Modeling in the ’90s, Harvard at 40, and Married to a Guns N’ Roses Rockstar
Over 50 & Flourishing with Dominique Sachse
Dear Media
4.8 • 864 Ratings
🗓️ 2 March 2026
⏱️ 62 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of Over 50 & Flourishing, I sit down with Susan Holmes McKagan for a conversation about reinvention, courage, and playing the long game.
After a successful career as a 90s supermodel, Susan pivoted in her late 40s and enrolled in Harvard Graduate School to deepen and refine her craft as a writer. She shares what inspired that decision, what it felt like to be older than many of her classmates, and how the academic rigor sharpened her writing and strengthened her discipline.
We also talk about her nearly 27-year marriage to Duff McKagan of Guns N Roses. How they met on a blind date, what keeps their relationship strong, and what it was really like raising two daughters while navigating life on tour. Susan offers an honest look at the pros and challenges of being married in the rock and roll world and why longevity in love, just like career, requires intention and growth.
In this episode, we discuss:
- Why Susan chose to go to Harvard Graduate School in her 40s after a successful modeling career
- What it felt like to be the outlier in the classroom
- How her writing sharpened and evolved after graduate school
- How she met Duff McKagan and built a lasting marriage in rock and roll
- What tour life was like while raising a family
- The importance of taking leaps of faith at any age
- Why following your passion matters more than playing it safe
- How benefiting from the long game leads to lasting success
For more on Susan Holmes McKagan, follow her on:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susanholmesmckagan/?hl=en
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/SuHolmesMcKagan
- Susan’s book, The Velvet Rose: https://a.co/d/0cZfZwW8
- Three Chords & The Truth: https://duffmckagan.com/radio-show/
Thanks to my Sponsors:
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- Manukora: Head to Manukora.com/FLOURISHING to save up to 31% plus $25 worth of free gifts
- Bloom Nutrition: Go to bloomnu.com and use code OVER50 for 20% off your first order.
Keep in Touch:
- Website: https://dominiquesachse.tv/
- Book: https://dominiquesachse.tv/book/
- Insta: https://www.instagram.com/dominiquesachse/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DominiqueSachse/
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dominiquesachse?lang=en
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dominiquesachsetv
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The following podcast is a Dear Media production. |
| 0:15.4 | Welcome back to Over 50 and Flourishing, where we like to celebrate reinvention and living boldly in this season of life. |
| 0:23.3 | Today's guest is doing just that. Her name is Susan Holmes McCagin. She is a former supermodel, |
| 0:28.7 | still a model, an entrepreneur, author, founder of Susan Holmes Swimware, also happens to be the wife |
| 0:34.9 | of Guns and Rose's bassist, Duff McCagan, and she's written a novel, |
| 0:40.0 | kind of semi-autobiographical. We are going to be talking about reinvention in midlife, which she has |
| 0:45.4 | done beautifully, attended Harvard grad school, yes, in her late 40s, and she is flourishing in every |
| 0:52.3 | chapter of her life. But I want to know, what was it like being on the road with Guns and Roses, |
| 0:57.6 | raising two daughters that way? |
| 0:59.4 | How do you make a rock star marriage flourish? |
| 1:02.0 | And do all of that while still maintaining those kind of down-home roots, |
| 1:07.0 | her Midwestern Ohio sensibilities, which you're going to detect right away. So let's welcome Susan to the show. |
| 1:19.9 | Hi, Susan. Welcome to over 50 and flourishing. Wow, I'm honored to have you. I have a feeling you and I are going to have a great chat today. |
| 1:27.3 | Hi. Thank you so very much for having me. It's a complete honor to be here with you and you're so |
| 1:33.6 | inspiring. So thanks so much for taking the time out of your day to have me. Oh, anytime, anytime. |
| 1:39.0 | You know, before we begin, I've got so much that I want to talk to you about. You have lived |
| 1:43.2 | such a storied life, certainly to the public view. |
| 1:47.7 | That's how it looks. |
| 1:48.8 | We all know that behind the scenes, not everything is so storied and perfect and all of that. |
| 1:53.4 | But before we get into that, I read somewhere that you love to play Wordle. |
| 1:58.0 | Is that true? |
| 1:59.0 | Oh, my gosh. |
... |
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