Generation after generation, people fear aging, especially women. From dementia to caring for sick parents to declining sexual interest, women are discussing their deepest thoughts and concerns more now than ever. And when it comes to working over 55, females feel alone—that they can’t relate to most of their colleagues.
Daniella Clarke, founder and former president of Frankie B, and Barbaranne Wylde, president and owner of a multi-million dollar merchandising company, created the Honest AF Show. They use the podcast as a way to connect with listeners and share tips and tricks on how to approach aging concerns gracefully. As rockstar-wives, they understand the societal pressures put on women.
“Over the pandemic, Barb and I were texting each other constantly,” explains Clarke, wife of Gilby Clarke, Guns N’ Roses guitarist, over Zoom. “We’re always talking to each other. I started looking through our text threads. Everything that Barb and I talk about is about staying youthful, like beauty products, beauty procedures, supplements, and feeling good working out. If you look back at our text threads, there’s so much information going back and forth between the two of us. Wouldn’t it be cool if we shared this information because we’re bouncing all this information off of each other? I wondered if other women out there would love to be a part of this conversation and join in with the conversation.”
Clarke’s career in fashion began when she was young. She modeled, which led to her working in photography and styling. The future fashion designer married Gilby young. Their marriage survived because she went on tour with him, and both vowed to keep the lines of communication open. While traveling the world, she took note of fashion trends and what the musicians felt comfortable wearing.
“One time, I saw an old photo of Led Zeppelin outside of their plane, and Robert Plant [lead singer] had on a thin pair of denim jeans that were skin tight that left absolutely nothing to the imagination,” Clarke shares. “They were really tight and really low. The picture was taken in, I think, the late 60s. I looked at that photo, and I thought, ‘I want to wear my jeans that tight, that low, and that sexy.’”
That picture inspired Clarke to make her own low-ride denim pants. She’d wear them on tour with people asking her to make them a pair. When their daughter was four, Clarke launched Frankie B making denim low-ride jeans, which became a market favorite in the late 1990s. The company quickly became a multi-million dollar conglomerate.
Wylde, married to Zakk Wylde, guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne, met Zakk in high school. Initially, she wanted to be an accountant. However, Wylde immersed herself in the entertainment industry when Zach started touring. With Sharon Osbourne mentoring her, she received an interview with A&M Records, which catapulted her career as a tour manager and booker. She also worked at the William Morris Agency and with Steve Phillips, who ironically managed Gilby. Now, Wylde manages her husband.
For a short period, Wylde started a shoe line. A mutual friend referred Wylde to Clarke, suggesting they meet because they had similar lives. Additionally, she advised Wylde to gift Clarke a pair of her platform shoes. The two became fast friends, bonding over motherhood, the challenges of being business owners, touring and fears of aging and menopause.
“There’s such a sisterhood and such a love between us that I tell her everything and share my most vulnerabilities even though my slogan is never let them see you sweat,” Wylde opens up. “Daniella knows my insecurities and my vulnerabilities.”
When they first started the podcast, it was taboo to discuss women’s health. As the podcast hosts evolved in their health journey, so did the conversations on the show. It was important for them to break down the barriers and make other women feel comfortable discussing their challenges.
“One of the main reasons is because we are going through it,” Wylde continues. “It just happens to be what’s focused in our world. For the last two years, we’ve been able to source products or supplements and see blogs on wellness and health for menopause. When we started almost four years ago, it still wasn’t something that everyone talked about. Our experience with menopause has been completely different. Daniella’s has been a gradual situation and mine happened overnight. Our symptoms and our experiences have been so different. So it’s been a good thing for our listeners because we’ve come at it from different perspectives.”
As Clarke and Wylde continue to evolve in their careers and open the discussion around women’s aging, loss of libido and weight gain, they encourage others to focus on the following:
- Have those honest conversations with friends. Establish that tribe of women who support one another during this transitional period.
- Be honest with your partner. The openness of communication is the first step to securing a healthy future.
- Embrace the new version of yourself. This new perspective and experience will advance the next chapter of life.
“A lot of women still don’t recognize the symptoms,” Clarke concludes. “It causes problems within their marriage because they don’t want to have sex anymore. They don’t want to be touched. They’re grouchy, they’re depressed, they’re gaining weight, they feel insecure about themselves. So these are all subject matters that I think need to be talked about and don’t need to be taboo anymore; people don’t need to be embarrassed anymore.”
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Updated October 2023: president of Frankie B to former president
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