Allison Kuch first popped up on my FYP a few years back, in one of those videos that makes you think, “Yeah, we could hang in real life.” In it, she walks up to her husband, NFL defensive end Isaac Rochell, and says, “Hey, babe, I think I’m ready.” When Rochell asks, “For a baby?” Kuch deadpans, “No, a margarita.”

Never mind the fact I had two kids when the video made its way to my feed; I could still relate. And after I hit follow and got to see more of Kuch’s content, I realized that’s sort of her magic: She just feels like one of the girls. Someone you’d get wine-drunk with while watching Love Is Blind. Someone you could count on to have a “hear me out” cake even more unhinged than your own.

By the time I actually get to meet Kuch (via Zoom, at least), life has come full circle — she and Rochell welcomed their daughter, Scottie Bee, in December 2023. And as they prepare to celebrate their little girl’s first birthday, to say the couple has a lot going on would be an understatement.

Rochell, who was recently released by the Las Vegas Raiders, is considering his options. Since this marks the first time in the last four years that they’ve gotten to stay in one place for longer than seven months, they decided to use the time to gut and renovate their Southern California home. Plus, Kuch hosts the Sunday Sports Club podcast, and they’ve both become social media creators with large followings.

So, life might look wildly different from Kuch’s ready-for-a-margarita days, but one thing hasn’t changed: She’s still bringing all of us along for the ride. Just shy of Scottie turning 1, I caught up with Kuch to pick her brain about what the couple is up to now.

Scary Mommy: As you approach the end of your first year of parenting, how do you feel becoming a mom has changed you?

Allie Kuch: In every way, shape, and form … I feel like it’s the most life-changing thing, bringing a child into this world — especially a daughter. I see bits and pieces of me, but in a better way. I definitely feel like she’s made me a better person.

SM: How do you feel parenthood has changed your relationship with Isaac?

AK: Being with somebody for 10 years, I feel like there aren’t a ton of surprises, but parenthood has definitely been a new journey for us. I think I’ve been surprised, not even by our relationship, but by other people sharing their experiences of how much their husband or their significant other doesn’t know about their child. I’m just so grateful that I have a partner who’s equally supportive and equally in it just as much as I am.

SM: Random sidebar: I love the name Scottie! Where does it come from?

AK: Honestly, it was one of those Pinterest graphics — I think it was ‘cute grandpa names for babies.’ And I was like, Wait, Scottie for a girl is really cute. We like unique names, but not too out there… something that you’ve heard before. So, when we found Scottie, we were so in love with it. You definitely get mixed opinions, though; I feel like the older generation is like, ‘Hhm, Scottie,’ and then the younger generation is like, ‘Wait, I love that.’

SM: What advice would you give that you would have appreciated when you were standing on the brink of this big journey?

AK: I think it’s just to take it each day, one day at a time … And I would give the advice to just listen to yourself a little bit more than you listen to everybody else’s opinion.

SM: Something you’ve been really open about is mental health as a new mom. Did that strike a chord with a lot of your followers?

AK: Yeah, absolutely. I think I was nervous to share just because I didn’t want people assuming that because I was sad that meant I didn’t like my daughter or I wasn’t happy to be a mom. The two are totally unrelated. With birth and postpartum and the hormone changes, you’re just changing so much as a person and in life.

I’m glad that I’ve shared, and I’ve definitely gotten a huge amount of support from my audience. Honestly, I don’t know what I would’ve done if I would’ve shared, ‘Oh, hey, I’m feeling this way,’ and people were like, ‘Oh, that’s weird. You should go and figure that out.’ Because being vulnerable, you want it to help you, but you also want it to help other people. So, hopefully, I’ve done that.

SM: You’ve also been really transparent about how hard it can be to make friends as an adult. Now that you’ve settled a bit, what have you found is working for you?

AK: Once I started sharing that I didn’t have a ton of friends in my own city, so many people have reached out and been like, ‘Wait, I don’t have friends; how do you meet friends?’ I finally found a little core group of friends. We do girls nights, we do craft nights. And we’re all parents, so it’s a breath of fresh air to be able to leave our kids but we can still talk about our kids, and everybody understands.

I think the hardest part about making friends as an adult and as a parent and in a new place and all these things is you have to be a little bit vulnerable and put yourself out there a tiny bit. That’s been a little hard for me because I’m like, ‘Oh, what if they don’t like me?’ But I feel like just if you see somebody and you have a small conversation, and you go, ‘We should grab coffee sometime.’ It’s as simple as that, and it can turn into a huge friendship.

SM: One thing that was really hard for me was negative self-talk, just because I lost a lot of confidence when my body changed. Have you thought about how you want conversations with Scottie about self-image and body image to go?

AK: I feel like I currently have to put myself in check sometimes, and my husband helps me do it. If I’m like, ‘Oh, I hate this,’ my husband’s always like, ‘Hey, you literally just had a baby. You need to give yourself some grace.’

It’s crazy because my daughter is picking up on so much already, even little hand movements, her knowing sign language… I’m like, Wait, you actually understand what I’m saying? I want to protect her because I don’t want her being raised around negativity and negative energy. I really want to create a positive household, especially with her as a girl — there are so many things that will affect you growing up. I know I was bullied when I was in middle school, and I swear it stuck with me for so long.

So, I want to raise a daughter who’s positive, but I also want to raise a daughter with a little sass because I don’t want anyone talking down to her. I want her to be able to hold her own. And I think I got that part covered, it’s just the more positive part I need to work on.

SM: It’s funny you said that because I think what originally drew me to you is you’re a little feral in the best way. Do you feel like that has come out more, or has it toned down a bit?

AK: I think it toned down initially because I was like, Oh, I’m a mom now. But now it’s kind of turned back up because I’m like, wait, I want my daughter to understand that life isn’t too serious. You need to make life fun along the way, no matter what’s happening — whether that be chaotic situations or more chill, relaxed situations.

SM: I feel like it’s infinitely harder now in the age of social media. How do you see being a parenting content creator in the future?

AK: That’s where I get a little stumped because there is so much out in the world, especially right now, and it’s like, what do I have next? Do I want to keep sharing as much as I have been sharing? At the end of the day, I want to be somebody that young girls, people my age, and older women can look up to in a positive way. Who’s always going to be transparent, always going to keep it real.

I feel like there’s a fine line between being transparent but not sharing too much that you feel like you’re just giving yourself to everybody, and everybody is allowed to have an opinion. It’s been an interesting line to walk, especially sharing my life on social media but wanting to keep my daughter’s life private. But, so far, I’m proud of what I’ve done and how much I’ve been able to share without sharing too much of her experience or her life.

SM: I’m sure it’s emotionally taxing, too, to give so much of yourself away. I go out for girls’ night once a week, and I love my girls, but afterward, I need a nap.

AK: Literally unclasping my bra in the car ride home. I’m like, ‘OK, that’s exhausting.’

And I know I want to keep my daughter offline because I want to protect her privacy, but it’s like, how do you share so much of your life, and you’re so transparent, and then the one thing that matters the most in your life, you have to keep private? I feel like that takes a lot of my mental space lately because I love her … I want to talk more about this and that, but then I don’t want to overstep.

SM: We obviously have to talk about football because, even in its absence, it still affects y’all’s life on such a granular level. How are you feeling about everything right now?

AK: The past year of football has been wild because we’re almost coming up on a year of my husband being released by the Raiders. When he was released, I was obviously upset, but looking back, I’m grateful that my husband was there throughout the whole postpartum experience, especially with everything I had gone through with my C-section and all of the recovery.

Now, I’m very at peace with whatever’s meant to be. In terms of his football career, I know he’s very confident in everything he’s done up to this point. And I’m looking forward to when he does retire because it’ll be a little bit more of a relaxed ‘I’m not scared we have to move next week; we get to actually grow up in this house’ kind of moment.

SM: The Sunday Sports Club podcast is fantastic. What’s been the most gratifying thing for you about doing it?

AK: Thank you. I think just sharing the love of sports with everybody. And it’s not even just sports but sports-adjacent, so anything that has to do with fitness and hanging out with friends and sports — but in a more pop culture kind of way and not the boring way that everybody tries to depict sports currently.

Whenever people say, ‘Oh my God, I learned this and taught my boyfriend about it, and he didn’t know,’ it’s the most gratifying thing ever. I’m like, Wow, I’m actually sharing stuff that people want to know, and they’re finding interest in it, and it’s helping them in their relationships.

SM: I can’t imagine y’all have a ton of downtime to just veg. But when you do, are there any shows you and Isaac watch together or favorite hobbies you share?

AK: We are huge into reality TV. We eat it up. My husband loves the juicy reality TV shows like The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Love Is Blind. Anything that has drama in it, we’re going to consume it.

If we’re not vegging out on the couch or in bed, we also love to try new food and new restaurants. Something we did while I was pregnant — we haven’t started doing it again, but hopefully, this will actually be the catalyst to do it — is that we would try out a new restaurant every week.

SM: I know there’s the possibility of some unscripted TV in your future, but y’all’s comedic timing is elite. Any thoughts about venturing into scripted TV?

AK: I think there’s no opportunity I would say no at the moment — I’m open to anything, and I’m excited for anything. So many people have asked, ‘Oh, what is next?’ I’m like, ‘I’m waiting on it to come to me, so I’ll let you know.’

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.