Now or Never

• An ex, a slob, and a real life 'Golden Girls': How to survive roommates

  Roommates. They can be great, they can save you money....and they can also make your life a living hell.Roommate households are the fastest growing living arrangement in Canada, so we wanted to know, how are people making it work? (or not)Five stories of people navigating some tricky real-life moments with their roommates.Deb King never thought she’d need to find a roommate at 67 years old, but that’s exactly what she’s doing right now. We join her on the hunt for “someone normal,” as she fends off dating requests, does background checks, and just tries to find a home for herself and her dog, Cirque du Soleil.Jewel Casey and Jordan Woodward have spent the past seven months living together in an apartment in Invermere, B.C.…as exes. Despite the rough patches, sticking out their year-long lease together has led the couple to come to some surprising realizations about where their relationship went wrong.It's move in day for Marisa, Matt, Chet, and Izabella, a group of friends in Toronto who just bought a 1.3 million dollar home together. They say that co-owning is their only way to crack the Toronto housing market. So how do they decide who takes out the garbage? And what happens if one of them gets a job in another city? They show us the whiteboard and 20-page contract that gets into the nitty-gritty of cohabitating with friends.After Bev Suek's husband passed away, she realized she didn't like to live alone. So she opened up the doors to her six-bedroom home in Winnipeg, for other 50+ women who don't want to live alone, either. Trevor drops in for a visit with the real-life Golden Girls of Winnipeg, to find out how they handle everything from making meals to overnight guests (wink wink).Sarah Scanlon and Jennifer McDonald joke that their 1000 square foot, three bedroom bungalow in Guelph is an 'eco-lesbian retreat.' Best friends for the last 17 years, they decided to buy a house together in 2021. And if you think close friends (who also happen to be exes) don’t necessarily make great roommates....Sarah and Jen are here to prove you wrong.

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• Saying goodbye: How do you know when it's really over?

  Saying goodbye can be hard — whether it's to a relationship, a job, or the place you call home. On this episode, hear how people knew it was time to say goodbye, and what happened after they walked away.Ify pops in for one last visit to the Imperial Pub, an iconic neighborhood bar in Toronto that's closing its doors after 81 years. Long-time owner Fred Newman reflects on the end of an era, while regulars raise their glasses for one last toast.After Donald Trump was elected back to the Oval Office in 2024, Anthony and Dominic Sposato became increasingly uneasy about living in America as a married gay couple with a 10-year-old son. They decided to pack their life into boxes and sell their home in New Jersey, with dreams of moving to Edmonton. But they aren’t yet sure if their application to immigrate across the border will be accepted.For 21 years, Sam Corbett was the drummer in The Sheepdogs, one of Canada's most successful rock bands. But last month, he decided to call it quits to focus on being a stay-at-home dad. He tells us what it was like to break up with a band he's known since high school, how he's adjusting to life without thousands of adoring fans, and the moment he knew he had to put down his drum sticks for good.How do you know when it’s time to say goodbye to your marriage? We sit down with Kristen Clancy and Robbie Gruenbauer, who just got divorced a few weeks ago, for a real conversation about what went wrong in their 12 year marriage, and how they managed to stay friendly through the breakup.

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• Do I need another job? The art and the grind of the side hustle

  Asking what someone does for work is more complicated these days. More than a million Canadians, or 5.6 per cent of the working population, are holding down multiple jobs. So today on Now or Never we’re looking at the art, and real cost, of the side hustle.After two decades in the education industry, Lethbridge, Alberta teacher Verna Mabin didn’t expect she’d still be working a side hustle…and searching for another. And just wait till you hear what she’s using her extra income to pay for.By day, Winnipeg’s Sam Davidson works for the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba, but by night, he transforms into the spandex wearing, hip swiveling, Red Hot Sammy Peppers, bringing the heat inside the wrestling ring. How long can he hold on to his alter ego?Devon Flynn is an unapologetic job juggler in Prince George, B.C. With ten jobs sending him T4s, you’d think he’d have enough to make ends meet, but when things dried up a few months ago, Devon had to face some tough decisions. How he’s making side hustles work for him. For years, Raymond Girard has dreamed about building a business around his love of lego. After getting derailed by a serious bike accident, he’s finally ready to take his side hustle to a fulltime gig.

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• What would it take to face your biggest fears?

  Just in time for Halloween, stories of people being scared out-of-their-mind about something, but doing it anyway.The last time Mike Bahuaud ran a half-marathon, he went into cardiac arrest and collapsed at the finish line, where his heart stopped beating for nearly five minutes. One year later, he's determined to run the exact same marathon, to finish what nearly ended him. It was a regular Friday afternoon in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland when Shem Evans was randomly attacked and beaten by seven teenagers while picking up his kids from school. After the attack, fear rocked his family and the community. But when his wife Bailey Rempel didn’t see enough change, she took a leap and ran for city council to try to make things safer for everyone. Lynn Sainté has a deep fear of throwing a party where no one shows up. But she also really wants to relive her church choir days, so she's booked a venue, hired some musicians, and sent out the invitations. When Ify checks in, she's only sold three tickets with a week to go. So will anyone show up? Ify joins her friend Lynn on the night of the event, to find out if all the nerves and stress are worth it.After a traumatic swimming lesson as a child, Aaliyah Hall then discovered two of her family members died from drowning. She's been terrified of the water ever since. But now, she’s part of a group of Black women in Hamilton who are learning how to float without fear.“Everything that mattered to me in my life, was stripped.” In a matter of months Judi Rees learned of the sexual abuse her children experienced, became dangerously ill, and ended her 30-year marriage. After living through a season of terrifying events, Judi shares what she’s learned from the other side.

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• "I run for everyone who can't." Runners share what keeps them moving

  If you, like us, are not a runner, it might seem nuts to risk the muscle pain, the boredom, not to mention the chafing. So we asked a bunch of people what keeps them moving, and got some really surprising answers.Four days ago, Tata Shifrin finished her first full marathon in Toronto. Which is not what her doctors would have predicted, since she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2014 and told she would likely be using a cane or wheelchair by now. The single mom tells us how what started as a sarcastic joke to her Russian grandmother is now a promise she's making to herself, and her three children.Three times a week, the Running on Faith run club gathers at dawn on the streets of Surrey, B.C. What makes this run club a little different is that everyone connected to it lives in a shelter or recovery center. FounderAndie Van Der Eerden tells us how she took her own battle with depression and anxiety and turned it into a mission of hope.The kids in the Windbreakers Indigenous Youth Running Club in St. Albert, Alberta tell us about the connection between sweetgrass and running, and why it's always a good idea to put sage in your sneakers.When Luc Zoratto stopped using drugs and alcohol, he started running. A lot. After years of non-stop training and marathon finishes, Luc is falling out of love with the sport that gave him so much.Newfoundland’s Florence Barron is running in one of the most challenging road races in the country…at the age of 87. It’s not her first time competing, and as long as her body allows her, she says it won’t be her last.

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