They say it takes a village, but sometimes, it takes a nation.
Forget the romances, back in 2015, Bachelor in Paradise fans fell in love with the friendship formed between Carly Waddell and Jade Roper during the show's second season. And Bachelor Nation has continued to support the pair as they're romantic relationships have changed—Jade married Tanner Tolbert in 2016 and Carly split from husband Evan Bass in December 2020—and become mothers.
With five kids under five between them, the best friends don't hold back when it comes to sharing the messy side of parenthood, using their podcast Mommies Tell All as a platform to share their highs and lows, while also supporting one another and the women listening to their relatable stories.
"Everyone is a different mom," Jade recently told E! News during a sitdown with her BFF. "We all have different parenting styles. Our children are different. Carly and I have some different parenting styles and our children have different situations and behaviors and we're always just there to listen and to laugh in the embarrassing moments. I think that's what moms really need."
For Jade—mom to Emmy, 4, Brooks, 2, and Reed, 18 months—she's learned perfection is wildly overrated.
"Your kids don't need a perfect mom. They just need you and so I feel like it's okay to show up and be you and be messy sometimes," she continued. "Because you're just creating an example of what it is to be human to your kids. So sometimes you need to know, like, you got this and you are enough."
For the BFFs, no topic is off limits, even peeing your pants isn't considered taboo. Which is why their partnership with Poise to launch the brand's new ultra-thin pads made sense for the pair, who have gotten real about their own experiences with bladder leaks. ("You don't have to not want to do something because you're worried about having a bladder leak," raved Carly.)
Fortunately for Jade and Carly—mom to Bella, 4, and Charlie Wolf, 2—they have each other to lean on through the ups and downs of parenthood, with Carly revealing they text each other all the time, and are also in constant contact with other Bachelor Nation moms, including Trista Sutter and Catherine Lowe.
"I feel like every day is a new chaotic thing that you just never expect and it's so nice to have friends that you can talk to about it," Carly told E!. "Especially that are moms because they just get it and they're like, 'Yep, I get it. I have no solution for you other than, like, you'll get through it, but I get it!' Sometimes you just need somebody to say that to you."
Take, for instance, back in January, when Carly and Jade were there to support Ashley Iaconetti after she welcomed her son Dawson, with husband Jared Haibon.
"We've been texting back and forth because she's like, 'I can't stop worrying about Dawson non-stop. Will this ever go away?'" Jade said. "I'm like, 'No, it never goes away. You will always forever worry about your child for the rest of your life.'"
Echoed Carly, "I was like, This too shall pass.' If you look at it as one big picture, It's so hard and really overwhelming. But when you take things hour-to-hour, sometimes day-to-day, motherhood becomes a little less stressful."
And motherhood looks different for everyone. While Jade is still breastfeeding, Carly is navigating co-parenting after her split.
"I will say I was really scared," Carly admitted of becoming a single mother. "I moved into this house and then I was on my own and I was so nervous. I didn't know that I could do it."
But, over time, "It got easier and easier and easier," Carly said. "I remember being so scared of nights, like, 'What's gonna happen tonight? Oh, gosh, have to do this by myself.' And now a night is just a night and a day is just a day. It's so normal and the kids are so happy, and they just have this sense of consistency. And I have a sense of peace about it. So I think I'm, like, rocking single mom life, honestly".
Jade was quick to praise her friend, saying, "I just want to say how proud I am of you. I'm so proud of you."
That sweet support system has also been vital when Carly and Jade have dealt with mom-shamers on the Internet. Jade's been under attack for sharing breastfeeding videos and allowing her daughter to play with makeup, while Carly fired back at "rude" people commenting on her body last year.
"And then it's always just like, 'Why?' I really don't like negative energy,'" Carly explained. "I like to live in the positive place. I think that what it comes down to is that you just can't care about it. You can like let it attach to you for a second and then you're like, 'Okay, I don't need that.'"
Being able to tune out the negativity is easier when you have someone to talk to who knows exactly what you're going through.
"Talking about it with each other is always good and helps us not be upset or angry," Carly continued. "It's so hard because you can get 1,000 really nice comments and then you get one and it really stings and stays with you. But, at the end of the day, that's just negative energy you don't need and that's not even reality. That that's not even the truth and you know your truth."
What is true for both Jade and Carly is that they will be spending Mother's Day together at a Poise event in Brooklyn, which will make their first time hanging out in-person in almost three years.
"We're going to be jumping in the world's biggest bouncy house," Jade shared. "We're going to go to brunch together, we're going to drink mimosas and go shopping."
Now that sounds like the real fantasy suite date of a mother's dream.