"I knew that I was a stronger woman for breaking up with him, and in feeling stronger for breaking up with him I was like, 'What is it that I need to do to change myself so I don't get back into that situation?'" she continued in the podcast.
Unfortunately, many women experience horrible relationships on their way to finding the right guy or gal. And when we’re young, it is so easy to be swayed by a partner's promises and hold every word they say as truth.
But thankfully, Ashley was able to find her strength and end her toxic relationship, and she went on to reveal what she thought was behind these failed relationships.
"In that 'aha' moment, I was like, my problem is I keep giving it up too soon, I keep having sex too soon with these guys.
“I grew up very Christian, and in that I realised I'm giving up my power to each of these guys and I'm letting them control me, not constantly control me in every action, but they have a certain control over me," she told Gwyenth.
Ashley realised, that for her, sex was a power thing and the guys she dated took advantage of that.
So, when she met her husband Justin, she stuck to this mindset and he didn’t seem to have a problem at all with her no-sex rule.
The two met at her church where she was volunteering as an “elevator lady” and have been inseparable ever since.
“And he and I did not break my rule, and his rule as well, because I didn't know that he was also trying to wait until he was married to have sex as well."
Her love story moved Gwyenth to tears as she opened up about past hurts and present happiness.
Wow, power to you, Ashley! That takes some strength and major willpower!
You could win tickets to this year’s Late Late Toy Show!
The show is giving away two tickets to a baked goods competition winner – whoever can create the country’s most festive baked treat.
To have a chance of getting your hands on two golden tickets to this year’s Late Late Toy Show grab your apron and high-tail it to the kitchen to create a Toy Show inspired Christmas treat.
Then simply take a picture, and post it to the RTÉ One Facebook page, on Instagram or on Twitter using the hashtag #ToyShowTreats.
If it’s good enough to impress the Late Late Toy Show team, your creation could bag you two tickets to the biggest night on Irish television. It really is a piece of cake.
The holiday show's host Ryan Tubridy said: “Is there anything better than the smell of festive baking? Maybe tickets to the Toy Show?
“I want you to dust off your rolling pin and create something inspired by the most fabulously festive night of the year – The Late Late Toy Show.
“Send pictures to us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and if you have flour power, the whisk might just pay off and we could be seeing you on November 30th!”
This year’s toy show will take place on Friday, November 30 and will definitely be one you won’t want to miss.
And you could be in the audience! Just upload a photo of the most festive treat you can bake (get creative).
Remember to add the hashtag #ToyShowTreats.
Best of luck, and we hope one of you mums is the lucky winner!
He has teamed up with Primark to create a ‘thrilling cinematic narrative’ as part of their Spring/Summer 2019 line.
A series of 17 images showcases the season’s women’s and men’s collections with a captivating outlaw vision.
It’s shot on-location in California on the sun-drenched grounds of a 1950’s style gas station and motel – a road-stop off the empty, open highway.
The vintage, deserted locations coincide with the collections wild and free vibes, featuring supercharged colour and bold prints.
Asymmetric satin skirts, gem-dripped fishnet dresses and bodycon rompers in orange leopard print are mismatched perfectly.
Safari and rave converge in key looks: a relaxed linen suit is layered with pink cycling shorts and metallic jackets; a subdued trench is slipped on over a brash neon fishnet dress, while a jumpsuit is zipped to the waist to reveal dip-dye tees and bleached denim.
Bold neon accessories and loungewear crank up the volume to the max, while accessories like raffia handbags and wooden bangles add an earthy feel.
We LOVE the line’s retro look with an eclectic twist.
And they are affordable as ever with Primark’s trademark inexpensive prices.
To see the rest of Cole's stunning photos of the new collection, visit the SS19 website.
Emma Thompson wrote a sexual care guide for her daughter to navigate potentially dangerous and uncomfortable situations.
Her 18-year-old daughter Gaia read an excerpt from the guide on popular comedy podcast My Dad Made a Porno.
Emma began the guide by condemning the word ‘sex’, saying that it’s “a shiz word”.
“It’s all s’s and x’s and sounds like a snake, not in a good way, and is hard and sibilant on the ear, and used to make me feel slightly queasy even just hearing it.
“For the purpose of these early writings, I’m going to choose another word. In fact, I’m going to make one up. Shavoom.”
Her casual tone suggests to her now 18-year-old daughter Gaia that there should be nothing taboo about sex.
It is an open conversation that can be discussed between mother and daughter at any time. #goals
“There are certain feelings to look out for, and in this patch of life, the really crucial feeling is the icky sense of unease we get when there is shavoomy stuff floating around that we are not comfortable with,” Gaia continued to read.
“If anyone does anything, says anything, implies anything, shows anything, suggests anything that makes you feel ick, move away, get away, say no thank you, or even just no without the thank you, walk away because ick is an unbelievably useful emotion. Ick means no.”
Emma wrote the guide for her daughter when she was 10-years-old, so that she could learn about consent at an early age.
She went on to describe pornography as the “Kingdom of Ick”. She warned it was available everywhere and gave young people the wrong idea of what sex is like.
Emma told her daughter that sex is not an act separate from your heart, but one that is deeply intertwined with it.
Jessie J has had enough of haters recent comments on her and Channing’s relationship.
Because her and his ex-wife Jenna Dewan both have dark hair and similar features (some people say) their looks have been compared non-stop.
Fans along with the media have been relentless in giving their unasked for opinions.
I’m not hating on @JessieJ at all. She’s very attractive. But when you compare her to @jennadewan it’s not even close. @jennadewan is on a much higher level. She’s fine as hell. Either way you look at it, @JessieJ is just a step down.
And Jessie is having none of it. She refuses to get involved in the superficial drama, choosing instead to spread a message of positivity for young girls everywhere.
“I rarely, but sometimes see that my name is involved in stories online that I do not agree to. I often ignore them as 99% of the time it is something that doesn’t serve any positivity to speak on,” the British star wrote.
“However there is a story I have seen be rewritten over and over again in the past few weeks that talks about myself compared directly to another beautiful woman regarding our looks and people picking who they think is prettier.
“I am here to talk about the headline and the way the story has been written, I have continuously tried to find something positive from this article… I am yet to. Who feels good from this story?” she asked.
“Who does this story inspire? Is picking who is prettier and then continuing to say why a good activity for women to participate in? No.
Jessie went on to say that the issue goes beyond her and Jenna. It affects woman all over the world or subjected to these constant judgements.
“I’m talking in general too. Beyond this story. It’s constant with women. Picking favorites. Do the media do it with men? No. Are women gaining a positive lesson from it? No.
“I am so disappointed and embarrassed that my name is even involved. It’s not something I stand for, at all. I don’t take stories like this lightly. Because I know the kind of impact it has on younger girls reading it,” she said.
“I spent so much of my childhood trying to be comfortable in my skin just like so many other little girls, and when I got older, decided to spend my career making lots of music to try and help/inspire myself and all other women to see their beauty from the inside out and will continue to do so. Man does the world need it. More now than ever,” she urged.
The singer used the negative comments to encourage others to rise above and support each other as a female community.
“I am a woman that supports ALL women. I am a woman that loves ALL women and will not stand quietly when the media is teach young girls to constantly compare one another. Or to pick who they think is prettier,” she said.
She concluded: “We are all BEAUTIFUL. We are enough just the way we are. Be the best you!!! You can’t wake up and be anyone but YOU. So please love your face, your body, your mind and your heart.
“Be good to yourself. And to those around you. Be sensitive with your words. Be kind with your words. You have no idea what they can to do someone. Alone ladies, we are strong. But TOGETHER?! US WOMEN can truly CHANGE THE WORLD.”
Wow. Way to respond with class, Jessie. You’ve not only managed to sidestep the trolls but to remind us of how strong we are as women when we’re united and not tearing each other down.
But then just a few days later, her uncle Alec Baldwin said that, as far as he knew, they had already tied the knot.
Talk about confusing….
Thank god, all the speculation is finally over. Mr. and Mrs. Bieber are Instagram official.
It appears that the model has gone the traditional route of taking her husband’s surname, so we can only wonder if she had a traditional ceremony as well.
It has come to our attention that women on Instagram are giving themselves nose jobs from wax alone, and we simply have to find out the suss.
We ended up discovering a whole new category of beauty videos online, and the before versus after images of these ladies will BLOW YOUR MIND.
Needless to say, these gals are stunning before and after, but the entire process of changing the whole face with wax is just too damn fascinating to look away.
The newest trend has gone totally viral on social media, unsurprisingly.
The amazing wax method originates from Asia, specifically in Chinese territories, where women have been using make-up to sculpt their faces with wax as part of their beauty regimen.
Ben Nye, an LA-based makeup manufacturer is one such company who make the DIY wax.
“You can change the shape of anything on your face, like the nose, brow bone, chin, etc., using a wax like Ben Nye Nose & Scar Wax,” professional makeup artist Lottie told Cosmopolitan.
Now, sculpting your face with chunks of wax every morning as part of your make-up routine may not exactly be your vibe, but we guarantee some of your friends would agree to try this.
It's like an extreme form of contouring, how did they even think to try this?
It can't be denied that the videos are incredibly entertaining to watch, regardless of whether or not you'd try the trend yourself.
The rest of the world can now witness the glory of this magic, we owe Youtube and Instagram our lives for this.
You may remember the most adorable child on the planet who got to save the world for a day, otherwise known as Batkid.
Back in 2013, the Make a Wish Foundation shut down and transformed the streets of San Francisco for 24 hours in order to allow five-year-old leukemia patient Miles Scott to achieve his dream.
It's safe to say he won the entire world's heart. Anyone who had the privilege of watching him race through Gotham and defeat villains like the Joker and the Penguin as well as rescue citizens witnessed pure joy.
Unsurprisingly, Batkid became a sensation as the mini-superhero, everyone fell in love with the youngster as well as sending him prayers and well wishes for his brave battle with cancer.
It was MAJOR news at the time, even Barack Obama adorably chimed in to thank Miles for his services to the city:
As if this story wasn't heartwarming enough, it has now emotional been revealed that Miles is CANCER FREE. We're not crying, you're crying…
The youngster is now officially in remission, we wonder if his superpowers had anything to do with it?
His story was even mde into a 2015 documentary entitled Batkid Begins, which tells the inspirational story of the little boy as well as how the whole event was organised by Make a Wish Foundation and the San Francisco mayor at the time, Ed Lee.
The charity has said that Miles has returned to normality (in disguise):
"Since his crime fighting day five years ago, Miles has returned to being a typical kid – playing little league, going to school, helping his family farm, and even selling his first market goat in the local fair! Now 10 years old and in fifth grade, Miles loves science and robotics."
Batkid, who is now ten-years-old, featured on the San Francisco Bay Area Make a Wish Foundation Twitter account as a success story, for beating his illness:
Five years ago today, Miles Scott became Batkid and the world cheered him on. Now 10 years old, Miles is a happy, healthy 5th grader and has been in remission from leukemia ever since! Wishes have proven physical and emotional benefits and can produce better health outcomes. pic.twitter.com/icrqwBPSgh
Nowadays you're supposed to have your life sorted as soon as you exit the womb.
Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating but the pressure is on as a 20-odd-year-old to have your career path chosen, your relationship golden and your life stable.
So it was beyond refreshing when we had a chat with actor Simon Delaney, who said he didn't have his sh*t together until the age of 28.
Talking to SHEmazing, he explained all the different careers he wanted to pursue before he caught the acting bug.
"I don't think I had a clue until I was about 28 – I really hadn’t got a clue – I just kinda ambled and arsed my way through my teens and my twenties."
"I wanted to be a bus driver, I wanted to be a chef and then somehow I ended up as an actor…how did that work out?" he humbly questioned.
Besides his career, Simon revealed that even in his twenties he knew he wanted to be a parent.
"I was lucky enough to meet Lisa…and two houses and four kids later, here we are. So my wishes were granted and I thank God every night.
"Every night when I am picking toys off the floor and wiping dirty arses, I thank god that my wishes came true," he joked- AWH, bless.
Given his good fortune, when One4all asked Simon to hop aboard their Christmas appeal to grant three lucky people their festive wishes, he didn't hesitate.
Talking about the competition where One4all ask people around Ireland to submit their Christmas wishes, he said: "I think it’s a gorgeous campaign".
Last year, people entered their wishes in their thousands and three lucky people were granted their wishes.
"This year they are doing the same and they have until November 27 to pop onto the One4all website to send in their Christmas wish. And you know what, Santa just might grant it," explained Simon.
Whether its reuniting with a long-distance loved one, making that special someone smile with an unforgettable yuletide surprise, or asking the love of your life to be yours forever, Simon and One4all want to hear from you.
So what are you waiting for? Go and fill out that form.
Get ready to be the next global sensation, because Britain's Got Talent are bringing their open auditions to Ireland for their brand new series, with dates for Dublin, Tralee, Kilkenny, Tralee as well as further venues around the country.
The much-loved show are branching out their reach to the Irish nation, and now is the time to get your act together and audition for the one of a kind prize.
This year, the Britain’s Got Talent team is coming to Dublin, on the Sunday 25th November at The Spencer Hotel from 12-5pm. Auditions are open to any performer of any age, with absolutely any talent.
Successful acts at the auditions will then be in with a chance of securing a place at one of the 2019 judges’ auditions.
Whether you're a comedian, actor, singer, dancer troupe or even animal- now is your chance to shine.
Executive producer Charlie Irwin said:
“We can’t wait to see what talent you’re ready to bring to the BGT stage in 2019. Anyone can apply – there is no age limit and we are looking for all kinds of talents. So, if you feel you have something special to show us, no matter what it is, then make sure you apply, you never know where it might take you!”
Following his win last year, Lee Ridley, also known as the Lost Voice Guy, sold out his entire Edinburgh Fringe run and had to add on extra performances.
In 2019 Lee will be embarking on a UK tour, he is currently writing the second series of his popular Radio 4 sitcom Ability and has also been commissioned to write about a book about disability.
Since being crowned the winner of Britain’s Got Talent 2017, Tokio Myers has co-produced the Artists for Grenfell charity single to support The London Community Foundation, has released his debut album Our Generation, the biggest classical crossover of 2017. He is currently in the process of creating new music.
Of course, we can't forget about Susan Boyle, who has sold more than 23 million records worldwide. Diversity have sold-out seven nationwide tours and are about to embark on their eighth UK tour Ignite, while multi-platinum selling artist Paul Potts has sold six million records worldwide.
BGT 2014 winners Collabro have had a No. 1 album and Calum Scott, Simon’s golden buzzer in 2015, was the first ever Britain’s Got Talent contestant to be nominated for a Brit Award. His song Dancing on my Own achieved phenomenal success.
Previous BGT Series 9 semi-finalist, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, who was part of the classical band The Kanneh-Masons, went on to win the BBC's Young Musician of the Year 2016. Since appearing on BGT, Sheku has performed at the BAFTAs, the BBC Proms and even the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
We're jealous of the last one especially…
If you want to join this group of successful contestants, come down to audition next Sunday. You won't regret it.
We must admit; even though American politics make us weep – we LIVE for the stories about Trump's personal life.
Half the time we are still scratching our heads as to HOW on earth he was elected and remains in office despite the sheer volume of scandals that have come out.
One particular scandal is going to be discussed on the Ray D'Arcy Show tomorrow – and tuning in is a MUST.
'Blackfishing' is the bizarre beauty trend that has the internet exploding, and we want to know your feelings on the matter.
In case anyone is confused about the meaning behind the term, 'blackfishing' is relatively new phrase describing people who pretend to have a different ethnicity online, specifically non-Caucasian.
It ahs become increasingly common amongst young white women on Instagram who use certain filters and language to pose as black or Asian, whether for attention or to capitalise, but other internet users deny that there is any racist intentions behind it.
We are SHOOK at this new information; some users online seemingly even use dark filters, are deliberately ambiguous about their face, wear make-up much darker than their natural complexion and use false or altered hair to appear flawlessly black or Asian.
A young woman named Odinaka even created a Twitter account (which was later suspended) dedicated to outing any reported cases of evident 'blackfishing' from white women.
"I created the account because I thought that there was really an alarming amount of white women posing as black women," she told The Cut.
“It’s very annoying to see people who aren’t black get praised…but yet actual black people get called things like hoodrat, ghetto and ratchet,” Odinaka said.
"They’re gaining success by appearing to look like me while I work ten times as hard to get where I really want to be. It’s unfair."
These white girls are out here claiming to be Native, editing themselves to look Asian, and doing blackface.
Writer Wanna Thompson spoke to Buzzfeed regarding the alarming trend of 'blackfishing', where she claimed that more responsibility needs to be undertaken when it comes to ethnic transparency:
“It’s clear that a lot of black women are being overlooked for these white women, so that narrative needs to change"
Speaking about the latest infamous incident involving model Emma Hallberg, she said:
"Nobody is saying you can’t get a tan or modify your appearance but she was intentionally ignoring the comments from black women specifically who genuinely wanted an honest dialogue…Her resistance to own up to her ‘blackfishing’ makes me wonder if she truly cares about black voices at all.”
Swedish Instagram model Hallberg is the latest influencer who has landed in MAJOR trouble after being called out for potential cultural appropriation.
Social media users are now claiming that the 19-year-old influencer has been "pretending to be black" online, but she is adamantly denying these accusations.
According to Hallberg, everyone in her family has naturally curly hair and tan easily, and she has never fully clarified her race on her account. However, this explanation didn't stop the torrent of hate which was heading her way.
Emma is frequently seen sporting a heavily tanned skin complexion and has even appeared on Instagram pages promoting black models, therefore many social media users assumed she was mixed race.
Understandably, the internet nearly lost it's mind, and a storm of angry responses erupted as more alleged examples of 'blackfishing' were noted.
Some people deny the trend altogether, believing that models simply use methods of tanning as part of their personal beauty regime:
if yall think ariana grande wearing a bit of fake tan is classed as blackface you would have a fucking field day coming to northern britain
However, many people online commented on the double standards which are present, emphasising that black women are often criticised for being unprofessional or unkempt for their braided or 'untameable' hair.
Some have even sent home from school for their appearance, yet some (apparently Caucasian) influencers are complimented on their aesthetic.
Many of the accused responded with statements reiterating that they were never trying to appear as another race in the first place, the usual responses were regarding make-up preferences, tanning and hair types such as cornrows and perms.
Supposed Asian 'blackfishers' have also been revealed online, with people changing the shape of their face to appear as another ethnicity:
There is much division surrounding the intentions behind these social media influencers; some deny that celebrities such as Kim Kardashian mean any harm when they adopt typically 'black' styles such as braids or dreadlocks.
The prominent issue is that Caucasian people who adopt these racial beauty styles are possibly capitalising on them, while still having white privilege.
Others defend those online for their beauty habits, stating that they have never been pretending to change skin tone, only adopting new trends or even just complimenting other cultures.
