Aly & AJ: Disney & Dating Disasters (FBF)

Alex Cooper sits down with sisters Aly and AJ Michalka on Call Her Daddy to discuss their careers, personal lives, and new music. The conversation opens with their current lifestyles, noting that while they used to live minutes apart, AJ now lives an hour and a half from Aly after Aly moved closer to her mother in Simi Valley following the birth of her son. They describe their favorite downtime activities as spa days and movie nights.

The sisters reflect on their Disney Channel era, discussing Phil of the Future (two seasons, ~22 episodes each), the song 'Potential Breakup Song,' and how they realized their fame was growing when Aly was mobbed at a Hilary Duff concert. They clarify rumors, including that Aly was never secretly dating her Phil of the Future co-star, and confirm that AJ's first kiss was with Joe Jonas at a bowling alley during a tour where the Jonas Brothers opened for them. They also discuss that Aly was offered the role that became Hannah Montana but declined partly because of her existing music career as Aly & AJ and not wanting AJ reduced to a supporting role.

The sisters discuss their upbringing, crediting their parents — particularly their mother's on-set presence — for keeping them grounded. They describe themselves as non-rebellious teens who were trusted enough by LA club bouncers to enter without causing trouble. They discuss how their similar taste in boys occasionally created tension, sharing a story about Aly leaving her number for a waiter in New York while AJ was also interested in him.

On relationships, AJ revealed she was cheated on, but described the more painful betrayal as being by a close female friend who was involved with the guy she was dating. Aly recounted being broken up with by a professional football player who told her she was 'a distraction from his job.' Aly also discussed meeting her husband Steven on an indie film set where he was the DP, and the difficulty of ending a prior relationship with a man who said he 'made her a woman.' AJ has been with her boyfriend Josh for six years, having met him at the Napa Valley Film Festival.

The sisters discuss their parents' divorce, which happened when they were 19 and 21. They revealed there was infidelity involved, which caused AJ significant emotional trauma and created a persistent fear of being cheated on in her own relationships. Aly was somewhat insulated by being away filming a TV show in Vancouver at the time. Both sisters maintain a good relationship with both parents today.

AJ described her emotional reaction to Aly's engagement — sobbing alone in their shared Laurel Canyon home, fearing she would 'lose her sister' to marriage — a fear that proved unfounded. They also share humorous anecdotes about their father's unusual comments, including telling AJ at Aly's wedding that she 'lost a sister but gained a brother,' and introducing Steven to his deceased father at the open casket funeral.

On their new album, the sisters describe it as their most authentic work, informed by touring and written during Aly's pregnancy. AJ's favorite song is 'Michael's Song,' written about a long-time team member who passed away. Aly's favorites include 'I Don't Know What It Is,' about struggling to make her new Santa Barbara home feel like home during pregnancy, and 'Dandelions,' written for her son Jack before he was born. They also describe a discouraging label meeting where an executive said they were 'not here to break women in their 30s,' which both sisters found deeply frustrating and sexist.