Niall Boylan and his wife Karen have launched Ireland’s first couples podcast “Don’t Call Me Darling”.
The award-winning broadcaster and his wife now invite listeners into their life, love and laughter because they want to give listeners a funny and revealing glimpse into their life together in the hope it will bring a smile to their faces in a time when there is too much doom and gloom and negative news.
Don’t Call Me Darling with Niall and Karen Boylan has now launched on its own dedicated Spotify channel, with the first twelve episodes already available.
Niall revealed how wife Karen helped him through a health crisis as the couple launch their new podcast Don’t Call Me Darling.
Behind the fun and laughter of Don’t Call Me Darling is a relationship that was tested in circumstances neither Niall nor Karen could ever have imagined.
“I OWE HER MY LIFE”
Last year Niall spent six weeks in hospital after becoming seriously ill with Lyme disease and Severe Mononucleosis when all his organs swelled to a critical level.
He lost a considerable amount of weight, suffered prolonged high temperatures for months and persistent illness, and became so unwell that at one point his condition was extremely serious. For months, doctors struggled to establish what was causing his illness as his health continued to deteriorate. Eventually, Niall says, one doctor recognised what was happening and put him on the right path to recovery.
Niall said about Karen, “I owe her my life. Karen was there day and night. She kept me going when I was at my lowest and, without her, I genuinely don’t know where I’d be today. When the chips are down and you’re lying in a hospital bed very unwell and things aren’t looking good, you discover very quickly who really cares about you.”
Even during his recovery, Niall continued broadcasting remotely when he could, despite temperatures of over 39 degrees and months of illness. It was only from the beginning of this year that he felt he had returned to full health.
THE WOMAN BEHIND THE MAN IS NOW BESIDE HIM
Karen has for years been the producer and content director and has done much of the hard work behind Niall’s radio show and hugely popular daily podcast. Now, after years behind the scenes, she is loving her new role as one half of Don’t Call Me Darling.
Supporting Niall has also meant stepping into the sometimes-difficult world surrounding one of Ireland’s most outspoken broadcasters. During his long 30-year career, 17 years at Ireland’s Classic Hits Radio and more recently through his daily podcast, Niall has received death threats and abusive messages from people angered by his willingness to give airtime to different views. Karen is fiercely protective of him because she sees a very different side to the opinionated man listeners hear behind the microphone. To Karen, he is simply her husband, a man she describes as kind, sensitive and everything she could want in a husband.
FROM A LAST-MINUTE STAND-IN TO A NEW PODCAST
The new podcast happened completely by accident. When a guest pulled out of Niall’s weekly round-up at the last minute, he asked Karen to step in. Despite years working behind the scenes, she had never joined him behind the microphone.
“We have always had amazing chemistry in real life, but neither of us knew whether that would translate when the microphones went on. It did immediately. It didn’t feel like broadcasting. It just felt like us chatting every day.”
During the show Karen called him “darling” and Niall laughed: “We’re on the air. Don’t call me darling!” The line stuck, and so did the idea. The reaction was so positive that Niall and Karen decided to create a fun, honest husband-and-wife podcast about love, relationships, marriage, children, dilemmas, money, home life and all the things couples agree, disagree and laugh about when nobody else is listening.
NOW ON EPISODE TWELVE!
Now on episode twelve, Don’t Call Me Darling has quickly settled into its own upbeat style and both Niall and Karen said they are blown away by how popular it has become,
probably because it’s a very different side of Niall Boylan that the public never gets to hear. Each week Niall and Karen talk openly about their marriage, husband and wife dilemmas, including Karen’s menopause, why men can’t fill a dishwasher, who sleeps on what side of the bed and why, why it’s always Niall’s fault, relationship advice, things that happen to them every day and the disagreements they have and don’t have, and the everyday situations couples everywhere will recognise. The rule is simple, keep it positive, keep it real and do it with a smile and a laugh and no bad news. There is no news agenda, no doom and gloom and no attempt to manufacture arguments.
Sometimes they agree and sometimes they see things completely differently, but the conversation is always warm, honest, good-humoured, and full of laughs. Listeners get a genuine glimpse into their life together and a chance to switch off from the serious side of life. The couple are encouraging listeners to get involved by sending their problems and dilemmas to Karen@niallboylan.com, with the best stories potentially featuring on the podcast. They are also asking listeners to help spread the word by sharing the Spotify link with at least three friends, family and WhatsApp groups. “Let’s bring a smile to a few faces today and spread the word,” Karen said.
With Don’t Call Me Darling only launched and a brand-new podcast, Niall says they are also keen to hear from businesses interested in supporting the show.
“If anybody would like to sponsor us, we’re very open to hearing from them. It would help us enormously as we try to spread the word and grow this positive podcast and bring the fun back to media.”
Karen said “We are Ireland’s first couples podcast and the listener feedback has been great! We are very grateful to everybody who has taken the time to send us some lovely messages, and we are blown away by all the encouragement and positivity!”
It’s been so good that the couple have plans in the future to increase the podcast to twice weekly.
If you’d like to catch up on all the episodes so far, you can find them on Spotify, all the usual platforms or on Niall’s website www.niallboylan.com