Elisabeth Hasselbeck and I conducted our interview in bed. Seriously.
Picture it: two working moms, who can barely find nine minutes to shower, trying to schedule a time to talk uninterrupted. What did we come up with? 8:30 on a Monday night. So, Elisabeth sat on her bed and I sat on mine, both of us collapsed after a day of trekking the kids to school, attending work meetings, struggling to get a decent dinner on the table, and, finally, at last, getting the kids to sleep. Ensconced in our respective bedrooms, we talked about everything from Hasselbeck’s new gluten-free health bars to sleeping in a sports bra (to increase the odds of a morning workout, of course). It felt like a typical way to catch up with one of your mommy friends.
Wait, you say you wouldn’t describe Elisabeth Hasselbeck as a typical mommy friend? Your typical mommy friend isn’t a former contestant on “Survivor,” a clothing designer for QVC, a best-selling author, a family and lifestyle contributor on “Good Morning America” or, oh yeah, an Emmy-winning co-host on that little show called “The View”?
Okay, maybe she’s not at all typical, but after about thirty-seven seconds of talking with her, you realize she is honest, funny, smart and totally self-aware, and you want her to be your not-at-all-typical mommy friend. During our pillow talk, Elisabeth Hasselbeck shattered popular misconceptions about herself, shamelessly admitted some not-so-great mommy moments, and shared her own “view” on raising a family in New York City.
From “The View” to your clothing line to “Good Morning America” and everything in between, you are the definition of a working mom—you live in the city, you’re raising three kids 5 and under (Grace, 5; Taylor, 3; and Isaiah, 17 months). How do you juggle it all?
Juggle is a good word. Thankfully, I have the best teammate and that’s my husband [Tim Hasselbeck, ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback]. We have bizarre schedules that allow at least one of us to be with the kids most of the time, and we have great sitters. Our challenge is finding time for ourselves as a couple. We say, “Yes, we’ll do that Friday!” and come Friday, we are exhausted. I think the key is not sleeping, to be perfectly honest [laughs]. I’ve sort of learned to manage about four days of minimal sleep, and then I am pretty cranky and tired and give in by the fifth or sixth day. I don’t think that’s completely healthy and I don’t advise it.
Tell me about being on “Good Morning America.”
It is a great way to communicate with parents in a non-controversial or political way. I love tackling the topics and love just being able to give the information and not necessarily my opinion. I also manage three small businesses; it’s not easy. I think I do a decent job, but come Saturday and Sunday, I barely function.
Do you have a typical day?
Funny enough, the days are typical. It goes like this: my 17-month-old Isaiah tends to start waking up about 3 a.m. At 6 a.m., I have two cute faces at my bed—Taylor isn’t quite ready to get up, but willing to do whatever Grace does. I turn the TV on and let them watch a show while I come to. We have breakfast and read a little something in the morning. I take both Grace and Taylor to school and then I screech into work about 9:01. I’m there until about noon and then I run home, play with the boys, get them down for a nap. Any sort of afternoon meeting is done while the boys are sleeping. I get Grace from school, we do any afterschool activities, and then, all of a sudden, 4 p.m. sneaks up on me and I’m trying to get some sort of dinner microwaved or made. It is a challenge in our house—Isaiah doesn’t like anything, I have celiac disease, Grace and Taylor are typical kids, and my husband’s hungry.
So what do you do?
Steak. Meatballs. A lot of protein and I throw some pasta in there for the kids, but a lot of it is gluten-free. We like to play and hang out before or after dinner and most of the time, we’ll get everybody bathed by about 7:30, and they’re in bed by 8.
I say, on some days, bathing is overrated.
Tonight, I just had everyone stand in the shower in order of height, and I have one of those shower heads that come down on the coil. I literally squirted soap on all three and hosed them down. Six eyeballs were on me, looking at me like, “Mom, does this count?”
While you and Tim are certainly in the public eye, New Yorkers are used to seeing celebrities around. Have you found living in the city gives you enough anonymity to go out and about without being bothered?
We are pretty low-key. Shake Shack is about as exciting as it gets for this household. Especially with three kids in the city, you can barely get three across on the sidewalk. My personal challenge is finding places where I can fit my stroller through the door. I don’t think we are the type of people who define who we are by what we do professionally and that helps us a lot. We have a great community here of young parents and parents of school-aged kids who are all in the same boat, and it really doesn’t matter if you are on Wall Street, you’re driving a truck, or you are a stay-at-home mom. Your kids are your focus. I think [New Yorkers] understand that there is more to a person than just what they do and are pretty savvy to the fact that there’s a lot going on with everyone.
You have said in other interviews that you don’t define yourself as a conservative, but you live in a fairly liberal city and are known for your conservative views. How does that translate in your everyday life and being a mom?
I’ve had a few moments where someone thought they had me figured out, and once they see me with the kids, they have a moment where they say, “Oh, I guess she’s just like any other mom—she’s just as bad at that as I am!” It’s gotten a lot better in the past few years. Most of my friends are liberals. My best friends, my closest family, they don’t have to have my politics. Fortunately and unfortunately, it is my job to disclose what I think. I always say it is just my opinion—you don’t have to have it.
I think it’s great when we can show our daughters that we stand up for our beliefs but also teach them how valuable other people’s thoughts are.
I was driving with Grace and she looked out of the window and saw a female construction worker. She screamed, “Mommy! That’s a girl construction worker!” She was so excited. I saw this face on her that clicked, “I could do that!” I think conservative women get a really bad rap for not being about equality, feminism, women’s rights. I sat on a Title IX committee in college to make sure women were equally represented on the field and in funding. It has always been a mission of mine to let my daughter really explore and find out for herself that you can pretty much do anything you want to—as long as it is legal [laughs].
Obviously “The View” wouldn’t be “The View” if everyone had the same view. How is the dynamic off-camera?
Off-camera, it is so fun and friendly, it provides quite a contrast to when we are at the table. It’s really come to a point where we are such good friends and know each other so well that we can “go there.” We have these wild debates that are so full of passion and life and we push one another’s buttons, because we know each other that well. I work with a handful of the funniest women ever—so sharp, so brave. I am laughing all morning. And I sit next to Barbara Walters, who is the most incredible person at the job, and I’d argue that to the grave. It is such a gift as a mom to be able to have those talks. I really love going in there. There’ve been times when I haven’t, but right now is a time where I do. I just feel more fulfilled as a person because I get to have those conversations.
What are three things that readers would find surprising about you?
First, bananas are my favorite thing to buy in NYC. Five for a dollar, and once, I even found them six for a dollar! To be able to hand over a dollar and get five of something back, I love that. Second, I probably have the Metropolitan Museum memorized. I could work there and direct people to every artist. We go there all of the time with the kids. We dot-dot-dot like George Seurat and paint hay like Claude Monet.Third, I am super-messy and not organized. If not for Tim, I probably would be on an episode of “Hoarders.” Everybody thinks I am super buttoned-up and, of course, I seem that way because I have someone doing my hair and makeup every single day and have clothes that are there. But I am a walking disaster. I want to be Type A, everyone thinks I am Type A, and I feel pressure to be Type A, but I’m really not. I missed the first day of school with Grace in her second year of preschool. I got an email from one of the teachers saying, “Hi. Just checking to make sure Grace is coming to school this year.” Seriously, who forgets the first day of school?
What’s on tap for 2011?
I have gluten-free products I’ve been working on for two years coming out called NOGII. They are high-protein, all-natural, gluten-free bars that should be available on Amazon.com in January. This has been a real pet project; they are so good and I can’t wait. I am working on one for kids that’s gluten-free, nut-free, all-natural and suitable for all kids on the autism spectrum, kids with learning disabilities and ADHD. With the NOGII bars, I designed the formula. I designed the packaging. I love the behind-the-scenes stuff.
I will have fitness apparel coming out in Fall 2011. I’m busy with a lot of side projects that are really the guts of what I like to do. “The View” is exceptional because it allows us to be who we are and for all of these other things to happen. Truth be told, none of those opportunities would be there without it. And for the first time in six years, I’m not making a baby! I’ll be working on growing kids instead of growing them in me right now.
Are you done?
I think we’re done. Done would be a good word for us [laughs]. We are complete, I’ll say that. We look at Isaiah and I say, “Oh, my little grand finale, there you are!” We are physically in the trenches right now. When you have lots of kids in the house, chances are one of them is getting up, someone has a cough, or someone lost their binky.
The bigger they get, the worries may become greater. Right now, nighttime is our biggest fear, because [we don’t know] when they might get up. But I’ll take it, because when those nights come when we are waiting for them to come home, I am going to be a mess.
What’s the hardest question you’ve had to answer from your kids so far?
My daughter said to me, “Mommy, if God is so big, how is he in my heart?” Of course, these questions come at 8:05 at night, when I am nearly asleep myself. That bedtime talk is so precious, but this was one time that I thought, “I don’t know if I am capable of answering that in a way that it needs to be answered right now.”
What did you tell her?
I said God has the ability to be both big and small and that no place is too small and no place is too big. Seemed to satisfy her—she rolled over and went to sleep.
Do you think you’ll always live in New York City?
I think it is a magnetic city. There is something that allows those with the ability to work really hard the chance to be a good parent and feel like you are connected. I love the fact that I am no more than 10 minutes away from my kids at all times; call me a helicopter parent, but I like that. I never thought I would ever live in NYC, but there is something that keeps us here. We’ve been here a long time, it’s an incredible home, and the kids love it. For now, this works for us.
Photo by Thaddeus Harden
