sMothered's Dawn And Cher Discuss Life Changes Amid Season 4 - Exclusive Interview

For some, the idea of being inseparable from your mother — having constant communication, coordinating outfits, and even sharing advice about keeping it exciting in the bedroom — can sound like a total cringeworthy nightmare. But for Cher and Dawn Hubsher of TLC's "sMothered," it's a dream come true that's become their shared reality. The reality show revolves around the lives of multiple mother and daughter duos who have an absurdly unique bond, and it shows how their oftentimes ridiculous antics affect the other relationships around them.

When the show premiered in 2019, mother Dawn and daughter Cher became quick favorites. Their unapologetic, eccentric personalities are almost mirrored; when the cameras are rolling (and even when they're not, by the looks of their social media), their smiles and laughs are contagious when they're around each other. Nothing is off the table in their relationship that resembles more a best-friendship than a standard adult mother-and-daughter relationship.

Over the show's last few seasons, Dawn and Cher's lives have gone through serious transformations. Now with Season 4 premiering, they sat down with The List for an exclusive interview to spill all the details that viewers have been waiting for.

You two are veterans on the show now, and everyone knows how close you two are. Do you ever feel like you two have to set boundaries since you both have your own families?

Cher Hubsher: The boundaries come from the phone calls. Sometimes, my mom will call me all the time, or vice versa. If we both have something to do where we'll be focused on what we have to do ... On the days we're both bored and have nothing to do, we'll be calling each other constantly. She knows — I'm like, "[my husband] Jared's home." She knows to step back; we've had that conversation. The same thing — I know if my mom is having dinner with my dad, then I'm going to try not to call. But sometimes it's hard. It definitely is tough.

Dawn Hubsher: It's funny because when Cher calls, I pick it up immediately. I tell her, "Don't call when I'm having dinner," because my husband then wants my undivided attention. But sometimes, she does and I still pick it up, even though I tell him I won't pick it up at that time, because it's her on the phone.

That being said, how do you deal with reading negative comments that might deem your relationship unhealthy or overbearing?

Dawn: Well, in my opinion, I feel like they don't know the true us. They're not in our lives every day. They're viewing from what they're seeing, and as long as you're true to yourself and you're happy within and we are happy together, that's all that counts.

Cher: It's so funny. Sometimes you do read these comments and you're like, "Wait, you took it that way? I didn't see it that way at all." Sometimes I'm shocked with what they say, because I'm like, "Oh, wow. I did not see it that way," or "They're totally wrong." Other times, I'm like, "Yeah, I can see why you think that," but if they're talking about it, then bad publicity is good publicity. 

If they're talking about it, we made some sort of impact, whether it's good or bad. Hopefully, they can take the positive from it. As for me, honestly, sometimes I read it, sometimes I don't, but it doesn't affect me anymore, I think because I started out younger on "My Super Sweet 16" days. Now, it really doesn't bother me. Luckily it doesn't, but I know that my mom and I are so close and I'm happy and I don't want to change it. They can think whatever they want — to me, this is my normal, this is my reality, and I'm sticking to it.

Cher, your daughter, Belle, just turned three. When she was born, how did your relationship with your mother change? Do you hope that maybe when she gets older, you'll have that bond that you have with your mom, Dawn?

Cher: Definitely. I love the relationship that I have with my mom. I always feel like I can come to her with anything. She's always on my side. She's my biggest number one fan, my biggest supporter. I really hope that I can have that with Belle. I want to always be there for her, and I will always be there for her. 

I love how close we are because I feel so comfortable speaking with my mom about anything. If something's bothering me, I know I can always come to my mom. I hope that Belle will have that same feeling where she knows she can always count on me and she can always come to me. I love our relationship, and I hope that I can replicate that with my daughter in our way.

Dawn: I know she will replicate it with her daughter because the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I know she will. It's so nice having Cher come to me for things, then ask me. I've been there, done that. I've been through those experiences and I'm going to give her my honest, best advice because she's my daughter. She knows that I always have her back and I'm going to tell her the truth on everything and help her [any] way I can. It brings us closer because it brings us to another level. Now, we're discussing motherhood things, which we didn't get to discuss before.

Cher: That's why I know that my mom has my back and always has my best interests at heart. Sometimes it gets her into trouble, and we'll see that on this upcoming season. She'll start saying her feelings and not everyone wants to accept those feelings, but I know that she always comes from such a positive and good place, so sometimes it's hard balancing that.

Dawn: A lot of times, [Cher's husband] Jared wants to make the decisions with Cher alone, and then I'm saying, "Well, I've already been there. I know." Sometimes it's hard because I'm very an open book and I say my opinion.

Do you feel like everything that you want fans to see on the show is portrayed, or is there some stuff that's not captured that you would want to be out in the world?

Cher: That's a good question. Is there anything, Mom, that you think?

Dawn: Well, we get so used to the cameras, we forget the cameras are around. We're ourselves during it, but we always sometimes wish "They should have captured that also."

Cher: They show some of our big moments in our life, which is awesome, but then there's the everyday stuff that not everyone always gets to see. You see more of the dramatic moments in our life, like giving birth and all of that. But our everyday ... My mom and I, we have a podcast together, and I wish they could show [that]. We talk about everything together on this podcast. We wrote a book together and we do our TikToks together and our YouTube [channel] together. [I wish they could see] our everyday life, even though it's not as exciting as giving birth or the drama in our life, which there's plenty of it. I wish people got to see more of that side of us.

Your relationship is strong and oftentimes seen as an unusual closeness. What do you want people to take away, or what do you want them to know from what they see on screen? What's your message, or what do you want people to feel?

Dawn: Every mother and daughter can have a bond of their own. It doesn't have to be our bond. They can have their own special connection and closeness. There's nothing like having that special closeness with your mother because your mother knows you. Who knows how your heart beat from the inside? Your daughter. It's that special closeness that every mother and daughter should experience. We hope that by seeing this show, [viewers] could develop their own if they don't have it or make theirs grow even more so. It doesn't have to be like ours.

Cher: Being on the show ... First of all, I didn't realize how smothering we are until you watch back the show and [you're] like, "Oh, wow, I can see why people think that's a little much." But my mom truly is my best friend — yes, she's my mom, but she is also my best friend. I don't think there has to be such a separation between mom and best friends because you can have it all. I still respect her as a mother, but I also love having her as a person that I can confide in and be there for me and be there for. I know even watching the coming attractions, people will comment. There's a scene where we took a pole dancing class together and people are like, "You took that with your mom? That's too much," but we had so much fun.

[For example], my mom loves to work out. I was like, "This is the perfect person to go do this with. She loves to work out. It is such a workout, but it's also fun." I was commenting on her, like, "Look at that butt." People are like, "That's weird. That's too much." But in reality, you're supposed to boost each other up, and why does it have to be weird? I'm hoping that people can see that it's okay to have your mom or your daughter be your best friend [and] boost each other up. It'll make you both a lot happier.

What about Season 4 is different than the others, and what can fans expect from this upcoming season?

Cher: I am so excited about Season 4. Every season, they up the stakes, and there's even more to look forward to every season [with] the coming attractions. I'm blown away with the casting. All the mothers and daughters are so close, but they have such unique relationships. I'm very excited to see that and to be able to relate to that as well.

Dawn: It's nice to see all different kinds of bonds with each mother and daughter.

You both already have so many impressive accomplishments under your belt. Do you both have any other projects in the works or future endeavors that you can speak to?

Cher: Season 2 of our podcast is coming out soon. We're so excited about that — it's called "Chattermouth." Basically, it's a mother-daughter podcast where we talk about everything and anything. I get my mom's advice on so many things, and I'm giving her advice, and we bring on different people that relate to our lives, [like] the mother-daughter growth. That's super special and something we're very passionate about.

We do have something else very exciting coming up, but I'm not allowed to say it yet. I would tell people to follow our Instagram accounts to learn more and our TikToks. We love making TikToks together. Every time we're together, we have so much fun creating content because it's fun. We love to laugh.

Season 4 of "sMothered" premieres on TLC on August 8, at 9:00 p.m. ET.

This interview was edited for clarity.