A Splash More

In Part One, Melissa Wolmarans shared the choices that led to the crash that resulted in Will’s death. In Part Two, she reflects on what came after.

Melissa recounts being sentenced to six years in prison and saying goodbye to her father, knowing it might be the last time she saw him. Two months into her incarceration, he died from the same brain cancer that had taken her mother when Melissa was in high school.

She speaks candidly about grieving while incarcerated, the realities of prison, her experience at fire camp and the role her faith played in carrying her through some of the most difficult years of her life. This is a conversation about remorse, responsibility and what accountability looks like when nothing can undo the harm that has been done.

Content note: This episode discusses impaired and distracted driving, a fatal car crash, grief and incarceration.

This episode is brought to you by Coastline Aesthetics & Wellness, a boutique medspa in El Segundo where thoughtful, personalized care meets natural-looking results. Coastline’s approach isn’t about changing who you are—it’s about helping you feel more confident and at home in yourself.

Learn more about PRX, microneedling, injectables and regenerative aesthetic treatments at:

Season Two of A Splash More begins with one of the most complex and remarkable stories we have ever shared.

In the first installment of this special multi-part conversation, Melissa Wolmarans takes us back to the life she was living before a fatal crash took Will’s life and permanently changed the course of two families.

Melissa speaks candidly about an earlier alcohol-related driving incident that was resolved as a wet reckless, why that experience did not change her behavior and the choices that led to the night of the crash—including drinking and reaching for her phone to text a friend while driving. She recounts the moment she learned Will had died, the immediate aftermath and the experience of facing a felony conviction and prison sentence.

This is not a conversation about minimizing harm or escaping accountability. It is an honest examination of responsibility, grief and whether a person can acknowledge the irreversible consequences of her actions while still believing that one terrible moment does not represent the entirety of her life.

Part One concludes with Melissa’s sentencing. Her story continues in the next installment as she begins serving her sentence and confronts prison, faith, profound personal loss, forgiveness and the difficult work of learning how to live again.

At the heart of this special Season Two premiere is a question central to A Splash More: Can we take full responsibility for our worst moment without allowing it to become our entire identity?

Content note: This episode discusses impaired and distracted driving, a fatal car crash, incarceration and suicidal thoughts.

This episode is brought to you by Coastline Aesthetics & Wellness, a boutique medspa in El Segundo where thoughtful, personalized care meets natural-looking results. Coastline’s approach isn’t about changing who you are—it’s about helping you feel more confident and at home in yourself.

Learn more about PRX, microneedling, injectables and regenerative aesthetic treatments at Coastline Aesthetics And Wellness.

Additional Resources & Ways to Support

Remembering Braun Levi | Live Like Braun Foundation

Braun Levi was an 18-year-old student and talented tennis player whose life was tragically cut short by an alleged impaired driver in May 2025. His family established the Live Like Braun Foundation to honor his life and carry forward his legacy of kindness, generosity and leadership through scholarships, community initiatives and impaired-driving awareness.

Learn more about Braun's life and legacy:  

Support the Live Like Braun Foundation:  

Understanding a Wet Reckless Conviction

In California, a "wet reckless" is a misdemeanor reckless driving conviction involving alcohol or drugs, often resulting from a reduction of an original DUI charge. It is not simply a traffic citation. Although penalties may be less severe than those associated with a DUI, a wet reckless conviction can carry important legal consequences, particularly for subsequent impaired-driving offenses.

Learn more:  

Understanding a Watson Advisement

A Watson advisement is a formal warning associated with certain California impaired-driving convictions. It informs individuals that driving under the influence can endanger human life and that causing a death while driving impaired in the future could result in murder charges.

The warning is named after the landmark California Supreme Court case *People v. Watson (1981)*, which established an important legal precedent for pursuing second-degree murder charges in fatal impaired-driving cases.

Learn more about the case:  

*These resources are provided for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice.*

What does it really mean to stand up for what’s right—especially when speaking out feels uncomfortable?

In this Worth Another Listen episode, Hayley reconnects with writer, editor and community advocate Tanya Monaghan for a timely conversation about using your voice with courage and conviction.

They discuss the allegations at Cornell and the larger questions the situation raises about supporting survivors, demanding institutional accountability and refusing to remain silent when something feels wrong. Tanya also shares what is happening closer to home, why local participation matters and how South Bay residents can make their voices heard on October 17.

Then, revisit Hayley’s original conversation with Tanya about moving from frustration to action, overcoming the fear of being the first person to speak and recognizing that meaningful change often begins with one small—but courageous—step.

This episode is a reminder that using your voice doesn’t require having every answer. Sometimes it simply means refusing to look away.

SOUTH BAY TAKES A STAND: WALK THE STRAND

Saturday, October 17, 2026  

Join anywhere along the Strand, from Manhattan Beach to Redondo Beach, in solidarity with No Kings efforts taking place across the country.

Participants are encouraged to bring signs supporting voting and early voting. Follow @southbaytakesastand on Instagram for updates and additional information.

After the Strand walk, community members can continue to the No Kings event at Torrance City Hall beginning at 11:00 a.m.

Worth Another Listen revisits some of our favorite conversations from A Splash More, with a fresh perspective on where life has taken our guests since we first sat down. A Splash More returns with brand-new episodes for Season 2 this October.

What happens when the thing that made you exceptional—the career, talent or identity you built your life around—is no longer the whole story?

In this Worth Another Listen episode, Hayley revisits her powerful conversation with WNBA legend and Olympic gold medalist Angel McCoughtry. Angel opens up about the identity shifts that come when the game changes, learning to see herself beyond basketball and discovering who she is outside of what she has accomplished.

This conversation goes far beyond sports. It’s about transition, vulnerability, reinvention and the deeply personal question so many women eventually face: Who am I without the thing I’ve always been known for?

Whether you’re navigating a career change, motherhood, an unexpected ending or simply a season that no longer looks the way you imagined, Angel’s honesty is a reminder that losing one version of yourself can create space to discover another.

If you heard this conversation the first time, it may meet you differently today. And if you missed it, it is absolutely worth another listen.

Worth Another Listen revisits some of our favorite conversations from A Splash More, with a fresh perspective on where life has taken our guests since we first sat down. A Splash More returns with brand-new episodes for Season 2 this October.

Sometimes you don’t understand the detour until you get to see where it leads.

Earlier this year, Hayley sat down with Stephanie Shim and Shira Lazar for a conversation about the lives we plan, the timelines we're handed, and what can happen when we stop measuring our lives against where we think we're supposed to be.

Now, that conversation feels even more meaningful.

Stephanie has built a tremendous career as one of the key executives at YouTube Music, while refusing to compromise on what she wanted in her personal life simply to meet someone else's timeline. This past weekend, Hayley watched Stephanie get married—not as the moment her life finally began, but as another beautiful chapter in a life she had already built on her own terms.

And Shira has continued creating her own version of what's possible, too. Since this conversation, she's been named one of the TIME100 Creators, appeared on CNN, taken the stage at Create & Cultivate, and brought her advocacy for the creator community to Washington.

Two women. Two completely different paths. And neither one built her life by following somebody else's blueprint.

In the original conversation, Stephanie and Shira talk about rejection, ambition, reinvention, relationships, changed timelines, self-trust, closed doors and unexpected opportunities—and what happens when the life you're living starts looking very different from the one you once imagined.

Because sometimes the detour isn't taking you away from your life.

Worth Another Listen revisits some of our favorite conversations from A Splash More, with a fresh perspective on where life has taken our guests since we first sat down. A Splash More returns with brand-new episodes for Season 2 this October.

What does having a home really mean after you’ve experienced what it feels like not to have one?

In this special Worth Another Listen episode, Hayley revisits her conversation about The Pen + Napkin Project, a nonprofit transforming empty houses into homes for families rebuilding their lives.

But this time, there’s a new chapter.

After recently helping furnish and transform a home for a family of five who experienced job loss and the loss of their housing, Hayley sits down with the mom for a short, deeply personal conversation about what it felt like to finally receive the keys, what having a space of their own means to her children, and what it was like to walk into a home created with so much care by people they had never met.

Then, revisit the original conversation that inspired Hayley to get involved with Pen + Napkin in the first place.

It’s a reminder that this work has never really been about furniture or decorating. It’s about dignity, stability, community, and giving a family a place where they can finally exhale.

Because sometimes a fresh start begins with something as simple, and as powerful, as having a place to call home. 🤍

A Special Thank You 🤍

Worth Another Listen revisits some of our favorite conversations from A Splash More, with a fresh perspective on where life has taken our guests since we first sat down. A Splash More returns with brand-new episodes for Season 2 this October.

From Young Celie in The Color Purple to stepping onto the Broadway stage as Nala in The Lion King, Phylicia Pearl Mpasi has had quite a journey.

Phylicia is back on A Splash More for a brand-new catch-up before we revisit our original Season One conversation.

Hayley and Phylicia catch up on where life has taken her, what it feels like to be back on Broadway, what success means to her now, what she's dreaming about next, and how her perspective on race, identity and representation continues to evolve.

Then, we're taking you back to their original conversation.

Phylicia opens up about the road that eventually led her to playing Young Celie in The Color Purple and the many “no's” that came along the way. She and Hayley talk about rejection, resilience, manifestation, and what it means to keep believing in something even when the path there looks nothing like you imagined.

They also have an honest and deeply personal conversation about the experiences that have shaped Phylicia not only as a performer, but as a Black woman and storyteller, and what it means to find your place in an industry where representation matters.

Worth Another Listen revisits some of our favorite conversations from A Splash More, with a fresh perspective on where life has taken our guests since we first sat down. A Splash More returns with brand-new episodes for Season 2 this October.

What are you willing to walk away from when something that once felt right no longer does?

Sara Happ is back on A Splash More for a brand-new catch-up before we revisit one of our favorite conversations from Season One.

Since we last sat down, life has continued to evolve. Hayley catches up with Sara about what has changed, what she’s saying no to, what she’s excited to say yes to, and what she’s protecting more fiercely in this season of her life.

Then, we’re taking you back to the original conversation, “When Walking Away Becomes the Power Move.”

Sara may be best known as the founder of her namesake beauty brand, but this conversation goes far beyond business. Together, Hayley and Sara talk about identity, ambition, intuition, friendship, women supporting women, and the courage it takes to recognize when something you worked incredibly hard for may no longer be right for you.

Because growth isn't always about pushing harder or adding more. Sometimes it means trusting yourself enough to let go, change your mind, and make room for whatever comes next.

Worth Another Listen revisits some of our favorite conversations from A Splash More, with a fresh perspective on where life has taken our guests since we first sat down. A Splash More returns with brand-new episodes for Season 2 this October.

Between seasons, we’re going back to a few conversations from Season 1 that have stayed with us—the ones that made us laugh, think, feel seen, or look at something a little differently.

And there was only one place to start.

New York Times bestselling author Josie Balka was the very first guest on A Splash More. In this conversation, originally recorded with Hayley and Bailey, Josie joins us for an honest, hilarious and deeply relatable conversation about body image, confidence, self-worth and the complicated relationship so many women have with the person looking back at them in the mirror.

We talk about the pressure to look a certain way, the things we say to ourselves that we would never say to someone we love, learning to find confidence without waiting for our bodies or our lives to be “perfect,” and what it actually means to become more comfortable being yourself.

Listening back now feels a little like opening a time capsule. A Splash More has changed since this conversation, but so much of what we talked about that day still feels just as relevant.

Whether you were here from the very beginning or found us somewhere along the way, this one is Worth Another Listen.

Worth Another Listen revisits some of our favorite conversations from A Splash More, with a fresh perspective on where life has taken our guests since we first sat down. A Splash More returns with brand-new episodes for Season 2 this October.

Megan and Gretchen are partners in just about every sense of the word. They're married, former collegiate basketball players, and the founders of SandSpa—a modern wellness brand born from their belief that high-quality self-care shouldn't be reserved for special occasions.

What began as a single beachside spa has grown into a Southern California wellness collective spanning SandSpa locations, Polish nail boutiques, IV therapy through The Solution, and partnerships with hotels and resorts.

In this episode of A Splash More, Hayley sits down with Megan and Gretchen for an honest conversation about what it really looks like to build so much of your life alongside the same person.

They share how they met, fell in love, and eventually became business partners and how their backgrounds as collegiate athletes inspired an idea that would ultimately become SandSpa. We talk about taking the leap into entrepreneurship, growing a business together, navigating disagreements, and the sometimes very blurry line between being spouses and being business partners.

But the conversation goes much deeper than business.

Megan and Gretchen open up about their IVF journey and the emotional reality of trying to build the family they've dreamed about. Having gone through IVF herself, Hayley connects with them over the parts of the process that are difficult to understand until you've lived them: the hope, the waiting, the disappointment, the lack of control, and somehow finding the strength to keep going.

They also talk openly about building a family as a same-sex couple, the additional decisions and realities that can come with that journey, representation, and what it means to create spaces where people feel welcome to show up exactly as they are—a value they've intentionally woven into SandSpa as well.

In this episode:

• How Megan and Gretchen met and built a life together

At its heart, this is a conversation about partnership—and what it means to keep building, hoping, growing, and choosing each other through every version of the life you imagined.

This episode is brought to you by our friends at BÜNDA Strength + Stairs. While we're excited to be building a partnership with their South Bay community, BÜNDA's impact extends far beyond Southern California, with studios across the country helping women discover their strength through movement, connection, and community.

Their classes combine strength training, conditioning, and community in a way that keeps you coming back. Whether you’re getting back into fitness, looking to build strength, or just want an hour that’s completely for you, BÜNDA has something for every stage of life.

Visit http://trainbunda.com or stop by one of their studios and tell them A Splash More sent you