Christina Milian’s Christmas Plans on the Holiday Episode of The Breakdown With Bethany
I’ve been a fan of Christina Milian for years, so when I got the opportunity to speak with her, I jumped!
The mom of three has been busy for the last 20 years, singing, acting, and raising her three kids. She welcomed her youngest, Kenna, in April of 2021, who she shares with her boyfriend, Matt Pokora.
Milian recently partnered with Crest and Oral-B for their “Closing the Smile Gap” campaign, and she shared details about the partnership and some tips for how she gets her kids to brush their teeth.
The multi-hyphenate also shared her plans for Christmas, and what’s she’s working on next. Be sure to check it out!
Christina Milian on The Breakdown with Bethany
Bethany:
Hi, and welcome back to another episode of The Breakdown with Bethany. I’m Bethany Braun-Silva, and today is a really special show. It’s our Christmas episode, and we’re going to be chatting with Christina Milian, actress, singer, supermom of three. There is nothing that this woman can’t do. So we’re going to be finding out some of Christina’s favorite holiday traditions and what she has coming up next in the music and movie department, so you’re not going to want to miss it.
Bethany:
Hi, Christina, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me. I was actually on your Instagram just last night, and today you’re in France. Is that right?
Christina Milian:
Yes, I am. Yeah, yeah. I’ve here for a couple of months, actually. My husband is working on something here, so we decided to come over here for a little while, while he’s working, and of course, had just had a baby. So it was just worked out perfect so we could be together. And it’s not bad. I mean, France is pretty cool.
Bethany:
Your stories last night, it was magical. I mean, it really [inaudible 00:00:58].
Christina:
Tell me about it. I’m like, it’s so unreal. It really started snowing. It was beautiful.
Bethany:
And I loved your pants, but let’s move on.
Christina:
Thank you.
Bethany:
Are you going to be spending the holidays there?
Christina:
No. Well, I mean, technically through this beginning of December, but actually, by the end of the month and for actual Christmas, we’re going to be in Los Angeles.
Bethany:
Okay, great. And actually, we’re filming today, November 30th, on Giving Tuesday. And I know that you have partnered with Crest and Oral-B for a really, really important campaign that I think it actually is really important, and, I’m sorry, pertinent given to what today is. So tell us a little bit about that.
Closing the Smile Gap
Christina Milian:
Well, Crest and Oral-B are helping to close the smile gap, and I’m partnering with them because this is such important information we kind of take for granted. But now that I’m a parent, I’m like, oh wow, this is really important. I want to pass on good oral health habits to my children. Growing up, my parents, they were both of Cuban descent. I’m a first generation American. But growing up, they didn’t have the access to healthcare, to oral healthcare or oral healthcare products and dental care access. So unfortunately they… I witnessed it for myself. My mom suffered for many years having to go to the dentist as an adult with root canals and different types of issues that I thank God I didn’t have to deal with in my adult or childhood because they helped us to avoid it.
Christina:
But of course, as parents, we do everything… We learn and then we pass on things to our children. So luckily for me, my parents taught us very, very well. And so between brushing your teeth often to flossing your teeth, these are things that I’m actually teaching my children now, my 11-year-old, the same thing even with my two-year-old and the baby. They have their own little mini toothbrushes. And sometimes I let them brush my teeth, just making it kind of like an active and fun experience for them so that when they’re watching me do it, it becomes something that’s… It’s normal and habitual for them.
Bethany:
Yeah. I was going to say, I know you probably have good teeth, clean teeth habits with Violet, but I’m wondering with the little ones, but you’re saying that you started early. So that’s really interesting. I’m a mom to two boys at nine and six, and it’s still a struggle for me with them to brush teeth.
Christina:
Well, better watch the YouTube video. I’m like, “Come on, we’re going to watch a song. We’re going to learn something here. We’re going to watch Sesame Street and watch the episode about brushing your teeth.” Because honestly, I’m like, it’s just the little things that they see that it just sticks with them. But honestly, I think because as their parents, they’re like, “You’re so cool,” especially the little ones, I’m like, “I’m brushing my teeth.” I think they’re so attracted to things, whether it’s your cell phone or it’s the remote control. So they see the toothbrush in my hand, and I have the type that actually recharges, and it just seems so cool. So I’m like, “Okay, you want to put that in your hand? I’m going to teach you how to use it.”
Bethany:
Anything we can pull, right, out of the hat, tricks, tips, anything. I love it.
Christina:
Exactly.
Christina Milian’s First Christmas as a Family of Five
Bethany:
And I do want to switch gears a little bit because we are coming up on the holiday season. You mentioned you’re going back to Los Angeles, but I’m wondering, this is your first Christmas as a family of five, mom of three. What are some of the things that you’re really looking forward to this year, and are you bringing any… Do you like to celebrate traditions from when you were a kid? Are you incorporating anything like that?
Christina:
Well, I definitely… As you can see, last night I was at a Christmas market. And when I was at the Christmas market, I ended up finding the same tree ornaments that I had growing up that my mom still has to this day. And so it’s like a bunch of like nutcrackers and a little wooden Pinocchio. They had everything that I had growing up. So I literally just bought my own set. So we’re not going to fight over it, me and my sisters. And when we get home, I mean, it’s going to be a last-minute thing, but I’m definitely going to get a 12-foot tree. I’m going to show the boys how to put all the stuff. They’ll probably get the low-hanging ones, even though they’re probably going to take it off now that I think about it.
Christina:
But I think this year, for sure, we’re going to get the family together and do a potluck, because I’m going to be pretty jet-lagged, but we’re going to do a potluck. Everyone’s going to make a little something. I think I’m going to bring something or make something with a little bit of a French influence for my husband. And yeah, our tradition is get together on Christmas morning, everybody opens presents together. And then we have a brunch. So far, that’s what I [crosstalk 00:05:26].
Bethany:
I love that. So my husband is Cuban. We do everything new year… I mean Christmas Eve, like it’s a big Christmas Eve, up until midnight where… So I love that you’re blending the French-
Christina:
Sometimes it’s Christmas Eve by ourselves or also we do Christmas Eve with the family. But it depends. We all hustle our way. Everyone’s in the car with a whole bunch of stuff in the car and then we bring it to someone’s house and then someone’s responsible for throwing away all that trash.
Bethany:
Right. Hopefully, it’s not you. Christina, you’ve been going at this career since you were a teenager, like beyond. And now you’re a mom of three and it seems like you’re just nonstop. I know you filmed Resort to Love pregnant. I’m a working mom too. What advice do you have for moms who are just hustling out there trying to get a career off the ground, maybe they’re interested in entrepreneurship? I know that you do a Beignet Box. So what are your advice for working moms, who are just full of ambition?
Christina Milian:
My advice is to keep up the ambition. It’s exciting. When you have kids, it’s like it brings this new sense of wonder and this joy into… and passion that’s fueled into what you do. And I say, go with it. I know all of us moms, we all always feel guilty if we throw our passions into work and stuff, but there’s a fine line. There’s a balance and it’s still there and you’re doing your very best for your kids. And you’re a great example for your kids. I think also my advice to them is, gosh, as entrepreneurs, I think we are receiving more respect as entrepreneurs and as businesswomen to keep following our passions and our dreams, because we understand the layers of humans. Whether it’s your husband and dealing with the kids and being a woman who has so many different emotions, all of that ties into being a great entrepreneur because you understand your consumer. You understand the people because you are the people. So keep doing what you love. Don’t stop. You’re doing great. And yeah.
Bethany:
No, that’s fantastic advice. I never actually thought about it like that. As moms, we know people. We’re raising people, so I totally-
Christina:
everything.
Bethany:
I love that. Okay, final question. As I mentioned, you are so busy. You filmed “Resort to Love” pregnant. What is next? Can we expect new music, a “Resort to Love 2” maybe? What’s on the horizon for you?
Christina:
I have a show coming out on Starz. I also filmed that pregnant too. It’s called Step Up. So that’s going to be coming out in 2022. It sounds so weird. And then just more… I’m working more as far as an entrepreneur to open more of my Beignet Box business, boutique cafe, you would call it, as well, diving into more Netflix films. We’ll see what’s next. I don’t have the next exact one that I have, but we want to work on the next one and I want to produce it. So we’ll see what comes up.
Bethany:
Yeah. I can’t wait. I’ve been following your career forever. We’re only a few years apart, so this is so cool for me to be able to talk to you. I’ve been a fan for a long time. So thank you so much and happy holidays. Have a safe trip back to Los Angeles.
Christina:
Thank you. Appreciate it.
Bethany:
All right. Thank you. Take care.
Listen to this celeb interview with mom Christina Milian as a podcast here:
She was previously the Senior Editor of Big Apple Parent Magazine and has written for OK! Magazine, Hollywood Life, Mom.com, and CafeMom. She is a graduate of New York University, but her proudest accomplishment is being a mom to Elias and Jake who make life (and work) endlessly fun!
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