Mel Robbins Is Not the Bashful Type

Inside a radio booth tucked into a corner of her sprawling Sherborn farmhouse, life coach Mel Robbins preps for Make It Happen with Mel Robbins, the call-in advice show she hosts each morning on the Sirius satellite network. The tiny space is plastered with photos, clippings of “inspirational” sayings—one of which reads “Advice is bullshit”—and scrawled good-luck wishes from her three cherubic kids, Kendall, Sawyer, and Oakley. On the control panel in front of her sits a high pile of printed e-mails, which Robbins will answer personally, and an even higher pile of bills. “You can quit smoking and lose weight at the same time...,” she says over the phone to her producer in New York. Then, we’re live.

Today’s program, titled “Enough Is Enough,” focuses on domestic violence—a heavier topic than the discussions about debt, cheating, and weight that usually fill the show. Robbins takes calls throughout the broadcast, and by the end of an hour she’s talked at least one abused wife into moving out and getting a restraining order against her husband. Later, she connects the women with local resources, including domestic-violence prevention groups, and with other listeners who’ve e-mailed or phoned in to offer support. It’s exhausting to watch. When the show wraps just before 10 a.m., Robbins exits the booth “totally juiced!”

Earlier, I’d pulled up to Robbins’s fairy-tale home right as she returned from her daily sunrise jog, delicate droplets of sweat perched just so on her brow. Thankfully, I’d passed up the offer to join in even before I’d decided to down that third glass of sauvignon blanc the night before. (This woman might have 16 years on me, but I haven’t been to the gym in a year and a half.) Five foot 8 and all legs, the 39-year-old is undoubtedly more Fitness Barbie than Joy Behar, not that it would matter: As a radio host, she’s commanded a View-like following with just the sound of her voice. Since its launch in March, Make It Happen with Mel Robbins has been a growing success, with hundreds of calls coming in each morning and an estimated listenership of about 75,000. Bookstore giant Borders subsequently tapped her to host a talk show on its website and, most significantly, she’s also scored a development deal with Disney’s Buena Vista Productions. Plans for the coming years include self-help tomes, audio books, and a syndicated, off-line talk show, which she says she’ll insist be filmed in Boston. (“If Oprah can do it in Chicago, I can do it here!”)

“I believe I am a brilliant and gifted guide, that I have been given a tremendous intuition,” Robbins says over a breakfast of eggs and wheat toast served up by her adoring husband, Chris. As if on cue, the phone rings. It’s a girlfriend who’s feeling neglected because Mel’s been so busy lately. They talk it out; friend feels better. Robbins resumes: “Plus, I’m really damn good at helping people get what they want. And when somebody gets what they want, they tend to go out and talk about it.” Indeed, people around Boston are talking about Robbins. It’s just that “brilliant” and “gifted” aren’t always among the words they’re using to describe her.

Go on to the next page to learn the history of Mel Robbins' career path...