This essay is a distilled version of a tête-à-tête with Elyse DeLucci, a comedian living it up in New York City while moonlighting in finance. It’s been snipped and shaped for your reading pleasure.
Like everyone else, I powered through my finance job like a caffeinated hamster on a wheel. But the real game-changer? Enter motherhood – the world’s most rewarding and exhausting job.
While pregnant with my first daughter, I worked absurdly long hours – think 10 to 12 hours a day. Naturally, I made the brilliant decision to relocate our family from the Upper East Side to Battery Park, making my office a solid stone’s throw away (thank you, Manhattan real estate market). All this while I jetted around the country to charm clients until I resembled a balloon at one of those birthday parties when I was six months pregnant. Oh, and I was also drowning in an executive education program at Harvard Business School. Spoiler alert: pregnancy doesn’t come with a “pause” button.
I Felt Like I Had to Prove I Was Wonder Woman
Shortly after my tiny squishy bundles of joy were born, we had a management shakeup at work, and suddenly, job security felt as solid as a house of cards in a windstorm. So, what did I do? I chopped both maternity leaves short to leap back into the fray – high anxiety levels included at no extra charge.
I had earned the glamorous title of “passionate workhorse” in the office. The unfortunate catch? That title came with a side of burnout and the emotional baggage of a soap opera star.
Signs of Burnout? More Like a Flashing Neon Sign
Evenings turned into crying sessions, fueled by office drama, mental gymnastics, and the uncertainty of whether I would still have a job by the time I finished my nightly Netflix binge. I didn’t recognize it as burnout; I just thought this frantic life was the norm for executives. Cue the sitcom laugh track – I was hilariously mistaken.
To combat my existential dread, I made the classic New York move: I hired a shrink. Weekly chats just left me spiraling deeper into my thoughts, akin to a hamster spinning endlessly on a wheel. I also attempted yoga, running, and taking an upholstery class – because who doesn’t need to learn about fabric while emotionally unraveling?
In a twist of fate, my improv teacher, Patrick McCartney, nudged me toward stand-up. He kept insisting, “You are a funny girl,” which was quite the compliment coming from someone who likely spends his weekends pulling rabbit tricks out of hats. Turns out, I had been funnier than I realized—just not in the financial sector.
I Guess When One Door Closes, Another Opens with a Comedic Bang
Fast forward to 2018 – I was laid off. Cue the bafflement! It was like being dumped by a less-than-committed partner: “It’s not you, it’s the corporate restructure.” After a brief moment of shock, I took a plunge into stand-up comedy, volunteering for any stage that would have me, sometimes going up four times a day. I embraced the crazy for 18 months before accepting my current gig as chief digital officer at a modest bank, where they genuinely admire my side hustle.
During interviews, I made it clear I was a package deal: executive, mom, and comedy aficionado. The hiring team, bless their hearts, seemed to appreciate my attempts at work-life balance and even asked about my family like that was standard interview protocol. Who knew?
Now, I balance my roles as a working mom and a budding comedian, turning my life as a single Italian-American mom living on the Upper East Side into comedic gold. It’s like if Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ character in “Veep” decided to become a mom — hilarity ensued.
From Comedy Clubs to TikTok Fame—What a Wild Ride!
In the beginning, to snag gigs, I became a regular at open mics, some of which were practically comedy baptism rituals. Fast forward six months: I was performing unpaid sets at bar shows – classy, right? I now have my following on TikTok and Instagram, and let me tell you, calling them “fans” feels wildly surreal—not unlike being a minor celebrity with none of the perks!
Who would’ve guessed that TikTok is this untapped goldmine of middle-aged, mom-centric comedy? I dropped a video about my half-British daughters and suddenly found myself with over a million views. People started reaching out, asking where they could see more of me. So, in true entrepreneurial spirit, I launched a podcast, “The Elyse DeLucci Show,” because why not add podcasting to my overflowing plate?
I adore live performances, but the online world transformed me into a relatable figure for Italian-Americans, working moms, and even divorced women struggling to date. I’ve been compared to “Mrs. Maisel”—the relatable sitcom mom meets stand-up comic vibes. Only instead of witty Jewish humor, I’m serving up Italian food anecdotes, parenting tips, and financial advice (some assembly required).
So here I am: a former Wall Street executive, juggling it all while laughing at the universally awkward topics of motherhood, work-life chaos, and everything in between. If you can’t laugh at life, what’s left? The answer: an existential crisis. Let’s simply stick to the jokes!
