When you have a fun cool dad that parties and does drugs with you at concerts and a mom who turns into a cruel Disney witch when she drinks, what you gonna do? GO TO AL-ANON! That’s what has helped today’s guest, Harper, who just recently has healed from the chaos of parents with substance abuse.

The amount of times Mav’s dad has failed at attempted suicide is dramatically humerus at this point. You gotta laugh at the dark stuff to get by and Mav did just that to stay sane.  In order to cope with her parents Mav had to live by the mantra and persona of being an ”everything’s fine” person. And that has stabbed her in the back.

Even though Noah has good parents, he still wound up in jail because of following his Dad’s cardinal rule ”honesty is the best policy” and to never lie.  The big lesson here is: 1) there’s no such thing as perfect parents. 2) don’t EVER tell the cops the truth when it comes to drugs. And 3) sometimes too much support can make your kid ill prepared for the reality of this cruel and manipulative world.

This one’s a doozy. Comedian Austin Train was raised by his grandma who is still with us today. Thank god. Austin joins me to talk about his complicated relationship with his mom who has always put herself first and his distant dad who’s trying to make it right.

Melanie Mary’s mom went to jail the same time her dad was getting out. And now she is confronting her abandonment issues by taking her life into her own hands and putting herself first for once. Looking after parents when they haven’t looked after you your whole life is something many abandoned children struggle with and face resentment. I’m guilty of it. But in Melanie’s case, she has been taking care of her mom with stage four cancer, only to learn that her mom will never be the mom she wants her to bye.

This one is a wild one. Lara’s dad plays dead just so she will come and visit him and tend to his needs. Most kids grow up playing pretend with their parents but in Lara’s case it wasn’t to entertain her childlike imagination, but to calm her dad down from his hallucinations. From pretending to pick glass out of his arm to calling the fake FBI, Lara has always been catering to her dads opioid addiction and hypochondriac paranoia. Meanwhile, dealing with a mom that doesn’t exude the most loving energy.

Kelly was my ideal guest because she lets it all out with tears and yelling. YES! A true comedian and great daughter. Even though she has a great relationship with her parents she still got a little screwed up. Trying to maintain the peace, being mindful of her parents feelings and feeling guilty for her flaws, Kelly works hard at being a perfect daughter. But it will never be enough. As she explains, aka erupts, in this episode. Even when you come from a solid family it can take a lot to maintain that happiness and we end up parenting our parents. Follow Kelly https://www.instagram.com/thisiskellyryan/?hl=en

Physically abused by his mom, sent to disciplinary boarding schools and outdoor wilderness programs for troubled kids, Zach has been through all the discipline.  Being the youngest, Zach endured a lot more anger from his mom and was still able to forgive her. Talk about working on yourself and coming out on top!

The women who took everything, his moms. You thought Rob’s dad was bad? Wait until you hear what his stepmom AND birth mom did once his dad was gone. Just when Rob was doing well in school and starting to land on his feat, both of the women in his life abandon, betray and steal from him. This is ep is a two parter because there are truly two key chapters in Rob’s life where his parental figures f***d him over. Through the help of Rob’s teachers and his own persistence, he overcame his family hurdles and turned out pretty damn good.

”Do you want the long or short version of how I almost killed my father” Comedian Rob Smallwood was pushed to the limit by his abusive father. And when it was time to defend his family he almost took his dads life. Just when he thought he was in the clear and on his way to live a normal life, his mom and stepmom did him dirty. There are two significant chapters in his life that his parents f***’d him over so this ep is a two parter. This week is about how Rob’s dad. Next week, we cover how his mom and stepmom both stole his college opportunities and money.

Erika’s mom left her at the age of 6 to go find herself. And despite everything, Erika has been able to forgive and reestablish a close relationship with her mom later in life. She shares how she discovered and got over her codependency, love bombs and unhealthy relationships. This Author, Executive Producer and Show Runner (AKA POWERHOUSE) has overcome her abandonment issues in a way I’ve never considered before.  I highly recommend her book ”Doing It Scared” https://www.amazon.com/stores/erika-bryant/author/B08W2DLFYR?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Ben’s smothering and paranoid parents pushed him to rebel in the most extreme way. Prostitutes, stealing and gambling was how he coped with pretending to be perfect for so long. Ben had to set boundaries in order to get back on track. But there’s a family secret that would probably help solve a lot of the issues. His daddy’s disowned and won’t say why. Which clearly comes out in his anger issues.  Follow Ben www.instagram.com/benherwitzcomedian And check out his new podcast Ben The Menace

Comedian Julia Austin became a teenage detective when she caught her dad having a provocative phone call with someone other than her mom. That’s when she was determined to catch him in the act.  Julia talks about the lengths she went to, to get encourage her parents to get a divorce and the impact her Dads affair had on her physical health. Now that her dad is with the ”other woman”, Julia and her siblings are a second thought compared to the pretty pretty princess that broke up her family.  But that didn’t stop Julia from having such a healthy and grounded outlook on the situation. Julia should write a self help book about how to look past your parents flaws.  This girl is smart as F***.

It’s time to shed some light on Mommy issues and there is no better person to broach this subject than producer, writer, actor, Claire Cavalheiro. Claire’s mom is a flow blown narcissist and after years of emotional abuse Claire had no other choice than to cut her out. But goddamn are some of these stories SO funny!

Comedic personality Sharon Fredrickson spent the majority of her life trying to make Daddy proud and get his approval. So much so that she followed a career path and achieved material success that made her miserable in hopes of getting his approval. Although her dad likes to knock her down (emotionally not physically, phew), Sharon is still one of the most authentic and hilarious I-don’t-give-a-f*** people I’ve known. Listen, she DID almost blow it and ruin her relationship but she bounced back. Sharon can teach ya thing or two about sticking up for yourself. Catch Sharon on  @REACT   @People Vs Food  Listen to more eps of WHOA,DAD! anywhere you get your podcasts. Watch this on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VxIT99mM8g Follow Sharon on: TikTok: @sfredrickson1 Instagram: @sfredrickson https://www.instagram.com/sfredrickson/?hl=en Follow me on: TikTok: Nikkibon Instagram: Nikkibon You actually wanna venmo us? WHOA, THANKS! Sharon’s Venmo: @sfredrickson My Venmo teehee: @nikki-bon If you like what you see and wanna donate and get extra content sign up for https://www.patreon.com/nikkibon

Part 1 we talked mostly industry. In Bobby Lee PT 2 we get down and dirty with what I’ve been waiting for, his daddy issues.   If you’re a new listener I highly recommend, after this, starting at ep 1. Watch full interview on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV1Pg8uYM3E

The great Bobby Lee’s here subbing in for Bobby the dad. You may know him from Mad TV, his stand-up specials, his podcasts or every show out right now. But I know him for his daddy issues. K that’s not what stands out about him. But he wouldn’t be where he is today if it wasn’t for the abusive relationship he had with his dad. Bobby’s outlook on life childhood trauma is pretty inspiring. Damn, there’s just something so comforting about saying the name ’Bobby’ on the pod again.

This week it’s my boyfriend who is joining us. He’s here to give some insight and perspective on what he has witnessed throughout this whole process. He didn’t wanna do it but I made him. Poor guy. Not only has he had to deal with my daddy issues, but now he’s having to replace him on the podcast. I figured, may as well get Matt to fill the void as per usual.

Ryan and I realize that we fall under the category of Daddy Issues comics. Comics who are scared to ask for things because we are so used to disappointment that what’s the point? This isn’t a woe is me story, just a behavioral observation. In this ep, Ryan goes deep about his dad not defending his sister when she was sexually assaulted, what it’s like having a daughter of his own and his deep dark fantasies about killing his dad. Don’t worry he’s not gonna do it. It’s just what happens when you want validation so badly...you would kill for it.

Comedian Ryan Clark has just recently let his dad back in his life after having to take a step back to protect his daughter. With a dad who has anger issues and temperamental mood swings, Ryan’s been walking on eggshells his whole life. And Ryan’s here to share how he has come to terms with the fact that ”closure is a luxury”.