Latest news with #overcomingadversity
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Inside Fox News host Kat Timpf's rollercoaster journey... from abusive relationship to cancer diagnosis
Between her stint on the wildly popular Fox News political satire talk show Gutfeld!, her successful comedy tour, and her best-selling books, Kat Timpf is certainly a force to be reckoned with. But the TV star, 36, has not had an easy journey, in fact, she's endured a series of heartbreaking setbacks over the years including an abusive relationship, a battle with depression, and most recently, a shocking cancer diagnosis. She revealed back in February that she found out that she was battling the disease just before she gave birth to her son: a heartbreaking revelation on what should have been the happiest day of her life. In addition to the numerous devastating blows to her personal life, Kat has also been subjected to a slew of cruel criticism over her decision to work for Fox News over the years. She has revealed that she's faced 'harassment' from strangers in public and terrifying 'death threats' over her involvement with the conservative network - despite the fact that she is not a Republican - and she was once the victim of a horrific attack that saw a man drench her with water at an event. But it hasn't stopped Kat, and her story is certainly an impressive one of resilience, determination, and bravery. In what may be the first happy update after years of devastation, Kat revealed this week that she was now cancer free. As she shares the exciting news, FEMAIL has recapped her rollercoaster ride journey from start to finish... from how she overcame a slew of tragedies and years of online abuse to become a massive star to her road to motherhood and devastating health battle. Kat's rollercoaster rise to fame: How she overcame an abusive relationship and a battle with depression to become a massive TV star Kat has had to overcome a slew of setbacks - including an abusive relationship and a battle with depression - to become a massive TV star. She grew up in Detroit, Michigan, and graduated magna cum laude in 2010 from Hillsdale College with a degree in English. In the early years of her career, she worked on a series of TV and radio shows including America Live with Megyn Kelly, Fox and Friends, The Big Weekend Show, and The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. In 2015, she was transformed into a massive sensation when she became a regular panelist on Gutfeld!, and she has continued to star on the show since then. Over the years, she also served as an anchor on Fox News Specialists in 2017, co-hosted the weekly Fox News Radio podcast Tyrus and Timpf from 2018 until 2023, hosted the Fox Nation show Sincerely, Kat in 2019, and appeared on the weekend comedy show Fox News Saturday Night throughout 2023. But Kat has revealed that she had endured a horrific 'abusive relationship' early on in her career that left her battling depression. 'I had a relationship that was abusive... it got really ugly and it really warped my brain to the point where I thought everything was my fault,' she shared during an appearance on the Stage Steele Show last year. 'It took years of therapy to get that out of my head. I was in my mid-20s and then I was single for a while and I also dated a lot of losers, guys without jobs or ambitions.' Kat went on to meet her now-husband Cameron Friscia in 2020 after they connected on the dating app Raya. She and the investment banker wed in May 2021 and welcomed a baby boy in February 2025. Her political views: Kat is a libertarian and independent voter, but has been subjected to a slew of 'harassment' over her decision to work for a conservative network Despite working for well-known conservative network Fox News, Kat is not a Republican - she's actually a libertarian and independent voter. 'It's really interesting because, you know, I'm not a Republican,' she told USA Today in 2023. 'I've never voted for a Republican. I've also never voted for a Democrat. I always vote Libertarian. 'I write my cat's name in whenever there's not a Libertarian because I'm just not either one of those things.' Ahead of the 2024 election, Kat clapped back at accusations that she's a 'fence sitter' for not backing Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. 'People will say that you're a "fence sitter" because you don't firmly sit on one side or the other because you have different independent views,' she told LA Times. 'I'm not sitting on a fence, I'm actually very firm in my own views. It actually would be a lot easier for me to go all in on one side or the other because then I'd have this whole team of people backing me up, no matter what I said or did. It's easier to have a team of allies.' Over the years, however, Kat has been outspoken about the fact that she's faced unfair judgement because of her job at Fox News. In 2018, she claimed that she was forced to leave a bar in Brooklyn after a stranger became outraged after finding out that she worked at the conservative network. 'This girl started going nuts on me, screaming at me to get out of the bar. I found her very threatening,' she said to National Review at the time. 'It was super uncomfortable and I didn't want things to get physical.' She added that it wasn't the first time something like that had happened, revealing someone once dumped water on her head at an event and that she was 'harassed' at a restaurant months prior. 'This is the third time this has happened to me, so I'm just over it,' she continued. 'There have been times where I'm hesitant to go out with my glasses because it makes me more recognizable. But I have to live my life, I can't let this ruin it.' Kat told in 2017 of the water incident, 'It was clearly a targeted assault. I was dripping wet. 'He was about a foot taller than me, but he whipped it directly into my face. My eyes were burning... and I was freaking out that it wasn't just water. But I think it was just all the eye makeup I had on or something.' At the time, she also revealed that she gets 'death threats all the time' over her refusal to support Trump. 'If I say I had a problem with [Trump] people would be like, "All right, I'm coming to Fox and I'm going to rip your entrails out,"' she shared. 'It's like, whoa. I'm an emotional person and I still somehow never had quite the kind of emotional connection to anyone or anything the way that some of these people are emotionally connected to this president that they've never met. I really can't even understand it. '[I've been told] I'm a libt**d, and I'm an idiot. [I've received] very detailed descriptions of sexual violence that people want to commit against me. I'm a disgrace to humanity, I'm a disgrace to my family. 'I've kinda been desensitized to it… I've been getting death threats for so long. I'm not really afraid. 'It seems like a lot of these people don't really leave their mother's basement a lot. I don't think they're really going to come get me. 'It doesn't really scare me, but it scares me for the future of humanity more so.' She later joked to USA Today that she would rather tell people she 'works in porn' than at Fox News because it feels 'less controversial.' 'It's happened even when I try to book theaters for my [comedy] tour. Like, "We don't welcome a Fox person at this theater,"' she added to Variety of the scrutiny over her job. 'It really doesn't make sense to me. If you think I'm disgusting for who I am, then that's one thing. 'But if it's just because of where I work and whatever your preconceived notions are about where I work, which - what does that even mean? Fox is not an idea. It's a platform on which to share ideas.' Clapping back: Kat faced horrific comments after she announced that she was pregnant - but she's not afraid to respond to her haters Kat has had to deal with more than just backlash over her job. She also received a slew of 'mean' comments after she announced that she was pregnant last year. She reflected on the hate with the LA Times, explaining, 'For years I was getting these hate comments like, "You don't understand anything about the world because you don't have any kids. Your eggs are scrambled and drying up, and you'll regret this soon. You're so selfish." 'Then I got pregnant, and you would have thought that this is what these people wanted, right? 'I mean, I didn't do it for them, but now people are saying, "Can you just shut up about being pregnant already?" 'Some of them are the same people! Some people are just gonna be haters no matter what.' But she is not afraid to clap back at her haters, as she added, 'You have to be able to stand up for yourself when people are coming for you with bad intentions. 'If we could just all see each other as humans rather than this team or that team, we could find a lot more to agree on than we think.' Earlier this year, Kat faced more scrutiny after she posted a photo of herself partying at Coachella two months after giving birth. Trolls were quick to slam her for going to the music festival so soon after becoming a mom. 'One fun thing I've noticed about being a mom is if you ever post with your baby, or God forbid, having fun without your baby, people are like, "Oh my God, where's her baby? She's a mother. Should a mother be acting like this? Grow up"' she wrote in a social media post afterwards. 'As soon as you [have a baby], you are not allowed to act like a person without getting bullied for it. 'I've only been a mom for a couple of months, but I'm starting to think that the only way to be a parent and avoid backlash is to be a dad.' Kat's terrifying health battle: The TV star found out she had breast cancer while she was pregnant, and has since undergone a double mastectomy Kat previously revealed that she was diagnosed with ADHD at age five. 'I've long been at the point where I'm grateful to have ADHD. It's a major reason for things that I consider to be my greatest strengths, like my creativity, and I wouldn't have it any other way,' she wrote on X back in 2020. 'I was lucky to have been diagnosed by age five (if I hadn't been, I'd probably have spent years thinking I was just dumb).' She also revealed during an appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast in 2024 that she had been taking amphetamines for her ADHD since she was a child, but had recently stopped because of her pregnancy. 'Doing the most simple task feels like I'm doing it through mud, it's really hard for me,' she admitted of stopping her medication. Kat shared the shocking news in February after giving birth that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. At the time, she revealed that she found out she was battling the disease just 15 hours before she had welcomed her son. 'Now, before you worry, my doctor says it's stage zero and is confident that it almost certainly hasn't spread,' she wrote in an Instagram post at the time. 'Or, as I've explained to the few people I've managed to tell about it so far: Don't freak out. It's just, like, a LITTLE bit of cancer. 'These next three months of maternity leave are going to look a lot different than I'd anticipated, and I'm still getting used to my new reality. 'Still, as I navigate new motherhood (and new cancer) I'm learning to celebrate everything I can. 'I'm lucky that we found the cancer so early. I'm lucky to be my son's mom. I mean, I know I'm biased, but the little dude absolutely rules - and not just because he might have saved my life. 'Thank you all for your support, laughter, and love as I embrace this wildly unexpected chapter. 'Here's to resilience, to miracles in the midst of chaos, and to finding humor and hope even on the toughest days.' Kat revealed in March that she had undergone a double mastectomy, and this week, she shared the exciting news on Gutfeld! that she was now 'cancer free.' 'I am boob-free. I am cancer-free as well,' she told the panel.
Daily Telegraph
26-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Telegraph
Scary way Aussie went bankrupt after teacher insult
An Aussie IT manager has detailed the startling string of events that led her into bankruptcy and how she managed to turn things around and become a successful investor and homeowner. Liz Porter was told she would never amount to anything and, by her 20s, was spiralling – emotionally broken, flat broke and branded a failure by the very people meant to guide her. Today, at 54, she stands tall as an IT manager in Australia's health sector and a proud homeowner in Melbourne's Docklands, an impressive feat considering she was once bankrupt. She said the chain of events that led her into this situation could happen to anybody, but at the time she felt ashamed. 'I had bad relationships that were abusive,' Ms Porter revealed. 'As I was growing up, I was always told I was stupid. Teachers even told me this. 'I remember one teacher in particular said I would never achieve anything, said I wasn't worth anything. 'When you're 15 and you hear that, you just take it on. You believe it. It didn't help with the kind of decisions I made. When you think you're stupid, you just stop caring. That was a big part of how I go (into debt). I stopped caring.' MORE: What homes will be worth in each suburb by 2030 She explained that her debt problems snowballed after a string of netball injuries and toxic relationships, among other things. 'I didn't care about life anymore. I just spent and spent,' Ms Porter said. 'I was burning through money. It was retail therapy for all my problems … You go out and drink, buy fancy clothes and shoes, but I didn't really have much else to show for it.' She eventually reached a point where she could no longer service her debts. With mental health problems exacerbating, a therapist told her repaying the debt would take too much of a toll on her and recommended she file for bankruptcy. This would mean not being able to get credit for seven years and she believed banks would frown on any future loan applications she made from thereafter. 'I had to move to a life of paying everything by cash and I lived that way for nearly 25 years.' MORE: Aussies warned over costly bank decision Ms Porter kept her financial collapse largely secret. 'I didn't tell anyone apart from family. It was almost like if you don't tell anyone, maybe it's not real,' she said. 'You become an angry person. 'People would ask 'what's wrong?' I could never say. I wouldn't talk to anyone because when people have told you you're stupid, you think you've brought it on yourself. I took it all on hard.' THE ROAD TO RECOVERY After hitting rock bottom, she clawed her way back – starting with a job at a major IT company, where she rose through the ranks fast. With new-found purpose, she rebuilt not only her career but her confidence. Years later, she was offered voluntary redundancy and she made a bold move. She took the payout and enrolled in a financial management course. What she learned changed everything. 'I thought I'd never be able to buy a home because of the bankruptcy,' she said. 'But after a chat with [a financial adviser], I realised maybe I could.' Despite years of assuming she'd never qualify for a loan, Ms Porter discovered her consistent rental history, strong income, and savings from the redundancy made her an ideal candidate. A few months, a new job and a mortgage broker later, Ms Porter bought a unit in Docklands – the very suburb she'd been renting in and had grown to love. Now, she's eyeing her next move: setting up an SMSF to invest in affordable housing and leveraging her equity to build a future that once seemed out of reach. PERSONAL BANKRUPTCIES IN AUSTRALIA Financial guidance expert Melissa Browne said Ms Porter's debt situation was more common than most people wanted to admit. She said there was a strong stigma and shame attached to bankruptcy. People often tried to maintain the appearance of success and avoided confronting their financial situation. Common responses included denial and avoidance, or 'burying their heads in the sand,' Ms Browne said. This behaviour often continued until a significant event forced them to face the issue. 'There are more solutions than most people realise, including free financial services, zero-interest debt help, and guidance tailored to income levels,' Ms Browne said. Ms Porter said she hasn't forgotten the dark days. 'I wish I didn't take on board all that nonsense people had told me. I learned to love myself,' she said. 'It's important to get advice from an expert. Learn. There is always a way out of things. You just need to find someone to help you.' HOW TO INVEST WHEN YOU'RE BANKRUPT > Face the reality: Acknowledge your financial situation instead of avoiding it. Change starts with awareness. > Seek support: Use free financial services, zero-interest programs, or work with financial professionals based on your income level. > Create a debt-clearance plan: Focus first on eliminating bad debt. This may include budgeting, taking on extra work, or cutting housing costs. > Shift from debt-free to wealth-building: Once debt is gone, start small with investing (e.g. $20 a day in ETFs) to build long-term financial security. > Relearn money habits: Improve your financial literacy, tighten spending, and identify new ways to earn or save cash. > Talk about it: set financial goals to make the journey feel positive and empowering.
News.com.au
25-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Scary way Aussie went bankrupt after teacher insult
An Aussie IT manager has detailed the startling string of events that led her into bankruptcy and how she managed to turn things around and become a successful investor and homeowner. Liz Porter was told she would never amount to anything and, by her 20s, was spiralling – emotionally broken, flat broke and branded a failure by the very people meant to guide her. Today, at 54, she stands tall as an IT manager in Australia's health sector and a proud homeowner in Melbourne's Docklands, an impressive feat considering she was once bankrupt. She said the chain of events that led her into this situation could happen to anybody, but at the time she felt ashamed. 'I had bad relationships that were abusive,' Ms Porter revealed. 'As I was growing up, I was always told I was stupid. Teachers even told me this. 'I remember one teacher in particular said I would never achieve anything, said I wasn't worth anything. 'When you're 15 and you hear that, you just take it on. You believe it. It didn't help with the kind of decisions I made. When you think you're stupid, you just stop caring. That was a big part of how I go (into debt). I stopped caring.' She explained that her debt problems snowballed after a string of netball injuries and toxic relationships, among other things. 'I didn't care about life anymore. I just spent and spent,' Ms Porter said. 'I was burning through money. It was retail therapy for all my problems … You go out and drink, buy fancy clothes and shoes, but I didn't really have much else to show for it.' She eventually reached a point where she could no longer service her debts. With mental health problems exacerbating, a therapist told her repaying the debt would take too much of a toll on her and recommended she file for bankruptcy. This would mean not being able to get credit for seven years and she believed banks would frown on any future loan applications she made from thereafter. 'I had to move to a life of paying everything by cash and I lived that way for nearly 25 years.' Ms Porter kept her financial collapse largely secret. 'I didn't tell anyone apart from family. It was almost like if you don't tell anyone, maybe it's not real,' she said. 'You become an angry person. 'People would ask 'what's wrong?' I could never say. I wouldn't talk to anyone because when people have told you you're stupid, you think you've brought it on yourself. I took it all on hard.' THE ROAD TO RECOVERY After hitting rock bottom, she clawed her way back – starting with a job at a major IT company, where she rose through the ranks fast. With new-found purpose, she rebuilt not only her career but her confidence. Years later, she was offered voluntary redundancy and she made a bold move. She took the payout and enrolled in a financial management course. What she learned changed everything. 'I thought I'd never be able to buy a home because of the bankruptcy,' she said. 'But after a chat with [a financial adviser], I realised maybe I could.' Despite years of assuming she'd never qualify for a loan, Ms Porter discovered her consistent rental history, strong income, and savings from the redundancy made her an ideal candidate. A few months, a new job and a mortgage broker later, Ms Porter bought a unit in Docklands – the very suburb she'd been renting in and had grown to love. Now, she's eyeing her next move: setting up an SMSF to invest in affordable housing and leveraging her equity to build a future that once seemed out of reach. PERSONAL BANKRUPTCIES IN AUSTRALIA Financial guidance expert Melissa Browne said Ms Porter's debt situation was more common than most people wanted to admit. She said there was a strong stigma and shame attached to bankruptcy. People often tried to maintain the appearance of success and avoided confronting their financial situation. Common responses included denial and avoidance, or 'burying their heads in the sand,' Ms Browne said. This behaviour often continued until a significant event forced them to face the issue. 'There are more solutions than most people realise, including free financial services, zero-interest debt help, and guidance tailored to income levels,' Ms Browne said. Ms Porter said she hasn't forgotten the dark days. 'I wish I didn't take on board all that nonsense people had told me. I learned to love myself,' she said. 'It's important to get advice from an expert. Learn. There is always a way out of things. You just need to find someone to help you.' HOW TO INVEST WHEN YOU'RE BANKRUPT > Face the reality: Acknowledge your financial situation instead of avoiding it. Change starts with awareness. > Seek support: Use free financial services, zero-interest programs, or work with financial professionals based on your income level. > Create a debt-clearance plan: Focus first on eliminating bad debt. This may include budgeting, taking on extra work, or cutting housing costs. > Shift from debt-free to wealth-building: Once debt is gone, start small with investing (e.g. $20 a day in ETFs) to build long-term financial security. > Relearn money habits: Improve your financial literacy, tighten spending, and identify new ways to earn or save cash.
Daily Mail
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I was broke and homeless at 19… here is how I turned my life around
A woman who was thrown out of her home and forced to live on the streets at age 19 has revealed how she ultimately overcame homelessness thanks to hard work and determination... and she's now more successful than most of her peers. The woman, named Emilie, now 20, from Canada, spoke exclusively with about her tumultuous journey. She explained that her parents split when she was young and she spent most of her childhood living with her dad. But three years ago, she decided to reconnect with her mom and moved in with her. However, their relationship was fractured and her mom ultimately kicked her out in March of 2024 after they got into a massive fight, leaving her with only $5 in her bank account. 'I was homeless, alone, with $5 in my bank and $2 in cash,' she recalled. 'No car, no job, no degree, no license, no credit card, just my phone and some clothes.' Emilie said she moved into a women's homeless shelter and quickly got to work on turning her life around. 'During my stay, I mass applied for jobs and looked for a rental room. It was strange because I felt absolutely nothing during that time, only felt a sense of relief being free from my mom's abuse,' she continued. Emilie explained that she spoke about her predicament on her Instagram page and started a GoFundMe page, where she raised about $600. 'I also made a couple bucks off selling my art commissions. I had my phone to draw so I spent nights awake doing that,' she added. Eventually, she had built up just enough money to rent a small room in the basement of a 'nice lady' that she 'found on Facebook Marketplace.' Within the first week of moving into the room, Emilie landed a job that paid $60,000 a year with good insurance and benefits. 'I never had a degree besides high school so it was my personality and soft skills that acquired me the job,' she shared. 'I was well-presented and charismatic. It was a remote position as well.' Emilie said it was hard for her to adjust to working full time and being in the adult world. She also said her mom ostracized her from her other family members by 'creating rumors' so she 'couldn't seek assistance,' which left her utterly alone. 'Eventually, I decided to take a leap of faith and sign my first apartment lease,' shared Emilie. 'I managed to find a lovely all-inclusive penthouse-style loft apartment in a residential area in my hometown for $2,100-a-month.' Emilie is now in the midst of getting a promotion. She reconnected with her dad, and is thriving in her new apartment. But she admitted that her success has left many of her former classmates jealous. 'I managed to turn my life around in such little time all by myself, when I used to be made fun of and bullied for being different from people my age,' she said. 'People who wronged me in the past are now reaching out pretending to be friendly to bring me down because they can't fathom what I've become: independent and free. 'It really hurts but at least I'm doing well for myself only. I lost a lot of people I trusted along the way because I finally stood up for myself and set boundaries.' She's also still grappling with what her mom put her through, but she's thankful for her relationship with her dad. 'I now acknowledge I was severely mistreated and that this life was earned thanks to the years of fighting,' she concluded. 'My dad reminds me all the time my differences set me apart but make me perfect, and they're my strong points. 'His side of the family [tell me] how proud they are of me, and I've never felt this appreciated and fulfilled since long ago. 'It makes me happy that I made my dad proud and I can find meaning in life on my own. 'I still suffer from the abandonment and stress but am doing a lot better. I have my whole life ahead of me despite the judgement for being in this position. The mental anguish made me who I am today.'
