LATE BLOOMERS

In this deeply personal Christmas episode of LATE BLOOMERS, Rich sits down with Rox—aka “the Grinch”—to unpack the real story behind her decades-long struggle with Christmas. What starts as a festive chat quickly becomes an honest, emotional journey through grief, trauma, family estrangement, alcoholism, shock, and the impossible pressure to feel joyful when your whole world has collapsed. Rox opens up about losing her mum and grandad within days of each other, navigating her dad’s long-term affair, spending Christmases alone in a basement flat with cider and a microwave dinner, the years of numbing, running, self-injury, and trying—and failing—to hold it all together. She also shares the complicated love of still wanting your dad, the devastation of being blocked, and the strange relief that comes when a door finally closes. But this isn’t just darkness. Rich and Rox trace the long road back: therapy breakthroughs, sobriety, chosen family, stepchildren, new traditions (including the legendary New Year’s Eve Fairy), and the slow, unexpected return of seasonal joy. If you find Christmas overwhelming, lonely, painful, or loaded with memories you can’t hold by yourself, this episode is for you.

In this episode of LATE BLOOMERS, Rich and Rox dive into the biggest flops, failures, and f*ck-ups of their lives — the ones that embarrassed them, humbled them, shaped them, and ultimately set them on the path they’re on today. Rich talks about giving up a near-pro golf trajectory at 15, two divorces by 32, and the gambling addiction that wiped out everything he had — and the gratitude and perspective that came on the other side of it. Rox shares the pain of taking down her first single after it “flopped,” the unopened post, the money chaos, and the shame stories she carried for years before learning to ask for help. Together they explore how these moments cracked them open, forced accountability, and led to therapy, sobriety, self-awareness, and the life they’re living now. It’s honest, hilarious, and painfully relatable — a reminder that everyone’s got failures, but it’s what you do with them that turns your life around.

In this episode of LATE BLOOMERS, Rich and Rox open up the vault on the beliefs we were 100% convinced were true… and turned out to be absolute delusion. From teenage confidence that made no sense, to “I can definitely handle this” addiction logic, to dating fantasies, career myths, people-pleasing lies, and the stories we told ourselves just to survive — we unpack the wild, hilarious, and sometimes heartbreaking things we genuinely believed. It’s raw, it’s ridiculous, it’s shockingly relatable — and it’s a reminder that being wrong about your life doesn’t make you a failure. It makes you human. And very often, it makes you free. If you’ve ever looked back at an old version of yourself and thought, “Oh God… I really believed that?” — this one is for you.

In this episode of LATE BLOOMERS, Rich and Rox dive into the ten ridiculous, chaotic, painfully relatable ways neurodivergent brains wreck an entire night — often before we’ve even made it to bed. From doomscrolling and anxious overthinking to sofa naps, Netflix loops, gaming, temperature drama, rumination spirals, and that dreaded “big day tomorrow” insomnia, they break down why bedtime always feels like a boss level we can’t beat. It’s funny, honest, and deeply familiar to anyone whose brain refuses to shut up at night. A comfort episode for every neurodivergent night owl who is trying their best — and still ends up wide awake at 2:47am wondering how the hell this keeps happening.

In this episode of LATE BLOOMERS, Rich and Rox dive into the weirdly specific joys that light up neurodivergent brains. From the thrill of a forgotten parcel delivery to the bliss of a fresh pair of socks, they explore the tiny, random, wonderful things that hit like pure dopamine. They cover everything from candle aisles, bookshop wandering, escape rooms, snack obsessions, and “main character” music-video walks, to productivity highs, cosy rituals, and the deep comfort of doing things with your people. Along the way, they unpack the differences between Rox’s ADHD dopamine-chasing chaos and Rich’s autistic joy in structure, ritual, and sensory delight. It’s a warm, funny, deeply relatable tour through the little moments that make neurodivergent life feel magical, meaningful, and sometimes absolutely unhinged — in the best way.