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Photos by Laura Moll.
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Hayley Hubbard always knew she would be a mom. But she didn’t necessarily plan on sharing her own experiences with the world.
The mom of three (with husband Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line) has partnered with friend and nutritionist Jessica Diamond to launch Meaning Full Living. To start, it’s a podcast where Hubbard and Diamond address the struggles moms (and dads) go through on a daily basis—picky eaters, parent shaming, tantrums, and more. But Hubbard says the venture is even more than that.
“We wanted a place where moms and parents could go to for easy, bite-sized knowledge,” she says of the podcast and its accompanying website. “At this point in time, that’s just a little way that we can change our community and change our world in a domino effect kind of way. If we can impact moms and help moms to impact their kids, then ultimately, hopefully we can change the world and make it a better place.”
Hubbard says Meaning Full Living is meant to provide easily digestible information and advice for moms with little time on their hands. “When I became a parent, I realized how overwhelming it was to find information. I have a hundred books right here that have only been half-read. I can’t get through them as a new mom; it’s hard to find the time for that.” With three little ones in close succession (Olivia, 3; Luca, 2; and Atlas, eight months), Hubbard knows the demands of mom life. And despite what can appear to be a glamorous life of red carpets and backstage passes, she tries her best to be upfront about the realities that come with raising three under three.
“I try to be as transparent as possible, because I compare myself to others on Instagram. Even before I had kids, I would compare myself to moms and be like, ‘How do they do it all and how do they look so good?’ That’s an unattainable life,” she says. “Obviously we have a very different life and it’s fast paced—we’re usually traveling for Tyler’s career, but I want to be relatable. We’re all human, and parenting is hard. Being pregnant is hard. Life is hard no matter how good it is.”
But despite the hard times, Hubbard wouldn’t change it for the world. “I always wanted to be a mom,” she says. “And it’s funny, if you ask Olivia what she wants to be when she grows up, she says, ‘I want to be a mommy.’ I was the same way. When I was eleven, I became a mother’s helper. I went from that to babysitting to being a nanny all through college. And then for ten years of my life there were no kids. It was that phase where you’re out of college, you’re going to work, and you’re in that young season of life. Now it’s so much fun to be back in that season with kids—it’s sweet. Having kids has been the greatest joy of my life, but also the greatest accomplishment.”
She says that while 2020 was an incredibly hard year, she and Tyler were able to find comfort in their growing family. “I hate to say this because it was such a hard year for everyone, but at the same time it’s been one of my favorite years. Tyler’s career was put on pause—the performing aspect of it—so we were all home. We’ve never been home this long together as a married couple. So, to be able to spend quality time together and with our kids has been such a blessing.” The slower pace also allowed her to partner with Diamond to create Meaning Full Living.
“Jessica is our nutritionist. I met her during my second pregnancy. She is so easygoing and realistic in her expectations of a pregnant mother. I love her philosophies and how she presents things. I knew I wanted us to do something together,” she says. “It wasn’t until COVID that we actually had the time to get together and start our passion project and that became Meaning Full Living.”
Hubbard is quick to point out that while she and Diamond are making it their mission to help parents, that doesn’t mean she has all the answers herself. “I think that’s the beauty in it—I’m learning though every step of the way with all these other parents. I’m definitely not the expert. I have just been so blessed to have a lot of awesome experts around me, and I really want to share all of these resources with everyone. I can’t just have this all to myself. All the things that they’ve been teaching us really have helped us, so everyone should hear this,” she says. “If I can just help one parent or two parents or three parents, I’ll be happy. That’s the goal of all this: to empower parents and give them the confidence to parent in the way that they want to.” (meaningfullliving.com)