Romanticising the Perfect Family

Amy Jackson Westwick is a major Bollywood film star with some 14 million followers on social media. Yet she grew up in a working class family in Liverpool. So how did a teenager from Merseyside become one of the most recognisable British actors working in Bollywood?

Today on How To Fail, she tells us her story.

We discuss growing up too fast, how she broke free from a cycle of narcissistic relationships and how she now manages a blended family (Amy has two sons - one with her husband, the actor Ed Westwick, and one from a previous partner). Plus: what she learned from her years in Bollywood and why she’s ’a petty cow’.

✨ IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 Intro

03:13 Chasing Security Not Fame

04:08 Finding Yourself Again

06:35 Growing Up Too Fast

06:50 Liverpool Childhood Roots

11:27 Pageants to Bollywood Break

24:04 Perfect Family Fantasy

25:21 Romanticising Love

26:40 Back To Back Relationships

27:30 People Pleasing Patterns

29:06 Narcissists And Boundaries

31:53 Leaving And Healing

36:39 Blended Family Reality

39:52 Step Parenting Rules

47:05 Listening To Yourself

💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:

Security comes in so many different forms - and for me it's peace of mind.

If it doesn't feel right, then it's not right... you've got to actually know how you're feeling and not be afraid to voice it.

[On narcissistic relationships]: I confused controlling behavior for somebody who was loving and caring, and in actual fact it was the complete opposite.

🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:

Amy’s podcast ‘What’s the Tea Amy?’ is out now

The Testaments, a new Hulu original series, streaming April 8 exclusively on Disney+

Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content

Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com

📚 WANT MORE?

Lily Allen - on early fame, mistakes, relationships and motherhood: swap.fm/l/8Otj3tpmbH5SF4xjVHTJ

Gillian Anderson - on body image, rebellion and refusing to fit in with other people’s expectations: swap.fm/l/7NyZMzkfVOpGyDtlB6k0

💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE?

Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts

Leave a 5⭐ review – it helps more people discover these stories

👋 Follow How To Fail & Elizabeth:

Instagram: @elizabday

TikTok: @howtofailpod

Podcast Instagram: @howtofailpod

Website: www.elizabethday.org

Elizabeth and Amy answer listener questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content

Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com

Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan

Engineer: Matias Torres

Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson

Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot

Executive Producer: Alex Lawless

How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production.

Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts

To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com

_________________________________________________________________________

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices