What Women Are Talking About
With Love, Meghan Sussex, The Oscars, Trump & Zelenskyy, having too much stuff, the truth about truths, domestic violence edutainment + Severance outie disappointment.
Welcome to What Women Are Talking About - the shiny new name for the Outlouders newsletter. This is your weekly curation of what woman are talking about. We’re all over the internet so you don’t have to be.
Get comfy and grab a rainbow fruit platter. Let’s do this.
With Love, flower sprinkles.
For the uninitiated, Meghan Markle (sorry, Sussex) and Prince Harry signed a massive $100 million Netflix deal after leaving royal duties in 2020. With Love, Meghan dropped this week as Meghan’s first solo project; a lifestyle/cooking show where she hosts celebrity friends (some more celebrity than others) at a borrowed mansion down the road from the ex-Royals’ own pad in Montecito, California.
The premise is that Meghan makes everything from preserves to pasta while chatting about life. Yes, preserves, not jam. Now, everyone appears to be in one of two camps about it. Those who hate watch and complain how earnestly boring it is and those who want a break from the grim news cycle and are enjoying the sheer prettiness of it all.
In truth, With Love, Meghan is exactly what you’d expect—personalised beeswax candles, flower sprinkles liberally adorning everything without a pulse, and the word ‘hostessing’ used as a verb. Of course, we’re watching with the knowledge that Meghan attracts ridiculous levels of vitriol online. But this show is entirely harmless, and we’re here for the entertainment value.
Is it ridiculous? Absolutely. Is it hurting anyone? Absolutely not. Will we keep watching? Well, a second season has already been announced so pass the blood orange mimosas and don’t judge us.
READ MORE:
Meghan Markle’s show proves the royal family missed a trick.
The one Netflix scene that changes how you see With Love, Meghan.
Listen below to our full review of With Love, Meghan on Mamamia Out Loud.
Oscars 2025: The glitz, the glam and the gossip.
Timothée Chalamet rocked lemon banana launching a raft of Paddle Pop memes, Demi Moore was a vision in sparkling silver sequins and Ariane Grande held space for a Schiaperelli gown inspired by a lampshade*. The Oscars 2025 has officially been and gone but behind all the glamour, plenty of drama was unfolding.
Karla Sofía Gascón made history as the first openly trans actress nominated for a lead Oscar, then promptly made headlines for all the wrong reasons. Controversial tweets about Islam, George Floyd, and previous awards shows had everyone distancing themselves from her faster than celebrities from a box office dud. Karla skipped the red carpet entirely but stayed for the show and host Conan O’Brien’s jab in his opening monologue.
While to the surprise of many, Demi did not end up clutching a Best Actress Oscar for her role in The Substance (that award went to newcomer Mikey Madison for Anora) the real story might be Hollywood’s embrace of women over 40. From Isabella Rossellini to Pamela Anderson, mature actresses are commanding leading roles with the kind of complexity once exclusively reserved for their male counterparts.
Looking at recent Best Actress winners – Michelle Yeoh (60), Frances McDormand (63), Renée Zellweger (50) – it seems the tide might be turning. Is Hollywood’s notorious ageism finally getting its long–overdue makeover? Or is this just a glittery illusion on awards night?
*No snark. Designer David Roseberry paid homage to an Alberto Giacometti lamp found in the Schiaparelli archives with the shape of Grande’s dress and pimped the gown with more than 190,000 crystal sequins, rhinestones, and beads.
READ MORE:
All the best and most outrageous looks from the 2025 Oscars After Party.
How do you sit down in these dresses? A very serious investigation.
Against all odds, Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner are thriving at the Oscars.
Adrien Brody just won an Oscar. The last time he was on that stage it turned into a scandal.
Listen to the full Oscars 2025 discussion below.
A White House confrontation just changed the face of global politics.
The news cycle has been wild so far this year, but nothing tops the extraordinary scenes between US President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office.
What should have been diplomatic pleasantries quickly descended into an uncomfortable display with Trump accusing Zelenskyy of being “ungrateful” for US support, warning he was “gambling with World War Three,” and ultimately delivering the blunt ultimatum: “Make a deal or we’re out.”
The meeting ended with Zelenskyy being asked to leave earlier than scheduled – a diplomatic slap rarely seen in White House meetings.
As the confrontation went viral across social media, complete with dramatic camera angles perfect for sharing, we’re left wondering, is this what international diplomacy looks like now? French philosopher Guy Debord would call it a perfect example of “society of the spectacle” where politics is performance art with potentially world–changing consequences.
Listen below to Mamamia’s news podcast The Quicky to hear Trump and Zelenskyy’s meeting unpacked.
One of us is horrified by her Severance outie.
Too much damn stuff.
In news that will surprise precisely no one who’s currently drowning in a sea of childhood books, more serving platters than friends and a home that’s testament to poor buying decisions, we’ve got too much stuff — and the only people happy about it are the owners of storage companies.
Divorce, inheritance and indecision all play a part in the storage unit boom (the industry turns over $2 billion a year in Australia alone) which is why clutterbugs are facing a renewed reckoning from their families.
It’s why in a recent Sydney Herald Morning article, Lisa Martin urged, “Hey Boomers, for your kids’ sake please ‘Swedish Death Clean’ the house.”
But what is Swedish death cleaning? Well, while it’s less fun than meatballs or stylish furniture, it is arguably more important.
In short, it’s the philosophy of decluttering your home well before it’s too late — and the Swedes as a nation are here for it. Think of it as a semi–holy ceremonial tidy–up that allows you to confront the end of your life pragmatically while gifting treasured items to family members who will cherish them. Hopefully.
As Martin explains, though it might sound morbid, döstädning (death cleaning) is about a ‘home edit’ to ensure your possessions have purpose. Swedish interior designer Johan Svenson says it’s about creating a meaningful space for both you and your loved ones.
And while decluttering is all well and good, the real questions lie in why we hold on to stuff in the first place — and the exact science of getting rid of it.
READ MORE:
The one decluttering method you need to keep your home in order.
I just discovered this specific hack for decluttering kitchen drawers.
This is how much I made after selling the stuff I cleared out on the weekend.
We discuss the topic of stuff on Friday’s episode of Out Loud. Listen below.
The MAFS and toxic relationships as edutainment debate.
When does reality TV cross from guilty pleasure territory into something genuinely concerning? That’s the question critics of Married At First Sight (MAFS) —Australia’s highest–rating reality TV show where complete strangers are ‘married’ by relationship experts in a non–legally binding ceremony — are asking, following disturbing events on the show.
For those who aren’t fans of MAFS, the show involves newly-created couples living together for several weeks after their pseudo weddings while cameras capture every moment. They attend weekly dinner parties with other couples and ‘commitment ceremonies’ where they decide whether to stay or leave the show. It’s designed as a social experiment about finding love, but has become increasingly known for drama and conflict.
The latest season features two relationships in particular that have sparked nationwide conversations about domestic violence, coercive control and the notion of TV producers fostering toxic relationships, all in the name of ratings.
Groom Paul Antoine punched a wall following an argument with his partner Carina Mirabile—a textbook intimidation tactic that domestic violence experts identify as a serious red flag—while Adrian Araouzou’s on–screen relationship with Awhina Rutene has viewers up in arms at his behaviour which they identify as early warning signs of coercive control. It’s worth noting that Araouzou was acquitted of domestic violence charges outside the show which begs the question: should he be appearing on MAFS at all?
On the one hand, MAFS might be inadvertently providing Australia’s most–watched education on red flags in relationships. On the other, while we know that reality TV has always pushed boundaries for ratings, there’s something particularly unsettling about turning domestic violence warning signs into entertainment—especially in Australia, where one woman is killed every 10 days by a current or former partner.
What do you think? Is MAFS sparking an important conversation by showcasing these red flags in relationships, or dangerously normalising them? Tell us your thoughts.
READ MORE:
My truth, your truth, the truth.
Everyone’s speaking their truth but are we all sick of hearing it?
Writer Cherie Gilmour recently voiced her frustration arguing that ‘my truth’ is often used as a catch–all for personal interpretations, sometimes masking poor behaviour and often blurring the lines between fact and opinion.
Cancer scammer Belle Gibson voiced her truth in the 60 Minutes interview where she held fast to the belief she had cancer despite zero evidence, while Oprah praised Meghan Markle for revealing her truth in an iconic 2021 soul-baring session. This last one prompted the late Queen’s memorable ‘recollections may vary’ statement.
So what is the truth on truth-telling?
Catch up on the discussion by listening below.