Julia Haart is a woman of many talents, and possesses an IQ she says is a "bit scary”. Alongside her family's Netflix reality show, My Unorthodox Life, and her shapewear brand, +Body by Julia Haart, the mother-of-four is entering the world of dating at age 52 as a relative newbie.
"Don't laugh. This sounds crazy, but this is the first time in my life I'm dating because think about it, I got married off as a teenager," she tells us.
As a result, Julia has partnered up with elite matchmaking service Tawkify to find her perfect match — and she's eager to find a "gardener," rather than a "flower" to spend her days with, she explained to HELLO! during a visit to her stunning Tribeca penthouse.
"Here's my theory on where women and men fall into. There's gardeners, who take care of people, bring them chicken soup when they are sick. And then there's flowers. Flowers are those who want attention. I'm an eternal gardener and I'm tired of dating flowers. I decided it's fine for me to be a gardener, but I would like someone who gardens back once in a while," she said.
To navigate New York City's notoriously difficult dating scene, Julia has also called upon the help of her four children, Batsheva, 30, Shlomo, 28, Miriam, 23, and Aron, 17, who must approve of any new man — or else.
© Glorianna RestrepoThis rule was made following Julia's split from ex-husband, Silvio Scaglia, which was well-documented in the latest season of My Unorthodox Life.
"We made this rule after my fiasco of a marriage, which is: if any of us are serious about someone, they have to immediately come to a family dinner and the family votes, but if the family doesn't like the person then they are out, no matter who it is. And we have to stick to it," she explained.
Julia's children have already ended one potential romance, and she's more than happy that they stepped in. "I went out with a guy. I was like 'he's so nice, I really like him, maybe this is someone I bring to dinner,'" she said.
"My kids were like, 'Absolutely not,' so I stopped seeing him immediately. All four of them agreed and so that was it," she recalled.
"And then, I'm really happy that I did that because you don't necessarily see things when you're attracted to someone... but my kids were telling me this guy was a user and they were right, because then a friend of mine went out with him a few months later and she was like 'Why didn't you warn me?' So I was really happy that I listened to my kids. We are a package deal. We all have to love you. Otherwise, you can't stay."
And has there ever been an awkward situation where Julia's children are divided over their views on her potential partners? "No, it has never been divided, hopefully that never happens."
© Glorianna RestrepoSo far Julia has gone on dates with four different men, and while none have worked out so far, “out of the four, three of them were gardeners," she marvels.
What's also nice about the dating app, for Julia, is that any men being matched with her don't know in advance that she's in the public eye — something that has been an issue in the past. "I went on a date, a guy took me to a bar and for the entire time he was telling me 'I can't believe I'm on a date with you,'" she recalled.
"It was the shortest date I think I've ever been on. I said to him, 'Look, you know my story. So forget about my story, I want to hear your story. But he just kept bringing it back to me. So at least with this app, they can't Google me, which is so nice and I can't Google them, which honestly I like."
So who is Julia's perfect man? "I want someone who's going to build with me and is passionate about the world and wants to change things," she said.
There is no age limit either, because "It's not about the age, it's about the energy."
Most important of all, any new man in Julia's life has to be kind. "I never thought that was something you had to look for, I just thought it was a given, but it's really not. I cannot take any more cruelty," she said.
"I just want someone who's kind who will love my kids and will understand that we are a package deal of five."
Her perfect man, she said, should also be honest, kind, intelligent and passionate about making the world a better place. "That's pretty much it," she declared, smiling.
"You know, I'm just 10 years old in the dating world, I'm just getting started."
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