Q&A With Audrey McClelland

Women like to talk. And we like to talk about, well, everything. So when TLC decided to launch a commentary series featuring some of the country’s funniest women venting and speaking the truth about being a woman in today’s society, they reached right into our lovely little state and grabbed Audrey McClelland—social media consultant, brand advocate, and established founder of MomGenerations.com—to join the conversation.

What is #WhatSheSaid all about?
It’s a real conversation about women, by women. I love that when I was brought onto the cast, their main advice was to just have fun. We were asked over 100 viewer-submitted questions about life, marriage, kids, motherhood, sex, beauty, and more. It was great to be able to share a funny side of myself!

How did you get involved with the show?
I auditioned for the show in the spring of 2014, after they had seen my blog and YouTube videos. I thought I did terrible with my audition. Everything that could go wrong went wrong. My Skype kept freezing up (audition was done via Skype), my fan had broken, and, of course, it was an unusually HOT day, so I was sweating like crazy. I felt off. Fortunately, I got another shot and from there, it evolved into what it is today!

What was the funniest or most embarrassing moment for you while filming?
There were tons. Let’s put it this way: I pushed the envelope a bit during the filming. I talked about marriage, sex and funny things about my personal life. I was able to meet almost every one of the amazing women in the cast and we had so much fun, with endless laughing behind the scenes.

We’ve watched you online and in numerous TV lifestyle segments. Were you nervous appearing on a show?
Yes. I was nervous because this was my first real TV gig. I’ve never done TV like this before – everything I do is on my blog, or in a segment, which I have control over. This was a different animal for me. Are there things that I said that I was like, “OMG! Why did I say that!?” Yes. But it was all in good fun and such a positive experience to step out of my norm.

What do you think the biggest difference in being a mother today versus being a mother when your mom had you is?
I feel like with social media, it’s a whole different ball game. Information is immediate and the messages out there for moms are all over the place. I can’t imagine having had Facebook, Instagram and Twitter when I was a kid. I see how difficult it is to manage the social footprint of my own kids while keeping as much as I can contained and controlled. I also think with social media, there are too many opinions for moms to deal with. I just wish at the end of the day all moms would just have the same mantra: This is the best version of me and all that matters is that my children are filled with love, safety and health.

You have 5 children and a successful career. What is your best piece of advice for managing it all?
Everyday feels like a merry-go-round. No one day is the same. I feel like it’s just important to have a balance, so to speak. I try my best to limit work time when the kids are home from school, and to keep my life in compartments. I love my kids. I love my husband. They are my inspiration. I also love my work. It’s not always easy to do it all at 100%, but I try. And I have to forgive myself if one day, one is doing better than the other. I feel like the biggest and best advice I’ve ever gotten is to just “own it.” To know when I need to put the brakes on and know when I can hit the gas in each area.

What is your best piece of motherhood advice?
My best advice is advice I got from my own mother: Enjoy the ordinary days with the kids. She has always told me to embrace the random Tuesday afternoons and not just the birthdays, celebrations and milestones. The days you really want to remember are going to be the days of “nothing.” Cherish the ones of snuggling and making cookies and putting on band-aids. And believe me, I do.

Were there any personal stories that you kept off-limits and wouldn't talk about on the show?
I didn’t touch the topic of in-laws. I have a good relationship with them and I want to keep it that way! Although, I have prepped my mother-in-law for the (ahem) sex topics.

#WhatSheSaid premiers new episodes on October 2 at 10:30 pm. More information can be found at TLC.com/whatshesaid.