The Real Story Behind Jennette McCurdy’s Novel “Half His Age.”

Modern Love

The New York Times

Love, New York Times, Nytimes, Essay, Loss, Storytelling, Society & Culture, Redemption, Nyt

4.3 • 9K Ratings

🗓️ 4 February 2026

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Please note: this episode contains explicit descriptions of sex. Jennette McCurdy pretty much grew up in front of an audience. In her role on the Nickelodeon show “iCarly,” she seemed like a bubbly, happy teenager. Behind the scenes, though, she was struggling. In her 2022 memoir, “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” McCurdy described her toxic and often abusive relationship with her mother, her struggles with depression and disordered eating, and the painful work she did to build herself back up. The book was a New York Times bestseller for over 80 weeks. McCurdy has a new book out, and this time, she’s written a novel. “Half His Age” tells the story of an intimate relationship between a 17-year-old girl named Waldo and her 40-year-old teacher, Mr. Korgy. This week on “Modern Love,” McCurdy explains how some of her own experiences inspired the story in “Half His Age,” and how writing the book allowed her to work through her rage, understand her desire and reclaim her power.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Love now and...
0:03.2	Did you fall in love last?
0:04.0	I love love him.
0:05.0	The love was stronger than anything.
0:07.0	And I love you more than anything.
0:10.0	What is love?
0:11.0	From the New York Times, I'm Anna Martin.
0:16.0	This is Modern Love.
0:17.0	Today, I'm talking to Jeanette McCurdy.
0:20.0	Jeanette pretty much grew up in front of an audience.
0:23.4	She was a Nickelodeon star. You probably know her from the show I Carly. But behind the scenes,
0:28.1	she was struggling. And she wrote about all of it in her 22 bestselling memoir, I'm glad
0:34.1	my mom died. Now she has a new book out.
0:38.3	It's a novel and it's called Half His Age.
0:40.3	And it's a story about a relationship between a 17-year-old girl named Waldo and her 40-year-old teacher, Mr. Corgi.
0:48.3	What hit me about half his age is just how complicated this dynamic is between Waldo and Mr. Corgi.
0:54.9	Jeanette does not sugarcoat their relationship, but she also doesn't pass judgment.
1:00.4	Jeanette told me, when she was 18, she had her own age gap relationship.
1:05.2	And it took writing this book for her to fully come to terms with what happened and what she learned from it.
1:12.4	A heads up, before we get into it, this episode does get explicit. So if you're listening
1:16.9	with kids around, save this one for later.
1:24.2	Jeanette McCurdy, welcome to Modern Love. Hi, Anna.
	...

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