ON MOTHERHOOD… with Jessie Ware and Francesca Segal

Motherhood is often portrayed purely as a joyful, magical chapter of life – and while it certainly can be – we rarely speak openly about the hard, exhausting and deeply challenging truths. In this episode, singer‑songwriter Jessie Ware reflects on becoming a parent while building a career in the public eye. She talks about the pressure she felt to prove she could do everything at once, the exhaustion that followed and the grounding process of learning to be present rather than perfect. We also hear from novelist Francesca Segal, who shares the story of her twins’ premature birth and the unexpected reality of early motherhood inside a neonatal ward. She describes the chasm between the idealised story of birth and the lived experience many mothers face. I hope this episode brings comfort to anyone navigating the complexities of motherhood. May it remind you that every journey is different, that there is no single right way to parent and that you are never alone in this experience. Listen to Jessie’s full episode of How to Fail here: Listen to Francesca’s full episode of How to Fail here: swap.fm/l/MsPtRFvgP8z18GLPgpdL 🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS: Maternal Support: Elizabeth’s Substack: Join the How To Fail community: 💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE?

You can listen to ON MOTHERHOOD… with Jessie Ware and Francesca Segal online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

ON MOTHERHOOD… with Jessie Ware and Francesca Segal is an episode from How To Fail With Elizabeth Day by Sony Music.

This episode is 19:11 long.

This episode was published on Mar 16, 2026.

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