Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin - How Maggie Q Went From Spending $0.75 per Day to Hollywood Stardom and a Wellness Empire

Episode Date: September 22, 2025

You’ve seen Maggie Q on the big screen in Mission Impossible III, Nikita, and now in the Bosch spin-off Ballard—but what you haven’t seen is the money hustle behind the scenes. Until now. Today, Maggie joins Nicole to share her extraordinary journey from being broke to building real wealth, financial independence, and a wellness empire. She opens up about the scrappy ways she saved money, how Jackie Chan changed her life, and the financial (and emotional) fallout of losing her home in a mudslide. Plus, she takes us inside the launch of her wellness brand, Activated You, and opens up about relationships, legacy, and the question of whether she wants to have kids. This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Always do your own research and consult a licensed financial advisor before making any financial decisions or investments. All investing involves the risk of loss, including loss of principal. Brokerage services for US-listed, registered securities, options and bonds in a self-directed account are offered by Public Investing, Inc., member FINRA & SIPC. Public Investing offers a High-Yield Cash Account where funds from this account are automatically deposited into partner banks where they earn interest and are eligible for FDIC insurance; Public Investing is not a bank. Cryptocurrency trading services are offered by Bakkt Crypto Solutions, LLC (NMLS ID 1890144), which is licensed to engage in virtual currency business activity by the NYSDFS. Cryptocurrency is highly speculative, involves a high degree of risk, and has the potential for loss of the entire amount of an investment. Cryptocurrency holdings are not protected by the FDIC or SIPC.  *APY as of 6/30/25, offered by Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Rate subject to change. See terms of IRA Match Program here: public.com/disclosures/ira-match.

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slash go slash MN. That's square.com slash go slash MN as in Money News Network. Run your business smarter with Square. Get started today. I'm Nicole Lapin, the only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand. It's time for some money rehab. the typical Hollywood fairy tale. She went from couch surfing and hustling overseas to starring in Blockbuster films and building a wellness empire. You've seen her in Mission Impossible 3, Divergent, The Protégé, Nikita, and most recently she's starring in the Bosch spin-off Ballard. But what you might not know is that behind the red carpets and all of the amazing stunt work, Maggie's been on a serious self-made financial journey. Today we talk about how she went from broke to building real wealth,

the unhinged things she did to save money, how Jackie Chan changed her life, and what losing her home in a mudslide taught her about the intersection of mental health and financial health. She also takes us behind the scenes of starting her wellness company, which she started after having her own health issues and seeing serious gaps in the supplement industry. Maggie opens up personally in a way that I truly found so, so moving. She talks openly and honestly about what makes her relationship with her husband so special and whether or not she wants to have kids. Her answers right now.

Maggie Q, welcome to Money Rehab. I'm so happy to be here because we've been in touch for a minute. I had you on CNN like 15 or maybe 20 years ago. But remote, I was in Atlanta. Oh, okay, got it. Yeah. And now we're here. And now we're here.

And I just read that you are so happy right now, which makes me so happy. Oh, thank you. I am really happy right now. Amazing. Tell me more. How are we so happy? Well, so I just recently got married. Congratulations.

Thank you. But we actually cheated because we were married. Just in a civil ceremony? Exactly. But we never had a wedding party. And so, you know, families started to get older. Parents started to get sick and diagnosed with things and all that stuff, life stuff. Yeah.

And so that was kind of terrible. And I just thought, you know what would really make my mom happy if we had a huge party? We did plan on having a party. So we were like, let's just do a party. And then I'm like, we should probably do a ceremony. And he's like, okay, let's do a ceremony. So we did the whole thing. You did it.

We did it, did it. Yeah, it was fun. I didn't really realize before that why people got married. I understood the institution of marriage, which I think is awesome. But the party and stuff. And I guess maybe it's the Hollywood jaded thing. I don't want to go to another party. I want to be invited, but also have the option to knock on.

It's just another event that you have to kind of get ready for it. And I'm like, I don't know, you get ready for an event. I understand it for people who never get to do that. I think that's the coolest thing ever. But for me, I was like, honey, I don't need to do a party. And then I did it, and I realized why people do it. It was just this profound, wonderful thing where I looked around and I was like, everyone I love is in one place.

That's so cool. That's exactly how I felt, actually. We had a super tiny, tiny wedding, and I was against it. I was like, let's just go to the courthouse. Let's not do a thing. See, me too. I was like, I don't care. And it was the only time, I think, that everybody we love.

was together. And even people that you love that don't spend time together and then they fall in love with each other and you're like, I knew it. You're all good people. Well, also, I mean, the financial part where obviously on money rehab, I was like, it's such a waste of money to do all of these things that will be temporary. Exactly. Was any of your financial health a contributing factor to your amazing mental health? I think it always is because I think that as a, young woman, very young woman, like in my teenage years, I don't know why this happened to me, but I had it in my head that financial freedom equal freedom, period, full stop, as a woman. It just gave me a ton of choices. It gave me, you know, the kind of security that no person could

give me, because even if a person gave that to you and had security, that person could go away. But if you did it yourself, you'd always sort of have a type of security. maybe it was because I was a very insecure person and needed something to feel secure about. And so I thought, well, money and success would do that for me, not in a gratuitous way, not in a way where you're showing off your money and success, but just knowing in your heart and in your mind that I can take care of myself. So that was always a big thing for me from go. What a wise young Maggie.

That's so cool. But take me back to that time in your life because you went to your first year of college trying to save up for your second year, right? and then you couldn't go back. So you didn't come from money. I did not come from money. And I, well, maybe that's part of it. Didn't grow up with really anything. And then the decision to go to college was mine and mine alone. And if I wanted to do that, I had to pay for it. And so that's okay. You know, a lot of people are in that position. And so I got a scholarship for athletics. And I started.

And at the time I was working retail, I was having to train. So to keep a scholarship, I don't know if you guys have ever, you know, had an athletic scholarship. Not in that funny way. You get it and you have to keep it, right? Like anything. And as a very physical person, it was really tough because I had trainings in the morning, trainings in the afternoon, but after school hours, I had to work as well. And so that was, it was just impossible.

It was one of those things that was like, I'm not going to survive this because I have to work retail till midnight and close the store I was working at and then be up at 5 a.m. again for training, go to school all day. and then have training and then go back to work. I just knew that I wouldn't survive, just physically survive. Mentally, I'd go crazy. And so, yeah, so I left. And at that point, did you go to Hong Kong?

I actually went to Tokyo first. Okay. I went to Tokyo. This is a model. Strange story. Well, I was not a model, to be very clear, a girlfriend of mine, who's very beautiful and always has been, was a model. And essentially what it was was she felt sorry for me,

because she saw what dire straits are. No, she was like, Maggie, how are you going to do this? You're paying rent at this place, and I'd been living on my own already for a minute. You're working, you're going to school, like, you're not going to survive. And I was like, well, that was my thought. And she said, why don't you come with me to Tokyo? I can introduce to my agency. Mind you, I don't know if you know the modeling world, but models don't do this.

They don't go, hey, come with me. I'll introduce you to my agent and my clients, you know. this is a person who's just remarkable and her heart was huge. And really all she saw was my suffering and thought, how can I help her alleviate her suffering? And so she took me with her. And it was gross. It was indentured servitude. It was like they, it really was. I mean, they front your ticket and they front your rent and then you have to pay them back by getting jobs, which makes sense. I mean, you obviously have to pay people back if they're fronting for you, but there's no risk for them because you can't leave until you make the money back for them. Yeah, it was, it was a, it was a

really that industry is not okay that's not how it still works i don't think that's how it's so i don't think people can get away with that now they might be able to get away with it with people that they can take advantage of but you had no money i do money i had 20 bucks oh i read that you had i don't know that's hyperbole less than that i had nothing so it was i arrived in a foreign place going why better work and it was interesting because i was there for a while and i got one job that allowed me to pay them back. And so I went back to Hawaii after that to get my life together. And I just, there was nothing there for me. There was nothing. I wanted to see the world. I'd got out and gotten out already. Lived in Tokyo, this big city that was so exciting. And I'd met so many cool people from all

over the world. And then I went back to my little island. And I wasn't happy. I didn't want to be there anymore. I just knew there was so much out there. So my second trip was Taipei. I went with the same friend. We went to Taipei. That didn't work out. Got no work. Nobody wanted me they were like they wanted at the time they wanted um famous chinese people which i'm not i'm not famous or chinese and uh or blondes with blue eyes that was the the look at the time and so my look was just not on the board and so they kind of just every room they were like leave we're not looking for exotic we're not looking for any of that so i bought a one-way ticket like a hail mary to hong kong and that's where i ended up settling for about eight years what's the craziest thing you did to save

money during the time? I didn't eat. I didn't eat meals. So in Hong Kong, they have these boughs, you know, the buns, right? Like a dim sum, you can get that bun that has the meat in the middle. Or you weren't vegan at the time. No. I was too poor to be vegan. Fair. There was no air one in Hong Kong. It wasn't easy and it was kind of gross at the time. But I still did it even when I did do it. But yeah, no, I was eating whatever I could eat. So those buns were I think they were like 15 cents or 20 cents U.S. So I would buy three of them for the day, and I'd eat one in the morning, and then I'd go out and try to get jobs and do that, and then one in the afternoon and one at night. And that was kind of what I did for a while.

So you can imagine how malnourished a towel bun again. I never want to. I don't want to look at those. It was so gross. And at what point did you meet Jackie Chan? I modeled for about a year, and when I say modeled, I used the term very loosely. Okay, I was doing toothpaste commercials and bank commercials and all that. So for whatever reason, he had a management company at that time where he managed talent.

And so Jackie is the ultimate businessman. If you ever get to interview him, you should. He parlayed his movie career into just everything, right? Like merchandise, directing, having an agency where he was training young stars, bringing young stars up because he knows he's not going to be around forever. So he was looking for the next generation of action stars. And, you know, I was a runner and a swimmer. I don't do martial arts, right?

And so his company approached me and said, hey, you know, you did these commercials and people are talking about you and they want to see you in movies. And I just laughed. I was like, why would anyone want to see me in a movie? That's so ridiculous. And they said, well, it may seem silly to you, but that's the demand out there. What do you think? And I remember I just, I didn't know why they were approaching me.

So I said, no. because I just thought it was ridiculous and I thought this big famous star and I'm going to do something that I don't know how to do and then disappoint him and why would that that's such a silly place to put yourself in right when you have no expertise did you think it was a scam not a scam I just thought they didn't know what they were talking about which is very silly because they obviously know what they're talking about he's obviously very successful and so I said how about this in six months if people are still asking for me then we can talk again and six months to the month they came back and said

people are still talking about you. Let's do it. And so I ended up becoming one of their, they call him artists over there. And that's when I met him and his team. Jackie travels with the team of 10 stuntmen who are always there and always interchangeable. So because he's Jackie Chan, right? So for sure. When he's in a movie, right? I mean, he's a level that no one's at. So when he's in a film, if you know him and you know the team, I know who he's fighting in every film because it's the same people. Because he can't just fight some guy, right? You can't just fight some actor or some stuntman. Like B-Y-O stuntman, yeah.

Yes, exactly right. And they're with him everywhere. They're like these little minions that, like, follow him around. You can always spot him because there's always like 10 people following him everywhere he goes. Do you still talk to him? I talk to him if I see him. I don't like text him or anything, but... Does he text?

I don't know. I'm sure he does. On the fence. He ended up dissolving the whole agency. It's not even there anymore. the agency I was with. And he moved all his operations to China. I don't even think he's based out of Hong Kong anymore. But yeah, he's got a totally different life from when I started with him. And so I was trained by his team for action movies. So, I mean, you really can't have a better,

I mean, it wasn't pleasant training, but you can't have a better experience in terms of work ethic. Sure. And that sounds like it changed your life at that point. It really did. That was when you got your first big paycheck. Yes, exactly. Do you remember that moment from three bow buns a day to like real money? Yeah, it was very surreal to have any money because I didn't grow up with money. I still remember not knowing what to do with it. And I do see people who spend all their money and go bankrupt who come from nothing. And I'm like, yeah, I get that.

I totally get that. You're excited and you want all the things, right? you later learn that all the things don't make you happy and they don't matter and they're kind of fun but really you know there's more to life and you come to that at some point if you don't lose all your money before then but my goal was to buy my first house my whole thing was like I want a home that's mine I don't want to pay rent I don't want a landlord I don't want to deal with anyone like I want to again I want to be free I want to have freedom and so at 22 I brought my first house and I was so ecstatic I can't even tell you it was that feeling of just this

This is mine. This is my home. You know, I came from my parents' house to being out in the world, hotels, rentals, and then finally having something of my own. It was, I can't describe that feeling. I recommend it for every woman. Agreed. Yeah. And so you never went crazy. Like, you never, as soon as you got money, spent it. I did spend some of it. I mean, I got sucked into the whole, like, I wanted the nice bag and I wanted, you know, I wanted all those things, especially in a city like Hong Kong because it's extremely shallow. You know, everybody walks with their bag out front like this, you know. So it's the first thing you see before, you know, they walk into the room. And so the bag was a big status symbol back in late 90s, early 2000s. I mean, I think it still is,

but it was a really big deal back then, you know. What did you buy? I think it was Gucci. I think it was Gucci. It was like Gucci and LV. Like those were the two. I mean, those are still big. Yeah. Obviously. But at that time, it was like, it was major. And then. When I started getting campaigns and I started working with fashion houses, I didn't have to buy bags anymore. So that was exciting. Because they gave them to you. Exactly. They always give them to you when you don't need them.

It's really interesting. Give it to the people that have the money. I know. It's so ironic. Hold on to your wallets. Money rehab will be right back. And now for some more money rehab. Do you think that being in Hollywood changed your relationship with money, especially as a woman

negotiating your worth and trying to figure out what money has to do with that? Oh my gosh. Definitely. I mean, I don't know what every woman's worry is in Hollywood. I know that mine from the beginning, you know, at 25 when I got Mission Impossible, it was, I guess I'm a real planner aheader. because at 25, you know, getting like the biggest movie in the world, I went, okay, there's a time limit to this. It's not going to be forever. I'm not going to be this forever. I'm not going to look

like this forever. People aren't going to want me. So I have to start now, start thinking about what's my exit plan. And that was my thought at 25. I know. That is so wise beyond your years. It was weird. I think I just, I mean, you see it happen all the time, right? And if you're not, seeing people's stories and you're not learning from the lessons that they unfortunately didn't get to learn from, then you're really missing out, right? It's like just to participate in gossip and all that sort of stuff. It's fun, but it's like, there should be cautionary tales that actually affect you.

And you should look at people's lives and go, how did so-and-so go from being so rich and famous to now like bankrupt? It happens all the time with singers. We've done a ton of episodes about it. Have you? Yeah. And it sounds like, also, coming from a place where you didn't have a lot of money, it felt like maybe a scarcity mentality when you got it. Yes.

My mom's an immigrant and we're like, you know, my mom washes the Ziploc bag. Still, my mom is worth millions of dollars now, by the way. And she washes the Ziploc bag. And she's like, honey, don't throw that away. I call my parents the first conservationist. My dad's in his 80s. My mom's in her late 70s. And I'm like, you guys are the real conservationist.

All these young people are like, climate change on their iPhones and this and that, you know, and crypto and all that sort of stuff that uses more energy than anything. It's funny. It's like actually the person who's washing the Ziploc bag, that's the environmentalist. And the never buying Tupperware, yeah. Right, exactly. Reusing the pickle. My mom doesn't throw anything away.

I think all, so I'm first generation too, and I think all immigrant families are kind of the same. It's the best. But also in the idea that they don't want to take on debt. So did you ever go into debt? No. And luckily, that came from my mom. So my mom didn't let my dad touch the money. My mom took all of his paychecks away and gave him an allowance. Okay. Yes. She was like, because she didn't trust him. She's like, you're not good with money and I am. And so this is not a department you're going to head up. This is my job. Love her. Yeah. And so, you know, I mean, luckily he was

fine with it, you know, and he has everything he has today because of her. Without her, he'd be broke. I mean, he likes things and he just has all these little interests and he thinks buying this is fun and that and she would not let him do any of that. Isn't that funny? So you felt like when you got your first big gig that it wasn't going to last forever, I heard that you now have a role with your team that until a project is really far along or serious, they can't tell you about it. Correct. Is that stem from that? I just don't want to know. I think it's not that hard to figure out the formula that makes actors crazy. It's not really that hard. Tell me that. formula. Well, it's just sort of like this expectation of what's either coming or what should be

coming. My husband was telling me the other day that the most unhappy people always use the word should. I should have gotten this. She should have married me. I should be rich. I should be, you know, all these things. And so that's a, it's a real trap, right? And so I think ego gets involved. I think expectations are natural. I think that's a total human nature to have expectations. But I don't want to have them. I want to be very counterhuman. I want to go into everything and sort of realize that I'm starting from zero. And the reality is in Hollywood, like anything, I mean, even with a house or whatever it is, if you're not signing on the dotted line, it's not yours, right? So I look at everything like that, you know, no matter what kind of compliment they give me.

And I think that goes back to Hong Kong too because being represented by Jackie's company and his team, there were no compliments. So when I got back to the States and I was working at my first movie here. It was so funny because everything I did was amazing. Everyone was like, you're so amazing. You're so awesome. You're so this. I was like, what are they talking about? I'm just doing my job, just like a normal person who works hard, right? But it was just weird. I didn't know compliments and I fully rejected them. And do you feel like when you got them, they weren't genuine or they just were given out more Lucy Goosey than Jackie's? I felt that they were given out too generously and so they didn't mean as much right it's like if if i get a compliment from my you know

someone who knows me really well and who knows my flaws and who knows my journey and is like hey you know know all this and you've cut from here to here and mag that's pretty cool that means a lot to me that means the world to me but even with people who like the work or whatever and they're complimentary It's very nice, but you really can't take it to heart because at the same time, you'd have to take all the negative stuff to heart too, and you should take that to heart either. So I just try to cross the board, not kind of indulge in any of it. Well, it also sounds like you are utilizing something that we see on Wall Street, which is it's better to be low expectations. My husband had a hedge fund. He was on Wall Street for 30 years, and he always says to me, honey, under promise and overrelease. deliver always and I'm like okay that's great so it was part of my personality already but I

learned a lot from him in that way a lot what is he taught you about money oh gosh well first of all what if you taught him I'm sure too I teach him more of the softer side of Sears things about life you know like that he always tells me like you've taught me the little things matter you know this and that where you know like with your partner but he's such a a global thinker I'll put it that way and he's such a big picture guy obviously and and he is admittedly will say, honey, I'm sorry, I'm not good at the small stuff, but you will always be taken care of. I will always watch out for your welfare. I will always give you the best advice, you know, that kind of thing. And I don't know anyone like that. I don't know anyone like him.

And I think because my husband has had great success in his career, he's not insecure about my success. I've never had that. Never had that. I've been with nice people who have been like, good for you. And then I've been with insanely jealous people. who have not overtly said they don't want me to make it but never wanted me to make it because it was some kind of personal attack on their own level, fame, money, or otherwise. And it's not pie, right? It's not. Yeah, there's enough to go around.

It's crazy. And I never thought that a man would compete with me. The wrong man competes with you. And that's when it's over. That's when you're like, okay, this is done. did you realize that when it was too late no because i got out of all those so that was good yeah it's really good and now i'm right where i belong which is really nice and somebody who has earned everything that he's earned and actually he's pushing me for my success you know he really wants to push me in

business and everything else that i'm doing because he's like honey the more success you have the happier you're going to be as an individual he's like do you need to make money is that no but i want you to, and I want you to have success in the fields that you're interested in because you're going to be a happy person and that makes us a happier couple. And so, right. How did you guys mean? We met through my lawyer years ago. He was married for a long time. I was engaged to someone else and my lawyer was like, let's have a dinner. You were all nice people. And I was like, okay. So we go to dinner and she was right. Like him and his wife were so such nice people, so grounded. His story was exactly my family's story. Exactly. They fled on the same day,

same war, same city. His family went on a boat, my family went out in a helicopter, and both ended up in refugee camps, both ended up in the United States. And so his story was very, really touched me that somebody like him, who, you know, has 10 brothers and sisters, and grew up in a 600 square foot apartment where they're all sleeping on the floor was able to have the massive success that he has had in his career. And that's like the ultimate immigrant story, right?

Came from nothing. I'm so proud of him. I mean, it's unbelievable. But I remember meeting him just as a friend, as a human being and going, I'm so proud of you as a human. Like, you are the perfect immigrant story. You're the American dream.

And, you know, he really did it because he watched his parents suffer because they were so poor. and he just was like, I don't want my mom to suffer anymore. I'm done. Not going to have it anymore. So that's why he made it. And so in seeing his story, I just thought, what an admirable human being. And that's what I left the dinner with. What a great human being.

Didn't see him for years. And then I was raising money for a charity based out of the UK that was helping kids in Vietnam. And I'm like, who would be interested in this? And I thought about him. So I called my lawyer. I said, do you think he'll meet with me about this charity? I need money. And she goes, of course he'll meet with you.

And I said, well, you just ask him because I don't want to pressure him to see me and just show up. And so she did. And then I showed up at his office. And this is, I think, like, two and a half years after that dinner. And he's like, how's everything going? And I said, good. He said, how's your fiance? I said, I'm actually not engaged anymore. And I said, how's, how's home life? And he's like, I'm divorced. And I was like, how strange. Still nothing happened. We were just friends for a couple years until anything happened. But that day, he asked me what my plans were in my businesses and I said well I'm opening my second business and he's like tell me about that and then he became one of my investors that day so that was cool very cool never gave me money for my charity by

the way oh why not I don't know he was like he's so interested in business and he I mean he said he would I just never pressed it and then I met a bunch of his other friends who were like we'll give you money and then they did and then I didn't need anymore so that was fine but yeah so that's how it all happened. We were friends for a few years after we had remet back up. And he was obviously, you know, had been married for a very long time, faithfully married for a very long time. So he was having a great time. You know, he had all these pretty girls and stuff. And I would have dinner with them. And yeah, it was just a, I really was just a real, a friend. And then when did it? I think everybody around me knew, everyone around him and everyone around me knew. And so they'd say things like, what's, what's, how's your

friendship going? I'm like, Great. Is he dating anywhere? I'm like, yeah, he's dating like a few people. And they're like, and you're not one of them. I'm like, no, no, no, just a friend. And I was like, why do people keep asking me this? I don't understand. And also, mind you, I was, to be fair, very wary of men with success. Why? I didn't like them. I just didn't. I lived in Hong Kong, which was, you know, how much money is in that city. And I knew at that time, so many people with massive amounts of money, you know, people who came into money, people who made it on their own. And it was just all very douchey, you know, it was just all

very just, everything was like they're very unfaithful. Like it was just all gross, like what I was exposed to in the money world. And of course, this is like big city and all that. So I just lumped him in with all the rich guys I've known in my life and just thought, well, he's the same, obviously. You know, all these guys are the same. You know, they're successful and they think they can have whoever they want and which is for the most part true so you thought hedge fund guy douchebag totally 100% yeah i really did and he is the polar opposite of that he is not a dirtbag at all he is the greatest human being i've ever known in my life and a very honorable human being so you know i've always i think and was always looking for someone that a partner that i could look up to

I want to look up to my partner. Admire. Yeah. Want to be like. And it sounds like it was familiar too, just your guys of stories. Yeah, which is interesting, right? Really interesting. So it's all kind of came together very strange. And it's beautiful because his ex-wife is now married to somebody that she loves and we're married now. So it's really, it's really nice. Everyone's happy. Hold onto your wallets. Money rehab will be right back. And now for some more money rehab. And you have a stepson. I do, yeah.

How is that gone? Awesome. Yeah? He's perfect. I don't know what else to say. He's a perfect person because he has a really good heart. He's very kind. He's not weird.

He was always very accepting of his dad's happiness. And I just never had an issue with him. And mind you, I've had issues before. I mean, I've been with people who've had kids. Yeah, it's not easy. And it's not their fault. It's just not easy. It's not an easy scenario.

And so I think because I did go through a lot of that, it was really difficult in other relationships, maybe this is my gift. I don't know. Yes, you paid your dues. Yes, that's what I was trying to say. Yeah, I've been with men who had kids. And it was, you know, it's always really hard. nobody grows up thinking like, you know what I want to be is a stepmom. Really want to be a stepmom.

I really want their kids to resent me and want their mom. You know, originally in the Cinderella story was supposed to be the mom and then they made it the stepmom because they felt like a societally just wrong to hate your mom. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, and also, I think the stepmom scenario, I mean, more often than not, you know, the horror stories, it's not fun. And I cannot understand people who go into a scenario. with children and obviously children can be their own pill right but ever want bad for them or

ever treat them i just don't understand treating children that way like at all because even if they mistreat you they're children they're angry or confused or they're hurt or they want something that's not happening and you have to understand them you're the adult i cannot get behind these people who are not good to step kids i just i hear it all the time It happens too often, and it really upsets me. I will say. Sometimes they say things that feel like an adult, and you have to remind yourself. That's the thing about being the grown-up, right?

Totally. You have to be the grown-up. I just had a baby. She's eight months ago. Congratulations, by the way. You look amazing. Thank you. Trauma is an amazing diet.

It's fine. What was your relationship with kids? Did you want kids? Yeah, you know, it's funny. because I never, well, there's a few things I didn't put emphasis on, marriage, like we were talking about, family, or any of that. And I think that it sneaks up on you. Because I was so focused on being financially independent, like we talked about, nothing else was really factoring in. Not men, not. In fact, I treated men terribly. Terribly. I treated them like they were replaceable and not important to me and awful. Like, it's not good. I do not. respect that about myself at that time when I was young. Your former self. My former self, exactly. I think it's a terrible thing to be, to just be focused on yourself. I know why. I know where it comes from, but you don't treat people like that, number one. And so I think that I kind of alienated

people who wanted to be close to me because I wouldn't let them be close to me. And it's like, that's all you want, right, when you're with someone. And if you're not going to let someone do that, then you shouldn't let them into your life, right? But I did it anyway. So I, yeah, I just, As I kept growing in my field, I just kept wanting to grow and grow and grow. And then I got involved in nonprofits that meant a lot to me. And then that kept me really busy with fundraising for them. And then I had my own career. And then I had dreams of starting a business where I could give back to the charities that I love.

And then I did that. And so it was just like, it was kind of nonstop. The train left the station and it never stopped again. And so all of the things that I think are really important. in hindsight, we're not important to me at all at the time. And so you just start getting older and older and you're like, am I going to do this or not? And then, you know, I only met my husband five years ago. Well, I met him much further back than that, but we got together five years ago. So yeah, and then we sort of talked about it and we thought, well, we won't be careful at all. And if we have

a kid, great. And we just never did. Yeah. So that was kind of the mandate, you know, and he still tells me like do you want and then we're like oh my god but we're so old now and we love our lifestyle well it sounds like your stepson is about to go to college yeah in a year empty nesters and then that crazy potentially starting all over but we could I have 10 nieces and nephews my husband has 38 nieces and nephews he has 10 brothers and sisters that's wild high so we definitely have a lot of kids in our orbit which is great and I take a lot of pride in you know know, my nieces and nephews and being involved in their lives and, you know, helping them where I can and all of that. So I definitely have kids around me. I just never had the dream of

having them. I think having kids is probably the most, well, it is the most incredible thing in the world. And if it could have happened for me, I absolutely would have. But I chose my partner and we've tried. Yeah. Because you also have other babies with businesses, too, which is how I thought of this too. I had my daughter when I was 40 and I really came to terms with the idea that, you know, I'm a mother in other ways. Like I'm a mother through teaching women about financial literacy and through businesses and I have book babies and other things. It's funny when I was telling my husband actually that you were coming over. He's like, I love all the stuff. I've seen her in. But also like her stomach, there's something going on with her stomach. It's a for a long

time. And I'm like, yes. And so. So during the pandemic, I was watching YouTube and I see a 30-minute commercial. I know, is that crazy? We've done an hour-long ones. And I swear to God, and this is not sponsored or anything. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was so into it. I was so captivated by you and your storytelling and how beautiful it was.

I'm like, how am I watching an ad 27 minutes in? This is crazy. And I ordered. Awesome. By the way, it was sold out. Oh, good. Okay, good. They cancel.

You can't. I don't know, whoever canceled my order. I was like, what, the way you told the story about the supplement. I swear to God, no one has ever nailed it the way you. Thank you so much because it's true. Because I think the truth resonates. Yeah, you can tell. And, you know, a lot of celebrities, you know, they have brands, right? It's a thing now. Back when I had the idea for my business, there was really not a lot of that going on. And even if it was, it was sort of like the celebrity would come and be absorbed into a brand, which is fine. It's like the face of it.

You're the face up, and there's nothing wrong with that. That's great. I had an idea for a company because I really wanted to help people, because I was in a place of ill health in my 20s that was like unthinkable at that age, right? At that age, you're supposed to be irresponsible and be able to do whatever you want, and I didn't have that. And so I thought, oh, my God, I went on this journey to get better, and I got better. And it took years, years and years and so much education and so.

So much of what I had to do to learn about this was just get out there into the world, stalk doctors, like literally stalk these doctors that I respected, not famous doctors, but famous in their field, show up at their conferences, tick notes. I mean, that was my college. I didn't go to college, right? So I would be there learning everything I could, and these people were very appreciative. They actually really loved that I was showing up at these things, and they said, you know, if you need anything, you need to be mentored, come back.

I'll talk to you about, you know, my expertise. I'm like, oh, my God. So that's what I did for years and helped myself. And once I did, I thought, I want other people to feel good too. That was my M.O. Just, it was very simple. I want everyone to feel good because when you feel good, like, you're just a better person. Like, you do good.

You feel good. So I went out to start looking for investors or people that I could partner with. And I had no idea about business, nothing. All I knew was I had a vision and I knew how to do it, but I didn't know the business part of it. So I ended up, luckily, finding a parent company that already existed. So I didn't have to end up, like, raising the money. They put the capital forward to start the company, and they already had a brand with Dr. Gundry, and they were really just doctor-based.

And so they were like, well, we want to do this with you, but no one's going to listen to you because you're not a doctor. And I'm like, I hear you, but I know what it's like to feel terrible. Happy, yeah. And then come back from it. And that's what I want to help people with. I mean, we can get doctors in to consult for help. But I really think it'll resonate. And they're like, no, I won't.

And it did. Because we had a medical director that came on with me because they were afraid that no one would listen to me. And then nobody was listening to him. And then they had to actually exit him from the company. And then it was just me. But they didn't believe in what I was doing. They were like, we'll see, but we doubt it. And here I am 10 years later.

Yeah. So it's been interesting. It's been really interesting learning about business as I go because my second business, I made a ton of mistakes. You know, I did that from the ground up. I raised my first round and did everything and hired everybody. So that was really tough. I learned a lot and I think I'm going to go into my third venture soon,

probably next year. And that'll be my last business I'm doing because I want to retire at some point. I mean, it sounds like you can retire now, but you're on a mission. What were some of those lessons that you did learn from business? Just all of it, right? Just all like where you're spending, where you should be spending,

where you shouldn't be spending, like what positions I didn't need to fill yet until later and what positions I should have spent more money on. One of the biggest mistakes I made. Unfortunately, we launched that business during COVID. And that was the timing. You know, I mean, we were ready to go and COVID hit in Europe. And we were a month away from launching.

And I'm like, oh, my gosh. what's happening in the world. So that happened. So now we're out during COVID. You know, everybody's frozen their bank accounts and aren't, you know, I mean, everyone's, you know, shit scared, right, obviously. And what I should have done, which would have been really smart, very risky, but what I should have done was I should have put more money towards ad spend when everything had shut down rather than hold back. Because you were scared? I was scared. I thought it was a big mistake. I thought nobody was buying, but I was buying. Yeah. My husband said, you were wrong because that fear didn't last very long. And then people needed something to do.

And they had their Peloton bikes at home. And they were doing, you know, yoga on Zoom and all that. And the culture was consistently like living its life. It just wasn't doing it out in the public. But you had money at the time. So why did you want to bring on investors? For their expertise as well, you know, there was a bunch of different people. I met with where I just needed them as advisors, you know, people who were successful in the space. And now I know in a much clearer way who and why I will go to certain people because I'm doing the same thing now, raising money for something else.

It's not just about, because there's money everywhere. Anyone can give you money, but they can't give you the advice that you need every step of the way. And certain people can. And so that's really who you should gravitate towards. How much money did your husband give you? $250,000. Yes. Have you given it back? I have not. Good. Have you given investors money back? I have not yet. But I have an idea actually because I want to wind one thing down and roll it into something else. So I may actually roll their investments into something else that I'm doing, which I'm kind of excited about. So yeah.

Will your husband invest in that? Yes. Definitely. And also, He wants to do business together, which I can't think of a more trustworthy and smarter person to be in business with. So that will actually be fun because then we just get time together in that space. Just from the desire so early on to be financially independent, have you kept finances separate? Yes. For me, I've never had a joint bank account ever. And I never will because I don't even know what that does. I've always just worked and had my own money. And I've seen so many women, it just breaks my heart. Like it kills me. That's why I love so much what you do, you know, friends, sisters, or, you know, people who put all their eggs in that basket. And then it ended

and their money was just gone, you know. And I just, oh, that makes me, makes me so sad because you should trust your partner and you should have that you know i mean there's nothing wrong with having your money together and having trust and all that sort of stuff but it does go south and you always have to be prepared for that it was funny i told a friend sister recently to start moving money out of her accounts because she was telling me stories and the stories were like this is not gonna end well like have a secret account before they get divorced correct i'm like you need to just because it's your money too i mean you know it's not like she was stealing his money i mean like just, you know, start putting your paychecks into your own account because the stories you're

telling me, she's like, you think it's bad? I'm like, it's so bad. I don't know why she couldn't see it, but that was the advice. And then it ended badly. Yeah. And so, you know, I hate to be that person where you're like, prepare for the worst, but you kind of, you do have to prepare for the worse, no matter what. I hear you. I think that you always have to have your own back, especially if you don't come from money. So how do you guys deal with it? Does he pay for house, vacations. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah, he takes care of his family.

He takes care of us. But what I do and what he's really happy about for me is he's like, yeah, you have your own stuff, take care of like, he's like, obviously your family needs anything. I'm here. There's no problem. But he loves that I have my own thing going on because I take care of my family too, you know, and I, you know, want all my sisters to be okay and my parents to be okay and everybody to be okay.

So I make sure, he's like, you focus on your family. sure they're good you make sure they're you know and he knows that me earning what I earn on my own and taking care of my family makes me feel good right so he's like whatever like we're involved like you know that involves us you don't have to worry about that that's taken care of I got that and so I get to focus on people that I really love and not worry about it and your businesses and my businesses yeah so it sounds like you guys didn't sit down and say okay like yours mine hours no we were just like let's get married and we'll just nothing really changed right we're just kind of the same yeah I was seeing that you like to read some woo-woo books and healing.

How do you incorporate that into business? Do you know Lavinia, Erica? Why does that name sound familiar? Co-founder of Equinox's friend. She's awesome. She's been on the show. She says practical woo came into her business. Oh, interesting.

So how does that manifest for you? Because you love so much of the health stuff. And I think financial health, we started our conversation talking about this, is a big part of just, general wellness. I think financial wellness should be part of more of a wellness conversation. I totally agree, because how can you have good mental health if you're not financially stable? I can't. Doesn't that drive people to divorce and arguments and this and that murder? I mean, all kinds of stuff happens around money. Yeah, it's crazy. It's so funny. I say murder.

I have a cop show, so of course, you know, I'm incorporating that. We see it all the time. I haven't seen the homicidal part of it, but I'll take your word for it. On my side, I've seen it. I have so many friends are all detectives. It's great. I love dateline. It's the whole thing. So one of the woo-woo books you're probably talking about is the untethered soul. So Michael Singer, I think, is one of the most profound authors alive, spiritual men.

And again, he's not, I won't call him a guru because I can't stand that word. And those people who just need sycophants and just need, that's a whole other ballgame. Michael Singer is more like, you'll love this. And if you don't know his story, you should. He was on the board of a company that he built. I can't remember what the business was. He was worth hundreds of millions of dollars. And then he was under investigation all of a sudden for fraud, something.

Somebody in the upper ranks of his company was being fraudulent. And they had to investigate everybody. So basically, he literally lost everything, literally everything. All his money, his status, his company, everything he'd built, and he was innocent, right? I mean, he didn't done anything. And so he said the greatest spiritual lesson of his life was when he lost everything. Because if you're not okay when you've lost everything and you have hundreds of millions at all, he said, you should be the same person.

There should be no difference in your nervousness, peace. Nothing should be disturbed. And that's a crazy concept, okay? So, okay, he's under investigation for six years, okay, they come after him. And you know when they come after you for financial fraud, they come after you. And he could do nothing. He couldn't get another job, start another company, and make more money, nothing. So he sat there for six years under investigation until he was cleared, but now he has

nothing, zero. He had to start over, and he just said, I came into my spirituality when I was under investigation because I knew that I had to get to a place where I was okay no matter what. And, you know, people have interviewed him and said, how can you be under investigation? Lose hundreds of millions of dollars and you're okay. He's like, but that's the challenge. That's what we're here for.

We're here to be okay no matter what. And I think it's the disease of our society, period. Like, I'm okay if he loves me. Not okay if he doesn't love me. I'm okay if I have money. I'm not okay if I don't have money. I'm okay if I'm famous. but if my fame starts to recede, I'm not okay, right?

And so I think that the spiritual lesson that he teaches is the most important one. You can teach anyone because it just crosses every boundary. It doesn't matter who you are, how much you have, what industry you work in, it's true no matter what. And so that book, and he has three of them, he has a surrender experiment, he has the untethered soul,

and then he has a more recent one, they are, Nicole, when I tell you, they are the most freeing books you can ever read because they're really just about letting go no matter what's happening to you, no matter what, I'm talking like from the smallest thing like being in traffic,

we live in L.A., so we know what that is, and being okay with it, to losing hundreds of millions of dollars or not getting the guy or losing the friend. Whatever it is, should be okay.

And he really teaches how to do that practically. So that's how I was able to cross that over into business. You have to have that. I'm going to call it Zen for lack of better word, you have to have it because no matter what you're losing, as we know, there's going to be something gained. Maybe it's not tomorrow or the next day, but something will. How many times have you broken up with someone and been devastated? And then you're fine. And now you're with your husband and you're like, oh my God, I'm so glad I didn't. Well, there's also this arrival fallacy. Like,

I'll be happy when I get there. And then you get there and you're like, but I'll really be happy when I get somewhere. But that's what Michael Singer is talking about. Exactly what he's talking about. And at our wedding, we had a little quote from him right under. And my husband is friends with him. He actually reached out to him just to tell him how much his books meant to him. And Michael reached back. And he was like, what? I never respond to anyone.

And he responded to my husband. And so they're in communication now. And we had these chargers at the wedding and they were glass. And so right under it, I had a Michael Singer quote. And it said something like I stand in awe of knowing that everything that happens to us happens in the perfect time, in the perfect place. And it's okay. like it's all okay yeah because it's so profound you can apply it to anything in life and I

definitely apply it in business because as you know business is up and down you will lose way more than you win I mean the only constant is change and that resonates with me so much after losing everything in the fires this year I'm sure same thing it was it puts everything to perspective I just after that I just wanted to get rid of most of what I owned well a lot of what I owned did get taken away. So you lost your house. Yep. I lost my house. Unfortunately. Was that the one that you bought when you were in your 20s? No, that was when I bought here. That was mine. So it had been my thing, you know. And it's so

crazy when this is your biggest asset, right? And it's just gone. And you're standing there and it's gone. And again, back to Michael Singer, you have to be standing there. And it was the most pitiful scene. I was standing there. It was pouring rain. I was up to my knees in mud. I'm looking at it, and it's crushed. And the fire department's walking up the hill. And they're firefighters. They've seen everything.

And they were like, oh, I mean, they had their hands over their mouths. And they didn't know what to do. And I'm just bawling, just standing there crying. And they didn't know what to do. So they all kind of looked at each other. And they all just hugged me. Oh. It was so sweet.

But that's the Michael Singer moment of I'm standing there. I'm looking at my house and everything I've done and owned. And I just renovated it. course. It was like perfect. And that's when things get taken away from you. And I'm supposed to be okay in that moment. As okay as I was when my house was standing. And that's the challenge. And I take that challenge really seriously. And I think it's incredibly profound to live that way. It's one thing to read it in a book. It's another thing to actually have it happen to do. Put it into practice. Oh, it's so hard. It's so hard. And I did just face losing a home. I faced like neighbor.

who were awful, just like awful. So there was a month's wide, it was on state property. State land was the mountain behind my house. So the mountain collapsed, went just through my home. Unexpectedly. Yeah. You couldn't get anything out. I wasn't even there.

I was like, my husband and I were doing something. And then the neighbors texted my assistant and said, oh, there's some damage to your gate, like my drive-in gate. But I'm thinking, my driving gate is quite far down from the house. Like, how can my gate be damaged by something? Then I get there, and it's steel, and it's completely bent up, I mean, because the boulders were so big, and the mud was so forceful that it came right through steel, and it just bent the steel all the way up. And I'm like, holy, and I keep walking. And then as I get up to the house, it's just crushed.

I mean, completely crushed. I mean, the mud was above the roof. So you're seeing part of the house, and you're going, oh, God. And so, you know, I'm from an island, right? Something like that happens on an island. It's a little unfair, you know, how I compare them, because I'm from an island. where people are very loving, there'd be a line around the block with people with like shovels and like food. Let's go, Maggie, what do you need? Let's dig some stuff out. Let's try to. And that just

didn't happen here. People were mad at me because they had mud in their driveway, but they wanted to sue me. It was so awful. And that was the other thing. I was like, I'm out of here. I'm done. I can't do this. I don't want to be around people or just trying to get and get and get. That's not who I am. So a month later, I run into all the firemen. I'm at the coffee shop here in Brentwood and I'm sitting there. And I see all these guys. They're not in full garb, but I see their faces. And I'm like, how do I know that guy? Is he an actor? I'm like at no context because it was so traumatic, right? But I know the face. And so they get their coffee. They sit down and I'm looking at them like, oh my God. So I walk up to them. I'm like, guys, it's me. Remember? They're like,

Of course. Are you okay? I'm like, I left. And every single one of them nodded. They were like, good for you. Get out. Because no one's going to help you. It was crazy. The state turns their back on you. They're like, oh, that was our land that fell in your house. Sorry. Not our fault. Yeah. It's crazy. Did you have insurance? Yeah, but it doesn't cover mudslides. They took it off the policies a couple years ago. Of course. Of course they did. And, and you know, you have mudslide, but then there's also flooding, right, from the rains. But that's not. The flooding they cover. The only cover flooding that comes from pipes within the house. Zero coverage. So if there's a fire, like there's potential for coverage. If you have fire coverage, obviously, but they don't cover much like. But you have to do in California get extra earthquake coverage.

That's not included. Exactly. It's all extra. It's really just, it's too big of a risk. It's just too big of a risk. I mean, how can you, you know, have an asset that big and then, you know, not be able to insure yourself. I hope you take this compliment from me. It's so genuine. I'm so in awe and so proud of everything that you've built despite everything you've gone through. Thank you so much.

We end our episodes by asking for a tip that listeners can take to the bank. And so through all of the financial ups and downs and trauma that you've been through, what would you tell somebody today that they could implement into their own life? I'll give them a tip from my mom. And this is, hilarious. We obviously didn't grow up with anything like I spoke about, but I wanted things because when you have nothing, you want everything, right? And so I would, as an annoying kid, would say to my mom, mom, mom, can we get this? You know, I don't know what it was, whether it was like cookies or like a bag or whatever it is. And I would say, it's 50% off or it's 60% off, whatever it is, right? Because I thought that would appeal to her, right? And my mom, my mom would say to me, you know,

she's very accented. She said, honey, I don't buy. 100% off. And I'm like, oh, God. And you just sort of go, that's true. It's actually so true. So I think my advice would be, per my mom, if you don't need it, don't get it. Even if it's on sale. Even if it's on sale.

Don't let that fool you. Because that's part, it's a marketing. It's a thousand dollar sweater. Now it's only 500. And you're like, what? Basically free. It's not hard-earned anymore. I would just advise them not to be marketed to.

Be like Maggie's mom. Save 100%. Wash your Ziplock bags. Money rehab is a production of Money News Network. I'm your host, Nicole Lapin. Money Rehab's executive producer is Morgan LaVoy. Our researcher is Emily Holmes. Do you need some money rehab?

And let's be honest, we all do. So email us. your money questions, money rehab at money newsnetwork.com to potentially have your questions answered on the show or even have a one-on-one intervention with me. And follow us on Instagram at Money News and TikTok at Money News Network for exclusive video content. And lastly, thank you. No, seriously, thank you. Thank you for listening and for investing in yourself, which is the most important investment you can make. You know,