EP 33: Single Mom to CEO: Jena Mehlberg on Faith and Raising Boys
So What Now? with Carla and Dex
Release Date: 06/09/2025
EP 47: Security Guards, Spoilers & Side-Eyes
So What Now? with Carla and Dex
We kick off this weeks episode with a motherhood update. Carla opens up about new and uncharted challenges of motherhood this week. Her little one just started Pre-K. It's been a rough ride, and Carla’s not sugarcoating it. The struggle bus is real, and Carla’s driving it with no GPS. Then things take a sharp (and hilarious) left turn into pop culture: we dive into the Cardi B trial — yes, the $24 million lawsuit from a security guard that somehow made it to court. The drama! The absurdity! The joy! Carla turned to her bestie ChatGPT for a breakdown of how this could even happen. While...
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EP 46: AI Dating Concierges, $1K Pre-Date Deposits & Free UK Childcare?!
So What Now? with Carla and Dex
This week, we’re diving deep into the future of dating — and it's getting a high-tech upgrade. Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd says AI could soon help you navigate dating anxiety, improve your communication, and even “date” other AIs to find your perfect match. Helpful or horrifying? We weigh in. Then, tennis pro Sachia Vickery has gone viral after revealing she requires a $1,000 deposit before any date. Is this setting boundaries or setting a new trend? And what does that conversation actually sound like? Also, are we okay with step-parents adopting kids when the biological parent...
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EP 45: For Men Only: Proposals, Budgets & Back Door Business
So What Now? with Carla and Dex
Hey Friends it's Carla! Welcome back to another episode of So What Now? Let's get right into this week's wild ride! So Bella Thorne hopped on IG sharing that she proposed to her fiancé… after he already did it first. I’m sorry, what?? Nah. Ya’ll know I have thoughts (spoiler: I am not out here getting on one knee, let’s be so serious). And of course, Dex went off on one of her classic rants. This time about how some things are strictly “for men.” Like proposing. Like budgeting. Like… anything that feels like work. According to her, we deserve to live soft, fun, budget-free...
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EP 44: Brunch Budgets, Water Bill Nightmares & Khloé’s Caretaking
So What Now? with Carla and Dex
In this episode, we kick things off with the hidden cost of friendship — turns out, staying social could be costing you over $250 a month in brunches, happy hours, and birthday dinners. Then we get into dating finances, where new data shows men are spending $15,000 more per year in relationships, largely driven by lingering provider expectations. How much is your man spending on you? Dex brings us a shocking story out of Brooklyn: a man lost his fully paid-off $800K home over a $5K water bill. She also shares a personal horror story about the hidden traps and predatory fines cities can...
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EP 43: Mailbag: Marriage Pressure, Broke Behavior & Too Independent?
So What Now? with Carla and Dex
This week on So What Now?, I kicked things off with a few thoughts on all the buzz surrounding the Woman Evolve conference and shared a little bit about what the experience was like for me personally. We also wanted to catch up with y’all, so we took some time to dig into a couple of listener letters because let’s be honest, our inbox is overflowing and these topics deserved some attention. One letter came from someone feeling the heat from her mom to get married ASAP, and we talked about how to honor your own timeline without blowing up the family cookout. The other came from a woman...
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EP 42: Wife Material & Mom Mode: We Can’t Catch a Break
So What Now? with Carla and Dex
This week, Dex came in hot with the age-old(and honestly, exhausting) question: Are you wife material? We broke down a xoNecole article where 10 men shared what makes a woman “wife” vs. “girlfriend” material and whew, some of these takes had me raising eyebrows and clenching my pearls. From emotional maturity to splitting bills to being “referred” like a LinkedIn job post, we had plenty to say. Spoiler alert: Dex absolutely flunked the wifey quiz. 😂 Then we had to pivot to check in with my mommas, because back-to-school season is no joke. We discussed another article that...
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EP 41: Traci’s Luggage, Kamala’s Future, and Karrueche’s Dating
So What Now? with Carla and Dex
This week, me, and Carla are comparing social media timelines and realizing just how differently our algorithms are built. Mine? Full of the usual celeb mess. Carla’s? Somehow led us into a convo about butt sniffers. I’m still recovering. We get into the age-gap dating buzz between Karrueche Tran (37) and Deion Sanders (57)—is there a cutoff age where nobody cares anymore, or are we still side-eyeing big gaps? Then we talk about Kamala Harris—she's not running for California Governor, which has me wondering: is she over America or early 2028 presidential plotting? And per usual Carla...
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EP 40: Multitasking, Mess, and a Little Mayhem
So What Now? with Carla and Dex
This week on So What Now, we unpack a viral TikTok that challenges the usual checklist for choosing a partner. Sure, faith, finances, and fitness are great—but what about the ability to suffer well? Life will get messy, and having someone who doesn’t fall apart in the chaos might just be the most underrated trait of all. Dex keeps it real and admits she’s not built for bedside caregiving—she’ll cut the check, but don’t look for soup and soft words. And if she ever becomes the one in need? Her motto is simple: just take her out! Things take a turn when we discuss the woman who found...
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EP 39: Cakes, Confessions, and Coldplay Chaos
So What Now? with Carla and Dex
Whew—y’all, we’re back! After dodging studio bookings like TSA lines, we finally made it back to High Hello Labs, and babyyy... we’ve got a lot to catch up on. Dex is officially 41 (but giving 25), and Carla shares how TSA Cares and Psalm’s amazing therapy team helped him prep for his big NYC takeover. 💪🏾 We’re talking legacy—but not the money kind—getting older (and finer), and how one Coldplay kiss cam moment exposed way more than expected. 👀 Oh, and yes, we go there: abortion debates, Shannon Sharpe’s hush-hush settlement, and what happens when a CEO gets caught...
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EP 38: Hot Takes, Bali Dreams, and Petty Truths
So What Now? with Carla and Dex
Hey Besties We’re back! and it’s giving unfiltered chaos (per usual). 😅 This week’s episode is straight from the living room while Carla gets her hair done and Dex debates washing hers (it’s been 16 days, send help). The kids are in the background, the vibes are real, and the convos? Whew. We’re talking: The Bali Challenge: Carla told Dex if she posts 31 Reels in August, she’s going to Bali for free. Now she’s on the gram like her life depends on it. Plastic surgery for men?! Abs, arms, hairlines, do what you want… just don’t tell us about it. Do you really tell your...
info_outlineHey friends—Carla here! This week on So What Now?, Dex and I sat down with the fierce and inspiring Jena Mehlberg—entrepreneur, mama, survivor, and all-around powerhouse in the beauty world.
Jena took us on a real ride through some of the toughest chapters of her life—becoming a single mom in her teens, losing a parent, navigating an emotionally abusive relationship, and the ups and downs of running her own business. And y’all, the way she speaks about resilience and faith? You feel it in your bones. She talks about the importance of existing outside yourself and not letting isolation pull you under, especially in the hardest seasons.
One thing that really stuck with me—Jena opened up about her mom, a woman who moved through the world like rules just didn’t apply to her. That “ask forgiveness later” attitude? It gave Jena permission to live boldly and never wait for someone else to give her the green light.
Then we shifted gears and got real about raising boys. As two single moms of sons, Jena and I got into it: How do we raise emotionally healthy men in a world that often doesn’t teach them how to feel? What message are we sending if we keep choosing partners who don’t show up emotionally? Dex jumped in too, and we unpacked the tension between wanting to protect our kids from life’s mistakes… and knowing we can’t.
Y’all, if you’ve ever wondered whether you’re doing enough—or how to keep going when life knocks you down—this one’s for you.
💬 Come join the conversation and lets figuring it out together.
We wanna see y’all IRL. We’re planning some in-person events, just for the ladies. Click the link and let’s get out the group chat.
Outside the Group Chat: Women’s Meetups
— Carla 💛
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