For years, viewers watched Kari Wells on Bravo's Married to Medicine and saw exactly what she wanted them to see: poise, polish, the woman Andy Cohen nicknamed "The Queen of Class." What they didn't see was a violent armed robbery in Atlanta that left her with severe PTSD, the devastating loss of her sister, and the quiet, daily exhaustion of performing strength while privately falling apart.

In this episode of the Influential Women Podcast, Kari sits down with host Jodie O'Brien for a candid conversation about what it actually costs to maintain a perfect persona, and what it takes to rebuild when everything finally cracks. Drawing on her debut book From Attitude to Gratitude: 15 Practices for Transforming Pain into Power, Kari shares the turning point that forced her to slow down, the shift from asking "why is this happening to me" to "why is this happening for me," and the daily practices she now uses to live from wholeness instead of lack.

In this episode:

• The armed robbery in Atlanta that ended life as she knew it
• Living two realities at once on national television
• Why high-achieving women feel pressure to appear strong, even when they're breaking
• The shift from "why is this happening to me" to "why is this happening for me"
• Sitting in the "pain caves" instead of running from them
• Gratitude as a daily practice, not toxic positivity
• Being your own best friend first
• The power of saying no to 50% of what you'd normally say yes to
• What she wants the next generation of women to know

This is a conversation for the women who look like they have it all together but don't, for the high achievers running on fumes, and for anyone who needs permission to stop being fine and start being honest.