Excuse My Grandma with Jill Zarin and Ally Shapiro
15 Jun 2023 · 38 min
Podcast episode of 'Excuse My Grandma' (June 2023) featuring Jill Zarin (age 59) and daughter Ally Shapiro (age 30). Conversation covers family and dating (Jill dating Gary; both have boyfriends; Ally met her boyfriend ~1.5 years ago and lives in the East Village), Jill's Real Housewives history (left ~2011–12), how reality TV helped build Jill's later brands (rugs, furniture, skincare), early TV pay ($7,000 first season), and their joint business Jill and Ally (crystal manifestation candles, ~40 SKUs, $45 price point, ~75-hour burn time, crystals inside, promo code EMG20). Locations mentioned include Sag Harbor (Jill has a house), Boca Raton (main residence), Miami (weekend place), and Ally based in East Village, NYC. Other topics: differences between early Housewives and modern casts, beauty/cosmetic trends, pickleball, and a short dating-style quiz segment. Episode ends with promo (EMG20) and websites jillandally.com and jillzarin.com.
Questions this episode answers
59 years old.
30 years old.
$7,000 (first season).
Around 2011–2012.
Around 2017.
Chapters
Welcome back to another episode of Excuse My Grandma. It's Kim and my co host. All right, guys. We are joined by Jill Zarin and Ellie Shapiro. Jill, you might know best from being one of the originals on the Real Housewives of New York. We're also here with her daughter Allie. Together they've created the company Jill and Ally selling crystal candles. We're going to get into all of that. Ladies, thanks for joining us.
Thank you so much for having us.
Okay, so we're gonna start with your age, relationship status, and where you're currently.
Living and then say your name, just, you know, so the, the viewers, the listeners can know who's talking.
No problem.
So I'm Jill Zarin and I am 59 years old. This is my big year. I am dating. I have a boyfriend, serious relationship. I don't think I'm ever gonna. Your partner get married again? My partner, significant other. Gary and I have a mom to Allie, my only daughter.
I'm allie shapiro. I'm 30, so it's my big year. And I also have a boyfriend and our boyfriends are friends, so it's a.
Lot of fun way. Yeah. Yeah.
How weird.
Not like buddies.
Do you go on double dates?
Yeah, we're going on a cruise together.
The four of us. That's gonna be our first big vacation. With me with a boyfriend, with mom with a boyfriend. So it'll be fun.
What, are you nervous about anything?
Not really. I think we're gonna have fun. Gary is the most fun. I mean, everyone says Gary's very funny, so he's always, you know, if you, if you need to fill up the space in a conversation, Gary will always entertain you.
He's always a good person around the dinner table. That's very good.
I'm like that, too. Like, I want someone who can handle himself in a social situation without me needing to intervene. And that's really hard to find.
It is. And, and he likes it too, so I'm happy.
Well, we say there can only be one peacock in the relationship. So mom's the peacock. But Gary lifts her up and I don't think overshadows her, but definitely has his own.
He doesn't compete. It's always, if I want to go, I do my thing and he sits back and listens. And if I'm exhausted, he can. We could just read each other. If I'm not in the mood or I don't really want to talk to them, he'll just take it on.
Ali, what's your role in your relationship? Are you the Peacock.
I'm the peacock. He definitely supports me. And I think I always grew up embarrassed of, like, having anything to do with the celebrity or the housewives or being an influencer. I was always, like, embarrassed about it and kind of hit it. But he's very, very supportive. And not like he's pushing her.
Right.
In a good way. Not in. Not in a jealous way or he wants any spotlight. He's more of, like, encouraging. Like, I'm so happy for you. I'm so proud of you. Like, you should be doing these things and get yourself out there more. So it's nice having, like, a supportive.
Partner, but best friend. Yeah.
Yeah. That's so nice because we were literally just saying. You were like, when you're posting all these things, like, guys are going to look at that and not like it.
People in certain kinds of fields of work don't like to have their spouse having such notoriety. It just depends what they do and how confident they are in themselves, you.
Know, and if they're insecure.
If they're ins. Yeah, they're insecure. Well, and also, sometimes the image isn't so great. I mean, you know, the influencer thing, and we are in that category, doesn't always ring such a wonderful signal to other people.
But that's their problem, not our problem.
Well, you know what? It is what it is. So then he's not for them. Exactly. He's not for you. They didn't answer your questions where they're living.
Oh, all right, come on, let's.
We know their ages now, which are irrelevant.
And I thought we're the ones with the bad memory.
Yeah. Yeah.
Gosh, really good. I forgot that, too. I'm the one with the bad memory. So I'm living right now. We are in Sag Harbor. I have a house in Sag harbor and I gave up my apartment in the city and now I'm. My main residence is Boca Raton, Florida. Okay. And we have a place in Miami, which Ally likes to go to on weekends.
Sure.
It's fun.
Beach. So.
And Ali, are you based in New York now? You know, during the winter or you also in Florida?
I'm full time in the East Village. I live with my boyfriend. Okay. Which she doesn't love. But, you know, circumstances are what they are. And it's expensive to live in New York. And we love living with each other. It's fun.
Get married. I mean, if you love living.
It's new.
It's new. We're only pushing you to get married.
How long are you in the relationship. Ally.
We met a year and a half ago, so. About a year.
Okay, Jill, why didn't you want her to move then? Like, are you more traditional with that stuff?
Very. And. And there are circumstances that I made it that cost me more money. But I want Ali to be able to have her freedom. So though they live together, it is out her lease. And I, you know, pay the rent or she pays the rent because I don't want. And then he. He could pay for everything else. But I want Ali to have the freedom that if things don't work out, if whatever reason a big fight, even if it's whatever, there's not an issue. They're not splitting anything.
It's actually. It's actually really smart because I've had so many friends who lived with their boyfriends, and then they broke up, and she was like, where do I go? Because the guy had the lease, right?
So it was his place. But even in that case, it's like, rather it be his place than their place together, because it's hard. You might as well have gotten married because now you have a divorce to deal with, splitting things. And I don't want that for Ally to have that pressure. I'm not that mother. I'm not gonna pressure her. I even said this to Allie, quite honestly, the. When we were talking. I said, you know, Allison, if you're not married by the time you're 31ish, freeze your eggs. Don't have that pressure hanging over your head.
Yeah.
I don't want you to have to marry someone to have babies. I want you to marry someone because you love them. She's going to live to 150. You know, when you used to live to.
So that's right.
It was different.
It's now.
It was a whole different story. So now I don't want it. You know, you do want them to be together the rest of their lives? Of course, you know, who knows? Life is, you know, life is life. But I don't want her to have that pressure of that clock ticking and make a decision that she's going to have to live with the rest of her life.
Al, you said this before, but, like, what was it like growing up with your mom, being on TV on Real Housewives?
When we started the Real Housewives, it was very, very new territory.
Very stigmatized.
Very stigmatized. And I was embarrassed. I was very embarrassed. I feel like I lost my friends. I didn't really talk about it.
I think she was paranoid, but it was real to her of losing friends. I did. You really lost friends?
We'll talk about it later.
But, yes, she did.
She may have lost some, but she also made that she never would have met.
No, no. In high school, I lost my friends. All right, nice. I lost my friends. And in college, I never talked about it. Never came up. Like, there was no. Like, right now, if you do anything, it kind of lives on in so many other platforms, and you can curate it however you want. It's on TikTok this way. It's an Instagram this way. Back then, the episode aired, and that was it. So I just ignored it. I pretended the Housewives didn't happen. It aired. I hope some people didn't watch it. I never really watched it. And that was it. But now, 15 years later, people are still watching those episodes. When I was like, 14 years old.
Every day on TikTok, it pops up. A horrible haircut, terrible. No makeup. I mean, there's no question. I think all the housewives look better 10 years later than they did then.
Absolutely. I always like when they go back and pass reunions and show, like, old clips. I'm like, how do they look better this reunion? And is it that they've gotten.
Yeah.
Tell me why makeup?
Not definitely not me.
And now, because they get paid a lot more to. They still don't get hair makeup during the season most of the time, but they pay for it themselves, and they know how important it is. Back then, you know, we didn't even know we were they glam squads now. Yeah. I mean, there was no. No crib. There was no squad. There was nothing. So we got hair makeup for interviews and for the reunion, if we were lucky, you know, we had. And we had to dress ourselves. We had no help. We still get no help, but it's just a different ball game. And then last night, we were watching the New Jersey. I was watching the New Jersey Housewives, and it came up that the new girl, the Jewish girl, Jen something, Andy Cohn says, I don't even recognize you. She says, I look in the mirror, I don't recognize myself. He goes, usually it takes a few seasons for the girls to, you know, do things like, I had a facelift, nose job and liposuction and lost, like £20 on, I'm sure Ozempic. So she doesn't even recognize herself. But that's what happens. The girls tend to. And myself included, I think that if I wasn't on tv, I may not have taken as good care of myself in terms of, like, you know, Botox and All that stuff.
Yeah. I feel like when you're looking at yourself all the time, like, I'm sure it makes you want to do more of that, so. But it's not really just then getting your hair and makeup done. It is also, like cosmetic procedures. I feel like that a lot of these people do that just completely, like.
Well, also some of them don't look very good after a while.
Some girls, like Ramona says she never had anything done. I honestly don't know if she says that now, but that was a joke 10 years ago when she clearly did some tweaking, but she was absolutely denying. But that's Ramona. You know, we love her for that.
I think the trends changed. I think also the cameras got better, the production got better. I mean, the production compared. Even now, from New York to Beverly.
Hills, you can't compare.
It's so much better. The lighting, they special lighting and filters on their cameras, like, they blast all the wrinkles away. It's so different.
Listen, if Martha Stewart can be on a bathing suit thing at 80 years old or 81 years old, then they. They certainly up everybody.
There was no Photoshop.
Exactly. They do a little filtering all over the place.
We need filters. Jill, what were some of the. The positives and some of the negatives associated with being on reality tv and specifically Real Housewives Number one is my brand.
I mean, Ali and I wouldn't have a brand today. I mean, maybe we would, but we certainly wouldn't have gotten here as fast as we did. Jill Zaron, Home. I have a rug line that's, you know, probably done $100 million since I started, which was about six years ago, and growing, growing, growing. It's probably one of the largest online. Right. Brands. And I have furniture, and we have an accessories line that we just launched. And I just launched yesterday. Jules Air Beauty, which is a skin care with a defense mechanism so that you don't burn, which is all I care about. You know, skincare. I think there's just too many products, to be honest. Gets confusing for me. I just need. Give me one thing. Just give me one thing. I'm too busy. And that's kind of what I built it around. And then, of course, Allie and I have Jill and Allie, which started as a mass company. Do you want to talk about that?
Yeah, we love to hear that.
You know, into candles, crystal manifestation candles, which we could talk about later. But that's why that was the number one, two, three thing that it did for me. So there were three threes. Three reasons That I did Housewives. One was to start, you know, to promote that. Two was to have a history of my family. It was actually to promote Zaring fabrics.
For the initial reason.
Back then, it was Aaron fabrics. It was also to have a diary of our lives and a historical. So I can go back and look at scenes with Bobby and my parents and, you know, as life goes on and people leave the planet, I'll be able to still connect with them in a real way by watching, you know, episodes, which I wouldn't have had. And what was the other reason? There were three reasons. I can't remember the third.
You made a lot of money.
Oh, I made no money.
They. Did they not pay well on that Housewives?
In the beginning, they paid nothing. We got $7,000 the first season.
Really?
Episodes? Yeah.
Not an episode. You mean the entire.
Is ridiculous.
Oh, my gosh.
I wouldn't even bother.
And then it went up a little bit from there. Unfortunately for me, I left before the money really started. Right.
But they still aired those episodes. There's no royalties.
Oh, that's.
And you know what's such a shame? They didn't pay children or husbands back then. Now they do pay husbands.
I understand.
But Allison, they was starting to get closer to 18. So I said, can Allison get paid? And they said, oh, we're not going to pay kids till they're 18. They filmed a scene with me a week before her birthday, and I thought that they would film afterwards.
Right.
And they never did. They didn't want to pay the money.
And it's like with all of the success of Bravo, like, that's pennies.
Well, maybe not. We don't know their books. It was petty and it wasn't nice, you know, so it is what it is. I never did the show to make money on the show. I did it so I can make money without it. And I have to say, probably the only housewife who ever really made a real brand after the show, because Darren Fabrics, I'm not involved in anymore after Bobby passed and went to his family. So Ali and I, Jill's, Aaron, Homer, Jill and Ally all came years after the show. So.
Oh, after you're no longer on Shut like the air. Oh, that's interesting.
And after her husband, 10 years after.
Right. Because I left the show in 2011. 12. Right. And my brand didn't really start until 2017. Really gave you a platform.
See, that was the whole thing.
Like, some people think I'm still on the Housewives. I would say a lot of people still think I'm on the Housewives because.
They would have liked you.
They may not have liked the show anymore because it changed. A lot of people tell me they haven't watched it, you know, in a long time, let's say in many seasons. So they still think I'm on it because I'm still in the press. I'm in promoting myself.
And you did Ultimate Girls Trip, which was, like, really recent as well. So you have kind of still been in the Bravo universe.
I forgot about Ultimate Girls Trip, which was amazing and really helped some of the Housewives get back on the air. I mean, three that I can think of actually got back on their shows. They asked me back to do Legacy, but that didn't work out.
So I really was curious about Legacy because I feel like they put out like a press release or something. Like, people were talking about it. They were aware of it.
Was it on page six?
And then. Okay, will people read page six? And then. I don't know. What is it happening?
They're doing an Ultimate Girls Trip legacy. That's what they decided to do. So.
But with New York only.
New York only.
Okay.
But they're all kind of legacy, you know what I mean? Like, every Ultimate Girls Trip are. Most of them are people who are off the show, so I'm not really sure what the difference is. Yeah, except that he should move on.
So people love the OG like, if I could get New York Housewives season one cast back, I would not leave my cow like it was they wanted to do. Yeah.
Well, I think Bethany won't do it.
Right.
So. And not for a lot of money. And I wouldn't do it unless, you know, I also, you know, because I didn't make any money when I did in the beginning. And to be honest with you, it's really not about money. That's what this way, if I wanted to do it, I would do it.
Right.
Because I don't need the money, so I don't really want to do it. So if I were going to do it, it has to be for the money.
Right?
Right.
Does that make sense on that?
Yeah. If you thought you were going to have fun and, like, catch up with the girls, that's one thing. But if you think it's going to.
Stressful, I would do it for a dollar.
Right? Yeah. It's like going for a dollar.
Exactly.
But.
But it's not set up that way.
Right.
Unfortunately.
And the amount of anxiety it causes and her biggest anxiety is like, what am I going to wear? I need an outfit. For every day. I need a hair. I need. The whole thing just gets so much anxiety. And then the after effects just.
No, no. It's really drama. More than that. It's the drama with some of the girls. Not all of them girls. Yeah.
Did you ever feel, like, really uncomfortable with any storyline when you were filming that, like, caused a lot of stress?
Yes, actually, it was on Ultimate Girls Trip when. But you know what? I don't even want to talk about it, to be honest. It's. It was bad.
Can we talk about both of your thoughts on the cast for the New New York Housewives? Have you, like, seen any promos for that?
Yeah, I've seen promos. We had lunch with two of the girls who were very sweet. I was the first one. I don't even know. First to only one to reach out to them and to welcome them to the. Even though I'm not even on the show anymore, it hasn't been for years. I still feel like, as an og, the mother hen, it's just kind of the role I've always played. And I reached out to, I think, all of them just to welcome them. Maybe not all of them, but some of them. And, you know, we took some out for lunch. I met them when, during Bravo Con, there was a Watch what Happens Live where they introduced the New York housewives. And I was there, and I welcomed them then. And I got to meet them, most of them. So, you know, listen, I'm excited for them. I'll totally be positive and good energy. I don't know how it's going to be perceived, to be honest. I don't know how it's going to be received. Yeah, I feel bad for them because I feel like it could have been done a different way where they would have had a. Maybe a better experience. I think a lot of them are just getting a lot of pushback because they're not. Oh, geez. You know, and that's not their fault.
Yeah. So I'm actually curious because we're all like, New Yorkers. Like, when I was watching the beginning seasons, I feel like there was some mutual connections. I was like, oh, Ali goes to a school similar to my school. We probably have friends in common. Grandma Gail knows some of the housewives, whatever. But I haven't, like, met or encountered these women. My mom hasn't either. I don't know if you even. You don't even know who they are. But. But, like, that's kind of interesting to me because if they're real New York housewives, like, why wouldn't we know them?
I think that when my mom was the housewife, it wasn't. It was more of like a socialite. That's what they were. They were the socialites. And now it's more like they're influencers. So I feel like that's the big difference. A lot of them are like creators influencers. They're young moms, they're all over TikTok, all over Instagra. Their platform or her platform is like it was a Hamptons magazine. It was like, you know what I mean?
It was.
There were socialites and I think it would have been great if the cast was mixed. Like there was. There was only four New York housewives left and only a few of them. It could have just been like seven housewives and a few guests. There was no reason to just start from scratch.
But I guess appeal to a younger audience.
That would be my guess. I mean, they're not interested in the 60 year old girls. They want 30 and 25 year olds.
Is that, you know, I have fans and a lot of them are like 20s and they, so they were, they were like eight when I was on TV. So clearly they picked up the show during COVID or, you know, as they're older, they're going back and watching original episodes. So I think that their dad is wrong. I think the young people, even though we're old, we took care of ourselves. They're still interested in Ramona and Luann and Sonia.
Do you think so?
Really?
I am.
Oh, they got another show.
I don't think so.
Oh, they got us now Luann and Sony have another show coming out.
But let's see how they do. Let's see how they do. It's going to be interesting. It's going to be. I think the audience have changed. I really do. I, I really.
Ramon is how old? 66, 65?
Yeah, no, she, no, we're not discussing. They're all very, very beautiful women and very accomplished.
Maybe just what they're going through in life.
Yeah, I don't know if it hits with, with younger people, what they're going through at this particular stage.
Anybody knows this, if anyone knows this than us, you know, who better? How many, how much drama has there been in my, in our social circle? Does anything change from when you're in high school to 60s?
Really?
You say all the time, you're like, these girls act like they're getting to names.
But I don't have to tell you, I'll just give an example with no particular thing in mind a dinner party coming up on a Saturday night. You know, I ask if I could bring someone. No, you can't bring anybody. I'm kind of like kids grazing kids in the city, that kind of stuff. The same. They all relate to it. So she's. This one's not invited, and this one's not invited, and this one was invited. And don't talk about it. I'm having a party. Don't tell anybody. Nothing changes. And the kids love watching it, and they learn from it. They learn how to respond or how not to respond, and they just love it. Nothing changes. You really like certain things.
I think you missed. I think the same issues are always around from time and forever, but I think people view things differently today. I'm not sure they're really interested in whether you have 18 vodkas before you go out to a party. You know, I think that it's very different. I think people are much more socially aware. I don't know about these influences that they're doing on the show now. I don't know anything about them, but I would think there was a little more about kindness coming out in society over the air. I don't think. I don't think the audience wants to see the fighting. I really.
Oh, my God, you're so wrong.
Well, that's why I don't produce this show.
But I will say this.
I would hope that they don't. That would.
Well, this is what I'll say. I'll say this.
They want the fighting.
They want the fighting, but they don't want it where you can't make up.
Yes.
Right. It happens with me. When there's no makeup and resolution, the audience is very resentful.
Yes. That's so true.
They want to see. That's why the Kardashians has done so well. You know why? Because they kill each other. They wrap it up at the end and they're all friends.
Exactly.
You know, family is family. Right. New Jersey blood is not thicker than water. You know, that's what's happening on that show. But. But the audience wants it. The audience wants the brother and sister to make up.
It's so true. And that's why, like, Andy has reunions, because it's like, even if things were awkward at the end of a season, like, no matter what, you're going to come back together, you're going to talk it out and it's going to be.
Like, resolved, but it doesn't always. And that's. That's a problem. And that's What? Your mother's right. That's what. Gail's right. The audience wants it cleaned up. They do, but they want the fight. Otherwise, they don't want to watch me get any.
They like the excitement of it, and they love getting involved in their lives.
They want to see us horseback riding or getting.
Exactly. Seriously, they're living through you. I mean, we find that even with our conversation, people want to live our lives. And they get involved. They really get involved with your personal life. Whether I. I fall on the floor, they want to know, is my leg better? I mean, you know, people do get involved with. With people over TikTok and social media. And whether for right or for wrong, it's just the nature of the. Of this space right now.
I was telling someone the other day that the number one thing people ask me when they meet me in person is, how's your mother? How's my sister, and how's my daughter?
Yeah, that's so nice.
Personal life.
They don't care about a fight or anything. They only. And my mother was on the show literally three or four times for three minutes, and she resonated with the whole world. It's really amazing. But that's what people care about.
They want to Correct.
They want to see more family interaction, real. That's why the Kardashians, again, have done so well, because they know that's real.
And they're very smart. Evidently. They're very smart. They figured it out. They have a formula, those girls.
Ali, I'm curious, like, if your mom never had this TV stint, would you be in a different place right now? Like, would you have pursued a different type of career? Or do you think you still would have been entrepreneurial doing something kind of in this space?
No, I. I did. I went to Vanderbilt. I went to school in Nashville, and then I got a master's in art in London. I wanted my own career. I made my own path. I worked in art for two years. That was my life. Like, I did not want anything to do with reality TV or influencer stuff or anything. And then covet happened, and my company went bankrupt, went to Florida. We started tie dyeing Mass. Started a mass company.
That was a great idea.
And that was it. I mean, there was no going back. The company that I love, no plan.
It wasn't like a plan, but, no.
I wanted to work in art. That was my, like, life's passion and my path and, you know, for good, for better or for worse, right? It changed. So now, thankfully, I had this to, like, fall back on but it, it's wonderful working with family and with my mom, obviously. Sometimes I wish there were like some boundaries. Especially when we're together. It's tough. We work 24 7. Like I was emailing from 2am to.
5Am I pick up my phone this morning, I get up at 6, 2:30 in the morning. She's talking to not someone in China. She's talking to my warehouse manager. Yeah.
So it never stops.
30 in the morning.
So when you work with family, work for yourself. They're, you know, it's, it's easier in some ways, but it's a lot harder in other ways. There's no boundaries. It's 247 and you'll never work harder than for yourself, so.
That's true.
Such a good point. I feel like we can relate to that. And then what gave you guys the idea to focus on candles and specifically, you know, incorporating crystals and, and manifesting?
Well, so we started with the face mask and they were very colorful, kind of like bringing light to a very heavy tie dye. They were tie dyeing them and it just got to a point where we're like, what's next? And we thinking about other products that we love and we love candles or obsessed with candles. So yeah, we made these candles, like positive messages, manifestations, affirmations that went along with what was happening at the time. I feel like manifesting got very trendy and everyone was doing it and so were we. And bringing light to like a dark situation. Here's a lovely.
Candles are beautiful. The box is beautiful.
Thank you. This one's my favorite because I think you can do anything, everything in life or whatever, but if you don't, my father said if you don't have a little bit of luck, you need a little luck.
That's true.
For those who are just listening, the candle says luck on it. So what is the process? Like do you light it and then you like are supposed to think about how luck can be brought to you or what?
How do you like to think about those themes? I'm sure. Yeah.
And I mean, if you think about candles, it is a very spiritual process. Right. Like all of our religions, even birthdays, you blow out a candle to kind of set your intention and your wish into the world.
That's true. So yeah, I never thought of that.
Good. Put that on your website.
That's the first time you actually said that. I never thought of that. Do you ever think of that? You're right. When you don't tell anybody, it's a.
Matter of two master's degrees to figure that out.
Yeah. Did you think of it? Yes.
Anyway, so, yes, you think of your intention as you're lighting it.
You. You don't have to say it.
You can write it down. I'm not a journaling person, but people do write it down. And I feel like when it's lighting, it's kind of sending your attention to the air again, like a birthday wish. And you take out the crystals so you have the crystal with you forever. Our creative director is about to give birth any day. She's nine months pregnant and she's like a bowl of crystals next to her bed and wants to bring them to the hospital with her. So it's a nice, like keepsake. As your candle is done. You saw these crystals that live on.
And these crystals in a store would be anywhere from like 5 to 20 bucks. Like an amethyst would be more expensive, less. But we average, you know, priced it so they're all 45 and they last like 75 hours. They smell. We really loaded them with scent because we want people to, to buy one and say, I love this and I want to buy more. We don't want them to buy it and go, oh, I think, you know, it doesn't smell. Sometimes candles smell really good on the top, but they don't put the fragrance through. That's why they're $10 candles, you know, in store.
So we have over 40 different candles and we're just now making like the same sayings and other colors. So maybe you loved luck but didn't want it in green. So I can get the green in pink and people ask us to customize their candle. Really, we can't do that yet.
Okay.
Right. You know, as we expand, we'll be able to have different options. I think for scents, we initially started with what we love. So we love like high end luxury hotel fragrances. La Labo Labo Boutique, the one Hotel. We, we mimicked a lot of those fragrances. And then we have to do it our, our fans, our customers love also. So if you like more of a gardenia or calming scent, we try to have something for everyone.
What are some of your, I guess, favorite things that you've created together so far? Do you have, do each have a favorite?
Not really.
Pickleball battles.
Oh, well, in terms of.
Those people, I like that.
You know, I'm a big tennis player. So when pickleball started, I was like. And then I played it and I fell in love with it.
So it'll be interesting to see.
They're building a lot of the courts. A lot of places really are starting to have pickleball courts.
We played in Central park in New York.
It was so much fun.
Yeah.
I have here has pickleball lines on it so you can play.
Oh, that's fun.
Jill, since you've been spending time in Boca, do you feel like it's big there as well? And, like, what are some of the other things you like to do there?
Well, I live. I live in a place called Woodfield Country Club, and it was like the original. One of the original meccas for pickleball. It was. It was like one of the starting places.
They wanted to put it in East Hampton. It's very interesting. They wanted to put it in the parking lot and people objected. Is there more noise to the pickle, to the ball than the tennis ball?
Why? I'm actually inadvertently in what directly involved in pickleball. The. The whole sport from, like, so I know a little bit of information. Yes.
The.
The ball is loud when multiplied by multiple, you know, one ball, whatever. But if you've got like three or four quarts going, it makes it very kind of like a ping pong, but very loud. They're starting to develop other balls, testing rubber and things like that to see just as effective, but not as loud.
And then when you're in New York, do you have a spot that you like to go to together.
Restaurant?
Well, I stay with my friend Julia Hart. I don't know if you know who she is or if you interviewed her. Yeah.
But Sheva was on. Was on our podcast.
She's got a chef. It's all set up. I don't have to leave. It's so nice.
Like, I'm born and raised in New York my whole life. She calls me the other day. She's like, have you ever been to Tribeca? Like, did you know there's this. And this restaurant, like, Tribeca is so.
Cool because she lives in Rebecca. I lived on the Upper east side. I never went below 59th Street. So, I mean, I don't say never, but never far. It is. It's like an hour to get down there. So I would never go to Tribeca for dinner.
No, it's. That is the most relatable thing that's been said today, because I feel like you'll do the same exact thing.
Now they're going to have congestion pricing, so Nobody below, above 50. I think 59th street is going. Is going downtown because they're going to charge. What do you.
I thought they had it already. Didn't they?
No, it hasn't started yet, but it's. It's going to start soon. I don't know what. What the day. The actual date is maybe July, but it hasn't been put into effect yet. But I live on the Upper east side. Kimmy lives down in Chelsea. No man. Right?
Yeah. Which is like, I tried to pick someplace kind of in the middle because I'm constantly coming uptown and then I'm constantly meeting my friends downtown. But it is like I packed today. I packed a whole bag to come uptown. Like, I'm moving, like, going on vacation for a week. I want to end the episode with a game we play with all of our guests. Grandma Gail's old fashioned dating quiz. So we're gonna go through some hypotheticals and then deem whether both of you are more of an old fashioned d dater or more of a modern data. So either her camp or mine. Okay. So the first one is, would you rather receive a call or a text from your partner? If it's just to say hi, Jill.
Has to answer first because again, they're not going to know who it is.
Text to. Just say hi. Text.
Okay. Allie, what do you think?
I like. I like a phone call.
Opposite.
Opposite. Would you sleep with someone on the first date?
No. Yes.
Okay. Dating apps or setups?
You know, I have to say I did. When Bobby passed, I was, you know, I don't say looking forward to is the wrong word, but I was, you know, looking forward to doing the app because I had never done that in my dating life. Obviously, I got married very young, so Gary, you know, kind of jumped in there and squatted me, and I never got to date anybody.
So you never made a profile?
No, and I really wanted to. So I think if I hadn't had the experience, maybe my answer would be different. Set up. But I was kind of looking forward to doing the swipe thing.
That's so funny. Ali, did you ever do the apps?
I did the apps. You know, my boyfriend now is my first, like, really serious boyfriend. So I did the apps for 10 years. I don't think I got successfully set up often. And meeting my boyfriend now was kind of a setup, so I'm a bit. I never would have met him on a dating app because he's much younger than me, so he wouldn't have been.
In my range only two years.
But that's younger than my dating app profile was.
Right.
So I think meeting someone in real life and a setup gives you more of an opportunity of who you would meet than just the dating app because you might like have swiped and have missed someone, you know.
Yeah. No, makes sense. Would you move in together before getting engaged or wait until you're engaged or married?
No, this one, I say if you're engaged, you can move in together, but not before. Not before. Obviously it didn't work out for me with Ali.
Well, you're a hypocrite because you live with your boyfriend. You're not.
Well, but that's the second time around. She's entitled.
Third time, she's definitely my first husband. We got divorced and Bobby passed away. So that's why number three, I would have still been married if Bobby was here. What was I saying? I forgot.
Living together.
Oh, yeah. No. If you're not having children, like in the second part of your life, right. Then I think it doesn't matter. I think it's really about children and setting examples and trying not to be a hypocrite and all that stuff. But we're all hypocrites. All of it. A little bit. Okay.
Yeah, I think you can move in.
Yes. Okay. The last one is who should pay for the date. Should it be one person in a relationship or should you alternate split?
I'm old fashioned. Guy has to pay. But that's not this generation.
I think guy has to pay. Until you're at a certain point in the relationship when you're like a year in. I don't think you can expect your boyfriend or girlfriend to pay for every single meal all the time.
I mean, I think if you're in a relationship, all those things are on the table to share. But I think what they're talking about is in the beginning. In the beginning, yeah. The person that's courting Chappelle and Suzanne, she went out on a date, really rich guy from Westport, Connecticut, and they went out on a date. She, I think went up to Connecticut to have dinner and she went home. She thought everything was okay. Do you know that either sent her an email or he called her up and like yelled at her that she didn't offer to split the check.
Oh, wow. Can him. That would have been him.
Shoot him. Put him down so he doesn't do that to anybody.
Do this to somebody else.
Yeah. I couldn't believe that this successful guy, 60 years old, expected another successful woman to split the check that she would even think not to.
Right.
Something's wrong with him and his. He's widowed, so clearly he's going to get checked.
No, somebody will find him and say you pay for it a couple of times and then he'll, they'll marry him and then he'll be paying.
They get all his money.
I don't know exactly. So you're half and half, both of you?
Yeah. I think it was like maybe three out of five, though. We're more on the traditional side, but pretty split.
Pretty split, yeah. Which is what I would expect.
Yes.
Or different.
She's traditional and I'm like pretty half and half also, but more, a little bit more modern.
But we're working more modern all the time.
She's becoming more modern and I'm becoming more old fashioned.
Switching roles as, as we progress with this relationship.
Well, thank you both for joining us. Tell everyone listening where they can follow you. Get all your products, everything you want them to know.
Yes.
Jillandalli.com for crystal manifestation candles and pickleball paddles and Jillzeran.com for her rugs, furniture, all that fun stuff. And I'm at ali Shapiro at Mrs. Jill Zaran.
I also just want to say we just launched our rugs, washable rugs for outside and they are so much fun. They start at like 49. It's cheaper to buy that and take that to the beach than like a towel, you know, and it's much prettier. Better for photos because everybody's about the photo. The Instagram, like, some of them have lemons and fruit, like really, really palm leaves, like the, like the hotel that we were just looking at, like the Beverly's Hotel. And then, you know, my indoor outdoor rugs are really what people absolutely love and need at this time of year. And they are on sale. So Ali, I think we're doing an additional discount on our candles.
There's gonna be a code for you guys, the EMG20 on Jillian Ali.com everything.
Will be 20 off. And we have things on sale. It'll be also on top of the sale. So that'll be.
That's amazing. Thank you, guys. So now you get a little bit of a discount if you want to head over to their website for everyone listening EMG20. Thank you both so much. We had so much fun. Another great episode of Excuse my Grandma. Rate us five stars wherever you're listening if you don't always already follow us on social media or Excuse my Grandma. So look that up on Instagram and TikTok. We'll see you next week.
Bye.