{"id":108309,"date":"2021-09-21T22:57:56","date_gmt":"2021-09-22T02:57:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=108309"},"modified":"2021-09-21T22:58:27","modified_gmt":"2021-09-22T02:58:27","slug":"horror-sideshow-market-february-15-16-2020-story-photos-by-janel-spiegel-2-2-3-4-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=108309","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley #IMOMSOHARD: The Getaway Tour | By: Janel Spiegel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Interview By: Janel Spiegel <\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Interview with Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley #IMOMSOHARD: The Getaway Tour<\/p>\n

Girl\u2019s Night Out Round 2<\/p>\n

Wind Creek Events Center in Bethlehem, PA<\/p>\n

September 24, 2021<\/p>\n

Showtime: 8:00PM<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The comedy duo Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley of #IMOMSOHARD took time to talk to The Valley Ledger about their upcoming tour. They will be appearing at Wind Creek Events Center on Friday, September 24th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

You can get tickets on the website. https:\/\/www.windcreekeventcenter.com\/events\/imomsohard-girls-night-out-round-2\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Moms are hitting the road again, with more fans than ever – and no one can make moms feel as uncomfortably normal as Hensley and Smedley. The Nebraska natives blend of honesty and humor resonates with moms and dads alike, proving these two have become the hottest tickets in town.\u00a0Both women write and produce the #IMSH series with a common goal: Maybe we can make you feel better about the job you\u2019re doing if you see the terrible job we\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

Their videos have received nearly 300 million views worldwide in just 5 years. The phenomenon that Kristin and Jen created has since been nabbed for development by Warner Brothers TV. The comedians have sold-out two national tours, written a New York Times Best Selling book, landed branded deals with Fortune 100 companies such as Wal-Mart and Uni-Lever, and taped a standup comedy special for Amazon Prime Video, launching the network\u2019s first standup comedy platform. They have recently premiered their weekly podcast and a children\u2019s book series with Harper Collins.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hi Kristin and Jen, I\u2019m so excited to talk to the two of you. I was watching a few of the YouTube videos and you two are hilarious. I can relate to some of the videos. I think all of have had a \u201cbang crisis.\u201d You are going through something and it\u2019s just let\u2019s cut the bangs, and then I regret it. The two of you are hilarious!<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Kristin<\/strong>– It\u2019s a struggle. I\u2019m struggling with them.<\/p>\n

I can relate. I think it will make everything better and it doesn\u2019t.<\/strong> <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n[Laughing]\n

Jen<\/strong>– What\u2019s wrong with the female brain?!<\/p>\n

Kristin<\/strong>– It doesn\u2019t, it\u2019s not the answer. It\u2019s almost better to go and get a tattoo.<\/p>\n

Oh, I\u2019ve done that too and I regret it.<\/strong> <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n[Laughing]\n

How did this amazing idea manifest for the two of you? #IMOMSOHARD?<\/strong> <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jen<\/strong>– Both of us were studying comedy and writing. We\u2019re friends and we\u2019ve been doing this for years. We had kids and it sort of took us out of the game. We noticed that most of the stuff out there for moms on social media was depressing or worse, it was telling you how to do what you\u2019re already doing better, which is just pressure.<\/p>\n

Kristin<\/strong>– Sometimes that even reaches out to women in general. It\u2019s kind of like, you hit this weight loss goal but if you can go ten more pounds. If you\u2019re wearing this outfit that\u2019s not good enough, you need to have a crop top on to prove something. It feels like it\u2019s an endless game where as with the other side of the gender it feels like their cool with the way they are. I think it\u2019s because they are cool with the way they are. I think Jen and I both felt like we wanted to make women laugh, we wanted to make it a good time. We didn\u2019t want to give advice, we just wanted to celebrate friendship, and a happy hour. We wanted to give it to everybody real straight.<\/p>\n

Jen<\/strong>– Rather than moan about our problems, we thought we would laugh about them. Low and behold two million women agreed.<\/p>\n

What can people expect from the new tour, and what are your expectations for this tour?<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jen<\/strong>– This is our third tour. It\u2019s totally different material. What we\u2019ve always loved about the shows is, it gets women out of the house with their friends that they haven\u2019t gotten a chance to connect with, or maybe they see them once a year, or on playdates. It\u2019s a time for them to get out, we call it like a Monster Truck rally for women. They get to cut loose, be themselves, and have a good time. They get to hear stories that may talk to them. It\u2019s a stand-up show.<\/p>\n

Kristin<\/strong>– We just want to make everybody laugh. We want everybody to feel like, when you come out, your batteries charged. If you see the show, you\u2019ll know exactly what I mean by that. We just everyone to nod their head in excitement, laugh a bunch, and then you go home going, okay, I can go into tomorrow with a better outlook.<\/p>\n

Jen<\/strong>– I\u2019m not alone in this.<\/p>\n

Kristin<\/strong>– Yeah, I\u2019m not alone in this crazy world that we live in right now. We try to touch on the pandemic quickly but it\u2019s more about friendship, being a woman, and marriage. All of the stuff that we deal with on a daily basis. Here\u2019s something that I will say, we\u2019ve seen an increase in the number of husbands that come to show, and that\u2019s been fun. We give them a hard time but they have a good time too.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s awesome. What would the two of you want to say to your fans or to new fans? What do the two of you want people to know from your perspectives?<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Kristin<\/strong>– Jen has a filthy mouth!<\/p>\n[Laughing]\n

Kristin<\/strong>– I\u2019m just kidding. Sometimes there is a trope of what women who are moms might talk about. I believe we are not that. We peel back the onion a bit, and we talk about life. We\u2019re not giving out parenting advice, we\u2019re having a good time. This is a night out with your girls, it\u2019s a little R-Rated, it\u2019s definitely a little naughty. We\u2019re not sitting around doing a motivational speech, we\u2019re down to have a good time, think of us as two boozy aunts at a bar.<\/p>\n

Jen<\/strong>– We do have women that come to the show by themselves.<\/p>\n

Kristin<\/strong>– They don\u2019t leave by themselves though, they make friends.<\/p>\n

Jen<\/strong>– Yes, it\u2019s kind of great because being a mom, being a woman, especially in the last year being a human being, you can feel kind of isolated.<\/p>\n

Kristin<\/strong>– It\u2019s heavy.<\/p>\n

Jen<\/strong>– Yeah, we\u2019re two best friends that make you our third best friend. We bring you in, you get to commiserate, and laugh and have a good time with us.<\/p>\n

Kristin<\/strong>– Hot guys, we talk about hot guys.<\/p>\n

Jen<\/strong>– Yes, hot guys.<\/p>\n

Sounds like a blast. What was something positive or creatively positive. Do you think the two of you took anything positive away from 2020?<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jen<\/strong>– Kristin learned to play the guitar. Are you kidding me!<\/p>\n[Laughing]\n

Kristin<\/strong>– If I was smart, I would have learned during the pandemic but we came up with this idea like six weeks ago. Yes, I think we tried to spin all of the things we had to deal with. I think we try to spin everything negative into a positive. For instance, we celebrate women who have done it all from their countertops in the kitchens. They are working from home, they have the kids, the husband is looking for his ear buds. Nothing is going the way it should but we should celebrate that we made it through the day at all. So, that\u2019s where we come from, it\u2019s the idea that we did it, we\u2019re here.<\/p>\n

Jen<\/strong>– We always say that we have to exist as a human, and keep other humans alive. Then we just threw in a pandemic the last couple years on top of that. No pressure.<\/p>\n

Kristin<\/strong>– No pressure at all.<\/p>\n

I know you both said you don\u2019t want to give advice, but moms are superheroes. What would you say to the moms out there and to women? Life can be so hard.<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Kristin<\/strong>– I think we\u2019ve always been in the camp of, do it anyway. You\u2019re never going to be ready or skilled enough. You\u2019re always going to be scared so, do it anyway. Eventually, you\u2019ll get better at doing it as you do it. It\u2019s from the spirit of when Jen and I started, our whole #IMOMSOHARD brand started on a tiny mistake or moment where Jen forgot her daughter\u2019s name in a video, and we knew in that moment that that was lightening in a bottle. Had Jen remembered Delilah\u2019s name, our videos might have taken a second to figure out what shiny object to follow. It was that moment that we were like, oh, this is it because I laughed so hard at her. It was the most hilarious thing I\u2019ve ever seen. It goes to show that a mistake can end of being the best shiny object that you can ever wish for.<\/p>\n

Jen<\/strong>– Yeah. We don\u2019t give advice, but I would give this tidbit of information that we learned which is, women are overwhelmingly supportive if you let them be. We have not run into the mommy wars on our page. It\u2019s the best bunch of women.<\/p>\n

Kristin<\/strong>– Yes, so lean in to that. Jen and I being in this partnership are the best thing because you can support each other on the way up, and you can also be each other\u2019s voice if you feel scared to say it yourself, you might not say it on behalf of yourself but you will say it on behalf of your friend. Also, you get to set the rules, I\u2019m going to quote Pretty Woman<\/em>, \u201cYou get to say who, you get to say when, you get to say how much.\u201d You do, you get to have a little control in that space. That feels empowering and cool so, I think women should work in partnerships more often.<\/p>\n

Will there be more books? I know the two of you wrote an amazing book?<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jen<\/strong>– We did write a children\u2019s book. We would love to write another one, we\u2019ve got so much to say.<\/p>\n

Kristin<\/strong>– Yes, for sure.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next after the tour?<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Kristin<\/strong>– It feels like we\u2019re juggling so many different opportunities at the same time. The tour is going to keep going into 2022 right now. I think during that time we\u2019ll continue to create content; we\u2019ll continue to write.<\/p>\n

Jen<\/strong>– We\u2019ll continue to be moms.<\/p>\n

Kristin<\/strong>– We will continue to sell our wine, not out of our car but we will if we have to.<\/p>\n

Jen<\/strong>– Yeah, we launched a wine line called Accomplice, it\u2019s for you to enjoy with your friends, your accomplice, or your partner in crime. We\u2019re really proud of that. We also have a podcast.<\/p>\n

Kristin<\/strong>– We have a lot to keep us busy.<\/p>\n

Sounds amazing. It was awesome talking to both of you. The two of you are hilarious. Thank you so much. Thanks for coming to Bethlehem.<\/strong> <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jen<\/strong>– Thank you.<\/p>\n

Kristin<\/strong>– Thank you, Janel.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.imomsohard.com\/getaway-tour-20212022<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Get Tickets<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.windcreekeventcenter.com\/events\/imomsohard-girls-night-out-round-2\/<\/a><\/p>\n

#IMOMSOHARD https:\/\/www.imomsohard.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Interview By: Janel Spiegel Interview with Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley #IMOMSOHARD: The Getaway Tour Girl\u2019s Night Out Round 2 Wind Creek Events Center in Bethlehem, PA September 24, 2021 … Continue reading Interview with Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley #IMOMSOHARD: The Getaway Tour | By: Janel Spiegel<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":108310,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1024,69,2575],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","category-in-the-valley","category-janel-spiegel"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/IMOMSOHARD.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108309"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=108309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108309\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/108310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=108309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=108309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=108309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}