Brooks Nader Is Ready for ‘Love Thy Nader’ to Be Hulu’s Next Sister-Centered Reality TV Hit

[This story contains spoilers from the two-episode Love Thy Nader season one premiere.]

Brooks Nader knows there’s no hiding your personal life on a reality television show. 

The model learned that last year, after her headline-worthy run on season 33 of Dancing with the Stars. Sparks flew on (and off) the dance floor between Nader and her professional partner Gleb Savchenko, and the two kept audiences intrigued by their romance, which was, in fact, very real and not just a showmance. 

Nader first catapulted into supermodel stardom after winning Sports Illustrated Swim’s 2019 Swim Search. Now, the model is building upon her reality TV reputation with the launch of Love Thy Nader, Hulu’s latest series that spotlights the Nader sisters. Starring Brooks and her three younger siblings, Sarah Jane, Grace Ann and Mary Holland, the show is another feat into the reality TV genre for the Disney-backed streamer. 

“Before the cameras started rolling, I was like, this is going to be different than Dancing with the Stars, like, how do I act?” Nader tells The Hollywood Reporter. “And the second the cameras started rolling, it was like nobody was even there. I was just completely raw and myself.” 

Following in the footsteps of recent modern smash reality hits like The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Love Thy Nader is a refreshing addition to Hulu’s ever-growing unscripted slate, one that the model says just came naturally to her family. 

“I think that nothing’s off limits [for us],” Nader says of how she and her sisters approached filming their show. “We grew up [in] very humble beginnings, extremely, extremely religious, almost culty, if you will, and we are navigating living in New York, chasing our dreams. … We’re still navigating the modeling industry and trying to take it on by storm. And you know, I think [Love Thy Nader is] just different.” 

Below, Nader opens up to THR about what sets Love Thy Nader apart from other kindred shows, her breakup with Savchenko that played out onscreen (plus what she thinks about him denying those cheating allegations) and what sets Louisiana-born women apart in Hollywood. 

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You are used to being in the public eye, but now this new side of your personal life is being thrown directly into the spotlight with this reality show. What has the reception been like for you, catapulting this side of your personal life into the public eye?

Being from a family of all girls and just always all of our business being everyone else’s business, I’m kind of used to not keeping any secrets and laying it all out there. So truthfully, before the cameras started rolling, I was like, this is going to be different than Dancing with the Stars, like, how do I act? Do I just be myself? And the second the camera started rolling, it was like nobody was even there. I was just completely raw and myself. And I feel like in this age of Instagram, and me coming from a modeling background, I think that this was a great outlet to show personality and raw and realness and be authentic. There’s some no makeup, there’s blood, there’s tears, there’s sweat, there’s breakdowns in the bathtub. You name it, it happens, and I felt so comfortable with our crew that it was sort of second nature.

There’s already so many breakout stars from Louisiana. We have Britney Spears, Reese Witherspoon and most recently, Addison Rae, and now you and your sisters. What is it about Louisiana that produces this trope of the small-town girl turned big Hollywood star?

Every time we bring people from the northeast or from L.A. down to Baton Rouge for an LSU game, they’re like, “What is in the water here?” All the women in the South have huge personalities, larger than life, life of the party and are all gorgeous. And so I feel like there is something in the water, truly in the swamp down there. I mean, what Addison Rae has created for herself, and obviously Britney Spears being a household name and a legend. Growing up in Baton Rouge, they had the “Welcome to Louisiana” sign, it would say “Home of Britney Spears” under it, and I remember seeing that and going, Oh my God, I want it to say, “Home of Brooks Nader” one day. I just thought that was so iconic, so I obviously admire their grit and hard work. And Addison is actually the sweetest. I’ve met her once in person, and she’s so kind and grateful. What a lineup, I love to be named next to those people, but they’re legends. 

In episode two, you navigate uncovering that Gleb has cheated on you, and you don’t even have time to process it because you have an event to attend. How are you able to separate your personal and professional life? Because sometimes, and especially in the show, those two bleed together.

I’ve always sort of been a workaholic, and I was raised on the notion [of], like, work first, then you play. I think there’s a catch-22 there, because it sometimes affects my dating life in that I spend too much time working and less time focusing on relationships. But I had just designed my first clothing collection, which was a bucket list thing for me, and it was our huge launch event. And unfortunately, that was the day that everything unfolded. And you just sometimes have to put on a face, and I kind of compartmentalize and just push it to the side, and I’m like, I’ll deal with that feeling later. I’ll send myself a calendar invite to address those feelings. This is probably TMI, but even the day that I [got divorced], the divorce went down behind closed doors, I had a job to do that day, and I did it. I think my whole family was judging me a little bit because they were like, “Are you fucking kidding me? I mean, this all went down today.” But I made a commitment, and I’m not going to flake out on something.

Gleb has still denied any infidelity against you. What is your response to that?

I think he has a track record of this. This isn’t new for him. And you know, we have all the evidence and all the proof still, so we keep receipts in this family, as you know (Laughs).

It is terrible to watch you go through finding out this infidelity, but the shining light in those moments was your sisters being there for you. What did it mean for you to have them by your side through those very difficult moments that are now captured on camera for the world to see?

I don’t even know what I would do if I wasn’t with my entire family. I was in bed for three days. I couldn’t go out of bed. That was the positive side of it, was that at the end of the day, we’re family, and we’ll go to war for each other no matter what. My parents, who still live in Louisiana, happened to be in town to celebrate my Hudson Jeans collection, so they were there for that. And the cutest moment, which was not filmed, my dad always makes me breakfast, and in Louisiana [he] makes me his eggs — he calls them Papa eggs, which is our grandfather. We were all at the penthouse in Soho, and the whole family was going out to brunch, but I was in bed bawling my eyes out for the third day in a row. And they go, “Dad, come to brunch.” And he goes, “No, what if she wakes up and I’m not here and she’s all alone?” And they go, “She’s not going to wake up, it’s 4 p.m.” He goes, “No, no. What if she does?” So I did wake up, actually, everyone was gone, and my dad is in the kitchen, and he had made the Papa eggs, and goes, “Here’s your breakfast.” I have a photo of him with the plate, and I cried. I was like, “Dad, I’m so sorry. I know you thought you were done with me with relationships, when you gave me away to marriage.” And he goes, “It’s okay, we’re gonna get through this.” And I’ll just never forget that moment. Like, I think I’ll tell it at my next wedding.

You are the launching pad of this show, but Love Thy Nader is about sisterhood and the family dynamics that you share. How have you and your sisters been able to maintain this strong bond as a group of four sisters?

I will not say it has been easy. The biggest adjustment, I think, wasn’t even the cameras. It was me having lived with my ex[-husband from] 18 to 27 and then going back to square one and moving in with all my sisters, and the chaos that follows that. That was the biggest adjustment, more so than being on television. We haven’t seen the whole series [yet], so we all sat down, and we’re watching the series and there’s interviews, you know, one sister’s ratting on me for having veneers, and we’re getting pissed at each other in real life. And my friend who is with us, Trinity, she goes, “Y’all should be filming this.” I mean, it just is the same as it is on TV as it is in real life. 

What do you think sets the Nader sisters apart from other reality TV shows that highlight sibling dynamics?

The Kardashians, Culpos, whoever it is, we love a sister group. There’s nothing like it in the world, but I just think it’s like comparing apples to oranges. They’re just different. We grew up [in] very humble beginnings, extremely, extremely religious, almost culty, if you will. And we are navigating living in New York, chasing our dreams. Sarah Jane is a part of the queer community. I’m a divorcee, which is so not conventional for being from the South, so I think it’s just different. We’re still learning and we’re still navigating the modeling industry and trying to take it on by storm.

Are you guys still living together? 

Oh yeah, we sure are. I’m with them right now, actually, and they’re just staring at me.

What has your reaction been to your sisters saying on Love Thy Nader that they accredit you with so many of the opportunities that they’ve gotten? 

I love how positive you are, because all I heard when I watched it was, “She’s lying straight through her veneers.” I was like, “Sarah Jane, people don’t know my teeth are fake.” That’s what I heard. I didn’t hear any of the positive. But no, I think that at the end of the day, we ride and die for each other, and we will forever. And no matter how angry we are with each other or mad at each other, we’re family at the end of the day. And my parents are even baffled. They’re like, “You guys fight like brothers. You’ll rip each other’s hair out, you’ll make each other bleed, you’ll hit and punch, and then five seconds later you’re scratching each other’s back laughing at a TikTok.” So, you know, that’s just how we are.

You appeared on the last season of Dancing with the Stars, but what else is in your future? Do you think that we will see you attend any of the live tapings for Dancing with the Stars this year?

I have a really packed fall, so I don’t think I’ll make it out for that. The only person that I’ll be watching for, really, is Whitney [Leavitt] from Mormon Wives. I die for her, I love both of them. I love Jen [Affleck] as well. Dancing with the Stars was great. It was such a great platform, and it was really such an amazing experience, all things considered. 

We have a lot happening in the sister group, and a lot of business opportunities and ideas and things we want to start. But hopefully continuing to film this crazy journey that we’re on. There’s a lot unfolding as we speak that I’m like, Oh God, we got to get the cameras rolling.

If Love Thy Nader is renewed for a second season, what hopes do you have for a potential season two, and what else do you hope to share from your life with the rest of the world?

I think that nothing’s off limits. Every day is different for us, and every minute is different for us, and it’s all entertaining, and I think that we’d love to share that with everyone. I can tell you right now, dating and otherwise, there’s a lot going down. So the girls are like, “We need to be filming this immediately.” 

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Love Thy Nader premiered on Tuesday on Freeform. All eight episodes are now streaming on Hulu.