Exclusive: Jillian Hamilton Talks New Podcast ‘Cheating: When Love Lies’

Cheating: When Love Lies, which is set to be sold and distributed by PodcastOne is a deep dive into the complex emotions surrounding these secret unions. The podcast, which debuts on July 20, is available on PodcastOne, Apple, Spotify, Facebook, Amazon and wherever podcasts are heard. Creator and host, Hamilton, delves into the taboo topic of cheating and asks the hard questions about affairs: how common are they, who’s having them, and why? These questions illicit unexpected answers that reveal both men and women as people actively seeking something – validation, escape, understanding, vengeance, thrill, love, sex, and romance – outside of committed partnerships. Cheating: When Love Lies resists the condemnation of affairs as uniquely wrong or bad and instead considers their usefulness in learning as much about relationships as we learn about ourselves. “I hope that with Cheating: When Love Lies, listeners find a place where we can talk about affairs in an effort to understand them and not solely to judge them. I’m thrilled to be at PodcastOne, the leader in the podcast space, “ said Hamilton.

Jillian Hamilton: During the pandemic, I kept running across articles about how partnerships and marriages became either highly strained or were ending in divorce. These couples succumbed to the financial pressure that this unprecedented year put on all of us, and/or the couples were forced to face underlying issues in their coupledom that they had never addressed. The result was an uptick in online hanky-panky and emotional affairs. Whereas pre-pandemic, a person may have been unwilling to physically step outside the marriage or partnership, in Covid, these same people began to seek out affairs online. I found this notion really compelling, and the idea for the podcast was born.

Jillian Hamilton: My first media gig was in the late ‘80s as a celebrity interviewer in Paris, France on the national network, M6. After that, I hosted a travel show and several game shows for the network. Several years later I came back to the US and had hosting stints at FX, Fox, TLC, and Discovery.

Jillian Hamilton: When I tell people that I am a podcaster who does a show about cheating, I inevitably get one of two responses: either shock and awe or the person’s willingness to make some sort of confession. Most people have been affected by cheating in some way or another: either they themselves have had some incarnation of cheating (an emotional or physical affair) or they have been betrayed by a partner. If they have neither cheated nor been betrayed, then perhaps they have a friend a family member who has been deeply impacted by an affair. There is always a story. Most of my cheaters are people who are very willing to talk about their experience. They find it extraordinarily cathartic to know that on my podcast they can talk about the experience without being judged or villainized. The betrayed partners also find it very helpful to share, cry, vent, and help others who’ve been in the same predicament. Finally, I interview experts on the topic of cheating such as attorneys and therapists. I try and find guests who are really insightful or have an unconventional viewpoint so that my listeners get advice or hear a point of view they would not get anywhere else.

Jillian Hamilton: Cheating and affairs is not something that you can easily talk about with your family or friends. There’s a lot of guilt and shame that a cheater harbors and is not willing to openly express. On my podcast I disguise peoples’ voices, and I give them fictitious names if they prefer. Typically, I encourage people to protect their identity because although they may not be concerned about revealing what happened in their own lives, those associated with them may suffer unnecessary exposure. Cheating: When Love Lies is not an advice show. I see myself as a big sister to people who want to talk about their experience with an affair. I ask lots of questions and usually my guests and I discover something that helps them and my listeners grow from their experience. That is the most rewarding part of my job. I am also very bold and blunt by nature, so I am not at all hesitant to ask anyone, even people I barely know if they’re willing to come on the show and talk about a cheating experience. Some of my best guests are people I’ve met at a party or casually through a mutual friend. I’m so grateful that virtual strangers are willing to talk to me about the most personal details of their lives.

Jillian Hamilton: Cheating and affairs is typically a very sad topic. I expected that the tone and tenor of the podcast would be a lot more sedate than it actually is. I have episodes that have been deemed by my listeners as “hilarious“ as well as  “eye-opening” and “insightful” which is very rewarding because it means my podcast is not always sad and dreary. Cheating: When Love Lies is also a place where people can reflect, learn, evolve, and understand things about themselves they’ve never considered before. Cheating: When Love Lies has two different types of episodes: one type is a straight-up one-on-one interview with myself and another person. In the other type of episode, I narrate short fictional stories I’ve written about affairs. After the reading, I moderate a roundtable discussion about the story. (Think, book club). The roundtable discussions feature 3 everyday people from very diverse backgrounds. On episode two (coming up) my roundtable guests are an upper-class Australian woman, a 26-year-old urban male, and a middle-aged mid-westerner with traditional family values. For me, these roundtable discussions are so enlightening because I hear perspectives on infidelity from people of varied cultures, ages, and walks of life. It’s fascinating. Lastly, I am shocked when males listeners tell me they find my short stories to be provocative. I had one guy call what I write “mom porn”! I really don’t find my short stories to be that intensely sexual, but there are parts of the stories that are rather erotic. When writing the stories I was more focused on the emotions of an affair than the sex.

Jillian Hamilton: Listeners can expect to be moved. They can expect to hear cheaters and betrayed partners that are extraordinarily forthcoming, candid, and real about what has happened to them. Listeners can expect that each episode will feel very different: sometimes you’ll cry, sometimes you’ll laugh, sometimes you’ll get angry because my podcast brings out the most visceral emotions in all of us. When you’re talking about love and trust, it’s hard not to become intensely emotional.

Jillian Hamilton:  I think because I have a background in television, people are asking when I’ll make Cheating: When Love Lies some sort of talk show. That seems like a likely next step, but for right now I love the idea of people listening to my interviews, stories, and roundtables in a very convenient way: while walking the dog, doing the dishes, ironing or exercising. My friend Cliff keeps saying I should do another podcast about great love stories, and swing the pendulum in the other direction. I need to talk to PodcastOne about that! If they see it as an option for me to do Cheating: When Love Lies and another podcast about love stories, I’ll do it!