Michelle de Swarte: Childfree And Having A Great F*cking Time

Michelle de Swarte: Childfree And Having A Great F*cking Time

March 23, 2026 · 34 min · Season 3 · Episode 12

About this episode

Paloma Faith interviews comedian Michelle de Swarte about her life choices, career, and societal expectations regarding motherhood.

I’ve been SO excited to speak to Michelle since I first watched her brilliant stand-up comedy. She’s funny, honest, a bit chaotic (just like me) and has some of the MADDEST stories 🤣 After a successful modelling career, bossing the catwalks of New York and beyond, Michelle moved back to the UK in her 30s and turned to the world of comedy. She has written and starred in her own BBC sitcom ‘Spent’, appeared alongside Katherine Ryan in The Duchess and is currently on her ‘The Afters’ stand-up tour across the UK.  We talk about our shared experience of being raised by a single mum, how Michelle got fired from a burlesque club, and what it’s like to suddenly make (and spend) LOADS of money in your 20s 💸. We also spoke about society’s expectations of women and why she’s chosen not to have kids.  You can find tickets for ‘The Afters’ tour HERE ! Thanks again to my neighbour Nicky for joining us on this episode! Check out his photography HERE . *Warning: please note this episode contains discussion of drug use and suicide* — Find us on: Instagram / TikTok / YouTube — Credits: Producer: Emilia Gill Assistant Producer: Alex Reed Video: Josh Bennett, Lizzie McCarthy and Harry…

People in this episode

Host: Paloma Faith

Guest: Michelle de Swarte

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BBC, JamPot Productions

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