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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hi, this is Manjusha Radhakrishnan. Today we are doing a new series called
00:04Inside the Luxurious Dubai Homes with Gulf News. Today I'm at Palm Jumeirah. It's called the
00:11Billionaire Mansion and it's massive and also I'm going to talk to Nicole Rodriguez.
00:17Let's find out about her home. Let's go.
00:24Let's see how it's going to be. I'm excited.
00:26Manju! How are you? Hi! Good to see you darling. I love it. I like it. You're so Dubai today.
00:34Oh, thank you. Just like the sun. Thank you. I love it. Thank you for having us in your home.
00:39It's beautiful. Oh, thank you. It's gorgeous.
00:45You have to tell me, Nicole, all about this gorgeous, gorgeous home.
00:50Oh, and what would you like to know about this gorgeous, gorgeous home, Manju?
00:54I can just tell you it's as colorful and eclectic as your personality. But how huge is this? Is this
00:59how you get your cardio in? I think, yeah. It's a 25,000 square foot home. We've got like 10
01:06bedrooms here. And I tell you, sometimes it can be quite a trek, you know, getting from one place to
01:10the other because it's a long walk. It takes me like 20 minutes just to go through the whole home.
01:15It's amazing. I love it. I love it. I love the space. I love, you know, I love that we're in
01:20the water. I love the great view of the Atlantis. It's amazing. Really? How many rooms are we
01:25looking at? And I thought each room had its own personality. That's right. So we have 10 different
01:30bedrooms. Each bedroom has its own sort of character. You know, it has different colors.
01:36It has different moods. I mean, depending on how you feel and sort of energizes you based on what
01:41you want. Yeah, what I love about, I mean, it's a gorgeous home, but the sunlight. I mean, I think
01:46that's what Dubai is known for, sunshine. And I love the, you know, floor to the ceiling windows,
01:51the white curtains, etc. Was that very important for you? You know, I wanted, what should your home
01:57be like? Did you have like a blueprint? So for the longest time, most of my homes, I've owned
02:02many homes here in Dubai, maybe 150 homes to date. But most of my homes have like a sort of diva
02:08signature to it, right? And sort of the lace curtains are a diva signature. I always have that
02:15everywhere I go. But I do like big windows. I think light is key for any home.
02:21And I think it's so nice to, you know, walk into a home that has big windows, lots of light,
02:27because it sort of like feels, makes you feel so much nicer and warmer and, you know, energized
02:35rather than, you know, being sort of dark spaces. And then we're in the Gulf. We're so blessed with
02:39so much sun, so we might as well use it. Right. Which is the one area that you use a lot? Because
02:45see, when we're talking about a 25,000 square foot home, like you said, it's difficult to
02:50choose or pick a corner. But is there one thing that you gravitate to when happy or when sad?
02:55I think my home office, that would be. And fortunately, my home office is quite big.
03:01So I've got like, you know, I've got like three desks, I've got a conference table in there.
03:06And then, of course, I've got my own, you know, sort of like desk there. And it's brilliant because,
03:10you know, I can work out of here, I can have my team come in. So if my, you know, accountant or
03:15my finance team comes in or my legal team comes in, or I'm having deals, discussions can happen.
03:21So everything happens in the home office itself. Right. Right. What I see in Dubai, they say the
03:26bigger, the better and the more blingier, the better as well. Do you subscribe to that idea?
03:31Absolutely. It's Dubai. Absolutely. Right. Disneyland for I mean, this is what you manifested.
03:40Oh, totally. And I think that Dubai is like the L.A. of the East. You know, if you think of it,
03:45I mean, I just think the leadership here is just phenomenal. I mean, we're so blessed with
03:50such great leadership that supports and empowers sort of innovation, change, development constantly,
03:56right. And growth for that matter. So, yeah, I love it. And you're also a portrait of an
04:02independent woman living in a very large mansion. Is that the dream? Trust me, there will be many
04:09women out there with kids thinking, oh, my God, I would kill to be in her fashionable shoes.
04:14Well, I think that, yes, I do. I love my space. I've always loved my space. I mean,
04:19I have two kids. Presently, my son's in Boston, Babson, and my daughter's in New York,
04:24in Syracuse. So, they come in and out. And I have a lot of family visiting ever so often. So,
04:29my parents fly in often for Bombay. I have my brothers in Saudi, was in London, but now in
04:34Saudi. He comes in quite often as well. So, I always host a lot. I have a lot of friends who
04:39come in and stay with me as well. So, I always need the space. So, in spite of the fact that I
04:43do live here in this absolutely fabulous, gorgeous home, I still have a lot of people
04:50often around me. Sky's the limit when it comes to Dubai. And this home and your life is kind
04:54of a reflection of that. Do you believe that? Oh, absolutely. And I think that, you know,
04:59we are what we believe or we desire. And everything we experience is created by us,
05:05right, in a lot of ways. So, yes, this is my creation. It's the home is me and I am the home.
05:13And it reflects me in so many ways. You know, I think like, I like things organized. I like them
05:18in their place, just like the way I like my head, for example. Yes, brilliant. I just got
05:23tour of the house and I got my cardio in as well. I love the pink color of the room. It's very
05:27Barbie-esque. What is it? Is it gender coded living rooms that you have? This is what the
05:32fourth living room is something of that sort. So, my son actually lives in the top floor, right?
05:37So, he has his bedroom and then he entertains his friends a lot. So, we've got like a female
05:41section on one side and got the male section. So, he has his friends over. You've got the female
05:45section, male section. I thought it was fun. I think it's kind of cute. It's sort of a reflection
05:49of where we live, you know. I mean, in the Arabic culture as well, we have the female, you know,
05:53sort of space in the male space. But yet, you can, you know, see each other and, you know,
05:57you can interact with it together. So, I think that was quite fun. Do you use the pool a lot?
06:01I ask everybody that. Oh my God, a lot. I actually do use the pool a lot. In fact, I was in the ocean
06:08just yesterday. The weather is getting better. It was quite cold and chilly, but now it's getting
06:12warm again, which is fabulous. And I love the summers. I mean, I don't know why people complain
06:16about summers because every summer, like in the evening by six, seven o'clock, the pool's a great
06:21temperature. The ocean's fabulous. So, do you run into a lot of stars, et cetera? Or what is a
06:31regular day in your life? I think it's more like a lot of people run into the star me.
06:36I am the star. I am the star. I love that. I love that, of course. And which is the least
06:40used area in your mansion? Oh, the least used area. Hmm. That's a very interesting question.
06:48I don't think there's any area in the house that's not really used. Okay. I think we use it
06:52all. You know what I mean? Especially, I think every square foot has been like personally looked
06:58into by me itself. So, I'm hands on and so I like to know that, you know, it's used well.
07:06Like, for example, when I do homes by and large, I often look at how the utility of the home is,
07:13you know, is key for whoever the people are or the families living in the home and how you can
07:19optimize spaces so as to maximize the efficiency of the space, right? So, yeah, in this home,
07:24you won't find anything that's not really used. I love it. What is the vibe you're looking for
07:28if a person enters your room or your mansion or any room in this mansion? What is it that you
07:34want them to take away? So, the home is built with like different zones and each zone has a
07:40different sort of, you know, a vibe to it or a sort of energy to it. So, let's say, for example,
07:45you were at the sort of Bentley zone. That's a more serious sort of like, you know, a serious
07:50discussion. This is more playful. This is more fun, you know. So, I mean, everything's like
07:57not just set for how beautiful it is aesthetically but also how you feel with that space as well,
08:04right? Right. Brilliant. And out of all the rooms that you have is master bedroom and your closet,
08:08your wardrobe. Let's talk about it. I think your wardrobe is the size of another room.
08:13It's beautiful. It's gorgeous. Is that your personal space as well? Do you feel
08:18at home? Is it your zen space, your wardrobe area? Oh, I love my zen space.
08:22I don't know. I love my wardrobes. Wardrobes. Actually, I have quite a few rooms that are,
08:29you know, we don't have enough wardrobes and closets ever, right? Never. I mean, you can have
08:33like a whole room with closets and then, you know, you just need more and more and more and then
08:37shoes are like six wardrobes and six, you know, closets and you have your gowns and you need your
08:46business suits and then you've got your gym wear and you just need so much space. I think today
08:51when you when you need wardrobe space, right? Right, of course.