The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast - Bling Empire's Christine Chiu On How To Make It On TV, Asian Culture, Playing The Villain, & More

Episode Date: February 23, 2023

#546: Today we are joined on by  Christine Chiu. Christine is a mother, philanthropist, business woman, producer, and star of Netflix’s Bling Empire. We get into her & her family’s experience with BTS of Bling Empire, racism, differences between American and Asian cultures, male infertility & her journey with IVF, parenthood and raising kids with character and grit, beauty and skincare secrets, and how to throw the most lavish party.   To connect with Christine Chiu click HERE To connect with Lauryn Evarts click HERE To connect with Michael Bosstick click HERE Read More on The Skinny Confidential HERE For Detailed Show Notes visit TSCPODCAST.COM To Call the Him & Her Hotline call: 1-833-SKINNYS (754-6697) This episode is brought to you by The Skinny Confidential This episode is brought to you by Arrae Arrae's product line is comprised of three products, Bloat, Calm, & Sleep alchemy capsules to help solve everyday problems that women constantly deal with. Use code SKINNY at arrae.com to get 15% off your first purchase + a free Sleep Mini. This episode is brought to you by nez nez is a new clean, aluminum free, dermatologist tested deodorant brand. Customized for different ""sweat moments,"" nez gives you the right sweat protection and fragrance at the right time. Go to nezcare.com and use code SKINNY for 10% off your entire order. This episode is brought to you by Just Thrive These days, stress seems to hit us from every possible angle in any environment at any time, day after day. Enter Just Calm - the breakthrough new stress and mood support formula from Just Thrive. Yes, the same Just Thrive that produces our favorite probiotic! Get 20% off Just Thrive probiotic + Just Calm supplement dynamic duo bundle or any of their other scientifically proven products at justthrivehealth.com/Skinny or use code SKINNY90 at checkout. This episode is brought to you by Branch Basics The Branch Basics Premium Starter Kit will provide you with everything you need to replace all of your toxic cleaning products in your home. It’s really a no-brainer. Go to branchbasics.com and use code SKINNY for 15% off their starter kit. This episode is brought to you by DoorDash You’ve trusted DoorDash to deliver your restaurant favorites and now you can get grocery delivery that actually delivers, too. Get 50% off your first DoorDash order up to twenty dollars by using code SKINNY at checkout on the app. This episode is brought to you by Beekeepers Naturals Beekeepers Naturals is female-founded and the products are clean and effective, third-party tested for all pesticides, and the brand is dedicated to sustainable beekeeping and helping save the bees. Get 25% off your first order at beekeepersnaturals.com/SKINNY or use code SKINNY at checkout. Produced by Dear Media

The following podcast is a Dear Media production. She's a lifestyle blogger extraordinaire. Fantastic. And he's a serial entrepreneur. A very smart cookie. And now Lauren Everts and Michael Bostic are bringing you along for the ride. Get ready for some major realness. Welcome to The Skinny Confidential, him and her.

I've been holding on to the secret for 10 years. And, you know, when you're sitting in that interviewing chair and they're grilling you for hours, asking you a bunch of questions, you're tired, you're hungry, you're like super emotional, might have been on my period that day. And they broke me. They broke me in that chair and I just blurted it out. And right afterwards, I felt so bad because, you know, I was putting my husband on full blast for the world to see. And here I cannot believe it's like one of my biggest loopers because I didn't mean for it to come out. Christine Chu is on the Skinny Confidential, him and her podcast today. I am excited about this interview because we talk about everything. We talk about cultural differences, how to throw

the most lavish party, male infertility and IVF. You guys are going to die when you hear her story. Parenthood, raising kids with character and grit, the Scenes of Bling Empire on Netflix. I love this show. You got to watch it if you haven't. And Her Beauty and Skincare Secrets. She was such a great guest. She was one of those guests that you ask back immediately. We could have gone anywhere with her. And she was really honest, open, raw, and real on this episode. I know you're going to love it. So on that note, let's welcome Christine, mother, philanthropist, wife, businesswoman, producer, and star, and I mean star, of Netflix's Bling Empire to the Skinny Confidential Him and Her Show.

This is the Skinny Confidential Him and Her. What is going on on Instagram with the llamas? Oh my gosh, I'm obsessed with llamas. They're technically alpacas for like people who are super snobby about things like this. They basically grew up with baby G because llamas have this like super immunity to COVID. And that's when we were first. Oh, yeah. When we were first researching like what animals during COVID, baby G, he's an only child. So he's like bored as all hell. And just and we felt bad and we were bored. And we're like, what animal can we bring in to entertain him and to like play with and cuddle with? And we found that llamas had this weird, rare super immunity to SARS like viruses like COVID. So that's when we started having these llamas come over.

And we would just spend days and nights with the llamas. And the original Christmas photos were of these baby llamas. And now they're all toddler llamas like baby G. They're like his brothers and sisters. So the llamas actually help get rid of the virus? No, they're just immune. They're immune to it. Maybe not fully immune, but it sounds like they have a great resistance.

Yeah, and the scientists were studying the blood, their blood, to see how at that time it might be able to help with some kind of a vaccine. Oh my gosh. Yeah. I've heard a lot of wild things on this show, and this one's up there. No, but that honestly makes sense. And her husband's a doctor, so her husband knows. Plus, we read the research papers. So never once there was like, hey, maybe like a dog or a cat.

It was just straight, we're going for the other. Going for llamas. I mean, we did on, I don't know if you guys saw on season two, we did try out a couple of different animals. And that was very much for real. We tried out a turtle. Much too boring, although super cute. But they live forever, too.

Also a good or bad thing and i don't think they like to travel we're a traveling family i used to have a turtle named pokey and he got so big and so old we had to eventually get him adopted for somebody that lived down in the desert because he was just we don't need your story it was like a 20 something year old turtle that was just massive okay so here's my question i am a big fan of your show and i want to know first of all how it came about but how you convinced your husband to go on the show because it seems like it definitely took some convincing for him oh yeah but you know what he's prettygoing. And I think his life is so like, although he loves plastic surgery and it's what gets him up in the morning, he's so passionate.

He's like a kid in a candy store in the operating room. But it's also really stressful because, you know, it's a dangerous occupation and he's cutting people up. And yes, he like husbands high five him at the end of it all. And he saves social lives and marriages. But like he also needs a little fun outlet. So what could be more fun than making assholes of ourselves on global television? Did you know that the show was going to be what it is like? It's a huge show. And I know the first season absolutely crushed it. I'm sure the second season did, too. It it's very popular did you guys know going into it that it was going to be this wild no I mean in all seriousness because I am a producer on the show as well when we were

yeah I'm a co-executive producer that's how you do it smart okay that's how you do it smart when we were approached with the concept it was I mean I mean, at that time, there wasn't an all Asian, Asian American ensemble cast on national television. And this, of course, was Netflix. This is global television. And so we thought this was such a great opportunity to showcase the many facets of our diverse backgrounds. And because the docu-series space is so cluttered, we were

like, we really need to make an impact. I mean, we're going to be like dime a dozen if we don't like nail this. And so both as an on-camera talent and also behind the camera producer, I felt like double the pressure to make it really entertaining and exciting and also like authentic and fun. How did you know to immediately get that producer credit? Because that's very, very smart. We actually, with the creator of Bling Empire, we have been in years of like different development deals. So we had developed other shows and I love storytelling in any form, whether it's like fashion or art or television and film, and we've invested in different projects. So for me, it was always coming from a perspective of storytelling. So was your husband on board right away?

To produce it? Yes. To produce it. To produce it just because you get to have a deeper hand in the storytelling aspect of it? Because we get to be a part of something that's like greater than just us, you know, that can possibly make a mark in history, which I think it did. And, you know, we were new parents and we felt, as you guys know, as parents, you have a different sense of how do I make a difference for the future generation that my kid's going to be a part of? And we were in the midst of a lot of anti-Asian hate, I mean, anti-Asians and a lot of Asian hate. I grew up in very Caucasian communities and so did my husband. And we both experienced racism and microaggressions and macroaggressions.

And so we thought, you know, why would we say no to something like this? Looking back, what is something that you can put your finger on that's like, oh my gosh, you look back on it and it was a micro aggression? You know, making fun of the way the food I would bring to school smells. I didn't speak English when I was a kid. I immigrated here from Taiwan. So I actually was always made fun of for not speaking English. I remember I would pee in my pants every day at school because I didn't know how to ask to go to the bathroom or like I would ask and I would get lost and I didn't find my way back. So I would just hold it in and then I would pee in my pants and get made fun of. And the food that I would bring to school smelled and looked funny. And, you know, maybe

the clothes I was wearing wasn't exactly what everyone else was wearing at that time. And, you know, my parents didn't look like everyone else's parents. And so, you know, just growing up, always feeling like you didn't belong. And I know that as Asian Americans, a lot of us have felt for a very long time that we were like the perpetual visitor. Although I have an American passport, it didn't feel like I was a part of America. And so when this project came and it was an opportunity to normalize and popularize Asian and Asian Americans, I was like, heck yeah, we have to. We have to do it not only for our community, but we have to do it for baby G and his generations. And when I was growing up,

I never saw people who look like myself on TV. No way. I mean, and I wanted to be blonde with blue eyes and all of my friends were blonde with blue eyes. I'm not blonde with blue eyes. It's fake. The eyes are real. I'm convinced there are no more real blondes. There's no. It's extinct. It's extinct. But, you know, it took it took decades to really appreciate. And even with participating in Bling Empire, I I had a new founded love for my own culture. Did your husband experience similar? You said that he grew up in a Caucasian neighborhood.

Did he experience a similar upbringing? In terms of racism, I know he faced a lot of it going through medical school and also going through his residency and fellowship and in surgery. At that time, he's a little older than me, but at that time it was still a very all-white, male-dominated industry. And so he definitely has stories to share where he really had to fight extra hard. And he was chief of surgery, chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery. So he really worked his way up there. What's his specialty? He does great everything head to toe, but he does the most like mommy makeovers and bodies so breast the bees

boobs but there's one more belly boobs but belly belly tummy tuck yeah boobs but belly yeah yeah okay so you guys come out on the show with the most extravagant party I've ever seen. It's like in the best way. Like it is loud. It is flamboyant. It's amazing. Is that like a normal party? Is that just another day in Beverly Hills? Just amongst us,

that party was put together in a week. Because, yes, because we were originally going to do the party at a restaurant and the restaurant owner kind of screwed us over last minute. And we were going to the Super Bowl, we were landing, and then we were told that the party at the restaurant was kind of kaput. Is it because, what's the reason? They just didn't want to do it anymore? They didn't want it on film? They decided to raise the price from $188 per person to $1,000 per person last minute. And then they wanted like all of these extra fees for like everything you can think of.

And then they like, they made the menu. It was eight courses because eight's a lucky number in Chinese culture. And they reduced it to four. And four means death. Oh. That was a red flag. And so, like, things just changed really quickly while we were in flight to the Super Bowl. So when we landed, we're like, okay, well, this isn't happening at that restaurant anymore.

We have to find another venue. And we had one week to do it. And we couldn't fit the party anywhere so I had to basically beg borrow steal and all of my contacts to have it there in Beverly Hills which was like a complete miracle because every store had to sign off on it and these are big you know conglomerates it was on Rodeo right yeah to Rodeo I mean this this party okay you guys have to go watch this the first season this is like so wild this party it's one of the biggest parties i've ever seen just do another one and invite me and then i'll be able to understand it a little bit better yes let's do it he wants to be carried

in like like baby g though like a prince like i want to be carried everywhere like that well will you dress up and do some martial arts dancing? I will do whatever you tell me. If you say, hey, you're going to this party and you need me to, I mean, listen, I don't want to, I don't think, you might be a little disappointed

in the performance, but I'll try. Oh, I don't know. I think you guys have like a lot of hidden talents. I do have some hidden talents. Ask my husband. Ooh.

This went from an AM to a PM podcast real quick. My mother's a black belt in Tang Soo Do. Oh, wow. Yeah. Oh, I tried to put Baby G in martial arts. I made it to orange. That's it.

I didn't get to a bar. Life stories are happening all day long. I did ballet when I was three. She broke a brick with her bare head. It's true. Okay. So something I think is so interesting about you is your fertility journey. I feel like, and you can speak more eloquently on this than me, but you sort of kept it a secret

that, how do I say this right, that your husband was the person that was having issues, but everyone thought that it was you. What was that like to showcase on television? That was, I cannot believe, it's like one of my biggest, at that time, bloopers because I didn't mean for it to come out. Like I didn't at all. I've been holding on to the secret for 10 years. And, you know, when you're sitting in that interviewing chair and they're grilling you for hours, asking you a bunch of questions. You're tired. You're hungry. You're like super emotional. Might have been on my period that day. And I really just, they broke me.

They broke me in that chair. And I just blurted it out. And right afterwards, I felt so bad because, you know, I was putting my husband on full blast for the world to see and hear. And I went home and I immediately apologized. And to my surprise, he embraced me and he was crying and he thanked me. He thanked me for telling the truth. And he thanked me for... And he's smart.

He's very smart. And he knew that male infertility is a very, very common thing. He was never ashamed. I think his family, it was more of a thing to protect his family. I thought I was protecting him. He knew that I was really protecting the family. It's still a very, like, it's a stigmatized, you know, shameful thing. It can be for Asian families, especially his. Well, I think it's, I think it's important that you have the conversation. And because I think when people think about fertility issues, they don't always think it's the males. They constantly like blame the women for this issue. I was talking to a smart doctor friend of mine who actually I'm trying to work to get on the podcast. And he was saying that men do this little like basic test and it says like, oh, can they swim? And you know, are they healthy? But they don't do a test that's called, and I'm going to butcher this,

but maybe some of the medical people out there listening, it's called like a cap test. And they said the sperm can swim really well and be healthy. But if the cap at the head is not pointed, it can't actually penetrate the egg. So the male may think that he's healthy, but it's not. It's his issue. And then what happens is the woman gets blamed for the fertility issue when it's actually a male issue. But people don't talk about it. But I think what I respected so much about you sharing your journey is you were so vulnerable about it and you took something that's supposed to be so taboo and you just took the energy out of it and it shouldn't be taboo. Shouldn't. And I think it's still very sad that immediately when a couple is struggling,

the first person to be tested is still the female. Well, that's what I'm saying. I mean, it should be both simultaneously. Why not? Yeah, but that's what I was saying is the male sometimes gets tested like, oh, it swims and you're healthy, but they don't do that one test to see if it can actually penetrate the egg. So it could actually look healthy and the male can look healthy. And then what happens is the woman has to carry the burden thinking that it's her fault when it's actually because they don't do this one test. And in my case, we started IVF when I was in my mid twenties, 24, 25. And that's,

I mean, that's really young for going through any IVF process. And I ended up doing seven rounds of IVF. And it took, I think it took until the fifth or sixth round for them to be like, you know what? It's the male. Okay, wait, hold on. But they couldn't tell before that? That is a lot of rounds. That's a lot of drugs. It's a lot of drugs. It's a lot of rounds. It's a lot of drugs to be. It's a lot of drugs.

It's a lot of emotions. It's a lot of bloating. It's a lot of, there's so many layers to seven times. I mean, that is like, that's commitment. Oh, yeah. And that's a lot of, you know, that's, I think, more so than the pain because I'm also very neophobic, which is like so ironic that I married a doctor. But I have this weird, like like i can't go near a

needle even when giving birth to baby g they had to gas me up because they can't put a needle through me i try she has the same thing it's called vasco vagal or something i don't know what thing yeah yeah so do i and like my whole world is spinning and i go into like a panic attack when i see needles she does the same He's like, you need to solve this. I'm like, I can't solve it. Like it's my vagus nerve. I've tried like hypnosis too. I feel the same way.

Yeah, I mean, even just like getting like an IV. No, that's what she's saying. Like an immunity IV or a hangover IV, she loses it. So, well, I guess you don't know at first. You have to do seven times. But the first time, were you so scared? So when I married my husband, don't know at first you have to do seven times but the first time were you so scared so when i married my husband i found out the night of our wedding that he was from this very you know

historical family and they take their heritage very seriously and and i was told that night that it was my duty to carry the family line and so no pressure no pressure and like you know it wasn't like a very romantic evening that night after learning about that that's what i told lauren i said i need you to carry the family line so i always felt this pressure and i was whether it was explicitly or implicitly instructed to me i my duty in that family in my family family, is to reproduce. So from the get-go, that was it. That was top priority. And if I couldn't do it naturally, and trust me, we tried. I mean, we tried every eating Persian dates facing the east while the sun was, you know, like all sorts of weird stuff, doing sex in a different position to a different music

to like just all sorts of wonky things. And then then it was IVF. And that first round, they just I think they just threw me in with a bunch. They really didn't analyze my case. So they gave me drugs that were meant for like a 40 year old woman. That first round, they actually burned me out. They burned all of my eggs. And there was, I think the second or the third round, they actually lost my eggs.

So I- Like they harvest them and then- They lost them. They misplaced them. And I remember- What do you do about that? We were contemplating whether or not to sue at that time,

but I was so like emotionally distraught. I went into a depression. I just, it's like my eggs, how could you you when it's like suing them doesn't replace yeah and also you maybe don't understand this but the work that you have to put into even getting those eggs to have someone lose them like that's even it's like you did all this work and then they're they lost him that just that makes me want to cry for you that's so gnarly and there were I mean with every round there was like a different complication of course and a different situation and fast forward to the doctor that you see on Dr. Beck who is so honest and so obviously very very very, very intelligent.

And she just wanted to do the impossible. And we were the impossible case. I mean, when I say impossible, and I don't want to put my husband on full blast again, but it was like we're not talking, you know, men have millions of sperm, right? We're not even talking thousands. We're not talking hundreds.

We're talking a handful that we were working with. And then it was none. So we invested in a doctor, like a crazy scientist guy in Silicon Valley who was developing even sperm from skin cells. Wow. Baby G did not come from a skin cell. But we got super high- tech and advanced and desperate. But it was a miracle. I think it's a combination of God and science working together with the right timing.

When I travel, I get puffy. I just get puffy in general. I'm just like a puffy person. And whenever I travel, like I did recently, I get puffy. I just get puffy in general. I'm just like a puffy person. And whenever I travel, like I did recently, I went to Vegas. I bring like a bloat kit. So I have like my ice roller. I have water. Sometimes I put ginger in there. I try to cold plunge or take a freezing cold shower before I get on the plane. And then in my bloat kit is always Array. Okay. This is amazing. It's 100% natural. And what it is, is it's a mix of six natural ingredients. So it has like ginger root, lemon balm, dandelion root, peppermint, slippery elm, which is my favorite, and then bromelain,

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and non-habit-forming. Also, this doesn't make you run to the bathroom and shit your pants, okay? It's not like a tea that's going to make you have to go poo. Okay. Go to array.com and use code skinny at checkout. You get 15% off your first purchase and a free sleep mini. They have little sleep minis. You get one for free. You're going to go to array.com and use code skinny at checkout. You get 15% off your first purchase plus that free sleep mini. We have been talking a lot about clean living ever since I moved to Austin. I have really tried to research the best brands. I have really tried to make sure that everything that I'm putting on and in and around my body is not disrupting my hormones or

my kids' hormones or screwing with the dog. I've gotten that psycho, as you can see. Anyways, one thing that I have done is I wasn't wearing deodorant for the longest time, and Michael was dying, so I finally found one that is clean. It's aluminum-free, which was very important to me, and it's dermatologist-tested. It's aluminum free, which was very important to me. And it's dermatologist tested. It's called Nez. You've probably seen this everywhere. I've seen so many celebrities post about it. I even saw it on Kim Kardashian's Instagram. She's obsessed with it. I really, really like the board meeting one. It's so cute and it smells perfect. It's not too much fragrance. I don't like a lot of fragrance. And it gives you sweat protection. So I've been lifting weights a lot.

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So here's the deal. Last year, I went and did all my blood work. Anyone reading my test, and I had multiple doctors do so, would think that I had passed the basic health test. When we didn't just check the basic levels either, we went deep. We measured it against all sorts of levels that we consider to be healthy and optimal. But something just told me it was still not right or my system was still not right. I felt off still. Even with the blood work and all of that data and all things pointing to a healthy system, something to me was still off. So I went and did a gut microbiome test with my friend, Dr. Dale Joffrey. And sure enough, I needed to fix my gut health. One of the tools that we used to do this was one of our favorite products, Just Thrives Probiotic. Lauren and I both take this stuff

religiously. We've had the founders on this show multiple times. We think they're best in class. It is like the gardener for your gut. And here's what happened for me. Immediately, I felt less stress. My mood was balanced. I gained mental clarity, focus, and drive. And of course, my gut started to heal. Most importantly, my sleep drastically improved. Everyone's talking about probiotics these days, but the question is, which one do you choose? And we chose Just Thrive because we just think they're best in market. Like I said, one of our favorite ways to take the product is with the award-winning probiotic, of course, and their stress-busting Just Calm product. If you take this combo together, you will be less stressed. Your gut will heal. You'll just feel all around great. Both of these are going to help you heal.

Like I said, they're going to keep your stress under control. They're going to make you feel good. They're going to make you feel optimized. And of course, we have a really solid offer. The team at Just Thrive is always super generous. Use promo code SKINNY90 for 20% off a 90-day bottle of Just Thrive probiotic and Just Calm at justthrivehealth.com. Or you can also still use our code SKINNY, which is still active, and that's 15% off the entire site-wide. But I would definitely try the combo of the Just Thrive Probiotic and the Just Calm. I think it's a game changer. Enjoy, guys. Justthrivehealth.com, promo code SKINNY90. Well, I imagine even for your husband the pressure that he must have felt coming from that line right and that family must have been pretty immense yeah he as well he's very good at dealing

with stress and pressure clearly in his line of work as well so and I think men have a different way of processing stress, maybe. At least for him, he channeled it really well and put that energy and that expectation of him somewhere else and did really well with his life. But it was tough for me because when I married him, I was very ambitious. I was doing really well in my career, and I really wanted to continue that trajectory. And I didn't think that I had to set everything in my life aside to reproduce and then commit to like so many years of failing. I mean, I was a failure to his family. But so now that his family knows this information, is there a different energy towards you you know asian families at at least this one very like traditional families a lot is unspoken like it's known but it's unspoken so i remind me this the history of the family again so is it royalty or what is it um they were he's like direct descent of a dynasty and i know dynasties are not in existence. And on the show, of course, they ask you questions in a million ways. And then they get you to say stuff.

So yes, of course, I know that they're not in existence. But for history buffs and for people who really, and for his family, it's very important. It's like whatever lineage, you know, your family is from. And if you're like a direct descendant, he's 24th generation. So it's like the firstborn to the firstborn to the firstborn. So there's still an unspoken energy of not approval. I think that I've done my duty now. I mean, the line did not stop with me.

So the pressure is off of me. So here's what I don't understand about IVF. You've done your duty with me so you know the pressure is off of me so here's what i don't understand about your duty with me you have duties to do here's what i don't understand why do you have to do seven rounds of ivf if you already got the eggs the fourth round like i don't get why you had to keep going why do they make you keep going and then there was me being ignorant so because you didn't have the sperm you had to keep doing it yeah wow so if you would have the sperm you could have stopped at the fourth round i think one round we there was one round we were able to implant and it didn't take and then the round after that we both he and i had to have surgeries.

There was something wrong with, I think by that time, I like, I'm not very good with, I think I block out things that are traumatizing, but something rotated and I had to have surgery

and then he had to have surgery. So it was just a bunch of trial and error. How many total years is this working on this? 10 years. Wow. Oh my. Wow.

Oh my gosh. And during all this time. He really is like baby golden, a golden child. He's a miracle child. I mean, and for those who, and there are a lot of people who have undergone IVF. I mean, it's like a numbers game. And the older you get, the harder, you know, it is. And I think by that very last round it really was like I think I

I had like eight eggs six survived like four were viable two were whatever like and then one survived and that one was the one they implanted and by that time by that time to be honest i was so like not i wouldn't say over it but i just i kind of lost hope also i feel like if if that was me i would almost disassociate it's like so painful that you have to just dissociate from it so when you when when he took and it happens one my question is when they actually implant is it the what is it called embryo does it hurt no nothing no okay so once it's implanted when do you know that it's taken for sure i i can't remember how many days or weeks you you go in and you check okay so it's but it's quick it's not like you don't like wait

like four months but then of course with any pregnancy you're like cleared with IVF right the IVF was successful but then now you have to have a successful pregnancy and that's like that's like a whole nother miracle in it of itself and I was on bed rest for one third or two thirds of my pregnancy because I was high risk Christine this is so much work I was um I was on bed rest for one third or two thirds of my pregnancy because I was high risk. Christine, this is so much work. I was bleeding. I was at high risk of death. So I couldn't even get out of bed.

I had to pee in a bucket. And but, you know, by that time, I don't know. I think by that time, like you said, I disassociated. And I just said whatever happens happens like I've done everything I can and then some and I leave it up to God and when he's here and he came was it just the most joyous thing that's ever happened oh I mean I mean God when I look at that boy I would do it over a million times. And all moms say that.

But you feel it. I see him and I cannot help but smile. And I just love him so much. And he happens to be such a funny kid too. And says the funniest things. It's a joy. Motherhood's the best. He needs to meet Zaza.

How old is he? He's four and a half. He's four and a half. He's four and a half. Perfect age difference. Is he going to be a doctor? I hope not. It's so hard being a doctor. There are like

so many other ways to live. Is he an entrepreneur? He is. When Zaza's 13, we're becoming Amish and moving away to the middle of a mountain somewhere.

He will take very good care. All right. Well, maybe if you invite me to one of your parties, we can discuss it. And we have a lot of couture to hand over. Oh, you know what? She's already sold.

She's just siphoning off our children. Okay. I have a question that I think you're the perfect person to answer. How do you plan or how are you raising baby G in LA? There is so much wealth and so much money. And you guys are very, very, very blessed. And on the show, we see that like, I mean, you guys have everything you can ever imagine. How what is the conversation like between you and your husband of how you guys plan on raising baby G? It's an ongoing conversation. And it's like it's such my worst fear even before having baby G. My worst fear is just to raise a

spoiled, entitled, like uncaring kid. I think my greatest accomplishment in life would be to be helping to produce like a compassionate person of character. In LA, it's very tough. Too much is at his disposal. And then as a parent, like, do you, I know this is such a really, really silly question, but it's like a kind of something that parents might have to think about. Like, do you, if you're able to, if you're flying business business class do you put your kid in economy to show him that he has to earn his way or do you like where at what point do you i guess restrict privilege yep i talked to a friend of mine who you know grew up very humble beginnings and he made he did very well for himself and you know he has all the abundance that a person can have and he was

talking he's like how do, and he used his words. He said, how do you not raise a little asshole? Because it's the same thing. He's like, how do you enjoy the spoils that you've worked for in your life that you were able to attain by, you know, hard work and grit and all those things and character, but not just hand it to your children while still also being able to enjoy kind of the spoils of life for yourself. And so he's like, it's a very kind of difficult thing because you want to raise a young individual with character and grit and you want them to work, you want to be caring and you want them to be grounded and humble and all these things. But if they're exposed to a different lifestyle than maybe you were when you were growing

up, it's hard, right? Like maybe live in a bigger house, flying business. Some people fly even better, right? The difficulty also for growing up in privileged areas is you could be the most on top of it parent in the world. You could be the most grounded parents, but then you're also surrounding them with a lot of other friends and kids with that kind of privilege as well. And so it's hard, right? And I don't know if anybody fully has the answer. I think it requires a lot of conversation and a lot of context, right? And a lot of understanding of like, hey, this is not yours. This is mom and dad's, right?

How they get there, I don't know. I mean, our kids are still young, but we'll see. Yeah, I think you are onto something. I think it does take constant explanation. And you have to go out of your way to explain. Even at a very young age, he understands. I mean, for us, it's really important to instill work ethic because both my husband and I, although we both grew up in a very blessed, fortunate settings, both sets of parents

were hardworking. As long as you're showing them by action and by example, I think that's a good first step. And then explaining. But Baby G is also a little smart for his age. So sometimes we'll say, we have these nice things because we work for them. Because you work for it and we're paying for the house and the food and all of your clothes. And he'll be like, well, I don't want nice clothes. I want simple clothes. I'm like, what? That wasn't my point. Or like, we'll say like, you know, you get to have this nice cake because mama and dada

work really hard. And he'll be like, oh, I don't need the cake. I'll have crackers. I'm like, what? Okay, is he fucking with me? Like, what's happening here? Why is he not getting the point? But I think deep down he does, because sporadically he'll say things like,

can I share with this person? Or I'll see little, I don't know if you guys see in your kids, little signs of empathy and just caring for someone else, whether they're sad or maybe they're a little cold, or just little signs. I read this quote on Instagram, and it's so true. And it says, ever notice the more you remove synthetic and toxic scents from your life, the more sensitive you are to them? Scents changing our whole entire life to non-toxic. I'm so sensitive. So what I did to set the foundation of this in my home was I switched all of my cleaning products to Branch Basics. I am obsessed, you guys. It's

non-toxic, hypoallergenic, free of fragrance, hormone disruptors, and harmful preservatives. But most importantly, it's baby and pet safe. I started to really take note of the products I was using because Zaza, when she was a baby, was crawling on the floor. So I switched everything to Branch Basics. It could not be easier. I'm obsessed with this brand. They make it so simple for you. They have this premium starter kit. So they send it to you in the mail and it provides you with everything you need to replace all your toxic cleaning products. So all the toxic cleaning products in your home are replaced so easily. I mean, this is like a no-brainer. There's not a lot of mess. You just fill up a bottle. It's fragrance-free, which I love. And once you run out, the only thing you need to repurchase is the concentrate and the oxygen boost. Also, it comes

in the most beautiful, chic glass bottles. It's clean and it's cost-effective. Most importantly, you don't have to go do all this research. They've essentially done it for you. And if you have a baby like me who's close to the ground or a dog that's like sniffing the ground, you want to go do all this research. They've essentially done it for you. And if you have a baby like me, who's close to the ground or a dog that's like sniffing the ground, you want to go non-toxic. And once you switch, you will never go back. Like I said, you'll be so sensitive to anything that's super toxic. So if you want to do the fragrance-free non-toxic hypoallergenic route, you have to check them out. We have a code. You can save 15% when you use code skinny at branchbasics.com. Their premium starter kit replaces all your cleaning and lasts forever. Again, that's code skinny 15 for all starter kits. There is nothing worse than when you're about to dig into something and something's missing. Like say you're about to

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Quick break to discuss beekeepers naturals. It is so important to Lauren and I to be functioning at our highest level every single day. We have two kids under three years old. We're running businesses. We're hosting the show, speaking to guests every week. We're going to the gym. We're traveling, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah. And we are not the only ones. Everyone is busy. Everyone is trying to be the best version of themselves and get it all in. You'll have other people tell you to slow down, take it easy. You can't do it all. I do not believe any of that. And I try to prove those people wrong every single day. Because of this, we need to be the healthiest and most energized versions of ourselves every single week. One of the tools that we can't live without is propolis. If you've been listening for a while, you have heard us talk

about the Beekeepers Naturals propolis spray. We've had Carly, who's the founder of Beekeepers Naturals on this show talking about the many benefits of bee propolis and all the benefits it can offer our system, especially our immune system. Here's why it's so powerful. First, it's natural. It's made by bees and propolis contains antioxidants, vitamin C, zinc, iron, B vitamins, all the things you need to support the human immune system. It's literally the defender of the hive that bees use to protect their hives from bacteria that might harm them. Beekeepers Naturals products is of course made with all clean ingredients, certified keto, paleo, gluten-free, and natural. No artificial colors, preservatives, fillers, gluten, GMOs, or refined sugars.

I keep one in my bag. I keep one on my desk at home. I keep one in the car, at my desk in the office, in the studio. I use it every single time we travel and every single time before we do an interview. It completely saves my voice, keeps me healthy, and now you can try it too. Today, Beekeepers Naturals is offering you an exclusive offer. Go to beekeepersnaturals.com slash skinny or enter code skinny to get 20% off your first order. That's B-E-E-K-E-E-P-E-R-S-N-A-T-U-R-A-L-S dot com slash skinny or enter code skinny. Beekeepers Naturals products are also available

at Target, Whole Foods, CVS, and Walgreens. Start feeling better every day today. Beekeepersnaturals.com slash skinny. How was it for you to skyrocket to sort of fame from this show? What is that experience like for you? I'm sure your Instagram following went off the charts because I remember when this aired, it's like, it was all the buzz.

You guys are doing season three, right? We already did season three. Oh, okay. I've watched season, I've watched all of them. Oh, yeah. Okay, yeah.

That was three. Four. You're doing season four? Can you say? Who knows? I don't know. They have to do season four. The show is so good.

I honestly, you guys, I totally recommend everyone go watch it. How is that for you when you skyrocket? I don't remember skyrocketing. I don't, like, I'm just, I'm the same. Because I think my husband and I before the show, like some of the other cast members maybe were a little bit more private before the show. But my husband and I have always been kind of like a little bit out there just because the. But my husband and I have always been kind of like a little bit out there just because the nature of our business and we haven't really, our life

hasn't really changed. We were gradual. Yeah. We were doing all the same things. I don't like, I really don't feel that tick. I just remember because I came off a little villainy and bitchy off of season one. I think people were less prone to walk up to me to say hi. But like in two and three, now everyone says hi to me in public. But season one. You have to have a villain to make things interesting, right? Yes. She's a producer.

What's the truth of a villain? We always talk. By the way, if I ever did reality television, I want to be the villain. You're going to be the villain? Yeah. It's fine. You're like acting. I don't know if I can sign up. I don't know if I ever did reality television, I want to be the villain. You're going to be the villain? Yeah. It's fine. You're acting. I don't know if I can sign up.

I don't know if I can be the husband of a boy. No, I don't know if I could be on reality television. I don't think that... I feel like I'm boring, but I want to be the villain. It's nice to have that alter ego come out and play a little bit. Yes. Like stuff you would never say. You're like, I'm going to go for it.

So how much of it actually is real? Or is it all real and they just pull clips and edit it together? I don't think reality television is ever 100% real. Right. Right. So you think it's like exaggerated versions of who you are? Super. Super.

Of course. For me, I can speak only really for myself. Season one, I did sign up to play this like, you know, that TV show Dynasty. So they wanted Anna and I to have that dynamic. And I was like, fun, let's do it. Like, why not? And we have to set ourselves apart from the rest of the reality TV shows. Why not, like, give it our all? So I did sign up to do that. And I was spicier than real life on the show season one. And to be honest, I regretted it a little bit because and I know people like to say never regret anything in life but I regret it because I think

well no I I think I had a moment of reflection and I said yes that character helped contribute to like the pizzazz of the show. But when people hated that character, they weren't hating me. And I want people to make an opinion on the authentic version of me. So whether you love me or hate me, at least at the end of the day, I want it to be really me. Sure. So seasons two and three, I was just like, ah, screw it. I'm going to just be me. And then you can really form your own opinion. But do you think you needed to kind of be that in season one for the show to pick up the way it did? Oh yeah. Nicey nice doesn't get anyone anywhere. Yeah. Cause you know, these shows come out, some people that go on these shows, they don't want to kind of push the envelope. And what

happens is it just comes off as boring television that you don't ever hear from those shows again. Right. It's like almost like, oh, it's too nice. It's too like kind of groomed if that makes sense. And it was harmless. It was like harmless poking at each other and like, you know. And what's it like in real life? Are you guys friends in real life?

Do you have a conversation? Say, hey, we're going to really go out with each other, but we're good? Are you guys like not acquaintances in real life? All of the friendships have taken like different turns throughout the process as with I'm sure taken like different turns throughout the process,

as with I'm sure most reality shows. In the beginning, some of us knew each other. Some of us knew of each other. I was introduced to some people, but we made an effort to hang out more in advance of the show coming out. So, I mean, it just would be more authentic. In real life, I didn't hang out with any of them because we're just in different circles. And I knew of Anna and I only met her once or twice, maybe three times prior to the show. And I thought she was like an interesting lady, but I liked the dynamic they wanted us to have. And I thought that was fun. And we hung out after the show. So I thought she was like totally in on it too. But I think what happened was the popularity towards her swayed so much that like she started to believe there was a rivalry between us, which I thought

was so ridiculous. And I had to like show them pictures. I'm like, remember, we went out to eat afterwards. I like hung out at your house. There's like, we're not fighting. This is just for fun. And I think by then she had forgotten. So she held a grudge and she was weird after that. But I really love Kevin, who's become like my, really like my little brother. And I really like his girlfriend, Devon. I think she's such a great addition in his life. I thought he was going to, for a second, I thought he was going to get with him. Yeah. That chemistry was real. They did have something there, whether it was playful or, and I like him. She's fun. I call her the mass apologizer because before every season,

she'll call everyone and say like I'm sorry for what I said like when I was filming if I said anything so I appreciate that and in this last season I was really surprised that I was really surprised I was blindsided that kind of everyone tried to gang up on me or take me down I thought thought that was a little... I think, though, with every single season, they try to take someone down. Like, I'm a huge Housewife watcher, which, by the way, you would be so good on Housewives of Beverly Hills.

I would never survive on that show. I don't know. I feel like you would slay. Why, you think the women there are too tough? No, like, the Bravo universe is, like like real. It's intense. It's like that is a whole other universe.

I mean, I would cast you if I was a producer. I would love to see you on Housewives of Beverly Hills. Before you go, I have to ask you your beauty secrets because you're beautiful. Your hair is shiny. Like your skin is glowy. What are some products that you use that you cannot live without that our audience can maybe go grab let me get my notebook out

you could use a little shine oh stop you guys are gorgeous I I hate to say this but I slept in my makeup oh my god

I love her honesty we're coming off New Year's sometimes sometimes you sleep in your makeup we're coming off New Year's give everyone a break your makeup does not look like biggest zit right now i'm no i don't see that i'm just lucky because i have a cheat sheet and his name is dr chu so i

i ask him to help me curate and then then i just i just use like i'm a spot user if that makes sense like i don't just stick to one thing all the time i like to use a couple of different I just use like, I'm a spot user, if that makes sense. Like I don't just stick to one thing all the time. I like to use a couple of different things. And sometimes I split products on my face. Like sometimes one side of my face behaves and the other doesn't, or the top behaves and the bottom doesn't. And I don't need to use one product all over the face.

So I think I'm very lucky that I have a lot of stuff to play with. What's your number one brand? Right now, because I'm getting older, I would say TNS Essential Serum is a pretty good one. You're on that. I am? Yes. My facialist just put you on that. TNS. I am?

Yes. It's the serum. It's growth hormone. It's good. Yeah. I'll show it to you. I just use the stuff she gives me. I know. She's your cheat sheet. Yeah. Her and everybody that comes on the show. I'm not kidding. I keep mental notes. And the mask all the time, whenever possible. What's your favorite mask? Do you have a brand? I love trying new masks. So if you go to Koreatown, you can buy like masks for a dollar or like $2. We can go there. I stock up and I just pop different things on and then stuff that I really like, I go back and buy more. And then I also use like medical grade masks. So I use like

those type of really cool K-beauty masks and then stuff from my husband's office. Okay, so here is the move. I'm gifting you an ice roller, okay? You're going to love it. What? But this is what you do with the ice roller. But this also looks like a sex toy. It does look like a sex toy. Tell your husband it's not for his ass. Wait. Wait. Is this a twofer?

You know what's really funny that you say that? We have some sex toys out in the front. We'll get you those, Tom. I actually designed it after a dildo. Like, I sent a dildo to the person who, like, I wanted. The material, the silicone. So it's really funny that you say that. This is what you do.

Take your masks, your medical grade mask or your regular one, put it on and then ice roll over it. And look like you? Yes! It's the holy grail for puffiness. If you're puffy, put the mask on and ice roll over it. You're going to love it. I am going to do this like in the car. And you brought me mochi nut, which I really quick before you go.

What is this? Okay, I'm not an investor. It's really cute. I'm not affiliated. It's like East meets West. Okay. It's like, I love mochis

and I love donuts. And it's basically a mix. It's a mix of both. You have to try them. I love it. Okay, Mochi Nut. Pass those this way,

Lauren. Yeah. I'll take care of those. Wait, open it. Okay, you gotta show us. Once you have one,

oh my gosh. I know, but how do we stay as slim as you and eat mochi nuts and have wine? What's the trick? There's this thing called Emskalt. Does that really work? Yes, definitely. Oh my God, those are beautiful.

What a chic thing to bring to the podcast. Taylor, look at these things. This is such a good thing to bring, though, like to someone's house. They're so yummy. This is beautiful. Taylor and I will get after those things. This is gorgeous. Thank you. Oh, it tastes really good. Okay, so yummy. This is beautiful. Taylor and I will get up after those things. This is gorgeous. Thank you.

Oh, it tastes really good. Okay, so I need to try Emsculpt. You don't need anything. But if you want to. It works? Oh, yeah. And does your husband do it? The machine does it itself.

It's a machine. So you just go and you lay there. Yeah, you strap it on. You listen to your podcast. Uh-huh. Catch up on all of it. Christine, you're amazing. There needs to be a season four and putting it out there into the ether.

Where can everyone find you? Where can they stalk you on Instagram? Reach out if they have questions. Tell us. I am usually found at Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery. On the southeast corner of Wilshire and Beverly Drive. Eating mochi nut strapped onto an Enspel machine. So if you want to stop by and say hi. And what's your Instagram? Christine Chu. And that's C-H-I-U.

Thank you for coming on. Thank you, Christine. Thanks for having me. Is it over? It's over. No. I know. It's fun, right?

We could do it again sometime. You can come anytime you want. Come back when your next season comes out. You guys are getting your next season. Wait, don't go. We want to know who you want to hear next on the Skinny Confidential Him and Her Show. We are always taking your feedback and making lists of who you guys want to hear on the show. So let me know on my latest post at Lauren Bostic and make sure you've rated and reviewed the show on iTunes.

And we'll see you on Monday with a solo episode, something different for me and Michael.