Real life friends and moms Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley of #IMOMSOHARD fame are bringing The Getaway Tour to The Ridgefield Playhouse on Oct. 7. They hope their fellow mom fans (and dad fans) join them for this all-new, two-person stand-up show.
The Ridgefield Playhouse
Sometimes a friendship is so seamless and meant to be it’s hard to pinpoint exactly where it began. Such is the case for Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley of #IMOMSOHARD fame, the hilarious podcast that has spawned several live comedy shows, a book, and every social media platform known to man.
Hensley and Smedley are bringing The Getaway Tour to The Ridgefield Playhouse on Oct. 7. They hope their fellow mom fans (and dad fans) join them for this all-new, two-person stand-up show.
The Los Angeles-based duo are both Nebraska natives but didn’t meet there. After Hensley attended one of Smedley’s sets they realized their many similarities and instantly became best friends. One of those commonalities was questioning their ability to be the perfect mom.
“You see all these photos of families in white walking along a beach on social media, and I’m scrolling by them with spit up on my shirt,” Smedley said.
Hensley agreed.
“We were sitting together one night talking about how we felt like failures as moms and crying over a glass of wine, and we realized we can’t be the only ones who feel like this,” she said.
The two decided to make a video in which they shared their feelings and introduced their families — which included Smedley forgetting the name of her newborn daughter — and the magic began.
“We started to see there were 5,000 views, then 10,000 views,” Hensley said.
With a camera, two husbands, a babysitter, and bottomless mimosas, Hensley and Smedley openly shared their fears and failures to prove that the only way to survive motherhood is through laughter and friendship. The video sparked an online community of 2 million followers.
Their podcasts have also become a global phenomenon, and detail the trials and tribulations of mom life, including getting older, ’80s and ’90s nostalgia, and society’s impossible beauty standards. One particularly popular podcast includes Hensley and Smedley modeling skimpy swimsuits that they deem ridiculous.
“Surprisingly, we didn’t get any modeling contracts,” Hensley said, laughing.
In another, the pair dons several layers of constricting Spanx, designed to conceal women’s bodies under their clothing. Another includes the two comically attempting to fit into their wedding dresses.
“Only the veil still fits,” Smedley laments.
Now at 2.2 million followers, more than 300 million views and 5 million Facebook Live views, the women cut loose like only moms can.
Hensley and Smedley both write and produce the #IMSH series with a common goal: “Maybe we can make you feel better about the job you’re doing if you see the terrible job we’re doing.”
This was particularly helpful to their audience during the pandemic, when Smedley and Hensley tried to stay in touch with their mom fans via virtual broadcasts.
“But there were times when we had to take a break ourselves,” Hensley recalled.
It was at this point that their audiences really shined, Smedley said.
“They know we are real moms and wives with our own challenges just like theirs, and they appreciate us for that,” she added.
The pair said their families are very supportive, and while their children would rather them be home, they know they have to work.
“Though they just don’t think we are funny,” Smedley said, laughing.
Their husbands are also supportive and take the out-of-town travel as an opportunity to prove how hard they work as solo caregivers.
“It’s like, I see the photos — I know you didn’t brush their hair and they were buying hot lunch,” Hensley said, laughing. “But as long as everyone is home and under one roof when I get back, that’s a win for me.”
The videos have received nearly 300 million views worldwide in just five years, and the phenomenon created has been nabbed for development by Warner Bros. The comedians have sold out two national tours, written a New York Times Best Selling book, landed branded deals with Fortune 100 companies like Walmart and Unilever, and taped a stand-up comedy special for Amazon Prime Video, launching the network’s first stand-up comedy platform. They have recently premiered their weekly podcast and a children’s book series with Harper Collins.
The Getaway Tour features an all-new show geared toward an adult audience, and Smedley and Hensley want audiences to cut loose and laugh. Audience interaction will be encouraged. They also teased a musical number, as one of the women (hint: Hensley) has picked up “four chords” on the guitar.
“We want people the next day to say their stomach hurts from laughing — that’s the kind of night we want to give them,” Hensley said.
For more information or to purchase touchless, print-at-home tickets ($110 - $135), visit www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org or call the box office 203-438-5795.