The Life of Bryony

This week I’m joined by psychotherapist and author Emma Reed Turrell, the woman I basically tried to blag a free therapy session from. With my new novel, People Pleaser, out this week, I’ve asked Emma to help me – and you – untangle our chronic urge to keep everyone else happy. Emma specialises in people pleasing: that paralysing fear that someone’s cross with you and that you’ve let the whole world down. Together we dig into why people pleasing is actually a survival response, why it’s not as kind as it looks, and why it might even be selfish not to put yourself first. Emma shares why it’s essential that some people are annoyed with us, how to let others be “wrong” about you, and why co‑regulation (not bubble baths) is what our nervous systems really crave. If you’ve ever lost sleep over a throwaway text, casual email or simple work critique, this episode is for you.BOOKS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODEMy new book, People Pleaser, is available to pre-order and is out on 23rd April. And Emma’s book, Please Yourself is available to buy now.LINK FOR SPA VOUCHERTo be in with a chance to win a £200 spa voucher to celebrate the release of People Pleaser, enter the competition here.WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOUGot something to share? Message us on @lifeofbryonypod on Instagram.If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who might need it – it really helps! Bryony xxCREDITS:Host: Bryony GordonGuest: Emma Reed TurrellProducer: Laura Elwood-CraigAssistant Producer: Tippi WillardStudio Manager: Mitchell LiasEditor: Rowan JacobsExec Producer: Jamie East  A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

Today, makeup artist and internet star Genevieve Turley is back, and this time we’re tipping out her handbag to find the three beauty essentials she cannot live without. From quick hair fixes to glow-giving skincare and a clever multitasking makeup staple, Genevieve proves you don’t need a 27-step routine to feel like your best self. We talk about real-life beauty for women our age, how to feel good in the skin you’re in, and why simple products can be genuinely transformative on busy days, school runs and nights out. If you’ve ever stood in front of the mirror feeling overwhelmed by products and expectations, this one’s for you.LINK TO TICKETSGenevieve’s debut show, Laughter Lines, is at the Leicester Square Theatre on 10th May 2026. Grab your tickets here.WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOUGot something to share? Message us on @lifeofbryonypod on Instagram.If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who might need it – it really helps! Bryony xxCREDITS:Host: Bryony GordonGuest: Genevieve TurleyProducer: Laura Elwood-CraigAssistant Producer: Tippi WillardStudio Manager: Mitchell LiasEditor: Luke ShelleyExec Producer: Jamie East  A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

This week, I’m joined by the utterly brilliant Genevieve Turley – former military burns nurse turned bridal makeup artist and accidental Instagram sensation. Genevieve talks about swapping the Air Force and life‑changing injuries for a career helping women feel genuinely comfortable in their own skin, and why seeing real trauma means she no longer sweats the small stuff about ageing. We get into toxic beauty culture, Botox pressure, and why she’d rather invest in SPF than fillers. She shares properly useful, affordable skincare basics: how to work out your skin type with a post‑shower test, why double cleansing matters, and the simple routines that actually fit around kids, chaos and real life. If you’ve ever felt invisible at a makeup counter or confused by beauty trends, this one will make you feel seen, represented and a bit less alone. LINK TO TICKETSGenevieve’s debut show, Laughter Lines, is at the Leicester Square Theatre on 10th May 2026. Grab your tickets here.WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOUGot something to share? Message us on @lifeofbryonypod on Instagram.If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who might need it – it really helps! Bryony xxCREDITS:Host: Bryony GordonGuest: Genevieve TurleyProducer: Laura Elwood-CraigAssistant Producer: Tippi WillardStudio Manager: Mitchell LiasEditor: Luke ShelleyExec Producer: Jamie East  A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

In our main conversation, Josie helped us navigate the wild west of supplements and wellness marketing; today, we’re zooming in on the everyday habits she genuinely relies on, none of which involve complicated regimes or expensive powders.​ I ask Josie to share the three things she simply can’t live without when it comes to feeling grounded, energised and sane in modern life. We talk about food rhythms, why your body hates surprises, and how simple movement and ultra‑practical tweaks can change your mood, hormones and sleep far more than a new pill ever could.​If you’ve ever wished someone would just tell you what actually helps in real life, this episode is for you.BOOKS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODEJosie’s book, How Not to Take Supplements, is available to pre-order now and will be released on 4th June 2026.WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOUGot something to share? Message us on @lifeofbryonypod on Instagram.If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who might need it – it really helps! Bryony xxCREDITS:Host: Bryony GordonGuest: Josie PorterProducer: Laura Elwood-CraigAssistant Producer: Tippi WillardStudio Manager: Mitchell LiasEditor: Luke ShelleyExec Producer: Jamie East  A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

This week, I’m joined by dietician and author Josie Porter, who has written a brilliantly myth‑busting book called How Not to Take Supplements. If you’ve ever stared at an Instagram ad for collagen, creatine or a very chic greens powder and thought “Do I really need this?”, this episode is for you. We talk about why the supplements industry is booming, how clever marketing and “natural” branding manipulate our fears, and why more pills do not automatically mean better health. Josie explains what third‑party testing actually is, the red‑flag claims to avoid, and when supplements like vitamin D, Omega-3 or creatine might genuinely help. We also get into cheaper, easier food swaps that can replace a lot of pricey bottles, the power of good old tap water, and why a decent poo is still one of life’s greatest joys.​ If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by wellness noise, I promise this conversation will leave you feeling calmer, clearer and a lot less confused. BOOKS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODEJosie’s book, How Not to Take Supplements, is available to pre-order now and will be released on 4th June 2026.WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOUGot something to share? Message us on @lifeofbryonypod on Instagram.If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who might need it – it really helps! Bryony xxCREDITS:Host: Bryony GordonGuest: Josie PorterProducer: Laura Elwood-CraigAssistant Producer: Tippi WillardStudio Manager: Mitchell LiasEditor: Luke ShelleyExec Producer: Jamie East  A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

Ruth Corden is back and after our main conversation about bodies, food and self-worth, it felt only right to ask Ruth about the three things she leans on to stay vaguely sane in this ridiculous world. We get into the TV show she’s obsessively loyal to, the thing that leaves her with DOMS but also a much clearer head, and the lifelong relationships that hold her together when everything else feels wobbly. If you’ve ever wondered what really keeps someone going behind the big conversations, this one is for you.WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOUGot something to share? Message us on @lifeofbryonypod on Instagram.If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who might need it – it really helps! Bryony xxCREDITS:Host: Bryony GordonGuest: Ruth CordenProducer: Laura Elwood-CraigAssistant Producer: Sam RhodesStudio Manager: Sam ChisholmEditor: Luke ShelleyExec Producer: Jamie East  A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

Regular listeners will know this is not a podcast where we glamorise weight loss stories or before-and-after pictures. As someone with a long history of eating disorders, I’ve spent years rejecting the idea that our worth lives and dies on the bathroom scales. But in this episode, I sit down with Ruth Corden to talk about what it means when healing your relationship with your body does involve losing weight – and how to do that without feeding fatphobic bullsh*t. Ruth talks honestly about living in a fat body, food addiction, “food noise”, and starting semaglutide – not as a vanity project, but as a lifeline for her health and sanity. We get into thin privilege, weaponised body positivity, fertility grief, shame in the GP’s office, and how lifting heavy weights helped her finally feel at home in her skin. It’s not a weight loss story. It’s a story about finally inhabiting the body you live in.WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOUGot something to share? Message us on @lifeofbryonypod on Instagram.If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who might need it – it really helps! Bryony xxCREDITS:Host: Bryony GordonGuest: Ruth CordenProducer: Laura Elwood-CraigAssistant Producer: Sam RhodesStudio Manager: Sam ChisholmEditor: Luke ShelleyExec Producer: Jamie East  A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

Ashley James is back with me, after our main episode on body image and shame, and we get into the three things that keep her genuinely grounded when her kids are up at 5am, her social battery is dead, and the wellness industry is telling her to “just get up an hour earlier.” We talk about why female friendships feel like soulmates rather than side characters, the joy of getting completely lost in a really good book, and how certain quietly obsessive hobbies can switch off the noise in your head in a way Instagram never will.BOOKS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODEAshley’s new book, Bimbo, is available to buy now.WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOUGot something to share? Message us on @lifeofbryonypod on Instagram.If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who might need it – it really helps! Bryony xxCREDITS:Host: Bryony GordonGuest: Ashley JamesProducer: Laura Elwood-CraigAssistant Producer: Tippi WillardStudio Manager: Sam ChisholmEditor: Luke ShelleyExec Producer: Jamie East  A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.