Experts warn of disturbing trend in random attacks across America: ‘Nothing matters’
As Americans continue to witness senseless violence throughout their communities, the rise of nihilistic violence is raising alarms for law enforcement as officials try to prevent attacks that often come without warning following a mass shooting in New York City that left four dead last month.
The concept of nihilistic violence – acts lacking an ideological motive and often driven by a need to gain approval in extremist online communities – remains a key conversation whenever a mass tragedy is carried out.
“Nihilistic violence is destruction for its own sake,” Jonathan Alpert, a New York City-based psychotherapist, told Fox News Digital. “It isn’t about money, ideology, or revenge; rather, it’s violence born of emptiness.”
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“Other acts of violence, however twisted, usually have a motive that can be identified,” he said. “Nihilistic violence is different because the act itself is the message: a statement of meaninglessness, a way of saying ‘nothing matters, so I’ll be destructive.’”
In 2024, 65% of terrorist attacks carried out in Western countries were not associated with any belief system of the perpetrator, marking a significant rise compared with data from previous years, according to the latest Global Terrorism Index.
The report acknowledges that a portion of the increase can be attributed to a lack of information regarding specific attacks; it also likely indicates a rise of “ideologically confused” acts of terrorism.
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However, the inability to tie an attack to a well-defined belief system could represent a terrorist’s decision to combine numerous ideologies in an attempt to justify their acts of violence, according to the report.
“This approach complicates counterterrorism efforts,” the report states. “As it makes these actors unpredictable and harder to profile.”
The rise of random, unprovoked violence has also caught the attention of law enforcement.
The Department of Justice has named the concept “Nihilistic Violent Extremism” (NVE), while recently defining it as “criminal conduct within the United States and abroad, in furtherance of political, social, or religious goals that derive primarily from a hatred of society at large and a desire to bring about its collapse by sowing indiscriminate chaos, destruction, and social instability,” according to Just Security.
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The DOJ’s definition points to a broader concept of nihilistic violence being carried out solely for the sake of committing an attack, with experts indicating a specific psychological profile is often consistent among perpetrators.
“The common thread is alienation and despair,” Alpert said. “These are people who feel invisible, powerless, or irrelevant. In that state, violence becomes a way to exist, to be noticed, to make a statement. It’s a perverse attempt to transform inner emptiness into outward impact.”
Wallace Chadwick, a Virginia police lieutenant and former gang detective, cites the difficulties law enforcement officers face when trying to get ahead of random violence before it is committed.
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“It’s very difficult to predict things that are happening,” Chadwick told Fox News Digital. “With this random violence, [like if] you get somebody who shows up in Times Square with a firearm, it’s hard to predict.”
However, Chadwick also echoed the same sentiments regarding a common mental profile among attackers.
“These people have precursors,” Chadwick said. “I believe there’s somebody that knows that this person is disturbed [or] this person has made mention that they wanted to do something. It goes back to the rules, if you see something, say something.”
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Regarding recent instances of nihilistic violence, Alpert looks to the July 28 mass shooting in a New York City office building that left four innocent people – along with the gunman – dead.
The tragedy unfolded when a gunman walked into 345 Park Ave., an office building that is home to Blackstone and the NFL, and opened fire. The shooter struck three individuals in the building’s lobby before taking the elevator to the 33rd floor, where he shot a fourth person before turning the gun on himself.
“When someone decides life has no value, they often conclude that other lives don’t either,” Alpert said. “Violence then becomes a way to make their hopelessness visible to the world.”
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While officials believe the shooting was rooted in the gunman’s feelings toward the NFL, while also revealing he traveled from Las Vegas to New York City to carry out the attack, Alpert points to the overall lack of an agenda from the perpetrator.
“The randomness of the attack suggests this wasn’t about settling a score or advancing a cause,” Alpert told Fox News Digital. “It was despair projected outward.”
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As data suggests an ongoing trend upward in randomized, nihilistic violence, Alpert said the looming threat of an attack is eroding Americans’ sense of safety within their communities.
“They’re more frightening because if there’s no motive, there’s no way to protect yourself,” he said. “Gang violence or political violence has targets. Nihilistic violence, by contrast, says anyone can be a victim, anywhere, at any time. That unpredictability shatters the sense of safety we rely on in public spaces.”
School backs down after Christian teen fights for faith in parking spot dispute
A New York high school backed down after facing a legal threat and will now allow a Christian student to decorate her paid parking spot with Bible verses.
Grand Island High, near Buffalo, has a tradition of allowing seniors to pay $50 to decorate their parking spaces with “positive artwork” meant to beautify the campus and promote school spirit, according to legal group First Liberty.
Rising senior Sabrina Steffans submitted two designs featuring crosses and verses from John 14:6 and Jeremiah 29:11. Both were rejected by school officials, who only approved a third non-religious version.
“I put in three drawings that I did, and the first drawing was a drawing of this mountain called Salvation Mountain,” Steffans told CBN. “And when I handed it in, they said… completely no to it because it had crosses, a Bible verse, and just a lot of religion that they said that wasn’t allowed.”
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“They finally agreed to… the last one, which had no Bible verses, no crosses, or anything,” the student added.
After the school rejected her initial designs, Steffans sought legal help from religious liberty firm First Liberty. The group said it sent a demand letter arguing that the student had a constitutional right to religious expression.
Days later, First Liberty announced the district had changed course and would allow Steffans’ original design.
“We are pleased the school district changed course and will allow Sabrina to truly express her deeply held beliefs in her design,” Keisha Russell, senior counsel at First Liberty, said in a press release Wednesday. “The First Amendment protects students’ private expressions of faith in public schools.”
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Grand Island Central School District Superintendent Brian Graham said the district was committed to fostering an inclusive environment that respects students and disputed that it violated students’ rights. After consulting legal counsel, he said the school agreed to permit Steffans’ design.
“We also take seriously our responsibility to uphold constitutional principles, including the First Amendment,” Graham wrote in a statement to CBN. “While we strongly dispute any assertion that our policies or decisions violated the rights of any student, the Board of Education and District leadership, after careful consultation with legal counsel, have decided that the student in question will be permitted to proceed with her original senior parking space design.”
He added the district will review its parking space program to determine whether changes are needed.
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Graham did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Woman’s viral TikTok exposes Cracker Barrel’s unwelcome transformation
Rachel Love just wants to make Cracker Barrel great again.
The 38-year-old Tennessee resident and self-proclaimed Cracker Barrel loyalist first caught the restaurant chain’s attention after she strolled into an Old Country Store location in April and noticed things were different.
The place was brighter, the antiquities were missing from the walls — and the peg games were gone, she told Fox News Digital.
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Love shared a TikTok video of the restaurant’s new look, along with a caption that read, “When Cracker Barrel took away the last piece of nostalgia you had left.” Her post quickly went viral.
Love’s video created such a buzz that Cracker Barrel sent her a gift basket.
It turns out her sentiments about an early test concept for the restaurant were shared by other Cracker Barrel lovers as well.
Many have taken to social media in recent days to vent their displeasure with the wider rollout and rebrand, which includes a new text-only logo.
“I feel like they ruined a good thing,” Love told Fox News Digital.
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Sarah Moore, Cracker Barrel’s chief marketing officer, told Fox News Digital in May that the classic peg games, rocking chairs and the “things you love about us” would remain.
Love said she heard the same thing from Cracker Barrel’s TikTok account, which replied to one of her videos.
“While a few things may look different, we’re not changing who we are … just shining things up a bit,” Cracker Barrel commented.
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The reply has since been removed, Love said.
She believes the company’s social media folks deleted the comment because “they realized they were feeding us a line.”
Using a gift card she received in her gift basket, Love returned to the Cracker Barrel in June with her parents and son.
“It just didn’t feel like Cracker Barrel anymore,” she recalled. “It felt more like any other big chain restaurant – polished and manufactured but lacking soul.”
“I don’t have a business degree, but I have common sense.”
Love also believes that “the quality of the food has gone downhill significantly.”
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She said, “I was honestly shocked by the biscuits. They weren’t the soft, buttery biscuits I remember. They resembled dinner rolls that were hard and flat.”
Her “go-to” meal is the meatloaf dinner with mac and cheese, green beans and mashed potatoes.
Love was complimentary of the meatloaf and the mac and cheese — but said the “green beans still tasted like they were straight from a can, only heated for a few minutes.”
She added that “the mashed potatoes had an odd consistency – dry, lumpy and sticky, as if half of them wouldn’t even come off the serving spoon.”
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She said Cracker Barrel executives might be better off focusing on the food than changing the restaurant’s look and feel.
“For a restaurant known for its nostalgia, it’s like, what sets you apart from everybody else now?” Love said.
Another social media video posted by @CoachDuggs earlier this month that shows the interior of a remodeled Cracker Barrel also went viral.
The caption reads, “At a remodeled Cracker Barrel. I hate it.”
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Duggs, a 37-year-old Florida resident who asked not to be identified by his real name, told Fox News Digital the classic look made him feel like “you were about to sit down for an actual home-cooked meal from someone’s southern grandma.”
“The aesthetics matched the food,” Duggs said.
Now, he said, it feels “like we’re in a kind of warehouse where they’ve hung knickknacks on the wall.”
“It’s just — it’s not the same.”
Love described the remodeled restaurant as “sterile” and “depressing.”
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A Cracker Barrel spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement that the response to the remodeled locations “has been overwhelmingly positive” and that the changes “were informed by direct input from our guests and team members alike.”
Cracker Barrel added that “there may be a vocal minority who feel differently.”
“However, the strong performance of these locations affirms that we are moving in the right direction,” the statement continued in part.
Fox News Digital also reached out about Love’s latest comments but did not immediately hear back from the company.
Duggs said he’s not “inclined to go back to a Cracker Barrel” unless it’s the old model.
“Do not do this to any more stores, or you’re going to tank this company.”
“I’m going to question whether or not, you know — is this Cracker Barrel remodeled?” he said.
“Am I going to be going to the Cracker Barrel that I know and love, or am I going to be setting myself up for disappointment?”
Love said the only “saving grace” for Cracker Barrel is to preserve the locations that haven’t been touched yet.
“Do not do this to any more stores, or you’re going to tank this company,” she said.
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“I don’t have a business degree, but I have common sense, and I can see what people in the world are saying.”
Woman makes gruesome discovery in wooded area near Waffle House
Decapitated human remains found in a wooded area near a Nashville Waffle House and McDonald’s have police searching for clues as to what happened.
The discovery was made by a woman who called authorities on Friday morning, according to reports. Police told local station WZTV that the skull was found 100 yards away from the body near a wood line by the restaurants.
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) has not identified the victim, and is looking into how long the remains were there.
“Given the heat and the woods and the nature of how this person was found it’s extremely difficult for officers to see and for our CSI team to photograph and capture,” a police spokesperson said, according to the New York Post.
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MNPD did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital inquiry.
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“It’s pretty gory. That’s crazy. I don’t even know what to say,” local worker Tom Keesee told WSMV.
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“We live in a big city,” he added. “I don’t want to say killings are normal, but a headless body, that’s the next level.”
FBI warns seniors about ‘devastating’ cyber scam that wipes out life savings
A cybersecurity expert warns that a scam that has been used to drain entire life savings or retirement accounts has become “devastating” for seniors.
FBI Los Angeles on July 15 posted a reminder on X about the Phantom Hacker Scam, which has cost Americans over $1 billion since at least 2024, according to the agency. The FBI said the scam targets senior citizens and warns that victims could lose their “life savings.”
The scam operates in three phases: a “tech support impostor,” “financial institution impostor” and a “US government impostor.”
In the first phase, a tech support impostor will contact victims through text, phone call or email, then direct them to download a program allowing the scammer remote access to their computer. Then, the scammer asks victims to open their financial accounts to “determine whether there have been any unauthorized charges,” which the FBI says “is most lucrative for targeting.” Afterwards, the scammer will choose an account to target, then tell the victim they will get a call for further instructions from the “fraud department” of the bank hosting their account.
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In the second phase, the financial institution impostor will then call the victim and inform them that their funds have been “accessed by a foreign hacker” and must be moved to a “safe” third party account. Victims are then instructed to send the money via wire transfer, cash or cryptocurrency, and are told to send “multiple transactions over a span of days or months.”
In the third phase of the scam, the victim could be contacted by someone posing as a U.S. government employee, who prompts the individual to move their funds to an “alias” account for protection.
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Pete Nicoletti, chief information security officer at Check Point, told Fox News Digital the scam has become “devastating” for seniors, and said families need to have discussions with their loved ones to keep them protected. Nicoletti said scammers are now getting personal with some of their tactics, targeting people with specific interests they have.
“The family should have dinner-time discussions about this,” Nicoletti said. “But, you know, seniors are posting things on Facebook like they’re a Corvette collector. The criminals are actually using artificial intelligence to look for those type of characteristics and profiles. And they’ll send you an email or a message saying, ‘hey, that Corvette that you ordered a month ago is now available. It’s, you know, for $500, you can get it… and we’ll deliver it to you right away. And of course, the senior goes, ‘well, I’m a Corvette collector. Maybe I was forgetful and I didn’t know that I ordered that Corvette, or, you know.”
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Nicoletti said that victims rarely get their money back, even after reporting it stolen to authorities.
“It’s devastating,” he said. “If [victims report their funds stolen] the same day, there’s a chance. I think it’s in the single digit percentages. It’s, you know, 10, 15%. I’ve heard, I have heard of people getting their money back. If it delayed beyond that, it’s not good. It’s gone.”
Deion Sanders’ son faces ‘inexcusable’ penalty that could hurt roster chances
Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie safety Shilo Sanders, the son of NFL legend Deion Sanders and brother of Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders, was ejected from his team’s preseason game against the Buffalo Bills for throwing a punch at Bills tight end Zach Davidson in the second quarter on Saturday night.
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The safety is battling for a roster spot after going undrafted out of Colorado, where he played for his father. He was also penalized for pass interference earlier in the game.
“You can’t throw punches in this league. It’s inexcusable. They’re gonna get you every time,” Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said after the game. “You gotta grow from that.”
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Sanders, a hard-hitting and playmaking safety at Colorado, had an impressive debut for the Buccaneers in the preseason opener. But he has strong competition to make Tampa Bay’s roster and his latest impression won’t help his chances.
Sanders was engaged with Davidson for a few yards, pushing and shoving each other. He was immediately flagged after throwing a punch that sent him to the locker room.
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It was a tough day for both of the sons of “Coach Prime” in the preseason. Shedeur, a fifth-round pick by Cleveland, was 3 of 6 for 14 yards and took five sacks.
Former Bengals star blasts team’s Ring of Honor invite, says he’d have to pay for room
Many of the highlights of Boomer Esiason’s NFL career happened when he was wearing a Cincinnati Bengals uniform.
Esiason, the 1988 league MVP, was inducted into the Bengals’ Ring of Honor two years ago. The team invited him back for this year’s festivities, which will welcome a new group of former players to the special club.
But Esiason revealed that he will need to cover hotel accommodations should he travel to Cincinnati in October to watch the 2025 class induction ceremony.
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Esiason played quarterback for the Bengals for a decade over two stints. He read an email from the team outlining hotel costs during a recent episode of the “Boomer & Gio” radio program.
“You tell me what this invite is, and then we can discuss it,” Esiason said to his co-host, Greg Giannotti.
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“OK, ‘The Bengals organization is excited to celebrate our legends community and kindly invite you and a guest to join us in celebrating Dave Lapham and Lemar Parrish on Ring of Honor weekend in October, culminating at our game on Sunday, Oct. 26, when the Bengals take on the New York Jets. More details are below, and we kindly ask you to RSVP no later than Friday, Aug. 22. You and a guest can receive two complimentary tickets with an opportunity to purchase an additional one, if you wish.”
“‘If you are traveling in for the weekend from out of town, we have secured a block of rooms at the Renaissance Hotel at a preferred discounted rate. Rooms are limited, so please book directly for the early and the best rate. We look forward to hosting you in The Jungle for an unforgettable weekend. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me or another guy on the staff with any questions. Thank you. And Who Dey.'”
The information was met with apparent surprise, as Giannotti questioned: “Who Dey? Who Dey think they are making you pay for your own hotel room?”
Giannotti also noted that the email appeared to have been directed to multiple individuals. “How many people are in a Ring of Honor now? Eight? All right, so they should be getting different emails than this generic email,” he said.
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Fox News Digital contacted the Bengals for comment.
The Bengals open their regular season on Sept. 7 against the Cleveland Browns.
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San Francisco housing crisis empowers landlords as controversial listing sparks debate
A San Francisco lawyer says a landlord has the right to only allow “MAGA voters and Israel supporters” to attend an open house.
“From the tenant perspective, there isn’t a violation here of California or federal law because political orientation is not a protected class,” Joseph Tobener, a partner at Tobener Ravenscroft and tenant rights lawyer, told Fox News Digital on Thursday.
“So things that it might touch upon that are protected class would be ethnicity, source of income, religion,” he added. “So there’s some things that skirts around, but the words were such that they are all political orientation, which isn’t a protected class and not a violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act in California. Now, with that said, I think what rubs people the wrong way is that we have a new housing shortage in San Francisco because of the AI boom.”
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The San Francisco Standard reported Tuesday that Alexander Baran, 48, owns a two-bedroom apartment in Sunnyside and had listed it on Zillow, which has since been taken down.
The listing, which went up Aug. 5 and was removed on Sunday, allegedly said that “Only MAGA voters and Israel supporters are invited” to the open house.
When the San Francisco Standard went to visit Baran to speak to him about the listing, he allegedly said, “Get the f— away from here. Don’t make me repeat myself.”
Tobener, the tenant rights lawyer, said that the City by the Bay is “about a month into a major housing crisis where people are lining up 20 deep for a unit to try and get one unit or showing up and the unit’s already rented
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The concern that people have, he said, is landlords rejecting people that need housing due to their political views.
“Landlords have a lot of power right now. And so I think that’s the concern from the tenant perspective,” Tobener said. “Everybody should get a fair shake regardless of their political orientation. Everyone should be able to get access to housing. Housing is a fundamental right. Everyone needs housing. Everyone needs a roof over their heads. And so are we gonna start down this road where only certain people from certain political leanings can get access to certain housing.”
To change the law and make political affiliation a protected class, Tobener said that the California state legislature would have to add political affiliations to the Fair Employment and Housing Act as a protected category.
That move, he said, would certainly be challenged and likely end up in the Supreme Court.
“I’ve been doing tenant rights law for 30 years and this will be the third tech boom in San Francisco, and it’s a boom and bust city. It always has been since the Gold Rush and what we have right now is this major AI boom with a lot of people wanting to come work here,” Tobener said.
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According to the Zumper National Rent Report, “San Francisco led the nation in annual rent growth, with one-bedroom rent up 13.3% and two-bedrooms surging 16.3%.”
“First it was the dot-com boom, then it was a social media boom, and now it’s the AI boom, and you’re getting this circumstance where landlords have a lot of power,” Tobener added. “There are a lot of people clamoring for one unit and, you know, we want to make sure that landlords don’t, you know, step across the line. And housing is accessible to everyone regardless of, you know, what they think about the political climate.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to Baran for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Grammy winner ‘freaking out’ over surprise partnership with NFL superstar
Meghan Trainor is now a triple threat.
During a recent interview with Fox News Digital, the 31-year-old singer discussed what it was like starring in her first commercial for State Farm alongside Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“They told me you got an offer to be in a State Farm commercial, and I was like ‘You’re lying, you’re lying to me,’ and then I was like, ‘How could that possibly make sense, like what do you mean,’ and they’re like ‘With Patrick Mahomes,’ and I was like ‘Now I’m very confused’ and then, and they sent me the script, and I was freaking out because it’s so brilliant and perfect.”
Having grown up playing football with her brothers, getting to work with Mahomes was “an absolute blessing and a miracle,” and she joked that her brothers “were more excited about this than anything I’ve ever done in my career.”
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Trainor admits she “didn’t know what to expect” prior to meeting Mahomes, joking her brothers did nothing to calm her nerves, warning her she was “walking into a room with superstars.” She was happy to find the football player to be “really sweet.”
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“I was in a bubble dress, and I was just like, ‘Hello, I’m the pop girl.’ So I felt very random and out of place, but they made me feel so comfortable immediately,” she said. “Gosh, everyone was so nice on set. Jay from State Farm, just a delight. Patrick was the most chillest, coolest guy ever. And I was making him giggle all day and I felt like an absolute star. It was so magical and big and huge. And I’m like, this is the top. This is the top of commercials. Here we are, we’ve made it.”
The “Made You Look” singer went on to explain that acting has always been one of her dreams and gave a “shout out to State Farm for even considering me.” While acting is something she is just starting to experiment with, her husband got his start as a baby.
Her husband, Daryl Sabara, is best known for his starring role as Juni Cortez in the “Spy Kids” trilogy, and while the first movie was released when Sabara was 9 years old, he first appeared on-screen as a baby in three episodes of “Murphy Brown” in 1992, a fact Trainor finds shocking.
“We always talk about it because my husband was acting as a baby, baby, so even at Riley’s age now, he was doing auditions for commercials, and we’re just like, Riley, that would make him so angry,” she explained of their 4-year-old son. “Like that, there’s no way this kid could focus for five seconds. So we’re just like, ‘How did you do this? How are you going to auditions every day at this age?’”
Trainor went on to say that “it definitely takes like a certain type of brain, a certain type of kid” to be able to handle having a career at a young age. The Grammy Award-winning singer added that her son recently started asking to join her on stage during her shows.
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“I’m like, ‘OK, if that’s what you want to do, I will support you and I will help you. So, I will let you come out in this song, and we’ll dance and have the best time,'” she said. “So if they show interest, like, obviously, I’m going to be the first to be like, ‘Here’s a keyboard, you know, or like let’s write songs.’ But I can barely get them to dance.”
Sabara and Trainor began dating in July 2016, and were engaged a year later, in December 2017. The two were married in December 2018, and have since welcomed two sons: Riley, 4, and Barry, 2.
While her children have only just begun showing interest in performing with Trainor, she enjoys traveling with Riley whenever she can.
“The best is when I get to bring him on a plane and go to Kansas City and do commercials like this, and meet people and travel,” she said. “I said, ‘What makes you happy in life?’ And he said traveling, and so any chance I can, I steal him, and we go away and travel, so that’s like been the biggest reward and the coolest thing ever.”
The “All About That Bass” singer admits that with her thriving music career and burgeoning acting career she “always feels like I’m not there enough and not physically present” enough with her family, but that it’s something she is working on.
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“Then I remember like regular families, like most moms are gone at work, like all day long. And I was like, ‘Oh yeah, this is normal. Why does it feel so awful?’” she explained. “And my mom worked every single day and my parents, I never saw them either. So that’s like a real big thing I’ve been struggling with. And now my 4-year-old is about to start school. And I’m like, but then I’ll never see him.”
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