The Real Housewives Jill Zarin Interview

Audra Lowe: She’s one of the busiest housewives around, juggling a jam pack social calendar with a booming career and motherhood as well. But Jill Zarin comes from a family with a few tricks up their sleeve. Jill and her sister Lisa are here. They’re showing some tips from their new book called “Secrets of a Jewish Mother”.

Good to have you guys here. You know well how much of a fan I am of the show though. And one of the things that you guys say in the book is it you don’t have to be Jewish to have these tips than to carry them out.

Jill Zarin: That’s the most important thing.

Lisa: But we’re curious to know one thing. Are you having a baby shower?

Audra Lowe: Yes.

Lisa: Is that in your tradition in your culture to have a baby shower, you know it’s not in ours? No it is not. It’s not in Jewish culture. We are so superstitious always knocking—

Jill: Well she did have a shower after the baby is born.

Lisa: After the baby but not before.

Audra Lowe: It’s like the whole crib thing. Don’t put the crib out.

Lisa: Yes we do that too.

Jill: One of my friend made one for me before my baby came and my sister, my mother didn’t come.

Lisa: Well mommy told me not to.

Jill: It was a surprised like I didn’t know was that my mother-in-law made it. She’s not religious and Allison knows the story and trusts me she will not have a baby shower ever.

Lisa: She will not have a baby shower. We talked about it in the book.

Audra Lowe: We’ll, combined with that plus what we’ve seen on the show with your mother. Because everyone is talking about that episode when she came on and gave Bethany advice.

Lisa: Yes that’s what gave birth to the book. That’s literally what gave birth to the book. Yes, because it resonated so much with the public we thought we’ve got this mother with so much advice to share that everybody wants. We took her for granted. Great mother to us, we figured everyone had a mother like mommy and then we said you know, we’re going to write it down. We’re going to share.

Audra Lowe: She gave that dating advice. I will never forget that I have the chills when she was giving the advice. It was just from the heart.

Jill: And it just comes where ever we are. Like we we’re doing interviews yesterday and she was off camera with one of the host of the show. God knows what advice she was giving and she can’t help herself. And you know what, I can’t help myself. I do the same thing with my friends and clearly sometimes I smother them.

Audra Lowe: What would you say then is one of the most important traits of not only being a Jewish mother but also just thinks so straightforward and honest.

Lisa: Speaking up literally. Learning to speak up, learning to be assertive, and learning that it’s important to ask for what you want in life because the worst that happens is people say no and basically not being afraid to be a woman and to frankly be a woman in power.

Audra Lowe: Well we know unfortunately Gloria can’t be here with us tonight. She’s doing fine, she’s great. But what would you guys say where the tips that you took from your mother and transform over in to your lives as mothers. Because you have one child, you’ve got two. What would you guys say that you pulled from mom and use as a mom yourself?

Lisa: I was very interfering when it came to my kid’s education. I did a lot of research about their schools. I was very flexible about switching from public to private back to public and being very temporary about their education because there is no duo for us as a parent. So if you make a mistake, number one it’s never too late to change mid stream and start over. And you always have to be flexible and resilient when it comes to your children.

Audra Lowe: That’s interesting. I like that.

Jill: And wit Allison, she had some medical issues and though I went to the pediatrician at the time she told me she was fine and my mother just keep topping on and torturing me that she’s not fine that there’s a reason why she felt the way she felt and I need to go to the specialist. And it took me a little while to be honest for me to come around because I felt my mother was being paranoid and hypochondriac and this is just her. And you know what? She was right. I went to a specialist. The doctor ran a different set of test, was specialized and sure enough Ally had at that time it was Hashimoto thyroiditis and that’s an issue I would say I have a thyroid.

Lisa: I have it now. Everyone in our family has it.

Jill: It’s generic. It’s in the family and that’s when my mother was adamant that Allison had a slow thyroid and I’m entotic but had my mother, what we say in the book is that what’s worth saying wants us toward to feeding a thousand times.

Lisa: Unfortunately, that’s our legacy.

Audra Lowe: Well before we go, I have to mention in the book there’s tips like don’t mistake business relationships for friends which I like. Never marry a stingy person, it will ruin your life and don’t expect your white knight to disappear that you actually have to put in some work. Before we go what would your mother say about your relationship on television with Bethany and the other housewives?

Jill: Well you have to ask her.

Audra Lowe: So we have to bring her back then.

Jill: I definitely will never see my mother.

Lisa: Would be a big mistake.

Audra Lowe: She’s got her own words on you two. Well I’m so glad both of you guys were here. Thank you. Congratulations on the book too. You’re going to come back and hang out.

Lisa: You have a beautiful name. I love your name also.

Jill: I promise you this is the best mother’s day gift you can buy someone. I’m serious, it really is.

Audra Lowe: Well I’m going to be retracing, cover to cover. And for lots of other tips and advice from Jill and her sister Lisa and her mother Gloria, you guys got to get a copy of their book. It’s called Secrets of a Jewish Mother and its available now.