Amy Jackson Westwick - I Was A Magnet For Narcissists

How To Fail With Elizabeth Day

Sony Music

Society & Culture

4.7 • 9.6K Ratings

🗓️ 1 April 2026

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Amy Jackson Westwick is a major Bollywood film star with some 14 million followers on social media. Yet she grew up in a working class family in Liverpool. So how did a teenager from Merseyside become one of the most recognisable British actors working in Bollywood? Today on How To Fail, she tells us her story. We discuss growing up too fast, how she broke free from a cycle of narcissistic relationships and how she now manages a blended family (Amy has two sons - one with her husband, the actor Ed Westwick, and one from a previous partner). Plus: what she learned from her years in Bollywood and why she’s ’a petty cow’. ✨ IN THIS EPISODE: 00:00 Intro 03:13 Chasing Security Not Fame 04:08 Finding Yourself Again 06:35 Growing Up Too Fast 06:50 Liverpool Childhood Roots 11:27 Pageants to Bollywood Break 24:04 Perfect Family Fantasy 25:21 Romanticising Love 26:40 Back To Back Relationships 27:30 People Pleasing Patterns 29:06 Narcissists And Boundaries 31:53 Leaving And Healing 36:39 Blended Family Reality 39:52 Step Parenting Rules 47:05 Listening To Yourself 💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER: Security comes in so many different forms - and for me it's peace of mind. If it doesn't feel right, then it's not right... you've got to actually know how you're feeling and not be afraid to voice it. [On narcissistic relationships]: I confused controlling behavior for somebody who was loving and caring, and in actual fact it was the complete opposite. 🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS: Amy’s podcast ‘What’s the Tea Amy?’ is out now The Testaments, a new Hulu original series, streaming April 8 exclusively on Disney+ Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com 📚 WANT MORE? Lily Allen - on early fame, mistakes, relationships and motherhood: swap.fm/l/8Otj3tpmbH5SF4xjVHTJ Gillian Anderson - on body image, rebellion and refusing to fit in with other people’s expectations: swap.fm/l/7NyZMzkfVOpGyDtlB6k0 💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE? Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts Leave a 5⭐ review – it helps more people discover these stories 👋 Follow How To Fail & Elizabeth: Instagram: @elizabday TikTok: @howtofailpod Podcast Instagram: @howtofailpod Website: www.elizabethday.org Elizabeth and Amy answer listener questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content Have a failure you’re trying to work through for Elizabeth to discuss? Click here to get in touch: howtofailpod.com Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan Engineer: Matias Torres Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot Executive Producer: Alex Lawless How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts To bring your brand to life in this podcast, email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com _________________________________________________________________________ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	And I think I put so much emphasis on a relationship
0:05.0	and I think that blindsided me a lot.
0:08.0	Because I do empathize with my younger self,
0:10.0	but if I could just get hold of her and say,
0:13.0	come on, you've got this, where are your boundaries?
0:16.0	I didn't know what that word actually meant.
0:19.0	When I look back now, I go, oh, Amy, the red flags were
0:23.6	on fire. What are you doing? Hello and welcome to How to Fail with me, Elizabeth Day. This is the
0:33.1	podcast where we firmly believe that all failure is data acquisition. Before we get into today's
0:39.6	conversation, please do remember to like, follow and subscribe. It really, really helps us,
0:45.4	and it helps other people find us. And that will also make sure that you never miss a single
0:50.4	episode.
0:59.6	I just wanted to take a moment away from this episode to shine a light on something that's very close to my heart. It's called the Unhumble Project, created by Galaxy
1:05.6	Chocolate in partnership with the charity Young Women's Trust, and it aims to inspire women to take pride in all
1:13.2	that they do. Galaxy Chocolate has created a free training course to help women share their
1:18.2	achievements joyfully. Remember, telling the world what you've achieved isn't showing off. It's showing
1:24.0	up and it inspires other women to do the same. No matter how big or small, whether
1:29.2	you've written a book or just got through a difficult week, this campaign is encouraging
1:34.0	women to celebrate their achievements. What an amazing initiative. So take the free 50-minute
1:41.3	training online by searching for The Unhumble Project from Galaxy
1:45.9	or by visiting galaxytoclet.co.com.com. The Testaments is a new chapter from the executive
1:53.2	producers of The Handmaid's Tale and will air on Disney Plus from Wednesday, the 8th of April,
	...

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