Ego Nwodim and Heidi Gardner might have created memorable sketches on Saturday Night Live, but it didn’t come without its challenges.

The former cast members of the comedy sketch show shared their raw and vulnerable experiences after their surprising exits ahead of season 51.

Nwodim, 37, invited Gardner on her Thanks Dad podcast on Tuesday, where she called the late-night show “not the easiest place to work” while appreciating her co-star for being “such a light in what can be such a challenging place.”

The comedian continued, “In a place where it can get so competitive and you can become so self-involved, if you can leave and be still remarkably lovely and such a light and still pouring into other people like you, I think you succeeded.”

She went on to add that the “intimate space” where they rehearsed together every Saturday as well as other days made them really close, really soon.

Gardner, 42, agreed with Nwodim, getting sentimental about the friendship they formed despite always being in a competitive environment.

“We’re humans, so we have egos, we want things for ourselves, we want to succeed, and there weren’t a lot of times when we were able to succeed in the way we wanted at the exact same time,” Gardner noted.

While Nwodim chimed in to say, “I remember so many times being like, why can’t we be able to be winning together at the same time, so it could feel like full celebration and not one of us mourning or frustrated and one of us like on cloud nine.”

However, both friends agreed that it doesn’t have to be this way. They both tried to celebrate each other’s success even if it didn’t mirror theirs.

Both Nwodim and Gardner exited the show without revealing the reason behind.