Celebrity Interview: Vikki Ziegler of Untying the Knot
Vikki Ziegler is bringing a beautiful face to divorce. As a practicing attorney of matrimonial law and civil litigation, Vikki is helping couples peacefully part ways in both her practice and on the hit Bravo show,
Untying the Knot. We spoke exclusively with Vikki about divorce, her life as a new mommy to baby Sofia, and why she unapologetically calls herself a Mack truck.
Let’s talk about divorce. I read that New Year’s and Valentine’s Day are the two most popular times for people to file for divorce.
The biggest filings for divorce are in January. People want to go through the holidays; they want to enjoy their families. They want to muster the courage to say, “New Year, new man, new woman. Let’s do it!” It takes a lot of nerve to file for divorce so that’s what they do. They get all the gifts for the kids, and then they wait until after the holidays and then they say; “Now it’s about me.”
I’ve been practicing for 16 ½ years. I got into it because my parents went through a terrible divorce. There was a custody battle; I was an only child at the time. I went through the process and vowed that I’m going to help children go through it, and that’s what I’m doing.
Well, about ten years ago I met someone at a party and he said I should be a talking head, and I said, “No thank you.” I gave him my card and the next day Britney Spears shaved her head and they needed a custody expert, so I went on Bill O’Reilly. I fell in love with the concept of being able to speak your mind and talk about legal issues on TV. I had a couple of ideas for a TV show, and people came calling. I was on the Kim Kardashian show once; they had a clip of me talking about her divorce. We got a lot of calls; a production company came to me, and Bravo picked us up!
How has making the show been so far?
It’s an amazing process because I’m mediating couples for hours and hours and hours and viewers are only seeing 44 minutes of one show. For me, I think it’s fantastic because I’m educating people, young people, and older people, everyone about divorce. I’m trying to help people understand all aspects of family law so it’s engaging. It’s not just another reality show; it’s not a train wreck. That was not what I was interested in. And it’s unscripted, too.
So in Season 2 of Untying the Knot, you announced your pregnancy.
Yes, I was pregnant and growing by leaps and bounds the entire season. The baby flew with me everywhere because it’s not only in New York and New Jersey that I mediate, but we were in Atlanta, California. It was crazy; I was all over the country with her. I have my own law firm, so obviously I’m practicing law, I’m filming and then coming back and doing a bunch of other things. It’s been a whirlwind.
Is it hard to get it all done, especially with your first baby?
I think when someone gets that panacea of being able to manage life perfectly; I’m dying to know. I think that everyone does what they think is right; you do what you can to maintain a happy marriage, you want your child to grow and be healthy and learn. You also want to make money. It’s a big juggling act; you want to look good because it’s hard. I was huge on-air and now you have a baby and you have to get back on track. I don’t think there’s a rulebook out there that tells you how to do it, but you just go with it and hopefully it all works out.
I’m also a huge proponent of being grateful. Instead of being overwhelmed, (and because of lack of sleep, it’s hard to think clearly), I just wake up every morning and say, “God is great. I’m so lucky and grateful for the family that I have and everything that I do.” It gives me the impetus to keep moving. I also do a lot of charity work and that gives me perspective. Really, you just do what you can do in a day and you do your best, and then there’s always tomorrow.
Read More
