LATE BLOOMERS

This week on LATE BLOOMERS, Rich and Rox sit the Great Adulting Test: 20 questions pulled from Reddit and the internet about what actually makes someone a functional adult, with producer Max keeping score.Rox lost her licence in her 20s for running red lights, thinks "important mail" means her skincare deliveries, and has 350 unread WhatsApp chats. Rich has never paid a bill late in his life but will not do small talk with strangers, full stop. Neither of them knows their bank balance within £100, and nobody can agree who actually booked the dentist.It's ADHD vs autism at its most petty, and one of them wins comfortably. Keep score at home and let us know in the comments.Get our book THE CHERRY TREE THEORYhttp://linktr.ee/cherry.tree.theoryListen to the audiobookhttps://linktr.ee/CHERRY.TREE.AUDIOBOOK20% off Loop Earplugs: https://www.loopearplugs.com/adhdlove

Shame doesn’t say you did something bad. It says you are bad—and that belief can quietly ruin your whole life. This week, Rich and Rox confront ten things they’ve struggled to forgive themselves for, including addiction, debt, divorce, executive dysfunction, parenting mistakes and feeling like they’d wasted their lives.Rich shares the darkest consequences of his gambling addiction, while Rox opens up about the shame of being unable to manage basic tasks and believing she couldn’t trust herself. It’s raw, occasionally brutal and somehow still funny—because your worst mistake doesn’t have to become your entire identity.20% off Loop Earplugs: ⁠https://www.loopearplugs.com/adhdloveCHAPTERS00:00 The difference between shame and guilt01:38 “I can’t let anybody see how I live”03:03 “What’s that smell?”05:03 “My mistakes are unforgivable”05:50 Rich’s gambling addiction07:30 Why everyone needs a redemption story08:13 “I’ve wasted my life”11:02 “I’ve failed in relationships”14:03 “I’m a terrible friend”16:06 Loop Earplugs17:08 “Why don’t I want to be touched?”18:40 “I can’t trust myself”21:27 Being an emotionally unavailable father23:23 “I’m scared I’m a bad parent”26:13 Shame about autistic sensitivities27:41 Final thoughts

You might take the mask off after work—but are you actually taking it off at home? This week, Rich and Rox expose ten ways ADHD and autistic people can still perform around the people they trust most, from saying “I’m fine” and agreeing to plans you secretly dread to hiding sensory overwhelm, exhaustion and chaos.They talk fake facial expressions, panic-cleaning, apologising for moods that have nothing to do with you and why “I’ll do it later” often means something completely different. It turns out feeling safe enough to be honest can involve more awkward conversations—and fewer forced cuddles.20% off Loop Earplugs: ⁠https://www.loopearplugs.com/adhdlove

The ADHD brain can generate approximately 900 brilliant ideas before breakfast. Finishing one of them is where things get complicated. This week, Rich and Rox share ten ways to harness ADHD creativity without losing the plot, abandoning the project or accidentally bankrupting yourself.They talk hyperfocus, impossible goals, “dopamine dollars,” building the team your brain is missing and why confidence comes after you start—not before. Rox also discovers she may have leaked the title of another album, which rather proves one of the points.20% off Loop Earplugs: ⁠https://www.loopearplugs.com/adhdloveCHAPTERS00:00 ADHD and creativity02:18 When lightning strikes, run towards it06:07 Make the goal feel impossible08:43 Don’t spend your dopamine dollars10:35 Rox accidentally leaks another album11:27 Keep your creative project shiny13:17 Nobody starts confident15:16 Loop Earplugs16:22 Build the team your brain is missing20:54 Don’t become your own bottleneck23:29 Don’t make permanent decisions in temporary emotions25:59 Market like you don’t have ADHD29:45 Don’t bankrupt yourself33:07 Final thoughts

For years, Rich and Rox told everyone they were "the couple that never argued." Not true anymore. They argue all the time now, they're just better at it. This week they're breaking down exactly how to argue well so it doesn't end in a break-up, using a real recent row of theirs as the case study, plus a few cringe lessons from watching The Ultimatum.If you're in a relationship, this is the episode you need. Rich and Rox talk through the five rules that stop an argument turning into a breakup: why screaming shuts down all communication, why you can't demand your partner love you the way you love them, why trying to "win" an argument means you've already lost, why calling out your own bullshit disarms a row faster than anything else, and the biggest one, learning to translate what your partner actually means instead of just what they're saying. They also redo one of their worst arguments live, so you can hear exactly what it should have sounded like the first time.20% off Loop Earplugs: https://www.loopearplugs.com/adhdlove