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The Fifth Trimester is the Buzzy New Podcast Making Mums Cool Again
Hosted by Lu Reeves and Bella Brennan, The Fifth Trimester is the must-listen new podcast for millennial mums, serving pop culture goss, beauty and style inspo in snackable episodes every Monday.
Best friends and podcast hosts Lu Reeves and Bella Brennan are on a mission to make millennial mums cool again — one episode of The Fifth Trimester at a time.
Part of the We Don’t Have Time For This network, the hit new show is all about life after the newborn trenches; when the fog starts to lift, and mums begin reconnecting with themselves, their passions, hobbies (yes, pop culture goss counts), beauty routines and personal style.
What is the Fifth Trimester, Anyway?
“The name is a nod to the three trimesters it takes to grow a baby. Then, when you bring your baby home, those intense first three months are known as the ‘fourth trimester’, where you’re pretty much a slave to feeds and awake-time windows,” host Lu Reeves explains.
Both hosts are mums of two and agree that while the fourth trimester is a beautiful and crucial stage of matrescence, and one already well-covered in the podcast world, there’s far less conversation about what comes next.
And that’s where The Fifth Trimester steps in.
From Matrescence Back to ME
“This is about life after those self-sacrificial chapters of early motherhood. When your kids are toilet-trained and a bit more independent, the babysitter’s on speed dial and you start to remember who you were before the Lycra leggings and leaky boobs,” host Bella Brennan says.
“That’s the fifth trimester! The sweet spot when you can finally start making space for yourself again. Whether that’s knowing what jeans mums are wearing in 2026, what we’re doing with our skincare routines, or why everyone is pining for 2016 on social media all of a sudden,” Bella says.
As Lu puts it, “Mums want to be across zeitgeisty touch points as much as anyone else. But most don’t have time to be on TikTok or to get sucked into rogue Reddit rabbit holes, so that’s where Bella and I report for duty for the listeners. We live online.”
A Snackable Podcast for Busy Mums
Dubbed as the ‘chronically online’ little sisters to We Don’t Have Time For This hosts Gemma Pranita and Kate Reeves, Lu is actually Kate’s real-life younger sister. After popping up as a guest on the main podcast multiple times over the years, audiences made it clear they wanted more of ‘sister Lu’.
Now, it’s a full-blown family affair and mums everywhere are tuning in. Debuting at number 19 in the tightly-held Society and Culture charts in week one, then landing at number two (right under their big sisters in the top spot) in the Kids and Family category in week two, The Fifth Trimester is fast becoming a summer holiday favourite.
“The shows are bite-sized and snacky. Episodes drop every Monday afternoon just in time for the school run or the sacred commute home, and are never longer than 30 minutes, because, well, mum life! Who has the time?” Lu explains.
“It’s a tasty sorbet scoop of fun amid the bin fire that is the current state of the world. Each episode brings pop-culture goss, beauty and style inspo designed to keep mums cool, confident and very much relevant,” Bella, a former entertainment editor turned freelance journalist, adds.
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Meet Their Big Sisters
Their ‘big sisters’, We Don’t Have Time For This, launched in 2020 and has since amassed a global following, with thousands of listeners tuning in each week. Hosted by childhood best friends, the show sees the duo chat about motherhood, relationships, work, and everything in between. Or, as they put it, it’s for people who love their kids but hate parenting.
Over the past three years, Gemma and Kate have also toured nationally and internationally, including London, with their sell-out live podcast shows Can We Not Evolve, Sorry For Existing and Who Is She? In 2025, Who Is She sold out three shows at the Sydney Opera House in just ten minutes.
“The Fifth Trimester slots perfectly into the We Don’t Have Time For This Universe. Off the back of the Who Is She? Tour, this feeds seamlessly into the show’s themes of unpacking our identity after we emerge from the trenches,” Kate Reeves muses.
“Something we really craved in our podcast diet was a bite-sized show that delivers the latest trends, celebrity news and cultural conversations in a way that actually fits into busy lives,” Gemma Pranita says.
“It’s a highly snackable pop-culture podcast for millennial mums — a way to stay across what’s hot, what’s not and all the goss that fuels great dinner-party chat. Every episode leaves you feeling informed and relevant. I learn so much every time one drops,” Gemma notes.
“Bella and Lu have their finger on the pulse, they’re on TikTok, they know what’s going down between all these different platforms, and they’re here as your field guides on how to stay in-the-know,” Kate reveals.
Bestie Banter
Perhaps the show’s best strength is the hosts’ fizzing chemistry; it’s the kind of best-friend banter that just can’t be manufactured. Their chemistry is palpable and their witty quips will make you snort-laugh.
“Lu and I are later-in-life best mates. While we had known each other for years, we fell in friendship love in our fifth trimester on the dance floor at the Flight Facilities Decades show in 2023. So it’s all very full circle,” Bella says.
“This show is pretty much a living, breathing extension of our group chat. It’s so much fun to make and we’re blown away by the response!” Lu says.
Listen to The Fifth Trimester on Monday afternoons. Available on Spotify and Apple.
Loved this explainer on The Fifth Trimester and looking for more fun things to read and listen to? Check out our edit of the best Australian books and best podcasts to listen to in 2026.
