MY UNORTHODOX LIFE - JULIA HAART INTERVIEW

No matter how you look at it, Julia Haart has had quite an extraordinary life.

Haart stars in the new Netflix reality series, My Unorthodox Life (which debuted this week) that centers on Haart, a CEO of a modeling agency company and a former ultra-Orthodox Jew, as Haart and her family acculturate to their new non-religious lifestyle.

The Netflix series documents Haart and her children's decision to leave the tight-knit Haredi Jewish community and pursue their passions for fashion and design.

Haart reports that she had left ultra-Orthodox Judaism over her discomfort with the community's strict religious observances and principles that she describes as a form of fundamentalism.

We also meet her entire family and find out A LOT about her children who are seen wall to wall throughout the series. The eldest, 27-year-old Batsheva, grew up in Monsey, New Jersey and married a young man named Ben from the community, Julia’s departure soon after the couple’s wedding created a rift between mother and daughter, the reparation of which is among the show’s running story lines. Meanwhile, Bat has healed enough to become a TikTok fashion influencer. Her brother Shlomo, 24, is preparing for law school, dipping a toe into dating and struggling over how observant he ultimately wants to be. Ambitious, feminist-minded tech wunderkind Miriam is, at 20, a mini Julia. She’s also enthusiastically bisexual, collecting love interests faster than her mom collects designer outfits. The youngest of the kids, 14-year-old Aron, lives with his dad, Yosef, in Monsey. When his mom comes to visit, he’s just returned from an ultra-Orthodox summer camp that inspired him to stop watching TV and talking to girls.

Haart has also completed an autobiographical work recounting her personal journey. Haart's forthcoming memoir is titled Brazen.

I spoke with Julia Haart about the series and what it was that made her decide to change her life forever.