Her ex lives next door
Life coach, mother, tv personality, and loves life
I had lost touch and only saw her on TV. A few weeks ago, we reconnected and met at Starbucks.
“We met when I was 18 when we both were in ‘Hair’ the musical. You played ‘Claude,’ and I was the pregnant woman who was always on hash.”
Tina at 18 performing in “Hair” the musical
Tina’s career has been in the performing arts: singing, dancing, and acting. She continues to nurture those talents. She has made time to reinvent herself, becoming a life coach to help others. Raised in Saudi Arabia, her family moved to Lebanon when she was 16. With broken Arabic and no French language skills, she had a goal. To become a Broadway star.
“Young innocence. You think you have control over what’s going to happen,” she tells me. “In reality, life takes you in many different directions. Beautiful and unexpected.”
Starting a family and a career
She fell in love and got married against her parents’ will. He wasn’t Lebanese. Foreigners divorce quickly, her parents thought. They resisted but eventually accepted. He was 27, and she was 21. Foolishly in love, they married to be with each other. Five years later, they had their first child, Jazz, and Sky came 3 years later. Tina feels she missed out on living her twenties as her single friends did. She had married, worked, and lived a different lifestyle.
She was cast to play one of the main characters in a hit sitcom, Three Girls (ثلاث بنات). Over 300 episodes later, it came to an end.
Moving on, she leveraged her university degree to get into marketing. She worked at Empire Cinemas for the next 4 years and loved being close to the Hollywood vibe. Next came her adventure with the Beirut Marathon. Organizing the first two events was impactful, beautiful, and personally memorable.
The last job before the 2006 war
Post marathon, and on the first day of a new job, she realized her period was late. She stopped at a pharmacy, picked up a pregnancy test, and
“I’m like; oh my God! I just started a new job, and I’m pregnant!”
She felt bad not telling her new boss. Wearing an oversized coat and five months later at a client’s meeting, the same boss goes: “So, how far along are you?” She felt he was nice and understanding. Relief reigned as it’s finally out in the open.
Coat or no coat, eventually it’s going to show.
She delivered her daughter in March 2006 and took her maternity leave. The war broke out that summer, and she never returned to that job. With a 3-year-old Jazz and a five-month-old baby, Sky, still breastfeeding, they left for New Zealand. Sometime later, they returned after things had calmed down.
On women and rights for her family
Even without a Lebanese nationality, her children fight for her and their rights.
After her first pregnancy, she found it to be cruel to get back to work after about 40 days. Tina felt that she missed out on motherhood the first time around and did not want the same the second time. She took a year off and then realized that even that was not for her. She’s big on supporting women's issues in general and their full rights as Lebanese citizens.
MTV reopens and calls for her
When MTV reopened after its forces closure in 2009, they called and offered her to present a program. Returning to the cameras helped her rediscover her identity and strengthen her self-confidence. Still, the intelligent, capable, modest, and beautiful Tina kept her feet grounded. She knows that glitz is a myth. As she continued to build her social circle and group of friends, her marriage was being tested.
Once foolishly in love, they started drifting apart
Life’s new interests pulled them in different directions and put them on different paths.
“Since I did not live my 20s, I wanted to relive them in my 30s. I discovered Gemmayze bars for the first time. Our lifestyle as a couple was more into restaurants and dinners.”
She’s never smoked but likes the nightlife, the people, the rush. Their kids had grown a little. Mom was 38 when she decided that she wanted a fuller life.
I couldn’t help but ask further.
It wasn’t a selfish act, she insisted. She felt that she deserved better. She felt that she needed to be appreciated more. She wanted to create a change, and only she could make it happen.
I wanted to ask what’s his take on that, how hard did she try, and as if she read my mind,
“I tried over the years. Many times. I was finally convinced that I wanted to move on. The same way I jumped in, I jumped out.”
She knew it was going to be difficult. She was convinced that the universe would receive her, and it did. Friends are significant players in her world.
An amicable divorce
They are both very present for the children. The father isn’t Lebanese, and he’s still in the country. They’re actually neighbors. That’s big!
Who does that?
Parents who love their children do that. Practical, intelligent, and mature people do that.
During the week, they’re at Mom’s place. They go up to Dad’s any time they wish. Same thing on the weekends. It’s been 6 years, and it took time. They were and are there for their children. Mom and Dad have similar parenting styles and talk a lot with their children.
After the divorce, they dated other people. The children understood that “mom and dad got divorced; dad has a girlfriend; mom has a boyfriend.” It becomes easier when Mom accepts that it’s okay that Dad has a girlfriend and she’s living with him. No hiding, no bitterness.
“I made it clear to my kids that they had their friends, their outings, and I had my life, too.”
She believes that it’s important for her children to know that she deserves to go out, to have friends, to have sex, and to be loved. “What would we be teaching our children otherwise? A divorcee at 35, and that’s it for her?” Tina questions.
She knows their divorce impacted their children but to a lesser degree than otherwise.
“Children, no matter their age, will always hope that mom and dad will get back together. They cling and won’t let go. You’re working against natural tides.”
Both parents were consistently present and openly communicated with the children to manage the transition. They still do.
Meet coach Tina
“Tina, you should get into something like this. Some sort of talk therapy,” her friend told her. For a long time, she would not listen to the signs. She used her passion, education, and life experience to plan her next step. She wanted something new, refreshing, and fulfilling. She landed on life coaching.
TV has been perfect for her. She lives it, loves it, and is a natural at it. She feels her audience and enjoys the closeness with them. Life coaching is yet another channel to connect with and help people. She worked and studied hard to get her certification. Going through the program was a joy. Being part of a community of international standard coaches is the icing on the cake.
Having started in Lebanon and the region, she focused on relationship coaching. More with women who are going through a separation. Since she went through it alone, she does not want the same for others. She enjoys her coaching mission and is most rewarded with the person who comes in having made the decision to change. Watching them take baby steps towards becoming better, happier people was like magic to her.
At 16, she wanted to become a Broadway star. Twinkling, dancing, sparkling blue, and an indivisible part of a beautiful constellation- the kind of star she is.
Starbucks drink: Double shot shaken. No ice. Served all season.
COVID-19 Chronicles: During the lockdown, she keeps busy.
Putting a puzzle together
Her passion for making delicious edibles for loved ones.
Yoga helps her balance