Scheananigans with Scheana Shay - What the Chung? with Jamie Chung

Episode Date: May 7, 2019

Actress Jamie Chung hangs out with Scheana on her birthday to talk about their long friendship, her acting career, time on the Real World, her relationship with her husband, and her own process of freezing her eggs. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Thank you for listening to this podcast one production available on Apple podcasts and podcast one From Vanderpump Rules to Vegas and everywhere in between, it's time to party with Sheena Shea. This is Shenanigans. And now, here's your host, Sheena Shea. What's up, you guys? We're back. My voice, again, is not. But it's been a long fun week we had stage coach last

week my birthday this past weekend today actually is my birthday happy birthday thanks happy birthday thank you um janet co-hosting hi and we have the gorgeous and talented jamie chung how are you good thanks good i can't believe how long we've known each other now. Ages. I don't even want to count the years. It's definitely over a decade, correct? Yeah, over a decade for sure. So I was just telling Janet how we met, and it was for you listeners, on set of Entourage, like doing background work at the Queen Mary.

That is right. Yeah. Oh, man. I wonder if I can share this story on air. Well, I remember it was the episode where it was on the Queen Mary. They're having this huge Victoria's Secret party. All the models were there. I do remember that one of the models, she didn't want to come out of the fitting room so um or her trailer so they were auditioning

random girls like background artists yeah we were background yeah um to audition for their role and i remember i was like this is this is the chance like this is my this is my chance to prove myself and um they ended up doing it so it was no big deal but you can see me in the background of the victoria's secret model so that's our claim to fame yeah that is not a place i think i'd want And they ended up doing it, so it was no big deal. But you can see me in the background of the Victoria's Secret models. Love that. That's our claim to fame. Yeah. That is not a place I think I'd want to be, behind the Victoria's Secret models.

I'm like, don't compare my body to theirs. I mean, it was so much fun because we were literally at Vinny Chase's birthday party on the Queen Mary with the Victoria's Secret models. It was like, my favorite thing about that show was it just was so realistic. models it was like my favorite thing about that show was it just was so realistic it was so la that it's like i actually felt like he was vinnie chase in real life not adrian grenier yes but yeah that was such a fun show i did so many episodes background work for that show 18 hour days oh yeah it was miserable driving back for long beach 200 bucks probably well we got paid the model rate which was like above sag so we got like a little like 300 a day hey back in like 07 that was good oh that's my

gate at home no that's me my sister's coming over today um yeah so gosh that was like and then do you remember doing that weird photo shoot for a calendar? I was like straight out of college. We had just met. I thought this was before prior to Entourage. Was it? But it was like a racetrack somewhere in like buttfuck nowhere in like Inland Empire. And we did a photo shoot for like a race car on a race car track.

Wait, like at the Irwindale Speedway? Yes. Oh, my God. Then that was before because I used to work there when I was like in high school I got there yes so the first thing I ever did background work on was a movie called biker boys and that was in like I don't know maybe like 2001 wow it was like my junior or senior year of high school and i got like my first sag voucher i was just working at the speedway and we see like all of these like movie trailers and we're

like oh we wonder what's going on over there and we heard kid rock was there and we're like no way so we just you know a 16 year old just like casually like walking around set like we owned the place run into kid rock meet him got a polaroid with him what yeah there were no cell phones back then you failed to mention this when we met kid rock again no i did i said i wish i had that only a polaroid and i know i have it in a box somewhere in storage i can literally picture it i'm like platinum blonde but so then this producer i mean i i don't even remember his name but it was like the typical hollywood producer hey do you want to be in my movie and i was like yeah totally

so me and my girlfriends got cast as like background just like up in the stands like when they were doing one of the races yep funny that is so funny oh my god yeah so and then i remember so i met and we're still good friends dante bosco who played rufio oh yeah oh that's right yeah so i met him on that movie and i wanted to like i didn't want anyone to know that i was still in high school and only 16 so i lied and told everyone i was 18 i wasn't but that was fun i know those. Those were the days. It was good times. Wow. Pre-cell phones.

Yeah. It's like ancient. Anyway, so that's how we met. Yes. Um, okay. So I want to go like way back and then we're going to bring it to today.

Okay, great. So how did it come about you doing the real world? Well, I, um, I went to UC Riverside. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Business.

And I was working – it was my freshman year or my sophomore year. I was bar backing at this bar in UC – like right near campus, called Tremors. I was working there cocktail hours. Like – Sister, sorry. It's okay. And she's in. I was working at Tremors part-time, but then I was also working at a restaurant called

Bossa Nova just to pay my college tuition. I love Bossa Nova. Yeah. It's not the Bossa nova that you're thinking of though it's another one it was more of a mexican restaurant um yes only in riverside but so anyways i was working um my shift at tremors and they were doing open casting calls for the real world and it's always you know i grew up watching the real world so i was like and they asked me to audition and and i did so i participated in this like giant cattle call.

And, you know, the chances of getting on to a show like that are, you know, seven spots. Right. Very few and far between. Seven strangers. Exactly. So, you know, it was an interesting opportunity, especially at that time in my life. So I just decided to do it. So how old were you when you did the show?

I was 19. Wow. Oh, okay. Because Cam, I remember, like, had the fake ID. We all did. Okay. And they were all taken away the first week. Yes.

Okay. I do remember this because I remember being down in San Diego and I was like, do not use a fake ID. They don't work down here. They do not. They're so strict. I was like, we're all Asian. You're not going to be able to tell.

Right. And immediately they're like, this is not you. And I was like, ah, damn it. Yeah. And Cam, who was on, did you watch that real world back in the day? I saw some of it back in the day. So she's on Southern Charm now. Oh, yeah. I always forget that she did. She's hysterical. I love her.

I love her on Southern Charm. Yeah. Wow. So what was the – okay. How real was the real world? I mean I was just asking Sheena the same question as we were walking into the building. What I loved about the real world was that it was a social experiment. It's taking seven young impressionable kids at a very young age in a time in their lives where things are changing and they're exploring their environments and discovering things about themselves. And so it's a really impressionable time.

But aside from that, they carefully pick out seven people from different like socioeconomic backgrounds, people with different religious beliefs, and they bring them all together into one house. And of course, there's going to be conflict. Like there's no story without conflict. Right. And so it was a great social experiment. And I was so proud to be a part of it.

But it was absolute madness. You know, we're just kids and there's booze. And, you know, we're in a house, you know, on our own in San Diego, like a mansion. Like, it's just madness. Do you keep in touch with anybody from the show? You know what? I do. Thanks to social media, I keep in touch with Robin and Brad Jacquees occasionally.

He's in Las Vegas. And Cameron, I just recently saw when I was doing a campaign there. I saw Cameron in South Carolina. Amazing. Yeah, we keep in touch. And I had a lot of questions about motherhood and, you know, we were kind of on the same page the last time I saw each other. And she recently had a baby. So she's helped out a lot.

Yeah. I loved watching her become a mom on the show because she talked about for a long time how she was terrified of having kids and didn't think it was for her. And then you see her become this amazing mom. And she – we had such a great conversation, but she was saying it was the best thing ever. And just reassurance that I needed. Yeah. I needed to hear from a woman and not from a man. Right. You know what I mean?

Absolutely. Yeah. I love that. Could you imagine if they put the Vanderpump Rules cast in a house together? Live together? Work together? It would instantly turn into investigation discovery because someone would get killed. Oh my gosh, yeah.

It would be James. James would get killed, let's be honest. I do feel like though, I mean not now because now everyone's so much older and getting married and probably having kids soon and buying houses and whatnot but i feel like if a few years ago they would have like opened up you know the restaurant in vegas like they just did if that happened a few years ago and they put all of us in like a house or like one of those dope sweets at the palms or something together and we help train the staff and open it i feel like that was such a missed opportunity of Vanderpump Rules.

Totally. It's not too late. I mean, everyone's just so old now and like in relationships and like it would have been fun when it was like, you know, Jack season three or like those times. I feel like that would have been a nice little like, you know, like the Kardashians, they have their spinoffs, just like a little side like Vanderpump Rules takes takes vegas i'd watch it yeah and i watch your show but back to your question it's very real there's nothing scripted about it you know i have some friends or i knew some people on the hills and other mtv reality shows and it's very much scripted but it was really to

see how these these natural conflicts worked out and i thought thought Vanderpump was scripted. No way. But Sheena just told me. I wish it was. I really wish it was. That's exactly her response. Did you see the finale last week? I did. I'm all caught up.

I'm like always so excited about Mondays no matter where I am. Oh. I, oh, that was. You need to bring the penguin certificate to the Bravo clubhouse. Oh, yes. I need to see the penguin certificate framed behind Andy. I need to still go meet this penguin. I mean, didn't they reach out to you and say they'd give you a free tour of the penguins? Well, no, I paid $1,000. It's not a free tour. It was a

charitable donation, which I do not regret. And I had tweeted something about it. And I was like, I made like the largest donation possible. And someone's like, why do you always have to make things about money? I'm like, no, there's like tiers on when you go on the aquarium of the pacific website it's like for $50 you can do this for $250 you can do this for $500 for $1000 it was like meet the penguins yeah but it was like the biggest package they offered and I'm like if I'm gonna do this like I'm gonna go all out got the most expensive package that was like the like meet and greet with the penguins, like behind the scenes tour. You get all of these cool things, the admission obviously and all of that.

And we just never went. I'll go. Fuck Adam. Or I'll go. Yeah, let's go. Let's go meet my penguin. I'd love it. We're going to change her name too.

That was never like a fish. It was just like suggested. Sorry, Adam. The penguin's named Janet now. Janet the penguin. Yeah, so I really do wish I could say that our show was scripted. But, I mean, it's edited and produced, but it's not scripted. No, it's all real.

Yeah, it is, unfortunately. And that night, I drank a lot. Like, I think you see me just like chugging wine and tequila I think we snuck in absolutely loved and I know people were saying that you guys need your own spinoff you and mama like she ma yeah so they're they're celeb couple name is she ma now but I loved her like comforting you and giving you advice when you're crying it was like I would love that nothing's like a mom's advice, but grandma's advice is even better.

I don't have a grandma anymore. I just loved watching you guys. Everyone was like, Shima takes Vegas. We need a spin-off of just the two of you guys. I loved that. Like a dating show where a mama has to screen all the dudes. I love that idea. That would be fun.

I love that. Is it safe to say that you are no longer dating Adam? See, here's the thing. We technically were never dating. Gotcha. But no, we are no longer seeing each other, hanging out really or anything. Yes. It just, it got too complicated.

And it's like, we were such good friends. But the second we crossed that line, which was kind of inevitable. I mean, we obviously were very attracted to each other. So it was like kind of like a long time coming. But we knew once we did that, things were going to change. And they did. But then it was like everything was fine until I went on that date. But it was like.

I mean, he was kind of hot. So hot. He was good, good, gorgeous. gorgeous yeah he was a bartender on watch what happens live no no stop it not a bartender he was a model okay so we did the it was like the night of 21 doorbells in la at the wiltern this big like watch what happens live thing and literally the second janet and i walk in i see this gorgeous guy walk by and I was like, hold on, double take. I'm like, super yummy. Oh my God.

And he's so my type. Sheena's eyes popped out of her head. I was like, here we go. This is going to be bad. Like if someone asks like, who's your type? I'm like, I have two types. There's like the Shamar Moore type. And then there's Ethan.

Adam is not my type. He's just like, he's too white, too blonde, blue eyed. Like he's gorgeous, but like just, that's not my type. So I see this guy who is the epitome of my type and I'm like, he's too white, too blonde, blue eyed. Like he's gorgeous, but like just that's not my type. So I see this guy who is the epitome of my type and I'm like. And he cooks. Oh my God. Yes. And he cooks.

And he produces music. And he goes down on you. And yes, that was the best part. Most importantly. But so, so I meet him in LA when I was, cause I was doing my show in Vegas last year. I met him when I was just here for like one of my 24 hour trips and we hit it off right away. Exchange numbers.

The next week he was in Vegas with me, came to see my show. We went out, we went to top golf. Like we had so much fun, hooked up. And then literally the day I moved back to LA, he moved to London for the summer. So it was like, we missed each other by a day. And then we kept in touch all summer, like via Instagram and texting and whatnot. And so when he was coming back in town, I was like, wait, I was like, I mean, if you'd be down to like, because we were going to hang out regardless. I'm like, if you'd be down to do it on camera, like I know they'd love to get me on one last date before the season wraps he was like yeah

i'm down let's be real you were technically a single lady you're dating you're dating multiple people that's totally fine i just think that kind of thing comes also with you know a layer of maturity you know to be able to handle the fact that if you're not willing to fully commit then you have to be willing to know that that person is going to date or the people it's just common sense and like i mean i'm now 34 today so it's like you know you look like a baby thank you you're here wearing no makeup and you look like a baby thanks i just got the best facial yeah sonia dakar oh yeah it was amazing so i feel very rejuvenated right now but um yeah just like with adam it was just it was so frustrating because there was clearly a connection there. Like we hung out almost every day and like never got sick of each other.

I mean, traveled all around the country, went to Iceland together. Like we've been to so many different cities and states and places together that it was just like it worked and it was easy. But he wouldn't come in. I'm like, look, I'm divorced. And all I know is I don't want to end up alone. So I'm going to keep my options open if you're not going to be that person for me. And he knew that. But I think he thought that I just was never going to act on it. But I brought it up for like a month.

I'm like, so it really wouldn't bother you if I hooked up with someone else. If I went on a date with someone else, he's like, no. He's like, I mean, like, just like, don't have it be like one of my friends because like the two guys I had dated earlier that year were they one worked at Sir, one worked at Pump. I just, you know, keep it in the fam. So, um, yeah, he was just like, I mean, like, please like, don't get back with like one of those dudes.

Cause like, that would be weird. And I'm like, yeah, that ship sailed. Like he's like, but if it's someone like, I don't know, like, I don't care. Do you back with, like, one of those dudes because, like, that would be weird. And I'm like, yeah, that ship sailed. Like, he's like, but if it's someone, like, I don't know. Like, I don't care. Do you? I'm like, all right. So I did. And I mean, had Adam just even responded to that photo?

Like, call me vain, whatever. Like, obviously, the guy I'm sleeping with, if I send you a sexy photo, I'm expecting a response. Anything. Not a, I didn't ask for that. I'm like, neither did Ethan. And he sure liked it. And now he's

coming over next week to cook me dinner and go down on me so yeah but um enough about that we've done the vanderpump rules recap last week yes um okay so you i feel like are literally the only reality star to become like a full-time working legit actress like i can't think of any other reality stars who have you have what 52 credits on your imdb i mean it's insane your resume i mean half of them are really bad but you know but still i mean that you got to take the work to work yeah amazing thank you i mean it's a you know it's's still – I still feel like the reality thing is a stigma, a negative stigma. Yeah. But luckily it's been ages since I've done it.

So I feel like hopefully it's, you know, more about the work that I'm presenting them in the moment versus what I've done in the past. Yeah. But it's still a constant uphill battle. And I would like to challenge that comment by saying i feel like mike the ms for example is oh yeah killing it and wrestling and it's still a form of acting and he's like segwayed into this like amazing career very true yeah he used to be my neighbor back in the day really yeah he's just the sweetest up by runyon canyon such a sweetheart i feel like they all lived up there oh yeah everyone lived up there doesn't he have a new show that's out right now

he does it's his own reality show with his wife and his cute little family. That's so awesome. Yeah, but it's like very few reality stars do break out and have like a legit career after the show. So that's what I have to figure out. You're on your way. You just went, you know, you did a show in Vegas, which I thought was super neat. Thanks. That's really cool.

It was so much fun. And like I'm doing this every week. I have my degree in broadcast journalism. I do want to like break more into hosting. I've always said I want to live in New York once in my life. No, you're not allowed. I know. Janet's, I'm like, I don't know, next year.

She just moved here. You can't leave. No. Yeah, but I wouldn't leave. You're not leaving. I wouldn't leave until next year. You're still not leaving then. I don't know i just i feel like there's a lot of opportunity out there in the hosting

media news world in new york that we'll see hey shenanigans can go on the road you know this no you're staying here sorry so what was your first big acting role after The Real World? I did – oh, gosh. What was it called? It was called – I think it was As the World Turns. Oh, my God. It was a soap opera. Yeah. I had a pretty significant arc on that.

And then I jumped to my own series on ABC Family. And I was the lead of that. And then, I don't know, it just kind of snowballed into bigger roles and bigger responsibilities. And then, you know, there are years where I did just a couple of guest star spots and other years where I worked on Stop. It's just the nature of the beast. You know, it's just – it's always going to ebb and flow.

Yeah. It's inevitable. But you've worked with, like, some big, like, A-list names. I mean, The Hangover, Grown Ups. So Madison. Yeah. Do you know? Yeah.

She works at Sir. She did. Yes. I know. And then she came back recently. No. She just moved again. Did she move again?

She did. She moved. Officially. Six months ago like she came back to Sir and we're like, wait, you're back? Like we thought you were gone. So now I guess she's gone again. She's a gem. Yeah.

She's one of my favorites. Just like all around good person inside and out. Yeah. When she was working, I already knew that she worked at Cirque. I saw her on the show. Oh my God. That's funny. But I remember coming in too.

Yeah. Yeah. I'm quite obsessed. And then recently we checked out Tom Tom. Uh-huh. It's delicious drinks. Oh my God. So good.

I haven't tried the food. The food's amazing too. There was literally a line and my friend Allie had to like get us in by pulling a few strings without waiting in line. Oh, Allie Lasky? Yes. Oh, no, that was actually me pulling those strings. Thank you. So you're welcome.

Thank you for doing that. She texted me, and she was like, can you come and meet Jamie and I? And I couldn't at the time. It was like I missed you guys by like an hour because I was there later that night. Darn. And I was like, go up to the door guy, say you're my do not wait in line so it's a thing yeah one question before we move on off of the reality stuff I'm so intrigued yeah so you only work there you don't need to work there you only work there there's no like contingency like you have to be you know you still have to

work at Surrey in order to be on the show no No, you guys make the show. You guys are the show. So do you only work there seasonally, like only when you're filming? Now that, like, I mean, financially we don't have to work there regularly, it's also just impossible. Like when we go in, we just – I know. I mean, people just left and right, photo, photo, question, question. You can't get anything done. So when we're filming, we're there at least twice a week.

You can't get anything done. So when we're filming, we're there at least twice a week. But in the off season, what we've figured out works better now is for us to just host nights. Oh, great. So like Tom Sandoval does Tequila Tuesdays. We do our girls night in like every third or fourth Wednesday. I'll go in for dinner two other times and just kind of like hang out and more so make an appearance. Because whether I'm in my dress or not it doesn't matter like I can't wait tables anymore and when people are asking me for photos

or want to have a conversation I can't be rude to them be like well sorry I have to go like run their food or that so it's just it became impossible and surplus tips so it would be one thing if I had my own section I'm making my money. If I'm giving shitty service and I'm making shitty tips, that's on me. But when I'm busier taking photos and someone else is picking up all the slack and then I'm making the same amount of money as them, it's just not fair. And so when I kind of worded it that way, I'm like, what can we do to where none of us are above, sir? None of us are too good to work at, sir.

It's just we can't. Yeah. So either we, the cast, do not pull tips or we just don't work here unless we're filming because it's just, it's impossible. I feel like it's the latter. Yeah. The hosting is better for you guys anyway. That's what people come in.

I mean, they're coming in to meet you. Well, you're there to like hang out. Yeah. So you're talking with the guests. You host a night. Yeah. I get on the bar. I perform one of my songs.

Pour some vodka down people's throats i'm there yeah right i know we were supposed to do one a couple weeks ago and everyone's schedules it's just like everyone's been out of town traveling and we just like can't all be moving targets yeah but it's so hard to like all be in town the same day and it's a wednesday thing so it's like it has to be a Wednesday. But we're going to bring him back this summer. Yeah. So you'll have to come.

I'll be there. Yeah. Yeah. I'll be on the bar. Yes. So fun. Okay. I want to know how you and Brian met.

Well, my husband and I, we met ages ages ago do you guys remember when nylon used to throw these parties it was like the young hollywood party yes so i met him with his friend chris and um they're both actors and we knew of each other from our you know producers because he was on a show called um october road thank you. Wow. I was obsessed with that show. And I remember I met him out one night and I was like, oh my god, it's the guy from October Road. I was like totally fangirling. Exactly. So it was October Road and I had a different show with the same producers, Midnight Radio.

And we just knew of each other. But he was dating someone else. I was just out of a relationship. It was a very kosher conversation. We went our ways without exchanging numbers very polite and then we just our paths kept crossing so it was very similar to the story we did this movie called it's already tomorrow in hong kong and it's about like the stars aligning and missed opportunities and like you know just kind of like how fate brings you together. But that's very much our story. That's awesome.

So had you seen him in anything or did you just meet him just like at the parties? No. I saw him at a couple parties. I heard of him. And then these producers were like, he was fantastic in Prime. You should watch Prime. And so I watched Prime, which also stars Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep. And that's the one that got me yeah

i was like this guy what a hottie so adorable how long have you guys been married we have been married four years wow congrats yeah thank you yeah yeah everything's a work in progress every relationship is uh-huh i was so bummed when october road got canceled it was like i think it was what two seasons maybe yeah it wasn't long enough and i don't think we ever found out if he was the dad of the kid or not he definitely was right i mean it was like i mean it was written that way but then it was like you never like found out no yeah it's it's so it's so sad when when seasons end after you know yeah after two just two i know it wasn't long enough and now here we are going on season eight like it's incredible it's in I mean it's a blessing because yeah you know it's so hard to get anything scripted past season two like that's

that's the tough one even past season one yeah you guys are truly breast blessed and to see and breast that's weird blessed but to see the the transformation of you guys it's really fun to watch yeah when they play season one at Sur, they will, like above the bar, they play episodes of the show and they always play season one. I'm always like, who are these people? I don't recognize any of you guys. It's fascinating. It's so embarrassing. And it's like, I mean, if you look at

season one Sheena and season seven Sheena, like, yeah, I get why people think I've had work done. I'm like, no, I've just, I've grown up. I was 25 then. You lost your baby fat yeah i literally still had baby fat i didn't wear eyelashes i wore way too much black eyeliner i didn't have my veneers then i didn't have any lip filler but i'm like i i've never gone like under the knife like i just i've never done anything like people always think you've got a nose job yeah but i'm like okay

but when did i recover from it because i'm literally on social media every day for the past like five six years my face is on snapchat every day so i'm like when did i recover from this nose job was it just like you've always had the same nose i'm looking at you yeah i still have like 10 years ago a little bump on it from when i broke it when i was a kid and i never got it fixed but people are going to believe what they want to believe sometimes when I'm bored I'll just google like Sheena before and after nose job just to see the comparisons and I'm like it's it's literally just a different angle yeah better like bad makeup better makeup yeah but yeah it's so funny to see the before and after plastic surgery when I haven't had any. But yeah. So you recently

froze embryos. I did. Now did that have anything to do with what Tyler Henry told you that it would be difficult to have kids? No. You know what's so weird? I did Tyler Henry when I was still shooting season two of The Gifted and I don't

believe in mediums but I was open to it. And a lot of the things, you know, his producer, who I kind of know through The Grapevine, but she explained to me that they're very careful about tarnishing any interaction between Tyler and, you know, the people that he's reading. So they're very responsible in a way where they don't tell him who he's going to meet. They bring him in a van. Like it's all very well controlled because it's a variable that can easily go awry. So they make sure that he doesn't know who he's interviewing.

And I was quite skeptical and I feel like – I don't know what I'm putting out there but it's just the constant stress of like when are we going to have kids? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know if I'm ready. It's this constant like inner dialogue that's happening and all of my friends are getting pregnant. And so it's a struggle that I've been dealing with and it's one of the first things he mentions. Yeah. with and it's the it's one of the first things he mentions yeah you know and in terms of no I was I was doing my research about freezing my eggs and

going through the process a couple years ago it's a conversation that my husband and I had but we didn't act on it we just did the research but after that I didn't even put two and two together I just other people put that together yeah it's like oh you're gonna have a hard time getting pregnant I was was like, there's no way. Well, I don't know. Maybe I've never been pregnant, so I have no idea. Um, you know, but I, I went through the process and it was fairly painless considering it's only a two week process. And at the end of it, hopefully you have some really healthy, viable eggs on ice. And that's what we decided to do. And I'm really glad I did because I thought I had a healthy amount. you got way more than I got see this is the conversation we were having so we both go to

Dr. Gadir um he's at the Southern California Reproductive Center he's one of the best doctors out there yeah they have the state-of-the-art facility they have you know their the freezers and like all this great technology that takes pictures of the growth of the eggs and embryos. And so nothing has to be taken out of the freezer and put back in the freezer, which is really – which damages the egg essentially. So he told me that we have about seven healthy frozen eggs. But I talked to another girlfriend of mine who is around the same age and they

pulled out 50. 50? Whoa. 50. And they made embryos. 50 healthy embryos. Wow. That is insane.

And she's in her mid-30s. In one try? How crazy is that? Yes. That's crazy. I mean, the surgery, you know, there's, you have to shoot yourself up. That's terrifying. You get over that. There's one medication called Menopur, you know, there's – you have to shoot yourself up. That's terrifying. You get over that.

There's one medication called Menopur which really stings. Yeah, it burns. But you know what? It's 30 seconds of pain that dissipates. That's fine. And then the actual retrieval, I had 27 follicles. What I didn't know, you know, the process itself, they put you under like light anesthesia. You wake up.

You're like, you're done. I'm like, oh, that was easy. Yeah. But the healing process, depending on how many follicles you pulled out, really determines how long your recovery is going to be. I, for example, had 27 follicles, only 17 viable eggs. And then, you know, that number starts to dwindle down after they do all the testing and whatnot.

So, you know, what you don't know is that your ovary has to be punctured. Like they take a needle vaginally. They puncture through your ovary to get to your uterus is where your follicles are because they've given you growth hormones and prevented you from dropping any of your eggs. Like that's essentially what they're doing. They just want to grow the eggs as much – all the eggs and follicles as much as possible. So they take a needle, they puncture through both your ovaries to get to your uterus to pull out one egg. They have to repeat this process for every follicle you have.

I didn't realize that. So if you have 27 follicles, they have to puncture your ovaries and uterus multiple times. Sorry, that's my dog. I love that we have a dog in here today. I know, right? Sorry, that's my dog. I love that we have a dog in here today.

I know, right? Yeah, so maybe that's why my recovery was easier because I only had 14 follicles and then we got 12 eggs, but then only nine were good. That's great. Yeah, but only nine not fertilized, just eggs, not embryos. So I won't even know what once. Until after the process. Until, you know, I might not fertilize them for five years. So I don't know that any of those nine once fertilized are going to be good genetically tested like a perfect embryo. That number certainly dwindles down.

They don't want to get your hopes up by saying you have 27. Like you don't know until you go through the process. So how many – after the 17, how many embryos do you have? Seven. OK. So see? So from 17, how many embryos do you have? Seven. Okay. So see, so from 17 to seven and I only have nine. Yeah, that's quite the drop. Yeah. And because we're not fertilizing them yet, I'm actually going to do a second round this summer. Great. Because for me, it was so easy. It was painless. And I just felt like one in nine chance isn't good enough and like i would rather hopefully get nine more and have like a one in 18 chance yeah because i mean also like i don't want

just one kid but who knows i don't know what age i'm gonna be when i'm gonna have kids if i'm even gonna have them this is like a strict backup plan for a single divorcee sheena it's a great i mean it's a great plan b even for someone who is married you know because i don't know when i'm going to have the first child i feel like it's going to be fairly soon but if all things go well if things go well like who would have thunk that i wanted to and now we have this backup plan but by then i'll be in my late 30s and you know it's extremely hard to conceive so these are all like really smart backup plans that you have in place and i don't feel like i feel like a lot of women don't talk about it and they don't think about it yeah not at all like when i was going through this there were so many people who were

like i didn't even know freezing only eggs was an option like everyone thinks that it's only embryos and i'm like well no and i don't have a dude to fertilize these right now. Who's the father? Yeah, no. So it was something that I wanted to do a few years ago when I was still married. I was going to freeze embryos. Like, thank God we didn't. I mean, there's some hefty legal paperwork you have to fill out.

Oh, yeah. If you divorce, who gets the eggs? Who gets the embryos? Well, it was Sofia Vergara had a huge legal battle with her ex over their embryos because he still wanted to he wanted to make a child after they were divorced with their frozen embryos it's crazy you imagine can't do it he wasn't he didn't succeed i think yeah i think they said no i think they he tried to fight and say that they were legally his and they were like not if she doesn't want no child yeah but i mean what, what happens if the mother passes away and you know, the father's left

with all these embryos. I mean, you, you really, it's, it's a lot of paperwork. I know. I just, with mine, I just said, if anything, God forbid were to happen to me, my mom or sister can make the decision. And I get one. Yeah. Janet, Janet's calling an egg.

I dibs an egg. I was there for a lot of the process. Yeah. You were so much more brave. I went to one of her, I went to acupuncture and a few like of those appointments, but I went to one where she actually was getting shots and like, great, I'm here for moral support. And she's like, fine, like not flinching at all.

And I'm watching the needles and I'm like, oh my God, I'm going to faint. I was like, I'm going to faint. Yeah. And I literally, I was like, stole the thunder. I was like, I like, I know you're being brave and great right now i need you to hold my hand i was like i need water and i'm gonna faint i was like i need moral support here it's just like the needles like nothing bothered me like the worst thing was the burn after the men appear but i had so many women reaching out to me i never check my like 99 plus requests on instagram but during

this process i started to because there were so many women who reached out with like tips for me or questions and whatnot and this one woman she sent me a link to amazon it's just like these little ice packs she goes this she goes immediately after the men appear put it on it'll take the burn away and it was just like those little things were so helpful that then i was like putting that out there on Instagram and telling women like, okay, you know, after this, like do this. And I saw, I think you were doing the shots wrong, right? Were you not switching sides? Well, listen, I went to the, I went to the crash course and I thought it was literally, you can only go under your belly button.

I thought it was very specific as to where the injections have to go. So yeah, I, we kept, yeah, we, we messed up in the injections have to go. So yeah, we kept – yeah, we messed up. In the same spot. Yeah, you can totally move things around throughout your entire belly. So that is something I did not know. I also went in every day. I had to do the Lupron at home in the morning and at night on my own. But then I was fortunate enough that my schedule was open for those like 11 days.

I went in every morning at 11 a.m. and they did the shots for me because I'm like I was fine giving them to myself. But the mixing of it terrified me. I'm like, what if it's not enough or what if I squirt it out? And then what if I was straight up chemistry? Yeah, literally. And, you know, those mixing needles are so thick because it's so much liquid. And one of the nurses was telling me that they had a patient that didn't know you were

supposed to switch out the needles. No. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. With this thick ass needle. We're talking like bigger than a sewing needle. Yeah.

Like four inches long. It's massive. I'm going to faint again, guys. Oh, my God. No. When I saw those at first, when I opened them, I was like, oh, my God. Oh, my God. I'm definitely going to the doctor and having them do these ones.

And then they're like, no, you switch the needle. I'm like, thank God. Because I'm like, how far in does this have to go it's terrifying so scary it's gonna puncture your uterus like it's terrifying yeah and chemistry was not my strong suit in high school it was like the only class i didn't get an a in so i was like i'm not trying to be a chemist and mixing this yeah if i have the opportunity to come in every day like if i had to travel or something and i couldn't i was trained to do it on my own yeah but it was so nice to just be opportunity to come in every day, like if I had to travel or something and I couldn't, I was trained to do it on my own. Yeah.

But it was so nice to just be able to go in and lay there and have them do it for me. Oh, it's the best. If you're conveniently located. Yeah. I had a nurse come to the house once for like the trigger shots because they scared me to death. They were like, don't do it wrong. If you do it wrong, it's all fucked.

No. I was like, oh my God, just send a nurse. Yeah. Nurse came over. She did it. I was like, oh, we could have done that. And it cost us $300 to have it come back. For like three minutes.

Yeah, I would not recommend that. Yeah. But when it's that super important trigger shot, I was like, you know what? It's worth it because I want to make sure this is done right. Otherwise, the weeks of leading up to this are just a waste. And for me, I've been on birth control for like 20 years. So my AMH levels were 0.28, like basically non-existent, especially for my age. Well, did you wait two months before you took the blood test?

Two months after being off the pill completely? I had to keep redoing it. Oh. So I stopped taking birth control in like November, but then I couldn't even start doing the shots until like mid January because I had to get my levels right. And then finally, when like my AMH was here, my estrogen was too high. And then it was just like, you had to take the pills to lower your estrogen. It's a fine balance, but you know, thank God for science. It's things that can be figured out. Yeah. So I'm still on prenatals every day, ubiquinol, DHM, DHEA.

I'm still taking those every day just because I'm hoping that when I go through the second round, it's not – You'll have more. Like I'll be better at the levels because, like, I'm currently again on birth control because I'm just – Yeah. I'm single and it's smart. No, yes, of course. I'm just, I'm single and it's smart. So, um, but they told me they're like, just stay on all the medication because I'm hoping that this next time it's not going to be, I mean, it was 50 days. I'm a stoner. I smoke weed almost every night, but it was 50 days. I didn't smoke weed. I didn't drink

hard liquor. Like, and for my lifestyle and traveling and reality TV, I mean, yeah, it wasn't easy, but knowing that I was able to do that, I didn't have withdrawals. I wasn't craving it. I'm like, okay, I'm not addicted. It was just a habit that every day I'm like, oh, I have anxiety, so I'm going to smoke weed. Oh, I can't sleep.

I'm going to smoke weed. But then when that was taken from me and I couldn't use that as a crutch anymore, I'm like, wait, I actually don't need it. No, you don't. It was such an amazing experience for, I mean, obviously getting eggs. But yeah, but it was just knowing'm like, wait, I actually don't need it. So it was such an amazing experience for, I mean, obviously getting eggs, but yeah, but it was just knowing that like, I'm totally okay without any alternate substance in my body. I think you needed the acupuncture though. I don't

know if you would have survived those 50 days without the acupuncture. That was amazing. Did you do that too? I didn't, I didn't have enough time to do it, but it really helps with the taking away the pressure. Cause you know, you're you're growing the follicles that are sitting in your uterus to an abnormal size. Like usually you drop one egg, but you're fertilizing all of them to abstract them. So it's quite unnatural and it's such a weird feeling. But I hear acupuncture definitely helps. It was amazing. I'm actually going to start going for my hand because I have like early stage carpal tunnel right now. Yeah. I think it's called texting thumb, whatever.

Shocking that she not surprised. Yeah. I know. So now I'm like, oh my, it's just, it's difficult, but I'm like, maybe I should do acupuncture on it. Cause that might help. I think it will. Yeah. And just to clarify what AMH levels, it level is, it tells you how fertile you are. It's a blood test. And essentially like the sweet spot that you want your AMH level is anywhere from like 1.5 to 3. That is what I believe. So that's the sweet spot. Anything more than that just means you're producing a ton of follicles.

But for some reason it's not – you you're not you can't do anything with those eggs i had a friend who had like an amh level of like seven or ten something astronomical but she wasn't able to get pregnant so there's it's interesting yeah there's a sweet spot that you need to stay yeah i always felt like there was just always something in the back of my mind since i was little that i would have trouble having kids and then finding out that my AMH levels were so low. I was like, I just I knew it. So I was like, I know I'm making the right decision by doing this. I'm going to do it again, which was highly recommended by Dr. Gadeer because we only got nine. But it was crazy because I also did Hollywood Medium. It was a couple episodes

before yours aired. And he said the same thing. one of the things he told me was he sees me as a mother in the future but from an unconventional way and i was like do you mean like adoption or like in vitro and he was like yeah like an in vitro like something like that and i'm like that's crazy because for two years i've been thinking about freezing my eggs and i haven't done it he's like you need to do that so that's a total impact yeah it was crazy we filmed that in september and then in November, I was just like, for those two months, it was on my mind. I'm like, I need to do it. Tyler Henry told me to do it. And so I did. And now I'm gonna do it again. Man, I feel like Tyler and Dr. Gadir should, should link up going to business together that for me, and I totally like believe in mediums.

together that for me and I totally like believe in mediums I've had several readings in the past so it was such an insane experience for me like not only did my grandma come through all three of my uncles my great aunt like it was just one person after another it's like a full family reunion it was insane and the things he told me no one could know they're not googleable there were things that I didn't even know about my family that after my mom validated and I was like, this is insane. So after you did it, were you less skeptical and like more open to this? I mean, certainly open. I just wish there was, you know, I've had a couple people close to me pass away.

I just didn't feel it was my place to bring them onto the show. But there was really no one that recently passed, family members, that I wanted to reach out to that I was very close to. So I felt like I really missed out on that opportunity. But I felt like there's a lot of things he nailed right on the head. Yeah. You know? I really do think that he has the touch. He's got something really special.

Totally. And he has a book out and i'm just reading a couple of chapters from his book i was like wow he's had this he's had this talent for for a while since he was crazy it's fascinating it really is fascinating yeah he's still so young too yeah oh i know he's 22 20s yeah it's crazy we're trying to schedule to get him in here oh then our schedules just haven't been matching up but i mean it'll it'll happen. I just, I know it will. That would be so fun. Yeah. But I'm like, wait, so who else is going to be on the podcast with us?

Is Grandma going to be here? But I just, I'm so intrigued to see how, when we do a podcast together, how that goes. Because it's like, I'll be interviewing him, but people are going to be trying to come through to like tell me stuff. So that'll be really interesting. That'll be a great one. I'll for sure tune in for that in i almost kind of feel bad for him that he has this like gift can you i mean it just seems like your head would be crowded all the time you'd have like you have to train yourself like how to turn it off yeah i wonder if he can i think he can i think now like i mean

he's had this since he was a kid so i feel like now he knows the way to like work with quiet his brain yeah i think so like meditation and things like that like i'm sure he has the right tools to quiet the voices when he needs them i wonder if when he's in crowds or like out in public and there's a lot of people around if then all of these like like on what women want yes like all the voices yes i wonder if that's what it probably started. It probably started out that way. And he had to figure out a way to like filter through and like to just like focus on, you know, hone in on one voice or spirit or whatever. But it was crazy on her episode.

Like he said something about he doesn't know who he's reading before, but she's on a Marvel show. The Gifted on Fox. And you're going to do something Marvel. Yeah. And she was like, whoa. And then talked about her and her husband working on a project together. And she's like, Marvel show, The Gifted on Fox. He's like, you're going to do something Marvel. Yeah. And she was like, whoa. And then talked about her and her husband working on a project together. And she's like, wait, we actually are.

Like, it was just so many little things that it's like, I mean, I didn't know that. Like, yeah, I mean, obviously I know you're on The Gifted, but he didn't know he was reading her. And then he's like seeing and didn't like know about. It's quite the quinketing. Yeah. Yeah. It was crazy, but it was such a great experience.

And I was so happy to see you on it too. Yeah. But your reading was different because you just asked about your personal life. Yeah. It was crazy, but it was such a great experience, and I was so happy to see you on it too. But your reading was different because you just asked about your personal life. Yeah. I didn't really have anyone that I wanted to reach out to. Yeah. But are you glad you did it? I'm glad. I'm open to trying anything once.

Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. So, okay. I want to talk about your blog. Yes. Yes. What the Chung? Okay. So how okay. I want to talk about your blog. Yes. Yes. What the Chung.

Okay. So how long have you been doing that? It was established in 2013, 2014. Okay. And it just kind of came about when I was in between, you know, acting jobs and I just needed a creative outlet. And so I just decided to start this blog. And I just needed a creative outlet.

And so I just decided to start this blog. And it really started off as like more lifestyle-y, more like a picture diary of like the places that I've traveled to, places that I like to eat or shop. But now it's certainly more hyper-focused on fashion and beauty and travel. And you have a new shoe line. Yeah, I do. 42 Gold with Chinese Laundry. Yes. we were both at the event for that yes i have the tan booties and i'm obsessed with them thank you they're so cute i love the shoes you have on right now thank you wait let me yeah they're the mules they're the overcome oh those are cute really cute thank you i get my mom would love those too. But we just – we had a design meeting this morning.

So I signed on for 42 Gold to help launch the line and now I'm getting more involved with the design. So we're going to be doing a capsule collection. Awesome. Is that something that you had always wanted to do like a line of some sort of product? You know, I've always been quite hesitant to do my own line. I just didn't feel like I was ready. But I've always had a shoe obsession. Yeah.

Like always had a shoe obsession. But there's this great designer, Sheena, coincidentally. No way. And she's an amazing designer and she's kind of been like holding my hand through this whole process and like has been really supportive. Yeah. They have a great team there, production team, Ashley Elizabeth. And, you know, it it's I feel comfortable there and I really feel like you know some of the ideas that I'm throwing on the wall are sticking so

yeah we'll see we'll see what happens and it's it's a little less pressure too when you're doing like a collaborative thing with a company that is established so it's like you have your own line within that yeah it's not life and death it's's not like going to make it or break it. Exactly. It's just something fun that I'm enjoying and, you know, it kind of fits into the schedule. Yeah. So do you have some new styles that are going to be coming out soon? Is it like seasonal? Yes.

There's some new styles that we have coming out for the fall, but we're collaborating on a capsule collection for fall, winter and holiday. Fun. Fun. Yeah. And are you just going to stick to shoes or are you going to do like accessories or clothes as well? Just shoes. I definitely don't want to overreach and spread myself out too thin. Yeah.

See how this goes. But it requires a lot of planning and a lot of energy and I feel like that's all I have available because I go to Vancouver to shoot a movie. It just came back from Dubai. Like it requires a lot of traveling and I feel like I – and I want to start a family. Yeah. Where's your favorite place you've traveled? Because you've been all over the world. Yeah. I mean I just came back from Tokyo.

I mean I love Asia. That's off the top of my bucket list. It's amazing. My family is from Korea. I love Seoul. My soul is in Seoul. But I just came back from Japan. I love Seoul. My soul is in Seoul. But I just came back from Japan and I was blown away.

There's just these – Kyoto is one of my favorite cities in Japan. You have to go there. There is a cute little city called Nara, Nada, which is like an hour from Kyoto. And that's where all the deer are. You know, they're just like roaming around and, you know, they're kind of like the prized animal from that region because of a Shinto god that was believed to ride into town on a deer. So they're kind of sacred there. It's just fascinating, you know, and it's no longer, you know,

like the movie where no one speaks English. I feel like there's a lot of apps where it can teach you Japanese phrases on the spot. So in terms of communicating, it's not that difficult. But it's just – it's kind of amazing, like the world that you're zapped into. Yeah. It's great. Yeah, literally. That's like next on my bucket list.

Me too. Jamaica is also up there for me i've always wanted to go ever since i saw katherine heigl and my father the hero and it just came on recently like last week i was watching that movie and i was like wait tokyo was my next one on my bucket list but i was like but jamaica was there before so those definitely you can hit that up pretty quickly i want to do both and i want to go back we were just in australia and new zealand wonderful so yeah but it felt like we were there i mean we were there You can hit that up pretty quickly. I want to do both. And I want to go back. We were just in Australia and New Zealand. Wonderful.

So fun. But it felt like we were there. I mean, we were there like eight. I mean, 10 days with travel. 10 days with travel. For work or pleasure. Both. It was one day of work and seven days of fun. That's amazing.

Yeah. Did you guys check out Melbourne? No. So that's why I have family who lives there. So that's why I want to go back and go to melbourne the gold coast and then go to the south island of new zealand because he only went to auckland oh my gosh yeah amazing yeah but it was amazing we've had a lot of trips this year yeah i'm so excited to have nothing on my calendar for a little while i know yeah all right well anything else do you want to add that

i maybe didn't ask that you want to drop? No, that's it. I thought – I feel like we covered all the bases. We did. Tell everyone where they can find you. Yes. So where do I start? My blog is whatthechung.com. I'm on Instagram at Jamie J. Chung.

Instagram at Jamie J. Chung. And you can catch our second season of The Gifted on foxtv.com or the app. And yeah. Amazing. Well, congrats to all of your success. I look forward to seeing your little babies soon. Thank you. Yeah. Pushing it for a little bit.

Well, you know. It'll happen. And I'm sure it'll be before me. Yeah. Yes. Thanks for being here. Thank you so much, you guys. All right. Bye. I'm sure it'll be before me. Yeah. Yes. Thanks for being here. Thank you so much, you guys. All right.

Bye. Thank you. Thanks for listening to Shenanigans. Download new episodes every Tuesday and subscribe on the Podcast One app at PodcastOne.com or at Apple Podcasts. And don't forget to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts. Looking fine and I got my girls with me With the boys at the table getting tipsy Miss me, kiss me one more time Get over here boy, I'ma make you mine Do you want it?

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