Honest to Gob

Gemma Ray & Claire Morton

To keep up to date with the latest episodes, please follow Honest to Gob pod: Instagram - @honesttogobpodFacebook - @honesttogobpod If you'd like to see the video footage of this podcast episode, find us on YouTube. For Gemma @gemmadeeray www.gemmaray.com For Claire @the_purposepusher www.thepurpose-pusher.comProduction @Liverpoolpodcaststudios www.liverpoolpodcaststudios.com

  1. NOV 26

    The Rough & Ready Car Ride Colposcopy Confessional

    This week’s episode of Honest to Gob with me, Gemma Ray, comes to you straight from my headphones on the drive to Liverpool Women’s Hospital. No video version this week! My house is currently a DIY war zone, and recording at home aint happening as the windows get changed, the roof is completely off, and the builders are taking a sledgehammer to multiple walls. It's fine... this is fine... it will all be worth it! Not wanting to leave ANOTHER week without an episode, and knowing that you know this podcast will never ever be perfect and polished, I hope you'll forgive this rough and ready recording. I was on my way in for a colposcopy (AKA me, in stirrups with a doctor shoving a camera up my chuff to have a nosey at my cervix) after finally dragging myself to a smear test I’d put off for two whole years. When the nurse at my doctor's surgery spotted a growth on my cervix, that overdue appointment suddenly didn’t feel so easy to ignore. After sharing all this on Instagram before this journey was recorded, multiple women messaged to say they’d booked their overdue cervical screening.  CERVICAL SCREENING SHOCK NEWS IN THE UK Did you know? In the UK, cervical screening has just changed from every 3 years to every 5 years, meaning remembering to book your screening and NOT putting it off is more important than ever. If this episode encourages even one more person to prioritise their gynaecological health – no matter how awkward or embarrassing it feels – then the shaky car audio and pre-hospital nerves at having my *'salmon canyon' excavated were worth it. Honest, messy, slightly chaotic… welcome to Honest to Gob. *You'll have to listen to understand this awful description. Mentioned in this episode: ☕ Support the show → buymeacoffee.com/GemmaRay 📚 My books → Stop Procrastinating and Start Living, Self-Discipline, Stop Procrastinating in Six Steps (all on Amazon) https://mybook.to/spsl  📸 Follow for more → @gemmadeeray on Instagram & TikTok To keep up to date with the latest episodes, please follow Honest to Gob pod: TikTok - @gemmadeeray Instagram - @gemmadeeray Instagram - @honesttogobpod Facebook - @honesttogobpod If you'd like to see the video footage of this podcast episode, find us on YouTube here. Follow Gemma @gemmadeeray www.gemmaray.com Production (Episodes 1 - 29) @Liverpoolpodcaststudios www.liverpoolpodcaststudios.com

    17 min
  2. NOV 12

    Drills, Drama, and Milking Cows on a Digital Farm: My Mental Health Meltdown

    Drills, Drama, and Milking Cows on a Digital Farm: My Mental Health Meltdown Ever found yourself catastrophising over everything in your life, crying over a broken nail, and farming digital cows at 2am? Same. In this week’s episode, Gemma gets brutally honest about a full-blown mental health wobble triggered by building work, social services delays, sleep deprivation, and one highly addictive mobile game that saw her milking digital cows at 2am. From shaking on the sofa to finding solace in stand-up comedy and a ceramic heart that spells “hope,” this is a story about spotting the spiral before it swallows you. Expect:  • Unfiltered talk about the messy reality of mental health  • Real-life tools for spotting when you’re spiralling  • Lessons in self-trust, boundaries, and deleting the bloody games and things we're using to disassociate  • Proof that laughter (and speaking honestly with family and friends) might just be the best therapy Mentioned in this episode: It's Got Pockets Podcast with Sarah Knight Why Are We Whispering Podcast with Jennie ☕ Support the show: buymeacoffee.com/GemmaRay 📚 Gemma’s books: Stop Procrastinating and Start Living, Self-Discipline, and Stop Procrastinating in Six Steps all available on Amazon here: mybook.to/spsl To keep up to date with the latest episodes, please follow Honest to Gob pod: TikTok - @gemmadeeray Instagram - @gemmadeeray Instagram - @honesttogobpod Facebook - @honesttogobpod If you'd like to see the video footage of this podcast episode, find us on YouTube here. Follow Gemma @gemmadeeray www.gemmaray.com Production (Episodes 1 - 29) @Liverpoolpodcaststudios www.liverpoolpodcaststudios.com

    32 min
  3. OCT 29

    I Went Viral! (In More Ways Than One) | The Toilet Brush Story

    Gemma manifested going viral… just not like this. One vegan café, one potty-training toddler, and one silicone toilet brush later, she became the internet’s latest cautionary tale.  Three million views, a Radio 2 feature, and a lifetime’s worth of trauma (and Dettol). Gemma's mum’s always telling her to wash her potty mouth out, and apparently, the universe decided to get involved and help her do just that in the most shocking, horrendous and vile of ways. In this week’s episode, she relives the grimly hilarious story that made her go viral (in more ways than one), share how a parenting catastrophe became comedy gold, and chat to Rosie from Lokla - the mum who’s invented the toddler-proof toilet brush every parent now needs. Because sometimes, “shit happens” really is a career move. For the Lokla toddler-proof toilet brush waitlist visit: www.lokla.co.uk To help Gemma wash her mouth out with a coffee, consider showing your support for the podcast at www.buymeacoffee.com/gemmaray For helpful guides, planners and downloads to stop procrastinating and start living, visit www.gemmaray.com To keep up to date with the latest episodes, please follow Honest to Gob pod: TikTok - @gemmadeeray Instagram - @gemmadeeray Instagram - @honesttogobpod Facebook - @honesttogobpod If you'd like to see the video footage of this podcast episode, find us on YouTube here. Follow Gemma @gemmadeeray www.gemmaray.com Production (Episodes 1 - 29) @Liverpoolpodcaststudios www.liverpoolpodcaststudios.com

    36 min
  4. OCT 15

    Accidentally Unemployed (On Purpose)

    Eight weeks ago, Gemma left her job with 24 hours’ notice, expecting to take on another child through kinship foster care. That didn’t happen (for reasons she can’t go into), but what did happen was a huge wake-up call. She realised she couldn’t go back to the way things were. In this episode, Gemma talks about taking the scariest risk of her career - walking away from a job and colleagues she adored with financial security to focus on her own creative work.  The Honest to Gob podcast is growing, her content’s gone viral, and it is working… just not financially. Yet. So she’s clinging to her new mantra: “I don’t know how, but I allow.” Because stepping away from the grind has made her calmer, more present, and genuinely happier. It’s improved her marriage, her parenting, and her mental health. Now she just needs to figure out how to pay the mortgage without resorting to selling hairy bumhole pics on OnlyFans. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: ☕ Support the podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/gemmaray 🥦 Spice up your meals with HelloFresh! Tap the link to claim your discounted meals now 🎁 ⏰  🍽️  https://www.hellofresh.co.uk/freebox/MzM4NjgxNTYzLTItMC0xMS1HQg To keep up to date with the latest episodes, please follow Honest to Gob pod: TikTok - @gemmadeeray Instagram - @gemmadeeray Instagram - @honesttogobpod Facebook - @honesttogobpod If you'd like to see the video footage of this podcast episode, find us on YouTube here. Follow Gemma @gemmadeeray www.gemmaray.com Production (Episodes 1 - 29) @Liverpoolpodcaststudios www.liverpoolpodcaststudios.com

    28 min
  5. OCT 1

    Sort Your Life Out (But Not With Stacey Solomon, Apparently)

    I didn't know whether to be appalled or over the moon that I made it to the telephone audition stage of Stacey Solomon's TV show, Sort Your Life Out. Sadly, the TV appearance was not to be. However, I did do my own version of the show on my patio with a bajillion Barbie shoes and a shit load of patience. Because clutter was ruining my life. Clutter isn’t just “stuff”. It’s stress, guilt, procrastination, and sometimes nine washing baskets, baby rockers, Barbie shoes and air fryer boxes you’ll “definitely need one day”?  In this episode of Honest to Gob...  I spill the truth about my failed audition for Stacey Solomon's award-winning TV show, Sort Your Life Out Reveal my reluctant love affair with the local tipTalk about how hiring a professional declutterer was the best birthday present to myself everGet candid about the impact of watching the news about the LA fires in early 2025 and how it made me reevaluate my possessionsAnd talk about the surprising ways decluttering has changed my habits, stress levels, and even my cheese consumptionTo keep up to date with the latest episodes, please follow Honest to Gob pod: TikTok - @gemmadeeray Instagram - @gemmadeeray Instagram - @honesttogobpod Facebook - @honesttogobpod If you'd like to see the video footage of this podcast episode, find us on YouTube here. Follow Gemma @gemmadeeray www.gemmaray.com Production (Episodes 1 - 29) @Liverpoolpodcaststudios www.liverpoolpodcaststudios.com

    24 min
  6. SEP 24

    Parenting Without Losing Your Sh*t: An Honest Take on NVR (Non Violent Resistance)

    If you have ever thought “I cannot do this parenting sh*t anymore” or found yourself Googling “is it bad to hide from your children in the shed” this episode is for you. Author and kinship foster carer Gemma Ray did not exactly choose Non Violent Resistance parenting, now often called New Vision for Relationships, out of curiosity. She arrived at it like most parents arrive at desperate solutions, exhausted, tear-stained and one step away from waving a white flag and saying “I’m out.” NVR is not about being the perfect parent or making anyone else wrong. It is about keeping hold of the relationship between caregiver and child no matter how messy things get. For Gemma, that meant ripping up her old parenting rulebook, learning not to rise to every battle, and reparenting herself in the process. It was exceptionally hard, humbling, sometimes hilarious and completely life-changing. In this episode of Honest to Gob, Gemma tells the truth about how NVR stopped her from giving up on her foster children, why it is not about fixing kids, and how it helped her rebuild the very relationships she thought were broken beyond repair. She is not here to preach or hand out gold stars, just to share the tools that helped her stop shouting herself hoarse and start thriving in her family life, not just scraping by. This episode is not meant to be judgemental to anyone who parents in a different way. Parenting is deeply personal and often triggering. None of us want to feel like we are doing a crap job as mum, dad or carer. But what if there was another way? A way that might feel unnatural at times, but creates calmer homes and happier families all round? That's why this episode exists - to give you an insight into what Non Violent Resistance parenting is and how you could put some of the key themes and practices into action in your own family. To keep up to date with the latest episodes, please follow Honest to Gob pod: TikTok - @gemmadeeray Instagram - @gemmadeeray Instagram - @honesttogobpod Facebook - @honesttogobpod If you'd like to see the video footage of this podcast episode, find us on YouTube here. Follow Gemma @gemmadeeray www.gemmaray.com Production (Episodes 1 - 29) @Liverpoolpodcaststudios www.liverpoolpodcaststudios.com

    39 min
  7. SEP 17

    Take a Break Headline or Real Life? My Kinship Foster Care Story

    What happens when you think your family is complete, your husband’s had the snip, and then life hands you two more children overnight?  In this deeply personal episode, I open up about the unexpected journey into kinship foster care from the trauma, the family politics, the social worker chaos, to the moments I thought I couldn’t go on. It’s also a story of resilience, love, and learning. From newborn night feeds with bottle in one hand and laptop in another to compassion fatigue, therapy, and finding strength in the hardest of places... this is the truth about kinship care that you don’t see on the polished 'Become a foster carer' adverts. Peppered with humour (because that’s always been my best coping mechanism), I share how this experience broke me, rebuilt me, and taught me more about love, stress, and survival than I ever imagined possible. Most of all, it’s a story of hope: that even in the hardest seasons, you can find connection, growth, and a new kind of family you never expected, but grew to love with all your heart anyway. If you are a kinship carer looking for answers and support or to learn more about kinship care, please visit the Kinship charity website at www.kinship.org.uk  To keep up to date with the latest episodes, please follow Honest to Gob pod: TikTok - @gemmadeeray Instagram - @gemmadeeray Instagram - @honesttogobpod Facebook - @honesttogobpod If you'd like to see the video footage of this podcast episode, find us on YouTube here. Follow Gemma @gemmadeeray www.gemmaray.com Production (Episodes 1 - 29) @Liverpoolpodcaststudios www.liverpoolpodcaststudios.com

    52 min

About

To keep up to date with the latest episodes, please follow Honest to Gob pod: Instagram - @honesttogobpodFacebook - @honesttogobpod If you'd like to see the video footage of this podcast episode, find us on YouTube. For Gemma @gemmadeeray www.gemmaray.com For Claire @the_purposepusher www.thepurpose-pusher.comProduction @Liverpoolpodcaststudios www.liverpoolpodcaststudios.com

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