SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers Season 1 of “Love Thy Nader,” now streaming on Hulu.
Modeling sisters Brooks, Sarah Jane, Grace Ann and Mary Holland Nader are the latest reality stars to land their own show on Hulu and Freeform.
“Love Thy Nader” — which dropped its first two episodes on Freeform on Aug. 26, with the full season streaming on Hulu on Aug. 27 — is an eight-episode coming-of-age docuseries (executive produced by Jimmy Kimmel) that follows the four Nader sisters as they navigate their careers, family drama and complicated relationships after trading their humble beginnings in Louisiana for the hustle of New York City., episodes will air weekly on Freeform, and the entire season will be available to stream on Hulu on Aug. 27.
The sisters’ rise to fame started with Brooks, who was the first to launch her supermodel career after winning a casting search for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue in 2019. She made appearances in the 2020, 2021 and 2022 issues, which led to her landing the cover in 2023.
While modeling pushed her into the public eye, her notoriety was catapulted after her run on Season 33 of “Dancing With the Stars” last fall. There, she made headlines not just for her moves on the dance floor, but for her whirlwind relationship with her professional partner, Gleb Savchenko. (They came in 9th place.)
Courtesy of Disney
Audiences were captivated by the couple’s on-again, off-again relationship, which officially ended in April after Brooks claimed he cheated on her. “Love Thy Nader” offers a glimpse into the final moments of their romance, leading up to when Brooks finds out about his infidelity.
Coming out of a public breakup, in “Love Thy Nader,” Brooks is forging her own path forward and bringing her three younger siblings along for the ride. The new Hulu series introduces Sarah Jane and Grace Ann, who are following in Brooks’ footsteps with their modeling careers, as well as Mary Holland, who’s on her entrepreneurship journey after quitting her corporate job on Wall Street.
Below, the Nader sisters spoke with Variety about the show’s most surprising moments, Brooks’ breakup with Savchenko, highlighting their Louisiana roots and more.
Your former relationship with Gleb Savchenko was a major focus this season. On the show, you said you found texts and screenshots on his phone about his infidelity, but he still denies any cheating allegations. What has made you decide to hold on to that evidence rather than releasing it publicly?
Brooks Nader: At the time, he was going crazy on TikTok and socials. As Michelle Obama says, “When they go low, we go high.” My sisters and parents advised me to let him do just that. Also, Hulu was filming. So, I thought this could be my platform where I tell my truth instead of getting online like him and taking the easy way out.
How has being in the public eye changed dating for you?
Brooks: I’m still learning and navigating that, because you can’t have your cake and eat it too. You can’t just be on a reality television show and then say, “I’m going to keep everything totally private.” We did vow when we signed up to be on the show to be real, authentic and show it all.
In the show, you also talked about the unrealistic beauty standards in the modeling industry, especially when it comes to body image. When your sisters had the intervention about your use of GLP-1, what was going through your mind while that was happening?
Brooks: I understood where they were coming from, because I’m not a candidate per se. At the same time, it’s something that I’m trying to learn to course correct on. Since I was 18 and moved to New York, I was told by certain agents, “You’re not going to get this job because of this measurement on you.” As a girl, you can’t go to bed peacefully thinking, “Oh, well, I don’t care.” You think about it, fixate on it and want to change it. I have made the mistake in the past of someone commenting on a body part of mine, and then changing it. Now I’m in a more comfortable area in my life where I feel confident. People say mean things about me and the girls sometimes, but as my mom says, “You know the truth.” I’m not promoting it (GLP-1) at all. I’m trying to promote a little more honesty and being authentic about it.
Conversations about weight loss drugs are still taboo, and many people don’t talk about them openly. What made you decide to be so open about your use of the weight loss drug?
Brooks: Whenever we signed up to be on reality TV, we promised ourselves to be honest, real, raw and authentic. I needed to grow out of the GLP-1 phase in my life. It took an intervention and being on camera. I’m sure I’ll get backlash from that. It took that for me to say, “OK, just do it the old-fashioned way. Eat healthy and work out.” It was a crutch for me for a year, and it started to get me more jobs in the modeling industry. Designers wanted to dress me more. Fashion houses wanted to put me in the front row. That wasn’t the case before. I saw a change, and I thought it was directly correlated to that.
Meanwhile, I think the industry is shifting — which it should — to more honesty, acceptance and owning who you really are. I hope and pray that it continues on that trajectory.
Disney
We get a glimpse of the Southern values you all were exposed to in Louisiana. Why was it important for you all to include that part of your lives?
Brooks: It’s such a huge part of who we are. People see or maybe they know me from Sports Illustrated, and they think that I’ve grown up in L.A. or in New York around celebrities and fashion. But, I’m still navigating it as we go. The truth is we come from humble beginnings. And we’re all learning and moving through this crazy world together.
Sarah Jane, I admired how unapologetic you were about your queerness. Coming from a conservative family and town, in what ways has moving to New York empowered you in your sexual identity?
Sarah Jane Nader: Moving to New York was the whole reason that I was able to be open about it on the show. I always thought it was wrong to be queer, and I grew up with this intense shame. I was hiding it for most of my life. Then I moved to New York, and I was around mostly queer people at school. I was like, “Wait, this is normal. I don’t have to hide this or hate myself for it.”
That experience was so eye-opening for me, but I know that there are so many people in these small towns in Louisiana or wherever in the U.S. that don’t have that experience and the privilege to move to New York, be in an open space and go to an amazing school with a fellow queer community. I was so accepted, but I never had anyone growing up to see on TV who was like me. I was so confused, and it was a hard process. I hope that when people are watching this, they can relate and feel less alone and know that it’s normal.
Inviting Eliana to Easter marked the first time you brought a New York friend home to meet your family and friends. What did that moment mean for you, considering the dynamics within your extended family about your sexuality?
Sarah Jane: It was a huge moment for me because we’ve never talked about my sexuality. I’m very close to my extended family, and I love them, but it has always been sort of something that I felt like was just ignored and even danced around. No one would want to know about my dating life because they would be scared that it would come up. When I had a girlfriend that I loved very much before Eliana, I was too scared to bring her home. I didn’t want to put her under the pressure of experiencing homophobia.
Bringing Eliana was like dipping a toe in the water of, “I can do this. Maybe nobody will ask what the nature of our relationship is. Maybe they’ll say things behind my back.” I didn’t know. But I didn’t care, because she’s experiencing Louisiana, and that was fun for me. It lifted this idea that it was going to be such a big deal. Then I brought her home, and nobody talked about it. It wasn’t a big deal.
One moment that stood out was when all of you were dancing and singing to “Pink Pony Club” at Henrietta Hudson. How does it feel to have the support of your sisters on your personal journey?
Sarah Jane: I am so grateful for them. I don’t know what I would do without them. I came out to all of them before my parents or anyone. It was one of the most fun nights of all of our lives. We were all in a sort of a sad place going into the bar. It was a bridging of two worlds of my sisters coming to this club with my community. It was so beautiful and magical. It was the best night ever.
Disney
Mary Holland, you’ve entered your micro retirement era after quitting your job. Now that filming for the show is over, how has life looked for you since making that transition?
Mary Holland Nader: I was a bit over my head. Everyone makes it look so easy on Instagram to make a bunch of money, and it seems like everyone’s living their best life. I realized very quickly that when money is not coming in every two weeks, it goes very fast and makes for insecurity with finances — which sparked the idea for my company. Since quitting, it’s a total split between making ends meet to pay my rent and keeping up with the lifestyle that we live. But then, it’s more exciting because I’m working harder. But, I’m following a passion that I’ve always wanted to do, which is entrepreneurship. It’s definitely harder not being in corporate America, but it’s so much more fulfilling. That’s a theme that we’re seeing in this generation as well-people prioritizing happiness and mental health. They’re pursuing their passions over climbing a corporate ladder, which hopefully resonates.
Is launching your financial platform, Mary and Pip, still your main focus?
Mary Holland: Absolutely. In the show, it was my actual life. I’m hoping that this journey will show the first step of me leaving corporate America, having the idea and the ups and downs. In the show, you see I’m confused. Everyone makes it seem so easy to found a company. I was like, “I have this great idea. I’ll just raise a bunch of money, and it’ll happen.” I’m very vulnerable and realize I have so much more to do. I’m very focused on building my company.
What stage are you in with it?
Mary Holland: The concept has completely shifted from the end of the season. Now we’re registering with regulators to be able to invest people’s money. We’re going through that process.
The season ended on a cliffhanger with the question of whether you decided to move to L.A. with your boyfriend. What did you decide?
Mary Holland: That’s still a question mark. I’m currently in New York at our (Brooks, Sarah Jane and Grace Ann) apartment.
Disney
Grace Ann, you’ve also taken up modeling, but made it clear that you don’t want to be in your other sisters’ shadows when it comes to building your own career. Why is it important for you to carve out that individuality outside of your sisters?
Grace Ann Nader: Modeling was never my dream. Growing up, I had terrible style. I wasn’t a girly girl, and I was never really into fashion. I was approached by agents in the summer when I was living in New York, and they wanted to sign me. So, I did. I made some nice money when I was broke and first living in New York. In Season 1, I was already modeling, but the difference is I decided, “OK. I actually love this.” I think it’s a great creative outlet, and I want to put my best foot forward rather than kind of being this floater.
How do you feel when hearing your sisters say that you’re not taking your modeling career seriously?
Grace Ann: It motivates me to take it seriously and have something to show for it, so they have no argument.
You were very candid about your struggles with alcohol in the past. When it came to leading Brooks’ intervention about her use of GLP-1, what were you hoping to do differently compared to how your sisters approached your situation with alcohol?
Grace Ann: I was hoping that the results of the intervention would be much different in the aspect of how she was feeling. I was hoping that she felt cared about and saw she had people around her who were concerned with her best interest and wanted her to live her best life with the tools and be healthy enough to do so. The way that my situation was handled did a little bit of damage with how I approach talking to my family and sisters, especially confiding in them about things that are hard for me. Since then, I feel like I’ve put up a front that everything’s fine because it was a little bit traumatizing.
I didn’t want Brooks to do that. I wanted her to feel like this is a safe space where she can talk about and process things. Even if she doesn’t want to take our advice, she can say, “I’m struggling, and I’m not well.” After my intervention, I had the opposite effect.
Viewers will get a chance to see the ups and downs of your sisterhood in the show. Why was it especially hurtful to you when Brooks didn’t make it to your 25th birthday party?
Grace Ann: In a lot of ways, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Brooks and I have very different love languages. I’ve shown up to all of the events that celebrate her. I would think that means a lot to her. When it was my birthday, and she didn’t come to the one thing a year that I asked her to come to, it hurt my feelings. She canceled on both my graduations, Bachelor’s and Master’s. She introduces me to cool people and gives me fashion advice. But if you don’t show up when it matters, that hurts.
Disney
What did finding a resolution look like for you two?
Grace Ann: We haven’t. For me, you realize that you have to take it for what it is. Maybe she won’t come to your birthday party, but at least you two can still kick it and have fun.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
