Serial Daters ft. Loren Gray 54:31

It's Sophia Franklin. You are listening to Sophia with an F and the F is for phenomenal. This podcast is rated F. Pretty much most parts of the entertainment industry suck. I modeled before I did social media. My mother agent would call me and yell at me for drinking a glass of milk. Like people do not give a f***.

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to the show. I am recording from WTF Studios in New York, my favorite place to record. If you haven't yet, please subscribe. And I'm sitting here with the sexiest blonde I know. Oh.

Lauren Gray. Thank you so much. No, I mean that. And anyone I've said that to on the show already, I don't mean it. Like it's Nolan Boyd. You really truly are. Thank you. How are you doing? I'm doing well. We had a bit of a run and I'm an hour late and I did not mean to be. But honestly, so what time did you wake up? I woke up at 6.30 and I was out at the bar until 3.00.

So that also could be a contributing factor to why I'm late. How long have you been 21 for?

I turned 21 in April, so that would be, what, three or four months? Yeah. I'm not very good at math. I'm not math. So I can't – I'm not math. I'm not math. No, it's completely fine. I am shocked that I was even here on time. I'm 15 minutes late to everything, and I always talk about it, and I'm like, I have to stop. I'm actually finally not shaking because I hate inconveniencing people. It's like my biggest –

gripe. I can't do it. Yeah. So I'm very sorry that I inconvenienced you today. You did not inconvenience me. If anything, I was like, oh my God, this feels good. Like I can actually chill. Usually I like walk into a recording disheveled, like, oh my God, you are completely fine. And thank you so much for coming. I really appreciate it.

I did a huge deep dive into just your life and your story. And like, how many followers do you have on TikTok? 54 million. Yeah, something like that. Somewhere around there. That is crazy. And then you have 22, 24 on Instagram. Yeah, 24 on Instagram. I know that for sure. Would you give me a shout out? Of course. Of course. I mean, you're having me on your podcast. I must.

Yeah, but if you could just like post a story and like tell everyone to go follow me, I'm totally kidding. But that's huge. And at one point, you had the most followers on TikTok. Yes. And you started by posting on Musical.ly when you were 13. Yes.

So in middle school. Yeah, in middle school. So seventh grade, I think. That is so crazy. And Musical.ly is what TikTok was before TikTok? Or was it different? So Musical.ly was bought by TikTok, basically. Or it was bought by another, you know, company. Right, the company that turned it into TikTok.

Got it. And you were just posting videos or what was it? I was lip syncing. So I was just lip syncing the songs and I was saving them to my camera roll. So I would make a video for my Instagram, save it to my camera roll. And those videos were being posted like, you know, how it automatically does. Right. And

I didn't know that I was going viral on Musical.ly until I had 30,000 followers. - Stop. - Because a bunch of random people started following me on Instagram. And I was, you know, end of sixth grade. I had an Instagram for my school friends and then all of these random people started following me. So I thought there was a problem and then, yeah, I figured it out. - You thought there was a problem and then I realized I'm just famous. - I was like, maybe people think that I'm someone else.

But, yeah, then I figured it out. Did you have to ask your mom for permission? No, I asked for forgiveness. I would just post and then my mom caught on pretty fast. So she sort of watched what I did. And then if she didn't really like it, she would tell me to take it down. Got it. Yeah. Because I was...

I was riskier then than I am now. Really? Oh, yeah. Probably because you thought there were like, there's nothing that was going to come back to haunt you, right? Yeah. It's a free-for-all. It wasn't. It was not. I wish I'd known. So what would you consider risky back then? Like a little crop top? No. I was like, so I was a cheerleader. So I would post, like my mom was telling me to take down. I would put my push-up bra underneath my sports bra and, you know, do what I could. And then...

My mom was like, Lauren, be for real. Be for real. Lauren, be for real. You're an A cup right now. You're an A cup and you're 12 years old. So yeah, that was sort of my beginning. That's not really – all those videos were taken down, but I did some little like comedy videos and I was silly. I love that. I'm a silly girl. Isn't it so funny when you're younger –

I vividly remember asking my mom for a bra and just to be nice and let me live my fake life. She let me get like those little cami bra that have like they have no padding. Yeah. It's essentially just like a little tiny shirt. Yeah. But I would walk around in it like, oh, my God, I'm wearing a bra like this. I also had these like boots that my parents had got me for a pirate costume. Yeah.

And they had a little heel on them. And they were like leather looking. And I like to wear them out. They're like, that's a costume. Yeah. My mom worked later than my dad. So my dad would take me to get food and I would have them on. And he's like, are you sure you're supposed to be wearing this out? I'm like, yeah. But he like doesn't really know any better. But he doesn't know, but he thinks it might be weird.

But my mom was like, no. Yeah, that's got to stop. I would wear the sluttiest stuff. I mean, I still kind of will, but like so slutty. And then I started to go through puberty and got hips and like a little something. And my mom, I remember, freaked out one day. She was like, you're not 12 anymore. Right. You have a little bit of a body and like this is crazy. Yeah, I get it. I feel like I cared less.

less about clothing. I definitely went through a phase where all my friends were older than me. So I wanted to fit in with them. And then the clothing got more revealing. And then once I really started hitting puberty, I just got really uncomfortable in my body. So then it went, I worked backwards from that because I was always so skinny and awkward. And then once I started filling out a little bit, which I still am, I still kind of have the body of a 12 year old boy. Um,

But I love it because I've learned to love it. Yeah, of course. Like I try to be thankful for the things that I can do. Like I can run. And I used to hate, I used to be so insecure about my chest. But like I can run freely. And I know a lot of people have back problems. So I'm grateful for that.

Okay. You know what? Thank you for bringing me back down to earth because I was staring at myself in this camera the whole time I was waiting for you and I was like picking myself apart. And I have two arms, two legs. Your body is fully functioning and it's working and you're beautiful. And thank

you and a great ass. Like that's the most important. You're like, bitch, that's not what I'm trying to hit home here. No, no, no. I completely agree. I had to like learn to appreciate that my body is doing great things for me without me realizing it. Okay. So you're wise beyond your years. I can absolutely tell. How was that growing up somewhat in the public eye? I feel like I grew up really fast because I

And that's what I wanted. I feel like I never really fit in in school. And with my age group, I always wanted to – I wanted to skip a grade really bad, but they wouldn't let me because they wanted to keep me in the gifted program. So they wouldn't let me skip a grade. With the left hand. Yeah. Because you were left-handed. Left-handed. Did you know – my dad's work, they deemed being left-handed a disability. Right.

So my dad told me that I have a disability. I was like, oh, I don't really – I just can't like golf with everyone sometimes. But I've been fine. But yeah, I feel like I didn't really –

fit in with most people and I know I'm sure everyone's I know everyone says that but um no I don't think so I mean like the I remember like the student body president and my grade was like my arch nemesis but like really thrived and everyone loved her and she was killing it and I'm like now if I don't like someone I say they have student body president vibes so true yeah

I'm going to use that. And I didn't even have that experience. Right. I'm going to steal your experience. A million percent. You can use it. I don't even give a shit. But I think there are some people who do thrive. And high school is obviously hard for everyone. And same with middle school. But I didn't make it that far. You didn't make it to high school? No. Really? Well, I finished school. I graduated when I was 16, but not from public school. I left in eighth grade. Oh, you left. So I'm always so interested in people's high school stories. That is interesting.

That is insane. So wait, in eighth grade, you left?

And then I started homeschool, and eventually I got my GED. Okay. Congratulations. Thank you. I can't believe I even graduated high school. Like my senior year, they were like, you are failing every single class. And then I got in trouble because I copied from point A to point B my entire thesis paper. Yeah. But I really thought that was just me taking initiative. Yeah.

No, I had to finish. I'm in college now and I had to finish my astronomy final and I didn't understand a single thing that was happening. And so I just chat GPT my entire final and I had AI write my answers and it worked perfectly. I don't do that. You can get caught now like really easily. Yeah. No, you did it the one time. You'll never do it again. Wink, wink. This is actually so funny the way I found out about it. There was –

I was at a dinner and a lot of the like guys at the dinner, I didn't know them, but they happened to work at SpaceX. So I was doing my astronomy quiz at the table. He was like, just put it into this AI and it'll answer it for you. I was like, you should know these answers because you work at SpaceX and this is an astronomy quiz. But I did and I listened to him and it worked out. But now they have like...

They can see, right, like what chat GPT is generating. Yeah, they have AI that learns AI and can detect AI. And then there's an AI to combat that. So it's just this endless back and forth of things that are smarter than me. So you can't write into chat GPT stuff.

make sure that this won't be able to be detected online. That's so smart. Maybe you can. Chat GPT 2.0. You just heard it here first. And Lauren and I are actually going to start it. And we're going to charge $122. So much. And if there's any investors watching this, you can hit us up. That's crazy. I used to have to do it the old-fashioned way and just scour the internet for hours.

to get, you know, my responses for questions. Yep. And now there's ChatGPT. Yeah, it just has, it just knows everything, which is so scary. Terrifying. So I want to jump in to a few things, one of which is you and I have a lot in common. Oh, really?

Really? Because I'm actually 21 as well. No one knows that. No one knows that. I love when I look at myself in the thing and like I will publish these things on YouTube and my mannerisms and the amount I look at myself touch my hair. Oh, I'm like trying to get my bangs out of my face because I didn't do them today and I just look so disheveled. No. So I'm like –

You look stunning. I was like, the fact that you thought this recording was at noon and really was at 11, you look like a superstar. And you were up until 6 a.m. getting crazy. Yeah, 38. It was a weird time. I love weird times, though. It was my favorite. I don't want to have too much fun. I want it to be a little...

Like you leave and you're like, hmm. Yeah, I don't know how I feel about that. I feel a little weird about that. I feel like that's basically every time I drink alcohol or do drugs. I'm like, I loved that, but I hated that at the same time. Yeah, I just hate the anxiety because I leave and then I wake up feeling like,

Who did I offend? Who do I have problems with now? And can I go back here? There's a bar somewhere in New York and I don't know which one it is. And I need to find the name because wherever it is, my picture is definitely on the wall. Okay. I made out with the bartender and then I left without paying. You're my icon. Because I just assumed he had it covered. Uh-huh. I assumed the bartender had it covered. And...

Then he, like, I never responded to his text, but I'm so genuinely terrified of accidentally walking in there one day and it's just a picture of me at, like, 19. Yeah. Like, you're, like, 86. Leaning across the bar, like, yeah. They're like, this girl, she owes us, like, $200. My biggest fear. Well, the thing is, is I'm going to give you advice as a 31-year-old, and your parents are not going to like it.

I think ignorance is bliss. And if you don't remember it, it didn't happen. I agree with that. You know what I mean? Yeah. So thank God you don't know the name of the bar. Yeah. I just don't know. And one day I'll walk in there and I'll be so, so scared. But until then, yeah, you're right. But also you'll just deny until you die because you won't even know that that was the bar and you'll be like, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm pretty sure I was 19. So like it was really in trouble.

Thank you. Maybe they should get a better scanner. I was just being silly. Yeah. You're being a goofy girl. And in your defense, I do think there should be a rule that if the bartender does make out with you, then you do not have to pick up the bill. Exactly. No, I agree. I felt like I did my, like my work here was done. Yeah. It was a date. Yeah. It was essentially a date. Like I put in the hours, I put in the miles. Mm-hmm.

So the least you could do, you know? I completely agree. And I think it's kind of like rude that he was even going to charge you. I think half of the bars in New York, I would just leave my credit card and I would always be way too embarrassed to go back. So I would just like get a new credit card. Yeah, no one needs to see me like that. Yeah, which actually is kind of fucked up on my part. So you know what? I will make sure that I backtrack and make sure all those bills are paid. But you are a self-proclaimed serialized

Serial dater. Yes. Same. Yes.

Yes, I've gotten better. I've been single for eight months, which is a like, it's a record for me. Yeah. So I'm really proud of that. I don't think I've even made it eight months and I've been alive 10 years longer than you have. So I need to get my shit together. Why do you think that we're like that? Like, why do you think you are always in a relationship? I think it was a combination of things. I think it was...

Now I feel like if I say things, I'm going to feel like I'm attacking you. No, no, no, no. Oh my God, girlfriend. Okay, cool. I talk shit about my situation all day long. Just because I'm insecure doesn't mean you are. I think I definitely for sure am. Mine stemmed a lot from that. It was like looking –

in all the wrong places for who I was. So, especially right after my mom moved back home, I was sort of on my own and I was just about to enter like a three-year relationship. So I was with the same guy from 14 to 17. And then...

That relationship came to an end. People grow apart. And I was just immediately looking to fill the void of my parents not being there and just having that one person that's there for you selfishly. So...

I got myself into so many weird situations. Like I, the vetting process didn't exist like until now. Right. Because I just, the first person that would look in my direction and like, wow, you're great. I was like, cool, move into my house and I'll take care of you forever. I had an ex who was quite a bit older than me who lived with me and I took care of him for, you know,

Two years. And from the time I was 17 to 20.

Funny. Don't remember. But I had him seriously tell me that he was going to be an astronaut. And I was like, please get a job. Like, please. Like, this does not look good for me. Please, for the love of God, like, work anywhere. Yeah. Like, you can be an astronaut, but in the meantime. In the meantime, let's do something else. He was going to be an astronaut. He was going to be a bartender. He was going to be an actor. He was going to be an artist. He was, there's, the list goes on. Okay. My parents came and they were like, Lauren.

You're like, mom, he's going to be an astronaut. NASA, hello. Ever heard of it? He's going to be in space. Yes. So soon. Just wait on it. But I couldn't wait on it anymore. And that was the second one. And then after the third one, I was like just so icked out that I was like, you know –

There's a running theme here. There's a thread, and that thread is that I don't believe in myself, and I don't have the courage to be alone, and I need to find that. That just hit home. Yeah.

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I've been the exact same way. You have an excuse because you are still extremely young and you're like navigating, figuring it out. But it doesn't matter because if you find some sort of success or your life is a little bit left field, right? You do something different. You work for yourself. People don't realize how isolating that can be. Yeah. And then when you feel isolated, you're trying to fill that. Yeah. And that was one of the hardest things I've had to learn about myself and face. Yeah.

And I just had to learn how to, you know, be on my own at night. And like my friends aren't always going to be able to come over. Like my friends, my friend and her boyfriend are my best friends. I'm like the ultimate third wheel. And it was his birthday the other day and they were going to have a movie night as a couple. And I was like, guys, are you free for dinner? Yeah.

You're like, what are we doing for your birthday? What are we doing as a group? Like, I was their valentine. So I try to get involved where I can. But that's a really hard thing to realize. Like, you're not always going to have someone there for you. So you have to believe in yourself. Yes. And you can stand on your own two feet and be like, okay, I got this. I think...

The reason I have always been a serial dater and still am is really the same reason as you is just looking and seeking safety in other people. Lana Del Rey quote, but it's so accurate. Yeah. It's like a safety net. And I had a therapist tell me this once and I've always like thought about it. I thought it was so smart. Yeah.

When you are constantly leaning on a person that you're dating to make you feel better or give you that comfort or that safety, you start to lose that ability to do it yourself. Yeah. You know? Yeah. And I don't think I ever even had it, to be honest. Yeah. It's something I had to learn. Yep. Yeah.

But it is – life can be isolating and, I mean, are you from New York? No, I'm from Utah. So is your family there? Yes. Okay, so that's also hard. It's like I know you're a fully grown woman and you're much older and wiser than I am, but –

That's tough and that's like being alone and living on your own even though it's a part of life is such a difficult journey to go on. It is. And I feel like it just happened for me so quickly that I was like, okay, who's going to be there for me? Right. Even though I had my family. And you lived by yourself when you were home? My mom moved back home right before I turned 18. Okay.

My mom and I are so similar. And us living together, I was like, listen, I don't want us to hate each other. Like, I love you so much. And she was like, you've got this. And she knew that I had it. So she gave me that space. And I definitely had my little rebellious phase. I'm like dating, you know, this guy that's much older than me and doing all of these weird things. I dyed my hair brown. I was drinking every night and drinking.

I had to go through that. You know what I mean? Yes. You remind me so much of myself. It's not even funny. I started dating a guy that was 17 years older. But I was also 25.

But I mean, that's still extremely young in the grand scheme of things. I had like the expedited experience, but it sounds more shocking, but I was already paying rent. My life was just put on this fast track. Totally. Trying to figure shit out. And I had my parents and I have amazing parents, but there is a point where it switches and you have to, it's like you're on your own. Yeah. Okay.

Sorry. That was fucking gorgeous stunning. Thank you. I would join in with you, but then people would be really upset because I don't have your voice. Yeah. You know what? You're giving me the confidence and you're giving me this little pep talk and I'm going to be single. Wow. For eight months. You're eight months single? I'm eight months single, yes. It's like, how far along are you? I'm eight months along in my journey. Yeah.

You can do it. I was so lost in the beginning before I, like, got into my groove because I was just used to, like, boy, where is he? Where am I going tonight? Yeah. And then I had to figure out, like, okay, these are the things that Lauren likes to do at night. Mm-hmm. And now I love how, like, I hate sharing a bed with someone. Like, I don't know.

I've just gone so far in the other direction. Yes. But once you break through that wall, it does – it gets easier. Yeah. It gets easier. It gets easier. No, I love that. And I actually love being alone. I just – same as you. The second a dude is somewhat attractive and is not like a complete and total loser, actually he could still be a loser. I'm like, you're into me? Hello?

Hello. When are we getting married? We're dating. Like that's all it takes. Yep. I need to start being pickier. Yeah. But I think it's also a testament that we're always in a relationship because maybe it just means people are like obsessed with us. No. Yeah. Literally. Why are you so obsessed with me? Are you so in love with me? I can convince myself that everyone's in love with me. I'm like, wait, no, you're so in love with me, right?

Like the people who can't relate to this conversation, it just means like people aren't as they're supposed to be. I have days where I'm like, I'm literally the worst person ever and who would ever love me? And then days where I'm like, I have such a shimmering, shining, gorgeous personality and like I'm so stunning. Right. Everyone's in love with me. There's no in between. Never, ever, ever, ever. So eight months single, you're not dating anybody. No.

What is like an absolute no-go that like a quality dude could have where you're like, there's no way I'm going to date you? Something a guy could do on a first date, an ick, just anything. Okay, so I have an ick. So I actually went on a date recently and it did not – it's not going anywhere. It did not go absolutely anywhere. It was a 12-hour date, which seemed excessive to me. Okay. Yeah.

So that was like red flag number one. So how was it? Like, did he tell you it'd be 12 hours or just kind of spiraled into that? No, so he picked me up and my house was like an hour and a half away. He picked me up, drove me all the way back to where he's from, which like we could have met in the middle, but that's okay. So I was kind of stranded, which is totally fine. But he said in all seriousness, I draw pictures of people when I'm mad at them.

And I was like, oh, I started laughing. I thought it was a funny joke. I was like, oh, you're silly. And he was like,

No, I genuinely, I draw pictures of famous people, my cousins, my family when I'm mad at them and I hang it on the fridge. And I was like, now I'm intrigued. Also a little bit scared. And he pulls up the pictures on his phone and he's taken five pictures. He's drawn caricatures of people that he knows and Sarah Jessica Parker. And I was like... I'm sorry, I'm dying. I was like, what did she do to you, first of all? And second of all...

I want to go home. Mm-hmm. He didn't, I didn't eat the whole time. He didn't feed you? He didn't feed me. I had a movie theater hot dog, which was delicious, by the way. But yeah, he draws pictures of people. Was he good? Like, was he a good artist? No. Or were they like stick figures? No, they were like character looking drawings. Okay.

I just imagine like, you know, like in the ring or like the little kids in class and he's just like. He's furiously like scribbling. I mean, maybe. I haven't been there for his. I haven't seen the process. Yeah. And I don't want to stick around to find out. No. But that was like last week that that happened. Okay. So this is fresh. That's bizarre. Was there a picture of you? No.

Do you think there is now? There might be now. We have not spoken. I had another guy wake me up after we were like out drinking. He woke me up at five in the morning. We went to bed at three. He woke me up at five and he was like, are you ready to work out? And I was still drunk. And...

Oh, my God. It probably sounds like I drink all the time. I swear I don't. Girlie Pop, you're 21. I do have fun. Yes. But I got out of bed. And my friends were like, why did you even go? Why did you even go? Yes, because I have like a little gym in my house and he knew that. So he immediately walked. He let my dog out. I was like, oh, do you live here? Should I like, do you, am I supposed to pay this man? I don't know. He like let my dog out. He's like walking around shirtless. So then I'm like,

He goes downstairs and he's on the treadmill and he's laughing to himself. He's like, do a 10 minute warmup. So I'm like on my Peloton. It's five in the morning. The sun is still down. That's disgusting. And I'm like still drunk on this Peloton. I threw up like three times throughout the process. And each time I went back, why did I go back? And I like, he's like laughing to himself. He's like, I have such a good workout planned. He did like

800 burpees. I've never seen someone do that many burpees. That's disgusting. And I kept leaving and throwing up and he was like, that just means you're working hard. I was like, no, man, it means I'm wasted and I should not be doing jumping jacks and burpees right now. I should be in bed and you should be home. Like, go home. But I can't tell people no. Same. And he's like, afterwards, he's like, you want to get breakfast? I'm like, fuck it, I guess. You're like, you

You like how your Nike's on, you're crying, you're like, let's go. Like, why did I do that? So that's, I'm trying to get better at just saying no to people because, and I don't know why I can't find normal people to like go on dates with, but I always get the strangest motherfuckers like,

Where did you come from? Yeah. I think it's, I don't know what's worse, the working out at 5 a.m. Or drawing pictures. I don't know. Let us know. Yeah. Let us know what you guys think. Everyone tell us which is worse. Okay, I was not expecting that to be your egg. Like when they make me pick up the bill, you're like, no. When they are my personal trainer at 5 a.m. When I'm absolutely hammered or like drawing pictures of

people. That's scary. I wonder where the Sarah Jessica Parker like, I don't know where that came from. You know what, I think it might be, I think I'm a pretty good listener. So I think people just feel comfortable, which is fine. I love that. And I love when people open up to me. Yeah. But like, there are certain things that just shouldn't be

said or done on a first date and I feel like those few things are like part of that, fit into that box. Yeah. I am a firm believer that you don't show your true colors until they're in love with you. Yeah. So then you can get away with everything, you know? Yeah, you keep it in your back pocket.

A million percent. And I think for men listening, maybe this is, you know, we're letting you know to just keep that shit to yourself. Yeah. Wait, what's your no-go? I'm so curious. Oof. I feel like... Save on Cox Internet when you add Cox Mobile and get fiber-powered internet at home and unbeatable 5G reliability on the go. So whether you're playing a game at home... Yes, cool! ...or attending one live...

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It kind of depends. I don't think I've ran into a situation like that. I usually have pretty standard dates. I think their drink order can be very telling. Like, I went on a date once and this guy ordered a Long Island iced tea. Both.

That's fucking crazy. Boo. Like, that's crazy. Yeah, that's like the equivalent of ordering like an AMF and it's like... Oh my God, an AMF. Yeah. In audios, motherfucker. For those of you who don't know, I don't know if people drink those here in New York. I hope not because there's like you can... There's so many... The world is so vast. There's so many options. You don't have to do that. For those of you who don't know...

An Adios motherfucker slash AMF is bright blue. If you're ordering a drink that is any... That looks like Kool-Aid. That's an absolute no. And I believe, hence the name Adios, it's very similar to a Long Island iced tea where it has rum, vodka, gin, tequila. Like, who...

who in their right mind, I mean, LOL me, until I was 27, but on a date, to be like, could I get every kind of alcohol in one drink, please? Honestly, like, that just makes me think that you have to be drunk to be around me. Exactly. I'm like, am I that bad? Like, you just want to black out immediately. Like, I understand you want to be, like, a little loose, but, like,

A Long Island iced tea is crazy. That's fucking crazy. So like I will judge you on your drink order. What else is an ick? I think I actually did an interview for a magazine and they asked me like a similar question. If a guy owns a cooler...

Oh, yeah. Like, I just, there's no reason to own. My ex had one with a speaker built into it. Goodbye. Yeah. Goodbye. Yeah. If we go and do a picnic at Central Park, you better be carrying shit in an Ikea bag or a backpack. If you have a cooler with wheels that you take out of the fucking Uber, goodbye. Let alone if it's playing, like, Fred again. Oh, my. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. And we're just fucking whipping around Central Park. Yeah.

I'm done. Like, I am done. But then, like, okay, this might be, people might hate me for this, but it's also weird if he has a basket, I feel like. Who gave you that? Why do you have a basket? Either you live at home or you had a long-term girlfriend. Then there's nothing between, and both of those are, like,

can be scary. A million percent. Yeah. Like, you can only carry that in just a duffel bag or like, I swear to God, like, Grocery bag's fine. Grocery bag. Yeah. It's just, it's, there's something wrong. Like, there's something wrong. I agree. And then like, water shoes. Like, if we do any aqua sports, Water shoes.

But, like, guys really are out here wearing them, a.k.a. my ex. With the toes? You know who's with the toes? Oh, my God, with the toes. We stayed at the Four Seasons in Hawaii. That makes me ill. It's disgusting. He actually wore water shoes. And I was just, like, was wearing it around the Four Seasons. And, yeah, that was the last vacation we went on. But.

I digress. All of it's just trapped in there. You're getting so hot and like it's like slopping around inside of your shoe. Just take your shoes off and be a man. And we're not doing like that advanced of a sport in the water where you need the water shoes. It's not the Olympics. No. Just like we're at a water park. Right. You're snorkeling. Yeah. Oh, then we don't need those. Like just.

I'd rather you wear flippers, you know? Like, honestly, I really would rather you do that. But he also had his own snorkeling gear that he brought, like, from home. Like, you know resorts will give you it? He brought his own. It's okay. My ex wanted to go on a bike ride, and I have, like, my little, like, boardwalk bike. He, come to find out, was a cyclist, so he would clip in. Oh, my God, no. Clipped in at a time. And I was like...

This isn't the kind of cycling I thought it was like a cute little like little trek around the neighborhood. I didn't know it was like... Yeah. He's bringing his bike. He's bringing his shoes and his helmet. Fuck it. Knee pads in case. So the shoe... I'm assuming the shoes look like the SoulCycle shoes. Yeah, it's like Peloton and he would just take off. And I'm like...

A little pink. You're probably going to have a little basket and a belt. You're like, this is about the aesthetic. No, it's like, why do you, why does, I feel like sometimes men treat like simple things as like Olympic sports. Yeah. It really needs to stop. So he can own a bike, but it can't be like one of those really high end ones. Why do we have to clip in? We don't need to clip in. Absolutely not. And honestly, that sounds like a safety hazard for all the people walking on the boardwalk to be going that fast. Yeah, slow down. Just

What's the speed limit? Slow down, honestly. Okay. So I want to move on from relationships. However, I do have one question, which is it true? Did I read this correctly? You had a boyfriend who cheated on you and the way he found out was fans told you because they saw him at Coachella. Yes. So I, this is what happened. I was at Coachella.

I was actually performing that year. So I was going on with The Lost Kings, which was so awesome. That's a fucking brag. It was great. But my best friend Brooke was in the crowd for Harry Styles. I didn't go. I was tired. I just wanted to sleep. Yeah. So I was like, have so much fun at Harry Styles. I'm so happy for you. She comes back and she's like, oh my God. I'm in bed like, what?

Right. She's like, you'll never guess what just happened. I was like, what? So she was in the crowd at Harry Styles. And you know how like when you're waiting, you just kind of talk to the people around you. This girl was talking to her and she was like, what are you doing tonight? And she said, oh, I'm going to a birthday party. My birthday party was that night. The girl was like, oh, who is it? She's like, oh, it's it's Lauren. And she didn't say that she was my best friend or anything. She just said like, oh, Lauren Gray, whatever.

And she didn't want the girl to be like, can I come? You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. Like, whatever. For sure. So she says, oh, wasn't she dating da-da-da? And Brooke was like, yeah, I think so. Like, playing dumb? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And she said, that's so funny because he hit me up while they were together. And Brooke ran back from the Harry Styles concert. She's like, can I tell you something? And-

Uh, that's how I found out that. Um. That's a kind of crazy fucking way to find out. Yeah. Also, I mean, shout out that girl for like putting your ex on blast. I love that. But also, did it, it sounds like a kind of a brag. It was like a flex. That's not a flex. That's not a flex at all. He's not that cool. I mean, at that point, I didn't really care anymore. I did. I cared enough to tweet about it.

Was this the astronaut? Yeah. Well, I guess, you know what? That's one way to find shit out. Yeah. Make friends. Everyone's like rolling on Molly. Like, you know, they'll tell you what's up. I guess. Everyone's like an open book. Honestly, at that point, I cared enough to tweet about it, but I was over it relatively quickly because I was like, you suck anyway and I'm not missing out. Good for you. Sometimes you just need to like hear something to like really like end things. Yeah, I was like, check. That's it. Thank you. Yes. That's another thing I won't break up with someone.

I'll just let it just do its thing, which is not cool. Yeah, I... Like to let things go on. I need to work on this, but I let it simmer for way too long. Same. I let it fizzle. And then like when I broke up with my ex on New Year's, I just messaged him and I was so bad of me. I broke up with him over text. I was so mean. I was like...

Listen, you and I both know, and I knew he was in love with this other girl that he had been telling me that he missed. So I was like, listen, we both know. Maybe we can be friends one day. Go be with her.

And I think that's what Rachel Lee thinks. And that's what we did. Okay, that's not rude at all. Or did you not say the rude part? You're keeping the rude part. Oh, no, it wasn't. It was just rude of me to like break up with him over text. But I also am such like I'm such a coward. Same. I tried to do it over text and he showed up to my apartment. See, that my heart would fall through my ass because if someone showed up to my house and

I'm not answering. I will be at the window like this. Yeah. I didn't X tape like pictures of me that he had cut up and like letters and stuff to my door like a serial killer. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Back up real quick. He cut out pictures of you? What, made like a collage? No, he had like a letter. And then he had like Polaroids that were like on his wall that he took off and cut.

Like cut into me. My mom still lived with me. She saw him pull up. She was like, don't go outside. Don't turn your light on. I was like, okay. Shout out mom. And she waited for him to leave because he was also really scary. Yeah. He sounds like a little bit. He bragged about like not taking his meds. Oh, okay. And I was like, and then I was like, please, like you should do that. Yes. And then.

And when we broke up, he's like, I swear I'll take my – I was like, no. I got to go. It was three months. Did he tape the letter and the pictures on? They were like stuck to my door. I don't know what he used. I don't want to know. You really – you attract guys that are into arts and crafts is like kind of the vibe I'm getting. So true. Maybe –

You're just like a creative soul. I don't know. We should look into that. You should bring that up to like your therapy. Oh, wait. Well, actually, you don't do therapy, I think I read also. No, I haven't. Well, if you ever do, maybe that's like something you could look into. Yeah, I've had some things. Why is everyone so creative? Guys that love arts and crafts just flock to me. And it's so morbid. Like cutting up photos of me. Now you're drawing pictures of people that you're mad at. That's – yeah. And –

I feel like I'm also so like, I don't do like, I'm not a yeller screamer. I'm like, I sit and I listen and I just won't talk. Same. So maybe that's why maybe I'm too open. Like, I don't close off that. Like, I leave it open for interpretation too much. You know, it's like.

free range to be insane yes I mean I think if I've ever done anything have you ever done anything crazy I'm trying to think if I have oh my god have I or haven't I is a better question yes I have acted completely ridiculous never that creative though I don't think I've ever drawn like I know be crazy for like I do that too I'm like wait you don't do that you didn't see the fridge

Like, wait, that's weird that you don't. Like, you're literally up there for being late. Speaking of Coachella, you did something brilliant where you outed people who fake attend Coachella. Yeah.

I want you to walk me through that. Is there anyone notable? You don't know about this? I mean, I know people do it, but I don't know someone personally. Like, do you know someone personally that's done it? Yes. You're like all of LA. Like most people. And I feel like it came across that I was hating. I wasn't hating. If you want to go to the Valley and have a good time, go for it. But so many people are like, feel like...

feel bad that they're not there or have FOMO. I'm like, they're not there. Yeah. I don't think that's you hating at all. No, it was just kind of like a fun fact that I've always found like, like entertaining. Let's be real. Yeah.

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People go to Coachella Valley, they'll go to parties or whatever, and they'll take pictures like Coachella Day 1, Coachella Day 2 at the little Airbnb. They're not there. Okay, I knew it happened similar to how people will take pictures on that private jet that's like stationed somewhere, you know what I'm talking about? Why? But I thought it was just kind of like a rumor, but like there are literally people who do that. Why? Why?

But I didn't know they take it to the extent where they drive hours to Indigo, California, buy the outfits, do the hair, and post. But okay, here's my thing. Some influencers make a lot of money. It's great. Like I've been able to do cool things.

Why can't we just be normal? Like, why do we have to pretend that we have more money than we do or that we're... Who are we flexing on? The general public? Why? Why? Never once have I seen someone on a private jet and been like, fuck, they're cool. Yeah. I've been like, who paid for that? And I know that was expensive. And just business class is fine. Yeah. Like, why are we... Who are we flexing on? Yeah. And flexing that you go to a music festival...

Yeah. Like, you know what? A Nobel Peace Prize? Like, that's what I'm going to fake. Flex your college degree, you know? Why are we flexing on, like, people who don't care? Why are we flexing that you paid, I don't know, $400 and secured a ticket to a music festival? Like, that doesn't take talent or anything. No, it's just, like, I feel like it's easy to get caught up in this mentality of, like, oh, I have to prove how successful I am. Yeah. And my thing is, like,

If you know you're successful and you're confident and secure in that, who are we flexing on? Then you don't feel the need. I don't like being flexed on. So mean. It is. It is mean. Take me with you. But also, I think it's just as a society, yes, most things we see on social media are fake, but I do think we're a little bit more over it and the whole highlight reel is not as appealing. Which I'm happy about. Same. Because I...

I don't know. It's easy to be like, oh, wow, everyone else is doing so much better than me. And then you find out they're driving two hours to get on a fake private jet and like driving to Coachella Valley to pretend to be at Coachella. It's all it's all there's so many facades. Oh, my gosh. Wait, are you a Taylor Swift fan?

Huge. Okay, beautiful. Huge. Did you go to Eris? Sorry, I just have to talk about this. No, I haven't seen her, but please, I'm going to live vicariously through you. I'm like, I don't know what made me think of it. I think it was like a really cool experience. I was thinking of cool experiences. I want to see her so bad. How was it? Incredible. Life-changing. Well, the first time it was...

It was amazing. Like, I went with my two best friends. We were in the VIP tent, which was awesome. Thank you so much, Taylor. Thank you. But then the second time kind of sucked because there was a lot of, like, people who were, like, kind of clowning us for being fans, which you would think wouldn't happen at a Taylor Swift. Yeah, why were they there? People that I looked up to, too, like –

That were just not very nice to me. Were they like other influencer people? Okay, can I like go on a little rant really quick? Yeah, absolutely. So yes, actors. And there was, you know, an actor there that I recognized and she sat next to me.

And she was so, like, condescending almost. Really? And I was, like – I was excited because I knew 1980 when I was coming out. Her speak-and-out dress that she does Enchanted in is usually purple. She came out in a blue one. Boom. Like, it's happening. So my friend and I are freaking out. I was like, we were right. And this girl looks at me and she's like, what does the blue dress mean? And I was like, well, it's usually purple. Da-da-da. Did the whole spiel. And she looks at her friend and she goes –

it's usually purple oh like making fun of you I was like oh get fucked like I'm having a good time I'm here to enjoy myself I love Taylor if you don't go home why are you here and it was so upsetting to me like it frustrated me so much and I know people are probably gonna get mad at me for something that I just said but no I was so infuriated because I was like why like that's the you know what that's the same bitch that when you and your friends were singing along and screaming that behind you she was like oh

Like pretending, screaming and like right to her friend. That's what I'm saying. Go get fucked. That's what I'm saying. Like why? Why? And it's like we like know you and like looked up to you and then to like be at a Taylor Swift concert and making fun of Taylor Swift fans is a crazy thing. That's my happy place. Also just I just I know I'm going to sound ridiculous but I am a self-proclaimed girl's girl and I always have been.

I don't understand why women are mean to other women. Having fun. Like, it's not even like I did anything. If anything, I was trying to help her because she kept asking me questions and then repeating me to her friend condescendingly. I hate that shit. And I was having so much fun that I didn't want to stop the party. Yeah. So I couldn't care in that moment. But then afterwards, I was like, dude, you're...

Yeah. You're the worst. But, I mean, she was being rude to you for absolutely no reason. And probably because you are a really beautiful girl. You're having the best time. And she just wanted to be a hater. And I just – I don't like girls like that. Don't do that shit. Like, it's so easy to just shut up and let someone have fun. Or just don't show up at all if you're going to be like that. Right. Jeez. That's – I told my mom. My mom was so mad. My mom was like, why was she – Why was she even there then? To disrespect Taylor also. Bye. That's what I'm saying. And I'm like –

That's another thing is like even though Taylor does not give a shit, I was like, you're disrespecting her. Like this is her show. You're disrespecting everyone that's here because we're having a good time and that's what it's supposed to be about. I hate that so much when girls will mimic my voice. I mean sometimes my friends or shit will do and it's funny to me. But if a girl is doing it and genuinely trying to be rude, I'm like, just shut the fuck up. Okay. So true. Lauren, I do want to ask you one thing before we have to wrap up, which –

you dropped your album guilty congrats thank you you were signed to a record label now you're an independent artist which congrats on that as well thank you um when you were with said label they wanted you to come out and say you were bisexual yeah when you're not yeah can you tell me what that conversation was like

So I was in a meeting and no one liked the songs that I was writing. They were not pop enough. They really wanted me to be like a Britney Spears-esque artist and that's just not what I wanted to be. So I went to a meeting and they were going to play me a song that they –

were pitching to me to record. And I was listening to the song and I write music. So I was listening to the words first and foremost. And it was like, I like girls and girls who like boys and boys who like girls. And I was like, did y'all listen to the song? And he was like, it's a hit. If you don't take it, someone else will. And this was like one of the presidents. And I was like, I can't sing this. This isn't like...

This isn't me. He's like, well, it's a hit. It's a hit. It's a hit. I was like, I'm not going to come out as bisexual so that I can have a hit. Like, that makes no sense. So I...

I just pushed back. And then after that, they kind of – Fuck with you as much? The plainest way to put it is they didn't fuck with me. Yep. So which was fine. Like I'm glad they didn't fuck with me because I could go do my own thing. Yeah. Blessing in disguise. Yeah. But what a crazy way to do that, right? That's a –

It's a very crazy way to do it. And it's just like, I remember Demi Lovato tweeted something. This was a while ago where she went to her record label and asked, like, you know, how can I advance my career? And they told her to, like, go viral, like, on TikTok, like, something. And she was like, but I want to be known for my music. And that's not, you know, the way I want to do it. Which is a very different situation, but it's just...

It goes to show like how just low like they're willing to go. Yeah. In that kind of industry and setting. I mean, most parts of the entertainment industry suck. I...

modeled before I did social media and my mother agent would call me and yell at me for drinking a glass of milk. Like every facet of the industry has its terrible parts and the music industry is brutal and people do not give a fuck. Like it's everyone's so disposable, especially now with TikTok because it's instant virality and then you're done and then no one cares. And

a lot of, you know, sometimes when people have one song they can't push tickets and then no one cares anymore. Yeah. So I think as long as you're putting out something that you are proud of, that's, I don't know why I'm giving advice like I,

you're gonna go write your album. I mean, I actually was gonna ask you for advice because I'm gonna launch my music career. No, I'm just kidding. But no, I think you are so intelligent and just, you had to grow up really fast, but you are an old soul for sure. Stunning. You're so intelligent and thank you for sharing that. I,

I was about to say, so no, she's not bisexual, but I'm not going to comment on your sexuality. No, that is the comment. I'm straight. If something changes, maybe I'll go back and sing the song. Yeah, absolutely. But for now, I just couldn't do it. You're like, remember that one song? Could I actually, like, could I actually record that? You're like, that's the first thing I'll do if I decide to change. Yeah, I know. It's going to be hit. Yeah. I can't wait for that day. Okay, Lauren, thank you so, so, so much for coming on. Where can they find you?

Everywhere. Everywhere. Everywhere. Yes, my name is. And it's L-O-R-E-N, by the way. It is. And Sophia's S-O-F-I-A, by the way. Sophia with an F. Thank you. Okay, Lauren, thank you so much. And sleuths, I will talk to you next week. Bye.