Life Uncut

Hey Lifers!
Welcome back to Ask Uncut, where we answer your deepest, darkest and most burning questions!
School holidays are officially over (parents, we made it), but Laura’s trip home from the coast did not go to plan. An hour and a half into the drive, ten minutes out of Wollongong, Matt calls and asks her to pull over and check for something…. Cue a full U-turn, a seven-hour version of a three-hour drive, and a five-year-old who handles it with more grace than any of us would.
Vibes of the week:
Laura – Worst Roommate Ever, Season 2, Episode 1: My BFF Tried to Kill Me on Netflix.
Britt – The Celebrity Traitors UK. We’re four episodes in and Joanne McNally is as funny as ever.
Then it’s into your questions!
Q1: MY HUSBAND IS THROWING ME A SURPRISE PARTY AND I DON’T WANT IT
I’ve just had a baby, and a few weeks ago I told my husband that my 40th is coming up and I really don’t feel like a big party. I specifically said, “Do not throw me a surprise party,” and gave him multiple reasons why. I’d much prefer to go away with just our family. He’s ignored me, and I’m 99% sure he’s planning one anyway. He planned a surprise birthday for me once before with my family and friends, which turned into him proposing. I’d clued into that one too, so I knew it was coming, and I hated the pressure of it all being about me. I’ve had to pretend all these years that I didn’t know. Am I being a bitch and ungrateful? Do I have to just relax and enjoy the party I specifically said I didn’t want, or do I bring it up again?
Q2: CAN I ASK FOR MONEY INSTEAD OF PRESENTS AT MY TODDLER’S BIRTHDAY?
I just listened to the episode on the wedding gift registry and wanted your thoughts. My daughter turns two soon, and we struggle with presents because she already has so many toys. For her first birthday party, we respectfully asked for no gifts, and if people wanted to give something, they could contribute to her bank account, so one day she can afford a car or a house (because the economy is fucked). We got some mixed opinions. For her second birthday, do we say nothing at all, or do we request the same thing as last year?
Q3: MY BOYFRIEND WEARS THE SAME TRACKIES TO THE GYM AND TO BED
My boyfriend goes to the gym in tracksuit pants. He’ll then have a shower, but put the same pants back on, and then get into bed, under the covers, and fully go to sleep in them. I keep telling him this is gross because gyms are very unhygienic, but he thinks I’m overreacting. I’d love for you to weigh in!
Q4: I’VE HAD FEELINGS FOR MY FRIEND FOR TEN YEARS. DO I SHOOT MY SHOT?
Please help talk some sense into me. I’ve had feelings for a male friend on and off for over ten years. We met at uni, and over the years he’s had a long-term girlfriend and we’ve lived in different cities. Since moving back, we’ve reconnected and caught up occasionally, including a recent five-hour evening having dinner and hanging out at his place. We have a lot in common and get along really well, but nothing romantic has ever happened. He’s quite reserved and I genuinely can’t tell if he’s interested. Lately my feelings have become almost obsessive. I’m extremely sensitive to rejection, I overanalyse every interaction, and I feel physically sick at the thought of him dating someone else. I’m terrified that confessing will ruin our friendship. Meanwhile I’ve been dating other men, including someone who is flying interstate to see me, but I worry I’m using dating as a distraction. Have I romanticised the idea of us after all these years? Should I finally tell him and risk rejection, or just try to move on? Or is there a less risky way to float the idea?
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 — Intro: Laura’s seven-hour car key disaster
7:03 — Vibes of the week: Worst Roommate Ever & The Celebrity Traitors UK
11:58 — Q1: My husband is throwing me a surprise party I don’t want
18:41 — Q2: Can I ask for money instead of presents at my toddler’s birthday?
25:48 — Q3: My boyfriend wears his gym trackies to bed
32:37 — Q4: I’ve had feelings for my friend for ten years. Do I shoot my shot?


See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey Lifers! Welcome to Offcuts, your little weekend snack!
Brittany is off doing other work this week, so Producer Soph has been called up from the producers’ chair to co host with Laura. Soph also has a very important question: is it weird to go to a dog park when you don’t have a dog?
Then Laura has a big update of her own: Poppy has taken her first steps (and Matt’s reaction was far too calm for Laura’s liking). Plus, a question that has divided the studio: which part of your foot do you use on the accelerator and the brake? Spoiler: one of us uses only her big toe.
Next, the story that Laura vetoed and everyone else overruled. Kelly Clarkson walked into a small Brooklyn shop, wanted a $15,000 wooden bird, and says she was treated like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman.
Then Transport for NSW has officially confirmed that you cannot reserve a car park by standing in it, and it comes with a $94 fine. Laura shares her unhinged Bondi Junction car park story from when she was eight months pregnant, and Soph reveals the most powerful day bed move she has ever witnessed on a cruise ship.
We close out with the Tinder Swindler, Simon Leviev, who is reportedly launching his own dating app called Safe Love. We unpack why this is horrifying, and look at the Singapore government’s AI matchmaking app. Would you let a panel of experts pick your partner?
Soph and Lachy also have their very first episode of Producers Cut on Patreon this Thursday, so go and subscribe if you haven’t already!
Timestamps:
0:00 Welcome Producer Soph!
2:03 Is it weird to go to a dog park without a dog?
5:03 Poppy’s first steps
7:54 Which part of your foot do you drive with?
10:31 Kelly Clarkson vs the $15,000 wooden bird
20:18 Can you reserve a car park by standing in it?
23:59 Laura’s Bondi Junction car park rage story
30:15 The Tinder Swindler’s new dating app
Keep your questions coming! Slide into the Life Uncut DMs at @lifeuncutpodcast on Instagram
Join us on Patreon for exclusive content and bonus episodes
You can watch us on Youtube
Join us on tiktok
Or join the Facebook Discussion Group
Hosted by Britt Hockley & Laura Byrne
Fill in Host Sophie Nathan
Produced by Lachy Pugsley
Video Produced by Vanessa Beckford & Lachy Pugsley
Tell your mum, tell your dad, tell your dog, tell your friend and share the love because WE LOVE LOVE! Xx
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey Lifers!
Did you know the average person is on track to spend 18 years of their life scrolling? Or that using AI to make a decision can cause a 64% drop in activity in your prefrontal cortex; the part of your brain responsible for thinking? Today we want to talk about how to not lose our minds as AI use increases. Joining us again is neuroscientist, international speaker and author of The Dose Effect, TJ Power.
Last time TJ joined us we talked about micro-habits and the small daily things quietly wrecking our dopamine. This time, we're going somewhere a little different: building a successful brain in the age of AI.
TJ breaks down exactly what AI is doing to our thinking, our creativity and our feelings, why the average person is on track to scroll for 18 years of their life, and the lesser known brain chemical, glutamate, that's quietly driving all of our decision fatigue. We also get into what this means for our kids and screens in schools, why TJ has banned AI from parts of his own life completely, and the very simple (and very effective) "safety check" habit rewiring your anxiety every time you pick up your phone.
Oh, and if you take one thing from this episode, put your phones in another room tonight and watch Good Will Hunting with your partner. TJ's orders.

Timestamps
00:00 — Welcome back TJ Power, and why AI is the new frontier for the brain
02:07 — What AI is actually doing to our brains: thinking, creating & feeling
12:58 — Glutamate: the "decision fatigue" chemical nobody's talking about
19:21 — Doomscrolling for 18 years of your life and what a "successful brain" really looks like
32:09 — Kids, iPads and schools in the age of AI
39:15 — TJ's actionable rules for using AI without losing your edge
49:04 — The phone-free rule saving their relationships (meals, bedroom, bathroom)
59:18 — TJ's OCD story and how to beat the phone "safety check" habit
You can watch our previous episodes with TJ here:
New Year, New You? The Micro Changes We Can Make To Have A Much Happier Life w/ TJ Power
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fx-uNOefOA
Dopamine and the ADHD Brain. CLOUD With Neuroscientist TJ Power!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJAgXI39gQQ

You can follow TJ on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tjpower/?hl=en
See him Live in Sydney
The DOSE Experience Tickets:
https://events.humanitix.com/the-dose-experience-tj-power-live
Join us on Patreon for exclusive content and bonus episodes
Keep your questions coming! Slide into the Life Uncut DMs at @lifeuncutpodcast on Instagram
You can watch us on Youtube
Join us on tiktok
Or join the Facebook Discussion Group
Hosted by Britt Hockley & Laura Byrne
Produced by Keeshia Pettit Soph Nathan
Video Produced by Vanessa Beckford & Lachy Pugsley
Tell your mum, tell your dad, tell your dog, tell your friend and share the love because WE LOVE LOVE! Xx
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey Lifers!
Britt & Ben’s Baby Bonanza is finally here!!! After last week’s announcement, Britt is answering every question we’ve been banned from asking. First, we clear up the Facebook group theory that the announcement was staged. Spoiler: Laura’s face says it all.
Britt takes us back through almost four years of trying. She was banking on falling pregnant naturally until a new fertility doctor delivered some blunt news about Ben’s results, and it changed everything. Britt walks us through what IVF transfer is actually like: the frozen embryo that gets “half defrosted”, the very long needle, the two-week wait, and the cheeky at-home test she wasn’t supposed to take. The big reveal to Ben…
We also get into the harder stuff. Britt talks about her birth plan, being on the cusp of high-risk, and the January transfer window that could mean Ben is overseas for the birth. She responds to the comments questioning how someone with fertility struggles can now be pregnant. Then we have an honest chat about never feeling the maternal pull, the “regret having kids” content that keeps finding us, and what being a “good mum” really means.
Plus: the progesterone boobs that gave it all away, Britt’s potato gem diet, and why she and Ben can’t agree on a single name.
To anyone going through infertility or IVF right now, we’re thinking of you.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Britt’s up the duff and the “fake announcement” theories
06:28 - The fertility journey so far
15:06 - What actually happens with IVF
22:06 - To find out or not? The sealed gender envelope
29:57 - The possibility of giving birth alone
39:15 - Never feeling maternal and the fear of being a “bad mum”

Keep your questions coming! Slide into the Life Uncut DMs at @lifeuncutpodcast on Instagram
Join us on Patreon for exclusive content and bonus episodes
You can watch us on Youtube
Join us on tiktok
Or join the Facebook Discussion Group
Hosted by Britt Hockley & Laura Byrne
Produced by Sophie Nathan
Video Produced by Vanessa Beckford & Lachy Pugsley
Tell your mum, tell your dad, tell your dog, tell your friend and share the love because WE LOVE LOVE! Xx
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey Lifers!
Welcome back to Ask Uncut, where we answer your deepest, darkest and most burning questions!
Laura reveals something she’s been noticing lately (and no it’s not Britt’s baby boobs) and we want to know if anyone else has heard it…
Vibes of the week:
Britt – Believe Me, the four-part British true crime drama about London’s black cab driver case and the women who weren’t believed. It’s free on ABC iview. (Heads up: it deals with sexual assault, so please skip it if that’s not something you’re in the space for.)
Laura – Stone Bridge Frames, the walnut photo booth strip frames that have finally rescued the family photo strips from the fridge.
Then it’s into your questions!
Q1: CAN I STAY FRIENDS WITH MY EX’S FAMILY?
My ex-fiancé and I were together from when I was 16 until 29. It was a long and very messy breakup. Years later I found my penguin. We’re engaged and have two beautiful children. My ex’s sister and sister-in-law have stayed in my life and they are genuinely my friends. We see each other regularly and our kids have playdates. I’m completely over my ex, and my fiancé has no issue with these friendships. But I’ve always drawn the line at birthday parties or events where my ex and his parents will be, out of respect for him and his new girlfriend. It’s now been more than seven years and I wonder if I’m unnecessarily removing myself from events I’d really like to attend. We’ve just been invited to a big birthday party and I genuinely want to go. Is that crossing a line?
Q2: SHE’S NOT AS ATTRACTIVE AS I’D LIKE. DO I TELL HER?
I’ve been seeing this girl as a friends with benefits for about six months, but it’s getting more serious. We spend whole weeks together and we’re about to meet each other’s families. She’s a great chick, we’re extremely compatible in bed, she gives me very little drama and we click. The issue is she’s not as attractive as I like, and I’m a little embarrassed by it. I can’t see myself giving her the relationship she wants because I’m just not attracted to her the way she is to me. Do I tell her this and break her heart? Do I make up another reason to break up with her? Do I keep her discreet forever? Or do I keep this one running in the background while I “try others out”?
(This one came into the Facebook group. We didn’t publish it, he’s no longer a member, and we have THOUGHTS.)
Q3: MY BOYFRIEND STILL SLEEPS WITH HIS BLANKIE
I’ve been with my boyfriend for four years. About three months in, he revealed a blankie he keeps in his bed, that his mum gave him when he was a baby. At first I didn’t care that much, but four years on I wonder at what age he decides he doesn’t need it anymore. He says it calms him down and he looks for it every night. For extra context: he only washes it every few months, and he has a smaller version that he once gave to me when I was having a bad night. I have not touched it since, lol. When will the time be up?
Q4: MY FRIEND MARRIED HER FIRST BOYFRIEND AND NOW SHE’S WONDERING “WHAT IF?”
My friend has been with her now-husband since she was 18. He was her first serious relationship, her first sexual partner, and her first and only boyfriend. They’ve been married almost four years and she loves him dearly. Recently, out of the blue, a guy she flirted with when she was 18 messaged her. Nothing ever happened between them, but his messages have become increasingly flirty and he’s said things like “I miss you so much”. It’s really gotten into her head. What if she’d explored more before settling down? What has she missed by only ever being with one person? She hasn’t cheated and doesn’t want to throw away her marriage over a fantasy, but she knows continuing these conversations could cross a line, and that scares her. What should she do?
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 — Intro: Britt’s half up half down era (and why she says “becwase”)
4:11 — Vibes of the week: Believe Me & photo booth frames
9:19 — Q1: Can I stay friends with my ex’s family?
15:47 — Q2: She’s not as attractive as I’d like. Do I tell her?
22:07 — Q3: My boyfriend still sleeps with his blankie
32:25 — Q4: My friend married her first boyfriend and now she’s wondering “what if?”
Want more? There’s a bonus ep waiting for you over on [Patreon / Life Unlocked], recorded moments after Britt shared her big news with Laura.
If we answered your question, we want the aftermath! Let us know what happens.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.