The Ariel Helwani Show - Brooke Burke

Episode Date: February 17, 2022

One of Ariel's favorite Hollywood personalities (and teenage crushes) joins Ariel for an extensive conversation. The two discuss a number of topics. like Burke's Jewish roots, the importance of mindfulness and mental health, her exit from Dancing with the Stars in 2013, if she regrets posing for Playboy, her eight engagements, and advice she'd give to her younger self. Oh, and some CRAZY love stories that you have to hear to believe.Brooke Burke is a businesswoman, TV host, mother, and health and fitness guru. After rising to prominence on E!'s Wild On! and several other TV shows, Burke parlayed her success into hosting Dancing with the Stars from 2010-13. Since then, she's founded Brooke Burke Body, a home workout fitness app, among other projects.You can follow Brooke on Twitter and Instagram @brookeburke.Today's episode is also brought to you by ExpressVPN. Visit ExpressVPN.com/HELWANI right now to arm yourself with an extra 3 months of ExpressVPN for free.For more episodes of The Ariel Helwani Show, please follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or on Ariel's YouTube channel.Theme music: "Frantic" by The Lovely Feathers

Hello friends, hope you're doing well. It is Thursday, February 17th, 2022. Welcome to another edition of The Helwani Show. I, of course, am Ariel Helwani. Thanks for checking us out. And thank you to the lovely Feathers for this great theme music. It's entitled Frantic. Go check them out. My favorite band of all time. I love those guys. Now, I am so excited about today's episode. Here's the thing. If I'm being honest with all of you, growing up in the 90s, teenager in the 90s, I had a huge crush on today's guest.

Today's guest is Brooke Burke. Now, if you grew up in the 90s, if you are a teenager in the 90s, you knew Brooke Burke from Wild on E, one of the all-time great shows for an adolescent. It was usually on after the Howard Stern Show on the E channel back in the day. So that 11 to 12 time slot, 11 to 11.30 was the Howard Stern Show, then 11.30 to 12, Wild on E was just a dream for an adolescent. And then she went on to host Dancing with the Stars.

She was on Dancing, all that stuff and more. But to me, this dates back to the Wild on E days and actually reading in, I think, Stuff Magazine that she was Jewish. And then all of a sudden, you know, there's not a lot of people in Hollywood, on television, in the media who look like Brooke Burke, who act like Brooke Burke, and are Jewish as well. And that made her, in a weird way, somewhat attainable to this young Jewish adolescent. And so, when I was, you know, doing this show and thinking of, you know, who are the guests that I'd love to reach out to, she was on the bucket list. And then I reached out to a man named Brad Slater, who you might be familiar with, longtime agent for the likes of The Rock, Michael Strahan, Ronda Rousey and others.

And I said, hey, do you know Brooke Burke? Because I don't. And he's like, of course, Brad Slater knows everyone. He's in Hollywood. Put me in touch with her people and voila, here I am talking to Brooke Burke. This is nuts. If you would have told 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 me

that this would happen, he wouldn't believe you. And that's what the most fun of this podcast has been for me is talking to people like her, talking to Charles Oakley, who I looked up to as a kid. Like this has been, I can't even tell you, so much fun. It's the one piece of work that I look forward to genuinely without any strings attached each and every week. And this is right up there. And by the way, she has had a crazy life. I unearthed some details about her life that kind of blew me away.

And I didn't even think was true. And lo and behold, it was true. And she was very open, very honest, very authentic. She's now 50. She has come a long way. She has seen it all. She has done it all. It was maybe one of my most favorite,

if that's even the right way of saying it, conversations since we started this little engine that could back in September. So sit back, relax. Please enjoy this conversation with my teenage crush, Brooke Burke. But first, if we can just take a quick pause, I do want to quickly tell you about my good friends over at ExpressVPN. As you know, I spend a lot of time on the road covering big events in the world of combat sports. And when I'm on the road and connecting to Wi-Fi in airports or restaurants, it's really easy for hackers to steal my data and yours. If you're not careful, the same thing can happen to you. That's why I always use ExpressVPN to safeguard my personal data online and why I recommend it to anyone who spends as much time online as I do. According to recent

reports, hackers can make up to $1,000 from selling someone's personal information on the dark web, making people like me and you easy, lucrative targets, especially when you connect to public Wi-Fi. Express VPN is an app that funnels your data through a secure encrypted tunnel so that no matter what device you use, you can have peace of mind every time you use the internet. The app connects you with just one click,

is lightning fast, and the best part is Express VPN works on up to five devices simultaneously, so you and your whole family can stay protected. And if you use expressvpn.com slash Helwani, if you go to that site right now, if you visit it right now, you can arm yourself with an extra three months of ExpressVPN for free. Again, that's expressvpn.com slash Helwani. Please support them because they support us. All right, no more time to waste. We got to talk to Brooke Burke. Here she is, one-on-one, Ariel Helwani, Brooke Burke. This is tremendous stuff. I can't wait to share it with all of you. Enjoy. Well, this is a really big one, my friends. I've been doing

these interviews for quite some time. You all know that well over a decade. I don't recall the last time I was this anxious going into an interview. If you would have told 18, 19 year old Ariel back in the day that he'd be interviewing the legendary, the inimitable, the one and only Brook Burke, never would have believed you, honestly. And I'm not just saying that. My friends will know. This is a really big deal. There she is, the living legend, Brooke Burke, in the flesh, virtually in the flesh. This is a huge deal. Thank you so much. You're welcome. I don't know if I can live up to that intro, but gosh, thank you. I'm so happy that we're connecting. So, you know, it's a lesson here for everyone, as they say, to shoot your shot, right? Because I've been doing this show outside of – I primarily cover mixed martial arts, fighting, things of that nature. And I've been doing this show for several months now where I'm interviewing people outside of that world. And I put together a wish list of people that I wanted to speak to who are obviously not in that world. You were at the very top, but I had no connection to you whatsoever.

Shoot the shot. Amazingly, here you are, yada, yada, yada, all that time later. And so it's a really big deal for me. And I fancy myself broke, if I may. I'm breaking every rule here, but it's okay. It's, you know, outside of my comfort zone. I'm a big J journalist. I fancy myself an ethical journalist, a professional journalist, an unbiased journalist. When I was 18, 19, I had the biggest crush on you that, I mean, you, again, if you would have told me that I'd be interviewing you. So this is a really big deal. I just want to get that out of the way. So, you know, where I'm coming from with all due respect, that's where I came from. I appreciate the honesty. Thank you. And I, and I love the wishlist too. I mean, look,

you got to will it, right? You got to will it and go for it. And, you know, stranger things have happened. So here we are. I want to ask you right before we get into things, to break the fourth wall, this is a Tuesday. We're doing this on a Tuesday. Yesterday on Instagram, I follow you, of course, you posted something to the effect of just another one of those Mondays. So how are you doing?

I know what you're talking about, I think, but are you okay? Is everything all right? You know what? You're so sweet to ask. I am okay. I just like to keep it real with my audience. And it was one of those days. I needed a day to just recover. I had a busy weekend. Usually Monday is like manic Monday. We're grinding. It's like packed with everything. And I just needed a day for me. And none of the kids were home. And I just chilled out. I stayed in my sweats, my jammies, if you will, like the whole entire day. I made soup. I just needed a day to do nothing and to be totally okay with it.

And then I was like, my work mind, I'm like, well, I'm just going to post something. And I literally, I had my hair in a towel. Is that the photo you're talking about? I took a, I went into the sauna. I took a steam and I was like, this is just me unapologetically me just keeping it real. Cause we all have those days and you know, it's about checking in and just being in it and being honest in that space. So thank you for noticing that for asking. Yeah, I'm good. I'm good with, I'm good on days when it's not so good. You know what I mean? Absolutely. Everyone has them. Some people don't like to talk about them or at least make themselves vulnerable enough to let the world know that they have some people are superhuman, especially in this day and age. Do you find it hard given what you do for a living because you're so out there because you're always talking about

health and wellness and we'll get into that as well to be on all the time is it hard to kind of succumb to those days i'm so glad you asked that because i on work days yes and i love what i do but i don't feel like i have to be on all the time in life and that's part of the honesty and the relation the intimate relationship that i have with people in my community. Like we have to lean into that. There's plenty of days where we just aren't going to feel a certain way and that's okay. So there's something that I think is real that honesty kind of connects us. If I just talked about my fabulous life all the time, I don't think people would be that interested. Do you know what I mean? Like as a real woman, I want to be I want to be honest in that. And, you know, so that was my weird post yesterday.

I think it humanizes you. People relate to you. Everyone goes through that stuff. You mentioned making soup. And that's a tremendous segue. I'll never forget. I think it was, it might've been FHM or stuff. You did like, you know, you did an interview with them and a whole feature way back in the day, way back. And again, I bought all the magazines. I was a big fan. I'm not going to lie. I was a big fan. And you mentioned in the interview, and it stuck with me. You mentioned that you're Jewish and you mentioned that you love matzo ball soup. Now I'm Jewish, Brooke. My name is Ariel Hawani. I have a massive nose. I look very Jewish. And I was like, Brooke, I remember calling my good friend, Daniel, who also loved you, Daniel Wolf. I was like, Brooke Burke's Jewish. Did you

know Brooke Burke's Jewish? And for a moment, I think you gave every nerdy Jewish kid the hope that you were, you know, like us, you were one of us, that we can actually be cool. So I've always wanted to ask you, could you tell me about your Jewish roots? Because now I've read more and I know that, you know, about your family, but are you a practicing Jew? Are you not a practicing Jew? I am. My mom is Jewish and my father was not religious. So I was raised, strangely, I studied a lot of different religions as a young girl because I was so fascinated, mostly in spiritual philosophies, but I studied a lot of everything. And I actually lived with an Israeli man in my younger life, and he was very religious, kosher, very strict.

And so it just opened my mind to a different experience of Judaism in a more religious state. And so I took on a lot of the practices because they really resonated with me, aside from my mom being Jewish. And David, who is Rain and Shia's dad, my ex, came from a very religious, traditional Jewish family. So yeah, we did Shabbats and just thought they were very traditional. And so I love the philosophies. I love the lighting of the candle. I love so many of the different practices and the matzo ball soup thing. Like I've been, I, there's something about me. I think it must come from many past lives. I love to make soup. And my, I feel like matzo ball soup is like a pot of love. Like everybody gets what

they need. Like my son likes the matzo ball. My other daughter eats the chicken. One of them just wants the broth. It's like a two-day process and it's comfort food. So yesterday, Monday being that little bit of a funky day for me, I was like, I'm just gonna get down in the soup, down in the kitchen. I'm gonna make my soup because it makes me feel good. It's a labor of love for me.

I don't know. I have a rule. Anytime I'm in a restaurant, no matter what time of day, if there's matzo ball soup on the menu, I have to order it. It's just like, yes, then it's got matzo ball soup and like potato skins and like hash browns. And so I'm the same, I'm the same way. And it's not always good. Right. No. Yes. It could be a little mushy. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Dry or, or not enough salt. Uh, yes, I fancy myself a connoisseur. So that

was tremendous. When I read that, I was like, my head exploded. You also posted earlier today, I'm sort of breaking the fourth wall here and dating us later today. Unfortunately, this isn't live, so I can't really plug it per se, but you're going to have a prayer party. Right? What is a prayer party? I've never been invited to a prayer party before. Neither have I. Neither have I. So how cool is that? Neither have I. This is my first time. So Mike Bay, Mike Bayer is the life coach and an author. Um, several times I just did his podcast and I really dig his whole energy and what he's doing. He has a lot of treatment centers as well and whatnot. And he said, Hey, I'm doing this prayer party. I've never even heard the term and this sort of global meditation, the zoom

meditation. Would you, would you like to kick it off? And I thought, sure, why not? I think we all need some feel good right now. I do a lot of mindful meditations. I do it on my app. I teach live classes. I do all my sound bowls and he invited me to do this. And so I'm just going to kick it off. I have no idea what to expect and who will join us, but I think it's a great opportunity to just go inward and find some stillness. And then he's calling it a prayer party where he's going to guide this moment of honesty, if you will. That's how he best described it, to just give people an opportunity to just take a look at where they are in their life and in their process. And I don't know how religious he is. I guess they're going to pray and connect and I'm going to help everybody get out of their head space and

their body space and just breathe. And who knows? Maybe join us. Maybe join us. I'll send you the link. I don't know what to expect, but I like things that feel good. I'm all about that, especially in the past year, I've talked a lot about therapy and mental health and trying to encourage people to do that sort of thing and to be open. And I think you do a great job with that as well. Who kind of introduced you to this world of mindfulness and wellness? How did you become so entrenched in it? Gosh, I'll say not from my family. I think I moved out to Los Angeles on my own and dabbled in a lot of different things and fitness and wellness. It was always a big part of my life,

but I think it was going through my own redesigning of my life and rebuilding my life in the last three or four years. And I was guiding female transformation. So I was doing retreats and I started my, my app business, Brook, Brook body, you know, a handful of years ago, and then realized how important the mindful part of it is so much more than just the body, than the vanity part of fitness. Um, you know, one thing leads to another, I really connected with that community and especially in the last few years when we're at home and we're shifting we're shifting the way we live who we live with how we live you know all of these things how we care for ourselves

it's a really interesting opportunity to just dive deep in that I think a lot I moved a lot slower in these last few years because of what was happening in the world. And I think there was also a shift. I think it was a good positive shift for so many of us. So I spent a lot more time moving slow, which I never did in my life. Moving slow sounds weird. I want to say just taking moments for stillness, for meditation, for just to be, just to listen, just to slow down, think, feel that kind of stuff. You know, you were, you were a big part of dancing with the stars, obviously for seven seasons.

I know you were a little bit upset when, when things ended for you with them, but is this the silver lining? Do you, do you not get so entrenched in this world if you're still working on that show? You're right. You're right. I was surprised when it ended when there wasn't a renegotiation of my contract. It was a great life lesson when you consider an abrupt change like that. It put a lot of things in the entertainment business into perspective, but you're absolutely right.

It was a great opportunity to kind of go back to the drawing board and creativity and decide, what do I want to do next? I can do anything I want to do. What am I going to manifest? What am I going to create? What are these next, this next year of meetings? What are those birth, right? What other opportunities are going to develop? And I really believe in that, not to be so cliche, but you know, you finish a chapter, right? You know, you end something, you begin something new. I wouldn't have time to do what I'm doing in the, in the fitness wellness business. If I didn't have time, if I was still showing up every morning, working for someone else, you know, now I've, I've, I've started a business that I run it. I'm the CEO. I choreograph the content. I work closely with a big team of

people creating this space. So I wouldn't have had time, really. I hadn't thought about that. But yeah, you're right. You're right. So yeah, yeah, I'm always looking for the good part, the learning lessons, right? What are the positive parts of a change and shift and all that, right? Is it true that back in your high school days, you used to be a cheerleader, but then you

said enough of this cheerleading stuff. I'm going to actually be a football player. I want to play on the football team. Is that accurate? It's accurate. I don't think people know that or believe it. Yes. I was raised by my father who was a New Yorker and he loved football and he didn't have any boys. So in fact, he used to call me Charlie and I was like his son, if you will. But we were super close. He was a great dad, my stepdad. And I was a cheerleader and I wasn't really enjoying it. And I think our coach was sick one day. And so we had to be supervised by the football team and the football coach.

And I decided to play. They let me play. And this was flag football. I mean, it wasn't like a high school football player. I was really fast though. And I just thought, boy, I think this is my jam. So I quit the cheerleading squad and I joined the football team. And I remember my dad was so awesome. He was so supportive and so fearless. And he just was like, run like hell and do anything you want to do and do everything you want to do. And yeah, it was a pretty awesome experience.

Not quite totally accepted then, but it was cool. Yeah. Much respect. Did he also used to park his car? Did he park his car to block the door so that you couldn't sneak out at night? Is that accurate? Well, I was scrappy. I would find ways out.

Yeah, before he put bars on the windows to keep me in. Yeah, totally. He was Middle Eastern father, Turkish Armenian, super strict. And I was scrappy. So, yeah, I had a whole life after hours. I had to be sneaky. Where were you going? Everywhere.

Everywhere? He was so strict. You know, he was so strict. You know, I grew up in a really simple town in Tucson, Arizona. So I had to sneak out and have a life and not get caught. Did he catch you? Yeah, he did a few times. Yeah. yeah yeah it was a strict life for sure what about you as a mom you're a mom of four are they doing the same things your kids are they sneaking out are they i mean life is different obviously but do you find that they do certain things that you used to do to try to trick your parents you You know, life is so different now. I feel like, I don't know if I'm more savvy or if I just think I'm more savvy than my parents were, or maybe they are and I don't know it, but I have sat down with all of them individually and I've

said, don't climb out the window. Don't sneak out. Don't scale down the second floor, use the front door and God help you. If you get caught, it's now. Like, I feel like, I don't know, I've lived such a different life than my parents, but open communication really helps us. Like, I trust my kids until I can't trust them anymore. I haven't experienced that yet, but I give them a lot of room. I give them a lot of room to explore, to screw up, to learn. But I expect a lot. I expect honesty and transparency. And I

don't think maybe I had that freedom with my family. I don't think they're sneaking out. Do you think they're sneaking out? I don't know, but you know, I've noticed, I have three kids and I've noticed they're starting to do things that I, you know, now that they're seven, nine, I'm like, Oh, I remember when I was nine and the five-year-old. What do you think? I mean, do you think you'll be such a different parent than you had? I think to a degree, yes. My parents are Middle Eastern as well from Egypt and Lebanon.

And I'm first generation. So they moved from there to Canada and a little stricter. But I think that because I grew up in America, you know, North America, I understand the things that they are going through more so than maybe my parents. My parents were incredible. I love them dearly. They're my best friends, but yes, I can, I can put myself, myself in their shoes, maybe a little bit more so than they could have put themselves in my shoes. You know what I mean? Yeah, it's different. I think we think about that, that like, just what you said, we put ourself in, in their their shoes i don't know

that our parents did that right yes it was sort of well you know growing up in the middle eastern but my dad was like it's my way or the highway and like if you don't like it there's a door like he was there there was no negotiating there was no talking there's no asking why he's like i don't know you an answer i'm not gonna give you an answer this is my house my rules like you you can probably relate yes did he try to hit you with his sandal with my dad would try to hit me with his sandal? No. Okay. No. Okay. Um, it was maybe a little bit more strict than, than yours. Um, what teenage Brooke Burke, what did she want to be? What was her dream? Um, I always dreamed of being a business woman. That's for sure. And I knew that I would dabble

in business of some sort. I was also very much a tomboy, like I said, with my dad. So I also thought it was cool to work on cars with him and do certain things. And it wasn't a very sophisticated upbringing. So I had no idea that I would land here and land in Los Angeles and go into the entertainment business that sort of just happened. And I just was kind of raised to take advantage of the right opportunities. So I just kind of, I think, kept going in the right direction and taking chances. And I was fearless and brave and it took me a long time to arrive, but I had a lot of freedom to explore my life. Did you want to be in broadcast journalism? Yeah.

Well, yes. So I studied that business advertising and broadcast journalism and then thought I was going to go into, I thought I was going to be a journalist and actually do news. That was sort of the goal back then in one of the big cities. And when I began to understand how difficult that gig is, but you probably know it's not glamorous, you know, vending machines and 2 a.m. I mean, just craziness. I wasn't sure that that was the right the right journey for me. And then I had an opportunity to to really learn on the job and to host Wild On for E. That was my first gig. So I signed my contract and learned on the road, did my first show in Spain. And it was just a very unusual opportunity. And it just happened. I could not have dreamt that, that gig. So, you know, like that, I mean, that show

legendary, right? I mean, it was just incredible. That's how, you know, we all found out about you. I think that that was your big break and it just seemed like the most fun show ever to do, to work on. How did you get that job? I just auditioned for that gig. And without a real intention of landing it, I can't say that I even really wanted the job. I didn't know how amazing the job was going to be. I went on an interview from a friend who sent me to the producers, like in a pair of jeans, not really caring that much, which is weird. And I don't live my life, not believing in being fully

invested in something and manifesting things, but it was just one of those unique experiences and did my first show in Spain and then signed a, you know, signed a deal. So fun, so crazy, so thrilling, so reckless, so adrenaline junked out just beyond, right? I mean, so did you have children when you were hosting the show? I was pregnant with Naraya my first, which is bananas. People think I was just this party girl around the globe. And trust me, there was no lack of a good time, but I was pregnant the first year. So you kind of saw less and less and less of me. If you were to go back and look, you'd be like, oh my

God, she is changing. But I did, she didn't, we did 40 countries in the first two years of her life. So I brought her on the road with me. It was amazing. Um, bought a world health nurse with me on the road and we just were kind of a package deal and had the most amazing time traveling the world. It was great. Was it hard to be professional on the show in the sense that like you have all these people partying around you and I'm sure they're trying to entice you to party with them, but you're there to work as well. Was it hard to create that line, that division? It really is. And not everybody can do it. And that show tried to go on and on. And you can't, in my opinion, although the

entertainment business would say differently, but you can't really party your face off and handle your job. Not on a show like that. There was a lot to handle, a lot to navigate. We were dealing with a lot of people partying. So you had to be quick on your feet and for sure sober, which I was because I was pregnant. But I would go in and I would do my intros and my outros and send my crew in. And I had a really young crew that had a zest for life. They were amazing. So they would go in and just have the time of their life. And I did as well, but you have to maintain some boundaries, I think, to have longevity in this business and to really last and to be proper and still have fun, you know? But it was a fine line. I think at that time, if we go back to like early 2000s, late 90s, that was when reckless television, being a bad girl, bad behavior was celebrated.

Remember? I mean, that was the time of, you know, girls gone bad and girls gone or whatever that show was. And like, you know, Lindsay Lohan, like all these people were like being a hot mess was, was hot and popular. Right. Remember? Crazy, crazy looking back at that. So it required an element of responsibility

and discipline for sure. I think, and my memory may be escaping me, there was like that one hour block, 11 to 12 on E, where it was you and Howard Stern, right? And so like you talk about, right? It was like 11, Howard and you, 11, 30. And to me, that's like the greatest hour television, Howard Stern, in my opinion, the greatest broadcaster of my lifetime,

the greatest interviewer. And then it's like you coming on after it was, it was must see. It was tremendous. I love that. Thank you. Think about what he got away with back then. And I also have mad respect for him, but think about that. Like in today's day and age, where there's such a consequence, such a consciousness of what we promote, how we address people, what we talk. I mean, can you imagine as a journalist right now today having the... I remember being a guest on his show and being so nervous thinking, how am I going to navigate this? How am I going to pivot?

What am I going to say? How am I going to weasel out of that? Just to be objectified and to be so wildly popular at that time. I just was thinking about that. Can you imagine? Oh my gosh, no. The consequence now of exploiting that so different. The way he is able or was able, is able to break down the guest and make them as vulnerable as possible and then kind of build them back up to me is an art that I haven't seen from anyone else. is able or was able, is able to break down the guest and make them as vulnerable as possible and then kind of build them back up to me as an art that I haven't seen from anyone else. I have mad, mad respect for him. So for you, is there one place, one trip as part of the Wild Dawn experience that really sticks with you the most that you'll never forget? Was there one experience, one place that you visited um gosh so many great ones

experiences jumping out of planes to swimming with sharks to flying rockets without a waiver in new zealand i mean crazy we did crazy things um i love st bart's it's one of my favorite places in the whole world um every place just lends us such a great opportunity to explore and learn. I think traveling, you know, you, you get your best education on the route. I would tell people to travel, like it's just to live and to learn. And so many, so many great times. Around the same time now you're like supremely popular. Everyone knows who you are.

You make the decision to pose and playboy 20 years later how do you feel about that decision do you regret it or are you okay with it i'm okay with it because i i in hindsight i don't really believe in regret and um that sort of thing i i will say that as a young woman, it was well thought out. I think it was a good decision for me at the time. Looking back now, 20 years later, and as a mother, I think it's naive for a young woman to ever think that those kinds of things don't live forever. I'm proud to have graced the cover and to have done it.

I actually did it twice. But you know, there are, there are certain issues, you know, related to it. Um, it's hard for a young person making a decision to understand that the things that, that we do follow us forever, you know, and, um, I'm sure that it scares some clients and certain people. I'm sure there's some dads at school that probably look that up and it's weird. You know, my son is a whole nother conversation, you know what I mean? And his friends, but it's, it's, it's a part of life and I, I'm,

I'm proud to have done it. And, you know, I, I embrace that and that decision-making process fully. So I, I, I don't look back and regret things. I wouldn't want my daughters to do it. I was going to ask that. Yes. It is kind of wild though, that people who are your daughter's age, like it's no longer a part of culture anymore, right? This isn't a thing anymore. And maybe that's a good thing. Maybe that burden, because I feel like there's sometimes pressure or there was pressure on celebrities to do that sort of thing. Well, and that's interesting too, because Playboy isn't what it used to be. So it was sort of an honor, you know, when you've got

people like Cindy Crawford on the cover and like icons and like women that were very well respected, different than being a playmate, right? During the celebrity portrayals different. But nowadays, there's probably an association looking back of just like nudity and porn and all this other stuff, you know? So it's, it's, it's, it's more, it's a little bit more complicated, but yeah, you're right. So, um, you know, anytime I speak to someone, I try to do my research and, and really like find nuggets that, you know, you don't talk about in other interviews and that people don't know about you. And I stumbled upon something that I don't even know if it's accurate or not. And I'd love to ask you about it if I could. Are you familiar with a profile that I don't even know? Honestly,

I don't, I read it two times. I don't know if it's about you. It was in 2007 in Esquire, written by a man named Mike Sager entitled The Secret Life of a Beautiful Woman. Is that about you? Yeah. Yeah. This is the most fascinating profile I've ever read. Your name is only written in full once. And it's the, it's the greatest thing I've ever read about you because I learned all these things that I don't think a lot of people know about you. Yeah. I love that you found that and looked that up. Well, first of all, he's a brilliant writer. He used to write for Rolling Stone and is decorated. So it was a very cool piece. It was an honor to do an editorial in Esquire magazine at that time. And it came off the tail of, I did a campaign for Chavis Regal at the time. And it was a shot of me by a big

fashion photographer of me coming out of a sports car where you just saw stilettos and legs and the sexy skirt. And you didn't even know it was me. It was like cleavage and legs. And the caption was, yes, God is a woman. And it was so controversial and so like just ripped by, you know, it was taken off in certain, it was, it was like a big deal. And from that, I think they ran those images in Esquire, but it was a really interesting moment in my life to spend a week with, you know, with Mike and have him dive deep into my life and, you know, the behind the scenes of what it was like to be me. And I have to revisit that. I actually, I haven't read that since the time that it came out. It would be really interesting to read about little me. I'd like to read you a part and ask you a couple of follow-ups. I really don't even remember it. That's amazing. I've never really looked that up.

This is a quote from that piece, which I would urge anyone to read. It's a, I mean, as a writer, it's fantastic. And as, as a journalist has,

I mean, it's just great, but I honestly didn't know if it was you. Cause I was like, holy crap. Okay. This is one part. She's been kidnapped by a bodybuilder stocked by a Persian nightclub owner,

electronically surveyed by an Israeli mobster relieved of her worldly possessions by a family of wealthy Egyptians sued by a Persian nightclub owner, electronically surveyed by an Israeli mobster, relieved of her worldly possessions by a family of wealthy Egyptians, sued by a downstairs neighbor who claimed that her vocal lovemaking destabilized his energy. Is that true? All that's true? All true. All true. God. Boy, I really see, this is my point. The younger me did not know how to edit anything. Yeah, shit shit that's all true i i mean where do we start in a nutshell the dramatic moments in my in my very full and fun younger years yeah i were kidnapped by a bodybuilder um i i was actually dating somebody who was a professional bodybuilder at the time and he was very unstable not to mention was roided out and

after breaking up the relationship, yeah, he just wasn't willing to accept that. And looking back at that, I think there are parts of my life that you just, you block out in survival. I haven't even thought about that, nor even discussed that with my daughters or anything like that. Just the dangers and the need to know how to navigate certain situations. Now we talk about all that stuff so openly, but yeah. And I had to, you know, navigate that in the most strategic way possible to sort of get out of it. And it was like a whole series of legal things after that. But yeah,

I forgot about that. I forgot all about that, but I was okay. I was okay. I was happy. I mean, it's, you read that and you're like, this isn't terrible. Yes. What a life. It's not funny. What an great. I'm happy. I mean, you read that and you're like, this isn't- That sounds terrible. Yes. What a life. It's not funny. What an exciting gangster life. Yeah.

Yes. I feel like there should be a movie written about you. Like you have like this alter ego as a spy, relieved of your worldly possessions by a family of wealthy Egyptians. What does that even mean? What happened? I was engaged to an Egyptian and broke off the engagement when I realized that it was not going in the right direction. So I ended the possibility of marriage and his family didn't take that very well. They were also very, very religious and conservative and relieved of my worldly possessions.

I got into a lawsuit because I had a lot of my personal things stored in one of their homes and they refused to give them back. And I'm talking like everything that I owned. And it was sort of the punishment of breaking their son's heart. So that was another lawsuit. Oh my gosh. God, I forgot about that one too. How many times have you been engaged? Because in this article in 2007, it said four times. At the time, it was four times. Yeah. Maybe seven. Wow. Maybe not.

Wait, this is eight. Wait. This is eight. Yes. Congratulations. Serial. Serial fiance. It's terrible.

That's terrible. No, I was in love with love, to be honest. This is a really fun interview because you have the guts and the courage to ask all the things that no one talks about. I was in love with love, I think, unapologetically, and I really wanted to be married and have a family, but I think I was just always in love. And I think I was a really bad picker until now. Until now. But is there a part of you, and you recently got engaged to Scott, right? Scott Rigsby. Yes.

Congratulations. Mazel Tov to both of you. Thank you. Thank you. But is there a part of you, you're supremely happy, everything's going great, and you're like, you know what? I've done this oneself. I mean, that would seem the obvious, you know, some people are like, why are you doing it again? I didn't think I would ever get married again. And then along came Scott and it's just right on every level. And I say that now as a woman, I say that with the experience that I bring from past relationships, um, on so many, in so many different areas as a father, as a man, as a friend, a partner, um, cerebrally, physically, chemically, there's everything is right. And, um, so I've never,

I've never questioned that. And he's also very traditional. So, um, that's a weird word to use for him. Let me rephrase that. He's, he believes in the entity of marriage and, you know, that, that commitment. And so I, it feels right. It feels really beautiful and good. And we don't know how and when, but it's never felt so right before. So that's good. And it sounds like you're very happy and I'm happy for you. And could I ask, and by the way, if, if this is two parts, you know, I come from the Howard Stern School of Interviewing. I read also that you filed for divorce right before the pandemic, right? It was literally the week, March 2020, it got finalized. Oh, it finalized. Let me think. You probably know more than I know.

That sounds weird. You know what? You might be right. It might have finalized right before then. It was, yeah, we weren't really rushing to get through it, but I think you're right. The reason I ask that is the pandemic hits and it's pretty darn depressing and dark and you've just gone through a traumatic life altering moment. How were those early days for you? Because now you're, obviously you have kids, but you're no longer married. For that to happen right when the world changed, how was that? I feel like it was happening for a long time. So to give you perspective, oftentimes we've

exited before we exit. I also had a pretty long and loving and um historic relationship with David Charvet so we had um we were both kind of in it together I I I think that's accurate and it was a long time coming so it wasn't um it was it was as peaceful and as loving as a departure could be for two people and two parents. So super grateful for that. But dating me after that, dating me, me dating, um, was really hard and I, I wasn't great at it and I didn't really date and I wanted to date. So I'll just get, be really real about it. I really wanted to date. Um, but I didn't know how to date because clearly surreal lover, but no, I, I, um, I'm definitely a monogamous and a committed kind of a person. So I, I think I was looking for something very deep at a time where most people weren't and it's a different world, you know, the dating app world and just life late 40s as a single person in L.A. is really weird.

So, yeah, I mean, I you can imagine, you know, what that was like. And I sort of accidentally met Scott, you know, when I was just warming up to that, you know, I'm going to have this, you know, year of my life and date and easier said than done. So we were both maybe not looking for a relationship and we found each other and then made a responsible decision that, you know, we wanted to make that commitment. Is it especially tough as a mother as well as a mother of older children to get, I mean, they're dating too now, right? And so I would imagine they are. Is, a kind of a mental mind trick? Yeah. I mean, I, I, my relationship with my children is very sacred. So, you know, very private at home and very respectful here. Um, I think they've seen me with two people after their father and that was it. And I, I think that's really important.

Um, but also realistic, you know, there are a lot of people, you know, after the destruction of our marriage and the rebuilding of a life don't want to expose their children to that. I'm very real and very honest with my kids. And I think they genuinely want me to be happy. Both of us, their father and myself. So super grateful for that. Whoops. I just lost you. Hold on.

Did I lose you? We got you back. Oh, there we go. That's my daughter, speak of the devil calling. But yeah, so they're really on board and they're really excited about this new life and marriage and future with Scott. Back to that great piece, quote, her first night in Los Angeles was spent locked in a laundry room in a house in the Hollywood Hills, seeking refuge from an erstwhile acting teacher. Is that true? That's true. God, it's all so dramatic. I won an acting scholarship back in the day that brought

me to Los Angeles. And it was just a really creepy bad man that awarded the scholarship that clearly had other intentions. So once again, I had to, I had to weasel my way out of that, but you know, I had a great support system and family and a good head on my shoulder. So I wasn't gonna, you know, I wasn't gonna really, you know, cave to that, but yeah, I mean, God, I have to reread this article. It's very dramatic very dramatic it kind of it blows my how has there not been a movie about your life i mean it sounds like and how does it how does no one know all of this stuff like i don't know no one's dared to ask i don't know it's so crazy um do you need to take a call or something is everything okay no yeah everything's fine my

daughter was calling me twice was trying to My children override my do not disturb. So now I'm okay. Okay. Okay. And I know you have a heart out here and I will respect that. But this is amazing. I also want to ask you about this eighth grade boyfriend who purposely flunked eighth grade to stay back with you. Is that true? Who is this guy? This guy sounds like the most loyal man in the world. maybe this should have been the guy i maybe right i wonder where he is his name was brett gray that is true um that is true he was a year he was a year older and he did stay back a grade i mean i can't say that it was looking back now could it possibly because be because of a girl? I don't know. I would think so, yes. You think? Deliberately flunking eighth grade to stay back and leave me to go to high school?

Oh, that sounds terrible. I mean, it's the most romantic thing I've ever heard someone ever do. Did you guys stay together for a long time? I hope you did. Yes, we did. I think so, too. You know what? That is chivalry.

Flunk, yeah. You know what? I chivalry flunk flunk yeah drop you know what i've never heard someone do that where's this guy i'd love to meet him what a legend what a legend yes well i hope you stay together for a while i really had a terrible effect on men didn't i well i don't i don't know if you had the effect or that i don't know i i mean i mean it's not look it's not sound this isn't sounding good no i mean listen you're brooke burke and uh you know people do crazy things for example electronically surveyed by an israeli mobster sounds like the scariest things i ever go through in one's life someone's very homeland doesn't it yes you see this sounds like I want to be in that life. Oh, wait, I was. It was never boring. Is it boring now?

No. No, it's still this crazy? No, it's not crazy. Okay. But it's never boring. And it's spontaneous. And it's uncertain. And it's free. And it's free and it's beautiful and intense. And, you know, I guess all of the things that I would wish for my children and wish for a friend, not that stuff, not the crazy. I said I was a bad picker. I was clearly a bad picker. You've got, you've read an article about all these whacked guys who are now going to resurface and haunt me. No, I'm just kidding. No, no, no, they won't.

I'm very well protected, but no, it's exciting. It's exciting and spontaneous and full. It's a full life, a beautiful life. I'm very lucky to have created this kind of a life for myself. Do you still hate your name? Can I say that too? No, no, I guess it's mine. Yeah. Thanks. No, I mean, it was a mouthful, you know, growing up and it's hard to say, I mean, even my business Brook, Brookbody, people can barely get that out, but no, I'm, I'm no, I don't really hate a lot of things. You have the app Brook, Brookbody. Uh, it's an app. It's great. Especially in these days where people maybe aren't comfortable going out of their homes. Perfect time to launch something like this. If I wanted to have a healthier and more mindful existence, right?

And I want to follow your lead. I want to follow your path. What would you recommend that I do? I would recommend dabbling in the digital fitness space for sure. We can work out together in the privacy of your own home, on your smart TV, on your tablet. It's free for the first week. It's worth trying. It's really about carving out whatever time your life allows.

I would say do that because we need it right now more than ever. Find things that feel good. Find ways to create energy. Do it in your house. Save money. Be efficient. Change your body. Build your immunity.

Create energy. I think it's been a tough few years for a lot of people moving slower, which we talked about before classes, normal things taken away. We have to treat our body in a certain way so that we can live a long, healthy life and not get in a rut, right? And not have a stagnant lifestyle. So it's been really fun for me to choreograph material and to connect with the community and sort of guide people on that wellness journey, which is mind, body, spirit. You know, there's a lot of parts to it. It's not just physical. It really is mental as well. So I'm a big believer in that. It's been super fun. I love this space

so much. And it's really me connecting with the community. So I want people to know that as well, that I'm just guiding and inspiring people to live their best life and giving them a toolkit, if you will. And I also believe there's a product, a true product, if you will, that you believe in. I believe in it. I authentically have been taking it for five years. It's called TruNiagen. And it's basically a supplement for your cells, if you will. It's like a cellular supplement for longevity, for well-being, for cellular metabolism, cellular repair. It increases your NAD levels, which is something we're born with. I won't geek out into science, but we produce less of it, half of it when we're 40, half of that when we're 50 and 60.

So it's one supplement that I take every day. It really makes me feel good. It's all about optimal living and kind of helps you combat the stressors in life also. And so I do a lot of that kind of stuff and I take it every day. It's worth it. I love it. I'm actually about to turn 40 myself in July, which is mind-blowing. So this is perfect for me. I shall take it. You recently turned 50. Congratulations. I bet every woman on the planet wishes she looked like you at 50. So mad respect. Could I ask you in closing, I feel like 40 to 50, probably the most important 10 years of someone's life,

right? An adult, your kids are getting older. Your, your work is probably settling. Like it's a big 10 years. What do you wish you could have told 40 year old Brooke Burke at the beginning of this decade?

40 year old. Wow. That's interesting because it is really a decade of discovery and learning. I would have told my younger self to just slow down and listen because I was moving so fast. Like many people are raising their family, building their home, developing their career, grinding, climbing the mountain, all of the things that I think are necessary and honorable and part of the process of success for sure. But I was moving so fast. I was really committed to that path that I don't think I was listening to myself, my heartbeat, you know, my own inner language and a lot of things around me. I don't think I had,

I don't know that I would have done anything different, but I don't think that I had the skill set to really tap in and bring a mindfulness to my life. Then I do now big time. I probably did the latter part of the forties. That's sort of what I built my business around and guiding people to be more mindful and conscious. And it's normal. It's normal, but it's really important to slow down. Even if it's five minutes, mindful meditation, just like what we're doing tonight, you know, with this prayer party, you know, look at Headspace, look at Calm, look at all these apps, these billion dollar businesses that have showed us the value of taking five, 10 minutes in the morning. I used to not be able to do that because I had a 5am call time for kids, got to get them to school, driving, grinding, you know, school, life, kids,

work, work-life balance is, is hard. It can really kick our ass if we let it. So I'm more conscious of that now. Well, this has been a huge, huge thrill for me, Brooke. I can't even, I can't even express it. And I'm, I'm really impressed with the person that you've become, you know, like we've gone to see the, the evolution of you, right from the wild on days and all the way until now, now you're this inspiration as a parent. Now I look at you as a, as a parent and as someone who's doing great and who's present in the moment and thoughtful and genuine. And the fact that you're even willing to talk about these crazy life experiences, a lot of celebrities I that you're even willing to talk about these crazy life experiences,

a lot of celebrities I would imagine wouldn't want to talk about them and you didn't shut me down. So I have a lot of respect for you, a lot of respect for you. And thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. It really meant a lot. And I wish you and your family and your new family to come that you're building nothing but the best.

Thank you. And I just want to give you a compliment and say that I have mad respect for chances that you even took reaching out to me personally, ask for what you want. You're an amazing journalist. People have not asked me those questions. And I do try to live my life as an open book, but, you know, it takes moments like this too, for someone to discover, to learn, like that's what journalism is about, right? We have integrity in our, in our, in our careers And we bring to life maybe something that people aren't aware of. That's very rare. I could do five interviews in a day and they weren't as much fun as this one. So thank you. That's a huge compliment. Thank you so much.

And it's an honor to know the feelings and the connection that you had to me that still remains the same, especially as a woman now and a parent. So I really appreciate that. Thank you. That means a lot. So I really appreciate that. Thank you. That means a lot. All the best to you. I wish you nothing but the best. Good luck with the app and all the businesses that you're doing. And thank you again for the time. I can't thank you enough. Thank you so much. It was a pleasure. All right. How great was that? What a great guest, right? I mean, maybe you didn't know a lot about her. Maybe you didn't know she was that deep. Maybe you didn't know she experienced that much in her life, but that was tremendous. Everything I could have hoped for and more. Thank you so much to Brooke for her time. Thanks for all the memories.

I appreciate it very much, and I'm happy to hear that she's in a great spot as she approaches her 50s now. Kind of blows my mind and reminds me that I'm approaching my 40s, and that blows my mind as well. Wow. We're getting old, my friends. We're getting old, but we are reaching our prime and I feel very good about it. Thank you to Brooke once again. Thanks to all of you for continuing to rate, download, subscribe, review, follow,

all those things and more. It means a lot. It helps a lot. And if you want to watch this conversation, which I would highly recommend, go to youtube.com slash areahawani. We've got a lot of great stuff up there and we're putting up more highlights as well as the full conversations so do check that out

and please support that endeavor as well we're just a little engine that could here and so all your support means a lot thank you to expressvpn thanks to the production team and again one more time thanks to you thanks to brooke burke and thank you to the lovely feathers as well for this great song entitled frantic i love you all a great weekend. I will talk to you next week. Thank you.