Bling Empire follows the lives of a group of crazily rich Asians and Asian-Americans living in Los Angeles. The show is completely addictive as you get a glimpse of the lives of the super-rich and their extravagant lifestyles and personal dramas. After living vicariously through them for a full season we all want to know more about them.
So here are some facts and gossip about the Bling Empire gang that the cameras do not show. After all, reality TV does not show us what goes on behind the screens.
1. Anna Shay is worth roughly $600 million
Anna Shay is the daughter of the billionaire Edward Shay. She is the wealthiest of the bling gang – and it’s clear why. She is estimated to be worth a whopping $600 million (wow). Whisking her friends away to Paris on a private jet for them all wouldn’t even make her blink twice.
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What is crazy money to most people is basically just loose change to her. It’s pretty unimaginable to most people to have that kind of wealth and lifestyle – where nothing is off limits, and you can buy literally anything you could ever dream of. In fact, if we’re honest it’s something that most of us do imagine – if I had millions of pounds what would I buy? I guess that’s one of the reasons she is so fascinating to watch.
2. Anna Shay shut down the Palace of Versailles for her own use
Season one kicked off with a trip to Paris. And, whilst usually things look crazier on TV than in real life – in this case it’s the other way round. It didn’t even capture the reality of what was going on behind screen. What we don’t see on the screen, is that she managed to shut down the whole of the Palace of Versailles for a private walkthrough.
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That is the kind of crazy money and status she has – where she can literally hire out public tourist attractions for her own private use. The only people to have done that before her, are the Obamas. So, Shay is used to the same treatment as the former prime minister of the United States. How does she manage it? When they had had their fill of the Palace of Versailles, they actually welcomed her back anytime.
3. The producer helped Kreider with his love life
When the cameras stop rolling, we of course have no idea what is going on. So, their personal lives become pretty much unknown to us – apart from what we find out from stalking them on social media of course. He’s rich, handsome – he’s certainly a catch. But he still experiences rejection like the rest of us. In the first season his fondness for Mi Li wasn’t exactly reciprocated and so it did not end as he wished. She was emotionally unavailable after her spilt from Gray.
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Kreider really wanted to find someone, he wanted a relationship and his failed attempt after season one did not put him off in his search. The producer set out to help Kreider with his quest after the series had been filmed. He became his close confidant and together they continued his search to find Kreider a relationship. Whether it has worked, who knows? So far, it looks as though he is still fully single. But perhaps all will be revealed if we get a series 2 (fingers crossed).
4. Mi Li finds it hard to talk about feelings
She finds it hard to openly discuss her feelings. Opening up about how you feel and sharing your emotions with somebody else can be tough. However, she thinks the reason she does struggle to discuss emotions and feelings is not because of herself personally, but because of her culture. She discusses how Asian culture doesn’t discuss feelings, you are expected to hide them and basically just get on with it like everything is okay.
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This is why she thinks her and Gray are opposites. He’s from the Latin culture where openly expressing feelings and emotions is considered normal practice. She also blames this for the reason he is so loud and used to fighting. The couple seemed to have a pretty tumultuous relationship, we’ve all witnessed the explosive arguments. But she is certain they had overcome a lot and that Gray has calmed down massively. In fact, she now thinks the tables have turned and that is actually him calming her down during arguments.
5. Mi Li and Gray are back together
So, this on-screen couple have had a lot of scrutiny (the perks of having an on-screen relationship). What happened during season 1 was a kind of make-or-break situation for the couple. It brought all the couple’s problems to the surface and made the pair face them, rather than brush them under the carpet. It’s hard to ignore an issue in the relationship when you have a tonne of people watching. So, what are they up to now?
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The pair took a well needed 5 months break to work on themselves, before attempting to rekindle their relationship. Both of them had their own issues which were causing clashes in the relationship. In this time, the pair did a lot of growing and digging into the reasons behind their problems. The pair now still live separately but find that they are stronger than ever and are loving spending time together. They are still attending their individual therapy sessions and working on themselves before they plan to attend couple therapy. So, while they aren’t ‘officially’ back together, we don’t think it will be long before they take the next step. For now, they are loving enjoying the dating period again without the added pressure of a label.
6. The Bling Empire are all best friends in real life
Often on reality TV shows, it doesn’t portray a true snapshot of people’s lives, for example who the cast would naturally spend their time with. Usually, the cast is a group of selected people who are then thrown together to film, so the relationships established are sometimes more forced than they would be in real life. But, in Bling Empire they are all extremely close in real life. Some of them have been friends for over 10 years, and the newest relationships are around 3 years (apart from Kevin).
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So, this group has definitely not been staged, the relationships were already established and real. Not only does give credit to the show but you can definitely tell when watching a series, when the situations and friendships are real. It definitely makes it an authentic watch and (thankfully for the viewer) it creates a LOT more drama because these are people’s real lives. Because it is more genuine, it has the edge over many other reality TV series and is probably one of the main reasons it has become such a hit and a binge worthy watch.
7. Shay and Chiu’s fight is STILL on-going
This feud definitely wasn’t just for the TV, despite how petty it may seem. But nope, it really is still going on now in 2021. The pair’s petty arguments may seem insignificant to most, but there is no line being drawn under this on-going fight. This rivalry does not look like it will ever come to an end – and it does make pretty entertaining TV.
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Neither of them will be the first to make peace and they seem to love riling each other up more and more. As soon as the argument seems to settle for a while, a snide remark opens up the old dispute and it’s back to square one. In a recent interview Anna added even more fuel to the fire when she insulted Chiu, saying it is embarrassing that she had to find a sponsor to pay for her own dinner party. To which of course Chiu responded. She hit back that she had plenty of time to plan revenge against Anna, which surely means there’s a season 2 coming. If there’s going to be more drama between them, then we need to see it.
8. The producer worked on Keeping up With the Kardashians
One of the most successful reality TV shows that there has ever been, is Keeping Up with the Kardashians. The TV show which follows the lives of the Kardashian family. It has 20 seasons, which in itself represents just how popular and successful this show was. And, it’s Jeff Jenkins, who helped produce KUWTK, that is also the producer for Bling Empire.
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He’s certainly made a name for himself within the reality TV industry and if there was anything that was a prediction of how successful this show would be, that would be it. It’s safe to say he knows a thing or two about producing good TV. And, he’s definitely made another hit who with Bling Empire. This guy really must really know what we want to watch. He’s also produced the iconic show The Simple Life, that’s a pretty impressive career he has had so far.
9. The producers wanted Anna to make her Instagram profile public after the show aired
Anna’s Instagram account was on private for a long time, and despite being okay with the fact that her whole life and her dirty laundry would be aired on TV – she was still keen to remain private on social media. But the producers asked her that once the show had aired, if she would take it off private so that people who watch the show can keep up with her.
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I think we can all say that once we’ve finished a reality TV show – the first thing we do is go on their social media profiles to have a look and see what they are doing. Of course, after being invested for a whole show, we want to know more about them. So, the producers didn’t think it would be good for the show if we couldn’t see her posts, it keeps people interested when they can engage with their content. So reluctantly she did. Now, she has even less privacy than before. but, that’s the nature of reality TV – everybody knows the ins and outs of your live – the good, the bad and the ugly.
10. Andrew Gray was called abusive
Viewers of the show labelled the relationship between Kelly and Andrew as abusive. The backlash started after a particular scene in the series when Andrew started yelling down the phone for leaving him alone in the hotel room while she went shopping. The scene causes an outcry from the viewers watching the show and they deemed the behaviour as the tell-tale signs of an abusive relationship.
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They were adamant that Andrew was guilty of gas lighting and that his behaviour was a huge red flag. They called for Netflix to acknowledge this and even include a trigger warning before the scene to warn viewers of abusive behaviour. Both Kelly and Andrew have denied this accusation with Kelly responding that that is just the dynamic of their relationship whilst Andrew blames it on bad editing.
11. Kane doesn’t want to be labelled as stupid and rich
Private jets, constant vacations, shopping till they drop: that’s the lives of the Bling Empire. Seeing the lives of super rich people on TV is hard to relate to for most of us which definitely makes it easy to jump to conclusions. They are living lives that don’t even look real to the majority of people. One of the things Kane was most worried about with the series was that people would see him and label him as stupid and rich.
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He also added that the more money you have, the more problems you have. And while it’s true that money can’t buy you happiness, it can definitely make your life easier. So, for most people this statement didn’t go down too well. Particularly because Kane who is fortunate enough to be extremely wealthy (he has a net worth of approximately $20 million) – he has never felt what is liked to be strapped for cash. But although he loves a lavish lifestyle and splurges on designer gear – he’s definitely not stupid and has made a complete success of his own brand. His first business venture was his shoe business which he started in his 20s, which made him his first $million.
12. Christine has had a lot of mothers get in touch about fertility
The show was a good platform for Cristine to share her struggles with fertility. Fertility is such a huge problem for so many people that Christine’s story has resonated with the lives of so many mothers who are in the same boat. on Instagram, she has received a lot of DM’s reaching out to her to tell her their story and tell her about how they have been through a similar thing.
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Early on in the series Bling Empire focused on Christine’s fertility journey and how she tied to get pregnant for 10 years. She found a huge amount of pressure from her husband’s family to get pregnant and pushed her to the point where she risked her life trying to get pregnant. In a later episode she revealed that the fertility problem lay with her husband. She had pretended it was her to protect him from the judgement of his family.
13. Christine nearly joined The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Before she joined Bling Empire, she had already had a close experience with reality TV. Brandi, who appears on season 2 and 3 of RHOBH, is a good friend of Christine’s. When filming for RHOBH they ask the cast about any friends they have who are housewives and would be interested in appearing on the show. Brandi, straight away suggested Christine who she then introduced to the producers.
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Her feisty personality makes for good TV and so the producers were extremely keen to get her on the show they even filmed a scene before she decided she would not go ahead with it. The main reason was because her family did not want their personal business being brought up on TV, and they wanted to keep a more private life due to their huge wealth. So, in the end, she pulled out of filming despite the disappointment of producers. This wasn’t the end of her TV career though because a couple of years later she started the filming for Bling Empire.
14. Kevin is single at the moment.
At the start of Bling Empire, Kevin is a single guy, and a complete catch. Nothing came of his interest in Kelly because as we already know – her heart was well and truly with Gray. So, although they went on a date together, nothing ever came of it. Well, apart from a friendship – it’s not what Kevin was initially after but it worked out well in the end.
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It’s blossomed into a very supportive friendship. Towards the end of the season, it is clear he has a connection with Kim lee. What we didn’t see however, is that in the beginning he hated Kim and had to tolerate her because she was Kane’s friend. His feelings changed but the pair still experienced a weird dynamic, the attraction was clear between them but it was uncertain if there was anything else. So, unfortunately Kevin’s search for love has not been successful yet.
15. Kevin is passionate about getting rid of stereotypes
Like with anyone we see on our screen, there’s more to Kevin than meets the eye. He has been very vocal in his belief about the false ideas regarding masculinity within Asian culture. Kevin’s TED Talk was called “Redefining Asian Masculinity.” When he was younger, he was bullied because of his skinny build and his Asian heritage. This of course has shaped who he is today and what he stands for. he wants to get rid of these stereotyped around Asian men.
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His goal is that Asian men can be free to live their lives, love and be loved, be vulnerable and take part in their community without being enclosed in a stereotype. He also talks about imagining a world where Asian men can be seen as cool and sexy and fun, like other races. He feels that the stereotype of Asian masculinity is different to the masculinities seen within other races. This is what he believes should be dispelled, the false notion of masculinity and what it means to be a man. This should be decided yourself, and not through the eyes of society.
16. The show works because there is huge trust
Kane Lim thinks the main reason the show works so well is because there is a huge level of trust and respect between all those involved in the making of the show. This means that nobody involved ever feel like they are. He also thinks something that helps this, is that the cast don’t actually need to do the show for money.
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They are all (apart from Kevin) super rich and in no need of earning any extra money. Therefore, for them the show is something fun and earns them some fame. This, Kane thinks, helps the trust because it means they will not act differently for money. In turn, it makes the programme so much more genuine – the cats don’t need to act up or portray themselves in a certain way to make themselves more money.
17. Anna Shay bought three Mercedes Benz in one day
This is pretty unbelievable. It didn’t make it onto the show, in fact if it had people would probably have questioned if it was even real or whether it was staged. But she did it. Okay, so buying one Mercedes Benz is more than enough for most people – it would be a complete luxury. But THREE is just excessive. Shay clearly thought one wasn’t enough, in fact two were clearly not enough either so she bought three Mercedes Benz in one day.
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You may be thinking – why though? And, there’s no reason apart from she spontaneously decided she wanted to. This is pretty much the definition of more money than sense. Most people would save up for their dream car and think about it for a very long time. She is so wealthy that buying three massively expensive cars in the same day is of no consequence to her. We can live this lifestyle vicariously.
18. Anna has nine golden retrievers.
Okay, so this one is every dog lover’s idea of heaven. Everything about Anna Shay oozes extravagance. Whatever she has – she has in abundance. And it seems she’s no different, even with her dogs. She doesn’t just have one or two, oh no, she has 9 golden retrievers. Being surrounded by 9 dogs’ day in day out pretty much sounds like she’s living the dream.
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Being so rich means that she has the house space, land and the dog walkers to make looking after 9 dogs a lot more manageable. Because 9 dogs in itself seems like a full-time job – and she seems to have a pretty hectic schedule, particularly when she was filming for the season.
19. Kevin was scared he wasn’t rich enough
This show is pretty much all about the wealth and extravagant lifestyles of the people in it. So, when Kevin came along, he didn’t really feel that he fit in as well as the others. He thought because he wasn’t as rich as the rest of the cast that he might ruin the vibe of the show. Plus, he was new to the group at the time so in comparison to his co-stars’ wealth, he felt a little intimidated and feared he wouldn’t be suitable.
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And, since he’d only just met them, he was only just getting to know everybody at this point and did not yet know whether he’s be welcomed into the group. But – he’s one of the favourite characters on the show and a complete hit with fans. The rest of the gang on Empire Gang love him too, so thankfully for him, he has no regrets about becoming the newest member of Empire Bling. Despite not being as rich, he fits into the group no problem and he has so much about him that we can’t get enough. Hopefully we will be seeing more of Kevin if they release a season 2.
20. The penis pump ended a friendship
If you’ve watches the show – then you’ll absolutely remember the penis pump debacle. Kim Lee and Guy Tang decide it is a good idea to snoop around Anna’s home. In a turn of events, they take a look around her bathroom and find a penis pump – in the shower cubicle. The pair are horrified by their discovery and don’t keep quiet in letting everybody know about it.
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Anna didn’t ‘t take too kindly to the embarrassment (it’s understandable why) and the three of them end up in a huge row blaming each other for the discovery with Kim and Guy turning on each other and blaming one another. She has revealed that the penis pump was found in her guest shower and it belonged to somebody who had stayed over at her house. The whole scene was one of the most memorable of the series and it turns out it was actually %100 real, it wasn’t staged or scripted. The whole fiasco caused numerous arguments pretty much ended the friendship between Kim and Anna and she has still never forgiven her for the whole thing. On a lighter note, it did make great TV.
21. Anna didn’t cash the checks from Netflix
It says something when you forget to cash huge checks. We know the star is rich, so rich in fact that her checks from Netflix that she got paid for the show were meaningless to her. She was given the checks but never thought to cash them in. In fact, she was confused when she received the checks in the first place.
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It seems that Anna thought the rewards of having fun and beings sprung into fame were enough on their own, without being paid to do it. When the whole thing was explained to her, she actually said she thought the money rightfully belonged to the crew for putting up with her. Her feisty and very opinionated character means that she’s not known for being the easiest person to work with. But her charms and eccentricity usually win people over and she is a very well-liked member of the cast.
22. Anna Shay is a committed philanthropist
Anna’s didn’t actually wish for her to work, and Anna never did – officially work that’s is anyway. Because she did not want her fortunate position to be taken for granted, or wasted. She is a keen philanthropist and thinks it is really important to give back to people. She has spent time on the board of the George Lopez Foundation which raises awareness about the vital need for organ donation and about kidney disease.
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She seems to have followed in the footsteps of her late parents, who set up the Shay foundation. The foundation focuses on education, music and the performing arts. As well as this she and co-star Kane Kim have been giving away groceries at the supermarket. She’ll buy something, and she’ll also buy the same thing for the sale person. Recently Kim started accompanying her on these philanthropic supermarket trips, he would fill his bag with thousands of pounds worth of dollars so he could go home and give them away to those who need it.
23. She grew tired of her Beverly Hills mansion
Growing tired of a Beverly Hills mansion seems like a pretty bizarre idea to most people. But Shay, eventually got bored of her luxury million-pound home. The house was listed in December. The Sunset Boulevard mansion was up for 16 million dollars. It was nearly 9,000 square feet, it had 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms and had originally been built in 1926.
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The mansion has been said to contain park-like grounds with palm trees, huge green lawns with fountains dotted around. It also has a four-car garage, a motor court, tennis court, swimming pool and a separate guest quarters for when visitors come to stat. Okay, so it literally sounds like living at an exclusive, luxury 5* hotel. Who would ever get tired of that? She wasn’t the first familiar face we know to inhabit the extravagant home. Before her, previous residents have included Shirley Temple and the mob boss Tony Milano. I wonder who will be the next lucky owners of this dreamy property?
24. Anna has never watched a reality TV show before
Half of TV these days is Realty TV. It’s become a bigger and bigger phenomenon over the years and the popularity for reality Tv just grows and grows. People engage with the reality side of TV and love watching drama that relates to their lives in some way. Somehow, this trend has completely passed her by (either that, or she’s just really not a fan).
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Considering this, she really jumped into the deep end when she decided to star on Bling Empire and become a reality TV star. And, it became one of the most watched shows on Netflix at the time. She had to become quickly familiarised with fane as she gets spotted out and about by fans. She was even spotted once stood outside her car when she had run out of gas.
25. The stars are pleased with the representation of the Asian community
The show of course, focuses on the Asian community and the American-Asian community in Beverley Hills. The stars were really happy with the representation of the Asian community as it is very underrepresented in the media. Kelly was really pleased that this exposure on TV was growing and Bling Empire is just a sign that this representation is finally starting to happen.
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Christine was also really proud about the end result of the show and she was so pleased with its popularity and how well it was received because it shows the growing interest in diversity on our screens. For Kevin, the show was a kind of personal journey in which he discovered his own identity as an Asian American. The show focused on their real thoughts and feelings which gave the show a genuine portrayal of the people involved. Kelly actually used to forget that the cameras were rolling, so we really did a snapshot into her reality
26. Kevin says he thinks Christine has the best fashion sense
Fashion is something that is very important to the cast members of Bling Empire. And who has the best fashion sense is a much-debated question in the world of the Bling Empire stars. Kevin is firm that Christine has the best fashion sense whereas Kane thinks it is definitely Anna. Or, maybe they’re just siding with their closest friends. Christine is an avid (self-confessed) collector of couture. She is never seen without a high fashion outfit, decked out in the most extravagantly luxury clothes and of course – laden with bling.
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It’s no shock that for an avid fashionista, one her favourite things to do ever is attend fashion shows, in particular Paris fashion show. And, she can’t just sit back and watch- she has to buy at LEAST one item from every single show. Fashion is her passion; her social media is full of fashion content and glamorous outfits. In fact, if you follow her on Instagram, you’ll see that her glamorous outfits haven’t ended because of lockdown. Oh no, she will still get completely glammed up to sit on the couch all day.
27. It’s a multigenerational cast
The cast of Bling Empire is very multigenerational. From 22 to 60, the ages of the cast members are so diverse which is one of the great things about the show. The cast all interact and get along so well despite age gaps and it is not often we see such age diversity in reality TV. It makes it all the more interesting for it.
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Jaime Xie is the youngest of the group he is 22. Christine Chiu is 38, Kelly Mi Li is 35, Gabriel Chiu is 53, Lee is 32, Kevin Kreider is 37, Kane is 31 and Anna Shay is the oldest member of the cast at 60 years old. With a 40-year age gap between the youngest and oldest members of the crew it’s great to see their interactions. And, we don’t know Cherie Chan and Jessey Lee’s specific ages, but we can probably guess they are around their 30s.
28. The cast have hinted season 2 is coming soon
Here’s the news we’ve all been waiting for. The cast members have been dropping some serious hints that the show is definitely going to be making a comeback for season two – thank you Netflix. So, it still hasn’t been confirmed – but the cast have pretty much confirmed and told us what we all wanted to hear. Jeff Jenkins the producer can’t wait to continue the series and believes that they will never run out of storylines following the lines of this Beverley Hills community.
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He says there is so much going on that the possibilities are endless – as long people continue to follow it and love it. Kelly Mi li is hoping that the filming will be starting very soon – that sounds like confirmation to us. Other members of the cast have also shown their excitement with Shay keen to get going on a new series and Christine just teasing us with information. She’s revealed that if we were shocked by the news in the last series, then we have no idea what’s coming in the second…. this sounds good. I guess the next thing we are waiting for then is for Netflix to give us the release dates – pandemic permitting of course.
29. Kevin had a year to get to know the rest of the cast
Kevin was brought in as a different perspective – a more relatable character who is navigating this new lifestyle and new group of friends. He was given a year to introduce himself to the group and the producers did this on purpose so that he could find his feet and establish relationships. The producers did not want to force anything and so they were eager to see which people he would bond with and form good friendships, and who he would dislike and have drama with.
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Because the rest of the crew knew each other, they felt it was best to shake this up a little bit with a newcomer. Also, the fact that Kevin isn’t rich like the rest of the cast was planned to add diversity as well as see how they engage with him and how he engages with the group. He first hit It off with Kane, the pair became great friends within a short space of time and they have remained so throughout.
30. Christine Chiu is friends with Prince Charles
Christine Chiu may seem like royalty herself after all she is knows as ‘the couture queen’ on Bling Empire – but now we can reveal she really does have royal connections. Her husband is connected to royalty in China. If she lived in china, her husband’s father would be an emperor, and Baby G would be a little prince. The royal connections don’t stop there. Christine is actually good friends with Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales.
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It turns out, they have met on several occasions. They have joined forces in their charity work. Last year in 2020, she posted several pictures of them together on her Instagram account, wishing him a happy birthday. She stated that it was an honour to know his and has been a pleasure in supporting his vision and philanthropic efforts throughout the years. She looks forward to visiting him again soon to check on the progress of The Prince’s Foundation Chiu Health and Wellness Programmes and Centre.
31. Kane took the most convincing to join the show
It’s hard to imagine Bling Empire without Kane because he is so central to the show. But although he was the second cast member to be recruited and join the show, he actually took the most convincing. He was fearful about the level of fame he might receive, and because of his wealth, he was worried about what affect this may have. But, in the end he couldn’t resist the opportunity of a lifetime and he joined the show, and we are thankful that he did.
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The second most reluctant to join the show was actually Anna Shay. And, when she did join the show, she didn’t exactly know what she was getting herself into. She thought that she would be behind the scenes. So, it was a massive shock when she turned up and discovered she was literally on the show. Because she’s quite shy by nature the thought of this was pretty overwhelming, but she soon got to grips with it and now she can’t get enough. She’s eagerly awaiting the filming for season two, as is Kane and the rest of the group.
32. The Chiu’s invest half of their money into the community
The cast of Bling Empire are crazily wealthy. But one thing you can’t deny them is between them, their philanthropic efforts are impressive. There’s no denying that the Christine Chiu (The Couture Queen) and her husband live a very grand and lavish lifestyle. But they also find it equally as important to give back to their community. The couple are keen to do good with their wealth and believe in both donating money and helping out with charities.
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Christine is on the board of 27 non-profit organisations. Her husband, is the owner of a plastic surgery company and has become extremely wealthy off the back of it. And she revealed that they invest 50% of every net dollar that is made from the Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery back into their community. So, their pursuits for charity are pretty notable. This is a side that wasn’t really shown on screen and Christine regrets how the show only highlighted one side of her personality when in reality, there’s more to her than designer handbags and couture clothing.
33. Kevin almost made a move on Kim
We all witnessed the sparks between Kim and Kevin at the party. But we didn’t get to witness the conversations that took place after the party had wrapped up and the cameras had stopped rolling. Kevin discussed how he’d felt at the party and had confessed to Kim that he had almost made a move.
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When he asked if Kim reciprocated any feelings or would’ve wanted him to go in for kiss, she replied maybe. This sounds positive. We know Kevin is still looking for love and perhaps he’s still got his eyes set on Kim. The pair are pretty keen to explore this new avenue in season two when the pair will be reunited. Due to the pandemic, there hasn’t really been chance for them to catch up yet. So, season 2 will offer the perfect chance – and it means we’ll get to see it all pan out before our very eyes – yay.
34. Kevin thinks he’ll be worth $10 million soon
Hanging around with his super rich friends has given Kevin his own ideas about becoming mega wealthy. He thinks eventually he will be worth roughly around $10 million dollars, and he’s pretty confident about this. There is a reason why Kevin thinks this and he is working towards that goal, it’s not just a farfetched idea that has come from nowhere. He owns a fitness business where he has workout programmes and his own blend of matcha supplement which is currently sold out.
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This gives a good indication of how well his business is booming right now. As we know, he also does model and his increasing fame from the show has definitely helped boost his career massively. He is also the CEO of his own entertainment company called Taejin Entertainment. When you take a look at his website, he says that he will only take roles that are for leading men, he’s clearly a very ambitious guy. Aside from his business and money ventures, he is also a motivational speaker for Asian-American mental health and thinks it is important to speak out.
35. Kevin was genuinely shocked by their lifestyles
Before he was plummeted into a world of crazy wealth, extravagance and luxury – he was actually living a pretty normal lifestyle. Producers wanted someone for the audience to relate with more so that they, like he, could navigate this new world together. Kevin, was unaware of why he had been brought into the show and so his reactions and behaviour is all totally real. He was genuinely shocked at how this group live their lives and the mind-blowing money they have and spend.
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When he found out that his co-star Jamie Xie spent US$19,000 (S$25,200) a month on rent he could not believe it. By comparison he revealed that he spent US$1,000 a month on rent for his own room and he shares the apartment with other flatmates. In the second episode he that he doesn’t think he has US$1,100 in his bank right now. This lifestyle was a complete and utter shock to Kevin, despite him being a part of it now. Now that he is not only exposed to this lifestyle but living amongst it with his friends, he now aims to be super rich himself one day.
36. Kevin has struggled with self-esteem
One of the best loved people in the show has to be Kevin. He is completely loveable and it’s hard not to like him. He may come across like he isn’t short of confidence but he has struggles with his self-esteem in the past. From what we see on his social media he looks like a confident guy, but as we all know the powers of social media can be extremely misleading. His lack of confidence stemmed from his diagnosis of alopecia areata in 2014 which is an autoimmune disease that is stress-induced and causes hair loss.
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When it happened to him and he started to lose his hair he said he hit rock bottom and his self-esteem went out of the window. As a model, he felt that it had even more of an impact as not only did it affect his personal life but also his career, and the added external pressures made things far worse. He also felt that as an Asian male it was even harder as people were not accepting of it. This is when he decided to start his skateboarding journey to help find his confidence. He believed that if he could survive this new journey it would build him up as a person.
37. The book Cray Rich Asians reminded Kelly of her friends on the show
The international best seller, Crazy Rich Asians is a romantic comedy by Kevin Kwan which revolves around 5 main characters and the fictional wedding of Singapore’s most eligible bachelor, Colin Khoo, and the fashion icon, Araminta Lee. He wrote it based loosely around his own childhood in Singapore who came from a very wealthy background.
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It follows the lives of the characters and their relationships with one another. When Kelly read the book Crazy Rich Asians, it reminded her of her friends and she found huge similarities in the lives of the characters and their lives in LA. From watching the show, you can see what she means as it is literally like watching a fictional story with mega rich characters and it’s hard to imagine that their lives are actually real.
38.Kelly thinks of Kevin as her brother
Kelly and Kevin’s relationship has been a complicated one. It seems it has taken a while to establish exactly where they stand with each other. We know from watching the show that Kevin expressed interest in Kelly on multiple occasions which resulted in the pair going on a date. Once this was over and it was realised that it was going nowhere in a romantic sense, their friendship blossomed.
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Kelly actually see’s Kevin as her own bother and they have a very supportive relationship with one another. It turns out, this relationship didn’t start on the show, it was actually before he’d even moved to Los Angeles. Kelly had seen a video that Kevin posted online and got in touch with him. From there, the friendship began and they are now closer than ever. Thankfully their friendship survived the brief crossing of the boundary into date territory.
39. Andre Gray accuses the producers of manipulation
We’ve all witnessed the fiery and explosive relationship between Andrew and Kelly. It was one of the memorable scandals of the show. But Andrew does not think it was realistic. He blames the producer’s manipulation and editing of the footage to paint their relationship in the worst light and focus on the worst moments to make it more dramatic.
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We all know that editing can have a massive effect on the portrayal of events and that shows use the most dramatic footage to engage the audience. He insists that what we saw on the show was not an accurate representation of his and Kelly’s relationship at all. He thinks it focused on the low points and never actually showed the other side so that it came across as a very unbalanced and toxic relationship. I guess we better keep our eyes out to see whether Andrew will be making a comeback on season 2, or whether his aggrievances with producers will stop him.
40. Jeff Jenkins thought he’d seen it all until this show
Jeff Jenkins, (the producer of Keeping up with the Kardashians) thought he’d seen it all whilst shooting the show. Watching the Kardashians grow up, endless drama, countless media scandals… he understandably thought there was nothing else left to witness. That was before he started working on Bling Empire. He is no stranger to the world of the super-rich, but he finds the Bling Empire group fascinating.
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He thinks there are endless storylines to come from it and he loves watching the real-life relationships and connections between the group unfold. Friendships, frenemies – the show really does have it all going on. If there’s anyone who’s used to drama it has to be the produce of KUWTK, so it really says something that Bling Empire has exposed him to a totally new world of dramatics. He’s really keen for more series to continue the snapshot into the lives of this crazy, super rich Asian community, as are we.
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