JESSE PALMER: SCHOOL’S OUT FOR PARENTS–How Jesse Palmer Has Prepped For Fatherhood

hey everybody and welcome to the Paula show I'm your host Paula and I'm John he's my husband and we are doing a special Series in July called schools out for parents in the summer schools out for parents in the summer yes schools out for parents in the summer and what we're doing is we are just kind of recapping some of our favorite moments favorite episodes from seasons 1 and two and today talking to one of your favorite people while I was at ABC and GMA none other than Jesse Palmer love Jesse he's a GU guy all around stud uh very successful at everything one of the most versatile people you'll ever be around and just had a lot of respect for the guy I'm super happy for his career and his family his ever growing family his ever growing family so John when we did this episode when we recorded this conversation back in the fall of 2023 he was expecting his first child with his wife M and you could hear how nervous he was about becoming a dad you remember that what that's like for the first time like you're terrified you don't know and especially as a dad right this was a long time ago when we had Caroline but I do remember just walking in saying I don't know what's going to happen but we'll figure this out millions of people have had kids before and they figured it out and I think we did all right and I know Jesse they're doing great yeah he's already just head over heels for that little girl and by the way he comes from a a family of all boys and he has all nephews so he was proud to bring the first girl to the family he's like I did it I did it so one other thing I that we pulled from this episode you love Jesse's versatility so Jesse he's he's originally from Canada okay and he says that's kind of like one of the reasons he thinks he made it is because he put his hand up for everything he said yes to a lot of different things but he's also the guy you might know from you know the daily mail or the host of The Bachelor or from calling college football games he has done so many different things and continues to and I know his versatility is something that you really appreciate about him yeah very impressive and he's he's good at everything so without further Ado here's Jesse Palmer as John calls him a gu's guy you're going to be a dad you married the most beautiful woman on maybe on the planet Emily at you guys met at a boxing class not from The Bachelor and you guys are have a baby girl like excited are you to be a dad especially a girl dad uh well first off um yes Emily is way out of my league and and two uh I am I'm so happy I'm so excited I'm all the things I'm excited I'm a little bit scared um I deep down was really really hoping it was going to be a girl we we I didn't grow up with any sisters I got two brothers and I have four nephews so I I've always thought that I you know I I might be the one I might be the one in the family to help to help bring a little I did it I feel like I've accomplished something finally you know and and Emily and I came through and it it's so great and and I I've got to pick your brain uh down the road as well because uh Emily and I we just catch ourselves having these little conversations throughout the day talking about our little girl and and what what's it going to be like and I already know that uh that I'm done basically I mean uh she can already have whatever she wants which I don't think is a good is great but she'll have me wrapped around her finger already um I'm really really excited and I'm really scared um and all the things I just can't wait oh when I told my husband John whom you've met John loves you we both Adore You John's the best best and Emily he's like that is going to be a gorgeous child a tall and gorgeous child um if she takes after her mom well you're tall too your whole your brothers are tall you're oh the the tall thing I can do and plus like I we can always put hair product in give her a couple I mean I'm really I'm really 5 foot eight but with the Pomade it gives you some lift I hope she looks like Emily I hope she looks like Emily just be honest she's just going to be a gorgeous child inside and out cuz you both are really good humans okay so tell me what excites you you said I'm excited and terrified and I think those like aren't mutually exclusive ever like I'm still excited about what's going on in Parenthood and equally terrified so what excites you and what terrifies you about being so the exciting part for me I really think she's going to help me slow down and just be be more present in my life I I I feel like for a lot of years now I've been on the go and I've been working and traveling and career-driven career focused um I really think this is going to be something that really helps Center me I just want to devote and and uh all my time and my energy and focus into this little girl and and just trying to be the best dad that I can and and to raise a good person uh to your point I think that's what scares me the most too because I just don't know if I I don't know what to do like I know that i' I'm reading books I'm trying to get advice from people on on how to do this um having a baby having a daughter um not a lot of experience you know with with sisters and things like that I'm I'm going to trust my instinct as as much as I can and and lean on Emily and I guess you know the beauty of this is that we're gonna figure it out together and make make mistakes together and get it right together um but I just want to be enough you know that's that's the thing I mean and it's not like football and it's not like television where you can you feel like you can kind of put the work in beforehand and and uh perform um I don't have the same confidence but I'm just really excited to to do it and and to kind of just just kind of get into it so sort of all the things like you said it's a good it's a good way of putting it that they're not mutually exclusive it kind of allun together and I'm just ready to get it started it does and look we're going to put our kids in therapy for something but here's the most important part I I I've seen you with kids like you said you have a bunch of nephews but even with my kids if I would bring them in the studio you're just you care and that's the most important thing that that child is going to feel loved I'm going to send you a really good book that I just bought for John it's about the importance of a bond between a father and the daughter so like you know I I tell John all the time and this is not to scare you but I'm like you know Caroline is going to get her confidence and her selfworth and her esteem self-esteem from you and girls get that from their fathers as early as age too so I'm like don't screw her up okay but conversely boys kind of do the same thing with their mom so like I'm teaching my son how to treat a lady John's teaching you know Caroline how to be treated and how to treat a man and like and how to be a confident young woman so I'm going to send you a book you're going to be a great dad you guys are going to be great parents and you care and I'm so I love this generation of dad you guys are so much more hands on um and Jesse you're you have no idea what you're in for I I know none none so I know I'm gonna I'm gonna try to be pres just just be in it every single every single day and I'm really lucky I I I had a great example and both my parents and and and how they were with with with me growing up and yeah so hopefully I can impart some of that on on our little girl yeah well I just think you guys are going to be wonderful parents and you're not going to be perfect and that's not the expectation just love them so and you're going to make there's no playbook for it so okay um now we're going to like situate and get actually get into like the meat and I want to talk about your big break and all of that so I asked my husband I was like what do you want me to ask Jesse and I'm going to ask you some viewer questions at the end but John wants to know because you're so versatile like people might know you from Florida as being the quarterback at Florida or you know the an NFL quarterback with the New York Giants or the host of The Bachelor you've hosted like Food Network shows uh um you have done a little bit of everything you're College a college football analyst you've done GMA which is where you and I met so like when people come up to you my husband was like he's so versatile is there a secret a to being versatile and also like how do most people know you are they're like oh you're the guy from Phill in the blank yeah sort of depends on what you watch I guess or sort of what your passion is because you're right it's it's it's football is it food is it is it bachor is it GMA is it daily mail it's it's all those things I forgot Daily Mail sorry it's okay no it's fine it's like it's um i' I just good morning Canada did you do good good morning Canada you need to do that should have should have done good morning Canadia good morning Canadia would have been good I never say uh Canadians don't say no a lot and I think that's the same way with me um but but I think that's kind of been a big key to to my success and sort of self-discovery is that I put my hand up for a lot of things and try things um and so along the way throughout my career I just said yes to a lot of opportunities just to find out if it was it would be something I liked or not and I I'll admit there were a lot of times where I I would sign up to do something and go man I'm gonna hate this I'm gonna or I'm gonna be absolutely terrible at this and then I ended up doing it and realizing you know what I actually kind of like that I could see myself maybe doing that down the road so you know not not shutting doors before I had a chance to open them um I think was was a big key and I'm I'm really lucky like I think I'm someone who obviously loves football I feel like that's definitely my wheelhouse that's kind of my comfort zone but I I've developed a lot of other passions outside of football that I've been lucky enough to tap into and so and that's you know i' I've become more versatile as I've grown older and just matured um and I'm sure we'll we'll get into it I don't want to bury the lead but you know I think the biggest break I ever had in my life and it was completely out of my control was getting drafted by the New York Giants moving to New York City it opened up so many doors it opened up the bachelor The Bachelor opened up everything else um you know and then it's like a domino effect so how so you're growing up in Canadia as we like and it's Canada I hope that that 19 people in Canada don't get offended because I love Canada be they're GNA be so mad they're gonna be so mad I'm sorry um they're throw it they're going to throw maple syrup and poutine at you I love poutine um poutine so good thank you totally going off the rails um so how did the how did The Big Break actually work yeah you went to Florida you're started quarterback with the Florida Gators were you you were with Spurrier right Steve Spurrier yeah okay so so how did everything happen and how did the big break with with the Giants happen because we know like to get in the NFL it is like you're like less than 1% you have to perform um you know throughout your college career you have to know somebody you have to do really really well at um you know not try outs why am I totally blanking it's the NFL combine the combine yeah all the things so how how did the yeah how' The Big Break happen well I mean first off you know growing up in Ottawa Canada uh the odds for me getting a scholarship to play football were really really small um I worked extremely hard uh my dad was my coach uh he supported me my family supported me so much and I was so lucky to have that um and just through hard work and perseverance I got lucky enough and got a scholarship to go to Florida which was an entirely different level for me and it was a culture shock um on the football field because the competition was so much better all of a sudden I'm playing with all these future NFL first round picks against unbelievable like you're playing against pton Manning and all these and and this incredible competition but also culturally going from nepan Ontario Canada to Gainesville Florida was it took me like a year to come around to that just the way people spoke the food I was eating um the relig that is football I mean the thing I loved most about Gainesville was that my whole life I felt like a fish out of water in Canada because football me so much to me I was so passionate about it living in a hockey country or when I finally got to Gainesville it felt like I found my Cathedral and I was home yeah you know and that that that that was a thing in itself I worked you know the four years in Florida were four of the most impactful years in my life I learned so many life and valuable lessons because I really had had an emotional roller coaster through those four years playing for Steve spur on the Florida Gators lots of ups and downs the thing I'm most proud about is I never quit and I just I believed in myself and again I had an incredible support system and I worked extremely hard through the seasons um through the combine through the pro days through the Senior Bowl all the things you do to finally get drafted and I put myself in a position to do that um but when you when you choose college and you're choosing where you're going to go play football that's your choice I was lucky and I had a lot of offers from different schools and so you know you take control and ownership of that of that decision in the fork of the road and you follow it when you get drafted it is no longer your choice that's up to other people that's up to Executives general managers head coaches sometimes people you don't even know you've never met I remember on draft day being on the phone with the Kansas City Chiefs twice before I was drafted I almost got drafted by the Chiefs two times before the Giants pick me and I don't play the would a could a should a game very very often but there are times where I wonder I wonder what would have happened in my life had I not gone to New York City and instead gone to Kansas City what would that have meant personally what would have been meant professionally um and obviously you'll I'll never know so I don't stew on it too long but what I do know is the biggest break I think I ever had in my life professionally was getting drafted by the New York Giants there's 32 teams in the NFL mhm I don't know what the odds of that happening were that that it landed on that on the 125th pick of the fourth round I'm off to New York and my life completely changed because I was in a media Market I was given opportunities I may not have had access to in other places and I doors opened up in front of me that have taken me now on this on this journey to where I am today to professionally to like you said meeting Emily at Rumble boxing on 20th Street New York to all the things um and it was it was something that happened that I could not control um but looking back on it now I just so so happy that it that it did so John I I wanted to ask you when you say he's a guys guy women equally love Jesse Palmer he's so fun and relatable so don't forget about handsome that's not the only reason why the ladies love him no he's the nice guy and I have a theory when I say a guy's guy I mean I can sit down and I don't have to try to get along with somebody it's just natural it's easy he's got a lot of common interest he knows how to carry on a conversation anybody who is like awkward or I have to only talk about what they want to talk about it's that's more challenging that's not Jesse he's just a a very natural easy guys guy you throw him in a room and and he's going to fit in and their child by the way is going to be one of the most beautiful kids ever their little girl she's already beautiful but look at her mom and look at her dad if you want to listen to the full episode you can go back to season 1 or you can watch that full episode on YouTube and John I know as we are gearing up for season 3 in August uh we're doing a series on college is it necessary right the pros and the cons interesting topic uh definitely something 10 20 years ago probably wasn't on the radar as much but now there's a lot of different Pathways to get to your career and college is one of them but not the only one yep but not the and I think especially now so we're going to look at some of the recent data we're going to talk to experts we're going to talk to parents that are sending their kids off to college it's going to be a really fascinating series and then we're doing a series on menopause which that's going to be ex about it you're not going to ask me to be a guest host on any of those are you no but I do think it's good for you to to understand what we're going through and to how to relate to us a little bit better yeah don't don't you want to be a supportive partner yeah if supportive partner means run and hide then yeah I will be a supportive partner all right you guys um we got one more episode in our series of schools out for parents can't wait to bring that next week and you know season 3 is just around the corner if there's a conversation or topic you want us to to have or to talk about you can always DM me or you can respond to my personal newsletter which goes out every two weeks you can subscribe at paulais official.com all right John do you want to take us out take us out where oh out of the episode all right thank you everybody have a great week and what's our tagline let's talk about it oh you are so good I know I know you guys thought you were done with me but not quite yet I have one more thing to tell you about if you're watching on YouTube or you're listening on your favorite podcast platform don't forget to subscribe to the show I don't want you to miss a single beat or a single conversation and remember my DMs are always open tell me what you want to talk about