Episode 75: Your Best Years Aren’t Behind You: Reinvention, Aging & Starting Again with Former NBC Connecticut Anchor Kerri-Lee Mayland

Episode Description: What if getting older isn’t about becoming less relevant, but becoming more yourself?This week, Christina and T sit down with Emmy Award-winning journalist and former NBC Connecticut anchor Kerri-Lee Mayland for a conversation about reinvention, aging, friendship, career pivots, and why some of the best parts of your life may still be ahead of you.For decades, Connecticut viewers knew Kerri-Lee from behind the news desk. After more than 25 years in television news, health challenges and the pandemic forced her to rethink the life and career she had worked so hard to build. What came next wasn’t an ending. It was an entirely new beginning.Kerri-Lee turned a longtime love of interiors into The Kerri-Lee Mayland Company, expanded into writing and lifestyle media, continued learning new skills, and helped create Meet Me on Monday, a Connecticut gathering centered around local businesses, collaboration, and real-life connection.And at 55, she’s still asking: what’s next?We talk about what happens when a career becomes part of your identity, the fear of becoming a beginner again, friendships changing as you change, caring less about other people’s opinions, and why women need to stop treating a certain age like a deadline.Kerri-Lee also shares what she wishes she knew at 25, what getting older has actually given her, and what she would tell the woman who feels stuck, behind, or convinced she missed her chance.There’s also a very PIPA full-circle moment: Kerri-Lee originally found Christina and T through the podcast, only for them to discover that they had basically been neighbors all along. Since then, she has become one of the podcast’s biggest cheerleaders, a connector of women, and someone we feel incredibly lucky this little pink podcast brought into our lives.In this episode:• Leaving behind an identity you worked decades to build• Kerri-Lee’s transition from NBC Connecticut anchor to interior designer and entrepreneur• Starting over and being willing to become a beginner again• Why reinvention doesn’t have an expiration date• What 55 feels like compared to 25, 35, and 45• Confidence, beauty, boundaries, and caring less about what everyone thinks• How friendships and circles change as we do• Finding new people in unexpected chapters of life• Why women are craving in-person community• The story behind Meet Me on Monday• Building a career that doesn’t follow a straight line• What Kerri-Lee believes younger women should know about getting older• Why your most exciting chapter may be the one you haven’t started yet💗 Pink SpotlightEach week, we highlight a moment, product, or practice that’s bringing us joy:Kerri-Lee: Westmore Beauty Body Coverage Perfector. Her secret for covering veins, discoloration, bruises, scrapes, and all the evidence of being slightly accident-prone when she wants her legs looking flawless.Christina: Fit For You. After nearly five years of mostly working out at home, Christina has officially joined a gym again. She’s been mixing strength and weight training with reformer Pilates and loving having both styles of movement in one place a few times a week.T: Meta glasses. T and her husband both swear by them. She loves being able to listen to audio without AirPods, but the real win is capturing little moments with the kids without constantly having her phone in her hand. More present, while still getting the memory.Connect with Kerri-LeeOn Instagram& her design businessFOLLOW ALONG 💗Follow Pretty in Pink Again for more conversations about motherhood, friendship, identity, aging, relationships, and figuring out who you are in every new season of life. We're on Instagram @prettyinpinkagain and now on Facebook! You can also find us individually on Instagram at @christinatarabishy and @kristinabontempo.If this episode resonated with you, follow, rate, and review Pretty in Pink Again. It helps more women find the show and allows us to keep having the conversations we all wish we were having more often.Hey PIPAS! Send us a text for episode feedback, ideas, and questions!