Rachel Griffiths disappeared for three months. It changed her life.
Rachael Griffiths on how she got through her "peak MID-hell years". Holly unpacks Meghan's very 'jammy' rebrand. And the real Chanelle on how the moment she confronted Belle Gibson EXACTLY went down.
We all know and love Rachel Griffiths.
Whether you first fell for her in Muriel's Wedding, got hooked during Six Feet Under, or more recently caught her in Total Control, she's been delivering incredible performances for decades.
Beyond the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, Griffiths, like so many Gen X women, has juggled a multitude of roles: acclaimed actress, outspoken activist, devoted mother, and innovative creator.
But even the most successful women hit their “peak hell mid” sometimes. And for Griffiths? That moment came in 2020.
At the height of everything, Griffiths chose to press pause. Speaking on Mamamia's MID podcast, the actress got brutally honest about that period of her life.
Midlife can be overwhelming at the best of times, let alone during the pandemic. Griffiths didn't sugarcoat this.
“I think 2020 was probably my peak hell, mid,” she said. “We had ageing parents who weren't doing well, my husband's father in nursing care… kind of feeling like you're failing your parents. You're kind of failing your kids.”
Like many parents, Griffiths struggled to support her children through the abrupt shift to remote learning, while also grappling with the physical and emotional shifts of perimenopause. “There was no fabulousness,” she lamented, recalling how even donning a glamorous gold dress felt strangely out of place amidst the daily chaos.
It was a period of intense pressure, as Griffiths navigated border restrictions while keeping her projects afloat.
“My attachment was kind of critical to finance, and for me to pull out of them may mean that crew for that was their only job in 18 months,” she said.
So, she worked. And she worked hard…
🎧 Follow below to listen to MID: Rachel Griffiths on how she just got through one of the most difficult times of her life.
Read and listen to more
LISTEN: Rachael Griffiths on Ride Like A Girl on No Filter
READ: Holly’s very honest guide to working with midlife women
LISTEN: The Exact Age A ‘Hot Mess’ Is No Longer Cute on Out Loud
HOLLY WAINWRIGHT: Royal jam, the little guy and Meghan's latest Big Mistake.
Oh, dear. Meghan Markle has made another oopsie.
She's changed the name of her jammy business from one that's already taken to another one that's already taken, and never have so many people been quite so expert at copyright law.
If you're not up to speed, here's the topline: On Tuesday, Meghan posted a video to her newly-invigorated Instagram feed to tell us that her lifestyle brand American Riveria Orchard was being re-named. It is now called As Ever. This was after soliciting hundreds of thousands of email addresses (including mine, obvs) but before any product materialised. As Ever, Meghan told us, is a partnership with Netflix, alongside her lifestyle show With Love, Meghan, which premieres in a couple of weeks.
The idea is to make Meghan's aspirational Martha-meets-Gwyneth show "shoppable". According to the trademark claim, products would include candles, tea-towels, birdseed, meditation blankets and, of course, jam. "Jam is my jam," she said in the video. Same.
By Wednesday, a New York clothing company posted a giant exclamation mark on their Instagram feed, because they are also called As Ever, and they suddenly had a lot of new followers. The Brooklyn-based label is small but classy. Their crisp white shirt looks exactly like one Meghan would wear, and retails for US$225. As Ever NYC's post threatened no legals (yet), but the message was clear — the intellectual property was theirs.
For Meghan, this is deja-vu. American Riveria Orchard ran into its own copyright issues. You can't copyright a place, apparently.
The small print of licensing agreements is rarely the stuff of celebrity headlines, but when any stoush involves a famous woman straying from her lane, we're all MBAs. Remember Kylie Jenner, who tried to legally protect her first name until Minogue got involved? Kim Kardashian, who had to change the name of her shapewear line from KIMono to the now globally-dominating SKIMS? Gwyneth Paltrow, who tried to get away with a line called Good Clean GOOP when there was already one called Good Clean Love? Yep, all that…
🎧 Follow below to listen to Nothing To Wear: Leigh Campbell and Holly’s top tips for building a wardrobe that feels authentic and comfortable—without the stress of chasing trends.
Read and listen to more
READ: 'I believe in my soul that Meghan Markle is trolling us and I'm eating it up.'
LISTEN: A Forensic Analysis of Meghan Markle’s Announcement on Out Loud
READ: LEIGH CAMPBELL: 'Every piece you need for a Holly Wainwright-inspired capsule wardrobe.'
The real Chanelle on how confronting Belle Gibson EXACTLY went down.
Chanelle McAuliffe arrived at Belle Gibson's doorstep unannounced, with a mutual friend by her side.
“We sat her down and I just straight out asked her if she had cancer,” the con-woman's former friend told Mamamia's True Crime Conversations.
McAuliffe's confrontation of Gibson in early 2015, a few weeks before the launch of her book The Whole Pantry, has been turned into a gripping six minutes of television in the new Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar.
The show claims to be a fictionalised drama series inspired by the book The Woman Who Fooled the World, which was written by the two The Age journalists McAuliffe shared Gibson's lies with, Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano, who went on to break the story in the media.
Gibson was exposed to be a con-woman, who'd duped the world into thinking she had brain cancer — launching an entire wellness brand on the pretence that she was using healthy food and ‘alternative’ remedies to cure herself.
McAuliffe was the first to cotton onto her lies, and the show portrays her intervention (played by Aisha Dee) with Gibson pretty accurately. It's just in reality, it was much more painful and drawn out.
“[We were there] quite a few hours. It seemed like forever at the time,” she told True Crime Conversations.
At first, Gibson accused her of interrogating her.
“She was acting very defensive. She started to slump down in her chair and say that she felt sick and was acting kind of faint which, at that point, I kind of knew that maybe this was another tactic of hers.”
The whole reason McAuliffe had the confidence to hold the intervention, was Gibson's 'performance' at her own son's fourth birthday party. It was that moment in mid-2014 that changed everything…
Read and listen to more
LISTEN: The full interview with Chanelle on True Crime Conversations
READ: What happened to the money Belle Gibson ‘fundraised’ for 5-year-old Joshua's terminal cancer.
LISTEN: What Netflix Got Right About Belle Gibson on The Quicky
THE SCROLL 📱
5 things to feed your mind and fill your soul.
1. Weekend Watch: This new Pamela Anderson movie will have you glued to the screen.
2. 'Fauxzemic' gummies and patches are all over the internet. But are they legit?
3. Michael Hutchence and Paula Yates asked Bono to be Tiger Lily's godfather. He said no.
4.'I'm a sleep expert. Here are 6 things you can do for the best sleep of your life.'
5. Why Lindy Klim ended her marriage and left Bali with just two suitcases.
ICYMI 👀
Leighton Meester is joining the cast of Nobody Wants This. And apparently, Channing Tatum's dating a 25-year-old Aussie. Every hidden detail in the new Bridget Jones movie that will bring a tear to your eye. The story those ‘cute’ images of Elon Musk and his son don't tell you. The White Lotus is back, but a ‘taboo’ moment could derail it.
MID-SPO STYLE 👗💄
There's nothing quite like a fresh chop to make you feel shiny and new. It's that magical combo of ‘I’ve got my sh*t together’ and ‘why didn’t I do this sooner?’
This year is apparently all about the ‘blunt bob’, ‘fairy cut’, ‘three tired layer’ and the ‘mixie cut’.
Pondering a fresh do?
Check out this year’s hair trends from Glam Girl Gabi below ⬇️
Our pick of what’s new in beauty, home and style on Mamamia this week.
'The $13 product that makes me look more put together in seconds.'
'The easy meal I recommend everyone makes to impress the whole family.'
11 pairs of cool sneakers to shop that aren't... Adidas Sambas.
The 'Sparkly Method' is the one decluttering hack you need to keep your home organised.
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