In her new memoir, Getting Real, Gretchen Carlson chose to open up about parts of her past that she considers to be the most painful and difficult. While the news anchor is dedicated to her professional image, she admits that her persona on-air is just a small part of who she is. It is the deep, authentic, and at times surprisingly candid parts of Gretchen Carlson that she wishes to share with readers as she brings them into her life with Getting Real.

In addition to being respected for her commitment to getting "The Real Story" on her FOX News show, Gretchen Carlson is known for her perfectly coiffed and tailored public image. But Gretchen revealed in this exclusive BREATHEcast interview that to her children, she looks like any other mom on a regular day with her family. In fact, she confessed that when her son saw her with her television makeup on, he was shocked, yelling, "Mommy, what happened to your face?!"

Going on to describe the day-to-day life of the host of a cable news program, Gretchen insists, "I was Miss America, and yes, I'm on TV, but neither job are really all that glamorous to be honest with you. It's mostly hard work."

Addressing the fact that to some viewers, she is a sex symbol, Gretchen laughed, saying, "Trust me, in my wildest dreams I never imagined that anyone would be Googling my legs." She went on to reiterate how little she pays attention to comments on her appearance, stating, "If anyone were to spend one day with me at my job, I think they would figure out that it has very little to do with my legs, or cosmetic anything. It has to do with your brain, how smart you are, and how much knowledge you can possibly impart on a daily basis."

At the conclusion of the interview, Gretchen wrapped up by sharing a little bit about a life-threatening ordeal she experienced with a stalker. Although writing about the ordeal did help her to get past it, she hopes that the details she shared about the stalking incidents and her subsequent quest for justice will inspire other women who have been in a domestic violence situation but haven't yet spoken up for themselves. She put it bluntly, saying, "Nobody cares about women in these types of situations until they are dead. I wanted to tell the story to hopefully change the laws and the way that this whole system works." 

See the rest of what Gretchen revealed in the interview below: