Spinning Plates with Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Episode 163: Janette Manrara
Episode Date: October 6, 2025Janette Manrara is a dancer and choreographer who we first got to know as one of the professional dancers in the UK on Strictly Come Dancing, and who now presents its sister show ‘It Takes Two’.&n...bsp;Janette is married to fellow dancer Aljaz Skorjanec and together they have a 2 year old Lyra.Janette and I talked about her start in life as daughter of a young Cuban immigrant couple in Miami, and about her first job in a bank before she took a risk to pursue her dreams as a dancer. Janette told me that the enforced career break that Covid brought, made her realise she did want to be a mum. She also shared that she believes her time performing on stage and TV makes her a better mum to Lyra because she is fulfilled, and in a 'complete flow state' when she’s performing. I know that feeling well myself!Spinning Plates is presented by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, produced by Claire Jones and post-production by Richard Jones. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Hello, I'm Sophia Lusbexter and welcome to spinning plates, the podcast where I speak to
busy working women who also happen to be mothers about how they make it work. I'm a singer and I've released
seven albums in between having my five sons aged 16 months to 16 years, so I spin a few plates
myself. Being a mother can be the most amazing thing. It can also be hard to find time for yourself
and your own ambitions. I want to be a bit nosy and see how you're going to be a bit nosy and see how
other people balance everything. Welcome to spinning plates. Howdy. Greetings from Oslo. I am on date.
Oh, this will be 13. No, hold on. 11 of 13. Ha ha ha. Uh, just finishing up our weekend in
Scandinavia. It's been so nice. Copenhagen on Friday, Stockholm last night. And today we're in
Oslo and actually the forecast here was pretty bad today and I've been wandering around for a good
hour and a half and it's only just started raining so thank you Oslo for holding off that
a little bit longer if I sound a bit bunged up it's because I've had really crappy cold this week
but it doesn't matter I don't really talk about it because colds aren't very disco sparkly are
they're pretty crummy but what's amazing is that when I'm on stage I completely forget about
it so all day I've been feeling a bit like you know that feeling just a bit a little bit
rubbish version of myself a bit gross and then I get on stage and it's like oh feel all good
again so thanks if you've been coming you've actually been cheering me up every day and it's
nice to know that you can always weave its magic like that and actually I've done
I definitely turned a tie, but that today I'm feeling much better than I was for the last couple of days.
Anyway, that is boring. Who cares about that?
It's been so nice to wander around these cities.
Gosh, I love, I mean, in Denmark I was like, I could have definitely been born Danish and been really happy about it.
It's just so nice.
But that's also because we had a day off there and did loads of exploring,
went for a really nice meal, and my mum was there with her friend.
So Richard Jack and I went out with mum and her friend Jan for supper,
and it was really good.
So that really cheered me up as well, I'm nice.
And then yesterday in Sweden, I had a good old walk around,
did my usual vintage shops.
One of them was so good, I literally walked in and said to myself,
oh no, like out loud, because I thought, damn it,
I'm going to definitely spend some money in here.
I was pretty good, though.
I've been trying so hard to be shopping a bit more careful,
and actually you'd be proud of me because today in Oslo
I've been in about four vintage shops
and I found some really nice bits but
I'm sort of realising that
I just won't use them as much as all that
so well done me
pathetic and it
anyway no mind
so this week's guest
it's so sweet actually
because I've been doing this podcast now
for five years
there's people I know who now
had their first baby
and then they're like even a couple of years
in. And I'm like, oh, good of you. We get to do a chat for the podcast. How nice is that?
So, massive love and thanks to Jeanette Manora, who is my guest this week. Because I'm so fond of
Jeanette. I met her when I did Strictly Come Dancing. She was flipping ages ago now. Where are we?
Twelve years ago. And it was also Jeanette's first year. So quite sweetly, we both had the same
first ever dance on the strictly dance floor um which uh obviously for her she was
amazing and all professional for me i was getting lots of it wrong so not necessarily the same
experience but the same song the same dance floor the same night um jeanette is very very lovely
she quickly became a pal during my experience strictly because i found her to be she's got real
clarity of thought she's really present with you she's incredibly positive um she's really good at what
she does like mesmerizing on the dance floor great choreographer and i remember richard and i quickly became
friends with ali ash jeanette's husband and janet and richard was like if i ever did strictly i'd want to dance
with janet and i can totally see why she's gorgeous um in all ways and so yes she has um a baby with aliash
they have a little girl called Lyra. I say, baby, she's two now. So, you know, not really
in the baby bit anymore, but it's a very small child. And I was always fascinated from the
outside looking in. I was so impressed with Jeanette's evolution of her career from a strictly
pro to being a presenter. She does lots of television. She's just finished doing a tour of
Chicago, which we spoke about a lot in the podcast chat, because it meant that she was
was away a fair bit and oh that's my tour bus just walking past and um yeah i was fascinated like
how how did that feel for her how did it feel to go from one thing to the other but also how do you
do that like for so many of the strictly pros they are so linked into dance physical movement
being the number one thing they do um and building a career beyond that that is complementary to that
It's not a skill set that everybody's lucky enough to embrace, develop, enjoy.
I also wonder what it's like as a dancer to go through pregnancy.
So we speak about all of these things.
But of course, that was just the tip of the iceberg because Jeanette is first generation
US born of her Cuban immigrant parents and the whole Cuban community that came to Miami
with her folks when they were only teenagers themselves.
Anyway, Jenna and I will share all of this story in more detail, and it's just one of those things where I was always admiring her, but then you kind of, she's sort of gone up again knowing her backstory and how much the odds are against you if you're that little dot in Miami to then building this livelihood for yourself in a foreign land.
Super impressive. All right, enough from me. I'll leave you with the absolutely infectious energy and positivity of Ginette.
and I'll see you on the other side.
Jeanette, it's so lovely to see you.
I was thinking about we, I think this is an unusual sentence,
but we both shared the same first dance on Strictly
because we had the group dance.
I'm so excited.
I'm so excited.
And I remember I genuinely was.
It was such a dream come true for me to get that job.
And, you know, everybody talks about, I'm not going to go straight in, Sophie.
Everybody talks about the strictly curse, right?
But for Ali Ash and I...
We've never heard of it.
Yeah, Jesus, right?
But it was such a blessing for us because Ali Ash and I were in a point in our relationship.
We weren't engaged or anything.
We're just dating.
But we really, really wanted to be together.
We had been together for a couple of years at that point, but we didn't live in the same place.
I had a base, I would see, in L.A., and he was in Slovenia.
So we just thought, my gosh, like, how's this going to work?
So when we both got Strictly, we moved in together, we started like a proper relationship.
And then during Strictly, we ended up getting engaged, and then we got married, and now we
became parents. So, yeah, Strictly's been kind of the best thing in the world.
Yeah, it's been really integral to your experience as a couple.
To everything.
Yeah.
So, yeah, they're here and now.
So your daughter, Lyra, she's two.
Yeah.
She's a very sweet age.
Yes.
Very busy age.
Busy.
I'm exhausted.
But, I mean, you would know that more than anyone.
and I still can't believe five things.
That is crazy.
But it's an interesting time actually because I've kind of,
my youngest being six, I feel like the wheel has turned
and I have kind of started to mentally pack away those early years
in terms of like that chapter is closed now.
Whereas for so long, it's so visceral having that small person
and waking up with a two-year-old and they hit the ground running, don't they?
And they're like, right, what's today about?
Let's do this, let's play here, let's talk about that.
There's so much going on all the time.
Yeah.
But it sounds like you've also got a lot going on with your work life simultaneously.
Yeah.
Where do you want to start with that?
Oh, my God.
Well, I think, firstly, when people ask me about kind of my thoughts on working and being a mom and the combination of the two things,
my mom and my dad, they're immigrant Cubans, and they came to Miami, I think it was in 1981 when they came.
And they had to go straight into work.
So my dad got his high school diploma.
But my mom didn't, like she went straight kind of into the workforce.
And then she felt pregnant with me when she was 18.
She was a very young mom.
And when I came into their lives, they both just, they had to work.
They had to learn the way of a new country, learn a new language, find a job, raise a baby, all at the same time.
So I was raised by women all around me working.
My grandmother worked.
My aunt's worked.
My mom worked.
I never knew anything different than parents both going to work and providing for their families.
So when it came to kind of my situation, I did in a way see how much my parents struggled
financially and to raise three kids in a new country, working all the time and just barely
making ends me.
So in a way, I kind of thought, okay, I want my career to really like get somewhere before
I become a parent.
And then I quickly realized that that is absolute bullocks because there's no way there's
ever a perfect time to have a child.
It doesn't exist.
And when COVID came, I realized I definitely want to be a mom and I don't want to wait any longer.
You know, the clock was ticking, the biological clock was ticking.
And then when I became a mom, I was really nervous because I thought, well, I'm a dancer.
Like, how am I going to do this?
My body is such a part of what I do.
Yeah.
You know what I mean?
And oddly enough, it takes two came in.
The year before I fell pregnant, I ended up getting it takes two.
And I think it was, I'm very spiritual.
And I believe in like manifestation and just trusting the process and trusting the universe and just putting out there your intentions and hoping that it will bounce back in that big like yo-yo of life.
And it did.
So getting it takes two was the biggest and most wonderful blessing of had in my life in the last few years because it meant I could be a mom and still have a career and still work.
But of course, Alpha of It Takes Sue ended up getting pregnant, which is great.
And the first year that Lyra was in our lives
It was nice and slow
We really enjoyed her at home
But the second year, this year just passed
I ended up getting the dream job
That I've been wanting since I was
Basically a teenager
Which was to play Roxy Heart in Chicago
And when they said to me
Oh it's six months
I thought how
How am I going to be away from a one and a half year old
For six months
And only see her once a week
Sometimes not even go two weeks
Without seeing her
And all of it fell on Ali
And that's when I realized, like, because I have him, it is possible, because I have his support,
because he's such a good dad and such a good husband.
And we really are doing it together.
Like, we now have passed the baton because now he's, well, he's passed the baton back to me,
because now he's on strictly.
And even though I'm doing it, it takes two.
It's only a couple days a week so I can be mom the rest of the time.
But I found that having him made the biggest difference into whether or not I could have a career
and still be a mother because he really was my team.
mate. Like, we really were doing it together. And he didn't mind staying home and changing nappies and
feeding and doing bedtime and doing all that. I've heard him talk about it. He's just about it. So sweet.
And he really was the rock. He really was the one that, like, made me feel like I can be a great mother and
still have a career. If it wasn't for him being in the picture. Obviously, you know, my mother and his
mother as well, but they don't live here. So we've got, child care is expensive. And so we get support.
from them as much as we possibly can.
And they do.
My mom was just here for three weeks
because for the last three weeks
of my Chicago tour,
Ali Ash had already started
strictly so he couldn't be with Lyra.
So mom came over and then Ali Ash's mom
came for a couple weeks after that.
So they literally swapped like, again,
past the baton, your turn now
to look after her mom is away.
But I think the network,
the support network is what makes the biggest difference.
I would totally agree.
If you're on your own, it's impossible.
And you know, when you,
they try and say that women can do it all,
you can't on your own, you need support, you need help. And I'm just been very lucky that even
though I don't have family around the corner, I have a husband at least that just totally gets it
and he wants to be my biggest champion, which is awesome. That is really awesome. And you're so right
that, you know, when you can really feel lifted up and supported in that way, it's an extraordinarily
special and privileged position. Because it's interesting hearing you talk about it. I mean,
first visit, a lot of things, you know, I was so fascinated to hear about your parents. And
yeah, the idea of these two people coming, so they must have been in their mid-teens when they
went to Miami. I actually went to Little Havana and Miami area this year. What an incredible
place. Yeah. So picturing Little Jeanette. And, you know, I heard you speak about the excitement
in your family, this, you know, Cuban community. And like, oh, a little American is here, a little
American girl. That's like, that's a real kind of, you know, moments that echoes out to the family
like symbolizes more than just a new life, but the whole, the whole new lives of all of you in this
new chapter. So that's exciting, but also significant. But then I think sometimes, you know,
when you have generationally parents, you know, you see your mum working, your aunties, your
grandparents, but sometimes, I sometimes even now have wobbles about my work.
because even though I was raised by a very ambitious, professional, sure-footed mother,
my mom was always very pragmatic about her mothering.
She was always very available to me, we're very close.
But she also was quite, to my mind anyway, unapologetic about the role that worked,
what it meant to her, what it symbolized, and how important it was to her.
In a way that was great for me as a kid, because I didn't question it.
But as the child's for that, sometimes I still have wobbles of like,
what am I doing here?
Is this the right decision I'm making?
And I think sometimes as well, when you get opportunities,
it's one thing to have the kids taking care of
so I don't need to feel guilty about them in their world.
But sometimes I still feel like,
am I missing things out for myself?
So if you have the wobble when you're doing the start of your
six months is Roxy, which by the way is so flipping cool,
what's the thing you would tell yourself?
What do you tell yourself in those moments?
Do you know what? I can almost cry and now thinking about it because I had some really tough nights, really tough nights, because she was, sorry.
Sorry, I didn't mean to make you friends.
It's okay. It's good, you know, it's good.
And I, by the way, I literally had a cry about a very similar thing only like three nights ago.
Because I was looking at my diary and I was thinking, I love what I do. I've been building what I do.
Yeah.
But what do I really want? Like, what is the big piece of here?
It's quite hard sometimes when you look at it like that.
You're like, I don't really always know.
Yeah.
And that's just being completely honest.
It was hard because I think Lyra was so little.
I don't know if she'll know any of the difference anyway.
She'll never remember it, by the way.
She won't remember it, you know?
And I was coming home literally every single chance I had I'd come home.
Or there were some weeks that, like, my mom and Lyra would come with me
so I can be with her at least during the day before I had shows in the evening.
But then that was really tough because I was so exhausted all the time
because I was doing shows in the evening and then trying to.
to be her mother in the day
so then I was hanging out with her
and spending time with her
but not really fully there
because I was so exhausted
so I just wasn't sleeping
so I kept beating myself up
going I can't be in two places
at the same time
it's just impossible
I think for me
what got me through it
is knowing that there was an end
number one
that I wasn't going to be doing this
for three years
that I'm only doing this for six months
and then number two
that she isn't really going to remember it
she's not going to think to herself
mommy wasn't here for me
these couple of days, you know, and I think knowing she was with Aliash, knowing she was with her
my mother, knowing that she was with her other grandmother, knowing that she's spending quality
time with people that she wouldn't normally get to spend time with because they don't live
here. That kind of helped me piece it out a little bit because I thought she can't go and visit
Hanan on the weekends because they don't live here. So this is a really wonderful time for them
to spend time together. But I just felt really kind of torn all the time because I also felt
selfish because I thought, why am I doing this? Why am I playing Roxy Heart?
It's not going to do anything for Lyra.
It's only doing something for me because it's a dream come true for me.
But then at the same time, I was providing for my family because Aliash wasn't working.
And as you know, as a creative, both of us are creatives, Aliash and we both are in the creative
field.
And when work comes in, it's really hard to say no, because you just don't know when the next
one's going to be there.
So I thought, I've got to do this because I want to be able to be there for her next year, let's
say.
So next year, I'm definitely not doing any six months tour or anything like that.
I can be there with her, but I can do that now because I did take these six months to do that.
And in my brain, I created this mathematical formula that I do, okay, maybe I do like one year on,
one you're off, one year on, one you're off just to like survive as a family.
But it was really, really tough.
And I think I was very open on my socials.
I posted a few videos of me being honest and crying about it because I think it's nice for parents,
not just moms, because men go through it as well, for parents to just know.
know that they're really not alone when you just miss your kids.
You know you're doing the right thing because you're providing for them and you're doing,
you know, you're chasing your dreams at the same time.
So you're setting an example of like, look, Mommy worked really hard towards what she wanted
and she helped in the financial space of the house too.
But that doesn't change my bond.
That doesn't change the fact that I wish I could have been with her every single day as well.
It was really honestly like a yo-yo of feelings.
I was up and down all the time.
But I got really lucky because the woman that played Velma on the show with me,
she's a mom.
And she's got a seven-year-old little girl.
Her name is Bailey, which is incredible.
But she's the musical theater like Megastar.
She's done musicals kind of her whole life.
And she did a year contract, a whole year on tour as Velma Kelly,
while her little girl and her husband, Johnny, were at home.
And she was honestly such a rock for me because we were really just there for each other.
And that sense of community.
this podcast, that sense of community, help me also get through it a bit.
Yeah.
Because I can go to her and she wouldn't understand as a mother like what it was when you just miss
your baby and you just want to be home.
And also the absolute solidarity of someone saying, they won't remember this.
This is significant to you.
Yeah.
It's okay.
It's okay to be doing this.
And I totally relate as well to that flip-flop of emotions because you'll have the days
where you're on tour and you're in a strange city and it's, you know, there's nice.
You can go and fill your day with nice things, but you're feeling a bit like,
that's when all the thoughts come in and I'm not home and I'm missing this day and this is another
oh look there's a lovely, they look really happy at that farm but I should I be, I should be at
that farm, you know, so it's that mixed feeling. But then when the show starts, it's like, it's
magic in a different way. It gives you everything you need and there's always a moment where I'm like,
this is why I made this decision. And it's like such a connection with myself that I just, I know I need
that. So when you're on stage, what do you get from that? Well, that's the thing. I feel personally
I'm a good mother to Lyra because I'm happy with myself. I don't think I could be a good mom if I
wasn't happy with who I am. You can only, you can't be completely selfless because then you end up
kind of resenting in a way that you gave up your life to do that. And some mothers are the
opposite. Some mothers, that's all they live for is their children. But in my case, I need,
to perform. I need to be on stage. It's such a part of who I am as a human being. And I just
don't think I would be a good mother to her if I wasn't doing what I do on stage. Because it
fulfills me in a very different way than being her mother fulfills me as well. So when I remember
vividly, we were in Glasgow doing, it was our second to last week on tour. And Glasgow audiences,
as I'm sure you know, they go wild. They're like the loudest group of people ever.
And normally when you're doing a theater show
It's quite like calm and quiet
And they applaud at the end
You know it's quiet about the show
It's very proper
But Chicago in Glasgow
That didn't matter
It was like a concert like every night
So when I came out on the Saturday night
With DJ who played Velma
And we did our big end finale piece
To nowadays into hot honey rag
The roar, the cheer
The kind of buzz that I got
And I remember DJ and I both looked at
each other literally we were sat in the box because at the end of the show we go down on this
lift and we have to sit in the box and wait for the curtain to go down before we can
actually get out yeah we were sat in the box and we were both looking at each other as mom's
going that's why we do it like that magic that you just cannot you can't explain that feeling
you can't explain those words where you it's in in terms of like science it's called the
complete flow state which is where your mind it's almost meditative you're not existing
in the normal reality of time you're existing in flow state
which means your only thoughts and your only presence exists in that here and now.
Which is such a privilege, isn't it?
And it is a privilege because not a lot of people get to feel flow state.
And when you feel it, once, it's like you don't want to let it go.
It's so addictive.
It's too magical.
It's too special.
And same as you, I'm sure.
When you're on stage and you're performing, for me, that connection that somebody is
feeling something from watching me, doing what I do, whether it's loving a certain song
that I'm singing or loving a certain dance that I did or acting out a scene that reminds them
of a moment in their past situations and they resonate with it and they connect to it.
Like we are providing escapism and joy for people and nostalgia even if you come watch
Chicago and you're a mega fan of Chicago and you've seen it many times.
You come back and you watch Chicago and you're like, oh my God, I love this show because
of the da-da-da-da-da.
And we get to do that for people.
So it feels quite like, sorry if I sound spiritual, but I feel like quite healing.
No, I don't think it's a spiritual thing, for me, it's such a relationship between us.
Your preachings are converted with all of this.
It's just a dialogue and it's an exchange of energy.
And that's what's so special about live experiences.
Yes, exactly.
And I feel very reassured by that because I think that's part of, as humans, we are kind of pack animals.
We respond to that community feeling and exchanging that.
And the way it feels, you know, you can have it when you're in the audience and then.
You just feel like, this has been that moment, you know, like even talking about it.
that makes me get a bit tingly
because it's such a special part
of what makes me feel recalibrated
but also it's like
as you mentioned about flow state
it's like the time sort of fades back
and sometimes you feel connected
to all these different versions of yourself
like a little strand
and it's lovely to hear
that you still feel so connected
to dance actually
because it's not a given
when I was doing strictly
you were great by the way
you were at that child
Honestly, especially when you came out and did that Charleston,
all of us, I mean, every number you did was beautiful.
But there was something about that Charleston, you and that cold dress,
that I was just like, it's iconic.
I actually thought I was going to get,
I thought maybe I'd done something a bit daft
because there was a move where I kind of popped up through Brinton's life.
Yeah, but it was great.
I'm not quite sure how this reads on TV.
Oh, it's such a great one.
But what I mean, look, you're such an incredible.
incredible dancer, Jeanette, honestly.
Oh, I think.
Started and choreographer.
Just absolutely mesmerating.
I was blown away when I realized I didn't start dancing until, you know, much later.
Much later, because most of the pros I spoke to at that time,
and I know for Brendan, he started dancing very small.
And his relationship with dancing was actually a little bit complicated.
Yeah, yeah.
You know, it's like being an athlete.
So he, you know, it's something he'd trained for, he could do.
But didn't always feel the euphoria, I don't.
You know, not that sort of almost quite child like, I've just like, I love it.
Which, you know, I suppose that happens to people in all fields.
Actually, you can have, I don't know, a concert violinist who's been sort of done it by rote
and then doesn't really feel like this is the defining part.
But what was, can I just ask you a little bit about that?
What happened to get you into dance?
So how do you become so flipping good at it so quickly?
Honestly, I think it's in the blood.
I'm Cuban.
We just love to dance.
Did you dance like in with your family?
Yeah, we make jokes.
that I started to do the salsa
as soon as I was able to walk
basically, they were coming out
because my dad, my uncles,
all my aunts, my mom, my grandma,
every one of my family dances.
So it's just, I mean,
Cubans invented the cha-cha-cha and the Rumba,
which are two obviously mega dances on Strictly.
So music and dancing was just,
I just grew up with it.
Like my dad has a beautiful singing voice.
And he's like, I always say,
dad, you're a frustrated, like,
ballad singer because he's still
sends me song. Still, I got one two weeks ago. He still records songs in his, this tiny cupboard
that he has at home. He locks himself in there and he sings songs and sends them to me because
he just loves to sing. He feels his flow state in the cupboard. I'm singing the songs. Anyway,
you find that. But he, they are very, like my dad love music and my mom was a synchronized swimmer or
artistic swimmer, which is the new, I think that's the new name for it now. That's so cool.
And so I think they've done her on the podcast. Yeah, she's so cool. A synchronized swimmer. My mom is
lunatic.
which explains a lot about me.
But we're best friends.
We really are best friends.
So because dad kind of was artsy,
mom was a synchronized swimmer.
I grew up in a house where any reason
to throw a party and play music and dance,
we just did it.
Oh, the sun's out.
Let's have a party.
Like, it was literally like that.
Sounds idyllic.
So it was really...
And also like a little bit unhinged in a good way.
Yeah.
Because they were so young.
They were so young.
So at the time, it was like,
I remember the Bee Gees were the thing
or like, I grew up listening to Don
the Summers, the Bee Gees, Barbara Streisand.
Anyway, it was
on. Music was on. And I make the joke that
Michael Jackson's best album came the year that I was born,
which was Thriller in 1983.
That album was on all the time in the house.
So I grew up with music and dancing all the time anyway.
And then I was a performer since I can remember.
My mom sent me a video of when I was three years old
and we were on holiday. We didn't have a lot, like I said.
So we would go once a year to Disney
because it was easy.
this three hour and three and a half hour driving back.
Or we'd go to this little island on the west coast of Florida called Marco Island.
And there's a video of me in Marco Island when I was three years old.
All my aunts and uncles, mind you, they're all young.
They're all like in their early 20s.
Mom and dad are like 21 maybe.
I don't even know how old.
And I'm just performing and putting on a show and dancing and like smiling and looking at
everyone in the eye like, yeah, you're all looking at me great.
This is fantastic.
And because I was like
The American Dream, like you said,
all eyes were on me with the whole family.
Like they all just was
hoping that I can make any dream come true.
So my parents, from a very, very, very young age
never forced me to do anything that I didn't want to do.
You know, there's, again, there's no right or wrong way to parent,
but they didn't tell me you have to get a degree in university
in order to survive.
You know, they were very much like,
if you want to dance and you want to perform,
how and what can we do to make that?
happen. So they didn't have money to put me in ballet classes because it was expensive.
They couldn't put me. I did ballet really for about six months when I was five and then it
just got expensive because they couldn't. I have a similar ballet career. Yeah. I remember my mom
there's a video of it somewhere. I'm pretty sure I've posted it online of me and my first ever
ballet class. My mom didn't have the money to buy me a leotard in tights and shoes. So I'm in
the ballet class, which kind of fast forward to what I am like as a person is in a
all the girls who were in a black leotard
with pink tights and pink ballet shoes
I was in a bright pink and white
polka dot bathing suit
with nude tights and no shoes on
because it's just what we had at home
so it's the funniest video in the world
because it's just all these perfect little girls
and then me in this pink polka dot bathing suit
but they couldn't afford it
so I had one recital
and then I didn't go back and then when I was 12
there was an audition for like a talent thing
for kids on a Spanish TV show
and mom took me to the audition and I got it
I got to be in the TV show and do it
and then the woman that did the TV segment
said to my mom, your daughter has a natural talent
like she's a performer like can I put her
she had a musical theater program
so we've got a musical theater program
it's associated with the TV show
do you want to put her in and my mom was like
I can't afford paying for it
so they gave me like a scholarship
to do it
and that meant that every
couple weeks I'd be on telly
performing musical theater numbers
or dancing or talking or doing something
as a kid with all these kids that were part of that program
and I did that all the way up to I was about 18
but it was mostly
singing and acting
so it was like I remember there was a segment
where the TV host would just sit and talk to the kids
us about like very adult things
like how do you go grocery shopping
and what kind of things do you buy at the shop when you go
And you just make up, I was so creative.
I was like, my imagination was huge.
I just like make stuff up and have like, just say anything that came out of my mouth.
And they loved all that.
So at 18, I feel like I'm talking a lot.
No, no, it's actually fascinating.
I love it.
I've got so many images in my head.
Oh, God.
When I was 18, I was all too old to be a part of the program because it was a kid's program.
Although at 18, I still looked like I was 12 in a lot of ways.
But then the gentleman that was doing kind of the,
dance part of the program was like, I think you can really dance, and you should take dance
seriously. At the time, I was only doing dancing two hours a week, so it wasn't like really
the biggest part. I mean, you must have had clear ability. Yeah, I think he, and he saw it in me,
my dance teacher, Monroe Castro. And he opened up a dance school. Him and his wife opened up a
dance school. So I was 18. And I started going then, at that time, I had to get a job because
My mom and my dad had my brother and my sister as well
and they couldn't kind of afford for my lifestyle.
I was an adult now.
So I got a job.
I worked in a bank, 9 to 5.
And I had a full scholarship to any university in the state of Florida.
So I graduated top of my class in high school.
Because my parents were always like, we love you and you're very smart,
but we don't have the money to pay for university.
So if you want to go to one, you're going to have to get a scholarship
because we just can't afford paying for it.
So I had that drilled in my head since I was very, very young.
And I was such a geek.
I was such a good student, always top of my class, always honors, always just really on it.
Because I had this thing like, oh, I want to go to university.
And if I want to, I'm going to have to get it through scholarship.
So I was going to university at the time, working at the bank.
And that's when the dance career kind of started.
I mean, it's bizarre.
Because you think you have a nine to five job.
I'm going to university three times a week, basically, in the evenings after I work.
And then every other spare hour of my week, including about six hours on the Saturday.
I would be in the dance studio
so I had zero social life
but you're meeting people all the time
but I was so fulfilled
you felt so alive when you were
yeah and in a way
going to the dance classes
was therapy because if I was stressed from work
or if I was stressed with exams
or something going on at uni or whatever
going to dance was like the biggest kind of release
and I think in a way
helped me become an artist
if you can call it that
because I learned to channel
feelings and emotions through movement
which made it more artistic
and less kind of technical
yeah and storytelling
yeah bringing out the emotion
and that I think was the stem of like
my my ability to really
what's the word I'm looking for
like show feeling
show expression and
and be more of a storyteller
through movement than just competitive
and it also probably meant that it's kept
a kernel of dance
as something that's actually selfishly, like, gives you what you need.
Yeah, it's genuinely therapy.
That way you can sustain your work
because there'll be a part of you
that when you're in that moment, can connect with that as well.
Yes.
And if you're satisfied by that, if that's nurturing you,
the rest of it sort of falls away for those moments.
And you get to leave the stage with that bit more fulfillment.
That's exactly right.
It's such a nice feeling.
Yeah.
It's like a little part of your moment.
He's, like, crystallized, you know?
Yeah.
But I think that the idea that I never did it competitively
is what kind of made my euphoria
when I got a job, like, strictly, so much nicer.
Because in a lot of ways, I almost feel for, like,
even Ali Ash or Brendan or any of the pros that had a competitive career
because technically they're much stronger than I am.
I'll be 100% honest.
Like, they knew the technique of Borroman Latin
much, much better than I did.
Because I came into Borougham and Latin through theatre.
I never competed.
I learned it because I had a natural ability for it.
And Jason Gilkison and Peter Roby, who did burn the floor, kind of took me under their wing.
And we're like, we're going to show you the ropes of ballroom in Latin.
Cool.
So I learned it more from a storytelling perspective than a competitive perspective.
That makes sense.
And so probably why I never won strictly, because I was not competitive at all.
I didn't know you have run.
Oh, yeah, they get the competitive element.
Yeah.
But in their defense, like, they just don't know any better.
Of course.
They don't know any better.
And also that presumably that means that there's an expectation because the whole family, when they're young, are behind it.
And they'll say, I know you don't feel like it, but you've got this today.
So sometimes they'll have an association with the dancing has been a bit of a, this is the thing.
Yeah.
And if you've been allowed to explore it and find it, you know, you were working in a bank.
You're doing a job.
So was there a moment, sorry, we will talk about parenthood at some point, but I am fascinated.
Was there a moment where you had to make a job?
make a real decision? Or did dance just kind of scoop you up?
No, there was. I remember I auditioned for so you think you can dance the first year round.
And I got all the way to the final and then didn't get it.
And I was absolutely heartbroken because at the time I was 23, I think.
And I thought this is my last chance to actually have any chance of ever making a career from dance.
You know, it's from a reality TV show that just gives you the wings to fly, you know?
because what 23-year-old that's only been dancing
really professionally for about four years?
And I wasn't even dancing professionally if I think about it
because I was working at a bank, that was my job.
According to your bank manager, your head your boss.
Yeah.
So I thought no one's going to give me a job.
I'm never going to have a career in dance.
I started too late.
It's just going to be impossible.
So the only chance I had was to get on something like,
so you think you can dance, to put me out.
Yeah, to make it a professional.
Make it a thing.
So that first year that I went, I went all the way to the final
and I didn't get it.
And I was absolutely destroyed because I thought,
That was it.
That was it.
And I was already starting to try and come to terms with, all right, well, dance will always be a part of my life, but it won't be my career.
I'll just do it like extracurricularly to release, you know, whatever I want to release that I'm feeling inside.
And then the next year came around, they approached me and they said, we'd love for you to audition again.
And I thought, well, if they're approaching me, either they want really good telly to tell me no twice or I've got a chance.
But I thought, I'll take the risk and just see what happens.
and my family was really supportive
because I almost said no
and my mom and my dad were like
but what if they say yes
like just see
you know what I mean
so I did and I got it the second time around
and it was the most
I was the most annoying competitor ever
because I was just so happy to be there
I was like a competition winner
so already
didn't care about the competition
I was just so thrilled
that I was in LA
doing a TV show
only about dancing
getting to learn from all these different
choreographers
of all these
different styles of dance. So for me, I didn't care about winning. I just cared about
staying in long enough so that I could learn more and gain more information on different
styles. Ended up doing really well on the show. I went on tour with the show across the
US for three months. And when that finished, my boss from the bank, her name was Janet. We love
Janet. She calls me and she says, oh my God, we watched you on the show. Well done. My kids and
my family and I went to watch you when you were. I mean, I performed in the Miami Arena. And I just
remember coming on stage with So You Think You Can Dance in the Miami Arena where I've gone to go and see
megastars before that going, am I actually dancing and the star in Miami? So it was like just the
craziest. Yeah, that's mind-blowing. Your family must have been like, oh my God. There was a massive
poster with my face. Like it was just mad. And then I thought, oh gosh, but it's over now because
that's it. So you think happened, the tour happened. Then my boss calls me, Janet. And she's like,
So your position is still there.
We'd love to have you back.
And at this point, believe it or not,
I had moved up really quickly in the career ladder.
So at that time, I was the assistant manager for the national...
I'm actually not surprised for anything at the bank.
I could tell you all about home mortgages and loans and business loans
because that was my job.
I did all the paperwork for that.
By the way, having good financial savvy as a very, very good life skill.
Yeah.
So if we can talk about...
You can give me some advice afterwards.
I can use some advice later.
I love a spreadsheet.
I'll tell you that.
Oh, wow.
So, Aliasch makes a joke all the time.
He's like, I married a banker who also loves to dance.
It's a perfect combination.
It's actually a perfect combination.
But also a detriment, but we can talk about that later.
So she called me and she said, you've got the job still if you want to come back.
And it was really tricky decision because at that time, that job meant financial stability.
It meant a retirement plan.
It meant health insurance.
It just meant stability.
and I could have at that point because I was 24 I think now
been like okay I've done the dance thing
I've done so you think I've toured the US
I've got that bug you know done
I should go back and do the pragmatic logical thing
and get a great job and find stability
and my parents
they came in and they were like what do you really want
and I said honestly in my heart
I want to dance I could just if I could dance every day
I would just be the happiest person in the world
and they said we'll do that
have you saved up enough money from the tour?
I already love your parents.
Oh, they're honestly.
And I said, yeah, I've saved up money from tour
because I just, I knew that if I saved it, I can then decide easier.
And even if I didn't go back to dance, I can use that money towards a house or something.
Again, financially pragmatic.
I know, I get it.
But there's pragmatism along the way, all the way, actually.
Yeah.
There's always a bit of that.
I think that's probably been a bigger, more significant part of your foundation because
you've obviously good at like giving yourself like the sort of practical backup but
then allowing yourself to let the energy for lead you yeah and I think you've been able to
have real freedom with that because you've also planned your yeah so there's plan B
structure yeah but that's that's actually like not everybody has that duality running all
the time I think that again it stems from just watching the hardship that my parents went through
and I thought I don't want it to have that for myself I'm not really having it.
anyone who can scoop you up and say, don't worry, it's on you, isn't it? It really is on me.
But they said, they were the ones that said it, so I did. And that was like, what do you call
sliding doors moment in my life? Well, I said to my boss, Janet, I love you and I love
everyone there, but I think I'm going to give this Dan's dream a go. So I took all the money
that I had saved, moved out to L.A. and just saw what happened. And that was the
biggest, best, most powerful decision besides becoming a mother that I think I have ever made
in my life. Because that's what changed everything.
That's when, like, my career really shifted into what it is now.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, it's incredible, really, because I think, I mean, look, getting to live the life that you have created for yourself is always, you know, a bit against the odds.
But there's been so many things that have led up to this moment.
Actually, what you've achieved was already impressive.
But now it's sort of like next level, I think.
Because not everybody can relate to all of those, all those roots.
And the unlikelyhood, the sheer likelihood of.
of, you know, if it all lining up
and having able to, obviously, you know,
have the professionalism and the ability
to back up the opportunity to put in front of you
to get to the answer.
It's an extraordinary thing to be a professional dancer
that ends up moving into broadcast and presenting.
Yeah.
Honestly, I still pinched myself.
I still can't believe I'm doing it.
Well, obviously, it's testament to your talent,
but it's also like really worth taking my invisible hat off to.
Because it's super impressive.
And I think, again, going back to that athlete,
mentality. I know, and for a lot of people where they've been so,
their work is so inherent with their physical prowess and also a competitive streak,
there's sometimes a bit of a cliff they have to like then come off the edge of because
that's not like literally like necessarily going to be how you live forever and what the next
chapter. So being able to like evolve it and shape it so those things can run alongside is really
special. I think people are afraid of not being good at things. Yeah, that's true. And I'm very
much like, I've never been the best in the room at anything. And I find that the most powerful
position to be in. I say that exact same thing. I'm never the most talented. I'm never the most talented in
the room. But I am the hardest working and I am the most curious. I just want to learn and I just want
to get better at. Whatever it is that I'm doing, I just want to get better at it. If you feel like
you're the best in the room, then there's no room to grow. There's no room to go anywhere. And
And that's always kind of been part of my journey, not intentionally, just because of the
circumstances of my childhood, where I grew up, the struggles of my parents went through in life
and, you know, raising three kids with minimal, minimal, minimal, I remember I had the same pair of
jeans for quite a few years. My mom just kept, like, ripping them and fixing them so that they
would end up fitting or the same pair of sneak. It's just, those are the things that, like,
make me feel humbled, number one. And two, like, it's okay to not be at the top because
being at the top
I find almost boring
do I say
because then where do you go from there
that's when you want to jump off the cliff
because you've reached the top
and then you feel too much pressure
you feel too much like to be perfect
and I like growing
I don't know like even now
when I started doing Strictly
and I got onto the show
maybe it's the pragmatic side of me
where I was always kind of thinking plan B
and I just remember joining Strictly
in 2013 with you that year
and thinking oh my God this is huge
this is like the biggest TV show in this country.
I was nervous.
There was a lot of hardships.
I had mega importer syndrome.
There was a lot going on.
But also in the midst of that, I thought, right, if this doesn't work out, what can I do with this?
What can be the next thing?
And because I'd been working in television since I was 12, I actually used to do TV production in high school.
In high school, where I studied, I used to do the morning announcements.
So I would be the one on telly every morning in school, telling, giving everybody the news of the day,
which is like the high school gazette stuff, you know what I mean?
Cool.
And so I'd been, I've only seen that in movies, so that sounds very glamorous.
Yeah.
But so I knew that I wanted to stay in television.
So even from year 2013, I thought, right, I need to, like, now tackle my presenting abilities.
Like, how can I make it better?
So since that year, I was doing small little YouTube videos, filming backstage, like, asking people
questions.
I was doing YouTube when YouTube wasn't even a thing.
But not for any other reason than to grow, not to gain.
following or get subscribers. It was more to like watch myself back and see what people thought
that did watch it. And I did that for many, many years with this thought in my head,
like strictly can be taken away from me any day. There's no guarantee as a professional that
you'll come back. You do yearly contracts. And it just depends on whether or not they offer
the job. So I didn't want to be in a position that I didn't have something in the background
ready to go in case it didn't happen. And that's kind of where then the broadcasting thing came in
because I really channeled and maybe manifested
and put that out into the world
by just being a student of it.
Yes, I'm open to it.
And I remember when it takes two happened,
Zoe Ball announced that she was leaving.
And at that point, I had done a couple of VTs and things for It Takes 2.
And I was always saying to the team, use me,
because I want to get better and I want to learn presenting more
and never to take a job, but just to get better at the craft of it.
And Zoe Ball, when I messaged her, I said,
No one is ever going to be able to fill your shoes.
I said, you're just the best.
And I'm going to miss you so much.
And she wrote back, it should be you taking over.
And I remember going, as if, they would never give it to me.
But what an amazing thing if they ever did.
Yeah, what a nice thing for her to say that to me.
And then they did.
And then the producers called me and they gave it to me.
Actually, funny story.
My dad, obviously, my biggest fan with my mom,
they loved it takes two.
And they absolutely adored Zoe.
And if they came to visit,
that they always wanted to say hi or see her or something
because they adored her so much.
So when she left to my dad sent me a message going,
I'm going to stop watching it now because who's going to take over
there's going to be any better than Zoe?
Like, come on, she's the best of the best.
I can't believe she's leaving.
And so when I got the job, I was like,
Dad, I don't know how you're going to feel about this.
And he's like, what?
And I was like, I know who the next person is.
He was like, oh, it's not going to be as good as it.
Go on, hit me.
And I was like, well, it's me.
Wow.
The only person.
The only person could possibly be worthy this time after that.
But yeah, I think, you know, working in the background.
And now even with Chicago, same thing.
Like, I wanted to go back to my musical theater roots.
I hadn't done singing and acting since I was a kid, really,
when I was doing all that musical theater stuff.
So, again, I went into the musical not being the best on stage.
I wasn't the best actress or the best singer.
And I just thought, I like being in that space.
I like being in a room, being able to grow.
And the energy of being around all those people always feels good.
doesn't it? I just soak it in. Yeah, me too. I really soak it in. Like the sort of
business of it. I love that feeling as well. So, I mean, I think there's a lot of these
qualities I'd imagine you'd want Lyra to inherit because I think that I talked to my kids
as well about that thing of, be open to things, continue learning, don't complain, you know,
do the work, be open to ideas, be open to opportunities. And the rest will follow. You'll kind
of find yourself heading towards something. So I think that's something.
I'd imagine you'd like for her.
But for yourself, if, you know, following this energy
and having all these different adventures in your life
has become so intrinsic to what makes your heartbeat faster,
was there any trepidation about what it would mean
in the punctuation mark to take on motherhood?
Because I know I was quite nervous about it affecting my ambition.
I wasn't sure how I felt about that.
Yeah, no, it did, definitely.
but I think like
COVID was just the one
that changed everything for me
it's a different landscape
isn't it?
Yeah, I don't know
and I can't believe
I'm going to say it's out loud
I don't know if I would have been a mother
if COVID wouldn't have hit
because COVID
that's when I took my
well-being course
and I got my well-being certification
and all that
because it hit
and Ali Ash and I were
theaters is our world
performing as you know
it's the same it's what we do
But I couldn't really put on a show in my living room
We did try but it wasn't the same
But I just really went through a lot of personal
I did the work is what I call on myself
To really find who am I if I'm not on stage
Who am I as a human being and as a person
And I did a lot of reflecting
And I did a lot of deep thought
And I'm so grateful
I know it was a really tough time
and really scary time for everyone
but in a bizarre way
I'm so grateful that it happened
because it taught me a lot about me
that I didn't even know was in there
and that's when motherhood really hit
because I just thought
I knew I someday wanted to be a mom
but work was always taking over
and I was like no but I've got this
but I've got this but I've got that
and I can't do it.
And even when you kind of prepped your mom
that she might happen.
I had the conversation with my mother
and it killed her.
I said to mom I don't know if I'm going to be a mom
and it killed her because she loves children
and she's the most incredible grandmother now
but I just said
I don't know if I want to be a mom
I think I'm so I so love what I do
and I so love my job that I don't know
if I can give that up to be a mother
and in that time
I did not think it was going to be possible at all
to do what I do and be a mother
I just couldn't see it happening
and then COVID happened
and I discovered this whole
I don't know how to explain it
this whole other side of me that was
kind of always in there
but I never really channeled it
or listened to it
or understood it
and it did
it changed me a lot
a lot of my friends were even like
you're a different person
like when COVID came out
but in the best way
but just it's not a different
Jeanette but like a different version of
Jeanette
and that's when I decided
if I am going to be a mother
now is the time
because I'm open to it now
I'm ready for it now
And if the world ends, at least I know that I'll have given motherhood a go because it's something that I did want to try and do.
But I went into it absolutely panicked, not knowing what to expect.
And I think even when Lyra was first born, I had these blinds on like, no, no, no, life is normal.
I can carry on.
I can carry on as usual.
And I tried to force myself to still be the Jeanette that I was before I was a mom versus now Jeanette as a mom.
And now that she's two years old, I would say in the last.
Definitely in the last year, I've discovered I don't ever want to be that Jeanette again.
I don't want to be the Jeanette that I was before Lyra because the Jeanette after Lyra is a mother.
And being a mother makes me feel more powerful than anything I've ever done in my life.
And it's that feeling of, I don't know how to explain it.
It's very magical, I think, for me at least, magical to become a mom.
Because I look at her and even though she's only two, I already see her as an adult.
It's very weird.
Like, I look into her eyes
where she's sleeping
and I'm thinking,
God, when she's 20 years old,
she's not going to lay down
like this next to me.
I wonder what she's going to like
what she's going to be into.
I just want her to be a good human,
a good person.
I want her to help
her community
and just be kind
and be loving
and be curious
and be adventurous.
And that excites me
on a level to know
that I have some kind of
strength and ability
to shape the future
of what human beings can be like.
And that's powerful.
I don't know.
I find it.
it really powerful.
That's gorgeous.
But it was very scary.
It was very scary.
But then as soon as she came, I mean, it was just the best thing in the world.
Everything changed in the best way.
But it's a bit curious.
It's interesting to me.
I mean, like, I kind of feel like, oh, sheesh, I feel like I need another lockdown so that I do
the work on myself because I just kind of just try to.
But you had kids.
I was on my own, so it's a little bit easier.
You had lockdown with children.
That is another level.
Well, that was very stressful.
You know, yeah, busy.
But I think the bit I'm interested in when you were saying about,
because obviously we've spoken about the way that, you know,
and I can only relate to it very hard on this,
you know, where you spoke about dance and what it gave you
and the tonic and the sort of soul balm
is exactly how I feel about music as well.
Like it does that for me and performing.
So, you know, you talked about the flow state
and what you get from that moment when you're on stage.
And I think I'd really take it for,
granted until, you know, well, goes quiet. But I didn't really, I just tried to find it
somewhere else. But what, you know, broadly speaking, what was the thing that you took out of that
that was significant in this shift? I kind of want to know a little bit more about that.
Well, the work that I did on myself really honestly changed my perspective on so many things
in life. Because I remember there was a moment where
we were just coming out of COVID
we were just starting to do things
and I had just kind of taken the course
and I got offered a job
and then I got offered another job
and they both kind of came in at the same time
and I really wanted to do both
because obviously things were just starting to come back
and I was going to try and find a way to do both
and then I ended up losing both
because of just circumstances with COVID and this
like just like things happened
that I couldn't end up not doing both
And I remember there was a moment where I thought to myself,
the old part, the old person that I was would want to control the situation.
Whereas at that point I thought, I'm just going to let it go.
I'm just going to let it go and trust the process, trust the universe,
trust that like what will come to me will come to me.
And I just have to be open and ready to accept it when it does.
And bizarrely enough, the moment I shifted that mentality of trying to control every aspect of my
life to the inch of it. When I let that go, I felt like everything changed. And I think now as a mother,
I take that on board as a mother. I was going to say that's a great skill. Yeah. Because my other
mom friends, look at me, they're like, my God, you're so chill. And I was like, well, because she's
herself. I'm not trying to create a replica of me. I'm not controlling her. I'm letting her
discover the world in her ways. And I'm just kind of guiding her through it. And the same
happened with just my career. I kind of stopped trying to force the jobs that I wanted to happen
and just threw my arms up in the air and said, what will be will be. And if I just work hard
and put intentional things, I do the jobs and do the little things that are intentional towards
what I really want to do someday, then the right things will align and plan out. But that ability
to just let go of the control of my life that I kind of had, like you said so beautifully,
you were very pragmatic. There was always a plan. If this didn't work, well, that was there.
I learned that even if you can have plan A, B, C, D, E, F, G, things happen and they can go out the window.
And that was the biggest shift for me internally, where now I just let things go.
And I don't really like hold on or try and, you know, put puzzle pieces together.
The only puzzle piece I do put together is child care.
If I've got a job, who's going to be with IRA, when is she not provide with that?
They will not provide for that.
So that is the biggest puzzle that I'm like always trying to sort.
Why is our child on the right?
I just, I'm trusting in the purpose.
Yeah, I'm trusting the positive. She'll be fine. She'll be fine. But, you know, and I found so much, I feel like I released a lot of stress. I released, like, I felt like I've let go of a thousand pounds off my back. And in a similar way, even my, like, everybody's obsessed with Mel Robbins at the moment, right? But in a similar way to what she talks about, like, I was feeling that already. Like, you've got to let people who they are as well and let go and just trust that human beings will be who.
they are and all you can do is choose how you react to their behavior. And that approach
to life in every way, whether it's my job or my relationships or my, even my daughter, has
really helped me be calm and peaceful and in a lot of ways brought abundance into me.
I was going to say, you can find more richness there because you're not fighting against
things or caught in a sort of mental spiral of, you know, why did that person do that? Why can I
not did that. Why shouldn't they, you know, sort of trying to problem solve things or preemptively
problem solve them? And I think, thank you for articulating all of that, because that makes such
sense. And also is such a beautiful way to set yourself up for that. Basically, I mean, it took me
longer to work it out, I think, but that is what happens when you have this small person,
because initially you are recognizing, oh, that's that trait. And they get that from there.
And, you know, you have all your ideas. Oh, what are you going to do with your kids?
How are you going to raise me?
You think, well, my child's going to really love this because I'm always going to do that with them.
And then you get them and you're like, oh, that's not for you at all.
And how interesting you would rather do this than that.
And, oh, you found that funny.
Okay, yeah, that is funny.
I hadn't thought of it that way or little things.
And I think of myself like the flippers on a pinball machine.
So they're the ball going the way they go.
And I'm just sort of occasionally like, tap, tap.
Like, can I please get them to just go that direction?
Maybe don't go down there.
But really, I can't control the nature.
of what they're doing, that I can help them maybe just frame things.
I just, I am in awe of you because I have won.
And I'm like, the scheduling, like I said, the scheduling of her life, she's only two,
but scheduling my work and my thing with her and doing that with five, you're, you deserve an
award, you deserve an award on some, and please give me tips going forward because I can use them.
But it is, yeah, it's, I found that so liberating from my own kind of self-work and self-reflecting that I did during that time,
letting things go, letting people go, and just kind of doing me and working on me and only really processing my reaction to things.
And I think I'm a better mother to Lyra for that as well.
If Lyra would have been born before I had kind of done the work on myself, I don't know if I would have been as good of a mom, really, because I would have
maybe try to control her and try to like make her do certain things and behave in certain ways,
you know, whereas I'm not a perfect mother at all, but at least I think I feel like in that
sense, I am calm, you know, I make mistakes like any other mother does, but I'm calm about
them. You know, I don't like let it like be the, I don't think, oh my God, I'm never going to
come back from this. No, it was a mistake. Don't do it again. Yeah. No, that's so, it's so significant.
It really is. And I think, I'm really glad you took the time to explain to me because I think
that's that is a huge shift in your perspective but to the outside looking and you're still
doing all the work and everything that doesn't change what you're able to get across but it's
just letting go of yeah how you're approaching things and how you how you actually deal with
the unexpected as well because I was thinking when you said about so you think you can dance
and you know thinking at 23 well that's game over then because they didn't I didn't get that job
But actually, everything that's followed on
became as a result of, you know, the next bit.
You know, you would never have met Aliash
but when you did.
You know what I mean?
All the things that don't line up.
But it's only really when you're older
and you can look back that you understand the significance.
And I remember something not working out for me once
and I was down about it.
And my mum said, well, there'll be things that you would have done
if that had worked out that you know, I won't,
but there'll be things that you do do
that you wouldn't have done if you done that.
You're like, okay.
Yeah, but that's trusting the process, right?
That's trusting that I just genuinely think,
And even now with Lara as a mom, if I just love her with all my heart and give her all my kindness and all my own, the best of my knowledge, my own advice that I can give her, if it was a really great quote, I can't remember it verbatim, but it's just something like, if you worry about whether or not you're a good parent, you're a good parent.
Yes.
Because it means you care. And no parent is going to get it right.
Like, none of us will.
And good enough is good enough as well.
Exactly.
Because they think, you know, so long as you are doing your best and it's good enough.
Exactly. That's actually great.
Yeah.
I think there's so much wisdom.
And I said, I'm actually super impressed that you kind of organized that in your head before embarking on parenthood
because I think probably your experience of early years will be different because of it as well
in a way that I don't think I was as prepped for.
What's the significance for you in terms of making your home here when you grew up somewhere different and so did Aliash?
Yeah.
That is tough.
It still is tough, especially now with Lyra in the picture.
When it was just Ali Ash and I, we were fine.
We were like nomads.
We can literally live anywhere.
We were fine because we were together.
For us, home was us.
That was it.
It didn't matter where we were.
But now that she's in the picture, it's really changed a lot for us.
Because now she has cousins both in Miami and in Slovenia.
And, you know, she's not going to grow up with them and see them all the time.
And I don't think Ali Ash and I will have any more children.
children. I just, I'm 42 this year, so the clock is ticking. I mean, never say never. We might.
But, um, so I almost all have my head. Like, if she doesn't have any siblings and she doesn't
have any cousins and she doesn't have aunts and uncles and grandparents nearby. Like, I grew up
with such a big family. Like Cubans, we're just like, there was 20 of us all the time in
the house. An audience. An audience for me. They were my crowd.
And Alias didn't grow up with as many people, but his nucleus, his mom and his dad.
and his grandmothers and sister.
They were all really close.
So he has a very similar kind of intention and feeling about what family is.
And so now for us, our family is just Ali Ash and Lyra and I.
That's it.
And now I'm really noticing that my friends, the people that I have in my life,
I'm only now picking up like, oh, that is definitely going to be someone
that is going to be a part of Lyra's life forever.
We're kind of learning as we go the people that are,
going to be a part of her life, not because we make them, but that are choosing to be a part of
her life. And when she's, now she goes to nursery, and I'm hoping, like, as she starts getting
older and older, she'll make friends at nursery, and then we could throw parties for her with
her friends and things like that. So, but when she was born, I remember this, like, she was born
in the UK, but I have an American passport and Ali Ash has a Slovenian passport. So when we
traveled for the first time as a family, it was weird because we turned, I remember we turned
to the immigration officer like all three
passports and he was looking at it's like
what? This is the most bizarre
family. Like yeah so
I'm going to get my citizenship because I can
now so I'm going to get my UK citizenship which is
really exciting but that even that
is a big thing for me because I'm going to
my God I'm leaving
I'm officially leaving
my family in Miami because now
my daughter is British she was born
in the UK and we're very
adamant that we want her to feel British
even though I'm Cuban American and he's Slovenian
she was born here. She's going to love a cup of tea and she's going to love a Sunday
roast. You know what I mean? That's going to be her thing. And so
it's just a very kind of, I'm still coming to terms with that thought that like this is
home now. This is where Lyra is going to grow up. This is where she's going to make her friends.
This is where she's going to have a life and this is where we're going to raise her.
And I love it here. I love it for many reasons. I love it because it's small. It's like an
island and there's this epic sense of community that I think exists here.
in the UK that being a very, very
an immigrant family in Miami
where there's, it's huge.
Miami is massive and the US is
Jesus Christ, mega.
I can't get my head around it.
And you know, you can be in LA and New York City
and still be in the same country and I'm like,
what? It's like six hour flights away.
But here I feel an immense sense of community
and I love that.
I feel like everybody really looks out for themselves
here.
and there's a lot of charity work
and I don't know
I really love the UK mentality
a lot and it sits well
with who I am as a person
so that gives me comfort knowing that she's going to grow up
in a place that I genuinely think
is going to give her opportunities
for life whether she wants to be a creative or not
and a sense of community
where she's never going to feel alone
even though she may not have brothers and sisters
or cousins nearby
and you know with our families
we always say quality over quantity
because you can have your cousins live two blocks away and never see them.
Exactly.
But when they live so far away, we make the time.
So we go, right, we're going to go and spend a week in Slovenia.
And when we're there, all we do is have fun and spend time together with their cousins.
And the same when we go to Miami.
So when she spends time with them, it's real quality time.
It's not like an hour here, an hour there every couple of months.
It's like a week or two weeks at a time.
Like we're going to Miami now, just me and Lyra.
Well, Ali Ash is on street because he's busy and he can't.
And I've got about two weeks before work really kicks off with it takes too.
So me and Lyra are going on her own.
We're going to go on a girl's trip to Miami.
And she's going to be there for 10 days having the best time with all her cousins over there.
They're all making fuss with her.
So I feel like she's going to grow up with an enriched life, even though in lots of ways
it's going to be a very different life to the way that I grew up or Aliash grew up.
Does that make sense?
There's a little mirror there, isn't there?
because of your family's excitement,
are you being like,
it's so little American.
And then you're like,
my daughter will love tea.
Yes, well, she's got the same.
She's the little British one.
I was the American one, but she's the British one.
And then she has to pass the baton on to whether her child has to be an ambassador for something.
Yeah.
All right.
When you're in Miami, see if you can find the little pink and polka door.
Oh, my gosh, my mom definitely has it somewhere.
Find it.
Yeah.
It'll be right for her now.
Yeah.
Oh, thank you so much, Jeanette.
And I know you're probably not have time for this,
but I know that Richard said if he ever had had the opportunity to do strictly,
he wanted to be proud of you.
Oh, yeah, we would have smashed it.
I know.
But still, you and Brendan were iconic.
You really were.
You were so.
I remember that final.
It was like the all-girls final.
It was such a good final.
And you came down, right?
You came down from the ceiling.
Yeah, yeah.
My little safety clip on clips, I thought I'll just jump out.
Oh, my God.
What a final.
Yeah.
It was fun.
Yeah.
It was like I had a lot of really happy memories actually.
And I think it helped me with being less inhibited on stage.
So I've definitely carried some of what I took.
And plus I've never been as scared as that on stage.
But also, you had three children at the time, you said.
And to be able to do strictly, it is no small feet.
All my brain cells went over to that.
But I just loved the thing of having the whole day just spent dancing.
Yes.
My heart was like.
Beaming.
Oh, yeah.
So happy.
Yeah.
So happy.
By the way, I have to say obsessed with Dolceaida.
Thank you.
Perimen and pop, right?
Yes.
I'm iconic.
I love the cover.
I saw the video of you showing it to the kids, and it was just so cool.
The way they're like, it's a great, great.
I can't wait to listen to all of it.
Thank you.
Yeah, I've got a copy for you.
Nice.
Thank you.
Yay.
How good was that chat?
Thank you.
So much, Jeanette, and how sweet to have her tiny daughter enjoying her race and cup of tea.
Isn't it fascinating how you can have that melting pot with a Slovenian papa and a Cuban-American mama
and then your British upbringing as well?
Like, amazing.
I mean, I think I'm always fascinated by it because I'm just British.
I've got, even when I did my ancestry, it's all very.
localized to the UK and a fairly traditional, typical trajectory of where my ancestors
moves around. And I think it's always seemed to me so gorgeous when people have got much
more of an exciting. Their hereditary is more interesting than mine. But also how they celebrate
that, how they bring those different cultures together and what it means. Plus, as I've said
before I said it last week with Anya, you know, moving from Poland and bringing up our kids in the
UK, I'm also fascinated by the idea of raising your children and a backdrop that is different
to the one that you knew. I suppose it comes down to the values you had. Whereas for me, I literally
walk through the same park to take my kids to school that I used to walk my brother and sister
to go to the same school. So, you know, for me, I've taken a lot from having that absolute familiarity,
not just of the themes, but the natural visuals as well.
And I don't know how I would have coped if everything was very different.
I don't know if that's something that I'm easily wired for.
So I think I'm always impressed with people when they've done that.
I'm still walking through the streets of Oslo.
The rains abated, actually.
And I am walking down to where there's the Oslo Fjords,
because Richard, Pablo, Kieran, Tina,
and Jackson have all spent the last,
oh, nearly two hours in a sauna floating on the water
and they get very, very hot,
and then they take turns to jump into the cold water
and then go back into the heat.
And I think it's really good for you
and I know they love it.
And I never do it
because I like being the same temperature all the time.
I find that's more me.
But I think it's wicked that they do it.
So they've been doing that.
I've been muting about my myself and observing things here.
And now I'm going to meet up with them and get a little bit of lunch.
So yes, thanks again to gorgeous Jeanette, sending all the love to her.
Thank you to my producer, Claire.
Thank you to Ella May, who is emerging from her maternity leave
to start doing the artwork for me again.
Thank you so much, Ella May.
And thanks to Richard Jones' face,
who has been MDing the whole tour
and been so brilliant at bringing this tour to life
and really celebrating the songs new and old,
but also he edits the podcast, so thank you, darling.
And, yeah, I'll see you next week
for more brilliant guest shenanigans.
And here's hoping the last three dates of the tour
go as beautifully as the other ones have.
If you've been any of the people that come along,
thank you so much.
It's funny, I stand on stage and I'm just like, this is wild, you know, 46 years old
and there's like a gig full of people in a foreign land who've come to see me.
I honestly, I don't take any of it for granted.
I think it's an extraordinary privilege to travel and find people waiting for you
who've been greeting me so warmly.
So thank you so, so much.
And, oh, I'm about to get around everywhere, scooter.
And sending lots of love, have a brilliant week, whatever you're up to,
and see you next time.
Thank you for lending me.
Thank you.