Meghan Trainor’s Routine: Couples Therapy, Nerding Out About Protein

Meghan Trainor is so hilariously frank as we chat about her daily routines that I can’t tell if she’s being genuine when she says Arm and Hammer Power Sheets Laundry Detergent has changed her life.

Speaking to Business Insider as part of her advertising campaign for the product, the 31-year-old multi-platinum singer has a twinkle in her eye when she says using the sheets is her version of biohacking.

But she’s so unashamedly open about everything from her marriage to her mental health, I only warm to her more when she mentions the sheets four times on our call.

This playfulness has earned Trainor a legion of fans who love her as much for her relatability as her music.

Unlike some celebrities, Trainor doesn’t hide the fact that she is privileged enough to have a nanny to help with childcare. In fact, asking for help is one of her key pieces of advice for moms. That, and using Arm and Hammer Power Sheets, of course.

In the latest installment of BI’s “5 to 9” series, where celebrities share how they spend the hours they’re not working, the Grammy Award-winner shares a glimpse into her life with her husband, the actor Daryl Sabara, and their sons Riley, four, and Barry, 20 months.

What time do you start the day?

My husband is an early riser. He gets up at 5 a.m.

gasps

I know, he’s crazy, but that’s when he meditates. My two little boys get up around 6:30 a.m. They all run to my room at around 7 a.m. and wake me up, which is my favorite.

We feed the boys pretty healthily at breakfast, with lots of fruit. They won’t eat anything green but we do sneak vegetables into things like pancakes.

I always have fruit, too. Sometimes, I have a couple of eggs, maybe yogurt. Today, I had ginger tea that I ordered from Goop. I always have my giant Stanley cup full of electrolytes and a tiny espresso cup full of vitamins.

When I’m on tour, sometimes we splurge. Recently we were trying to decide which hotel has the best French toast, so we had it at every one.

Important research.

We’re saving the world with that.

Are you a coffee person?

Oh yeah. After breakfast, my husband often makes me a coffee with protein blended in. It tastes delicious and also has about 20 grams of protein, so I’m like, “we’re biohacking.”

Strength training and nerding out about protein

How do you fit movement into your day?

I have such a crazy schedule that trying to put anything in there is impossible, but we do it.

I need products that make my life simple and convenience is key, so I built a gym in one of the tiny rooms in my house. I try to get in there three times a week at least.

But that’s where products like dry shampoo or Arm and Hammer Power Sheets for laundry help me so I can dedicate more time to fitness and my family.

Very smooth. How do the Power Sheets help?

They save so much time because it’s not a big jug of gooey liquid detergent; it’s just an eco-friendly sheet that you toss in there.

So what type of workouts do you do?

I’m all strength training now.

I remember one week I was like, “I’m going to be a runner. I’m going to be that girl.” And I tried for four days straight and I gained four pounds of pure inflammation, pure anger. My body was like, “No, thank you.”

So I tried strength training and my body is so happy. Now I’m a nerd about building muscle and eating protein, but I wish they taught me that in elementary school.

I didn’t know food was energy and fuel, so I’m trying to teach my kids that. I say to them, “What are eggs? Protein!”

We’re of similar ages, and growing people weren’t as aware of the importance of strength training for health.

Yeah, we talk to our kids positively about it. We say, “We’re going to go and exercise and build our strong muscles!” And they love it.

I’m trying so hard not to be mean to my body or myself in front of them. I tell them that exercising means I’m strong enough to pick them up, or they’ve got to exercise so they can play on the big playgrounds.

Couples counseling and accepting help

What do you have for dinner and who cooks?

I really wish I knew how to cook, but I’m not the best. My husband cooks a mean steak. Some nights when we realize we forgot about our own dinner, he cooks steak and I microwave a bag of rice, and that’s me cooking.

Do you have any other essentials for your physical and mental health?

Therapy once a week, I’m on my beautiful antidepressants that I love so much, and actually, we’ve just started marriage counseling once a month.

We always brag that we have the best marriage ever, and we do. We’re best friends, and I love him dearly. We heard our friends were in couples therapy, which made us wonder if we should do that, too. We said to ourselves, “Let’s try it and see how we can get even closer.”

We’re biohacking kings and queens. I love a good hack. I love something that could help me feel better fast. And that’s another reason I was like, Arm and Hammer Sheets, this makes so much sense.

People say you should have therapy before you really need it, and I think people don’t necessarily take that approach to couples counseling.

Exactly. We loved it. It was so cool. He brought up how your childhood trauma can affect your relationships. And we were like, “Oh my god, this makes so much sense.”

Do you and your husband have a good balance when it comes to chores, parenting, and work? I’m sure the Arm and Hammer Sheets help with that too.

You know it. The Arm and Hammer Sheets have changed our lives. I’m so happy. I want to brag about it to everyone because laundry is so much easier now.

Also, a lot of people don’t ask for help, they suffer in silence, and it just gets worse and worse. I constantly ask my friends, my mom, and my brothers to come over and help with the kids. We have an incredible nanny who comes Monday through Friday. I don’t know how we’d live without her.

Bedtime is the best part of the day

What do your evenings look like?

We’re pretty tight on our routine, and I love it. We try to eat together as a family at 5:30 p.m., which seems early, I know. When my friends say, “Let’s go out to dinner at 9 p.m.,” I’m like, “I’m asleep by then. You’re crazy.”

We made going out more a goal for 2025 but we went out once for dinner and I was literally hungover for two days from going to bed extra late. I can’t recover anymore. If I have one bad sleep, don’t talk to me for two days.

So we do bath time at 6 p.m., then we bring the boys downstairs, sit on the couch, and watch music videos. They love it so much; it’s so cute. Sometimes, we watch my music videos. Riley loves Miley Cyrus, Kid Laroi, and Tate McRae.

Then we go upstairs and have lay-down time. Each parent gets one kid for cuddles and we switch each night. I don’t know what we’re going to do when we have three. It’s the best part of our day. If you miss bedtime, it’s devastating.

By 7:30 p.m., we’re done. We run to shower and get in bed, then watch “ER.” It’s like our date night; we’re always so happy we made it.

Do you have a favorite wind-down drink, be that alcoholic or a cup of tea?

Oh, we’re sober. My brother got sober three years ago and my husband followed him a year after. No one really drinks around here, so I just kind of got sober too. I was never very good at drinking — I get a headache right away or my cheeks get really red. I’m already hungover from tiredness.

So I usually just drink water, a Zevia, or maybe ginger ale. Sometimes I snack on Hu Chocolate, I love it. Just two little squares as my treat for the night.

Are you good at skincare?

No. I need to start being a grown-up and doing retinol and all that, but when I was pregnant, I had perioral dermatitis, so I had little red bumps all over my face and dry patches. I had to use a really gentle wash and lotion called Avène, so I still use that. I also use a snail mucin serum because TikTok got me on that. And then Avène lotion and that’s it.

There’s probably such a thing as too many products.

I’ve been that girl and it was exhausting.

What time do you go to sleep?

Once we’re in bed watching movies or TV, we blink, and it’s 10:30 p.m. My husband falls asleep first because he’s up so early. We’re kind of boring. We do the same thing every day, but I love it so much.

Well, you’ve got a lot going on so it’s not surprising that you’re tired.

I’m doing the best I can, and that’s all anyone can ever do. So, if you’re a mom out there, if you’re doing the best you can, that’s great. Give yourself grace and use Arm and Hammer Sheets.