The Best Friend Project Tue, 23 Jun 2026 01:00:02 -0400 https://www.buzzsprout.com/2614780 en-us © 2026 The Best Friend Project yes e898906a-a397-52db-aa0d-cff8a513154b Rachel Joy Swardson episodic false Have you ever wondered why friendship seems so easy for some women, but so hard for others? Replayed a conversation over and over in your mind, wishing you had handled it differently? Or found yourself missing someone you once loved as a friend, but convinced too much time had passed to reach out?


After a friendship that meant the world to me ended, I realized I knew very little about actual friendship.


Which sounds strange to say out loud, but it's true.


I had books on marriage, pregnancy, parenting, divorce, co-parenting, and step-parenting to help me become a better wife and mother. But I had never once stopped to ask what made someone a good friend, or why some women seem to form deep, lasting friendships while others struggle with loneliness, friendship loss, or friendship breakups.


I wanted answers.

So I started The Best Friend Project.


Armed with postcards and a simple survey, I began taping invitations inside women's bathroom stalls across the country, asking women to tell me the truth about friendship. Hundreds responded with stories about best friends, betrayal, conflict, loneliness, grief, forgiveness, and the friendships that changed their lives.

What followed became one of the largest independent investigations into women's friendships.


I'm Rachel Joy Swardson, former television journalist, licensed private investigator, and founder of The Best Friend Project.


Each week, I sit down with real women to explore how friendships begin, why they endure, what breaks them apart, and how to find, make, and keep meaningful friendships throughout adulthood.


Every episode combines original friendship research, powerful personal stories, and practical insights about female friendship, connection, belonging, and the platonic relationships that shape our lives.


Because every woman has a story about friendship.

What's yours?


New episodes every Tuesday. Short reflections every Saturday.

Take the friendship survey at TheBestFriendProject.co.

]]> Buzzsprout (https://www.buzzsprout.com) Rachel Joy Swardson https://storage.buzzsprout.com/tp65o7kqvtv3f0qcoicdrnii688q?.jpg The Best Friend Project https://www.buzzsprout.com/2614780 Ep 2: Well, Look Who's Here! | The Best Friend Project Podcast Ep 2: Well, Look Who's Here! | The Best Friend Project Podcast When Shameless Elle lost the friendship she thought would last forever, she wasn't looking for new friends. But life had other plans.


In Part 2 of this conversation, Rachel Joy Swardson welcomes Michelle (@TheLifeOfAWidow) to the podcast to talk about the friendship that formed when three women found themselves navigating grief, loss, loneliness, and some of the hardest seasons of their lives at the exact same time. 


Michelle shares how growing up in poverty shaped the way she approached friendship, while Elle reflects on the surprising lessons she's learned from the women who stepped into her life after her best friend breakup. Together, they talk about accepting help, showing up imperfectly, and why some of the most meaningful friendships aren't built during the best years of our lives, they're built during the hardest. 


This isn't a conversation about waiting until you have life figured out before making friends. It's a conversation about finding people willing to march through the hardships with you, because they're in it too.


In This Episode:

• How three women found each other during seasons of grief and loss
 • The impact poverty can have on friendship and self-worth
 • Why asking for help is harder than it looks
 • What happens when women stop trying to earn love and simply receive it
 • Friendship after widowhood, divorce, and heartbreak
 • The small acts of kindness that change relationships forever
 • Why nobody has to march through life's hardest moments alone


Connect with Our Guests:

Shameless Elle
 Instagram, TikTok, YouTube & Facebook: @ShamelessElle

https://shamelesselle.com

Michelle
 Instagram: @TheLifeOfAWidow


About The Best Friend Podcast

The Best Friend Podcast is where original friendship research meets real-life stories. Host Rachel Joy Swardson, founder of The Best Friend Project, investigates how women find, make, lose, and keep the platonic loves of their lives through original data, personal experience, and candid conversations.


Chapters: 

0:00 Opening — "Without Those Friendships, You'd Be Climbing the Walls"

1:00 Welcome to The Best Friend Project + Michelle Joins the Conversation

2:00 Michelle on Showing Up for Elle Through Grief

3:00 How Elle & Stephanie Show Up for Michelle Every Friday

5:00 The Power of Letting People In When You're Struggling

6:00 How Elle, Michelle & Stephanie's Friendship Was Born Out of Necessity

8:00 "Meet People Where They're At" — What Authentic Friendship Looks Like

9:00 Rachel Reflects on Survival Mode, Male Friends & Her First Real Female Friendship

11:00 Words of Advice for Anyone Struggling with Friendship

12:00 "Humble Yourself" — Elle's Honest Take on Growing Through Friendship

13:00 How to Be a Good Friend When You Have No Time or Capacity

14:00 "It's Not Do You Have Time for Me — It's How Can I Meet You Where You Are"

15:00 Michelle Opens Up: Poverty, Shame & Learning to Let People In

17:00 Overgiving to Be Loved — "If I Do This, Then You Will Love Me"

18:00 Elle Reflects on Michelle & Stephanie's Strength and Intelligence

19:00 Where to Follow Elle (Shameless Elle) & Michelle (Life of a Widow)

20:00 The Taylor Swift Origin Story Behind Michelle's Handle

21:00 Rachel's Closing Reflections — Seeing the Right People in Your Darkest Hour

22:00 Next Week: Noelle Rhodes on the Burden of Being the Funny Friend


#TheBestFriendProject #FemaleFriendship #GriefAndFriendship #WomenSupportingWomen #FriendshipAdvice #MakingFriendsAsAnAdult #VulnerabilityAndConnection

]]> When Shameless Elle lost the friendship she thought would last forever, she wasn't looking for new friends. But life had other plans.


In Part 2 of this conversation, Rachel Joy Swardson welcomes Michelle (@TheLifeOfAWidow) to the podcast to talk about the friendship that formed when three women found themselves navigating grief, loss, loneliness, and some of the hardest seasons of their lives at the exact same time. 


Michelle shares how growing up in poverty shaped the way she approached friendship, while Elle reflects on the surprising lessons she's learned from the women who stepped into her life after her best friend breakup. Together, they talk about accepting help, showing up imperfectly, and why some of the most meaningful friendships aren't built during the best years of our lives, they're built during the hardest. 


This isn't a conversation about waiting until you have life figured out before making friends. It's a conversation about finding people willing to march through the hardships with you, because they're in it too.


In This Episode:

• How three women found each other during seasons of grief and loss
 • The impact poverty can have on friendship and self-worth
 • Why asking for help is harder than it looks
 • What happens when women stop trying to earn love and simply receive it
 • Friendship after widowhood, divorce, and heartbreak
 • The small acts of kindness that change relationships forever
 • Why nobody has to march through life's hardest moments alone


Connect with Our Guests:

Shameless Elle
 Instagram, TikTok, YouTube & Facebook: @ShamelessElle

https://shamelesselle.com

Michelle
 Instagram: @TheLifeOfAWidow


About The Best Friend Podcast

The Best Friend Podcast is where original friendship research meets real-life stories. Host Rachel Joy Swardson, founder of The Best Friend Project, investigates how women find, make, lose, and keep the platonic loves of their lives through original data, personal experience, and candid conversations.


Chapters: 

0:00 Opening — "Without Those Friendships, You'd Be Climbing the Walls"

1:00 Welcome to The Best Friend Project + Michelle Joins the Conversation

2:00 Michelle on Showing Up for Elle Through Grief

3:00 How Elle & Stephanie Show Up for Michelle Every Friday

5:00 The Power of Letting People In When You're Struggling

6:00 How Elle, Michelle & Stephanie's Friendship Was Born Out of Necessity

8:00 "Meet People Where They're At" — What Authentic Friendship Looks Like

9:00 Rachel Reflects on Survival Mode, Male Friends & Her First Real Female Friendship

11:00 Words of Advice for Anyone Struggling with Friendship

12:00 "Humble Yourself" — Elle's Honest Take on Growing Through Friendship

13:00 How to Be a Good Friend When You Have No Time or Capacity

14:00 "It's Not Do You Have Time for Me — It's How Can I Meet You Where You Are"

15:00 Michelle Opens Up: Poverty, Shame & Learning to Let People In

17:00 Overgiving to Be Loved — "If I Do This, Then You Will Love Me"

18:00 Elle Reflects on Michelle & Stephanie's Strength and Intelligence

19:00 Where to Follow Elle (Shameless Elle) & Michelle (Life of a Widow)

20:00 The Taylor Swift Origin Story Behind Michelle's Handle

21:00 Rachel's Closing Reflections — Seeing the Right People in Your Darkest Hour

22:00 Next Week: Noelle Rhodes on the Burden of Being the Funny Friend


#TheBestFriendProject #FemaleFriendship #GriefAndFriendship #WomenSupportingWomen #FriendshipAdvice #MakingFriendsAsAnAdult #VulnerabilityAndConnection

]]> Rachel Joy Swardson Buzzsprout-19372834 Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0500 1370 1 2 full false Ep 1: I Thought We'd Grow Old Together | The Best Friend Project Podcast Ep 1: I Thought We'd Grow Old Together | The Best Friend Project Podcast Rachel Joy Swardson thought losing her best friend was rare. Then she met content creator Shameless Elle and discovered they shared a surprisingly similar story. For nearly a decade, Elle believed she'd already found her person, the friend she'd call in a crisis, celebrate life's wins with, and grow old beside. 


Then one difficult decision changed everything, and the friendship ended. In this candid conversation, Rachel and Elle talk about friendship breakups, losing the woman you thought would always be there, and the unexpected loneliness that follows when your social world is built around one person.


But they also talk about what comes next. Because sometimes the friendships that change your life aren't the ones you lose. They're the ones you didn't see standing beside you all along.


In This Episode:

• The friendship breakup that changed the course of Elle's life
 • Why losing a best friend can feel as painful as a divorce
 • The danger of making one person your entire social world
 • How friendship loss can shake your confidence and identity
 • The surprising people who were waiting in the wings all along
 • What Rachel and Elle learned after losing the friendships they thought would last forever


Connect with Shameless Elle:

Instagram, TikTok, YouTube & Facebook: @ShamelessElle 

https://shamelesselle.com


Coming Up Next:

Elles best friend Michelle @lifeofawidow joins the conversation in Part 2 to share how an unlikely friendship between three women became a lifeline during some of the hardest times of their lives.


About The Best Friend Podcast

The Best Friend Podcast is where original friendship research meets real-life stories. Host Rachel Joy Swardson, founder of The Best Friend Project, investigates how women find, make, lose, and keep the platonic loves of their lives through original research, personal experience, and candid conversations. Learn more, take the survey, and share your friendship story at TheBestFriendProject.co.


Chapters: 

0:00 Opening — "I thought we'd grow old together"

1:00 Welcome to The Best Friend Project

2:00 How Rachel Found Elle (and What She Saw in That Instagram Post)

3:00 Elle's Best Friend Breakup — Nine Years, Then Silence

5:00 The Moment That Ended Everything: A Crisis and a Phone Call

7:00 What It Feels Like to Lose Your "One Person"

9:00 How Elle Started Saying Yes to Friendship Again

11:00 Reflection: Was That Friendship Even Healthy?

13:00 Hiding Your Joy to Protect Your Friend's Feelings

15:00 Grieving a Friendship While Honoring the Good in It

16:00 How Elle Met Stephanie and Michelle

17:00 Three Women, Shared Grief, and a Friendship Born of Necessity

19:00 When Friendship Hits a Threshold — And You Have to Decide

21:00 Healthier Friendships Were There All Along

22:00 "I Thought I Only Needed One Friend" — On Codependency and Letting People In

24:00 The Story of Michelle's Car — What True Friendship Looks Like

27:00 How Michelle Teaches Elle to Be a Better Friend

28:00 Michelle Joins the Conversation — Stay Tuned for Part 2


#TheBestFriendProject #FriendshipBreakup #WomenAndFriendship #FemaleFriendship #BestFriendBreakup #MakingFriendsAsAnAdult #FriendshipHealing

]]> Rachel Joy Swardson thought losing her best friend was rare. Then she met content creator Shameless Elle and discovered they shared a surprisingly similar story. For nearly a decade, Elle believed she'd already found her person, the friend she'd call in a crisis, celebrate life's wins with, and grow old beside. 


Then one difficult decision changed everything, and the friendship ended. In this candid conversation, Rachel and Elle talk about friendship breakups, losing the woman you thought would always be there, and the unexpected loneliness that follows when your social world is built around one person.


But they also talk about what comes next. Because sometimes the friendships that change your life aren't the ones you lose. They're the ones you didn't see standing beside you all along.


In This Episode:

• The friendship breakup that changed the course of Elle's life
 • Why losing a best friend can feel as painful as a divorce
 • The danger of making one person your entire social world
 • How friendship loss can shake your confidence and identity
 • The surprising people who were waiting in the wings all along
 • What Rachel and Elle learned after losing the friendships they thought would last forever


Connect with Shameless Elle:

Instagram, TikTok, YouTube & Facebook: @ShamelessElle 

https://shamelesselle.com


Coming Up Next:

Elles best friend Michelle @lifeofawidow joins the conversation in Part 2 to share how an unlikely friendship between three women became a lifeline during some of the hardest times of their lives.


About The Best Friend Podcast

The Best Friend Podcast is where original friendship research meets real-life stories. Host Rachel Joy Swardson, founder of The Best Friend Project, investigates how women find, make, lose, and keep the platonic loves of their lives through original research, personal experience, and candid conversations. Learn more, take the survey, and share your friendship story at TheBestFriendProject.co.


Chapters: 

0:00 Opening — "I thought we'd grow old together"

1:00 Welcome to The Best Friend Project

2:00 How Rachel Found Elle (and What She Saw in That Instagram Post)

3:00 Elle's Best Friend Breakup — Nine Years, Then Silence

5:00 The Moment That Ended Everything: A Crisis and a Phone Call

7:00 What It Feels Like to Lose Your "One Person"

9:00 How Elle Started Saying Yes to Friendship Again

11:00 Reflection: Was That Friendship Even Healthy?

13:00 Hiding Your Joy to Protect Your Friend's Feelings

15:00 Grieving a Friendship While Honoring the Good in It

16:00 How Elle Met Stephanie and Michelle

17:00 Three Women, Shared Grief, and a Friendship Born of Necessity

19:00 When Friendship Hits a Threshold — And You Have to Decide

21:00 Healthier Friendships Were There All Along

22:00 "I Thought I Only Needed One Friend" — On Codependency and Letting People In

24:00 The Story of Michelle's Car — What True Friendship Looks Like

27:00 How Michelle Teaches Elle to Be a Better Friend

28:00 Michelle Joins the Conversation — Stay Tuned for Part 2


#TheBestFriendProject #FriendshipBreakup #WomenAndFriendship #FemaleFriendship #BestFriendBreakup #MakingFriendsAsAnAdult #FriendshipHealing

]]> Rachel Joy Swardson Buzzsprout-19372824 Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0500 1750 1 1 full false Why Are Some Women Better at Friendship Than Others? | The Best Friend Project Podcast Why Are Some Women Better at Friendship Than Others? | The Best Friend Project Podcast What happens when a 12-year friendship ends? For former television journalist and private investigator Rachel Joy Swardson, it sparked an investigation; not into a crime, but into one of life's most powerful and overlooked relationships: female friendship. 


The Best Friend Project is an independent deep dive into how women find, make, lose, and keep meaningful friendships. Through original research, real stories from women across the country, and candid podcast interviews, this show explores the full arc of women's friendships, from the joy of connection and belonging to the pain of friendship heartbreak and loneliness. 


Whether you're grieving the loss of a best friend, trying to build new friendships as an adult, or simply wondering why female friendships are so complicated, this is the conversation you've been waiting for. Tune in for honest, research-backed insights and real friendship stories that remind us: every friendship has a story worth telling.


Take the survey here: https://thebestfriendproject.co/


#TheBestFriendProject #BestFriendPodcast #FemaleFriendship #WomensFriendship #FriendshipPodcast

]]> What happens when a 12-year friendship ends? For former television journalist and private investigator Rachel Joy Swardson, it sparked an investigation; not into a crime, but into one of life's most powerful and overlooked relationships: female friendship. 


The Best Friend Project is an independent deep dive into how women find, make, lose, and keep meaningful friendships. Through original research, real stories from women across the country, and candid podcast interviews, this show explores the full arc of women's friendships, from the joy of connection and belonging to the pain of friendship heartbreak and loneliness. 


Whether you're grieving the loss of a best friend, trying to build new friendships as an adult, or simply wondering why female friendships are so complicated, this is the conversation you've been waiting for. Tune in for honest, research-backed insights and real friendship stories that remind us: every friendship has a story worth telling.


Take the survey here: https://thebestfriendproject.co/


#TheBestFriendProject #BestFriendPodcast #FemaleFriendship #WomensFriendship #FriendshipPodcast

]]> Rachel Joy Swardson Buzzsprout-19356736 Tue, 16 Jun 2026 16:00:00 -0500 99 trailer false