It's officially summer time! And to mark the first day of a scorching hot Irish summer I've interviewed the equally hot Jennifer Maguire!
You'll know this rock hard Dubliner from her role on Rebuplic of Telly, RTE's One Night Stand and the UK Apprentice. The brunette stomped her way into our hearts during the 2008 Apprentice in England, and hasn't left since.
But in between helping young women find their prince charming and making us wet our pants during Republic of Telly, Jen also has her runs her own business (an amazing photographic studio) and has a gorgeous half-Italian boyfriend to keep up with. So how does she juggle it all? Well I'm here to find out just that...
When I'm chatting to Jennifer, she's in the her offices of Bella The Make Over Studio in Dublin and I can tell she's up the walls (a good sign of course). I wasn't sure what to expect with the 30-year-old, sometimes seriously funny TV personalities can be quite dull in real life, but she exceeded my expectations.
It's clear from the outset that there is a lot more to Jennifer than meets the eye. She starts gushing about her photographic studio straight away, it's clear that Bella, which was set up just three years ago, is her little baby. But as with other Irish businesses right now, Jennifer admits that times are hard in the industry:
"It's been going well but it's hard work. This is a high end kind of thing, people don't need to have a makeover and they definitely don't need a photo shoot." she tells me.
TV
When she's not working in the studio (which is normally every other day) Jennifer is filming for the hilariously funny Republic of Telly. The stunner has been a part of the show since it's birth and admits that the last year the show has seen huge success:
“It’s been a hard slog. It didn’t start off like that. We were struggling for ratings in the first series , then the second series got a bit better, but it really kind of came into its own once we got Dermot on board.”
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| Jennifer with host of Republic of Telly Dermot |
The show has already leap-frogged the careers of Rubber Bandits and Ivor and Damo over the last 12 months, and Jen admits, that's why she loves the show so much, as the Irish youth get to showcase their talents:
"The great thing about the Republic of Telly is that it's not just about the presenters, it's about showcasing new talent in the country. It's great that all these new acts have a platform to launch themselves off."
The smash hit show has hugely increased in ratings and during recessionary times it's a great accomplishment to achieve such great success. I asked Jen if the shows comedic elements are what helped the show to it's current glory:
"Yes. It's important to laugh and to have one of these comedy shows, everybody needs a little cheering up."
As well as making us laugh, Jennifer has also been playing cupid in the nation's love lives. On her debut show One Night Stand, Jennifer helped women every week find Mr.Right, with a hilarious competitive outcome. The show saw the presenter all over Ireland trying to find eligible men for her three chosen ladies, sometimes with disastrous consequences.
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| Jen looks sizzlingly sexy in this promo for 'One Night Stand' |
But Jennifer said despite meeting tonnes of "lunatics" along the way, she would love to do another series again:
"It was great fun to do and it was a show I was really interested in. But I don't know what's happening with it this year. It's definitely something I'd love to do again. I think that the Irish are a little bit behind on the dating scene, we're not like the American's and English who are very much into their online dating and meeting for coffee."
Despite having a rising career in presenting it's clear that the business woman is not solely relying on a TV career for the foreseeable future, admitting that she has no stable position in RTE. Like most media jobs, nothing is secure, Jennifer admitted to me that, realistically, someone younger and better looking could take her role at any point:
"There is no guarantee that I will be back next series. I just don’t know. Someone younger, funnier and prettier could come along.”
Adding that “there isn’t much work out there for a female presenter” Jennifer also admitted that she could never survive on the wages from her TV work: “I don’t think I could do the TV without doing the business because I would be living in a tent in the park.” she joked.
I really got the impression that Jen firmly has her head on her shoulders and her feet on the ground, having a lucrative TV career doesn't seem to have expanded her ego too much, because the second she wraps up shooting for RTE she's straight back in her Bella studio, working long hours with her staff.
Love
As I said at the beginning, Jen also has a gorgeous half-Italian boyfriend to catch up with. The presenter has been dating her beau for over five years now. But thankfully he is able to keep up with her massive success, as he is an actor himself, so he knows the ins and outs of the showbiz industry.
Jennifer tells me that it's great to have a man you is supportive of you and not jealous of your career, as we all know some men can't handle strong women:
“He has been very supportive of my career. With some guys you would have to sit on your hands because their ego gets bruised, but he’s not like that at all. He’s always pushing me; I couldn’t do this without him." she said.
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| Jen with boyfriend of 5 years, Lau. |
Her supportive Beau, Lau Zamparelli, is just as busy as she is. Jennifer tell me that the actor is starring in a new play called Tape, currently taking place in the Matchbox Theatre, Dublin. So how, after 5 years, have they kept their relationship going so strong? Jennifer said you need to put a lot of effort into your love life:
"I think it's very important to keep that spark going. You have to put effort into your relationship. You have to give it as much attention as you would your job or even more so. It's so easy to get lazy after 5 years. Little things like sitting down and having dinner at the table or going out and having that dinner out, you need to have quality time together."
Bella
During our interview Jennifer surprisingly admitted that losing out on her dream to work for Lord Alan Sugar on the UK version of The Apprentice was the best thing that could have happened to her! Why you might ask? The slender brunette says that getting fired made her realize that she wanted to start her own business.
After leaving the hit show, she returned to Dublin and created the photographic studio of luxury, where she and a crew of make-up artists and stylists transform women for a day of pampering and a photo-shoot.
“When I got fired from The Apprentice it was like a revelation, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. After my experience I thought ‘Bingo, that’s it. I definitely want to work for myself.’ So it was a good thing that happened.”
The studio, which is now located in Dublin and Limerick, has been up and running for three years. Women of all ages can head to the studio and take part in a day of luxury. After getting your hair and make-up done by Industry professionals, sipping some champagne and dolling yourself up with clothes and jewelerry, Jennifer will transform you into a superstar.
Similiar to the photographs taken of our favourite celebs, Bella gives you the full magazine treatment, hiding blemishes and using air-brushing techniques where neeeded. Jennifer says that it's great to show young women what really goes on in high fashion photo shoots:
"Self-conscious girls come in and they see how much work it put to make a photo shoot. Cheryl Cole doesn't wake up looking that way, she has a team of 5 stylists. Women often come in and say they hate how they look on camera, but 99.9% they say afterwards that they can't believe how good the look."
Keeping In Shape
"Now that I'm over 30 I definitely have to work at it. I do go to the gym, although I hate it, I do feel great afterwards. But there are so many other things to do like have a glass of wine or go out with your friends. I do eat healthy as well though. I don't eat fast food at all and I always cook my own food."
For most celebs there is a huge pressure to be slim, but thankfully Jen hasn't seen the brunt of it. She admitted that unfortunately the underlying weight issue is prevelant in every industry:
"It is in every walk of life. Whether I'm with the girls at work or in the studio, women will always will always talk about their weight. Women will always be unhappy with themselves."
The key to self-confidence? Jennifer says women need to be comfortable in their own skin and figure out what works for them. One woman that certainly does not have to worry about her looks is gorgeous Irish model Georgia Salpa, Jen says she has accepted that she will never look like the half-Greek stunner:
"You have to try and accept yourself for who you are. I am never going to have sallow skin or big boobs like Georgia Salpa, but I've accepted that."
What's Next?
Finally, I always ask my stars where they would like to be in 5 years, Jennifer laughed at this question straight away, answering: "I don't even know what I'm doing next week." But on a more serious note, the business woman says that's it's really important to her that Bella continues to grow and her staff have job security:
"Honestly I employ a lot of people here and the most important thing is that they still have jobs, that they are set up and looked after."
The superwoman did admit though that she would like to "slow down" in the next few years and spend some time "learning Italian" so she can speak to her boyfriend's family when they visit them in Milan.
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