@Jayden.A.M]

You guys should have a video with the top 10 momemts from the pod at the end of every year

[@schrys2005]

Im so with Mak on how period affects ur workout and men dont have it and IM ALSO ANGRYY AAA

[@JulesLern]

Such a great podcast!! Thanks for an awesome 2023 💖

[@CamelaPatton]

Please Please Please! Make a reel of Mak bro-ifying periods 😂

[@elleroLUV]

The fact that Ashley already brought this sitch up on WHGS and everyone said the same thing lmaooo. Leave her aloneeeeee

[@ragreen2]

Thanks! Have a good holiday break (or break-ish)!

[@sunnydays9144]

When is the European tour 😭😭😭 hope Ashley comes to Antwerp or Brussels🤞

[@mommyissuesmusic]

Y’all doing sotto voce and Mak coming in with the air pods 😂😂😂😂😂

[@cowboylikepaisley]

My favourite podcast ❤️ Thanks for so many laughs this year. Sending love to all of you over the holidays, hope next year treats you all so well x

[@alexwhitelaw2003]

honestly this year has been my best and worst too

[@sarser8089]

Hey Ashley, life will always have ups and downs and as Ren once wrote "the more intensely that the light shone, the darker the shadow it cast". Atleast your going through it, take the wins girl, u deserve it.

[@summerkennedy348]

“I’m wearing AirPods you twats” 😂

[@acountrycalledsunshine]

Ashley, don't cry. I'm so sorry that happened to you. 🥺

[@SpaceyD]

So happy this podcast exists!