Trisha Paytas: The Years That Nearly Destroyed Me

We Need To Talk with Paul C. Brunson

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Tuesday, 3 November 2026 - 2 hours 17 minutes

Trisha Paytas opens up about her rise to internet fame, childhood, relationships and mental health, revealing the experiences behind one of the internet’s most recognisable personalities. She reflects on feeling unwanted growing up, her complicated relationship with her dad, and why she spent so much of her life searching for someone to love her.

Trisha looks back on moving to LA to pursue fame, her experiences with sex work, deliberately making herself an internet spectacle and the terrifying time she was held captive in a man's basement. She also speaks candidly about her darkest period, her mental health struggles and being admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

She opens up about meeting her husband Moses on the H3 dating show, finding stability, struggling to conceive and becoming a mother. Trisha reflects on how much her life has changed, before reading a deeply personal letter from Moses that brings her to tears.

Trisha Paytas, We Need To Talk

This episode includes discussions of childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault, substance abuse, suicidal ideation and disordered eating. If you or someone you know has been affected by any of the topics in this episode, please watch with care. You can find support resources in the links below: Women’s Aid: https://linkly.link/2xInX Refuge: https://linkly.link/2xIqZ MIND: https://linkly.link/2dx8b Samaritans: https://linkly.link/30GX3

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Brand partnerships enquiries: partnerships@flightstory.com

Follow Trisha here:

https://www.instagram.com/trishapaytas 

https://www.tiktok.com/@trishlikefish88

Buy Trisha’s Book: Crying On The Kitchen Floor:

https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/Crying-on-the-Kitchen-Floor/Trisha-Paytas/9781398566774

(00:00) Intro

(01:34) Trisha's Childhood in Illinois

(02:54) Trisha's Childhood Photo

(05:41) Trisha's Early Love of Film and TV

(08:37) Trisha and Her Father

(11:12) How an Absent Father Affected Trisha

(12:34) Films That Influenced Trisha

(16:33) Trisha's Teenage Ambitions

(20:22) Trisha's Lonely Childhood

(22:57) Trisha's Experience of School Abuse

(27:17) Moving to Los Angeles After High School

(33:58) How Trisha Made Money in LA

(39:42) How Trisha Started Sex Work

(50:28) Trisha's Kidnapping Experience

(57:14) Trisha and Anthony Michael Hall

(01:04:01) Trisha's Relationship History

(01:07:20) Huel Ad

(01:08:29) Anthropic Ad

(01:09:20) Shopify Ad

(01:10:24) Trisha and Anthony Michael Hall's Breakup

(01:17:13) Trisha's YouTube Breakthrough

(01:20:45) Trisha's Mukbang Videos

(01:26:04) Trisha on Celebrity Big Brother

(01:30:12) Trisha and Jason Nash's Relationship

(01:34:30) Trisha and Aaron Carter

(01:43:06) Trisha's Psychiatric Hospital Stay

(01:47:10) Why Trisha Started OnlyFans

(01:48:40) Trisha and Husband Moses

(01:56:49) Trisha's Career and Family Life

(01:57:35) Trisha's Children

(01:59:29) Trisha's Family Photo

(01:59:40) Trisha's Career Success as a Mum

(02:01:58) Trisha Reads a Letter from Moses

(02:02:20) Trisha's Family Photo

(02:04:48) Trisha Reads Another Letter from Moses

(02:07:28) Paul's Final Takeaways

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