Melanie Bracewell: 'My fiancé's memory loss stole our first dates'
5/25/202653 min
Hello! Today, we're joined by the brilliant Melanie Bracewell - comedian, TV host, writer and one of the sharpest talents to come out of New Zealand. Mel first built a cult following as a teenage Tumblr text-post blogger before exploding onto the international stage in 2020 with her wildly accurate impersonations of former New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. Since then, she's become a beloved presence across comedy and television. In this conversation, Mel opens up about the early stages of her relationship with her fiancé Shaun, including how his short-term memory loss shaped the beginning of their connection. Mel also candidly shares the moment she decided she got an ADHD diagnosis later in life, and how it's changed the way she understands herself and her creativity. If you’d like to support Mel, you can buy tickets to her current tour, Dilly Dallying right here! Your host today was Ruby Hall (@rubytuesday2.0), and the guest was Melanie Bracewell (@melaniebracewell). Inherited is produced by Monica Vantilburg and executive-produced by Lucy Hunt. If you enjoyed this episode, click ‘follow’ on your favourite podcast app! We’re also on Instagram and TikTok @inheritedthepod. We’ll be back with another Life Lessons episode on Thursday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
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Melanie Bracewell· Guest0:30
[upbeat music] Melanie Bracewell, welcome to Inheritance.
Ruby Hall· Host0:39
Oh my God, it's great to be here in this room. I feel like it's like, um, a room they'd have in a workplace to, like, get you to play with a clay model and- [laughs] ... and talk about your feelings.
Melanie Bracewell· Guest0:48
No, yeah, it really is kind of that room.
Ruby Hall· Host0:51
Yeah.
Melanie Bracewell· Guest0:51
[laughs] Sometimes I like locking in here and just doing work, even if we're not recording it. It's quite relaxing.
Ruby Hall· Host0:56
It's nice.
Melanie Bracewell· Guest0:56
Yeah.
Ruby Hall· Host0:56
It's ni- I feel like it's like a, almost like a bunker.
Melanie Bracewell· Guest0:59
Yeah.
Ruby Hall· Host1:00
[laughs] But like a, a really beautiful, lovely bunker- Oh, good ... that's, um, designed by women.
Melanie Bracewell· Guest1:05
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Ruby Hall· Host1:06
[laughs] We are all amazing girly pops here at Shameless Media. And you are absolutely just, I don't know, killing it right now. You have been for a long time, obviously. You are a writer, television host best known for your witty, sharp, and really superb storytelling, co-host of The Cheap Seats.
Melanie Bracewell· Guest1:23
Mm-hmm.
Ruby Hall· Host1:23
And you've been on Have You Been Paying Attention?, Taskmaster, and you're that woman who impersonated Jacinda Ardern with a wig on all the,