INTERVIEW
Hannah George | 01/04/2025
Motivated by a desire to meet new people and learn from the stories of those around her, Bobbi Althoff has entered the chat and at a time where her podcast series, The Really Good podcast, is soaring into the public eye. However, there’s more to it than meets the eye, as Bobbi shares with us her experiences balancing a busy schedule with motherhood and finding space to maintain some form of privacy.
With the pressures of social media and the opinions that come with it, Bobbi opens up about the importance of community and mental health, with therapy playing a big role. When it comes to the impact of trolling, Bobbi wants to set the record straight regarding people's perceptions of her.
"I'm very interested in other people's lives,” Bobbi explains. “I think I've learned a lot from my dad. When he talks to people, it's very much about them, rather than himself.”
"I want to get to know the person," Bobbi tells me, “I think when I'm having conversations with people, it's easy for them to start talking because I just ask questions. I ask a lot of questions, and I don't shy away from questions that I don't necessarily know the answer to.”
Bobbi isn’t afraid to be candid, whether it’s with her guests or with me during our interview. Her interviewing style is unapologetically her: witty, inquisitive, with a pinch of awkward.
Behind the scenes, Bobbi balances a busy career with being a full-time mum, where her kids take priority. There’s no break in between, as she cuddles and nurses her youngest on the other end of the phone- an honest reality that her work is never done, on or off the camera.
Just like many other mums, she’s had to carve out moments and interactions that weren’t just about motherhood. Still, aside from those moments, motherhood remains central for her. She confessing they are the best moments of her life, stress and all.
"Before I had kids, I already had so much anxiety about my future. Who am I going to be? What will I do? Will I get married?”
Bobbi tells me she would stay up at night thinking about it- a whole other level of anxiety.
“I have to be successful because I have two kids who depend on me. Still to this day, I lie awake at night, stressing out about what I am going to do next. How do I make this something that provides for my kids forever, and not just for right now? They are the most important people to me?”
Her honesty about the anxiety of being a parent is something I know many others bear the weight of. But Bobbi isn’t one to shy away from the topic, speaking openly about her journey to motherhood.
"In a way, I rushed into everything. I wanted it so badly because, as a child, all I had ever wanted in life was to get married, have kids, and be a housewife. I achieved all of that. I was so young. I was 22 when I had my first daughter, and at the time, I felt so grown up. I look at 22-year-olds now, and I'm like, Oh my God, you're a baby. And to think I thought I was so grown.”
Following the birth of her second child at 24, Bobbi found herself going through a divorce. Dusting herself down and picking herself up, she tells me about the uncertainty she faced at the time- this time knowing she had her kids to live for.
Having seen her career skyrocket on TikTok, with millions getting to know her, I’m curious about how she navigates people's perceptions. I ask what the internet doesn’t see behind closed doors.
"I think that people, in general, in my comment sections and across the internet, have this idea that I have no relationship with my kids. I know that's the number one thing people are quick to comment: ‘She left her children for fame’”.
She confides that it can be hard not to let people get into your head, as it’s the criticism she hears most often.
"I know I'm a good mother, and I know I show up and have shown up for my kids every single day. Just because I have a job does not mean I'm a bad mother. But I'm not gonna change their mind, so I need to stop trying to."
For Bobbi, although her job has challenging moments, especially in the fast-paced and ever-changing digital world, she learned to manage the pressures, while staying honest about the difficulty of keeping up. I ask whether she ever feels stuck, like many other creators do, in a constant state of content creation.
"Everyone who has an internet presence is in a constant state of needing to go viral. It gives you 24 hours of gratification, and then you're right back on the wheel, trying to get it again. It's hard because it puts a lot of pressure to constantly do something or be online.”
But her love for what she does brings moments of true gratitude.
“I feel really fortunate right now. For instance, I'm currently nursing my two-year-old while you talk to me. I know that there aren't many jobs where I can be here with my baby, talk, and do things. But I wouldn’t be being honest if I didn’t say it's mentally a very challenging job, because you're constantly comparing yourself to people who are all doing the same thing. Everybody's just comparing themselves to everything."
That constant comparison between creators and the digital footprints they leave behind is something Bobbi is particularly conscious of — especially when it involves her children.
"I don't want my kids to have a digital footprint they didn’t choose. I’m still not a fan when my mum shares stuff with me to this day. Even when she’d show pictures of me with her friends, I hated it. So I can only imagine that my kids would feel the same, if they started high school, and someone says, ‘Here are all these pictures your mom has posted of you.’”
“Imagine everyone knowing everything about you,” she adds. “I face so much hate online that I wouldn't want my children dragged into it. I want them to have an identity outside of me.”
Her strong belief in manifestation has shaped the direction of her career.
"I am big on manifesting. It’s not so much that I’m sitting there all day long saying, ‘I want this, I want that.’ But when I started the podcast, I had massive delusions about it. In my head, it wasn't a matter of if it would happen, but when.”
“Even now, I sometimes feel like I'm getting off track, especially as a mother. That's the hardest thing. There are so many 27-year-olds doing what I'm doing online, and their whole focus is on their career. My focus on my career is maybe 10% of my life, the other 90% is just being a mother. So, I have to remind myself that it's not a matter of when. I still have the same big goals for myself and I love that.”
Bobbi is known for her sharp wit and dry delivery – something I explain we love as Brits.
"I think I've always had the same sarcastic humour. I don't know why it came from. My parents don't have it at all. They're not funny. They're just not,” she laughs. “I have very dry humour, which a lot of people either find funny or not at all. But I often say what people are thinking and I enjoy that. I think it's the easiest and most natural thing to me and I can't imagine not doing it.”
I see the joy as Bobbi lights up about what she’s passionate about, but those moments aren’t exclusive to her work. She tells me what truly brings her the most happiness.
"I guess it’s cliche, but just being somewhere with my kids, doing something I couldn't afford without this career, those moments for them. One moment that stands out to me was when I took them to Hawaii. We were just in the water together, and I was completely unplugged. I was like, Wow - this is everything I could ever want in my life.”
“I have two people whom I love deeply, and who love me just as much - and I get to have a job that allows me to spend time with them as often as I want. Those are the moments I think I'm most full and whole."
And it’s that feeling of being whole with her children, that Bobbi works for. Those are the moments that she priorities and strives to keep creating.
Season 5 of The Really Good Podcast with Bobbi Althoff is available now.
Bobbi wears Hexter and Baines @hexterandbaines
Photography Kevin Sikorski @escaperealife
Styling Branden Ruiz @branden.ruiz
HMUA Shenise Sheena @shenisesheena
Styling Assistant Melissa Gomez
Hexter & Baines @hexterandbaines
HATC Alice Gee @alicesgee
Id Pr @teamid
Words Hannah George
