#IMOMSOHARD: surviving motherhood one laugh at a time

The Iowa-Nebraska rivalry goes beyond support of the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Nebraska Cornhusker teams. The #IMOMSOHARD comedy team of Kristin Hensley and Jen Smedley, who both hail from Nebraska, understand.

“There's definitely a thing between Nebraska and Iowa but Jen and I love Iowa,” Hensley said. “We look at it like this. Everybody hates Colorado.”

The parenting humor that emanates from Hensley and Smedley has a distinct Midwestern vibe. “I think that’s why what we do goes over so well in Iowa,” Hensley said while calling from her Los Angeles home. “There’s a lifestyle and a vernacular in the Midwest that you only know if you are from there. Women from Iowa know what we’re talking about when we talk about getting a deal on a shirt. There are certain nuances of the Midwest and that’s why it’s always magic for us when we come back to Iowa and it’s cool that it’s Nebraska adjacent.”

However, Hensley and Smedley are not a regional attraction. The amusing mom’s stories connect throughout the country. Women understand when the pair riff about aging, married sex and the middle school experience since Hensley and Smedley each have two children, who are at that point.

“I think what we do resonates with women,” Smedley said. “It’s great surviving life with someone who makes you laugh. The great thing is that we make each other laugh.”

What’s funny about Hensley and Smedley is that they grew up two hours from each other but didn’t meet until they moved to Los Angeles a decade ago. Hensley and Smedley lived a block from each other in Venice Beach before they had children but didn’t run into each other until they were married with children.

“It’s odd that it took us so long to meet since we have some of the same friends,” Hensley said. “We went to the same parties and probably made out with the same bartender.”

Hensley and Smedley discovered they had a similar sensibility. They hung out, became best friends and recorded videos. Hensley and Smedley placed their clips on Facebook and moms turned them into an internet sensation.

Much has changed in a decade.

“When we started everything was very different,” Smedley said. “Our kids were obviously younger. Social media then was so different. When we met we noticed that all of the content for moms back then was really depressing. We thought there has to be something out there for moms.”

The tandem created humorous content for moms, such as clips about Spanx and body hair, and their work took off. “Our goal was to just make moms feel like the jobs they were doing were good enough,” Hensley said.

Mission accomplished. Part of the appeal of #IMOMSOHARD is that it’s a feel good event. Hensley and Smedley are at their best joking in the moment. The highlight of their shows is the segment dubbed “Mom Bags.”

“That’s when we go through women’s purses and we find the weirdest things,” Hensley said.

A fake parrot and a bathing suit are some of the items the duo recently uncovered. “I once found a kids tooth a woman was carrying around,” Smedley said.

What do Hensley and Smedley have in their mom bags? “Lots of secrets,” Hensley cracked. “I have a spare birthday candle.”

Men are welcome to attend #IMOMSOHARD, which is slated for Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, at the Englert Theatre in Iowa City. “We’re so excited to see an uptick of husbands coming out to the show,” Smedley said. “We love having dads in the audience. Any good husband that wants to come out with his wife and support her, we’re good with that. If a dad wants to come out solo and see what we’re about, that’s cool too. Mothers and fathers can see that we’re not perfect moms. We’re good moms. We have our faults. We try and sometimes we fail. I think it’s a good thing to show that because 75 percent of moms feel bad about their job due to social media. Moms aren’t perfect. It’s such a tough job but it’s the greatest job. We can look back and laugh at some of the really funny stuff that happens to us.”