On the cusp of the season finale of the first season of her Bravo reality show, "Pregnant in Heels," Rosie Pope is a busy lady. She’s mother of two, a reality star and the owner of her own business, Rosie Pope Maternity, a hub for parenting services from maternity clothes to infant CPR classes. She took time to chat with TODAY Moms about the show, surprises and that crazy accent.
Some have described your clients, wealthy Manhattan moms-to-be, as “modern day Marie Antoinettes.” How do you walk the line between being incredulous about their behavior, while enabling it by helping them with their wild issues?
Rosie Pope: These people know, on some level, just how absurd they are and they want help. Of course, this is reality television – not every part of it was as glam and outrageous as was shown on the show. And after all, underneath all the craziness, these people ultimately want to be better parents. Sometimes the craziness manifests itself in the biggest craziest baby shower or even being naked on a horse – but underneath each one of these people, there is something there that really wants to be a good parent.
Related post: How 'Pregnant in Heels' helped me conquer my birth fears
We do the outlandish stuff but also do all the preparation – we’re making them take our Mom Prep classes in childcare, infant CPR, etc. You don’t get to see that on the show because it’s not funny. So I think we’re reminding them what’s important.
I’m not looking for dirt necessarily – though it wouldn’t be a completely bad thing – but who was your most difficult client? What was the “hardest case” for you?
OK, I’m going to be very careful how I answer that! I have to say that it’s hardest when people don’t really know that they haven’t really looked in the mirror in a long time. In other words, people who are not very self-aware -- they think they are a certain way and they’re really not. When you’re becoming a mom, it’s a very nerve -racking and insecure time. If you have issues they can certainly flare up – maybe in the way you perceive your body or your personality or your marriage, for example. It can get quite messy. But I’m not there to fix their marriages, eating issues or whatever else there is. I help people and I bring the right experts to them, but I’m not a doctor. I’m not qualified to deal with depression or eating disorders.
So, we’re coming to the end of the "Pregnant in Heels" season – has anything surprised you about it?
My husband and I decided to put our personal story of infertility on the show. Other shows can be a lot of fun, but I wanted to share the serious side of our story and our struggle to have a second child. That’s an issue that is really not spoken about enough. I’m really touched and feel very privileged to be able to have done it – we got an outpouring of support for us from people who have gone through similar things. People criticize certain things, you know? I figured people might say, “Why would she do that on TV?” But no one did…. I think it was because people had gotten to know us through the journey as opposed to us doing it just to have “another TV moment.” And, of course, I had no idea it was going to turn out so well. [Pope’s son, Wells, was born three months ago.] People ask me, “Did you know it was going to be a happy ending?” We had no idea.
We wanted to tell an honest story about who we were. Everything seemed so perfect with us – we had this great business, a beautiful son, a wonderful life – but that wasn’t our whole story.
What’s with the accent: it’s half English, half American? And does it amaze you how many people have asked you about it?
(Laughs.) Yes, I grew up in England – but oh my God, it’s insane. I never expected my accent to be such a subject for discussion! The pinnacle was it being parodied in a "Saturday Night Live" skit! (laughs) I will be telling my grandchildren about it.
I have no speech impediment, though thanks to so many people speculating about it, I’m beginning to think I might have one! To me, a Jersey accent sounds nuts. But no – apparently my accent is the craziest. And you know what’s really the absolute craziest? For my whole marriage, I’ve said things and my husband has said, “What?” He needs me to repeat myself because he didn’t understand what I said. And I have kept on saying, “How can you not know what I’m saying? We’re married 7 years already!” But now I’m thinking, hmm, maybe I DO have a speech impediment! It would explain a lot.
Jordana Horn is a TODAY Moms contributor, lawyer, journalist, writer, mother and expectant mother. Sometimes, she even sleeps.