The Former CEO Of Moms Drinking Wine: Annie Rober‪t‬

Mar 5 2021

I'm so excited to have one of her favorite Tik Tokers on this week's show! Annie Roberts, @thismamastillgotit_ is a sarcastic mom in Montreal, Canada who has over a quarter of a million followers. She makes her followers laugh with her honest, authentic and real accounts of motherhood. When she first went viral on TikTok she was famous for having a glass of wine in hand on every video. She quit alcohol in August and began sharing about it publically in December. I had been following her for a few months before she realized that they shared sobriety in common.

Here's the episode.

Don’t forget to rate, subscribe & share so it will reach others who would benefit from everywhere you get your podcast. Follow Annie on TikTok and Instagram @thismamastillgotit.

For more information about Sober Girls Yoga, and Alex’s coaching, meditations and yoga classes, join her on www.themindfullifepractice.com.

Full episode

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Welcome to the “Sober Yoga Girl Podcast” with Alex McRobs, international yoga teacher and sober coach. I broke up with booze for good in 2019 and now I'm here to help others do the same. You're not alone and a sober life can be fun and fulfilling. Let me show you how.

Alex: All right. So, welcome back to another episode of “Sober Yoga Girl”. I am so excited for this particular episode. I have someone who is a little bit famous on Tiktok, in my opinion, Annie Robert. And she is a Canadian mom who is also alcohol-free. So, hi Annie.

Annie: Hi. How are you?

Alex: Thank you so much for coming on. I'm good, how are you?

Annie: I'm really, really good. I'm excited. Super nervous, but we're good.

Alex: So, I have to tell you, when I first got Tiktok, which was in October, I'm very new to Tiktok. I like, didn't know how it worked at all, and you were like, the first person that came up on my "For You" page, or like one of the first people. So, you're one of the first people I ever followed on Tiktok. And I remember like seeing you were Canadian, and just like finding your videos so funny, and I followed you. And so, I was following you for a while. And then, I think it was around Christmas. So, maybe two months later when you first shared that you were sober, and I was like, Oh my god. She's like even cooler than I thought, so.

Annie: It's nice to know.

Alex: So, yeah. That's kind of how I got to know you.

Annie: No, yeah. My video started, well, I joined Tiktok in April with a big glass of wine, and in every video, I was drinking wine. It was the thing. In August, well, I gave up my big glass of wine and I started, you don't start talking about it right away because you're never sure you know how it's gonna play out or if you're gonna go back to the big glass of wine, but I didn't, so then I started sharing. About November-December, about, you know, being alcohol free and people really connected to me through that, so I'm sharing a little bit more and more about it, you know, also, so there you go.

Alex: That's amazing. Okay, wait. I can't believe you got Tiktok in April. That blows my mind. How many followers do you have now?

Annie: Yeah. I have, I like to say a little over a quarter of a million, but yeah, at 266,000.

Alex: That is wild. That's really cool.

Annie: And yesterday, I hit like, the 5,000,000 mark and like, so it's like, in your head you're like, 5,000,000 times people pressed on that little heart, you know, so it's, yeah, it's cool.

Alex: It's wild. What is that like? I'm sure when you got Tiktok, that was never or did you imagine?

Annie: No. Because I did it because my sister put me up to it once, because she made a Tiktok when we were all quarantined in March, April, and we're all bored out of our minds, so people were, you know, were just texting and just like, Look, I did a Tiktok. I'm like, You suck. It's horrible. She's like, You try and do one. I'm like, Okay. But it took a week, you know, because I was busy even in quarantine. And I did one, and then I got hooked. And then, Tiktok just went and then it just, I blew up, and I don't know like, it just took a big proportion and my account just like, blew up, and then, yeah.

Alex: Yeah.

Annie: Yeah, the rest is history.

Alex: That's amazing. What was your first viral video?

Annie: My first viral video was right here in my kitchen. I had my big glass of wine again and it was the attention all family tonight, I'm not cooking, or you're, and yeah. That one blew up. That went viral. I've had several that went viral, and it was my personal content that I made, so that was super cool. The one that I did with my daughter in the car when I'm telling her how, what to say to the bully.

Alex: Oh, I've seen that. I think that was the first one I saw, actually. I loved it.

Annie: Yeah. That, and we just did it on the way to school. And I'm like, I have an idea. Gracie, do you want to do this? And she's like, Okay. And she practiced it once. We pulled over to the side of the road. We did it. And then, it just, it blew up. Like crazy.

Alex: Yeah. That was actually, that was definitely the first one I saw because I thought it was so funny. And then, that was when I followed you.

Annie: And that was so me. That's why I was super proud of it that it did go viral because it wasn't somebody else's content. It was mine. And I honestly do tell my kids to do that. So, yeah. So, it was perfect. So, I was super proud of that one.

Alex: Yeah. That's amazing. And I also have seen that one of you with the wine glass actually, the attention one, I think you might have reposted it recently.

Annie: Yeah, I did. So, yeah, everybody got, and when you repost, when you're on Tiktok, you're like, You started drinking again. And I'm like, No. And people watch you, so you have to be very, very careful about, because then people are relating to you because you're not drinking anymore, and if I post an old video with me with a glass of wine, they come for me, and I'm like, No. So, yeah.

Alex: So, tell me a bit more about yourself. Like, maybe where you're from, sort of what you do.

Annie: Yeah. Well, first of all, I'm a mom. Right?

Alex: Yeah.

Annie: I'm from Montreal. I'm native. I'm mohawk. So, I was raised on the North Shore of Montreal in ...

Alex: Wow.

Annie: And now, I moved with my husband, we're more up North. And I've been married for 10 years with my husband for 15. When I met him, he had two daughters Kiki and Shani, and they were three and two. And now, they're almost 19, 17, so they're big girls now. So, I've always raised them as mine. Super close to them, and I have the minis. I have Gracie and Emma. So, we have four daughters. So, I'm very busy, very, very busy.

Alex: Yeah.

Annie: But I work also. I work in fruit and vegetable industry, and I'm a photographer, and I'm starting my own clothing line. Slowly but surely, we're getting there. So, yeah.

Alex: It's amazing. Wow. You wear so many hats.

Annie: Yeah. And I work out. That's my new thing since I don't drink anymore. I really put all my energy in that and my kids and, you know, just bettering myself. That's not a word.

Alex: Tell me about, you mentioned that you stopped drinking in, when did you stop? August?

Annie: Yeah. August 16th, when my daughter left for college. And it wasn't a plan, it wasn't a thing. I just cooked all day for her because I was making all her food for her apartment, and it was uber sad because we were very close. And I was like, Oh my god, she's leaving. And I always thought I would throw a party, you know, when your kids leave you're like, Yes. Laundry, one's out of the house. I always thought I would have been that parent but I got really, really sad and something, I don't know what clicked, but I'm like, I just, I'm not doing this anymore. And she was always there, pretty much, she had my back on everything. Let's say, if I would drink or she always took care of the little ones, and I'm like, I don't have that. She was my safety net. She was the one that was always, you know, patching up what I couldn't do, and I'm like, I'm losing that, and I'm like, I can't. I have to be on the ball. So, I just woke up the next morning and I was at the lake house and I packed everything up in record time. Put the kids in the car and like, we're going home. Summer is over, and I just quit.

Alex: Wow. Just like that. And it was just kind of like, it wasn't something you planned. It was just--

Annie: It wasn't planned.

Alex: Yeah.

Annie: And everybody's like, you'll never last because I would drink all the time I was the [ __ ] that when you would come to my house and be like, You have to drink. You can't, if you don't drink, we can't be friends. I was that person. And, yeah, and now I'm this person so it's weird, because nobody would ever thought that even my husband is like, I can't even believe you don't drink anymore. He even, sometimes, he's like, in the beginning, he's like, This will never last. Then, here we are. And it did.

Alex: You know, I think I'm similar to you in that regard like, I was the kind of life of the party. Always hosting parties, wine in the fridge, beer, and it, as well, for me, was kind of an overnight thing. Like, it wasn't ever like stopping or starting. It was just like, Okay. I'm done. I'm ripping the band-aid off. So, I can totally relate to that.

Annie: Yeah. Because we host a lot, like I cook a lot, so I always have everybody over, and this summer is going to be a challenge for me. I'm like, because we we're always at the lake, and we have fun, and we have friends, and all my friends are alcoholic.Oh my god, so how am I gonna navigate through this? But I'm feeling very strong and I'm not, it's just gonna be in, you have to adapt, right?

Alex: Yeah.

Annie: Because, I don't know. It's gonna be transitional. It's gonna be special.

Alex: Yeah.

Annie: I remember, we spoke for the first time when I was away. Remember? New Year's Eve, Christmas. And I was like, I'm so stressed. And it went super well.

Alex: Yeah.

Annie: I just focused on my kids and I focused on other things, and it went surprisingly well. But for sure when I see myself, I'm like, I'm gonna have to do this. I'm gonna have to do that. Like, when I can't really, and people, without being mean, or I think it's just like what I was doing as well telling people, Oh, you have to drink when you come to my house. I wasn't trying to be mean or an [ __ ] about it but my friends do that as well. They're like, Oh, come on. Have a drink. You were so much more fun. And so, it's hard.

Alex: Totally. It's like, I don't know what it is, it's something in our culture about like, I don't know, we think that you need to have fun to drink, and it's almost like, I don't know, we're just habituated to be this way, like as you say, like, they're not trying to be mean. It's just kind of I don't know.

Annie: I know it's like, you know, drink in your hand, and my sister, too, as well, is sober now. And today is her one year and a half.

Alex: Wow.

Annie: Yes. Yeah, and we always talk about it because how people get so uneasy around us, and we always bring our wine without alcohol, just because it makes, we have a glass in our hand and I don't know, it makes them feel better to see us with something in our hands, which is not water or whatever. I pimp mine up. I put a lemon in my water. I put ice. It looks like vodka, right? They're like, it's just same difference.

Alex: Exactly.

Annie: And I don't know, it's just, the hardest thing to my sobriety has been people around me. It's been the people and not me, because on the daily, I'm good, I'm strong, I'm feeling better, like I'm feeling amazing, but it's to see people's reaction and what people to say to you, it doesn't make me feel like that I need to drink, but it's just like, it's [ __ ] annoying. That's what it is.

Alex: Yeah.

Annie: You know, there's no other word. That's what it is.

Alex: The social dynamics, I think, are the hardest part. And I see that a lot as a sober coach, it's like, people, what really, they struggle with this like, how they're gonna tell their friends? How they're gonna tell their family? How they're gonna go to social occasions like, you know, you're talking about like, the first vacation, the first summer, you know, all of these firsts, and just kind of like, navigating that.

Annie: Yeah. I think it like, we do it to one like, one social event at a time, you know, not to overthink it.

Alex: Yeah.

Annie: And it's like, it's one day at a time. But, yeah. It's all those things that put, that I'm always, I know I'll be fine but it does stress me a little bit, but I know I'll be fine, but it's just like being, a little bit of anxiety of what are people, not about me, it's, I mean, I have anxiety about what people are gonna how they're gonna react, you know, more or less?

Alex: 100%. Yeah. So, tell me a bit more about how you started drinking, and sort of what influenced your drinking habits over time?

Annie: When I met my husband, I had never had wine in my life. I had my first glass of wine when I went for dinner with him the first time. And then, from there, it was a glass here, glass there, and then, maybe after my first child. I think my kids influenced my drinking.

Alex: Yeah.

Annie: But, yeah. It's every time you have a hard day, every time you have this. It was a glass of wine, a glass of wine, a glass of wine, and it ended up, you know, just accumulating it, since I would drink, it would be okay for me to drink here, drink there, and, you know, Oh I've already had a glass there. I have another one here, you know, so the glass is just accumulated, which accumulated to bottles, like in a day, I would drink like, for sure a bottle. Sometimes, I'd open another one and I finished it with grappa shots. You know, if I had a bad day, I didn't have a bottle of wine, I would drink grappa for, you know, I'd get home. I'd be cooking. And it was just, it wasn't fun anymore, it wasn't for pleasure, you know what I mean? Like, it was just because I needed it. It wasn't, Oh, let's have, it's fun, let's have a glass. Let's enjoy it. It was like, I needed for, to come down from something.

Alex: Totally.

Annie: To help me navigate that moment, but I had a lot of moments so I had a lot of glasses. That's the thing.

Alex: Yeah.

Annie: So, yeah. So, now I talk a lot with my husband like, I can't have a drink. So, we're gonna talk this out right now. I don't know what to do with all this emotion. And I remember we had a fight like, shortly after I stopped and automatically I remember, I'm in my truck and I go to call somebody on my phone to say, Let's go for lunch. And I'm like, I don't want to go for lunch, because if I go for lunch, I can't drink. Because automatically, I caught myself, I'm gonna go for lunch, I know it's been twice.

Alex: No worries.

Annie: I'm going for lunch and I would have had a glass of wine, a bottle of wine, came home and not cared about whatever went on. And just throw it under the rug, as I usually do. But then, I call them back I'm like, Hey, you know what? We're gonna have a conversation here right now, because my day is gonna be awful if we don't, because I'm gonna have to, I have all this and I don't wanna stay with all of this. I'm mad, I'm sad, or whatever, but usually I would have just drowned it.

Alex: Yeah.

Annie: And that's when I really got caught on to what, not that I kind of knew, but it was very clear that that's what I would always do.

Alex: Yeah.

Annie: Yeah.

Alex: And sometimes, you don't even notice it at the time, like I know when I was going through it, I didn't even realize that it was that coping strategy, and it's really once you take a step back from it that you sort of realize.

Annie: Yeah, absolutely. No, that particular moment, I really realize I'm like, Oh, yeah. Okay. So, that's what I've been doing. So, I'm like, it's all your fault. Yeah.

Alex: So, you mentioned kind of when you had your kids, drinking sort of increased. I was wondering if you could kind of talk a little bit about like, the culture around mommies and drinking wine, and is that something that you've noticed?

Annie: Oh, I was the CEO of mom drinking wine. Oh, yeah. Totally. And I still think it's a, you know, it's okay because as a mom, you're so stressed, you're tired, and you do need to calm down and you need something fun in your day, and wine does do that. It is fun. I'm not gonna say it isn't and I'm not going to say I don't miss it, and I'm not going to say I don't miss having chit chats with my girlfriend after having a glass of wine and, you know, you just like, your crap of the day. And, you know, it is fun and a lot of, yeah, I get the whole mom and wine thing, because I've done it, and I think a lot of people, if they need that, I'm all for it if you don't exaggerate or if you exaggerate like I did. I have no judgment because I've done it, and I've, you know, I think it's like a, if you have to go through that and if it makes you feel better, and if you're able to to manage to get out of there, well, you know, it's just, I don't know. I just don't want to have any judgment on that because I totally relate to that, and even my friends like, let's say, they'll come over like I don't drink anymore but I will pour you your glass of wine if you need a glass of wine. Like this week, I was having a conversation with a friend and she was having a, well, on text, and she's like, Oh my god. And she was in a bad place and she's like, I am not quitting drinking this week and I just wanted to text her like you would feel so much better if you did, but I'm like, I'm not gonna be that person and like, No. Not this week. Because I know, she's not in that mood, you know, you can never, so I don't want to become that friend that doesn't drink anymore and that's super annoying and like, You should stop drinking. I'm not that. If you want to drink, Hey, I'll be there. I'll still be your buddy and I'll open your bottle, because I get that. So, it's hard to, is it good? Is it not good? If you do it intelligently? But I do get that when you're a mom, you do want that glass of wine because I've had many, many, many, many, and they did help at the time, it did.

Alex: Yeah. And I love that because I think it's so easy sometimes when people quit drinking to go into like this preaching mode of like teaching others and I love that about you that you're just so like, non-judgmental to everyone else's kind of choices and journey and experiences.

Annie: Yeah. That's what it is. The good word is everybody, it's their journey, you know, and I had mine and if they, you know, if they need to get drunk and if you need to vomit, I'll hold your hair. You know? Because we've all been there and it it's, you know, and like I mean, I'm here right now. They're there. And we all have to respect as much as they respect my, where I am now, you're there now. All good. It's not like, Oh, I got sober and I don't want to be your friend anymore because I'm not there. Oh, no. I've been there and if you're there, well, you know, we'll be there together. But in my way and in your way, so.

Alex: Yeah. I love that.

Annie: Yeah.

Alex: So, what are the main benefits that you've felt or experienced since you've been alcohol-free?

Annie: Well, I sleep better. I'm more, my energy level is way better. The confidence and the clarity. The clarity on everything, all the aspects of my life, you know, it just brings you all around better. And I've tried to explain it to people as well. It's just like, everything is better and everything, I don't know has, it's just brought a confidence into me as well, because when you quit drinking and you're thriving through it and you're getting, you know, there's this confidence that builds up inside you're like, I'm doing it. Because, you know how hard it was. I know how hard it was for me to give up drinking, so like, Hey, I'm bad, yeah. So, the energy, the confidence, it's through the roots. I just feel all around like a new person and I feel really good, so just that is a reward in itself, you know?

Alex: Yeah. And you said that you got really into like exercising. Was that new since you quit alcohol, or?

Annie: No. I've always been, I've always trained but I've never been as consistent and, you know, like when you're drinking, Oh, don't train. You know you're not, no consistency really. So, I just like upped my game, so pretty much. That's all.

Alex: It's amazing.

Annie: Yeah.

Alex: Yeah. Me too, as well. It was like, once I quit drinking, that was when I became like a spinning teacher, and a bar teacher, and it just all kind of I don't know, maybe it was like, I was I was looking for somewhere to like kind of, maybe cope or I don't know, a way place to kind of spend my time and energy. I'm not sure but I can totally relate to that.

Annie: Yeah. For sure, I put all my energy. My husband is like, you're exaggerating like you should slow down. I'm like, You know what? I know. Like, I'm going overboard with this whole thing but it's keeping me sane, and happy, and let's just leave it at that. You know what I mean?

Alex: Yeah.

Annie: Like, just let me go with this.

Alex: Exactly. It's a way healthier habit.

Annie: Do you remember when I used to get drunk and like, you don't want that right now. Right? Just be happy right now.

Alex: Yeah. Exactly. Okay, so I know we talked a little bit at the beginning about being a Tiktok celebrity. I was wondering what are the best and the worst things about that?

Annie: The best and the worst things. People are horrible at times, but really, like, I haven't experienced the worst part of it yet, because a lot of people get a lot of bad comments. I get shitty comments, too, sometimes, but not as, I don't know because I don't lik,e put as much energy into the bad comments as other people on Tiktok. There was a bad one this weekend that just got me like, upset. Somebody said I was way more entertaining when I was drinking, and it just made me so upset.

Alex: Yeah.