The Way They Were

This week on The Way They Were, Gráinne and Chantal hang the tinsel, spike the mulled wine, and take a sleigh ride through Christmas past, present and future via Crimbo movies. From Judy Garland’s golden-age yearning, through Jimmy Stewart’s moral reckonings, to Cate Blanchett’s ice-cool elegance and Alicia Silverstone teaching us that even Netflix makes mistakes . Along the way, Chantal reveals herself to be a Guardian Angel sent directly from Heaven to revive our Christmas spirits, while Gráinne is a big-city lady who’s forgotten the true meaning of Christmas and must be gently but firmly guided back to her Irish roots. Merry Christmas. God bless us, every one. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on The Way They Were, we do the unthinkable: we go back to Love Actually. Gráinne and Chantal rank the couples from least offensive to “maybe we should call the police”, asking the big questions Richard Curtis never did. Who do we hate the most? Are half these characters quietly unhinged? What exactly is going on with Keira Knightley’s extremely youthful bride? And is the secretary secretly a feminist icon? (No.) Along the way we interrogate Christmas number ones, language barriers, workplace power dynamics, and why we will always, always cry during that Emma Thompson scene. The full episode is available now on our Patreon: ⁠⁠patreon.com/TheWayTheyWere⁠⁠ You can also access our exclusive bonus episodes every other week and take part in The Gossip our exclusive Patreon group chat!  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This Kardashian romance promised a fairy tale and delivered a tragedy

Effie Gray and John Ruskin looked like the perfect Victorian power couple: she, bright and brilliant; he, the era’s leading art critic. But behind the portraits was one of history’s strangest age-gap marriages. Unconsummated, uncomfortable, and the sort of story that would make Gen Z turn away in horror. This week on The Way They Were, Gráinne and Chantal team up with one of Britain’s best stand-ups, Ian Smith, to look at the grottiest couples we've ever looked at on the show. To get episodes ad free and early, join us our Patreon: ⁠⁠patreon.com/TheWayTheyWere⁠⁠ You can also access our exclusive bonus episodes every other week and take part in The Gossip our exclusive Patreon group chat!  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Now this is a right royal mess. Before it all went spectacularly wrong. Before Epstein, before the exile, before the Palace decided Prince Andrew should probably just be Andrew: there was “Randy Andy” and Fergie. The cheeky, chaotic couple who briefly made the monarchy look like a Jilly Cooper book. From their whirlwind courtship and tabloid scandals to the toe-sucking! This was a love story that had it all. In fact maybe it had a little too much!  This week, comedian Michael Clarke (Crybabies, Everything Is News) joins Gráinne and Chantal to dive into the doomed romance of the Ex Duke and Duchess of York. ⚠️ Disclaimer: This episode was recorded prior to the recent revelations about Prince Andrew’s formal removal from the Royal Family and Sarah Ferguson’s overly pally prison letters to Jeffrey Epstein. To get episodes ad free and early, join us our Patreon: patreon.com/TheWayTheyWere You can also access our exclusive bonus episodes every other week and take part in The Gossip our exclusive Patreon group chat!  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.