{"id":954426,"date":"2026-05-12T08:32:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T08:32:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/954426\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T08:32:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T08:32:36","slug":"my-childhood-with-lottie-ryan-dad-was-my-best-friend-counsellor-and-confidant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/954426\/","title":{"rendered":"My Childhood with Lottie Ryan: Dad was my best friend, counsellor and confidant"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOTTIE RYAN believes her weekly podcast with her sister, Bonnie, has brought them closer.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s in Brooklyn, and I\u2019m in Dublin,\u201d says the 40-year-old podcaster and broadcaster. \u201cBut bizarrely, considering we\u2019re on different continents, the fact we\u2019re scheduling time to chat every week means we\u2019re communicating more regularly, which is great for our relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

She is the eldest of Gerry and Morah Ryan\u2019s five children, and she says her family has always been close-knit: \u201cLosing dad in 2010 bonded us together even more. Only we six understood what we were going through, so we closed ranks and went through it together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many happy years preceded that loss. Ryan describes the home she grew up in in Clontarf as \u201ca mad house, in the best possible way\u201d.<\/p>\n

Her parents had Lottie, Rex, Bonnie, Elliott, and Babette over the course of 15 years: \u201cWe were like the Brady Bunch. The dynamic was wild, with kids, teenagers, and young adults under one roof.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LottieLottie and Bonnie Ryan in 1992.<\/p>\n

These days, Ryan\u2019s podcasts and regular radio and TV work have established her as a bubbly and outgoing personality. However, the 2020 Dancing with the Stars winner says people would be surprised to learn how shy she was as a child.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was painfully shy,\u201d she says. \u201cMum and dad would ask me to do things like pay for items in the supermarket just to get me to interact with people. I\u2019m still introverted in my personal life. I\u2019ve never been one for parties or socialising with big groups.<\/p>\n

“My younger siblings aren\u2019t like that at all. They\u2019d talk to a brick wall if it could talk back to them. I\u2019m in awe of their confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet this shy young girl discovered that she loved the stage. Her paternal grandmother, Maureen, owned a costume shop above Dublin\u2019s Olympia Theatre, and Ryan says: \u201cI spent my childhood there, surrounded by actors, dancers, and performers, adoring the theatrics and energy of it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her parents encouraged her interest in performance, enrolling her for dance and drama classes from the age of four.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they thought it would help me come out of my shell,\u201d she says. \u201cFrom then on, I loved performing, and I think it was the first thing I ever felt I was good at.\u201d<\/p>\n

School days<\/p>\n

School was more problematic. She struggled with dyslexia in primary school. However, because both her parents were also dyslexic, they spotted it early and got her extra help.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey used to be called thick at school and didn\u2019t want that to happen to me,\u201d says Ryan. \u201cSo someone used to come to our house to give me after-school classes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her parents also told her dyslexia was \u201ca gift and not something to be ashamed of or embarrassed about. They always said that we all get to the same destination. Some of us just have to take different routes. And who knows what we might come across along the way?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ryan was bullied in her first year of secondary school and eventually moved schools. She now says that \u201cbeing a teenager sucks. It took me a while to find my clique, and when I did, it was great.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n But before that, there were times I\u2019d spend lunch sitting in the toilet to avoid the bullies.\n <\/p>\n

Her parents were a huge support during those times. Her father would drive her to school and sit in the car with her until just before the bell rang.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had a show from 9am to 12pm, but he didn\u2019t want me to be by myself waiting for class to begin. Knowing that I was important to some people gave me a feeling of value and strength.\u201d<\/p>\n

These days, Ryan stands up to bullies: \u201cIf I spot them, I call them out. Whether it\u2019s in real life or on social media, I won\u2019t put up with it, especially if I see it happening to family or friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it came to her career, Ryan says: \u201cI always knew where I was going.\u201d<\/p>\n

She studied media and television in Col\u00e1iste Dh\u00falaigh and Griffith College in Dublin, and afterwards moved to New York, where she worked as a runner on CBS\u2019s The Good Life.\n <\/p>\n

In her early 20s at the time, she remembers feeling \u201cdesperately homesick. Coming from such a noisy household, the silence took a lot of getting used to\u201d.<\/p>\n

Now that she has her own son \u2014 Wolf, who\u2019s five in July \u2014 Ryan is trying to pass on the values and lessons she learned from her parents. \u201cI always felt I had the cool parents,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cOurs was the house everyone came to for sleepovers and parties. Mum was beautiful, stylish, and bohemian with cool make-up, shades, and deadly outfits.<\/p>\n

\u201cDad was my best friend, counsellor, and confidant. I could talk to them about anything. We always had an honest, open relationship and candid conversations with no judgement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LottieLottie Ryan says people would be surprised to learn how shy she was as a child.<\/p>\n

She hopes to have that relationship with Wolf.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want him to know he can come to me,\u201d she says. \u201cNo matter if it\u2019s good, bad, or ugly, I\u2019ll always have his back. I also want him to have some of the traditions we had growing up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Spending New Year\u2019s Eve together, the summer holidays we took \u2014 those were important milestones for us five and mum and dad, and I\u2019d love for him to have those memories too.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut most of all, I want him to have the self-belief and confidence to live a life that makes him happy, which is what my mum and dad wanted for me too.\u201d<\/p>\n