TRISHA PAYTAS: The Truth Behind the Person Millions Watch Online

Episode of On Purpose with Jay Shetty · October 28, 2026 · 1 h 47 min

Jay Shetty interviews Trisha Paytas about childhood trauma, sex work, trolling for attention, the Frenemies fallout with Ethan Klein, psychosis, meditation, and motherhood.

Summary

Jay Shetty spoke with internet personality Trisha Paytas about her memoir Crying on the Kitchen Floor. Paytas described a blurry childhood with largely absent working parents, an early search for attention modeled on films such as Taxi Driver and on Howard Stern, and five instances of sexual misconduct by teachers. She said teachers and classmates repeatedly told her she would become a stripper, and she described years of stripping, street sex work and later OnlyFans, which she said she now regards with disgust and lingering trauma. She argued that relationships between much older men and young women should be condemned and criticized films that romanticize them.

Paytas recounted inventing personas and lies to get on television and later making trolling videos for money, including bits borrowed from Andy Kaufman, and said that trolling made people disbelieve her genuine cries for help, a 'boy who cried wolf' dynamic. She discussed her 2019 cancellation after a public breakup, an overdose and hospitalization, and a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder followed by dialectical behavior therapy. Shetty shared that he grew up in an intense home and described monastic vows and non-judgment from his monk training.

Paytas called the Frenemies podcast with Ethan Klein her career peak and worst cancellation, gave her account of its end and an unaired reconciliation episode, and said harassment, including denial of her account of abuse by a former teacher, triggered a psychotic break in 2021. She said meditation helped quiet the voices, and credited her husband Moses Hacmon and her children with giving her the love she had sought through fame. The episode closed with Shetty's final five questions.

Chapters

1:23
Identity and motherhood
Paytas discussed the memoir's 'warning lies ahead' framing and said motherhood helped her find herself.
3:49
Childhood, movies and seeking attention
Paytas described a blurry childhood, absent father, and learning to seek attention from films and Howard Stern.
11:55
Teachers and being told she'd be a stripper
Paytas recounted teachers' comments, five instances of teacher misconduct, and her shame about them.
18:35
Invented personas and age-gap romance
Paytas described lying to get on TV and criticized media that romanticizes older men with young girls.
28:28
Moving to LA and sex work
Paytas described stripping, sex work and OnlyFans and the disgust and trauma she still feels.
38:43
Trolling and online personas
Paytas explained her rage-bait videos, Andy Kaufman-inspired bits, and the costs of a fake persona.
48:26
Streamies, judgment and monk life
The two recalled meeting at the Streamies and Shetty described non-judgment and monastic vows.
54:05
Wellness checks and mental hospitals
Paytas described cries for help, police wellness checks and a 72-hour hold.
1:00:10
Public relationships and the 2019 rock bottom
Paytas reflected on an overexposed relationship, her cancellation, an overdose, and her BPD diagnosis and DBT.
1:10:56
Frenemies rise and fall
Paytas described Frenemies as her career peak and her account of its end and the unaired final episode.
1:19:56
Harassment, psychosis and meditation
Paytas described a 2021 psychotic break after harassment and how meditation helped her recover.
1:29:54
Ethan Klein, Moses and finding love
Paytas discussed the feud with Klein, her husband's role, and finding purpose in family.
1:38:53
Final five
Paytas answered Shetty's closing questions on advice, regret, apologies and kindness.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Trisha Paytas
Paytas said a seventh-grade math teacher told her she would be on a pole, one of many adults who said she'd become a stripper.
“I had a math teacher. This is my seventh grade year. Same thing”
Listen from 12:51 · Child abuse
Trisha Paytas
Paytas said she experienced five separate instances of sexual misconduct by teachers, causing her to move schools.
“I had five different instances. So that's why I moved around to schools a lot”
Listen from 23:35 · Child abuse
Trisha Paytas
Paytas argued that relationships between people in their 40s and 18-to-20-year-olds should be illegal, suggesting a threshold of 21.
“It's legal, but also even 18, 19, 20. I think that should be illegal. I should be like 21 or something”
Listen from 27:11
Trisha Paytas
Paytas said she did sex work out of low self-worth and now feels disgust and PTSD about it.
“I really just had such low value in myself that I was taking any dollar amount to like touch my body”
Listen from 31:48 · Sex work
Trisha Paytas
Paytas said her first trolling video, praising Mitt Romney, earned about $8,000 and seemed easier than street sex work.
“my first trolling video was about how I love Mitt Romney. And I, like, didn't know anything about him, but it pissed people off”
Listen from 39:38 · Social media and self-presentation
Trisha Paytas
Paytas said trolling about things she didn't believe caused people to disbelieve her sincere statements.
“by pissing people off for the things that I didn't stand by, people didn't believe the things I did stand by”
Listen from 41:45 · Social media and self-presentation
Trisha Paytas
Paytas attributed her attacks on fellow creators to jealousy over their opportunities.
“it was truly just because I was, like, so angry. I wasn't being seen”
Listen from 52:32 · Cancel culture
Trisha Paytas
Paytas criticized psychiatric holds as providing little real treatment.
“They kind of just hold you there for 72 hours and see if the crazy wears off”
Listen from 56:00
Jay Shetty
Shetty said monks have no money and no choices, which is the purpose of the vows of simplicity.
“You don't get to choose what you eat. You don't get to choose what you wear”
Listen from 56:53
Trisha Paytas
Paytas said DBT group classes were the first time she heard others describe her experiences, such as splitting and self-sabotage.
“it was the first time I heard other people saying the same stories of splitting”
Listen from 1:10:11 · Dialectical behavior therapy
Trisha Paytas
Paytas described Frenemies as both her biggest career highlight and her worst cancellation, with millions of weekly viewers.
“Frenemies was without a doubt the biggest career highlight for me. We had five to six million people watching every week”
Listen from 1:12:16 · Frenemies (podcast)
Trisha Paytas
Paytas claimed Klein recorded a reconciliatory final episode in which he apologized but chose not to air it.
“he said right after Moses called, he's like, he's not going to air that. And I was like, why? He's like, because he admitted blame”
Listen from 1:19:41 · Frenemies (podcast)
Linked moment · 1:19:56Skip to 1:19:56 using a listen link in the info box.
Trisha Paytas
Paytas said harassment after Frenemies, more than drugs, triggered her psychosis.
“I wasn't on drugs. I was in therapy. I had a fiance. I had everything like that one is the one that sent me the voices in the head”
Listen from 1:19:56 · Psychosis
Trisha Paytas
Paytas said meditation techniques she found online helped stop the voices and she still practices daily silence.
“I still do it every day I have to have at least like 30 minutes of silence in the morning before I go on my phone”
Listen from 1:26:35 · Meditation
Jay Shetty
Shetty argued Paytas pursued love through validation, sex and fame before realizing it could only come from real love.
“You look for it in sex. You look for it in fame. You look for it in all of these ways”
Listen from 1:37:53 · Fame
Trisha Paytas
Paytas said that shortly before her wedding she owed $1.5 million to the IRS.
“hey, I owe $1.5 million to the IRS and I don't have it”
Listen from 1:38:22
Trisha Paytas
Paytas said she practices kindness by viewing others as someone's child and that public dragging helps no one.
“Dragging someone publicly helps absolutely nobody. And it just fuels more people in the fire”
Listen from 1:42:44

People

In the conversation

Jay ShettyBritish author, podcast host and former monk who hosts On Purpose
Trisha PaytasInternet personality who disclosed using GLP-1 drugs

Discussed

Ethan KleinYouTuber and H3 Podcast co-host; Paytas's former Frenemies co-host and brother-in-law of her husband
Moses HacmonPaytas's husband, an artist
Andy KaufmanAmerican comedian whose bits inspired Paytas's early trolling videos
Howard SternAmerican radio host on whose show Stallone's parents argued in 1992
Pema ChödrönAmerican Tibetan Buddhist nun and author cited by Shetty
Hila KleinEthan Klein's wife and Moses Hacmon's sister
Joey GraceffaYouTuber whose YouTube Red show Paytas envied
Grace HelbigYouTuber who got an E! show, which Paytas said made her jealous
Dr. DrewAmerican TV addiction medicine specialist mentioned by Paytas

Topics

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From the publisher

This episode with Trisha Paytas was filmed on September 28th and set to release on October 28th Trisha Paytas opens up like never before about the experiences that shaped her life, from childhood trauma and her complicated relationship with her father to stripping and the years she spent chasing fame and validation online. She reflects on the rise and fallout of Frenemies, the intense online backlash that followed, and how therapy, DBT, and meditation helped her rebuild her life. Trisha also shares how her marriage to Moses and becoming a mother have changed her perspective on success, happiness, and what truly matters. In her upcoming memoir, Crying on the Kitchen Floor, she reflects on her complicated relationship with fame, her mental health struggles, and the journey that brought her into a new era of healing. With Love and Gratitude, Jay Shetty Trigger Warning: The following series contains discussions of suicide which some viewers may find troubling. If you or someone you know is struggling, information and crisis resources are available at www.wannatalkaboutit.com Instagram Teen Accounts: Built-in protections for teens. JAY'S DAILY WISDOM DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX Join 900,000+ readers discovering how small daily shifts create big life change with my free newsletter. Subscribe here: https://news.jayshetty.me/subscribe Check out our Apple subscription to unlock bonus content of On Purpose! https://lnk.to/JayShettyPodcast What We Discuss: 00:00 Introduction 01:50 Warning Lies Ahead! 03:00 Finding Identity Through Motherhood 03:51 Blurry Childhood And Early Exposure 06:12 Seeking Her Father's Approval 08:20 Fears Of Raising Daughters 11:54 Growing Up Without Guidance & A Teacher’s Hurtful Comment 16:26 The Importance of A Mother's Protective Love 18:37 Invented Personas And Her First TV Appearance 21:23 Media's Romanticizing of Age-Gap Relationships 23:32 When A Teacher Crossed the Line 27:45 Advocating Against Power Imbalances 29:14 Moving To LA And Ent…

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on November 7, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Mental Health·Society & Culture·Personal Journals