NBC’s Megan Colarossi Talks Back-To-Work Transitioning

As of recently, many people may know Megan Colarossi best as one of the panelists (among former NSYNC-er Lance Bass, style expert Liliana Vasquez, and comedian Yamaneika) on NBC’s the “Meredith Vieira Show.” However, before she was lending her smart and funny perspective to Vieira’s “what’s hot now” topics, the California-bred and Vanderbilt-educated Colarossi had spent several years as a stay-at-home mom to her two daughters (Hudson, who’s 4, and Quinn, who’s 2) after deciding to pull back from her work as a journalist and TV news producer (her resume includes substantial stints at CNN and MTV). Now, transitioning back to work has given her plenty to reflect on.

“Back in 2007, I was getting married and I wanted to have kids and I looked around and there were no women with children at [my then-job at] MTV,” she recalls. “Working in the news business, it doesn’t allow the luxury to have a family—so I gave it all up. I walked away and got married and started a family. I started working odd jobs—I worked for Soul Cycle, I wrote a book, I worked for a non-profit. But really, I sort of stepped down and had kids and got married.”

While Colarossi, now 40, had loved her work in producing and being behind the camera, she also really relished and appreciated the quality time spent with her young children–getting to experience their milestones and special moments.

“I applaud women who pull back [when they have kids]…I didn’t have the resources to have a full team to help me out. So I had to pull back and I’m so happy I pulled back because I never missed a first,” she says. “I was lucky to be a stay-at-home mom…I am so happy I had the first four of my older daughter’s life and the first two years of my youngest’s—I was there for a lot of moments.”

Colarossi’s enjoyment of her new role as a mother didn’t stop her from exploring new professional opportunities when the time felt right, though. As fate would have it, the perfect niche came up via an old friend–“TODAY” show thrid-hour co-anchor Willie Geist. “A couple years ago, I got together with Willie Geist—we’re friends from college and were both producers at CNN—and we had dinner and he said: ‘You’re funny, we’re funny, let’s do a segment on the ‘TODAY’ show called ‘TODAY’s Friendly Advice,'” she explains. “I was pregnant with my second child and we went to ‘TODAY’ and they put the segment on-air. I had never been on-air before—I’d always been a producer behind the camera—but it started something in me. I didn’t get paid for it but I wanted to figure out how to do it! I hadn’t worked in six years, almost. Long story short, the digital team [at “TODAY”] came to us and said: ‘You guys are funny, let’s do a parenting segment.'”

What followed, and was ultimately what led to Colarossi’s current job on-air with “Meredith,” was a digital series called “Parental Guidance,” in which Colarossi and Geist (an NYC dad himself) discuss and dispense advice on everything from how to cure car-sickness to how to have sex after kids (see the video below) and, as Colarossi puts it, “all the stuff you’re inundated by as a parent.”

From the success of the web series, came interest from Mereith Vieira herself in having Colarossi on her panel as a voice for moms. “Meredith Vieira came knocking and she wanted a mom for the show. And I said: ‘I haven’t worked in so long’—and I was nervous and scared—’do you really want me on the show?'” Colarossi says. “And Meredith said: ‘Moms have voices, moms deserve a voice on daytime television, and a mom is a job.'”

Throughout her transition from stay-at-home-mom to daytime TV personality, Colarossi counts her friends and family as great supporters. In fact, one of her top pieces of advice to other mothers looking to take steps back into the working world is to talk it out with other mom-friends.

“Your best resource? All your mom-friends! Because everybody knows somebody,” she explains. “Your mom-friends are your best allies because they know things about your baby, they know people who are working, their husbands know people who are working, they used to work.”

And she also advises transitioning mothers to take “baby steps” and to trust in perseverance in the journey to post-baby professional fulfillment. “It’s never too late to reinvent yourself and to try something new. It’s scary—especially in the television business, because there’s a lot of rejection, but you can do anything if you put yourself out there. It’s about finding what you’re good at and parlaying that into a job. I never knew I was good at [being on-air] until somebody told me I was funny!”

To learn more about Megan Colarossi, visit megancolarossi.com! To learn when you can catch her on the “Meredith Vieira Show,” visit meredithvieirashow.com!