‘What Matters With Liz’ Episode 15: Jenny Mollen Gets Real About Living Life With Grit — ‘I Want My Kids To See That You Can’t Keep This B—H Down’
The actress and writer gets candid on the video and podcast about motherhood, rejection and why 'no' no longer scares her
Key Takeaways
- Jenny Mollen says years of rejection and dyslexia helped build the resilience she has today.
- The actress opens up about marriage to ex Jason Biggs, motherhood and her sons’ privacy.
- Mollen reveals why writing, honesty and humor help her process life’s hardest moments.
Jenny Mollen been called an actress, a New York Times bestselling author and an influencer, but at the heart of Mollen’s multi-hyphenate career is storytelling driven by curiosity, humor, and connection.
On What Matters with Liz this week, Mollen reflects on the importance of listening, valuing other people’s stories, and sharing your truth. She explains how writing helps her process emotion and make sense of the world.
Fearless, forthright, and unfiltered, Mollen talks about life in the public eye, her social media regrets, and why Instagram is “the ultimate narcissist.” She gets real about her marriage to her ex Jason Biggs and how feeling like “the American Pie spare” was both frustrating and strangely freeing. She explains why she and Jason decided to protect their children’s privacy and not share their faces and why she hopes to delay giving her sons cell phones until they’re sixteen.
Mollen also shares how dyslexia, rejection and years of hearing “no” built her resilience and drive. She explains that every hero’s journey starts with hardship and her happy fairytale ending is for her sons to see that no matter what life throws at their mother, she’ll keep moving forward, rewrite the story and become her own hero.
Watch What Matters with Liz Episode 14 here or listen on Spotify, Amazon Music and Apple Podcasts.
Watch Episode 15 right here! ‘What Matters with Jenny Mollen: Connection, Humor & Grit’
In this episode, Jenny Mollen opens up about:
- Finding her voice in oversharing and turning the chaos of life into comedy
- The anxiety of public life and why she calls Instagram “the ultimate narcissist”
- Marriage, fame and the decision to share her ex Jason Biggs’ infamous “American Pie” scene with their 12-year-old son
- Her scariest moment as a mother
- Her biggest social media regret
- How writing helps her understand herself and other people
- Why “Do it for the plot” became her life philosophy
- The art of listening, building connection, and community
- Why she’d still write even if the audience disappeared
- Celebrating her 40th birthday with a Bat Mitzvah ceremony in Israel
- Supporting the Kenya Education Fund and putting faith into action
- How the October 7th tragedy changed her perspective
- The loss of her soulmate pet
- Struggling with an eating disorder
- Where she finds joy during life’s darkest moments
- Dyslexia, rejection and the grit she developed hearing “no”
- Why failure no longer scares her
- Her definition of a happy fairytale ending now
Why she’s still writing it all down
For Mollen, writing isn’t just how she earns a living—it’s how she makes sense of being alive. Putting words on a page helps her process emotion, understand herself and connect with other women navigating their own complicated middles.
“I want to know people because I also want to be known by them,” she says. “I want to have that connection.”
That hunger for honest connection is what has built her devoted following. She’d keep writing, she says, even if the audience disappeared tomorrow—because the practice itself is what carries her through both the hardest chapters and the most joyful ones.
The grit she’s modeling for her sons
Mollen credits dyslexia, rejection and years of hearing “no” with building the resilience that defines her now. Every hero’s journey starts with hardship, she says, and her happy fairytale ending is for her sons to watch their mother keep rewriting her story no matter what comes.
“I want my kids to see that you can’t keep this b-tch down—she is just gonna keep going. And I want them to always keep going,” Mollen says. “I want them to have grit. I am desperate for them to have the grit.”
It’s a sentiment that lands especially hard for women in midlife—those who’ve absorbed plenty of nos themselves, rebuilt after setbacks and are quietly determined to model resilience for the next generation.
“I’ve been told no so many times that no doesn’t mean anything anymore,” she declares. “It’s lost its power.”
What Matters with Liz airs every Wednesday on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music and Apple Podcasts, with highlights and behind-the-scenes clips shared on Instagram and Facebook.
Also, be sure to subscribe to the What Matters With Liz free newsletter from Woman’s World Editor-in-Chief Liz Vaccariello. Every week, you’ll get real talk about health, money and entertainment, plus uplifting stories, practical tips and exclusive updates on Vaccariello’s new video podcast.
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