Paula Dean Explains Her Battle with Anxiety

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]I saw you backstage dancing, honey. You gayheaded one right there.

[00:00:05]>> All right. What you got here?

[00:00:07]>> I brought a ham for my favorite ham. My favorite ham to my favorite honey.

[00:00:11]>> Ain't that sweet? Thank you so much.

[00:00:12]>> Ain't that sweet?

[00:00:13]>> Yes.

[00:00:14]>> Listen. And he's so heavy. HE'S YOUR PIG TO KEEP UP WITH ME.

[00:00:17]>> All right. Thank you very much. Oh, that's that is heavy. I can't believe >> that's a heavy pig.

[00:00:21]>> Yeah, that is a heavy pig.

[00:00:23]>> All right. This is a wonderful uh country ham, Ellen.

[00:00:27]>> And I'm partners with Smithville and we have like the finest ham.

[00:00:32]>> So, >> that's what I' I've been toting it around for like 10 minutes.

[00:00:37]>> Let me feel that muscle you got on.

[00:00:38]Yeah. Wow. Very strong.

[00:00:40]>> I am strong.

[00:00:41]>> You are strong.

[00:00:41]>> Your eyes are as beautiful as I thought they were.

[00:00:44]>> Oh, so are yours.

[00:00:45]>> Thank you. Pretty eyes, too.

[00:00:47]>> SHE'S GOT THE PRETTIEST BLUE EYES, Y'ALL.

[00:00:51]All right. You are so cute.

[00:00:53]>> Thank you.

[00:00:53]>> OH, WHEN I WHEN I GROW MY WHEN I GROW MY BEARD, it'll really pop more.

[00:00:59]>> Um, I'm working on mine, too.

[00:01:01]>> So, listen. Good. Um, hey, I want to talk about this whole agorophobic thing.

[00:01:05]Okay.

[00:01:06]>> I don't know. I'm sure everyone by now knows what agorophobia is. It's It's a fear of >> Do y'all know?

[00:01:11]>> Well, it's What is it?

[00:01:13]>> Actually, if you looked it up in the dictionary, you'd probably say a fear of open spaces. But what it really is is um the fear of leaving your safety zone, >> your house or most. Yeah. So, so at what age did this start for you?

[00:01:29]>> I was 19.

[00:01:30]>> And uh and you all right?

[00:01:32]>> Yes. I'm just looking.

[00:01:33]>> Yeah.

[00:01:34]>> I love you in black.

[00:01:35]>> I forgot to Yeah. They basically printed up a magazine for me ordering out with Ellen and it's uh Yeah.

[00:01:45]I want to >> Well, I just hope it doesn't beat my magazine CUZ RIGHT NOW right now mine's in first place, but you know what?

[00:01:54]>> Well, this is after that comes out, it may not be.

[00:01:56]>> Yeah. Well, no, this obviously if you can cook that's ideal, but if not, ordering out with Ellen. Um, so wait, so tell me about this cuz I'm fascinated.

[00:02:03]So at 19 and what what happened to make you all of a sudden you were fine before that?

[00:02:08]>> My father's death.

[00:02:09]>> Uhhuh.

[00:02:10]>> My daddy was like my security, you know.

[00:02:13]I knew as long as my daddy lived that nothing could ever, you know, harm me.

[00:02:19]>> And his death, he was 40, was >> That's too young. That's Wow.

[00:02:24]>> He was a baby.

[00:02:25]>> Yeah.

[00:02:26]>> And uh it just like kind of snatched the rug out from underneath me. And all these crazy thoughts started coming in my head, Ellen. And of course, I had no idea what agorophobia was, but I just knew that the thoughts I was having was not Right.

[00:02:44]>> Yeah. So, you you didn't want to you did you did it happen overnight or did like you'd go out and then you'd go back home and did you did you still venture out?

[00:02:52]>> Yeah, I was on like a roller coaster ride. I I was always frightened to death that I was going to have uh an anxiety attack out in public that people would see me >> Yeah.

[00:03:03]>> You know, in the paper bag, right, >> behind the clothes rack or in the grocery store, right? and and and it's debilitating what this does to you.

[00:03:13]And it sounds so crazy >> for someone that's never suffered from it, >> but uh it's just horrible the the the grip that it can get on you.

[00:03:24]>> And how long did you suffer from this?

[00:03:26]>> 20 years.

[00:03:27]>> 20 years.

[00:03:28]>> 20 year ride.

[00:03:28]>> Wow.

[00:03:29]>> Um at some points it was really really bad.

[00:03:32]>> Did everyone know? Did your family know?

[00:03:34]>> Oh, no. I hid it from everybody because I thought it was a terrible flaw and I didn't want anybody to think that I was cuckoo.

[00:03:42]>> Hey, listen. We have to we I we have to get to the cooking thing. So, we have to take a break and and I cannot believe you're making something that is one of my favorite dishes is bread pudding.

[00:03:52]>> Are you kidding? Yeah. From you're from New Orleans, aren't you?

[00:03:56]>> I am from New Orleans.

[00:03:56]>> Bread pudding's big.

[00:03:58]>> I love bread pudding. So, we're going to come back and we're going to cook some bread pudding. We'll be right back.

[00:04:02]Welcome back for the one and only Paula DEAN. ALL RIGHT, PAULA, WE'RE making bread pudding. What's the What's it called exactly?

[00:04:09]>> It's called crispy cream bread pudding.

[00:04:13]>> And I want you to mix Oh, y'all. I know it. You didn't think you could make a donut any better?

[00:04:17]>> No. Well, you couldn't make anything more fattening. You're like, "How can I make it more fattening than just plain bread pudding?" I'm going to What made you think of putting crispy creams into >> I did not think about it.

[00:04:27]>> All right.

[00:04:28]>> I I just take mine with milk.

[00:04:31]>> All right. A a fan sent this recipe to me that lives in Florida and he had to go to the curb store one day and get up the stuff quick for dessert. All right.

[00:04:40]Now, what I want you to do >> um is dump two cans of fruit cocktail, a 9 oz box of raisins, uh one can of sweetened condensed milk, two eggs, a teaspoon of cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and I'm going to be cutting the donuts.

[00:05:00]How come can proof?

[00:05:06]>> You don't mind if I cut them that way?

[00:05:07]>> That's all right.

[00:05:09]>> I'm going to help you cut one.

[00:05:11]>> HELP. CUT. CUT ONE, BABY.

[00:05:13]>> It's a good thing we ain't working with cheese, ain't it?

[00:05:15]>> Mhm.

[00:05:17]>> Ain't it good?

[00:05:18]>> M. That is good.

[00:05:22]>> Yeah, they're really good.

[00:05:23]>> Really, really good.

[00:05:24]>> All right, pick that up.

[00:05:25]>> Here you go.

[00:05:26]>> What's in here? What's this? cream.

[00:05:28]>> Cut milk.

[00:05:29]>> Milk.

[00:05:29]>> All right. Now listen, Ellen.

[00:05:30]>> Uhhuh.

[00:05:31]>> This is the beauty.

[00:05:43]I can drink that stuff.

[00:05:45]All right. All right.

[00:05:48]Now, what?

[00:05:48]>> We got to get it all out.

[00:05:49]>> Okay.

[00:05:50]>> All right. Beat it up.

[00:05:51]>> Uhhuh.

[00:05:52]>> We got our donuts ready.

[00:05:53]>> All right. Beat it. Beat it.

[00:05:55]>> All right. I don't know what bead it means. Is that stir? Is that a stir or a bead?

[00:05:59]>> Yes, that's it.

[00:06:00]>> All right.

[00:06:00]>> That's close enough to a beat. I know nothing.

[00:06:02]>> Now, we're going to we're going to pour that over the donuts. And listen, the spectacular thing about this recipe, honey, >> Yes.

[00:06:08]>> is you notice >> Mhm.

[00:06:11]>> Not one grain of sugar did I add.

[00:06:13]>> No. Making it a sugarfree bread pudding.

[00:06:18]Okay.

[00:06:23]>> All right. Now we got our pan.

[00:06:26]>> We'll pretend like I sprayed it.

[00:06:28]>> Okay. And then do I mix this in?

[00:06:31]>> Uhhuh.

[00:06:31]>> All right.

[00:06:31]>> Stir this up.

[00:06:32]>> Okay.

[00:06:34]>> We're going to pop it in the oven, y'all. All right. Now, the original recipe calls for like two dozen donuts, Ellen. But I like to use 14 donuts cuz I like my bread pudding a little wetter.

[00:06:44]Little thicker. Yeah. If you like it dry. All right. Now, just pack that in here.

[00:06:48]>> Okay. Uh that seems like a whole lot of um here.

[00:06:52]>> Yes.

[00:06:54]Perfect. Wait, wait. We got to go back and get the goodie, though.

[00:06:57]>> Sorry. Yeah, that's the important thing.

[00:06:58]>> Uh, get get that spatula thing.

[00:07:00]>> All right, I got it.

[00:07:02]>> You know, this is this is fake anyway.

[00:07:04]We're going to open the real one in the oven.

[00:07:08]>> But look how easy. Look how easy and fast you can make it. It's ready, honey.

[00:07:13]Well, besides bacon.

[00:07:14]>> And so hygienic, too.

[00:07:16]>> Yes. Very hygienic.

[00:07:18]>> Oops. Look at my ring.

[00:07:20]>> All right. That's beautiful.

[00:07:21]>> It ain't mine.

[00:07:22]>> All right.

[00:07:27]Wait, where's that going?

[00:07:28]>> It's a loner. Huh?

[00:07:29]>> Okay. It's All right. Here.

[00:07:30]>> All right. That went in the oven.

[00:07:32]>> Uh-huh.

[00:07:32]>> And this one came out of the oven.

[00:07:34]>> Wow. Wow. Look at that. All right. It's It's uh >> I cannot hardly wait for you to taste it.

[00:07:40]>> I can't either. I >> All right. And I've got the rum sauce, y'all. The rum is butter, um, powdered sugar, and a little rum.

[00:07:48]>> All right. All right. Now, you can DO THIS.

[00:07:51]>> JESUS.

[00:07:53]ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT.

[00:07:55]All right.

[00:07:56]>> Oh, screw it.

[00:07:58]>> Is that >> Let's just do it like this.

[00:08:00]>> All right.

[00:08:01]>> You tried so hard when >> No, that turned out to be kind of round.

[00:08:05]>> I was going to make it so beautiful for you.

[00:08:07]>> Okay. All right. And then I'm going to taste it with that spoon.

[00:08:13]>> Okay.

[00:08:15]>> Is that going to be hot?

[00:08:17]>> NAH.

[00:08:21]IS THAT HOT?

[00:08:22]>> IT IS HOT.

[00:08:25]>> OH, YEAH.

[00:08:29]>> WE'RE GOING TO GIVE YOU ENOUGH.

[00:08:31]>> I THOUGHT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE COLD.

[00:08:33]NO, IT'S HOT. EVERYBODY IN THE AUDIENCE, WE'RE GOING TO PASS THIS OUT FOR YOU RIGHT NOW.

[00:08:38]>> To get Paula TO GET TO GET PAULA'S crispy cream bread pudding recipe, log on to our website.

[00:08:46]All right, WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH BUTTERSCOTCH FROM AMERICA'S Got Talent.