Nara Smith credits couples therapy with giving her and her husband Lucky Blue Smith the communication tools they needed when their daughter Whimsy Lou was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The model and TikTok creator, 24, spoke about the experience on the Call Her Daddy podcast, hosted by Alex Cooper.
Smith revealed in an Instagram post in early July that Whimsy Lou had been diagnosed late last year. A subsequent Instagram post identified the cancer as Hodgkin’s lymphoma. According to a further update, Whimsy Lou’s treatment lasted approximately eight months before she completed chemotherapy and entered remission.
Smith said she and her husband did not fully process the diagnosis until the physical effects of chemotherapy became apparent, including hair loss and nausea. ‘We started crumbling a little bit,’ she told Cooper.
Why Nara Smith Started Couples Therapy Before Any Crisis Hit
Smith said she first suggested couples therapy early in their relationship, knowing they had grown up differently and wanting to build ‘a strong foundation’ from the start. Looking back, she said, that decision proved invaluable.
‘Sometimes nothing’s wrong, and you just want to have the tools to have the best life. I want to have the best life in every aspect of my life, and that to me comes with work,’ she said.
The main thing the therapy taught them, she said, was how to communicate, which ‘came in really handy’ during their daughter’s treatment. ‘Even though I might have felt whatever I felt, I created the space for him to feel the way he felt, and for him to communicate that with me, and for us to work through that together and really be heard by each other,’ she said.
During Whimsy Lou’s chemotherapy, the couple took turns supporting each other. ‘When I had a hard day with it, he picked me up. When he had a hard day, I picked him up, and we were like, “Let’s just keep going,”‘ Smith said. ‘It felt like that game where you’re tied to someone else, and you have to make it to the finish line together.’
The couple also has three other children: Rumble Honey, Slim Easy, and Fawnie Golden.
Beyond the Tradwife Label: What Smith Said About Running Her Business
The Call Her Daddy interview also saw Smith push back against the ‘tradwife’ label that has followed her content. According to a summary by SiriusXM, she said she and Lucky Blue Smith divide parenting and household responsibilities equally, with Lucky handling cleaning and dishes. Smith described herself as a working mother who runs her content business entirely herself, including filming, editing videos, and selecting recipes and outfits.
She also disclosed during the interview that she had experienced postpartum anxiety, adding another layer to a conversation that ranged across motherhood, mental health, and relationships.
Many people assume couples therapy is only for troubled relationships, Smith said, but she does not see it that way. Her view has broader company among public figures. In 2024, actor Rob Lowe said he and his wife Sheryl Berkoff treat couples counselling as routine maintenance. ‘It’s like taking your car in and making sure the engine’s running great,’ he said. In 2025, actor Manny Jacinto said the best marriage advice he had received was to attend therapy when things were going well. ‘You don’t want to be going to couples therapy when you’re in a really bad spot because sometimes it might be too late,’ Jacinto said.
For Smith, the test of that philosophy came not in a deteriorating marriage but in a hospital ward. With Whimsy Lou now in remission, the question of whether those skills transfer to the next unforeseen crisis is one the couple has at least proven, once, that they can face together.