The Shameless girls on finding purpose amongst the mess

Zara McDonald and Michelle Andrews are something of a two-woman media empire. After leaving their roles at a mass digital publishing company, the journalist friends decided to go it alone and launch a podcast that their ex-employee didn’t want. The fact that said podcast, called Shameless, is one of the most downloaded in Australia - and has gone on to spawn merchandise, live events and now a book - called The Space Between: Chaos. Questions. Magic. Welcome to your twenties - speaks volumes about the ease at which these two have tapped into Australia's millennial psyche.  But their success hasn’t come without drawbacks. Michelle and Zara have been propelled into the buzzing but also brutal world of online commentary and, as they share, it’s had a huge effect on their mental health, their sense of confidence and also their friendship.  This is part one, of a two-part chat, so please be sure to tune into to the follow-up tomorrow.  You can find Zara on Instagram at @zamcdonald, Michelle at @michelleandrews1 and their podcast at @shamelesspodcast  You can listen to Shameless here The Space Between: Chaos. Questions. Magic. Welcome to your twenties is available to buy, here You can join the conversation, or drop us a question, via the Healthy-ish Australia Facebook page, here. If you’re up for funny memes and health inspo follow Body+Soul on Instagram at @bodyandsoul_au Or, head to bodyandsoul.com.au for your daily digital dose of health and wellness. Each Sunday, you can pick up the latest copy of the Body+Soul/Stellar flipbook inside The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), the Sunday Herald Sun (Victoria), The Sunday Mail (Queensland), Sunday Mail (SA) and Sunday Tasmanian (Tasmania).   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.