The Real Stuff with Lucie Fink

Dear Media
Dear Media
  • 4.6 (276)
  • Personal Journals
  • Updated Weekly

The Real Stuff is a weekly podcast series hosted by Lucie Fink who has spent the past decade getting curious and creating engaging and educational content for an audience of millions. On this show, you won’t hear your favorite guests talk about things they typically share — rather, Lucie pulls them deep into some of the world’s most taboo topics, asking intensely personal questions about sex, money, and mental health, all in an effort to help you feel less alone as you navigate through the world. And the best part: we want to invite YOU onto the show. Apply to call in as an anonymous guest at luciefink.com/apply. Pop in your voyeuristic headphones, or call in and spill your secrets! Visit Lucie on Instagram (@luciebfink) and find the show across social media @therealstuffpod

  1. 2d ago

    The woman who discovered she was trans at 45

    Today's audience caller is Chloe and she's a milestone guest for The Real Stuff: our first trans guest in three seasons! A couple of past callers with similar stories backed out right before we hit record, which tells you everything about how much courage this actually takes. I'm endlessly grateful to Chloe for being the one who said yes. Here's the twist: Chloe didn't discover she was trans as a kid, or a teenager, or even in her 20s. She was 45 years old and sitting in a UK office on her lunch break when she downloaded a FaceApp filter that gender-swaps photos. It started mostly as a joke. She pressed the button expecting to laugh. Instead, she disappeared into the bathroom for almost an hour, just staring at the picture. That was October 2023. What follows is Chloe walking us through absolutely everything—and I mean everything. The month she couldn't sleep. Coming out to her wife of nearly a decade (whose response was somehow even more generous than you'd hope for). Coming out to her parents, her job, eventually the whole world via a single Facebook post. The diagnosis process. And yes, the actual cost of transitioning, dollar for dollar and pound for pound. From NHS waitlists to $80,000 surgeries in California to significantly cheaper options in Thailand. We also get into a genuinely fascinating deep dive into the anatomy of the surgery itself.  Chloe, now separated and in her late 40s, is traveling solo, dating again, and finally—for the first time in her life—getting to be herself, out loud, in public. Thank you, Chloe, for trusting us with your story! Sponsors: Forkful: Head to https://forkfulmeals.com/LUCIE for 50% off your first order today! Ladder: If you have an iPhone, head to https://www.ladder.fit/REALSTUFF and get a free 7-day trial with no credit card and $10 off your first month. Watch this episode in video form on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjmevEcbh5h5FEX0pazPEtN86t7eb2OgX To apply to be a guest on the show, visit luciefink.com/apply and send us your story. I also want to extend a special thank you to East Love for the show's theme song, Rolling Stone. Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealstuffpod Find Lucie here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luciebfink/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@luciebfink YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/luciebfink Website: https://luciefink.com/ Subscribe to my free newsletter "The Lucie List" here: https://thelucielist.beehiiv.com/subscribe Executive Producer: Cloud10 Produced by Dear Media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    The woman who discovered she was trans at 45

  2. Aug 4

    The woman whose best friend "kidnapped" her nephew

    Today's audience caller, Betty, wrote in with a story I genuinely didn't know how to categorize when I first read it: she told me that her best friend "kidnapped" her nephew. Twice. Once for 19 days. Once for 93. But the deeper we got into it, the more I realized the headline doesn't capture exactly what happened here. Betty's wife is an identical twin. Her sister, Stephanie, married Carolyn, who quickly became Betty’s bestie. Being married to identical twin sisters, they had a lot in common. After years of trying to conceive (six rounds of IUI and IVF, and one devastating miscarriage), they finally had their son. Stephanie was on the birth certificate. She never missed an appointment. She planned the whole nursery. But she wasn't the biological mother, and in the eyes of the law, that distinction turned out to matter more than any of them could ever imagine. Betty walks us through watching her best friends' marriage quietly fall apart during a hard pregnancy, the night everything broke—a fight over a piece of paper that would have made Stephanie's parental rights official—and the 19 days that followed, where an entire family blocked their numbers, and a police station laughed off a mother's missing baby report. We also get into the messier parts: the advice Betty gave in the moment that she's still not sure was right, and the friendship she's not sure can ever be repaired. This episode exposes how fragile legal protection can be for non-biological parents, how a friendship can dissolve almost overnight, and how differently the same story can sound depending on who's telling it. Sponsors: Nutrafol: Visit https://www.nutrafol.com and enter promo code REALSTUFF for $10 off your first month's subscription and free shipping. Labcorp OnDemand: Visit https://www.OnDemand.Labcorp.com/realstuff and use code "realstuff" to save up to 15% on select tests. Watch this episode in video form on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjmevEcbh5h5FEX0pazPEtN86t7eb2OgX To apply to be a guest on the show, visit luciefink.com/apply and send us your story. I also want to extend a special thank you to East Love for the show's theme song, Rolling Stone. Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealstuffpod Find Lucie here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luciebfink/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@luciebfink YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/luciebfink Website: https://luciefink.com/ Subscribe to my free newsletter "The Lucie List" here: https://thelucielist.beehiiv.com/subscribe Executive Producer: Cloud10 Produced by Dear Media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    The woman whose best friend "kidnapped" her nephew

  3. Jul 28

    I’m writing a novel. Here’s how it’s going.

    Today's episode is a little different. It's just me, going deep on something I've never fully unpacked before: what it's actually been like to write my first novel. I take you back to 2023, when I tried to sell a nonfiction book about the science of curiosity—and how both publishers I was in talks with pulled out of the auction the morning it was supposed to happen. I thought that was the end of my book-writing chapter. It wasn't. Fast forward to January of this year, one conversation with Michael turned into an idea for a psychological thriller (think Gone Girl meets Severance), and within three hours of posting a single Instagram video announcing it, a literary agency reached out wanting to represent me, before I'd written more than two pages! I get into why that happened, what it says about the power of a platform in 2026, and the very unglamorous reality of book proposals, 43 chapter summaries, and my own "fatal flaw" as a writer (spoiler: I can't write a messy first draft to save my life). But this episode isn't really about publishing logistics. It's about the strange split between the person you think you know from my videos—grounded, married, happy—and the darker, stranger stories I've always needed somewhere to put. Sponsors: Labcorp OnDemand: Visit https://www.OnDemand.Labcorp.com/realstuff and use code "realstuff" to save up to 15% on select tests. Spindrift: Visit https://www.drinkspindrift.com and use code "lucie" for 15% off. Cotton: Learn more at https://www.TheFabricOfOurLives.com ButcherBox: Go to https://www,ButcherBox.com/realstuff for $20 off your first box, plus your choice of free ground beef for life, or free chicken thighs or top sirloins in every box for a year – with free shipping always. Watch this episode in video form on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjmevEcbh5h5FEX0pazPEtN86t7eb2OgX To apply to be a guest on the show, visit luciefink.com/apply and send us your story. I also want to extend a special thank you to East Love for the show's theme song, Rolling Stone. Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealstuffpod Find Lucie here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luciebfink/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@luciebfink YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/luciebfink Website: https://luciefink.com/ Subscribe to my free newsletter "The Lucie List" here: https://thelucielist.beehiiv.com/subscribe Executive Producer: Cloud10 Produced by Dear Media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  4. Jul 21

    The Woman Who Built a Career Photographing Naked Strangers

    Today's guest spends her days looking at women in various states of undress, and somehow, the whole thing is a lot less sexual than you'd think. Meet Nomi, a boudoir photographer who splits her time between a jungle studio in rural Jamaica and a loft space in Brooklyn. For the past decade, she's been helping women feel at home in their bodies, one photo session at a time. On the surface, this is a conversation about a unique profession involving lingerie, nudity, and how to pose for a sexy photo. But underneath it, it's a conversation about womanhood, body image, and healing. Nomi shares how recovering from the eating disorder she developed at 16 shaped the philosophy behind her work. She talks candidly about why so many clients apologize for their stomachs, why boudoir sessions can unexpectedly bring sexual trauma to the surface, and why she believes the industry is quietly becoming a form of art therapy. We also dive into the business side that most people never consider: why she prices her sessions the way she does, what it's like to run every part of her business as a one-woman show, and how she built a career that's as emotionally demanding as it is creatively fulfilling. Along the way, she shares the unexpected story of how she met her husband in a Facebook group for Jewish singles before ending up on a farm in Trelawny, Jamaica. Listen for the moment she compares a boudoir session to a trip to the gynecologist. It's an analogy that completely reframes what professional comfort with nudity actually looks like—and it may change the way you think about the vulnerability of it altogether. Follow Nomi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boudoirbynomi/?hl=en Work with Nomi: https://boudoirbynomi.com Sponsors: Labcorp OnDemand: Visit https://www.OnDemand.Labcorp.com/realstuff and use code "realstuff" to save up to 15% on select tests. Alaya Naturals: Visit https://www.alayanaturals.com/realstuff and enter code REALSTUFF at checkout for 20% off your order. Forkful: Head to https://forkfulmeals.com/LUCIE for 50% off your first order today! Watch this episode in video form on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjmevEcbh5h5FEX0pazPEtN86t7eb2OgX To apply to be a guest on the show, visit luciefink.com/apply and send us your story. I also want to extend a special thank you to East Love for the show's theme song, Rolling Stone. Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealstuffpod Find Lucie here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luciebfink/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@luciebfink YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/luciebfink Website: https://luciefink.com/ Subscribe to my free newsletter "The Lucie List" here: https://thelucielist.beehiiv.com/subscribe Executive Producer: Cloud10 Produced by Dear Media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    The Woman Who Built a Career Photographing Naked Strangers

  5. Jul 14

    The woman who sold everything to travel the world with her baby

    Today's audience caller episode is one I’ve been so excited to share. Riana is a travel blogger (http://teaspoonofadventure.com) who, after having her daughter in early 2025, did something most new parents run far from: instead of taking a typical parental leave, she and her husband sold almost everything they owned and spent nine months slow-traveling through Canada, France, the UK, and Spain—with a five-month-old baby and their dog in tow. At first glance, this is a trip story. But really, it's a story about permission. Permission to build a life that doesn't fit the mold, permission for a dad to take 15 months of paternity leave when most take a few weeks, and permission to feel the FOMO and the exhaustion of new parenthood while still choosing adventure over fear. We get into everything: how her husband's paternity leave became the centerpiece of the plan, the family pushback (“you’re taking my grandbaby away!”), and how they kept relationships close despite being thousands of miles apart. Riana also opens up about money in a way most people never do. She breaks down the full cost of the trip, exactly how much her travel blog earns per month, and where they blew way past their budget. My favorite part of this conversation is when we get into the "vacation vs. trip" debate and how Riana found unexpected joy in the parts of travel she never would've chosen for herself before becoming a mom. If you're a parent, a soon-to-be parent, or just someone who's ever wondered "could I actually do this with a baby?”—this one's for you. Here’s that article from the Huffington Post: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/vacation-or-trip-a-helpful-guide-for-parents_b_7789310 Sponsors: Magnetic Me: New customers get 15% off sitewide at https://www.magneticme.com Quince: Go to https://www.Quince.com/REALSTUFF for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Labcorp OnDemand: Visit https://www.OnDemand.Labcorp.com/realstuff and use code "realstuff" to save up to 15% on select tests. Spindrift: Visit https://www.drinkspindrift.com and use code "lucie" for 15% off. Alaya Naturals: Visit https://www.alayanaturals.com/realstuff and enter code REALSTUFF at checkout for 20% off your order. Watch this episode in video form on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjmevEcbh5h5FEX0pazPEtN86t7eb2OgX To apply to be a guest on the show, visit luciefink.com/apply and send us your story. I also want to extend a special thank you to East Love for the show's theme song, Rolling Stone. Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealstuffpod Find Lucie here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luciebfink/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@luciebfink YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/luciebfink Website: https://luciefink.com/ Subscribe to my free newsletter "The Lucie List" here: https://thelucielist.beehiiv.com/subscribe Executive Producer: Cloud10 Produced by Dear Media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    The woman who sold everything to travel the world with her baby

  6. Jul 7

    The Ballerina Who Became NYC's Top Fertility Doctor

    Today's guest is Dr. Kolbe Hancock, a fertility specialist at Spring Fertility in New York City—but before she was delivering babies, she trained to be a professional ballerina. Kolbe's path took a hard left turn at 16, when a hip injury from years of overuse (and an unhealthily low body weight) ended her ballet career overnight. It was in the aftermath, interning at an orthopedic clinic for dancers, that she witnessed something that changed her life: dancers so calorie-deprived that their bones resembled those of women decades older. That was her lightbulb moment into reproductive endocrinology. In this episode, we get into it all: what actually happens in your body when you lose your period from undereating, why she calls your menstrual cycle a "vital sign," the years she spent (like me) not truly understanding her own cycle while on birth control, and what it's like matching intended parents with gestational carriers and egg donors.  We also don't shy away from theethics, including where the field is headed as genetic testing on embryos becomes more advanced, and the uncomfortable questions that it raises about what parents should be "allowed" to select for. If you're in the trying-to-conceive world, or just want to understand your own body better, this one is a masterclass. Visit https://www.springfertility.com to book an initial fertility consult to learn more about your reproductive health. Use code REALSTUFF for $150 off the consultation. Watch this episode in video form on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjmevEcbh5h5FEX0pazPEtN86t7eb2OgX  To apply to be a guest on the show, visit luciefink.com/apply and send us your story.  I also want to extend a special thank you to East Love for the show's theme song, Rolling Stone.  Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealstuffpod  Find Lucie here:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luciebfink/  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@luciebfink  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/luciebfink Website: https://luciefink.com/  Subscribe to my free newsletter "The Lucie List" here: https://thelucielist.beehiiv.com/subscribe Executive Producer: Cloud10 Produced by Dear Media. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    The Ballerina Who Became NYC's Top Fertility Doctor

  7. Jun 30

    Audience Callers Talk About Sex

    Today's episode is about sex. And I know that word alone is enough to make some people skip past this one — which is exactly why I wanted to make it. This episode is a little different from our usual format. You'll hear from audience callers who responded to our casting call asking for your spiciest, most unexpected sex stories. What we got back was so much more than I anticipated — hilarious, raw, surprising, and genuinely human. But first, you'll hear excerpts from my conversation with Vanessa Marin, a licensed sex therapist with over 20 years of experience who joined me to bring some real expertise to the table. My conversation with Vanessa includes a 30-day kissing challenge she and her husband actually did, the concept of "the ick" and what gratitude research says about relationship satisfaction. We also chat about her GET intimate technique: three surprisingly simple things that can rebuild connection even in the driest of dry spells. Then you'll hear a clip from my full conversation with Melanie, which is available as its own episode linked below. Melanie is deeply involved in the BDSM community, and what I expected to be a conversation about kink turned into a deep dive on trust, communication, consent, and something called subspace — which I genuinely had never heard of before. She completely shifted some of my assumptions, and if this clip intrigues you, I highly recommend going back to listen to the full thing. And finally, you'll get a taste of my conversation with Emily — also linked below as its own full episode — whose story starts as a spicy, unusual submission and takes a turn I truly didn't see coming. There's a chicken coop. There's a sensory deprivation box. There's a lot more I'm not going to spoil here. What I will say is that this one goes somewhere I never expected, and I think it's one of the most unexpectedly moving conversations we've had on this show. These are real stories from real people — and I think that's exactly the point. So many of us feel like we're the only one having the experiences we're having. We're not. Follow Vanessa: https://www.instagram.com/vanessaandxander/?hl=en Listen to Melanie's full episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-real-stuff-with-lucie-fink/id1724982367?i=1000763998066 Listen to Emily's full episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-real-stuff-with-lucie-fink/id1724982367?i=1000752856564 Sponsors: Clean Simple Eats: Clean Simple Eats is undeniably clean and 100% delicious. Shop the best-tasting protein drinks at https://www.CleanSimpleEats.com  Spindrift: Visit https://www.drinkspindrift.com and use code "lucie" for 15% off. SKIMS: Shop SKIMS Fits Everybody collection at https://www.skims.com/realstuff #skimspartner Ogee: Go to https://www.ogee.com/LUCIE and use code LUCIE to get 20% off certified organic makeup that performs like luxury. Labcorp: Visit https://www.OnDemand.Labcorp.com/realstuff and use code "realstuff" to save up to 15% on select tests. Watch this episode in video form on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjmevEcbh5h5FEX0pazPEtN86t7eb2OgX  To apply to be a guest on the show, visit luciefink.com/apply and send us your story.  I also want to extend a special thank you to East Love for the show's theme song, Rolling Stone.  Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealstuffpod  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Audience Callers Talk About Sex

  8. Jun 23

    My Entire Weight Gain Journey: the numbers, the struggles & the truth

    I’m finally talking openly about my body — something I've sidestepped since I first started posting online. I've always had a naturally slim frame, and from the moment I started sharing myself on the Internet, many people in the world had something to say about it. In a world where most people are trying to lose weird, I know having a naturally slim frame isn’t a relatable starting point for most people. But I'm done dancing around it. I'm walking you through my entire weight gain journey: how a gallbladder surgery and a later celiac diagnosis changed my body in ways that had nothing to do with how I wanted to look, the unsolicited comments I've gotten from strangers online for years, and why I finally decided — for reasons that have nothing to do with the comments — that I wanted to get stronger and put on some healthy weight. I get into what I've learned from working with a health coach, the realities of trying to build muscle and nourish my body intentionally, and why this has been a slower and more complicated process than people might assume. I also talk about one of the wildest lessons of this whole experience: no matter what your body looks like or what you post, someone will tell you it's wrong. I've heard it from both ends now, and I have thoughts. Sponsors: Labcorp: Visit https://www.OnDemand.Labcorp.com/realstuff and use code "realstuff" to save up to 15% on select tests. Spindrift: Visit https://www.drinkspindrift.com and use code lucie for 15% off. Alaya Naturals: Visit https://www.alayanaturals.com/realstuff and enter code REALSTUFF at checkout for 20% off your order. Rhoback: Use code REALSTUFF at https://www.Rhoback.com for 20% off your first order through the end of this week. Watch this episode in video form on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjmevEcbh5h5FEX0pazPEtN86t7eb2OgX  To apply to be a guest on the show, visit luciefink.com/apply and send us your story.  I also want to extend a special thank you to East Love for the show's theme song, Rolling Stone.  Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealstuffpod  Find Lucie here:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luciebfink/  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@luciebfink  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/luciebfink Website: https://luciefink.com/  Subscribe to my free newsletter "The Lucie List" here: https://thelucielist.beehiiv.com/subscribe Executive Producer: Cloud10 Produced by Dear Media. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    My Entire Weight Gain Journey: the numbers, the struggles & the truth
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4.6
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About

The Real Stuff is a weekly podcast series hosted by Lucie Fink who has spent the past decade getting curious and creating engaging and educational content for an audience of millions. On this show, you won’t hear your favorite guests talk about things they typically share — rather, Lucie pulls them deep into some of the world’s most taboo topics, asking intensely personal questions about sex, money, and mental health, all in an effort to help you feel less alone as you navigate through the world. And the best part: we want to invite YOU onto the show. Apply to call in as an anonymous guest at luciefink.com/apply. Pop in your voyeuristic headphones, or call in and spill your secrets! Visit Lucie on Instagram (@luciebfink) and find the show across social media @therealstuffpod

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