How She Built Her Confidence, and Then an Empire with Krissy Cela | E57

In this solo episode, Krissy Cela sits down with Steven Bartlett to discuss her remarkable journey from building confidence through fitness to creating a thriving entrepreneurial empire. The conversation begins with Krissy addressing the persistent need women feel to justify their ambitions and success in a world that often questions their right to pursue them. She opens up about how the gym became her sanctuary and training ground for developing the mental toughness and confidence that would later fuel her business ventures. This physical transformation became more than aesthetic; it was deeply psychological and foundational to everything that followed. As the episode progresses, Krissy becomes vulnerable about the personal costs of her success. She discusses growing apart from her ex-partner, a painful consequence of rapid personal growth and diverging life trajectories. This leads into her complicated relationship with discussing her own success, revealing an interesting tension between achievement and the discomfort that comes with acknowledging it. Steven probes deeper into whether success has made her hard to date, touching on the challenges high-achieving women face in romantic relationships. The conversation then shifts to family dynamics, with Krissy reflecting on her parents' influence and the broader pressure placed on women to balance ambition with traditional expectations. She doesn't shy away from the harsh realities of entrepreneurship, stripping away the Instagram-friendly narrative to discuss the actual struggles, setbacks, and bullshit that entrepreneurs encounter daily. A particularly candid moment arrives when Krissy discusses her battle with depression, illustrating that success and mental health struggles are not mutually exclusive. She contemplates the unsustainable nature of her current life trajectory, acknowledging that something has to give. The episode explores existential themes, including her perspective on death and mortality. Krissy also addresses the loneliness of the entrepreneurial journey, discussing how difficult it is to maintain genuine friendships while building a business. As the episode nears its conclusion, she shares what she is currently working on and her future vision. Throughout the conversation, Krissy presents a refreshingly honest portrait of an ambitious woman navigating the complexities of modern entrepreneurship, personal relationships, mental health, and self-worth in a world that often makes all of these things harder for women than for men.