Jill Smokler leaves Scary Mommy company
Pikesville author and blogger says she wants to explore next life stage
Bestselling author and Pikesville resident Jill Smokler has announced her departure from Scary Mommy, the motherhood and parenting advice blog turned media company that she founded 10 years ago.
“It's grown in ways I couldn't have imagined. But I've grown, too, and content around babies and little ones isn't where my head is,” the mother of three wrote in a Facebook post Monday. “My days now consist of parenting tween and teen children, navigating the joys of online dating, (spoiler – not so joyful!) and getting settled in our new home.”
For the past decade, Smokler has written about the highs and lows of parenting young children and babies with wit and humor, and has shared personal aspects of her own life, including the announcement of her divorce after her husband revealed he was gay. The writer started the blog to chronicle her life as a stay-at-home mom. In 2015, media company Some Spider Studios acquired the blog, but Smokler remained the editor with a staff of more than 100, according to a Time magazine op-ed Smokler wrote last year.
In an interview with The Baltimore Sun, Smokler said she first had thoughts of leaving the company around three years ago and would give herself a couple of years. She ended up staying on longer than she initially planned, she said, but this year, she said, “it’s definitely time.”
“I am a much better boss than an employee … and I like working for myself. I miss writing for myself,” she said, adding that her blog, which started as a small community, got to be “so big,” evolving from a “village” into company that many people depended on for their livelihood.
“Jill is an inspiring force who has led the way at Scary Mommy since it began,” Vinit Bharara, CEO and founder of Some Spider Studios, said in a statement. “While it's always sad to say good-bye, she leaves the brand in great shape and in great hands.”
Scary Mommy reaches more than 80 million people monthly and is expanding into video, podcasts and commerce, the statement continued.
Though grateful, Smokler said she’s excited to create a cozier platform, where she gets to make the calls again and talk about her new experiences as a 40-yearold dating divorcee.
“I want to find the people who are in this life stage,” she said, and she’s already planning her next steps, which she hopes will include radio or a podcast of some sort.
“And, I’m also just a masochist,” she joked. “so I’ll probably end up writing a third book.”
Smokler also encouraged Facebook followers and interested readers to subscribe to her newsletter and told them to “stay tuned” in her post.
“It's been a hell of a last couple years, but I'm finally ready to use my voice again,” she wrote. “... and oh, the stories I have to tell! :).”