On Tuesday night's season premiere of Jillian Michael's new reality TV series "Just Jillian," the personal trainer and health guru let viewers in on her multi-faceted life, which included an intimate look into her relationship with her partner Heidi Rhoades, her relationship with her two young children, the role she plays in her younger sister's life and the struggles she faced as she balanced her home and family life with her health and fitness brand - proving that she's more than just TV's "toughest" trainer.
Mom Life
Michaels admitted that she has a different parenting style than her partner Rhoades when it comes to the couple's 4-year-old daughter Lukensia and 2-year-old son Phoenix. Michaels has a more straight-forward approach while Rhoades tended to sugar-coat things. They each shed tears when they told the story of their adoption process with Lu, whom they met during a trip to Haiti. They became a family on Mother's Day, when Rhoades gave birth to Phoenix (who was conceived through artificial insemination) and Lu's Visa was approved.
The family was in the process of renovation two new properties, a beach home and a farm house, which would allow more room for their children and wide variety of pets. During Michaels' speaking engagement tour, she realized how much she appreciated her partner. "I can't imagine how life would function without Heidi," Michaels said.
Work Life
Michaels juggled her time between her family and managing her brand, and in one scene she sat through a meeting to approve designs for her athletic line and recording her podcast. She prepared to set off to Europe for her "Maximize Your Life" tour where she made stops in major cities in order to grow her brand and perform at various speaking engagements. She revealed that she is extremely superstitious when it comes to her live performances as a motivational speaker, and she met with fans who thanked her for changing their lives with her line of fitness DVDs and health books.
Family Life
Michaels briefly touched on her family life growing up, which included the absence of her father and her decision to help her stepmother raise her younger brother and sister. There's a 19-year age difference between Michaels, 41, and her youngest sister Lauren, 22, and Michaels said she acts as Lauren's gatekeeper - which included grilling her new boyfriend on his drug and drinking habits.
Love Life
Michaels and Rhoades have been in a relationship for 7 years and although they are in committed domestic partnership and share two children together, Rhoades still expressed her desire to legally marry Michaels. Michaels said that if the couple never marries, then they'll never have to divorce, but the pressure was on from friends during a housewarming party for their new beach home.
"What about you two, when are you getting married?" a friend asked. Michaels defended her stance against marriage with pop culture references like the recent divorces between actors Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner's and musicians Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale. But she caved and said, "I will give this some serious thought."
Watch a clip from the season premiere below.
