Sofia Franklyn: Why She Left Call Her Daddy And What She Is Doing Today

"Call Her Daddy" is a renowned podcast reaching millions of listeners. The show has become an absolute sensation, as the host Alex Cooper has no problem diving into any topic with an open and straightforward style, attracting many loyal fans. Over the years, Alex Cooper has gone through quite the transformation as she's evolved alongside her global platform. She's also become known for interviewing celebrities like Paris Hilton and Katy Perry, and even had a controversial conversation revealing untold truths about presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

But "Call Her Daddy" today is not the same show as it always was. If you were a fan from 2018 when the podcast first started to make waves, then you remember that Cooper was not always steering the media titan alone. She used to have a cohost, Sofia Franklyn. The duo started the project together, but years later, Cooper was left as the one and only host. After a dramatic fallout, Franklyn moved on to other projects and made a name for herself in the media world. Catch up on why the original cohost left and what she's been doing since.

Sofia Franklyn and Alex Cooper were brought into each other's lives by chance. During an interview (via YouTube), Franklyn said it all started when she got into an Uber pool and happened to mention to the girl in the car with her that she was looking for a new apartment. The rider knew Alex Cooper, who was also looking for a roommate, and suggested they meet. From there, their relationship was fast-tracked, going from strangers to roommates, friends, and business partners. 

As Franklyn told it, "We meet up to go look at places. I never met her before, had no idea anything about her, and we signed a lease that day." Later, when the new roommates went to a bar, they started to see the natural banter they had and how entertaining it could be to others. "By the end of the night, we had a group of like 20, 30 people just like watching us talk," Franklyn said. That gave Cooper the idea that they should start a YouTube channel together. 

They created the "Call Her Daddy" podcast in 2018, and later, signed with the media company Barstool Sports. A month into working at Barstool, the girls made a behind-the-scenes vlog together on YouTube, and Franklyn shared that the podcast was going great but that they were both such perfectionists that they often cried after recordings because they wanted to make it perfect.

Sofia Franklyn and Alex Cooper had a great thing going with the "Call Her Daddy" podcast. Listeners loved their chemistry, and they were quickly becoming one of the most popular podcasts, but things fell apart when negotiating their contracts with Barstool Sports. Franklyn had some misgivings working with Barstool and told Rolling Stone that she thought she and Cooper were on the same team, but she was shocked when it turned into her being at odds with Cooper and the rest of the Barstool team. "I thought [Cooper was my] best friend, sister, and we are not hiding anything. There's no way in hell I would speak to our boss without you, that would be f***ing crazy, and I don't think that went both ways," Franklyn said. 

The podcast stopped releasing episodes while all this was happening behind the scenes, and when it came back, Franklyn had left the show, and Cooper was the only host. Telling her side of the story in a YouTube video, Cooper said there was a disconnect between her and Franklyn when Barstool offered them what she considered a great deal, but Franklyn still wanted to go to other companies. "I wanted 'Call Her Daddy' to remain a duo. I wanted Sofia to stay at Barstool with me, and I wanted to do 'Call Her Daddy' with Sofia so badly," Cooper said, but in the end, they couldn't reach a compromise on negotiations.  

At the end of the messy contract negotiations, Sofia Franklyn left "Call Her Daddy" and Alex Cooper continued working with Barstool Sports until she signed a multi-million dollar deal with Spotify in 2021. Meanwhile, Franklyn was left to pick up the pieces and figure out where to go. Looking back on how the negotiations went, Franklyn told Rolling Stone that she felt she was being punished as a woman in a male-dominated workplace for asking for a better deal. "You think misogyny or sexism or unfair pay won't affect you, and speaking up and voicing your opinion won't affect you," she said. "But it affects every woman."

During this time, Franklyn and her former cohost also had a falling out. They had been business partners and friends, but it was hard to maintain that relationship when they ended up on opposing sides of the business, and Franklyn was ultimately cut out of the entire operation. She moved back home to Utah and kept quiet while fans found out about her leaving the podcast. She told Rolling Stone that it was a scary and isolating time as she was never sure what Dave Portnoy (Barstool's founder) and Cooper would say about her. In hindsight, Franklyn said she no longer considers Cooper a friend. "I don't think that a real true friend, anything like that, would have ever happened," she said on the "We Met At Acme" podcast. 

For fans who watched the show from the beginning, it was sad to see the podcasting duo fall apart. Unfortunately, Alex Cooper and Sofia Franklyn not only lost their business partnership but also their friendship. Years later, both of the former cohosts have confirmed they haven't spoken to each other since Franklyn left "Call Her Daddy." During her "We Met At Acme" interview, Franklyn said that she and Cooper have completely separated and don't even have mutual friends anymore. "The last time we had spoken, I reached out to her two times in a row," Franklyn said, explaining why she has no urge to attempt contact with Cooper. "People will let you know ... if they want to speak to you or not. I'm not going to chase someone, especially after what happened."

While visiting Barstool Sports, Cooper also confirmed that she has not spoken to her former cohost since the split. She shared that she felt the show really started to take off once she was the only host. "When I took the show over by myself I think it was exciting for me to finally be able to just like fully creatively take control of the brand," Cooper told Barstool. "I had so many ideas that like, as a duo, it was just like not possible."

Following Sofia Franklyn's departure from "Call Her Daddy," Alex Cooper and Dave Portnoy shared their side of the story on social media, but Franklyn kept her reasons for leaving to herself. Just hearing the one side, Franklyn said many people thought she was selfish for asking for more money. "I actually was silent. That's what I wanted. But people with opposing views were so vocal on so many different platforms that were so ginormous, and I think even when I came back and kind of spoke my piece, there were pieces missing. I couldn't go there," she told Rolling Stone. "It was my choice to stay silent but in a roundabout way, I was a little bit silenced."

Speaking on "We Met At Acme," Franklyn said that she felt like her side of the story got misrepresented. As far as the public was concerned, it seemed like she had gotten greedy and let her then-boyfriend, HBO Sports executive vice president Peter Nelson, take control of her business decisions. According to Franklyn, that wasn't the case, and she found it very discouraging to see how quickly the public believed that narrative. "[What] you read online or in a magazine or in an article, it is never the true story, and it is terrifying to me to see people out here eat [it] up," Franklyn said. 

If you lost track of Sofia Franklyn after she left "Call Her Daddy," you can catch up with her on her own podcast "Sofia with an F." A few months after her departure from Barstool Sports, the former "Call Her Daddy" host launched another pod with a similar premise. On "Sofia with an F," Franklyn isn't scared to get personal, sharing stories about her sex and dating life, friendships, and wild nights out. "I've stayed very true to myself, which was the brand of the old show," Franklyn told Rolling Stone. "There's still a little bit of shock value, there's still humor, there's still some outlandish, explicit, maybe crazy things, but I've gotten older the same way my listeners have and the show is just kind of evolving with me."

"Sofia with an F" has not seen the same success that her former podcast has. As of publication, "Call Her Daddy" is currently ranked as the No. 1 top podcast in the United States by Spotify. However, Franklyn has maintained her die-hard fans and continues to grow her audience through her podcast. She's also interviewed celebrity guests, including Meghan McCain, who shared details about her romantic life with Franklyn. Some other guests she interviewed include stars of "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" and makeup star James Charles. 

Looking at the exponential growth of "Call Her Daddy" and the unbelievable success it's brought Sofia Franklyn's former cohost, Alex Cooper, it's easy to feel like Franklyn got the bad end of the deal. If contract renegotiations had gone differently, perhaps she and Cooper would still be hosting together, and she might have reached the same level of fame. But Franklyn has created her own career working as a podcaster and social media influencer. 

Although it wasn't a straightforward path to get where she is, Franklyn is living her dream. Before starting "Call Her Daddy," Franklyn was working a 9-5 and dreaming of having a successful podcast. Although she's no longer cohosting that one, she has been able to use her audience to create "Sofia with an F."

Franklyn shared that she is making more money now than she did when cohosting at Barstool Sports and is proud of the work she's put into her brand. She's excited to be running her own company and be her own boss. "I completely adore, love, and know how blessed I am to have this job. I am so grateful," she says. "You get to do this s*** you love, you just have to film it and make it for the general public and get paid. It's amazing, and I wouldn't have it any other way," she said (via Fortune).

Although the "Call Her Daddy" breakup was very difficult for Sofia Franklyn, she's worked hard to continue her career and be grateful for where she is today. Years out from the drama that broke up the podcast, Franklyn said her outlook on the situation has shifted. Talking about her current outlook on the "Meet Me at Acme" podcast, the podcaster said she still wouldn't say she's happy about how things happened. She was especially hurt by what she saw as a friendship betrayal from her former cohost. Looking back that is still the part that hurts Franklyn the most. "If I decide you're one of my friends, I am ride or die, loyal beyond belief, and I think [Cooper's] betrayal like really threw me for a loop," she said.

But even if she still has some sadness, she doesn't have regrets. Having had enough space and time to recover, Franklyn said, "I'm the happiest I've ever been. I think there was a reason for it ... I wouldn't necessarily say I'm happy it went down that way, but I think that I'm going to look back and be like, 'That was the best thing to ever happen to me.'"

A big part of the life Sofia Franklyn has built and is so happy with is her home in New York City. When she first moved to the city, Franklyn didn't have the funds to buy a luxury apartment. Far from it, she told Forbes that her first place was a tiny studio where she slept with her mattress on the floor. "It was not cute. It was not fun. It was a walk-up that was half, maybe a quarter, of the size of my apartment now. It was interesting to have my kitchen in my bedroom."

So, when she had the money to move into a nicer place, Franklyn was excited to put her own stamp on it. She collaborated with designer Madison Napier, who listened to Franklyn's podcast and reached out to help. Together, they considered every detail of the space to make a cohesive and calming home. Franklyn takes pride and joy in the space they created. "Every single piece that I got was like a thrill and so exciting," she said. 

Franklyn shared an apartment tour on her YouTube channel in 2022. The DIY tour is a bit more chaotic than the one shown to Forbes, including plenty of laundry mess in the background and her dining room table covered in sunglasses, most of which she said need to be thrown away. 

For a long time, Sofia Franklyn was in a relationship with HBO Sports executive vice president Peter Nelson. While visiting Bradley Martyn's "Raw Talk" in 2023, Franklyn shared that their relationship had ended. She said there were many reasons for this. For one, he was 11 years older than her, and she felt that was part of why they eventually broke up. They also went through a lot when Franklyn left the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, which was hard to work through.

Now that she's single, Franklyn has high standards for the men she dates, particularly regarding their income. During a viral clip, later shared by Distractify, Franklyn famously said, "I'm not joking. I have asked the last three dudes that I've dated for their bank account info on their first date." When asked for her reason for this, she simply stated, "Because I only want to date a wealthy guy who has money." According to Franklyn, her comments weren't about gold digging, but making sure the person she is seeing is on her level. 

Many viewers didn't appreciate Franklyn's candid remarks on dating. One commenter wrote, "Could have a billion dollars, if she asks this I'm leaving and not paying for the date lol." But Franklyn seems unbothered by people's opinions and continues sharing her outrageous dating stories just like she always has.

Despite how controversial some of her comments about dating have been, Sofia Franklyn said she is ready for a serious and committed relationship. Now that she's established in her career and is getting older, she wants someone to share her glamorous life with. "My brand and genuinely who I have been as a human, has been not really a romantic in terms of commitment — always one foot in, one foot out, never really gave myself to someone, a little bit of this man-eater," she told People. "And now that I'm older, I regret some of the things I've done in the past, the shady things. And I want a real relationship. I do believe that good guys exist."

Although that may not sound like a wild statement, for Franklyn, saying there are some good guys is quite a shift from what she's said about dating in the past, but she feels like she's really ready to make that change. "I am ready for a real committed relationship, and I do want kids — not right now, but I have to start thinking about it."