Jeannie Mai Shared What She's Been Doing At Home And It Sounds Like Her Quarantine Has Been Lit
"I'm the queen of chili now."
Welcome to our new BuzzFeed interview series where we find out what's been keeping some of your favorite celebrities busy while social distancing. This week, The Real cohost Jeannie Mai spoke with us to let us know what she's been up to lately.
BuzzFeed: What shows have you been watching?
Jeannie Mai: "I was captivated by Ozark. Oh my god. I haven't had anything like this [to watch] since Breaking Bad. Ozark is phenomenal. And I can't wait for the new season to start already."
"And then The Tiger King, obvi."
"My brother tried to get me to get into...what's that show where all those really pretty people go on an island and they can't have sex? Too Hot To Handle."
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"That was the worst show I wish I never saw. I invested 27 minutes in it...and I felt brain cells leaving. I'm never doing that again."
What movies are you watching at home?
"Midsommar. Oh, I loved it. It was so good. So, so, so good."
"And because Mama Mai has been staying with [Jeezy] and I, we've been taking her on an oldie but goodie cultural trail of the greatest nostalgic hits, [watching things] like Coming To America and Bad Boys."
Have you read any good books while at home?
"Limitless by Jim Kwik is the current book I'm [reading]. I'm obsessed with it."
"The times have changed and our minds aren't retaining the same information as it did before because of the way that we're using social media and how content comes up. So Limitless is a great book that teaches you how to be limitless in your brain and memory span, and how to really [train] yourself to have the type of brain that you want."
"Also, [I'm reading] More Than Enough by my friend Elaine Welteroth."
"It's a beautiful book that every woman should read before they get out of quarantine. [It] helps you understand that you too are mighty in your own self and that you are more than enough just the way you are. It also motivates you to go become even more than what you already are."
Have you tried cooking any new recipes?
"Okay, so I mastered how to make the most delicious chili. It's a recipe that I got off the internet from Guy Fieri with a little bit of a twist with vegan meat and spices. I felt so confident about it being good that I battled my brother in a cook-off in my Hello Hunnay YouTube series. All my friends who tried it — I Ubered it to their houses — they also loved it. They said it was amazing. So I'm the queen of chili now.
Also, cucumber salads! Oh my god, I can't believe until this day I get cucumber salads in my DMs. I'm actually going to make a new recipe for all those easy peasy recipe people that are like myself who just like 1-2-3 cooking, but yeah, that went so well. I can't believe how many people made that recipe, and how many people watched that video. It's crazy."
What type of music have you been listening to?
"I love the Instagram battles. I really am thankful for Erykah Badu and Jill Scott. What they brought to our forefront and the walk down memory lane. I also loved what Teddy Riley and Babyface did."
"The Weeknd's last album, After Hours, I think it might be even better than his first, for me. I love it because it's got this little new wave to it. It's so good."
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"My man [Jeezy] came out with a new album, 2020 Pyrex, and I'm stuck on his song "Poppin." E-40 just dropped a reprise of all of his greats, The Curb Commentator Channel 1. I love that. And I gotta get into Kehlani's new album, but I love her singles."
Have you taken up any hobbies?
"Well, I'm learning how to moonwalk as we speak, which I'm very proud of. I'm also learning Vietnamese dishes because of Mama Mai. I'm learning how to make pho...and things like that."
"I'm also really focused on how to create some type of accessibility to mental exercises for people."
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"Mental health has just become so important to me. I kind of got my shit straightened out in the last year and I've learned that having peace of mind, meditating, all those things are so important, but we don't learn how to do it. And it's also not encouraged in many cultures like mine.
So I'm coming up with ideas of how to get this out to the world: breathing exercises, meditation, guided meditations, mantras, and things like that. That's something that when I come out of the quarantine I'd like to have, something that is accessible on the things that I've learned."
Have you been exploring new ways to work out at home?
"It's hard to find places [to workout] when you need to be six feet apart. So I've been really focusing on stairs. My workout consists of a lot of lower body areas: butt, thighs, legs. So what I've been doing is, I find areas where I can really get into squats, jump squats, leg lifts, and bench push-ups. A lot of my Instagram videos that have my workouts are usually based on stairs. And they're easy things that you can do with your own bodyweight."
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"And to everybody out there who said they can't work out, yo, honestly, hashtag quarantine workout on Instagram and you will find endless ways and ideas on how you can work out — even with your kids!"
You recently got engaged to Jeezy in quarantine! What was that experience like?
"It was better than the actual thing [he had planned]."
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"I found out, after he did it, that he was originally planning to propose in Vietnam. And of course, I can picture pretty generally what that would have been like, which would have been just as beautiful. But I loved so much more that the quarantine forced him to get creative with how he was going to emulate Vietnam in our very own home.
He basically created a Vietnamese experience. He took his time to go and do research about all the most beautiful spots in Vietnam, from the south to the north, and took me on a virtual tour of us in those places. He took the time to fly to Houston — when we were still able to fly — to talk to my mom about it. He FaceTimed my dad to ask for his permission."
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"To be very honest with you, especially after having been divorced, I've learned that marriage isn't about what works out, it's about what doesn't work out. And so that was a very symbolic — I don't think he even noticed it — but it was a very symbolic message to me [about] what kind of life partner husband he will be. No matter how rough things get for us. That is the testament to marriage."
Have you learned anything new about yourself or your relationship while in quarantine?
"I learned that [Jeezy] and I really treasure the art of communication. That's the number one foundation to our mental connection, our physical connection, our sex life, our intimacy, everything. The art of communication. I say art because most people think communicating is, 'Oh, just open up and talk to someone, tell them what you're thinking.' But it's actually not that. Especially not when you're in quarantine."
"When you're in quarantine the attention level is a little bit higher. You're stuck around each other more. So how you talk to each other and how you address things is really important. It's important to focus on tone and timing. And respect. Always respect."
Lastly, what's the one thing that you're looking forward to doing once quarantine is over?