Meghan Trainor

Welcome, welcome, welcome to Armchair Expert. I'm Dax Randall Shepard. I'm joined by Lily Padman. Hi.

Good evening to you. Hello there. Good morning to you is what I meant. In reality, it's neither evening or morning.

It's 2.43 in your life. I'm telling. I'm telling. Which is 6.43 on the East Coast, so that would be a good evening.

5.43. What did you say? Oh, it's 2. Yeah, I'm sorry.

Yeah, you already tried fast math. It's blundered. I did. It was a story that happened in 2011.

The person's currently 30 and I said 19. Of course, they're 17 at the time of the story. It's huge. I'll be beating myself up all night over that.

I hope you'll rest assured. Today's guest is an award-winning singer and songwriter and television personality, Meghan Trainor, dealt his very first favorite musician and song. She used to sing all about that bass, about that bass, no trouble. Yeah, she sure did.

I love it. Her albums include Title, Thank You, Treat Myself, A Very Trainor Christmas, Taking It Back, and a new album out now called Timeless. Check that out and please enjoy Meghan Trainor. He's an entrepreneur.

He's an entrepreneur. He's an entrepreneur. He's an entrepreneur. Welcome.

Hello. These are coming. Are those a fancy for the concert? No.

They were much pinker. These are salmon, no? Yeah, those are salmon. They're very Nantucket reds.

Ooh. I cannot wait to hear about Nantucket. Look at your water bottle. Yeah, she blinked out.

I love her. It was for my second C-section. Oh, wow. You wanted to eventize the C-section by having that by your side or this was a reward for your C-section?

It was a gift. It was like, here's for the hospital stay. And I got more compliments on this bejeweled water bottle than my baby. And who gave it to you?

JoJo Siwa's mother. Oh my God. Wow. They bejewel everything.

I'm really new to this whole Stanley thing. And only because there's young people in my life do I even know about it. But I'm really behind the curve. So, an item like this that's so bejeweled.

This is expensive. I don't know. What would you pay for it, Monica? I mean, I bet JoJo Siwa's mother bejeweled it herself.

Really? Oh yeah, they don't sell them like this. That must have taken an eternity. Six to seven weeks.

Oh my God. Almost as long as it took you to incubate the baby. Yeah. I usually have a gallon around with me because I took a gallon a day or a half gallon if I'm exhausted.

But then quick trips like this, I was like, we need a smaller thing. So, have you figured out how many of these Stanleys equals a gallon? Three? Three, yeah.

I'm on two right now. And we have to go poly a lot while we're here? I pee two. Oh, you're good?

He was like, I'll step out. I was like, don't need two. Oh my God. I don't need that much noise.

I'm an open door kind of beer. How long dating a boy before you feel comfortable with a two? With a two? Yeah.

That took me a long time. Yeah, that's the one. It took me like a week. We were really like, we were velcro.

Day one, I was like, you're never gonna leave me. Day six, I was like, we're in love. Yeah. And then month one, I wrote our wedding song.

That we walked on the aisle too. Yeah, we're gross. I'm so jealous. Well, and it's helpful.

It's helpful. It's a real thing. But also, what I'm, I guess, proud of you of is you felt all those ways within six days, but you did date for a couple years before you got married. We like stretched out as long as we could to a year and a half.

Just for appearances. Yeah, just to make everyone else happy. I literally called my mom. I was like, when can he propose where people won't judge us?

And she was like, give it another few months. And I was like, no. Okay, now for sure, you'll be the first person I ever met that grew up on Nantucket. Really?

Yes, and let me bring you up to speed. I had no idea what was happening in that whole region of the world. But last summer, we went on vacation to Martha's Vineyard, which is right down the coast. It's the other island.

Is there a rivalry? It means, yeah. Really? Oh, yeah.

In the sports? Oh, my God. Oh, that super competitive island sports league? We all are.

Yeah, I'm sure. Tell me what the Nantuckety people think about the Martha Vineyard people. I was in Martha's Vineyard and I got to hear kind of their... They think Nantucket is very bougie now.

So are they. Maybe God has a house there. Okay, we're getting into it. There's some Jaws there.

But Jaws isn't bougie. But it's like, he's iconic. It's iconic. It is very iconic.

When people ask me where I'm from, I'm like, you ever seen Jaws? That's where I'm from. And I call it all together. And when I really don't know, I'm like, cake pot potato chips.

Oh, everyone knows that. Yeah, woods pile, fairy, what is it? I don't know. What's the fairy?

We come out of... Oh, oh, oh. Woodhole. Woodhole.

Oh, gosh. I don't even know what the fairy's called. We just call it the fairy. This is a different.

In Nantucket, they just call it the fairy. In Martha's Vineyard, they call it the names. Woodhole? Well, that's the name.

Grey Lady, I think is what it's called. For the Nantucket fairy? Yeah, something like that. I think Robbie is on it, but it's called like Woods Hole or Woods Pile of Wood.

That makes sense. Yeah. Okay, so what did the Nantuckety people say? And mind you, it has evolved since you were born.

I'm 30 now, but they had more stuff than us. They were bigger. So when we went to their schools to play games, they had nicer, better, bigger things. And I was like, we're on a tiny little island.

There's less of us. We've got to be stronger together. Okay, so you had an underdog. Stomp your grapes.

Oh, that's so fancy to say stomp your grapes. I know. I'm going to make wine with you. Oh, wow.

Also, the notion that those two places would have rivals is pretty adorable. It's like, aw, too. We've got a lot of people everywhere. No one can just get along, even in Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.

And I've had people come up to me, they're like, I'm from Martha's Vineyard. So, like, what? I'm like, what? I've got a zoo.

And I was like, sir. Oh, that's their way of trying to talk to you. But it has become way more expensive since you grew up there, no? Probably.

I remember gas was like $6 when I last saw it. And the houses are quite nice. I don't think. I'm trying to get away from that side of the world so much.

But I love these modern chic houses in L.A. I didn't know it was possible because growing up there, there's rules. You can't build a certain way. You have to have shingles.

If you want a fence in the front, you have to ask permission. You can't paint your house. So the first time I came to California, and every house is different. I was like, where am I?

You could be neat over there. No matter how much money you throw into a big house, it's still going to be old and spooky. And the woodshake exterior. Yeah, and I'm like, there are ghosts here.

And that's so charming for us when we visit. Yeah, you're like, aw. Ew, it's moldy. I've been to your old house.

No, you haven't. Do you go in the house? Yes. Stop.

And it's gorgeous. Isn't that the most gorgeous house ever? It's so nice. I literally sobbed leaving that house.

Why'd you leave it? Because I was having babies, and my brothers lived with me at the time. And there's two bedrooms down on that wing. It was like the man cave wing.

And there was only one open bedroom right in the middle of them. And I was like, I don't want my baby crying in the middle of them, and I don't want them waking him up. And then I don't want to walk all the way. And I didn't think it's true.

I was like, bigger, let's go. Okay. So you had both brothers. You're in the middle, right?

You're older and younger? Yes, more like a year apart. And they were living with you. Yes.

Where did they go? Just recently? No, I tried so hard to keep them with me. But really, it's so recent.

I cried about it this morning. My younger brother found love, which is amazing. She's the greatest girl ever. I have the best sister.

And he lives with her now. And they're engaged in trying to find a grown-up apartment and live lives. This is Justin. Justin.

So Justin? Are you saying his name? He's going to die. Okay.

Well, they may not like this part. Oh, no. Oh, tax. But he moved out of one girl's house, his sister, into another house?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Something crazy. It's modern? Yeah, modern brother.

No, no. I clipped their wings. My boys lived in my house. My baby.

I clipped their wings. I said, you live comfy and be my friend. That's your only thing you have to do. My older brother lives in our back house.

And recently, we're moving into a new home that doesn't have a back house. So I was like, do you think I should buy this house? It's bigger and cooler, but there is no back house. You're in the house.

And he was like, this is great. Then I bought it. And he goes, listen, I thought about it. I don't want to be in the house.

And I was like, you're my grandma. You said goodbye because you were coming with me and I'm not coming with me. I'm going to cry and I hate this. And then I found a new apartment and I moved him in and everything.

And it's devastating. I see him way less. You're very maternal. You really wanted to care for them.

Yeah. I worry about them so much. And my husband's like, hey, we have kids now. Right.

So let's put that attention into them. Also, if I was your husband, I'd live with both your brothers. I don't know. So at first it was weird.

And then my husband's more in love with my brothers than me. Oh, okay. We had a little something this morning. Brian came in hot and was like, I don't want to do all these things with you.

And then I left crying. And my husband went to him first and was like, proud of you. That was good. And then he came up to me and rubbed my back and was like, you're exactly right to feel how you feel.

And I was like, you're out of him. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not.

I'm not. Not to get us. Starts negative. But me too.

And I'm not a Gemini. But me too. I wonder if it's in your rising or your moon. Oh, man.

We need to look into it. That changes your deer, I assume? No. It's your birth chart.

There's apps for it. Okay. But doesn't everyone have a different birth chart? Yeah.

I'm just curious. If you're born in 75 January 2nd, do you have the same rising as you would if you're born in 84? No, because it depends on you put your exact birthday, your time of birth to the minute and location. That could explain some stuff.

Why did mom and dad find their way to Nantucket? They're jewelers? They were. My dad had like seven lives.

He was 43 when he started pushing us out. Oh, nice. Coffee is so fancy. I don't even know how to open it.

I can't do it. Have you ever had one? You live here in L.A. What is this?

It's called Cream Top. It's a very perverted name. That's cream. I'm going to be pooping later.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Maybe even mid-interview. Mid-interview. You're like, oh, that's so sweet.

That'd be your first ever. My parents. It's a long, weird story. But a lot of people go to Nantucket to vacation in the summer.

Then they love it so much, they end up staying year-round. So my dad was that guy. He was like a band teacher at one point. He was a lifeguard, a police officer.

Not a legit one, but like a summer cop. He's had many lives. Is he from Boston? He's from Springfield, Mass.

My mom is from Vermont and New Hampshire. It's not my guy. They're indistinguishable if you've been. Sorry.

Yeah, it's like the same place, right? So my mom was somewhere there, too, because her uncle lived there. Stay with me. It'll make sense.

Her uncle was on Nantucket, who was good friends with my soon-to-be father. So there's an age gap. Yeah. How big is the age gap?

It's 20. I love this story. She was 19 when she would go to Nantucket, and he was 20. And they were like, keep her away from Gary.

And she was like, who's Gary? And I was like, you little hoe. She was like, I didn't like anyone my age. I can relate.

He had his life together, and now he's 75. And she's 55, and it's starting to sink in. Is she starting to feel like a caretaker? He's so young, and so like, I've got to be doing something at all times, and he's on it.

I hope he doesn't hear this. I don't think he should drive a car soon. He got hit by a car recently just walking, and that really took him 10 years back. These falls aren't good.

These falls aren't good, and he loves to go on walks, and he loves nighttime walks. If he's on a bike, he won't wear a helmet, because he's from the 20s. He's probably also a Capricorn. He's large, so no.

But he is old-school, stubborn. Can't tell him what to do. How did they meet? This is an enormous age gap.

Nowadays, this is rough. Back then, we were like, we're rooting for you. But they've been together for 30 years. Yeah, so her parents are only five years older than my dad.

Whoa! Oh, yeah, the uncle's friend. Is your dad hot, to be honest? No.

Really? He's just like, you know what he was? The dude is charming. Okay, that dude.

Chalisma is his middle name. He's a musician. He would sing at church and at weddings, and he would host. He hosted the March of Dimes on TV on the end circuit.

Oh, yeah. So I was like, my dad's a celebrity. He was in show business. And I would sing there with him at, like, six.

Aw. Yeah, it was great. So, really quick. Not that it's like my own mom.

Oh, she is? Oh, I have to meet her before. Shout out. Why was stability so appealing to her?

The dudes her age were all a mess. 19-year-old boys. Yeah, they're not great. She had a few boyfriends that she says they were cuckoo, or they would call the scene at her house and embarrass her when she broke up with them.

She was a babe. Okay. Babe, babe, babe. I was like, where did my boobs go?

I didn't get any of your boobs. I always tell my dad's boobs. I always tell my dad's boobs with their mom about that. Yeah, I was like, something happened, and I have dad's boobs.

But wait, when you were younger and you were waiting to go through puberty, is your expectation, we're going to get those? Yeah, I was like, if you're not jacked, these cones will turn into boobs. Yeah, you're just waiting for any day now. Oh, my brothers would be like, hey, cone tips.

Yeah, what was it like growing up with two boys? I played football. I played baseball. My friends were the cheerleaders, and I was like, I'm on football.

I was a big girl. At one point, I was center, and my older brother, a year and five days older, was quarterback. You were literally on the football team? I was bent over.

Oh, no. Oh, careful, Stanley. He looked pretty good. No, they're really good.

If you don't know what center is, I'm bent over with the ball, about to hike it through my cage to my older brother. And I was like, at one point, who's messing with us? The coach's dad's friend. Why are we doing this?

So it was an actual team. Oh, we were the Dolphins. In high school? No, it was third grade, fourth grade.

This was Boys and Girls Club after school programs. Got it. I gotcha. Okay, so you start singing at six at church.

Very traditional place to start singing. Many of the singers we've interviewed started in church. Yeah. Which concerns me as people start going to church.

Where will people start singing? My dad would have a school every Sunday, and he was really cool, and could sing, not great, but he was charming. But he knew it. He's a cool dude.

When people would show up to church in the morning on time, he'd be like, come over here. We're going to give them a song because they showed up on time. And so we were just random pop-up shows. He knew I liked songwriting and wanted to be a better performer, and was like, we have to do it more, so I'm going to throw you in there whenever I can.

So he'd be like, Mother's Day is coming out. Why don't you buy me a song? He played the organ of the church? Organ and piano and keys, everything.

He could play the big one, too, where he could step on the pedals. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And ever since I was really young, I would sit next to him, and he'd be like, pull out the flute. And I was like, no, okay.

And like, help him. All right, so this is a self-serving question, because I was 38, so only five years younger than your dad. Did you say you were 43 when he started having kids? Yeah.

Were you conscious of him being an older dad? Not at first. At first, he was the most fun dad, and we would climb all over him, and there's videos of us just attacking him. And we didn't ever think of him as old until I got to kindergarten.

Him and my mom brought me to school, and my friend was like, is that your grandpa? Okay. And we get that a lot. You don't look like a grandpa.

You know what I mean? Yeah. My dad was like, more grandpa-y than you. Okay.

You look like a movie star. Oh, wow. That's nice. Thank you.

And were you self-conscious of it? Yeah, I was like, no. That's my dad. And I was upset.

He was very stable when my mom met him. It was a good job. And they work at the jewelry store together. My mom especially looks really young.

So this is exacerbated. So when customers come in, they go, oh, honey, is your dad here? To her. Oh, wow.

This is a unique story. I don't know. This is part of me. Yeah, yeah, it's very unique.

And then anyone who meets me and my mom, they're like, sisters. When they would walk in and see me and mom working at the jewelry store, they'd be like, girls, where's dad? Oh, wow. Oh, Christ.

I slept over your house the other night. You're just going to grab these heavy clothes. Yeah, I was like, there's got to be another way. Now, did you pine to be off of Nantucket?

Yeah, it's also famous for people staying there. My dad was a band teacher, and all the students that he taught there grew up and had children with him at the same time. So all my friends' parents were like, your dad was my band teacher. And then it starts being like, whose cousins was that?

You know? Very insular. And it's rough in the winter there, right? There's not much to do.

So you do drugs, and you drink, and you hook up, and you do a lot of weird things at a really young age. 13, my brother started drinking and smoking. My town was tiny, and there was nothing going on either. And several kids left junior high pregnant.

That's better than mine, dude. Mine were suicides. Five. Five?

And the first one, they did a shrine on the wall, because they didn't know what to do. So everyone started leaving notes. And then I think that inspired the other ones. Like, well, that looks cool.

I'm doing that. It is contagious. The head of some hospital in Boston came down to be like, we're going to switch things up, because this is not how you handle this. Right.

So you basically got to ignore it. Keep it quiet. Isn't that wild? Yeah.

So we moved to Cape Cod. Is that what instigated the move? I was also allergic to this island. I was coughing a lot.

I had this weird cough tick. And I also found out I was allergic to certain molds. And these schools are just old and wet. I was to every doctor ever, and they were like, are you getting bullied?

And I was like, no, dude, I'm pretty popular. I just can't stop this cough. And then we did an allergy test, and it was like certain grass, certain molds. And you just walk in those old buildings, and you just see wet.

It's very damn climate. And did you have other tics? Yeah. When I was really young, I would hum at the table.

Not a singing hum. I would take a sip. And go, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm. And I have to have an even number.

Same. Did you do this one, Brie? And I both have this in common mistakes, where you have to check that you can go, hmm, hmm, hmm. Like, you have to check that you can make that noise, that very highest, yes, that, yeah.

You, like, needed to know that you can still make that noise. It would be overwhelming, and you'd have to find it. Mine was, I still have it sometimes, if my husband puts his big hand on this shoulder, I'm like, well, then get this one. Even, I got it even.

If the radio station, when you turned up the volume, it would always be, like, half, and then a full bar. And if it was half, I was like, oh, I'm going crazy. And my brothers would just mess with me. Or they would, like, scratch on the fabric of the roof, and I was like, let's go off.

And he's like, yeah. I had no idea what was going on. I had a thing with, anytime I had dry mud on my feet, and then I'd be in the classroom that had that carpet, I would almost pass out because I would rub the dryness on that carpet, and it would give me gibbie-jibbies until I'd have to go to the drinking fountain and make everything in the world. Oh, my God.

Wait, you made your feet wet? I would have to wet my fingertips. There's just so much dryness on my feet and on the carpet that I had to find moisture. Poor thing.

I was so busy. Were you busy all day with the different things? I was exhausted. I've always, my whole life, picked my skin off my fingers.

We were just talking about this. Do you ever eat it? No, I don't swallow it. But you chew on it, right?

I gather a pile. Okay. We just got in the whole debate because I had to peel, and I peeled this little piece off, and for a second, I was like, I want to chew on this. I didn't know that you wanted to.

I really wanted to. Were you, like, God, it looks yummy? No, just think about the texture. My thing was when you bite a callus off, and then you just feel it.

Like, oh, in your teeth? If I couldn't get my fingers, I go to my mouth, and I get my lips. I always get my lips. Oh, man, I could cause, like, craters in there.

I just look crazy, like I'm on drugs. Do you think that was a genetic disposition? I hope so. Nothing crazy happened to me at childhood, and I'm like, that tracks.

Reading about you, it seems like you had the most idyllic, supportive, lovely family. We had a great family. There's always family stuff, but yeah. Yeah, of course.

But the fact that you start singing at six, you start performing with your dad, and your aunt, and your brother. You're in a cover band by the time you're 12. This sounds so cute and dreamy. It was cute.

Walk me through it. I don't want to jump to it. But at six, you start singing. What age does GarageBand enter your life?

I was young. When Mac was making computers again, and they were like, this is cool, and now we're doing silver. That world. And my dad, it was a big purchase.

I think it was my birthday. And he let me know this is a big deal. But he also let me know that he had a credit card. He was like, anything I buy on here, you can pay me back someday when you make money for music.

And I was like, fuck you, man. Maybe I should be saving receipts. Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is an expensive trip for me.

This is a card that I use for Megan. It will be a payback. And I did. But yeah, he got me a Macintosh.

He also was like Dell guy all the way. So he had to break his religion. He's like, I don't know how to use this. I cannot help you.

But you figure it out. There's something called GarageBand on here, and you can make beats. Because I was trying to do it on the Dell computers, and I was like, this sucks. But then I learned it right away.

And I would show him as a thank you for buying this. I wrote a song for you. And then it turned into every day I was writing a new song. So what kind of kid were you?

You said you were popular. My older brother was popular. So by the fall, I got to be there a little bit. I was trainer sis all throughout middle school and high school.

They called him trainer. Yeah, he's trainer, and I was trainer sis. And then Justin, how did he fit in? J-Train.

They loved him because he was a freshman while Ryan was a very popular senior. And at a junior, we became more friends, finally, my older brother and I. Because he wanted to be his best friend. So bad.

I just followed him everywhere. And he was like, get away from me. And now we're best friends, but it took us so long. I just had to be a foster.

At that point in high school, we brought Justin to every high school party. And we would roll in, the three of us, like, the trainers are here. Oh, wow. This is ideal.

It was sick. We had a garage with a cold attic above it. And we would have little parties up there. Me and my brothers would make eye contact and be like, are you over this?

And he's like, I'm over this. And we'd be like, one, two, three. Everybody, get out. Oh, okay.

You were really running the show. This is the dream. It is. If I was your parents, I'd be so pleased by this.

My kids all get along. They're going parties. And was Justin trying to hook up with your friends and you were trying to hook up with Ryan's friends? I was trying to hook up with Ryan's friends, but none of them would betray him like that, quote unquote.

I was like, am I a monster? Why would you look at me? They're like, I would never do that to Ryan. And I was like, you're a loser.

Why? But he would hook up with all my friends. And I was like, that's fine, I guess. Yeah, that's not fair.

And was Justin gobbling up any scraps? No, he was sweet and shy and insecure. I like him. He was a sweetie.

He found love. I mean, hard for Ryan. He's got too many options. So Ryan, I wanted to ask if this is like an Addison.

Because he's sober now for three years. Oh, wonderful. Oh, yeah. He went crazy.

He had to. He was too cool in high school. But he was extra cool out here, too. He was like my brother out here.

And all the parties that I was invited to, I never went. I was like, Ryan, go for me. And he was great at it. I never had to worry about him ever.

But then we saw it was a problem when he fell on his face and started bleeding and almost died like that. He came out with a black eye and thought, I almost died in my bathroom like this. Like, this is my wake-up call. He was so afraid.

And then was like, I'm done. Went cold turkey, which is very dangerous with the amount he was drinking. He could have had seizures and stuff, and he didn't. He did great.

So he's on his third year now, and he's doing wonderful. And I forgot my question about it. Oh, he's only had one girlfriend. And he's very attractive, very charming, awesome guy.

Everyone would be shocked to hear he only had one girlfriend his whole life, and he was in high school. He's had flings, but it never lasts. Or if a girl is immediately interested in him, he's like, I'm bored. What's that?

He's always been a stud, and everyone likes him. It's not hard for people to fall in love with them fast. And also, if you go out to your garage and you have like 10 supercars. He does not.

Well, no, I know. I'm seeing the odds of you committing to one of the supercars and only driving that supercar when there are 10 there. That's the unique person that's going to make that decision. Not that we should ever feel bad for gorgeous, popular guys, but I think it's harder for them to make that decision.

Does he want to have a family? For a long time, especially being sober, he's like, I need to figure this out. I need to figure me out. But now, at three years, I put so much pressure on him.

We'll meet a nice new lady, and I'll be like, hey, you could be my sister. Take care of my rescue. Be like, I'm aggressive, and I know I need to pull back and stop. But I have the best love with my husband.

He's my best friend, and I couldn't live without him. I don't like pooping without him. I don't like peeing without him. I don't want to shower unless he's close.

I'm codependent. And I want my brother to find that happiness. That's the same codependence. Yeah.

And now he truly lives on his own. And I'm like, I know he's alone. I was like, you're going to find the best person. Where are they?

So loneliness scares you? Loneliness scares me. Death scares me more. I hate death.

I'm watching Six Feet Under right now. I wouldn't recommend. I love it. I watch Dateline every night.

I listen to Dateline to Fall Speed. I think people that are most fearful of death are really drawn. I cannot get enough of it. I think I'm going to solve a crime one day.

Do you listen to the murder podcast and stuff? Yeah, all of them. Yes. I love it.

They need to have a good voice, though. And Keith Marsden is the best. I love you. I'm like, it's a lullaby.

Are you singing to the choir right now? Singing in the choir? Singing to the choir. Preaching to the choir.

I was like, shall I sing? Shall I sing? To promo, my whole album Timeless is about my big fear of death, but I've turned it into a love song. Don't worry, it's not like a big album of sad.

I wrote this song called Timeless, I think people love it. It starts with nothing's forever. That's what I'm told. And it doesn't make any sense to me.

All these memories we make, where do they go? It can't just be poof gone. Is that an archway into spirituality? I don't know what I believe in.