September 30, 2021 • 44 mins
Carlos talks to star of Netflix’s Bling Empire and founder of Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery Christine Chiu about her infertility struggles, how the Netflix series Bling Empire came to be and how she ended up on the ABC hit TV series Dancing with the Stars.
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Christine Chi was born in Taiwan and came to the
United States when she was five years old. Being raised
in the Bay Area of Northern California, she made the
move to Los Angeles for college and would later co
found Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery. But you might be familiar
with Christine from the Netflix series Bling Empire as the
guitar Queen. On this episode of the Carlos Watson Show
(00:25):
podcast Christine, she reflects on her infertility struggles, how the
Netflix series Bling Empire came to be, and how she
ended up on ABC's Dancing with the Stars. But first
we jumped right into the interview with Christine about how
she first met her husband. Welcome to the show, Christine. Well,
(00:47):
how did Christine meet Gave Real? Well, we both worked
at the same up. It was a very large medical
corporation with hundreds of employees, so um the chances of
us actually meeting in person were rather slim. He was
one of the top plastic surgeons, if not the top
at that time, and I was a senior vice president
(01:07):
of marketing and sales UM so I worked out of
the corporate office and he worked out of the surgery centers.
But one day the surgery center missed the mail courier
and they had had an important package to deliver, and
so he offered to drop it off that corporate UM.
And then that's when he walked by my office and
and then he did one of those like back steps.
(01:29):
UM introduced himself, and he was so friendly and so bubbly. UM.
I and he his first invitation was for us to
go shopping or grab a bite, and so I thought, oh,
maybe he's you know, he's gay, and we just he
just wants a gal pal and we'll go have some fun. UM.
(01:49):
So I never really looked too much into it until
until I realized he was romantically interested UM, at which
point I thought it was too cliche too, you know,
data doctor, and I was above that and I didn't
need that, and so I pushed it off for a
very long time until we went on a double date,
(02:10):
but not with each other. Sorry, so I interrupted. So,
you guys knew each other. He was checking you out,
he had his eyes on you. You were not going
all the way there right away. You were trying to
put him in the friend zone. And then a double
date happens, but not even together. A double date happened
he was set up with another girl. I went with
another gentleman, and that evening his date was trying very
(02:33):
hard to impress him, and of course the slightly competitive
side of it came out, and UM, and I guess
in trying to prove something, UM, I ended up finding
that I actually kind of might half feelings for this man.
And we have been in separate, inseparateable since then. Easy
(02:56):
couples is there? Is it get hot and spicy? Were
you guys as a couple? Uh? In terms of fighting,
we actually work out very Um. We worked very well together. UM.
We have a lot of fun together. But then we
also both worked very hard, and I think we were
raised with the same work ethics. So I know a
lot of couples who live and work together there tends
(03:18):
to be uh struggles. For us, It's an easy shift
from work life to play life because we've both ascribed
to work hard, play hard. UM. And we didn't have
a child for the first ten years of our marriage,
so we really took advantage of that time to explore
each other, to explore the world. UM. When we started
(03:40):
the practice, we promised that we would travel at least
once a month so that we did, and we've gone
all over the world. We're very fortunate to have had
the opportunity to do so. But even if it were
a weekend bak um, we would stop that nothing just
to get away and unwind and enjoy time with each other. Like,
(04:01):
what are your three three secrets to good marriage? Well,
I can't. I definitely will not say that I'm an
expert in marriage because marriage is so individual and personalized. Um.
What works for our marriage is changing things up. I
happen to really like wigs and playing dress up, so
(04:27):
I like variety. So UM, you know, take that as
you will. Uh, But I think to be able to
have that level of respect for each other so important. UM.
We both know our strengths and weaknesses. I know that
you know at the office, he stays in his lane
(04:48):
and he handles patient care, and he's very good at surgery.
UM is extremely talented with surgery, UM and a wonderful,
compassionate doctor. But then when it comes to anything else,
he leaves it all to me and vice versa. I
don't kind of step into his lane and he doesn't
step into mind. So we have a good, good boundaries
set up. UM and that's built on a respect for
(05:12):
you know, each other's uh kind of yes strengths UM.
And then the third one, I would say, we're both
very adventurous and we both like to explore. So whether
that's in activity so we do together, or it's in food,
we just both love to learn. UM. And part of
constantly absorbing new information keeps things very fresh and exciting. So,
(05:38):
so talk to me a little bit about becoming a mom.
I so love that you've talked about kind of some
of the fertility challenges, and I feel like we're in
a moment here. We're thankfully more people, whether it's been
Gabriel Union or other people are having those conversations. There's
a lot of value to a lot of families and
and a lot of couples. Two people being open to
talking about it. Talk a little bit, if you will,
(06:00):
about your challenges and kind of what if anything ultimately
helped you get to to a different place. Uh. Infertility
is such such I unfortunately vastly shared struggle. UM, not
in just America, but globally. UM. Fortunately in America there
(06:20):
are a lot of resources and a lot of UM,
a lot of great professionals who can help guide UM
couples through that process. For me, the struggle was a
little bit more complex if you watch Bling Empire, because
the infertility did not come from my end, it was
my husband's UM. So that added a whole another layer
(06:43):
of difficulty, worse odds for us as a couple, UM,
shame in our culture. UH. And I think, UM, for me,
a lot of you know, I had I had worked
through a lot of emotions because on one hand, I
wanted to tell the world, you know, when I was
(07:05):
when I was kind of being looked at as uh,
this wife who just wants to travel the world and
not kind of take step into her role as a mother.
Maybe she is superficial or vain or self serving. Um,
why isn't she having a child? And then of course
the expectations from my in laws, who really needed, um,
someone to pass the family named down to. And my
(07:27):
husband is the eldest of the family, so the next
in line would be, you know, a son we would produce.
So it was layers upon layers of layers of struggles
and emotions. UM. And it was it was a difficult time.
I went through seven rounds of IVF in ten years. UM.
(07:49):
But because the infertility was the first round was it was.
It was a big blow because unfortunately the fertility fertility
doctors we utilized, they kind of rammed me through the
same generic program as a infertile forty year old woman.
So my body was blasted with an extreme amount of
(08:13):
medication that it almost like blew me away um in
the worst way. Uh. And then we found out that
the infertility was on my husband's end, and then we
had to triage that, so my husband's had to undergo
surgeries as well. UM. And then subsequent rounds were you
had the emotional roller coasters that go with it. There
was one round where they misplaced or lost my eggs um,
(08:37):
which was a whole another um chapter of my life
that was very hard to because finally we were able
to get viable sperm and eggs and then they misplaced them. UM.
And you know, over those last ten years, I if
I had a dollar for every fertility doctor who told
(08:58):
me to for get about ever being a mom, to
put that aside, focus on something else, pick another hobby, um,
and telling me straight to my face medically speaking, you
will never ever ever be a biological mother. To have
those words repeated to you by medical professionals who trust
(09:20):
over an extended period of time was very draining for
the body and the mind and the soul in spirit.
So it was a very tough time. And during that time,
there were very few people that I could speak to UM,
whether it was my own you know, uh not wanting
to discuss it, the shame that I felt, or the
(09:41):
confusion that I felt with anger that I felt, or
you know, awkwardness with other people. Regardless, I can remember
less than a handful of people and friends who I
had an opportunity to open up to. UM. So when
we had this opportunity to dopling Empire and two on
the surface show a lot of glitz and glamor, but
(10:04):
the undertone is to be able to share personal struggles
and hopes that others might take something away from it
or might be able to be strengthened in their own struggles. UM.
That was the most appealing part of the project for me,
UM was this opportunity to share my story and and
to open up that dialogue in that conversation to make
(10:25):
it less um shameful or embarrassing, because the more we
talk about it, and the more and there is so
much support we just don't talk about it enough. When
I hear what you describe most of us having had
experts tell us to do the wrong information, lose our eggs,
multiple rounds by the f blasting our bodies, We got
(10:48):
in laws, other legacy expectations involved. I'm not confident most
of us would have sustained and ultimately gotten to a
better place. When you look back, what are one or
two of the things that you did that allowed you
to sustain and get to a better place than maybe
someone watching this can say, oh, I hadn't thought about that,
or maybe I should think about that as well. Were
(11:09):
there one or two things that you now look back
on and you're glad you did that helped I think
it's my faith. Um. I was raised Christian, and you know,
I went to Christian schools and Catholic schools um almost
all of my life. So in there at the core
of it all was this faith that if it's God's will,
(11:30):
it will be time. So um. There of course there
were struggles and um and really difficult down moments, but
at the end of the day, I always said to myself,
if this is God's will and God is above, you know,
any doctor in this world, and um, you know, miracles
(11:53):
do happen. So I think, yeah, that's what grounded me
is faith. And you know there are so many different
people have different sources of faith, but it's to go
back to that one thing that grounds you or that
one source that brings you comfort. Um. I feel as
though it's really important. This is something that I am
(12:15):
trying to see how to incorporate into raising baby g
is for him to have an awareness that there's a
greater there's a greater energy, or greater power, or a
greater something, um than just us. And and if you
can first scress that concept, then then you kind of
(12:36):
find your place in life and you then you start
to find your navigation if that makes us, If that
makes sense. But spirituality, I guess m is very important
(13:05):
because I hear you, it strikes me that you probably
have pretty interesting thoughts on what it means to be
a woman in these kind of modern days and modern times.
How do you think about your own femininity? And I
realized that's a big question, and so I don't mean
to make you have to give me everything on it.
But just as I hear you, I'm seeing this businesswoman,
I'm seeing this adventurous wife and uh and partner. I'm
(13:30):
seeing this. I still want to call you, bay Area.
I want to still want to claim you. I know
that you're here. Oh nice. Okay, let's see what happens
this year. I hope they have something good happens, or
this year we'll say, Okay, let the young guy Trey Lance.
I hope they let hit them in there to play,
which would be good. But but but talk to me
a little bit about and again I'm not looking for
(13:52):
anything in particular. I'm just I don't know why. I'm
kind of curious to hear it from you. How do
you think about being a woman today and is there
any difference than maybe what it was true for your
mom or what you thought it would be to be
a woman when you were, you know, sixteen seventeen. I
think being an American woman today is so exciting because
we are fortunate and fortunate and blessed enough to be
(14:15):
afforded so many liberties and freedoms and opportunities. Um and
I feel like the sky's the limit. And to do
anything less than pushed out your full potential, I think
is I don't want to say a waste, but it's
it's it's really a waste of of this beautiful life
(14:36):
we've given. We've been given so UM. For me, being
a woman comes with so many responsibilities UM. And I
have to take it into the context of being an
Asian American woman, especially during this time. And I'm I'm
a first generation Asian American woman. What does that mean?
What traditions do I carry on from my family value?
(15:00):
And how do I adapt that to a modernized world.
How do I take advantage of all of the freedoms
and liberties that I am afforded as an American and
mesh that together to make the most impact. UM. But
I feel like that's that's my that's kind of my
core go to word is impact. UM. I gave the
(15:20):
graduation speech when I graduated from Pepperdine, and my speech
was centered on UM service leadership and UM inflicting positive
change and impact in the communities that uh, you know,
we're we're in and the communities that we love, and
also those that are underprivileged. So I do feel that
(15:45):
we are on this planet for a reason and UM,
and we need to find that purpose. And I know
this might be less American to say, but the purpose
isn't just about ourselves. It's really not about making us
being the best that we can be, or like being
a superstar. It's extends more than that. Maybe your superstardom
(16:07):
is inspirational to other children who one day want to
push for excellence in athletics or you know, theater. Um.
But it's about the long that the longer impact that
your life will lead UM, and the legacy that you
can leave. So UM, there is a lot of responsibility
(16:28):
in my heart. UM. There's so much to do and
not enough time. UM. But it's important to recognize the
platforms and the opportunities are given and to leverage those
for exponential impact. So how did you improse that? Your
idea is that their idea to think of get you?
Did you go get them? Um? That I think the
(16:48):
concept of getting together crazy rich Asians It's actually been
around prior to the movie, UM, at least in Los Angeles.
A couple of production companies have tried in the past
assembling UM such a group, but none of them were
Obviously none of them were as successful, UM, but I was.
(17:09):
I've known the creator of Bling Empire, Jeff Jenkins, for
a very long time because I love production, I love
storytelling through the art of the art of storytelling through
production and um So we had worked on a couple
of developing a couple of other TV projects prior to
Bling Empire UM and he brought up this project and
(17:30):
UH asked if myself and my husband would be involved,
And at first we were very resistant because A it's
very non Asian to be on unfortunately, to be sharing
all of your dirty laundry, so to speak, UM on
a reality TV show and UM and be it just
we didn't feel like it could at that when we
(17:52):
were initially approached, we didn't feel like it um it
was on brand with all of the projects and things
we wanted to published. But then when we kind of
sat back, so we agreed to join from kind of
a productive perspective, but not to be on camera. UM.
But when being on camera became like a contingency for
(18:12):
our involvement in the project, we had to sit back
and weigh the pros and cons and the pros really
outweighed the cons. Um. I mentioned leveraging you know, a
global platform something like Netflix, UM for a greater good
or greater cause, But secondarily or equally important is propelling
Asian faces and voices and stories onto mainstream media. UM.
(18:37):
And selfishly speaking, I don't recall any I recall very
few Asian American actors and actresses when I was growing up,
and um, I do. I grew up in a very
um kind of Caucasian environment and very Caucasian environments, UM.
(18:57):
And I remember feeling like I wanted to be white.
I really wanted to have blonde hair and blue eyes.
In fact, I didn't pop in blue contact lenses and
I did dye my hair blonde because all of my
friends were white. And I never felt beautiful because I
thought that that was beautiful. So to be able to
(19:18):
take part in what is a historical um shift, an
opportunity in mainstream media for an all Asian ensemble cast
is something that we really should not and did not
give up because I want baby G to be able
to watch TV one day and movies and and see
(19:41):
just as frequently UM Asians and and Asians that are
who are celebrated or in diverse roles um. Not just
the delivery man, or not just the Chinese takeout or
the dragon lady, um, but for the karate kid um.
But you know Asians who are living their normal, everyday
(20:01):
lives who are beautiful, who experienced the ups and downs
in life just like um, you know everyone else and
um and I'm really proud of this project and and
the dialogue that it's opened up. When did you first
begin to feel beautiful? That's a very good question, um,
(20:22):
I think when I it's it's interesting because of course
I work in the industry of beauty, so UM, for me,
it wasn't. Uh. I think there was a shift between
the focus of exterior physical beauty too interior acceptions of self. UM.
And I would say that that shift would come every
(20:46):
time I was in moments of happiness, I would feel beautiful.
So I think one of my kind of my mantras
in life is to always know find what makes you
happy and keep going back to it. Find those people
who make you smile and make you feel whole, and
see them more often, talk to them more often. Like,
find those sources and those pockets of happiness, and dwell
(21:08):
in it because it that beauty comes from with it. UM.
I know it's you know, it's it can be cheesy,
but it truly is. UM. So there was a certain
point where I didn't care as much about my appearance.
It was about how I felt. And do you feel
good about yourself? Um, physically internally otherwise, how do you
feel about yourself today? The great thing about aging is, um,
(21:34):
you learn to care less about most things. I mean
you care you care more about the important things and
less about the non important things. Right, So, UM, I
think maintenance of self is really important. UM. Physical maintenance
itself is very important because in the act of maintaining
your physical appearance, is you telling your body and your
(21:57):
and your soul that you care about you, um, that
you value yourself. And there's beauty in that. So whether
it's making sure your hair is you know, looking lovely,
or taking care of your skin, um, or keeping yourself
in a healthy state, all of those things are acts
(22:17):
of love to yourself, which perpetuates beauty. It's interesting that question,
that journey of self acceptance, and particularly as you said,
whether you're an immigrant or some other way you know,
not in the majority, how do you get not just comfortable,
but really get excited about who you are and kind
of your own your own journey? Um? All right, I
(22:38):
love that you called my little guy baby G because
it automatically just means that he's gonna have so much
game and he's gonna be it's gonna be so fun.
Are you a believer in nature or nurture? What do
you think determine someone's personality, including Baby G. You think
it's gonna be more nature or more nurture. Oh, of course,
it's the combination of the two. Um and Gave and I.
(23:01):
We poke at each other all the time, like that
one's from you. Oh, that comments definitely come from your
side or that like that snarkiness, that's definitely your side
of the family. Um. Yes, it's so much fun. He
is learning to negotiate. Um. He'll be like, I see
what you're saying, but I will come back with this,
(23:24):
and then there's a little fun. There's a part of
you where you're like, no, I'm the I'm the adult.
You listen to me. But then there's the other part
where it's like you're so curious to see where this
negotiations going to lead. You kind of employ along. Um.
I think it's a really fun stage right now. He
he likes to call himself Baby G, although he knows
his name is Gabriel, so he'll spell his name g
(23:46):
A B R I E L that spells baby G.
You gotta like it though. That is a great way
to good note, um, are you? How hands on a
mom are you? And how hands on my mom? You
think you will continue to be over the next few years.
I think a lot of people expect me to kind
of be a helicopter mom or tiger mom um, because
(24:09):
I expect a lot out of myself. But when you've
waited so long for a child, UM, and this miracle
comes true, all you want to do is kind of
sit back and like absorb all of that and take
it all in and enjoy it. So I'm less of
a disciplinarian M. I I think I probably can tighten
(24:32):
up the ship. I'm just having too much fun watching him.
He's just like a movie UM. And most of the
time I'm smiling so much I can't even like focus
to like sit down some ground rules. My husband's much
better at that, UM. But I do need to spend
and I do spend a lot of time with baby
(24:53):
G because growing up my parents were extremely successful but
also busy and absent and UM. On one hand, that
has helped me develop UM kind of discumption and this UM,
I will figure it out. I can solve this. You know,
this independence and this this problem solver side of me
(25:16):
which comes in very helpful um comes has been very
helpful throughout my life. But the other part of me
feels like there's this emptiness that I would not want
baby get to ever feel. So I think it's important
for parents to find that balance, to let their child
(25:37):
know that there will they are there. They're always going
to be there, but you will let them grow and
expand and um develop into the beautiful human that they are. Um.
I one thing that it's a silly thing, but I
promised myself that if I were ever a parent, I
(25:58):
would take my child. I'll to school and pick him
or her up every single day because my parents never
did that. And I, you know, sometimes these little things
they stay in your head. It's important and um I
remember just you know, sometimes I would be afraid that
(26:18):
no one would pick me up, or or like I
always looked at my friends parents and they're always there
picking their kids up. And I know my parents were
working hard and accomplishing so much, UM, but I just
wish they were there. So I am no matter what,
We're filming two shows right now, we're running a business.
(26:39):
I have other investment projects. Um, it does not matter.
I will be there at drop off and pick up.
The only thing you can make that better Because my
favorite aunt did this. Punt Carmela came out and lived
with us for half a year. She used to do
the nicest thing. She used to stop by my favorite
little restaurant, which was KFC, and she would bring me
the little kids. And so not only was she there,
(27:02):
which normally my parents for the same reasons couldn't be there.
And so, like you, I wondered if anyone was coming
to get me, and I would see everyone else get
picked up, but she would come and she would have
this nice little box that you wouldn't even tell me
and would just be on the seat. And so I
am sure you are do amazing stuff with baby G.
But but that kind of stuff, you know, probably stays
with you forever. I still remember it all these years later. Yes,
(27:24):
And something else that I love to do with baby
G is we love going to museums. Um, we just
love exploring. So we spend every last second we have.
I mean, of course the beach and hiking and outdoors
and finding going on bug hunts, those are all very important.
We have an herb and veggian fruit garden um that
(27:46):
uh he loves and is growing amazing. I think we
have a thirty some varieties of all sorts of goodies
growing right now. And he works with farmers during the
day in the morning before going to preschool. Um uh
to work on his freen thumb. But uh we I
just we love exploring um and whether it's the dinosaur museum, um.
(28:11):
And that's what's great about Los Angeles. Los Angeles has
everything you've got, music and arts and culture and um.
We also started taking baby Gee traveling with us very
very early on, just so that his eyes can from
a very young age see the diversity in the world
and grow a love and appreciation for it as well. Christie,
(28:51):
I know they're gonna take you from me in a minute.
But before I gotta would start, how did that happen?
Whose idea was that? Was that? Your idea? There? Oh?
My goodness. Know. I have been a fan of Dancing
with the Stars since day one. I was in the
audience Season one. Yes, I lined up outside, Um I
was I think I took off work. I lined up outside,
(29:14):
waited hours to get inside, sat there. It was love
at first sight and dance is my love language, and
I think it's a beautiful art form and therapy and
and Dancing with the Stars is like it's fantasy land.
So it's so crazy that fifteen years later I sat
(29:37):
I've actually sat in every seat in that ballroom as
an audience member, and I've never danced on that ballroom
until on the floor of that barroom mental last Monday,
and it was incredible. We were you confident? Were you nervous?
Did you all? Were you already a great dancer? Like?
How did you get ready? Because they do such masterful
(29:57):
things on Dancing with the Stars. Yes, and this season
most of the stars have extensive professional dance training, so
stay star high. Um, it's no longer just folks who
enjoy music and bopping around. These are trained performers and
so I have to keep up with them. But I
(30:17):
wasn't going to pass up this opportunity. Um, it's my
dream show and I'm I'm living it. I'm living my dream.
Which to the other folks, are you excited to get
to know or that you already knew in your lad
that you're getting to do something together? Uh? The whole
group is really fun. I think the energy and the camaraderie.
I didn't realize. Um, it wasn't until after the show
(30:39):
that I realized the most fun part of the day
the premier day was actually the dress rehearsals, because we
took turns dancing and cheered each other on and shouted,
and I love that feeling of UM working together and
working in friendly competition. Sprised you about being and dancing.
(31:00):
The stars are that people who even have been in
the audience, and then fans will be surprised to know.
Give me one or two things that that will surprise votes. Well,
I didn't realize I needed like seven layers of spray
tan so though a lot of my time is dedicated
to exfliating and then like layers and layers layers of
spray tanning. UM. Other than that, I didn't. I didn't realize.
(31:24):
I should have realized, but I didn't hit until I
was on the show. Until I'm on the show. Now,
how important votes are? UM, I understand it's a voting
TV format, but voting really can take you through all
the way, so you can be the very best answer
in the competition. But if you don't have the support
(31:46):
UM and the votes, you can fall out. So that
part is a route awakening for me because here I
am the first time, super giddy going into it. Um,
just like spacey and like a kid and Nick handy shop.
I liken it to having a crush on a boy
for fifteen years and finally he asks you out to
(32:06):
a dance or to dinner. And so I'm still in
that state of like disbelief and happiness. I and then
I realized, wait, the dancing. I mean, I could dance
my heart out, but if people don't vote for me,
it's a political campaign. You got to get your politics thought. Now,
(32:28):
are you ever going to run for office? Is Christine?
You gonna run for office? One day? Oh? This is
a dancing with the campaigning for votes on Dancing with
the Stars is my political career. I love that. I
love that. I want to do a little rapid fire
with you. Do you mind if I hit you a
little resterchoire? What's your favorite movie ever? Uh? Shot, most
interesting famous person you've ever met, Most entering celebrity you've
(32:50):
ever met? Uh Prince Charles? Wow? Oh that's interesting. Um,
what's your karaoke song? Oh? Do not let me ever
go up to the mic? Oh? My gosh, you will
go death. Don't do it. The most beautiful place you've
ever been to, Patagonia at the edge of the earth.
Are you a hotel girl or you airbnb girl? What
(33:13):
do you love? Um? Depending on the occasion. Um, I
don't like hotels and I don't like airbnbs. So I
like things that feel like an extended home. Um that
retains the flavor of wherever we're traveling. So I don't
know where that lands. Usually we're able to find something. Yeah. Um,
(33:34):
if you could have dinner with anyone dead or alive,
who would you love to have dinner with? Oh, my gosh,
oh jeez um good? Or that someone dead? You might
have to come back to me on that one. Can
I have a dinner party a couple of them? Yeah? Yeah,
goner party right now? So many unanswered questions. Let me
(33:57):
get back to you on that one. Let say what
party throwing? Party? Throwing is very important to me and
I have to put together the perfect table. I love
that I want to invitation, but I like that I
want to invite to the table. You know, one of
the things I love talking about on the show is
how people dream fearlessly because you know, so often we
constrict ourselves and we don't allow ourselves really to go there,
(34:18):
and even if we do, actually bringing those dreams into
reality can be incredibly tough. It's the most interesting thing
you've learned that dreaming fearlessly. My personal advice for dreaming
fear fearlessly is to step away, actually, because I feel
like sometimes there's so much pressure in that laser focus
(34:39):
in that there's so much emphasis and pressure in the
manifestation of a dream and then working towards a dream,
that it takes away the fun, and it takes away
from the experiences of that journey and the ride to
accomplishing that drain or arriving at the end. Um. But
b I think that when you step away, things will happen. Um.
(35:04):
There's something refreshing and good for the soul when you're
able to let go um. Just even if it's just
first Mitch, let go of that dreams for a little
bit and then come back to it. You don't have
to stay in that tunnel forever until you get there.
I think that it's too stressful. Who's been one of
your most unexpected allies in terms of bringing your dreams alive?
(35:27):
I think you find allies along the way. Um. I
think you have to make yourself an ally. I think
you have to so much. And I do this a
lot now. I pep talk, um. I pep talk myself
a lot, whether it's dancing on Dancing with the Stars
or getting through the day as a mom. I mean
being a mom. As much as I am so grateful
(35:50):
that I finally get to experience motherhood, It's not the easiest.
It really isn't. And I'm kudos to all of the
amazing mom mom's out there, kudos to momhood, um, because
I mean there are days I am sticking my hand
down that toilet to retrieve a toy or you know,
wifing woop with very little tissue, so um, and just
(36:13):
scrambling in the expectations of being a good mom. Um.
So I think self love and self forgiveness, UM, self talk,
all of that are important steps to becoming your own
best ally. I had an interesting actor told me that
(36:33):
one of the Nike training coaches said the one thing
that he has seen in common from Serena Williams to
Russell Wilson is that the great athletes talk to themselves.
He said, when you see them getting ready for competition.
They are coaching themselves. And so I love that you
said make yourself your own ally, I love that. I
love that for sure. UM, what do you value most
(36:54):
in this world? What do you value? Uh? I lost
my mother last year, UM, and that was the most.
It was a very, very tough time. And I know
many of us have lost many loved ones UM in
the last year. So after having lost my mother, UM,
(37:17):
it really shook me. Of course, I've always valued family,
and of course I've always valued living a healthy lifestyle.
But it wasn't until you lose someone so close to
you that and you feel almost alone, that you realize
how important it is to build UM, build loves around
you UM, so that when if you do experience another
(37:42):
moment of despair or abandonment, you do also have some
support UM. And then also to appreciate the health that
we do have and to preserve it. UM. So much
of what we eat and you know, what we drink,
and how we exercise or not UM, the content that
we intake, the toxicity that flits around our lives, like,
(38:04):
we need to monitor all of that and and understand
that all plays into our overall health. So UM, increased
time with family. Of course, uh is there has become
number one on my priority list, spending extra time with
Baby G and spending as much time as I can
with my husband, even if it's just being near, you know,
(38:27):
even if we're we don't necessarily need to be Hella skiing,
but to be near and to know that we're there
for each other and m to tighten that family unit.
You know, this has been a tough time for many
Asian Americans in terms of safety and sadly violence and
other sorts of things. What have you experience and what
(38:47):
are you seeing and are you finding yourself more hopeful today?
Are you more afraid today? Are you experiencing any of
it yourself being there in California, being in Los Angeles? Yes? Unfortunately, Yeah,
us we have experienced it. Baby G experienced it. We
were walking in the grove, which is I mean, Los
Angeles is already very multicultural to metropolitan cities. Um and
(39:11):
we would have never ever expected any type of public aggression.
Um and uh. We were walking baby G he was
a one and a half at that time, in a stroller,
and both Gabe and I had our masks on, and
Baby G we had mass sent sunglasses on and Baby
G just had a mask, but you could tell he
(39:32):
was Asian. And two men came over and uh, they
were pointing at him and yelling at him to go
back to China and take the Wuhan virus with him.
And then it was it was And what's most saddening
about that was it was a father and son. It
was a father telling his son and encouraging his son,
and together they were yelling at a child. UM. And
(39:54):
that broke my heart. And it didn't break my heart
for baby G because fortunately he was too young um
to understand the situation, but it broke my heart that
it's at that time, it's the level of racism and prejudice,
um and ignorance is still so present. UM. So you know,
(40:22):
I've I've had microaggressions here and there. UM. As Asians
are were raised to kind of just internalize, um, just
to take it and work harder, prove your worth, show
show you like your revenge is your success. You know,
let them talk down at you, let them kick you down,
(40:42):
and and you're gonna rise up one day and you're
gonna show them by being a doctor or a lawyer
or CEO Um. That was the kind of the mentality
and the message when I was growing up. But I'm
very very very proud that through this Asian hate experience
that just occurred, there was a shift, UM. And I'm
(41:05):
so grateful that that shift happened with Baby Like Baby
G is part of that shift, where Asians really came
together and said, no, we will not stand down and
we will not be quiet. We're going to speak up
because this is not right and this is not the
future we want to raise our children in. UM. So
I'm really proud that during this time. The silver lining
(41:29):
of this time was we were able to unite. UM.
We were able to speak up. We were able to
slowly but uh, you know, progressively and UM and with
strength change the narrative UM and kind of reset the boundaries. UM.
And what's most comforting is that the world, Americans, the
(41:55):
world all stood behind us. There was a lot there's
there was so much support, and I'm really appreciative of that.
So as many people as they were ignorant, um and
hateful towards Asians, there were significantly more who supported and
really helped amplify our voices. So I'm grateful because I'm
an optimist. Maybe it's a moment for us all the
(42:16):
learning grow and get better and UH and force some
of these things to I don't know if fixed is
the right word, but but at least be addressed. So yes,
and I do believe that it comes from early education.
I think, going back to nature and nurture. It starts
at the home, it starts in the schools. If we
can correct and if we can set the mentality of
(42:38):
children clearly and straight um. I don't know if it's
the right word, but if we can promote messages of
inclusivity and acceptance and celebration of diversity very on, very
early on in childhood, I think that's the key, and
that's the ticket to a greater um and more beautiful
that's future. I have to meet you in UH and
(43:01):
Gabriel and baby g at some time, maybe when I'm
in l A. At some point, I have to come
by and say hello, We would love to host you
any time, my crazy dinner party with dead folks. You
know what, I'm gonna look forward to it. As long
as the food is good. I'm okay, dead or alive,
I'm looking That's always a guarantee. Yeah, for this and
(43:23):
be safe, be careful with the dancy with the stars.
I know that that is no joke, and I think
someone told me you might even have hurt your rib
or something, so to be good, be safe. Yes, thank you,
Thank you so much. It was such a pleasure. It
was my pleasure. Thank you for listening to this episode
(43:54):
of The Carlos Potson Show podcast. If you enjoyed this episode,
please tell your friends to find us on I heart
podcast app or Apple podcasts.
Christine Chi was born in Taiwan and came to the
United States when she was five years old. Being raised
in the Bay Area of Northern California, she made the
move to Los Angeles for college and would later co
found Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery. But you might be familiar
with Christine from the Netflix series Bling Empire as the
guitar Queen. On this episode of the Carlos Watson Show
(00:25):
podcast Christine, she reflects on her infertility struggles, how the
Netflix series Bling Empire came to be, and how she
ended up on ABC's Dancing with the Stars. But first
we jumped right into the interview with Christine about how
she first met her husband. Welcome to the show, Christine. Well,
(00:47):
how did Christine meet Gave Real? Well, we both worked
at the same up. It was a very large medical
corporation with hundreds of employees, so um the chances of
us actually meeting in person were rather slim. He was
one of the top plastic surgeons, if not the top
at that time, and I was a senior vice president
(01:07):
of marketing and sales UM so I worked out of
the corporate office and he worked out of the surgery centers.
But one day the surgery center missed the mail courier
and they had had an important package to deliver, and
so he offered to drop it off that corporate UM.
And then that's when he walked by my office and
and then he did one of those like back steps.
(01:29):
UM introduced himself, and he was so friendly and so bubbly. UM.
I and he his first invitation was for us to
go shopping or grab a bite, and so I thought, oh,
maybe he's you know, he's gay, and we just he
just wants a gal pal and we'll go have some fun. UM.
(01:49):
So I never really looked too much into it until
until I realized he was romantically interested UM, at which
point I thought it was too cliche too, you know,
data doctor, and I was above that and I didn't
need that, and so I pushed it off for a
very long time until we went on a double date,
(02:10):
but not with each other. Sorry, so I interrupted. So,
you guys knew each other. He was checking you out,
he had his eyes on you. You were not going
all the way there right away. You were trying to
put him in the friend zone. And then a double
date happens, but not even together. A double date happened
he was set up with another girl. I went with
another gentleman, and that evening his date was trying very
(02:33):
hard to impress him, and of course the slightly competitive
side of it came out, and UM, and I guess
in trying to prove something, UM, I ended up finding
that I actually kind of might half feelings for this man.
And we have been in separate, inseparateable since then. Easy
(02:56):
couples is there? Is it get hot and spicy? Were
you guys as a couple? Uh? In terms of fighting,
we actually work out very Um. We worked very well together. UM.
We have a lot of fun together. But then we
also both worked very hard, and I think we were
raised with the same work ethics. So I know a
lot of couples who live and work together there tends
(03:18):
to be uh struggles. For us, It's an easy shift
from work life to play life because we've both ascribed
to work hard, play hard. UM. And we didn't have
a child for the first ten years of our marriage,
so we really took advantage of that time to explore
each other, to explore the world. UM. When we started
(03:40):
the practice, we promised that we would travel at least
once a month so that we did, and we've gone
all over the world. We're very fortunate to have had
the opportunity to do so. But even if it were
a weekend bak um, we would stop that nothing just
to get away and unwind and enjoy time with each other. Like,
(04:01):
what are your three three secrets to good marriage? Well,
I can't. I definitely will not say that I'm an
expert in marriage because marriage is so individual and personalized. Um.
What works for our marriage is changing things up. I
happen to really like wigs and playing dress up, so
(04:27):
I like variety. So UM, you know, take that as
you will. Uh, But I think to be able to
have that level of respect for each other so important. UM.
We both know our strengths and weaknesses. I know that
you know at the office, he stays in his lane
(04:48):
and he handles patient care, and he's very good at surgery.
UM is extremely talented with surgery, UM and a wonderful,
compassionate doctor. But then when it comes to anything else,
he leaves it all to me and vice versa. I
don't kind of step into his lane and he doesn't
step into mind. So we have a good, good boundaries
set up. UM and that's built on a respect for
(05:12):
you know, each other's uh kind of yes strengths UM.
And then the third one, I would say, we're both
very adventurous and we both like to explore. So whether
that's in activity so we do together, or it's in food,
we just both love to learn. UM. And part of
constantly absorbing new information keeps things very fresh and exciting. So,
(05:38):
so talk to me a little bit about becoming a mom.
I so love that you've talked about kind of some
of the fertility challenges, and I feel like we're in
a moment here. We're thankfully more people, whether it's been
Gabriel Union or other people are having those conversations. There's
a lot of value to a lot of families and
and a lot of couples. Two people being open to
talking about it. Talk a little bit, if you will,
(06:00):
about your challenges and kind of what if anything ultimately
helped you get to to a different place. Uh. Infertility
is such such I unfortunately vastly shared struggle. UM, not
in just America, but globally. UM. Fortunately in America there
(06:20):
are a lot of resources and a lot of UM,
a lot of great professionals who can help guide UM
couples through that process. For me, the struggle was a
little bit more complex if you watch Bling Empire, because
the infertility did not come from my end, it was
my husband's UM. So that added a whole another layer
(06:43):
of difficulty, worse odds for us as a couple, UM,
shame in our culture. UH. And I think, UM, for me,
a lot of you know, I had I had worked
through a lot of emotions because on one hand, I
wanted to tell the world, you know, when I was
(07:05):
when I was kind of being looked at as uh,
this wife who just wants to travel the world and
not kind of take step into her role as a mother.
Maybe she is superficial or vain or self serving. Um,
why isn't she having a child? And then of course
the expectations from my in laws, who really needed, um,
someone to pass the family named down to. And my
(07:27):
husband is the eldest of the family, so the next
in line would be, you know, a son we would produce.
So it was layers upon layers of layers of struggles
and emotions. UM. And it was it was a difficult time.
I went through seven rounds of IVF in ten years. UM.
(07:49):
But because the infertility was the first round was it was.
It was a big blow because unfortunately the fertility fertility
doctors we utilized, they kind of rammed me through the
same generic program as a infertile forty year old woman.
So my body was blasted with an extreme amount of
(08:13):
medication that it almost like blew me away um in
the worst way. Uh. And then we found out that
the infertility was on my husband's end, and then we
had to triage that, so my husband's had to undergo
surgeries as well. UM. And then subsequent rounds were you
had the emotional roller coasters that go with it. There
was one round where they misplaced or lost my eggs um,
(08:37):
which was a whole another um chapter of my life
that was very hard to because finally we were able
to get viable sperm and eggs and then they misplaced them. UM.
And you know, over those last ten years, I if
I had a dollar for every fertility doctor who told
(08:58):
me to for get about ever being a mom, to
put that aside, focus on something else, pick another hobby, um,
and telling me straight to my face medically speaking, you
will never ever ever be a biological mother. To have
those words repeated to you by medical professionals who trust
(09:20):
over an extended period of time was very draining for
the body and the mind and the soul in spirit.
So it was a very tough time. And during that time,
there were very few people that I could speak to UM,
whether it was my own you know, uh not wanting
to discuss it, the shame that I felt, or the
(09:41):
confusion that I felt with anger that I felt, or
you know, awkwardness with other people. Regardless, I can remember
less than a handful of people and friends who I
had an opportunity to open up to. UM. So when
we had this opportunity to dopling Empire and two on
the surface show a lot of glitz and glamor, but
(10:04):
the undertone is to be able to share personal struggles
and hopes that others might take something away from it
or might be able to be strengthened in their own struggles. UM.
That was the most appealing part of the project for me,
UM was this opportunity to share my story and and
to open up that dialogue in that conversation to make
(10:25):
it less um shameful or embarrassing, because the more we
talk about it, and the more and there is so
much support we just don't talk about it enough. When
I hear what you describe most of us having had
experts tell us to do the wrong information, lose our eggs,
multiple rounds by the f blasting our bodies, We got
(10:48):
in laws, other legacy expectations involved. I'm not confident most
of us would have sustained and ultimately gotten to a
better place. When you look back, what are one or
two of the things that you did that allowed you
to sustain and get to a better place than maybe
someone watching this can say, oh, I hadn't thought about that,
or maybe I should think about that as well. Were
(11:09):
there one or two things that you now look back
on and you're glad you did that helped I think
it's my faith. Um. I was raised Christian, and you know,
I went to Christian schools and Catholic schools um almost
all of my life. So in there at the core
of it all was this faith that if it's God's will,
(11:30):
it will be time. So um. There of course there
were struggles and um and really difficult down moments, but
at the end of the day, I always said to myself,
if this is God's will and God is above, you know,
any doctor in this world, and um, you know, miracles
(11:53):
do happen. So I think, yeah, that's what grounded me
is faith. And you know there are so many different
people have different sources of faith, but it's to go
back to that one thing that grounds you or that
one source that brings you comfort. Um. I feel as
though it's really important. This is something that I am
(12:15):
trying to see how to incorporate into raising baby g
is for him to have an awareness that there's a
greater there's a greater energy, or greater power, or a
greater something, um than just us. And and if you
can first scress that concept, then then you kind of
(12:36):
find your place in life and you then you start
to find your navigation if that makes us, If that
makes sense. But spirituality, I guess m is very important
(13:05):
because I hear you, it strikes me that you probably
have pretty interesting thoughts on what it means to be
a woman in these kind of modern days and modern times.
How do you think about your own femininity? And I
realized that's a big question, and so I don't mean
to make you have to give me everything on it.
But just as I hear you, I'm seeing this businesswoman,
I'm seeing this adventurous wife and uh and partner. I'm
(13:30):
seeing this. I still want to call you, bay Area.
I want to still want to claim you. I know
that you're here. Oh nice. Okay, let's see what happens
this year. I hope they have something good happens, or
this year we'll say, Okay, let the young guy Trey Lance.
I hope they let hit them in there to play,
which would be good. But but but talk to me
a little bit about and again I'm not looking for
(13:52):
anything in particular. I'm just I don't know why. I'm
kind of curious to hear it from you. How do
you think about being a woman today and is there
any difference than maybe what it was true for your
mom or what you thought it would be to be
a woman when you were, you know, sixteen seventeen. I
think being an American woman today is so exciting because
we are fortunate and fortunate and blessed enough to be
(14:15):
afforded so many liberties and freedoms and opportunities. Um and
I feel like the sky's the limit. And to do
anything less than pushed out your full potential, I think
is I don't want to say a waste, but it's
it's it's really a waste of of this beautiful life
(14:36):
we've given. We've been given so UM. For me, being
a woman comes with so many responsibilities UM. And I
have to take it into the context of being an
Asian American woman, especially during this time. And I'm I'm
a first generation Asian American woman. What does that mean?
What traditions do I carry on from my family value?
(15:00):
And how do I adapt that to a modernized world.
How do I take advantage of all of the freedoms
and liberties that I am afforded as an American and
mesh that together to make the most impact. UM. But
I feel like that's that's my that's kind of my
core go to word is impact. UM. I gave the
(15:20):
graduation speech when I graduated from Pepperdine, and my speech
was centered on UM service leadership and UM inflicting positive
change and impact in the communities that uh, you know,
we're we're in and the communities that we love, and
also those that are underprivileged. So I do feel that
(15:45):
we are on this planet for a reason and UM,
and we need to find that purpose. And I know
this might be less American to say, but the purpose
isn't just about ourselves. It's really not about making us
being the best that we can be, or like being
a superstar. It's extends more than that. Maybe your superstardom
(16:07):
is inspirational to other children who one day want to
push for excellence in athletics or you know, theater. Um.
But it's about the long that the longer impact that
your life will lead UM, and the legacy that you
can leave. So UM, there is a lot of responsibility
(16:28):
in my heart. UM. There's so much to do and
not enough time. UM. But it's important to recognize the
platforms and the opportunities are given and to leverage those
for exponential impact. So how did you improse that? Your
idea is that their idea to think of get you?
Did you go get them? Um? That I think the
(16:48):
concept of getting together crazy rich Asians It's actually been
around prior to the movie, UM, at least in Los Angeles.
A couple of production companies have tried in the past
assembling UM such a group, but none of them were
Obviously none of them were as successful, UM, but I was.
(17:09):
I've known the creator of Bling Empire, Jeff Jenkins, for
a very long time because I love production, I love
storytelling through the art of the art of storytelling through
production and um So we had worked on a couple
of developing a couple of other TV projects prior to
Bling Empire UM and he brought up this project and
(17:30):
UH asked if myself and my husband would be involved,
And at first we were very resistant because A it's
very non Asian to be on unfortunately, to be sharing
all of your dirty laundry, so to speak, UM on
a reality TV show and UM and be it just
we didn't feel like it could at that when we
(17:52):
were initially approached, we didn't feel like it um it
was on brand with all of the projects and things
we wanted to published. But then when we kind of
sat back, so we agreed to join from kind of
a productive perspective, but not to be on camera. UM.
But when being on camera became like a contingency for
(18:12):
our involvement in the project, we had to sit back
and weigh the pros and cons and the pros really
outweighed the cons. Um. I mentioned leveraging you know, a
global platform something like Netflix, UM for a greater good
or greater cause, But secondarily or equally important is propelling
Asian faces and voices and stories onto mainstream media. UM.
(18:37):
And selfishly speaking, I don't recall any I recall very
few Asian American actors and actresses when I was growing up,
and um, I do. I grew up in a very
um kind of Caucasian environment and very Caucasian environments, UM.
(18:57):
And I remember feeling like I wanted to be white.
I really wanted to have blonde hair and blue eyes.
In fact, I didn't pop in blue contact lenses and
I did dye my hair blonde because all of my
friends were white. And I never felt beautiful because I
thought that that was beautiful. So to be able to
(19:18):
take part in what is a historical um shift, an
opportunity in mainstream media for an all Asian ensemble cast
is something that we really should not and did not
give up because I want baby G to be able
to watch TV one day and movies and and see
(19:41):
just as frequently UM Asians and and Asians that are
who are celebrated or in diverse roles um. Not just
the delivery man, or not just the Chinese takeout or
the dragon lady, um, but for the karate kid um.
But you know Asians who are living their normal, everyday
(20:01):
lives who are beautiful, who experienced the ups and downs
in life just like um, you know everyone else and
um and I'm really proud of this project and and
the dialogue that it's opened up. When did you first
begin to feel beautiful? That's a very good question, um,
(20:22):
I think when I it's it's interesting because of course
I work in the industry of beauty, so UM, for me,
it wasn't. Uh. I think there was a shift between
the focus of exterior physical beauty too interior acceptions of self. UM.
And I would say that that shift would come every
(20:46):
time I was in moments of happiness, I would feel beautiful.
So I think one of my kind of my mantras
in life is to always know find what makes you
happy and keep going back to it. Find those people
who make you smile and make you feel whole, and
see them more often, talk to them more often. Like,
find those sources and those pockets of happiness, and dwell
(21:08):
in it because it that beauty comes from with it. UM.
I know it's you know, it's it can be cheesy,
but it truly is. UM. So there was a certain
point where I didn't care as much about my appearance.
It was about how I felt. And do you feel
good about yourself? Um, physically internally otherwise, how do you
feel about yourself today? The great thing about aging is, um,
(21:34):
you learn to care less about most things. I mean
you care you care more about the important things and
less about the non important things. Right, So, UM, I
think maintenance of self is really important. UM. Physical maintenance
itself is very important because in the act of maintaining
your physical appearance, is you telling your body and your
(21:57):
and your soul that you care about you, um, that
you value yourself. And there's beauty in that. So whether
it's making sure your hair is you know, looking lovely,
or taking care of your skin, um, or keeping yourself
in a healthy state, all of those things are acts
(22:17):
of love to yourself, which perpetuates beauty. It's interesting that question,
that journey of self acceptance, and particularly as you said,
whether you're an immigrant or some other way you know,
not in the majority, how do you get not just comfortable,
but really get excited about who you are and kind
of your own your own journey? Um? All right, I
(22:38):
love that you called my little guy baby G because
it automatically just means that he's gonna have so much
game and he's gonna be it's gonna be so fun.
Are you a believer in nature or nurture? What do
you think determine someone's personality, including Baby G. You think
it's gonna be more nature or more nurture. Oh, of course,
it's the combination of the two. Um and Gave and I.
(23:01):
We poke at each other all the time, like that
one's from you. Oh, that comments definitely come from your
side or that like that snarkiness, that's definitely your side
of the family. Um. Yes, it's so much fun. He
is learning to negotiate. Um. He'll be like, I see
what you're saying, but I will come back with this,
(23:24):
and then there's a little fun. There's a part of
you where you're like, no, I'm the I'm the adult.
You listen to me. But then there's the other part
where it's like you're so curious to see where this
negotiations going to lead. You kind of employ along. Um.
I think it's a really fun stage right now. He
he likes to call himself Baby G, although he knows
his name is Gabriel, so he'll spell his name g
(23:46):
A B R I E L that spells baby G.
You gotta like it though. That is a great way
to good note, um, are you? How hands on a
mom are you? And how hands on my mom? You
think you will continue to be over the next few years.
I think a lot of people expect me to kind
of be a helicopter mom or tiger mom um, because
(24:09):
I expect a lot out of myself. But when you've
waited so long for a child, UM, and this miracle
comes true, all you want to do is kind of
sit back and like absorb all of that and take
it all in and enjoy it. So I'm less of
a disciplinarian M. I I think I probably can tighten
(24:32):
up the ship. I'm just having too much fun watching him.
He's just like a movie UM. And most of the
time I'm smiling so much I can't even like focus
to like sit down some ground rules. My husband's much
better at that, UM. But I do need to spend
and I do spend a lot of time with baby
(24:53):
G because growing up my parents were extremely successful but
also busy and absent and UM. On one hand, that
has helped me develop UM kind of discumption and this UM,
I will figure it out. I can solve this. You know,
this independence and this this problem solver side of me
(25:16):
which comes in very helpful um comes has been very
helpful throughout my life. But the other part of me
feels like there's this emptiness that I would not want
baby get to ever feel. So I think it's important
for parents to find that balance, to let their child
(25:37):
know that there will they are there. They're always going
to be there, but you will let them grow and
expand and um develop into the beautiful human that they are. Um.
I one thing that it's a silly thing, but I
promised myself that if I were ever a parent, I
(25:58):
would take my child. I'll to school and pick him
or her up every single day because my parents never
did that. And I, you know, sometimes these little things
they stay in your head. It's important and um I
remember just you know, sometimes I would be afraid that
(26:18):
no one would pick me up, or or like I
always looked at my friends parents and they're always there
picking their kids up. And I know my parents were
working hard and accomplishing so much, UM, but I just
wish they were there. So I am no matter what,
We're filming two shows right now, we're running a business.
(26:39):
I have other investment projects. Um, it does not matter.
I will be there at drop off and pick up.
The only thing you can make that better Because my
favorite aunt did this. Punt Carmela came out and lived
with us for half a year. She used to do
the nicest thing. She used to stop by my favorite
little restaurant, which was KFC, and she would bring me
the little kids. And so not only was she there,
(27:02):
which normally my parents for the same reasons couldn't be there.
And so, like you, I wondered if anyone was coming
to get me, and I would see everyone else get
picked up, but she would come and she would have
this nice little box that you wouldn't even tell me
and would just be on the seat. And so I
am sure you are do amazing stuff with baby G.
But but that kind of stuff, you know, probably stays
with you forever. I still remember it all these years later. Yes,
(27:24):
And something else that I love to do with baby
G is we love going to museums. Um, we just
love exploring. So we spend every last second we have.
I mean, of course the beach and hiking and outdoors
and finding going on bug hunts, those are all very important.
We have an herb and veggian fruit garden um that
(27:46):
uh he loves and is growing amazing. I think we
have a thirty some varieties of all sorts of goodies
growing right now. And he works with farmers during the
day in the morning before going to preschool. Um uh
to work on his freen thumb. But uh we I
just we love exploring um and whether it's the dinosaur museum, um.
(28:11):
And that's what's great about Los Angeles. Los Angeles has
everything you've got, music and arts and culture and um.
We also started taking baby Gee traveling with us very
very early on, just so that his eyes can from
a very young age see the diversity in the world
and grow a love and appreciation for it as well. Christie,
(28:51):
I know they're gonna take you from me in a minute.
But before I gotta would start, how did that happen?
Whose idea was that? Was that? Your idea? There? Oh?
My goodness. Know. I have been a fan of Dancing
with the Stars since day one. I was in the
audience Season one. Yes, I lined up outside, Um I
was I think I took off work. I lined up outside,
(29:14):
waited hours to get inside, sat there. It was love
at first sight and dance is my love language, and
I think it's a beautiful art form and therapy and
and Dancing with the Stars is like it's fantasy land.
So it's so crazy that fifteen years later I sat
(29:37):
I've actually sat in every seat in that ballroom as
an audience member, and I've never danced on that ballroom
until on the floor of that barroom mental last Monday,
and it was incredible. We were you confident? Were you nervous?
Did you all? Were you already a great dancer? Like?
How did you get ready? Because they do such masterful
(29:57):
things on Dancing with the Stars. Yes, and this season
most of the stars have extensive professional dance training, so
stay star high. Um, it's no longer just folks who
enjoy music and bopping around. These are trained performers and
so I have to keep up with them. But I
(30:17):
wasn't going to pass up this opportunity. Um, it's my
dream show and I'm I'm living it. I'm living my dream.
Which to the other folks, are you excited to get
to know or that you already knew in your lad
that you're getting to do something together? Uh? The whole
group is really fun. I think the energy and the camaraderie.
I didn't realize. Um, it wasn't until after the show
(30:39):
that I realized the most fun part of the day
the premier day was actually the dress rehearsals, because we
took turns dancing and cheered each other on and shouted,
and I love that feeling of UM working together and
working in friendly competition. Sprised you about being and dancing.
(31:00):
The stars are that people who even have been in
the audience, and then fans will be surprised to know.
Give me one or two things that that will surprise votes. Well,
I didn't realize I needed like seven layers of spray
tan so though a lot of my time is dedicated
to exfliating and then like layers and layers layers of
spray tanning. UM. Other than that, I didn't. I didn't realize.
(31:24):
I should have realized, but I didn't hit until I
was on the show. Until I'm on the show. Now,
how important votes are? UM, I understand it's a voting
TV format, but voting really can take you through all
the way, so you can be the very best answer
in the competition. But if you don't have the support
(31:46):
UM and the votes, you can fall out. So that
part is a route awakening for me because here I
am the first time, super giddy going into it. Um,
just like spacey and like a kid and Nick handy shop.
I liken it to having a crush on a boy
for fifteen years and finally he asks you out to
(32:06):
a dance or to dinner. And so I'm still in
that state of like disbelief and happiness. I and then
I realized, wait, the dancing. I mean, I could dance
my heart out, but if people don't vote for me,
it's a political campaign. You got to get your politics thought. Now,
(32:28):
are you ever going to run for office? Is Christine?
You gonna run for office? One day? Oh? This is
a dancing with the campaigning for votes on Dancing with
the Stars is my political career. I love that. I
love that. I want to do a little rapid fire
with you. Do you mind if I hit you a
little resterchoire? What's your favorite movie ever? Uh? Shot, most
interesting famous person you've ever met, Most entering celebrity you've
(32:50):
ever met? Uh Prince Charles? Wow? Oh that's interesting. Um,
what's your karaoke song? Oh? Do not let me ever
go up to the mic? Oh? My gosh, you will
go death. Don't do it. The most beautiful place you've
ever been to, Patagonia at the edge of the earth.
Are you a hotel girl or you airbnb girl? What
(33:13):
do you love? Um? Depending on the occasion. Um, I
don't like hotels and I don't like airbnbs. So I
like things that feel like an extended home. Um that
retains the flavor of wherever we're traveling. So I don't
know where that lands. Usually we're able to find something. Yeah. Um,
(33:34):
if you could have dinner with anyone dead or alive,
who would you love to have dinner with? Oh, my gosh,
oh jeez um good? Or that someone dead? You might
have to come back to me on that one. Can
I have a dinner party a couple of them? Yeah? Yeah,
goner party right now? So many unanswered questions. Let me
(33:57):
get back to you on that one. Let say what
party throwing? Party? Throwing is very important to me and
I have to put together the perfect table. I love
that I want to invitation, but I like that I
want to invite to the table. You know, one of
the things I love talking about on the show is
how people dream fearlessly because you know, so often we
constrict ourselves and we don't allow ourselves really to go there,
(34:18):
and even if we do, actually bringing those dreams into
reality can be incredibly tough. It's the most interesting thing
you've learned that dreaming fearlessly. My personal advice for dreaming
fear fearlessly is to step away, actually, because I feel
like sometimes there's so much pressure in that laser focus
(34:39):
in that there's so much emphasis and pressure in the
manifestation of a dream and then working towards a dream,
that it takes away the fun, and it takes away
from the experiences of that journey and the ride to
accomplishing that drain or arriving at the end. Um. But
b I think that when you step away, things will happen. Um.
(35:04):
There's something refreshing and good for the soul when you're
able to let go um. Just even if it's just
first Mitch, let go of that dreams for a little
bit and then come back to it. You don't have
to stay in that tunnel forever until you get there.
I think that it's too stressful. Who's been one of
your most unexpected allies in terms of bringing your dreams alive?
(35:27):
I think you find allies along the way. Um. I
think you have to make yourself an ally. I think
you have to so much. And I do this a
lot now. I pep talk, um. I pep talk myself
a lot, whether it's dancing on Dancing with the Stars
or getting through the day as a mom. I mean
being a mom. As much as I am so grateful
(35:50):
that I finally get to experience motherhood, It's not the easiest.
It really isn't. And I'm kudos to all of the
amazing mom mom's out there, kudos to momhood, um, because
I mean there are days I am sticking my hand
down that toilet to retrieve a toy or you know,
wifing woop with very little tissue, so um, and just
(36:13):
scrambling in the expectations of being a good mom. Um.
So I think self love and self forgiveness, UM, self talk,
all of that are important steps to becoming your own
best ally. I had an interesting actor told me that
(36:33):
one of the Nike training coaches said the one thing
that he has seen in common from Serena Williams to
Russell Wilson is that the great athletes talk to themselves.
He said, when you see them getting ready for competition.
They are coaching themselves. And so I love that you
said make yourself your own ally, I love that. I
love that for sure. UM, what do you value most
(36:54):
in this world? What do you value? Uh? I lost
my mother last year, UM, and that was the most.
It was a very, very tough time. And I know
many of us have lost many loved ones UM in
the last year. So after having lost my mother, UM,
(37:17):
it really shook me. Of course, I've always valued family,
and of course I've always valued living a healthy lifestyle.
But it wasn't until you lose someone so close to
you that and you feel almost alone, that you realize
how important it is to build UM, build loves around
you UM, so that when if you do experience another
(37:42):
moment of despair or abandonment, you do also have some
support UM. And then also to appreciate the health that
we do have and to preserve it. UM. So much
of what we eat and you know, what we drink,
and how we exercise or not UM, the content that
we intake, the toxicity that flits around our lives, like,
(38:04):
we need to monitor all of that and and understand
that all plays into our overall health. So UM, increased
time with family. Of course, uh is there has become
number one on my priority list, spending extra time with
Baby G and spending as much time as I can
with my husband, even if it's just being near, you know,
(38:27):
even if we're we don't necessarily need to be Hella skiing,
but to be near and to know that we're there
for each other and m to tighten that family unit.
You know, this has been a tough time for many
Asian Americans in terms of safety and sadly violence and
other sorts of things. What have you experience and what
(38:47):
are you seeing and are you finding yourself more hopeful today?
Are you more afraid today? Are you experiencing any of
it yourself being there in California, being in Los Angeles? Yes? Unfortunately, Yeah,
us we have experienced it. Baby G experienced it. We
were walking in the grove, which is I mean, Los
Angeles is already very multicultural to metropolitan cities. Um and
(39:11):
we would have never ever expected any type of public aggression.
Um and uh. We were walking baby G he was
a one and a half at that time, in a stroller,
and both Gabe and I had our masks on, and
Baby G we had mass sent sunglasses on and Baby
G just had a mask, but you could tell he
(39:32):
was Asian. And two men came over and uh, they
were pointing at him and yelling at him to go
back to China and take the Wuhan virus with him.
And then it was it was And what's most saddening
about that was it was a father and son. It
was a father telling his son and encouraging his son,
and together they were yelling at a child. UM. And
(39:54):
that broke my heart. And it didn't break my heart
for baby G because fortunately he was too young um
to understand the situation, but it broke my heart that
it's at that time, it's the level of racism and prejudice,
um and ignorance is still so present. UM. So you know,
(40:22):
I've I've had microaggressions here and there. UM. As Asians
are were raised to kind of just internalize, um, just
to take it and work harder, prove your worth, show
show you like your revenge is your success. You know,
let them talk down at you, let them kick you down,
(40:42):
and and you're gonna rise up one day and you're
gonna show them by being a doctor or a lawyer
or CEO Um. That was the kind of the mentality
and the message when I was growing up. But I'm
very very very proud that through this Asian hate experience
that just occurred, there was a shift, UM. And I'm
(41:05):
so grateful that that shift happened with Baby Like Baby
G is part of that shift, where Asians really came
together and said, no, we will not stand down and
we will not be quiet. We're going to speak up
because this is not right and this is not the
future we want to raise our children in. UM. So
I'm really proud that during this time. The silver lining
(41:29):
of this time was we were able to unite. UM.
We were able to speak up. We were able to
slowly but uh, you know, progressively and UM and with
strength change the narrative UM and kind of reset the boundaries. UM.
And what's most comforting is that the world, Americans, the
(41:55):
world all stood behind us. There was a lot there's
there was so much support, and I'm really appreciative of that.
So as many people as they were ignorant, um and
hateful towards Asians, there were significantly more who supported and
really helped amplify our voices. So I'm grateful because I'm
an optimist. Maybe it's a moment for us all the
(42:16):
learning grow and get better and UH and force some
of these things to I don't know if fixed is
the right word, but but at least be addressed. So yes,
and I do believe that it comes from early education.
I think, going back to nature and nurture. It starts
at the home, it starts in the schools. If we
can correct and if we can set the mentality of
(42:38):
children clearly and straight um. I don't know if it's
the right word, but if we can promote messages of
inclusivity and acceptance and celebration of diversity very on, very
early on in childhood, I think that's the key, and
that's the ticket to a greater um and more beautiful
that's future. I have to meet you in UH and
(43:01):
Gabriel and baby g at some time, maybe when I'm
in l A. At some point, I have to come
by and say hello, We would love to host you
any time, my crazy dinner party with dead folks. You
know what, I'm gonna look forward to it. As long
as the food is good. I'm okay, dead or alive,
I'm looking That's always a guarantee. Yeah, for this and
(43:23):
be safe, be careful with the dancy with the stars.
I know that that is no joke, and I think
someone told me you might even have hurt your rib
or something, so to be good, be safe. Yes, thank you,
Thank you so much. It was such a pleasure. It
was my pleasure. Thank you for listening to this episode
(43:54):
of The Carlos Potson Show podcast. If you enjoyed this episode,
please tell your friends to find us on I heart
podcast app or Apple podcasts.
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