Episode 49: Amanda Kloots on Taking Care of Yourself, Finding Happiness After Loss, and Her Incredible Story About Love and Grief
Amanda Kloots is an actor, co-host on The Talk, best-selling author, celebrity trainer, and placed fourth place on Season 30 of Dancing With the Stars. But beyond her insanely impressive resume, Amanda is helping others cope with grief and loss. Amanda lost her husband and the father of their infant son, Elvis, to complications from COVID-19 in July 2020. She wrote the book Live Your Life: My Story of Loving and Losing Nick Cordero to honor his memory and share her healing journey through loss. In this episode, Josie and Amanda discuss what helped Amanda through the grieving process (including the "two inches away" concept) and how she became more connected to her spirituality. Amanda also shares how she prioritizes her mental health, and stories about her start on Broadway (she was also a Rockette, NBD) to how she became a celebrity fitness trainer and TV personality. This episode is a powerful one about going through loss, experiencing deep love, and knowing what you want out of life.
SHOW NOTES:
This week on The Everygirl Podcast, Josie sits down with television personality, author, and former Rockette Amanda Kloots to discuss Amanda’s career journey, perspective on health and fitness, and above all, her experience with grief. The episode begins with Josie asking Amanda to explain her dancing career at Radio City Music Hall and on Broadway. Amanda explains the difference between performing as a Rockette versus performing as part of a troupe on Broadway, and how her dance training transferred to her current relationship with health and fitness. Josie asks Amanda why she wanted to start her fitness platform, AK! Amanda discusses the turning point in her life, at age 32, that caused her to pivot from Broadway towards sharing her workouts on the internet. She then explains how she wound up on television after making that career pivot, and her roundabout journey to becoming one of the hosts of “The Talk.” The conversation then takes a hard pivot toward’s Amanda’s experience with grief after losing her husband, Nick, in March of 2020 to COVID-19. Josie begins by asking Amanda whether she is ever triggered by being asked about Nick so often in interviews, and Amanda responds by explaining why grief is so important to talk about so openly. She says that writing her book about Nick’s life and death, titled Live Your Life, was a crucial step in her healing process and continues to help her process the experience of losing her husband and her son’s father. Amanda notes that having a written account of this time in her life will ultimately translate into her parenting of her son, Elvis, as she teaches him about the life his father lived. Josie asks Amanda how Nick’s death impacted her faith, and Amanda goes into the fortification of her faith that occurred when she began to see signs of Nick’s presence in her world even after his death. Josie and Amanda discuss the “two inches away” concept that helped Amanda through her darkest periods of grief. Finally, Josie asks Amanda how she prioritizes her mental health, including how she boosts her mood and how she calms down during times of stress. The episode closes with some rapid-fire questions for Amanda, including her favorite foods.
Must-Listen Moments:
[5:05] Amanda’s career journey as a Rockette, Broadway ensemble actor, television personality, and author
[12:23] How did a healthy relationship with exercise change Amanda’s life and help her regain control over her circumstances?
[19:16] Why it is crucial to talk about grief and loss, as well as Amanda’s personal grief journey after losing Nick
[30:28] What is the “two inches away” concept, and how did it change Amanda’s perspective about grief?
[41:01] Amanda’s strategies for prioritizing her mental health
More from The Everygirl:
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