With an increasing amount of couples trying out the long-distance relationship thanks to budding careers or localized family units, it’s rare to hear about mile marriages that actually work, let alone a celebrity mile marriage that works.
But Bill Rancic, The Apprentice’s first winner, and E! News host Giuliana seem to have found a format that works. He’s based in Chicago; she’s based in L.A, and collectively, they live in their homes, find three to four days a week to actually see one another, and this fall, will come out with a brand new reality series highlighting their journey as newlyweds living miles apart.
“There’s that reality show curse that’s out there but this is different, it’s a positive show,” says Bill when asked whether or not being in the spotlight will affect the marriage. “There’s no flipping over of tables or cursing at each other. It’s a loving show, because that’s who we are.”
“Style told us people want to see our lives after walking down the aisle,” Giuliana adds. “At first we thought it would be fun and maybe we didn’t have to show everything. But after one episode, it was tough. We were going to pull the plug at the end of that episode. But and if I can’t let viewers see my life then I’m a hypocrite.”
On stage, the couple bounce off each other like they’ve been together their entire lives. In reality, they met after Giuliana’s ex, Jerry O’Connell, met Bill at an NBC upfront party and told The Apprentice he would introduce him to his girlfriend if he wasn’t scared they would run off together. Two years later, Giuliana interviewed Bill for a charity event, found out he was single, and 10 months later, they were married.
“In life you have to take risks and this is one more adventure we wanted to take,” Bill says. “Hopefully people will respond to it well and will enjoy it as much as we did doing it.”
“It gives you a unique perspective to your marriage because you’re on the outside looking in,” Giuliana adds. “If we didn’t have this show, I would never know how annoying I really was!”
Giuliana and Bill airs on Style this fall.
Amber is currently reporting live from the TV Critics Press Tour in L.A. Check out complete coverage here. amber@tvguide.ca
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