164 - Judgmental of Ozempic? And Countess Luann

Welcome to the show tonight. Jorge Cruise will guide your life. Why you're hungry, we'll explore. Sources from wisdom's door.

Welcome back everyone. I'm Jorge Cruise, your host, and welcome to the all-new Jorge Cruise Podcast. I've been on a soul-searching mission, really, in my life because at age 50, 3 years ago, a lot of things in my life kind of fell apart. And, uh, I was very privileged since, uh, 2001 when I first had my first book come out that hit the New York Times and 39 books since then and 13 of them on the New York Times. So I have no complaints and I'm still writing a book. I've got a book coming out next year that you guys are going to love. We'll talk about that on today's show. And in the process, you guys probably know about Zero Hunger Water, which is a product I created during COVID So it's been a while. But we were gonna launch it, uh, at January, at the start of this year. But like I said, at the start of this year, a lot of things shifted in my life. A lot of things shifted in my life 3 years ago. And so for 3 years now, I'm 53, guys. I just turned 53 this March. Um, I'd been on a journey and I really didn't know it was a deep internal journey because for me, I'm really lucky that at an early age I discovered the dangers of sugar and carbohydrates and how they can really change your waist circumference and how belly fat can be cured by lowering sugar and carbs. And I discovered what sugar calories were. I wrote many books on this topic. I discovered intermittent fasting. I knew about strength training and how important lean muscle was to keep your metabolism active. But for me, the thing I was missing outside of exercise and nutrition was, I, I call it mindfulness. And for me, 3 years ago. I experienced what we call an ego death, and it was something that a doctor helped me with. It was a ketamine IV therapy. Very interesting. It's done for people going through post-traumatic stress, suicidal thoughts, extreme depression. And I was in that world of not really knowing what the heck was going on with my life at 50. And when they say I had a midlife crisis, I had a midlife crisis. And I don't know if you guys can relate to that, whatever your age is. I can tell you it wasn't expected. It wasn't fun. And, uh, and I wasn't happy, you know, but through this process and this ego death, I discovered, shall we say, a different perspective. And that's the perspective that started my new journey, this soul-searching journey. And that perspective for me was one of serenity and peace. I learned something called the Serenity Prayer. About, it's a prayer that says, God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. And that is what this journey has been about. It's about gathering that wisdom that sometimes we miss in life and, and sometimes we can get. And for whatever reason, you know, 3 years ago at this time, I was going through a second divorce. Uh, my career in publishing kind of stalled out because of YouTube and COVID and all these things. You guys know how Things have changed. Not everyone buys books anymore. We'd rather go to YouTube. You may be watching this on YouTube and I get that. My father, Mel, passed away, which is really hard on our entire family. And, you know, I became a bit estranged from some other family members and I just didn't understand why. And I finally discovered that my ego was not my amigo. For all my friends out there that gabber in Español, we all know what an amigo is, a friend. But my ego had become something, a bit of a spoiled child, you know, where I have been granted so much success ever since 1996 when I visited with Oprah Winfrey in Chicago. And then my book came out a couple years later, hit the New York Times, and then it was book after book. There was a time in my publishing career where I was doing 2 to 3 books annually, you know, and I had a great team here in San Diego. I'm still in San Diego, and I can tell you when you lose all that. You really start to think about your life and what happened. And so for me, I went through this journey. And so what I'm excited to share with you on the podcast, and I'll be here every single week where we sit down and it's usually you and I, sometimes I'll bring a guest on. Today I have a special guest, uh, Countess Luann from the Bravo show, The Housewives of New York. She has a brand new show coming out next year called Love Hotel, and she was recently in San Diego doing her cabaret. And so we sat down to talk about mindset. Because she's someone like myself who's been through a lot of hardship and has overcome it and done it with grace and elegance. So she'll be on the second part of today's show. Uh, we recorded this last week when she was here in town and I wanted you to have that, but she's still on tour. And, uh, we'll include in the show notes all the cities and her website so you can go visit her and see her in tour mode, because I can tell you it's very uplifting. And for me, what my entire career has come down to is three pillars, and I thought I'd share those with you on today's episode. You know, I'm lucky that I always understood that the most underutilized form of antidepressant is exercise. It's a form of medicine, right? But a lot of, a lot of things have changed in the world of medicine because nowadays not only do we know exercise is medicine, we know food. Let food be thy medicine. Hippocrates said that thousands of years ago, but now there are actual medications. Like Ozempic. I have an elite coaching program where I work with people to look at medicine, to look at mindset, and to look at minerals. And we're gonna talk about minerals in a minute here because you may know about Zero Hunger Water and what that means to me, because Zero Hunger Water was a project I created out of necessity because during COVID during these hard times, you know, we were going through it all as a country and as a world, and that definitely hit me as well. I needed a way to curb down my hunger. And I discovered there are 3 essential minerals that can do that. So we're going to talk about that. And really it comes down to 3 pillars. And so what are my 3 pillars? My 3 pillars to wellness and to really understanding what people call a long healthspan, you know, where you have the quality and you have a lifespan that's long, but quality is important. You know, quality versus just living long. You want to have health and you want to have longevity, right? And I've always understood that the lower your waist circumference, the more longer your life will be. And for men, you know, Dr. Oz years ago taught me that for men it's gotta be 38 inches, guys, and less, and women 32 inches and less. And that's a general way to do it. But my healthspan was dropping 3 years ago. My belly fat had come back for a little bit, not a lot. And I've been in a place where I was depressed and you know, when we get sad, sometimes we'll do things like eat sugar and carbs or drink alcohol. Or abuse substances to numb our pain. So I want to tell you that these 3 pillars are based on this idea that it's not your fault, because really the reason, if you want to know really why you're hungry, is because there is usually something inside of us that is empty. And if we're in a place of pain, psychological, internally, physical, we're going to want to numb that. I mean, it's just human nature to avoid pain and seek out pleasure. And depending on your age and on your, your, how, how, how conservative you may be, some of us may be just eating cookies, you know, and ice cream. And that's one way, very conservative way that's socially acceptable. You can go any restaurant and eat that kind of stuff, right? It's everywhere. You can go to Walmart, you can go to Target, you can go to Costco. They've got gallons of ice cream waiting for us and cookies by the boxes, if not the pallets, right guys? So sugar and carbs are definitely one way a lot of us still deal with that. It's what I did as a kid growing up, being someone that was raised by a Catholic grandmother. You guys know my story, hopefully, where my grandmother used to say in Spanish, tú no eres maricón. And in Spanish, that means you are not gay. And I had no idea what that meant. I was raised in the '70s and '80s, and I had no idea other than I saw Liberace and I thought, well, that's not who I am. I'm not Liberace. I'm not flamboyant like that. And I'm not gay. And my grandma said I wasn't, but anytime I held a drink and had a pinky out, She'd push it in and smack me with the telephone cord. And, you know, I didn't realize that that was probably not healthy for my mindset and was traumatizing. But a lot of what happened in my childhood was programming, you know, and was it good or was it bad? You know, I think I've learned that everything in life happens for us, not to us. That's something Oprah Winfrey taught me. And I, looking back, I know it's why I have this incredible career. That's why I had a, a spouse who I had two great kids with, and I love my kids. And if anything, that's the reason I am motivated to continue to move forward in my life and in my career and continue to do my passion, which is talk to you guys about health, wellness, longevity, and all that. And as I get older, you guys are getting a little older too, and we can look at longevity with the greatest people, the greatest science out there that is now changing all that. And, you know, and they predict by by 20 years from now, we can actually stop aging, which seems shocking. I talked to a lot of people about that and they're like, that's never going to happen, but it's happening, you know, things like that. So for me, it's understanding that whatever has happened to us helps us, right? And so these 3 pillars came out of my understanding of how important my health was, but the mindset that I needed only came to me literally 3 years ago when I finally acknowledged that I had a big ego. And I didn't realize how big it was. And so I had to do a lot of amends, as they say, to, to, to a lot of people that I love to say, I'm really not just sorry, but I'm aware of something I didn't even know about myself, you know? And I also discovered from a doctor that I had ADHD from my childhood trauma, which, you know, comes from a lot, a lot of times from head trauma. And we're going to be talking to people like Dr. Amen this year. I've been wanting to talk to him for years. If you guys don't know who he is, he's in Laguna Beach. He is literally the world's premier brain health guy, and we'll talk about ADHD and what that means and what a superpower does to give us health in the sense of creative health. But it can also be an issue where we can't focus, and I had to learn to deal with that and learn about medications that were prescribed by doctors to help me with that, where I was judgmental of medications. Forget just ADHD medications, but judgmental 2 or 3 years ago about Ozempic, you know, and I had clients that came to me and said, well, we want to use this kind of stuff. Can we? And I was like, well, really? Come on, you're going to give up? And there was a shame to it, you know? And I'm so happy that Oprah Winfrey, March of this year of 2024, did a really great ABC special where she came out front and said, there's no more shame in using medications like these medications, like Ozempic, that can turn off hunger. And so we're going to be talking on the show. With great experts that can talk about how certain medications for certain people that have a heavy, high set weight point may need these medications, you know, and I have clients currently right now that are using medications like that with mindset and minerals that really can give us the edge. So let me share with you the 3 pillars because pillar 1, in my opinion, this is in the order of priority. Number 1, as much as you may be able to use a medication or even something like Zero Hunger Water, But if you don't get pillar 1 down, you're not going to be successful long-term with weight loss, health, longevity, let alone happiness. You're not going to feel great all day if you cannot get your mindset down. And the mindset strategy comes down to a simple idea that our ego is in the mind, right? I have this here to show you. This is the mind, right guys? The brain. This is where stress comes. This is where fear is. This is where our ego is because this is where we think about Understanding, um, the way things should be, but in life, the way things should be may not be the way they are, right? Because growing up Catholic, I had no idea I was gay and I didn't wanna be gay, but we don't get to choose that according to certain books like Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why. And when I read this book written by a doctor about genetics, I was like, oh, and it wasn't good news. I thought it was bad news, but. It's neutral. It's what we think it is. But see, we can distort reality with this thing called our brain. But this is the mindset of understanding that the ego's in here and we gotta downsize this every day. Because if we lead with our brain and we lead with logic, we're not gonna get to live a happy life. We're not gonna be able to be our true selves because if we base it on what we think, our, our, our worst enemies ourselves sometimes, our thinking, our ego. That once again will tell us that we deserve this and this and this, and that it should be all about us. And it's life's so unfair. And we get into these, these rants. And believe me, I was doing that with everyone. And there was a reason people became estranged from me. I was an asshole. I was. And so understanding the mindset is pillar number one of the ego. And it's then understanding that you need to go from that and understand that the true power comes from soul searching from your heart and understanding that your spirit, your soul, your, your, I think true self is in a different place. I have a little, a little icon for that, a heart, because this heart of ours, this is where I believe in here where you have that feeling, that internal feeling where your true self is. And because it's sensitive, the brain sometimes protects us. But what we gotta do is step 1, pillar number 1 for the mindset. Is we gotta drop the ego and let this part of us reign supreme. Because matters of the heart is where your health comes in. It's where your relationships come in. Matters of the heart are where your true self is at without fear. And I have a phrase that I like to tell a lot of my clients that let your faith be greater than your fear, which means let your heart be greater than what you think. Because if you can learn to turn this thing off that has been probably overutilized your entire life, and you can let your heart kind of lead your life moving forward as of, say, today, you're going to come from a place that's completely different. You're going to come from a place of gratitude, a place of understanding that it's really about being of maximum service to other people out there and not just about you, and that by you being of service to others, that your life will improve. But if you focus in on you, you know, and that's what a child may do, which is fine when you're a kid, but you got to focus in on not yourself, but on others. And I've learned that. And so we're going to be talking about mindset a lot on the show. Like today, we're going to have Countess Luann share with us some of her affirmations for overcoming obstacles, whether it's depression, divorce, whatever the problem is. We can overcome it through what we say to ourselves. And we're gonna talk about many strategies about mindset with celebrities like her, but also authors, experts, and doctors that will give us insights on how to turn this guy off and how to let the heart, the spirit, the soul reign supreme. Because when that can reign supreme, then step 2 or pillar 2 becomes possible. And so what is pillar 2 of my, my protocol, right guys? So pillar 1, mindset and understanding that the ego is not our amigo. Pillar number 2, minerals. I feel like in today's world, what I've researched and what I did over the last 3 books I wrote was understand that the topsoil in today's earth has been depleted and we only have so many more times where we can utilize the topsoil where minerals are going to be completely gone from our food source. And minerals such as sodium, magnesium, and potassium. Are the 3 most critical minerals, guys, that will regulate your hunger control. That if you want true hunger control from a, from a non-medical perspective, understanding sodium, magnesium, potassium are the key. And that's what Zero Hunger Water is all about. Now in the show notes, I'll give you the recipe because right now the product is not available. We were this close to launching it in January. We were going to premiere it in March of this year at Expo West, but unfortunately my investor wasn't able to continue. So we're right now currently looking for new investors and it's on hold right now. And if you're interested in that and learning more, you can always email me at jorge@jorgecruise.com. Uh, my email's everywhere because we're looking for the right person to team up with on that project. 'Cause it is on hold right now. But I can tell you, understanding the power of sodium, magnesium, and potassium to turn off what I would call false hunger and to zap away your hunger all day. You know, depending on how long you want to fast for, or just skip a meal or not be hungry between lunch and dinner. Understanding that Zero Hunger Water can do that for you is powerful. So we're going to talk on the show about what that is, how to make it at home, and how to utilize minerals throughout your life to regulate your hunger. Because if you can regulate your hunger, your waistline will shrink. You will then lose weight. That's really the key with that mindset being pillar one. And minerals being number 2, you're set. Now, pillar 3, let's get to that real quick because I want to share that with you because that's medicines. And that's the third pillar that I, because of my ego, did not want to embrace. I didn't want to embrace many medications. Now, I think of food be that medication. I was fine with that one. Exercise, of course, I exercise probably 2 to 3 hours daily and I don't do it because I want, you know, my arms to be big because I don't know. They're okay, but you know, I'm happy with the way I feel and look, but I do it for how I feel because medications, you know, listen, listen to this. The biggest medication out there, exercise, is the most underutilized form of antidepressant, more than any other medication out there. By you walking, exercising, lifting weights, whatever the activity is, it's going to bolster your serotonin and dopamine levels. You're going to feel amazing and your body's going to feel great. You know, at 53, I am in in my best shape ever than I was, say, 10 years ago, only because I've leaned into that as a tool to improve my mindset and to make me feel good, you know, all day. So I look at exercise and food as medicine, but then we are going to look at traditional medicines, everything from medications for ADHD to medications for hunger control, such as Ozempic. And we're going to talk about, about like what people are doing in the, in the public eye, like Oprah Winfrey, like Sharon Osbourne. Like so many celebrities are now public about their use and their embracing of medications like Ozempic to regulate their hunger long-term. And that's very important because if you don't have that support, especially if you have a, a high weight set point, the mindset and the minerals will help, but you'll never get to your ideal health. And I can tell you the greatest indicator of healthspan is your waist circumference. And if your waist circumference can stay at that range for men under 38 inches and for women under 32 inches, you get success, you get health, you get longevity, you get energy, you get, well, you just feel great all day and you sleep like a baby. But you have to understand that sometimes you may need a medication depending on where you've been in your life. And there's no shame in that anymore. And, you know, we're going to talk to experts that will tell us how they would utilize medications like Ozempic. Or medications like maybe Adderall if you have ADHD, and that is something that could help. So many great medications out there in many forms from food, exercise, to true medicines that need prescriptions. But we're going to look at that. And then we're also going to look at medications that are more provocative, such as ketamine IV therapy, psilocybin and LSD, MDMA, and all these medications that are now being considered in other countries mainly to help people with not just depression and anxiety, but with just overall mental health, because it's a growing, growing place where people are now utilizing those things to maximize their, their mental health and happiness. And so we need to embrace all those types of medications. Now, they're not all legal in the US and they're not legal in every country out there, but you know, there's ways to travel. You can experiment by traveling to countries where this is available. And it's interesting. It really is. And we're in that stage where I think the stigma of utilizing preventative medications are now not a big deal. You know, and I love and I applaud Oprah, you know, she turned 70 this year and Oprah Winfrey was the woman that started my career back in 1996. She's been a friend and someone that I've really relied on as, as a leader in our world and her March 18th special on ABC, I'll put the link in the bio for you guys, is something you should watch and about really how she's mastered finally for the first time in her life. Without a lot of effort. You know, she still exercises, she eats right, but she was able to get her weight down using products that are now somewhat controversial, but I think now somewhat more embraced. And I think we're in this new front where it took me a minute, you know, this year to really say, do I want to include in our podcast and in my next book this idea of medications that are not just food and things that may be more natural, but things like Ozempic. And the answer is absolutely. We need to embrace that all, and we need to drop the stigma and make it something that we can utilize to improve our lives and to improve the lives of our loved ones and everyone else in it. I hope that makes great sense, guys. Those are the 3 pillars. Again, mindset, minerals, and medicines. Those 3 are the core 3 principles that for me, I've been in this industry now 30 years, 23 years writing books. I've written 39 books. I have a new one coming out called Zap Your Hunger. It'll be out at the end of this year. And for me, you know, this is the culmination of my entire career. And I'm so grateful that whatever I went through 3 years ago, which I thought was, well, not really ideal. I wasn't really excited about having a midlife crisis about being depressed because, you know, I was Jorge Cruise and my ego was really big. The ego thought, oh, you're Jorge, you can do anything. And I wasn't able to get anything to happen for a little bit. I was stuck, if you know what I mean. And when you're stuck and you have expectations of yourself, boy, our greatest enemy can be ourselves. But I think of it not as ourselves, but as our ego. And there's a way to turn this off because the brain is great. It's great for matters that matter, like, you know, things that are important, like math and accounting and being logical about medications and cooking and recipes and logic and all that. But when it comes to happiness, and a lot of times why we're hungry, is simply because we're not happy inside. We don't feel great, you know, and what we need to do is understand that if we can go to the matters of the heart and learn to give the heart what it needs, which is acceptance and love and really faith, that all these things go away. The stress goes away and you have a way of almost instantly, you know, this is like a stress ball, right? Of reducing that stress where then you just feel phenomenal. Even though your finances may, may not be perfect, even though you may have gone through 2 divorces like I did, even though your parents may have passed, you're still gonna have a sense of gratitude for your own life and a sense of purpose for others to help others. And when you can get that, that magical point that you're here to serve others and you can be of service to others, then being healthy and being happy, it's a piece of cake, no pun intended. It will be happen. It will make you. Just a superstar person where then your health becomes something that not only you, you, uh, you, you utilize for your own benefit, but then becomes a tool to inspire others, whether it's kids, your family, your grandkids, your church, your community, whatever it is. But you being healthy can really have like a domino effect. And I can tell you my whole life has been that. And now that I'm in a place where I feel really strong again and healthy again, I know people come up to me at the gym and say, Jorge, you look great. What have you been doing? And I talk to them about where I was and where I'm at now. And, and I can tell you having the right mindset with minerals and the right medicines, meaning even food and exercise and strategies, whatever they are in the sense of traditional prescriptions with a doctor's prescription, of course, can transform your life. And so we're going to bring that all together here. And then oftentimes we'll have interviews with famous people. Today's show, we're going to cut to this now, guys. Is with Countess Luann. And if you don't know the story, I met Countess Luann about 10 years ago in New York City. And she has been not only a pop, a pop culture icon, but she's been a cast member of the Real Housewives of New York. She's part of the OG. She's in a lot of these shows called The Girls Trips. She's on an incredible cabaret tour right now this year, and then she'll have her Christmas special in December. Her website, countessluann.com, is where you get that information at. But we'll have a show note where you can see her whole schedule. You can get tickets. And she sat down with me just last week to talk about not just her show and where she's been, but I was able to get her to share what I think is critical, which are her affirmations, her mindset about overcoming adversity in midlife. And I hope her words empower you to really feel incredible about who you are and who you can be. So without further ado, guys, let me cut to Countess Luann. And you guys take good care. Please email me if you have any questions at Jorge, that's J-O-R-G-E, at JorgeCruise.com. Please share this link. The podcast is on Spotify, Apple, it's everywhere audio podcasts are at. It's obviously on YouTube if you like video. I'm a video guy. I like video always over audio. So I'll be on YouTube for you guys. Please share this. We're going to have clips of the show so you can share viral moments with your family and friends. And please know I'm here for you guys, and I can't wait to work with some of you in person. I can't wait for you guys to try Zero Hunger Water, more likely next year. And I can't wait for you to read my new next book coming out next year as well called Zap Your Hunger, guys. So a lot of great things happening. Thank you so much for spending time with me today, guys. Without further ado, here's Countess Luanne. Peace and purpose. Take good care, guys, and I'll see you next week.

We've been friends now for almost 10 years when we met. I think it was at the Mandarin Oriental in New York. Do you remember? We were on the Sky Lounge.

Yes, and I was on a date.

Yes, you were, and he was a very handsome guy.

You were on a date too, are you?

I was, I was, uh, back then.

And then I married the man, and now we've—

you and I both been through a divorce. So I, I think our second each, right?

So we've learned marry, have, kill.

Oh my gosh. Well, I'm just so happy you're here because, you know, we're kicking off our new season. I can't imagine who else to kick this off than with you, gorgeous. You have been for me a source of inspiration. Um, if anyone has made a comeback, it's been you. You've done it with class, with style, with grace, with elegance, and with fun. And so we're going to talk about many things. I think let's, let's catch up for a minute.

Well, you know, I get my inspiration from my fans, and I was asked every single show, Mary Evkile, Mary Evkile. And I didn't really know the game. Actually, we've never played Marry or Kill even on the Housewives. So really, excuse me, I didn't know what the, what the game was until they started asking me all the time, this Marry or Kill. And then I thought, you know what, that's the name of my next tour.

Yes.

Oh, that's the name of my next song that's going to go along with the tour. So, you know, this show is all about the men we married, the ones we left, and the ones we kill, you know, we're not killing anybody. The ones—

no, no, no, no, the ones we want out of our lives.

The ones that we say, uh, how do we say it in French? Goodbye.

Is that—

exactly. So with that, this song you did, tell us about the song. It's amazing. Who's the team behind it? Who remixed it? Tell us a little bit about the story of the song, and then we'll get into the show.

Okay, sure. So, um, so I wrote the song. It And then I talked to Bruce Roberts, who's an amazing producer.

Yeah.

And he loved it. And we made it a song together. But it really is based on, you know, my experience. There's men that we would marry, right? They give me such a thrill. There's men that I would have fucked and men that I would kill, right?

Well, you know, there's a couple, right?

The premise is a game, but yet still. The men are not the same. We marry, F, kill, or they marry, F, kill. So, so the whole tour and the whole song is about my experience. And that's what cabaret is about, really, you know. Cabaret is about personal experiences, you know. And so for me, I picked the song that I love, that I know my fans are gonna love because—

Absolutely.

You know, so Mother was listening to the same thing that I was listening to, right? So it's like a big sing-along. And so you're very immersed into the show. So I do pop culture, really cabaret comedy, and a fashion show at the same time. Because, you know, once I pick the song, I have to figure out how am I gonna get into that song with a story, right?

Right, right.

Because I have so many good stories. And I love to tell stories because I love to tell jokes.

Yes, you do.

I do. You know that?

Oh, yes, please. We'll get into that in a minute. We got some hot questions and stories to tell.

I love to host, I love to tell jokes, and I love to sing.

Yeah.

So basically I'm doing the same thing, but I'm doing it on a cabaret tour. So this is what the cabaret is all about, this is what my show is all about. Um, and they're going to see a lot of Giovanni dresses. I love my fancy dresses, you know, sequins and statement necklaces. They show up for me, and it's such a huge nod to me.

Oh yeah.

So I really— they can see also that I'm having the time of my life, you know. I'm out there, I'm doing my thing. I love it. I say they drive in a Toyota and they drive out in a Rolls-Royce because they don't know what to expect.

I love that.

Yeah. And you know, my director, Richard J. Alexander, my director, so I think things like—

and your director has directed, I mean, some other very big names. Drop a few names of what he's done, please.

Bette Midler, Barbra Streisand. You know, he's called the Diva Whisperer. And he came to my show and he goes, Countess, I've got to say, I was not expecting very much from you and you blew my mind. Well, it's absolutely insane. Second of all, you're funny. And third, you wear a dress like no woman.

Oh my God, your body. Remember I did those photos for you at Pam's house in the beginning? I said we should do a calendar. We still should do that. You know that for 2025, maybe. That'll be my project with you, the swimsuit calendar. You know what I love is— this is just a memory I have of you. I remember— I don't know if it was on the show years ago, and, and I've got a question about that that people have asked about it. But do you remember a clip of you? I think— were you in Italy and you were hosting this mega show? Yeah, I think you were speaking Italian.

Yeah, I speak Italian. So I lived in Milan and I used to work for Italian television.

That's it.

Know about me. Yeah.

Tell them a little bit about that.

Because that was like, that was the original TV debut of you, right?

Well, yeah, I, you know, listen, in Italy, back in the '90s, they love Americans. They still love Americans, but they really loved Americans, especially in television. And yeah, I got, I got intro'd by Egon Furstenberg, you know, Diane Furstenberg's prince husband. Yes. Now passed away. Egon, and Egon said to me, I said, I'm trying to model here, because he approached me at a party. He said, you're gorgeous. And he said, so I'm trying to model, but it's not going very well. And he goes, well, you should work in TV. Meet my friend Johnny Manganelli. So, so, Johnny, come to Rome, I give you a job next week.

So, yeah, yeah.

I got it. I go, should I go? And he goes, yeah.

So I went. Gorgeous.

Took a chance. And it became the Van White of Italian television because I couldn't speak Italian at that time. So then I realized after this gig that if I learned Italian, I could, I could go really up that ladder.

You picked that up quick, right?

Yeah, yeah, I did.

And I, you know, did you have an Italian boyfriend then?

Or are you with the Count? You weren't with him yet, right?

Before the Count, my boyfriend was blonde with blue eyes. Northern Italians are not dark.

Okay.

So I slowly worked my way up the ladder and become the co-host of a show on Sunday. They call calcio. In Italian, it's calcio. Yeah. So anyway, I became a huge star in Italian television overnight.

No kidding. You made that happen.

I made that happen.

And how long did it take you to learn Italian, would you say? Well, to get at least enough for TV, right?

Grip on it, at least a year. At least.

Wow.

Amazing.

Get a real grip. When you know, when you know how to tell a joke in Italian, you know you've made it.

Yes, exactly.

So and then, you know, I met the Count skiing with my Italian boyfriend in Switzerland.

And you know, in Switzerland with the Italian boyfriend, the blonde one. Yeah, you met the Count. What— I mean, not to tell, but tell us a little bit. How did you elegantly transition from one gentleman to this Count?

Well, it was rough. You know, you know, when you know, you know, yes, it's my show, because I talk about these kinds of things in my show, which is—

Yeah.

Gut instinct. We have more neurons in our gut than we do in our brain. Most people don't know that. That's true. Gut instinct. And it tells you what to do. What do we do? We go here. We go, oh, maybe I should do this. Maybe, maybe, oh, maybe.

That's right.

He's got this, he's got that, or she's got.

It's the ego too that screws up everything.

The head.

Right, but this knows, the tummy knows exactly what to do. Your gut knows what to do. So when I saw him, now granted my Italian boyfriend had to go on a business trip. So I was at a dinner party alone. With my mentor, Princess Helen.

Yes, what a great mentor, a prince.

Oh my, she said, always be the first to leave the dinner party, never the last. Keep them guessing where you go.

I love it. That's etiquette 101 right there, right?

Time when I did it, but you know, most of the time I failed to be the first.

Yeah, I love that.

A+ on that one. But anyway, so I—

but continue, please.

Yeah, I knew when I saw him, He was going to be my husband.

No, that instantly.

Wow.

It was the magic. That does happen, you know.

It is true.

Yeah.

Comes when you least expect it.

Yeah. Yeah.

And you got to take a chance, you know.

You have to, you have to roll the dice.

I think I left my career.

I left.

Yes. Career for him.

No, no, it's incredible.

If I didn't go with him, I knew I was gonna lose him. So I said, you know what, I got to the top, and now I'm gonna go and have my children. I just turned 30 years old.

30, and you had two gorgeous kids, a boy and a girl. How are your kids, by the way? Give us a little mini update if you can on the kids.

We got married two weeks later after meeting.

Wow, two weeks?

Two weeks, darling.

Wow, why did you wait so long? Johnny was not happy.

He was not happy.

No, no.

What did you tell him? How does one gracefully exit a relationship?

Sometimes you just have to do the Irish goodbye.

Oh, and for those who don't know the Irish, how would you summarize that for those at home?

Why is it kind of slip away when nobody's looking? You don't say goodnight and draw attention to yourself. I hate that you're having a dinner party and one person wants to leave early and then they come and say, oh, goodnight, I have to go home, I have to work tomorrow. I'm like, well, now you're killing my my game here, my— right.

So don't do that, right, Countess?

No, unless you're really close, it's a small group, maybe. You don't come and say, oh, sorry, I gotta work. No, just slip away, go home and slip away. Slip away.

Mystery, mystery.

I love that.

Slipped away.

I love it.

I love it. I love it. All right, so I have some questions from the audience. May I share them with you, please? So people want to know regarding the cabaret show, Have there been— and you've done this now, how many, how many, how many years have you done the cabaret now? This is your—

this came up earlier. I was on Jeff Lewis this morning and we talked about that. He goes, how many shows have you done? I said, I don't even know, but I would like to count because I started in 2018. So yeah, with Live Nation for years now.

So amazing.

I have to figure out how much I've done.

Well, and you've had many celebrity guests. So here's the question. Which one or who left you particularly starstruck out of everyone? Who starstruck you the most? Come on, tell us everything, please.

Well, Tony Yazbeck, who's a very, very big Broadway actor and tap dancer. Oh, really? Oh, tap. I love him. Well, Lance Bass is an amazing—

We love Lance. And he's a cutie pie.

He's so adorable. And who else? You know, Rachel Dratch from SNL. Yes. Bridget Everett. I love Bridget Everett. Yes. Murray Hill, who was in the show. Yes. Somebody, you know, where somebody— Yes. So anyway, so I've had a lot of big, big talent in my shows. And then we realized, you know, not that they— I mean, they have great talent, but the minute I go off the stage, they go to get a drink or they go to the bathroom. So my director's like, not anymore. You are doing the whole show. And, you know, I carry a 2-hour show. I love it.

I really do.

Amazing.

Love it. I'd be exhausted. Everybody's like, I mean, you're traveling so much, but I love it. I travel with a team. I've got, of course, 6 boys with me, 3 gay and 3 straight boys. It's the Brady Bunch.

That's the perfect ratio, the right balance. All right, a few more questions, Countess. And then at the end, I want to save a moment for a situation where— remember we did once an affirmation together to help people with stress? Because you're so powerful when you use these daily in your life. And so many of our viewers with this new season are really wanting to turn off that hunger for overdoing things, whether it's sugar, carbs, drinking, etc., you know, smoking, whatever. We just need to have balance. And I know you have some powerful thoughts on that, so let's save that. Let's do some fun questions. How about this one? This is an important one, I think. Since the, the Ultimate Girls Trip, which, uh, gal of the ladies do you stay in touch with the most, would you say? They're dying to know.

Uh, Dorinda.

Dorinda. I love Dorinda. Oh, you know, that's where I saw you last.

Uh, it was, uh, what was it?

It was at that party by the water.

Oh yeah, where were we?

The anniversary of Bond Street, wasn't it?

That's right, it was wonderful.

And Dorinda was there. Look, you both were gorgeous.

You're truly besties, right? Yeah, yeah, I love Dorinda. All right, this is a new one. Uh, this is a good one. Are you friends with any of the new cast members of the Housewives of New York? And I know they just finished filming their season, who's your— who's the one you're friends with, or any insights from the new season that you've heard?

I don't know them well, but I know, right, I know Bren, I know, um, is it Jen?

Jen. Out of all of them, is there one that you at least can text or call, or she checks in with you for coaching, if you will?

Well, nobody checks in with me for coaching, but they, you know, it would be right to, but they have not.

Yeah.

All right, all right, all right. But you're—

and your favorite, do you have a favorite?

Can you say out of the new cast?

I like Brit.

Okay, I like that. All right, good. All right, how about this one? This one's a little, a little shocking, but the rumor is that you reconnected with Bethany recently in the Hamptons. How was that?

Was, you know, it was, it was great to see her. Listen, you know, she, she said to me, well, I guess life is a cabaret, isn't it? And I said, yes.

And what did you say? What did you say? Well, you'd said more than that.

I said, yes, it is. Business.

Yeah, and she recently went through some heartache, right? After 6 or 7 years.

About that, I haven't seen her in a long time. Yeah, you know, she's got me blocked on social media since she asked.

No, she does not.

Yeah, she's blocked you on like IG? She says to me, I guess life is a Cabaret, kind of water under the bridge kind of scenario. And I go, yes it is.

But you're blocked.

Brit, Brit, take a picture with you. And I said, sure. So you take a picture with Britney?

I said, with her daughter?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Can you send me the pictures? And of course she doesn't send me the pictures because she— no. And then, and then wait, it gets better. And then she's got me blocked on social media. And then she does a TikTok the next day. And this is what really was like, oh my God, this is mind-blowing. She says in her TikTok that we connected, we're close again, battle's over, etc. And there's no battle. I mean, I have nothing against Bethany.

No, I mean, life is life. It's business. I get it. Show business, right?

So but then she says in this TikTok that, that Brynn helped bridge the gap between herself, me and me and her.

Oh, wow.

There you go.

A mediator, her daughter. I love it.

Well, yeah, the mediator. Like, she hasn't sent me pictures. I'm still blocked on social media.

Can you text her? She blocking you on text too?

Oh, she doesn't block me. Then she used her friend to get to me. You know what I mean? So yeah. Like, uh, I don't know about that.

But anyway, we'll pray for Bethenny that her heart opens a little more.

Want peace. Yeah, you know, but I just had to call her up for that because—

Yeah, no, of course. All right, another question from everyone. Out of all the iconic moments from the Housewives back when you were on there, uh, is there a famous moment from the show that you love, whether it was like Ramona's infamous catwalk or Dorinda heckling you at a cabaret? Or, I mean, you know, there are infamous moments. Is there one that for you will just go down in the record for the number one?

Probably singing with Natalie Cole.

I love that.

Really, it was magic.

Yeah.

I mean, I mean, an icon like Natalie Cole. I mean, for me, that was fondest memories. And the other was being in Marrakesh when, when Alex came down with the Herman Munster shoes.

Oh my God, no kidding.

All right, well, John makes mistakes happen.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, that's good. I mean, as much as we love Dorinda heckling you, I think that one's more memorable. Dorinda was just having a long night, maybe. All right, let's end with this. For anyone out there that struggles and wants to have your gorgeous body, wants to stop overeating, sugar, carbs, drinking, whatever it is, give us something. If you have stress— and you've done this with me before, but let's end with this because I'll let you lead it. Take us through this just for a moment. What would you say is something that you say to yourself that we can use as an affirmation? Because you know how much I believe in those, and I know you do as well. That is a go-to affirmation that anyone listening right now that's struggling with a friendship that's causing them stress, a work issue, anything that you can just say.

Well, I think that, uh, it would have to be, if you don't think you're great, nobody else will. It's about feeling good about yourself no matter, no matter what's going on in your life. Right. Um, and to be cool and don't be like all uncool is another one.

Amen. That, well, that's your go-to.

Yeah. Deep breath. Take a deep breath. It's gonna be okay. You know, um, it's about balance. It's about maintaining your, your composure. If you don't think you're great, nobody else will.

And that's true. All right. Lead us, take us through this. A deep breath. How would you do it with guiding us through it? Everyone's watching.

If you don't think you're great, nobody else will. If you don't think you're great, nobody else will.

Oh, I love that.

If you don't think you're great, no one else will.

Amen. Oh, that is— that is gold. That is gold. Thank you so much. Congratulations on the rumors for this new love show that you're involved in with some women, right? Some of the And give us a second on that. Is that a rumor? Or is that coming?

Maybe?

Oh, it's no, it's Bravo just released the show, the title, it's called The Love Hotel. And it's, you know, it's about love the second time around, in my case, third time around.

Yes.

Amen.

Yeah, three, they say three times the charm. So catch me if you can, which is probably—

I love it. And are they filming this in Cabo San Lucas? Is that true?

Apparently, apparently, they're going to try to find this love because it It's an epidemic of women these days in this country that are divorced. They have children. The guys run off God knows where. And, you know, we find ourselves in a spot where, you know, we need to find love again.

I love that.

So, you know, hopefully this is going to be inspiring for people, for women out there, um, that, um, you know, you have to keep an open mind. You have an open heart. You have to know if you don't think you're great, nobody else will.

Amen.

I love that. And that show's coming out this year or next year's, uh, Countess?

Uh, it'll be out next year.

All right. I love you. Thank you so much for sharing everything. Thank you for your time.

Welcome to the show tonight. Jorge Cruise will guide your life. While you're hungry, we'll explore sources found with some