Zoe Ball and Jo Whiley debate whether women ever reach the stage of fewer cares

Zoe Ball and Jo Whiley’s excellent Dig It podcast is certainly a welcoming and informative place for midlife women in need of some solidarity.

The amiable pair, whom many will have watched and listened to growing up, cover so many poignant and relevant topics.

Jo has opened up about caring for elderly parents and her thoughts on HRT, while Zoe’s account of facing Christmas without her mum was so raw and moving.

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During a recent episode, the iconic pair debated whether women ever really reach the stage of having fewer cares, or if this is just something of myth and legend.

Kicking off, Zoe says, “There’s this whole subject that as you get older, you get a bit more ‘f*** it,’ and you stop worrying about things.”

She adds, “There’s been quite a few articles about ‘yes, you give less f**** as you get older,’ and I don’t know if that’s true.”

She wonders whether you stop caring about some things that concerned you when you were young, but other things just step in and replace those worries.

She explains that “as you come through menopause,” she hopes there’s a stage where you no longer care about how you look or how life is, and just let it all go.

Jo disagrees that this stage ever existed, or can be reached. “I think it just gets harder,” she says of life, adding, “you then have your children who have so many issues that you’re trying to help them with, and you have your parents – I can’t see an end to it to be honest with you.”

Jo adds, “I can only see a time where you’re supporting everyone around you, always,” which must be the reality for a lot of women.

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“Life is hard and painful, and has lots and lots of issues. You just have to deal with it and get through things,” she says.

“I can’t see that there’s this magical rainbow moment where you go, ‘this is glorious, this is wonderful!,'” Jo tells Zoe.

Jo believes that the peak time for zero cares is in your 20s – you just don’t know it then. However, there is a distinction between having zero cares about things such as ageing, weight, and what you’re wearing, and literally having none at all.

It might be possible to let go of cares about physical appearance, which is something that’s easier to control than external factors impacting your ability to have no cares – parents, children and other things demanding your attention can’t be cast aside.

Do We Really Care Less As We Get Older? – YouTube

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Despite the evident nuance of the subject, Zoe shares that if there is such a thing an a time where no cares are to be had, she wants to be there.

“I’m looking forward to that f*** it era,” she says, while Jo adds, “Me too, and maybe it will come – and I can’t wait.”

Zoe mused that it might not arrive until she was in her 80s. She also relatably likened her current life to being in an Indiana Jones film – being chased down a hill by a “massive ball,” while you simultaneously juggle another life disaster.

Another chat from Zoe and Jo that will undoubtedly resonate with a lot of women.