Erin’s podcast origin story began in a unique way.
Her successful corporate career kept her frequently on the road, and she had gotten a divorce. So began her foray into online dating.
“I actually had a spoofy Instagram page,” Erin shares, “where I used to talk about my dating life. I would screenshot pictures of guys from dating apps and create my own memes. One day, I got a direct message from a woman named Veronica saying, ‘Hey, I really like your content. Would you consider starting a podcast?’”
Erin admits that, at that point, she had not only never listened to any podcasts, but she didn’t even know what a podcast was. She began listening to shows while nurturing a friendship with Veronica. As “luck” would have it, Erin was scheduled to attend a conference in Salt Lake City, which was near Veronica’s home. So, she and Veronica met in person, and Veronica offered her a proposal:
“She said that she and her husband are starting a business teaching people how to podcast. If I agreed to be their guinea pig, they would teach me everything about podcasting. I felt like we were best friends after our time together.”
Erin felt so comfortable in fact, she extended her trip and found herself at Veronica and Steve’s studio, sitting behind a microphone for the first time.
The name of her show came out of her experience dating and related talks with her girlfriends. “I was basically documenting my dating experiences with self-deprecating humor. I had been single for so long. It was a six-year span. The reason my podcast is named ‘You’re Such a Catch’ is because I would bump into a girlfriend, and she’d inevitably ask, ‘How’s it going? Are you dating?’ And I would answer, ‘No, I’m still single.’ And then she would respond, ‘I just don’t get it, Erin. You’re such a catch!’ That phrase stuck with me.
“And when I would go out with my fabulous group of girlfriends for happy hour, I would look around the table at them and just kind of marvel. They’re all smart, funny, and charismatic. Everybody’s got a career. Yet the one common denominator between us was that we were single.
“I decided to try anything and everything I could to crack the code on NOT being single. I would interview dating and relationship experts on my show and figure it out. I launched my podcast in October of 2019, and I continue to work with Veronica and Steve!”
With her Instagram and blogging experience, sharing her escapades on her podcast came naturally to Erin. She recalls:
“Some of my dates were so bizarre or funny, I felt I needed to document them. It was also therapeutic, putting my thoughts on paper. I kept thinking how one day, I’d look back and see that it was all worth it.
“I still maintain the blog. I also feature other ‘Cinderellas’ and share their stories. So many women and men out there have great stories, too.”
Sharing her love journey on her podcast has also been healing for Erin.
“I got married when I was fairly young, at 26. And after three years, he decided he didn’t want to be married, and he didn’t want to have a family. I wanted both of those things. That was a pivotal point in my life.
“My parents celebrated 45 years of marriage this year. My grandparents were married 74 years before my grandpa passed away. I had grown up with these great role models. It was difficult for me to accept that divorce was going to be part of my story. Because in every other aspect of life, I considered myself a success. Yet in this one, I truly felt like I had failed. 
“Through my journey of self-reflection and therapy, I’ve come to understand that I can’t make someone meet me in that spot if he doesn’t want to. And I think part of the reason I was single for so long is that I was working through those things. On the podcast, I’m doing the same thing—truly working through some of my issues. There have been times that I think to myself, ‘I cannot believe you just said that!’ But I’ve learned that sometimes, when you open up and are your true, authentic self, people relate to that. They feel it. I have had an outpouring of people reach out to me to say that my story resonates with them, and they know they aren’t alone. And for me, that is the ultimate goal of this podcast—to connect with other human beings and assure them that they are truly not alone.”
After launching You’re Such a Catch, Erin continued to succeed at her corporate job in sales in the automotive industry. With a 32-state region, she had the three best months of her career.
Then, because of the COVID-19 lockdowns, she was laid off.
At first, she was angry and frightened. Then, she realized it might actually be a gift. She would no longer have to record her episodes at 4:00 am on the way to the airport! And now, she could focus on growing her podcast.
Around this time, Erin brought Sarah Centrella, a New York Times bestselling author, on her podcast. The interview was timely.
“Sarah’s book is about manifestation,” Erin says, “and one of the assignments in it is to write about where you want to be and what your life looks like in five years. I remembered that I had done that exercise before. And in the five-year plan I’d made for myself, my corporate job didn’t exist. What did exist was the podcast, and expanding it. I wanted to incorporate mixers for singles, and ways to help women feel good about their relationship with themselves. I wanted to provide the tools for them to use to go out there and find love.
“I really took a step back at that point. I realized that maybe this was the Universe’s, or God’s, way of saying, ‘Erin, this is your dream! This is what fills your bucket. This is your purpose and your calling. And you would have never taken this step on your own. So, we’re going to push you. We’re going to force you to take that step.’ And here I am. It is scary as heck, but it is also more rewarding than anything I’ve ever done.”
Erin continued dating throughout the pandemic, albeit with hesitation and caution. “All the single people I knew were trying to decide if it was safe to date. Was it okay to meet up with somebody? What if he coughs on me? What was the best way? Are we Zoom dating? Is that a thing? Do we just pump the brakes until we get out of lockdown? It was a scary time. But I wanted to keep myself out there, because I’m 39 years old, and motherhood is something that I really want. So, time is of the essence. I was still active on all the dating apps in June.”
And then, Erin became the Cinderella of her own story.
She received an email and direct message on Instagram. When she opened the email, she found a six-minute voice message. Erin shares:
“First, he introduces himself and his family. It was cute. Second, he tells me his Zodiac sign and describes his personality. The second half of the message was all about why he wanted to get to know me. He told me that he saw my profile on Hinge, and rather than just match with me, he wanted to do something to stick out from the crowd. He tells me that he listened to an episode of my podcast. And he wraps up the message by saying that I might think that this is crazy, but he had to take the chance.
“It was late at night, and I was literally in bed with my retainer in, feeling like a hot mess. But I thought, you know what, this man put forth so much effort to send me this voice note, I’m going to reciprocate. So at [11:30] at night, I did something I had never done, which is record a voice note on my phone and send it to somebody through email. I responded back expressing appreciation of his message, and then I hit ‘send’ on that bad boy.”
The relationship that ensued between Erin and Jamarr is very much like a fairy tale.
“It is funny,” Erin shares. “My listeners have dropped since I met Jamarr. I think that’s okay, because the people who are sticking with me and the people I will connect with in this next phase will be there. And we can all learn from one another.
“We all have struggles, positives, and negatives when we’re single. And we have struggles, positives, and negatives when in a relationship, too! We evolve, and there’s still a story to be told; there’s still something to be learned. And since Jamarr is comfortable being an open book, I’m happy to share our relationship with everybody, so people might benefit from our lessons. Hopefully, we’re delivering a positive message and being open about the struggles as we experience them.”
Erin leaves us with the following words of wisdom around the key to healthy relationships:
“Being in a relationship with the right person has really given me a newfound confidence in my abilities. That’s also the reason I didn’t want to only talk about dating on my show—dating is only one aspect of who we are.
“The one thing we must work on the most is our relationship with self. That is the key to healthy relationships. The energy and effort that we put forth matters. We also have to be open to opportunities while being able to say ‘no’ to the things that don’t match our intentions or what we truly desire. And I think that’s something that I really missed for a very long time. I was trying to put a square peg into a round hole. It doesn’t work.
“What does work is honoring who you are by being your true, authentic, genuine self, and waiting for the right opportunities to come your way. Then, when they arrive, say, ‘YES!’”
August 2021 Issue
