In A League Of Her Own: Nina Ali on Motherhood and Manifestation

The Real Housewives of Dubai star gets candid about criticism, mummy-guilt and manifesting her dreams into existence…

It’s easy to make assumptions about Nina Ali. It’s something many of us do – either consciously or subconsciously – about those individuals brave enough to put themselves out there; the goal setters, the risk takers and the dream chasers who unabashedly chronicle their journeys and share their stories with the world. And often, there are wisps of truth within those assumptions. But it isn’t like that with Nina.

When we speak on Zoom she’s sitting in the spare bedroom of her family’s house in Austin, Texas, fresh-faced with her hair tied up in a bun. It’s late in the evening and the kids are in bed. Like so many other expat parents who escape the sweltering GCC heat for cooler weather once class is out, she’s spent the summer stateside – and is currently planning her imminent return to Dubai. A lot has to be done before she leaves with her three children – Sophia, 10, Nour, eight, and Ayan, seven – and husband, Munaf. Big back-to-school energy is looming. She’s just a regular mum prepping for the September rush and yet, she’s leading quite the extraordinary life.

Unsurprisingly, 2022 has been a very busy year for Nina. She is, after all, now part of television’s most popular reality franchise, a bona fide cast member of The Real Housewives. “Everything I have in my life right now I manifested,” she tells me at the beginning of our conversation, wholeheartedly. I believe her.

Take a scroll through her Instagram feed and you’ll see just how hectic the past few weeks have been for the mother of three, who is also an entrepreneur (she’s the founder of Dubai-based cake company Fruit Cake and co-founder of Tr88house, a family entertainment centre, amongst other projects currently in the pipeline). Her schedule has been filled with press days, appearances and filming the reunion special for season one of The Real Housewives of Dubai. For an outsider looking in, it all looks very glamorous. But in truth, Nina has kept up quite the balancing act for some time now, like so many other mothers juggling a career with child-rearing.

“I take it day-by-day,” she says, admitting it can be tough. “My schedule isn’t the same, every week it changes. I get up super early, have my coffee and write in my journal. The kids are up at six o’clock and then it’s school time – their father drops them off. I’m very big on doing as much as I can before they’re done with school.” She’s certainly a pro at managing her time in order to ensure she’s present with her brood once class is finished for the day. “Whatever it is that I can do while they’re at school I take advantage of that. So, at least, when school’s out, there’s mommy.” But even she isn’t immune to the dreaded pangs of mummy-guilt.

“I faced a lot of it,” she admits, highlighting a sentiment many women struggle with regardless of their child’s age. “The biggest mommy guilt [moment] was when we went to Nurai Island in Abu Dhabi [to film]. That was the first time I was away from my kids for three days. It was the cutest thing, my son made me a little goodie bag. He built some little Lego toys, he put some chocolate into this little Ziploc bag and he put some dirhams in there as well. He’s like ‘Mommy, you can buy a snack when you’re there. That way you don’t get hungry.’ It was tough!”

Undeniably, a lot has changed for Nina. From 2015 onwards content creation took a front seat as she worked to establish her brand online; she was known as Lipstick Mommy across various channels and shared content related to motherhood, beauty and her own personal experiences across Snapchat and Instagram. Today, she’s known as the voice of reason on one of Bravo TV’s most famous shows, a series which attracts millions of viewers from around the world. And while playing the role of Sophia, Nour and Ayan’s mother will always be her biggest priority, she’s a natural at stepping into the role of television personality.

Why was now the right time for her to step into the limelight of television? “Once upon a time, I had three kids that were three-years-old and under. But you know, they’re all older now. They’re all in school. They do their sports,” she says. “I was ready for something new.”

Nina is big into manifestation. Watch any of her recent interviews and she’s not shy in sharing how she feels partly responsible for willing the opportunity into existence. “I remember I was just sitting there, it was the beginning of the year, I had my brand new journal that is used for manifestation. I just remember writing, ‘I need something new. I need something bigger,’” she says. “I just kept writing every day.”

Having been a long-time fan of the franchise (“I watched the first Real Housewives, which was in Orange County, back in 2006 – it was my guilty pleasure,”) she had an inkling that she would somehow become involved, but wasn’t sure how. “I used to watch it and say, ‘You know what? I have a feeling one day – I don’t know if it’s in Austin, but I have a feeling I’m going to be on the Real Housewives.’”

Nina moved from Texas to Dubai in early 2011, just weeks after getting married – and quickly came to the opinion that the city could be the next epic setting for the franchise. “That’s all I kept telling my husband ‘Dubai needs a Real Housewives show. This city is unbelievable.’ Everything is bigger, better, luxurious, clean and safe,” she says. It would be over a decade later before the universe made good on her requests. “Here’s the really crazy thing,” she shares. “My manifestation number is 11; I see ones and elevens everywhere… So, The Real Housewives of Dubai is the 11th franchise [of the show] and it’s the 11th year that I’m in Dubai. The universe has responded.

For those writing off The Law of Attraction as a bunch of new-age mumbo jumbo, it’s worth noting Nina has never sat around and waited for opportunities to find her. Having emigrated from Lebanon to the United States at the age of four with her family, she’s no stranger to hard work. “I came from very humble, underprivileged beginnings,” she says. “I put myself through school and I worked in the service industry. One time I had, like, four jobs at once.”

“I remember I used to do this little thing – I don’t do it as much anymore – but when I would wake up in the morning, I’d wash up and I would take a few seconds to just look in the mirror and say, ‘You know what, Nina? One day you’re not going to have to do this. You’re going to make something bigger of yourself and you’re not going to have to struggle.’ Because let me tell you something: there was a point where I was waking up at 4:30 in the morning, hustling to get to this, to do that, to get to school and to work.”

While she’s come a long way from a time when she had to work multiple jobs to get by, this special form of perseverance has carried over into her career as a television personality – most recently when she had to handle some terrible news from back home in Texas, while filming season one of the series: her father caught covid.

“It became very severe. He was in the hospital for one whole month while we were filming,” Nina recalls, tearing up as she remembers an incredibly difficult time in her life. “It was so hard and to be in a scene with the women – especially in the parts where they’re fighting and bickering… Like, I had bigger things to worry about. I didn’t want to be a part of any extra negativity I just couldn’t deal with.”

Nina refers back to a particular scene later on in the series where she got up from a table and left in the middle of a heated discussion. “It was very, very challenging to show up – but I did my best. It was unfortunate for the timing,” she says. Fortunately, her father is on the road to recovery (“He’s still not the same, but Alhamdulillah he’s much better,” Nina says), but a moment like that certainly puts things into perspective.

When I ask her if there are any fellow cast members she looks up to or feels inspired by, she takes a pause before sharing her answer. “You know, if you’d asked me this question before we started shooting, I could find something to say about each and every one of them,” she says. “Because I’m that girl that empowers other women. I love to pump up other women – but I also am not going to promote people that are fake. I’m not going to promote people that, you know, want to tear others down.”

“I do love Sara Al Madani, because I love what she stands for,” Nina says. “Caroline Stanbury, I appreciate her hustle… Caroline Brooks, I feel like there’s a lot of growth in her that I’ve experienced – so I do respect that.”

And has she faced any backlash since the show aired? “Funny enough, I kind of was expecting the Dubai community to be the most supportive and they’ve been the least supportive. I think a lot of people don’t understand what the franchise really is,” she explains. “The Real Housewives has been around since 2006. In the US it’s recognised and people love it – but it’s a whole new world for Dubai; they’ve never had this reality [television] thing fall in their lap.” And like water off a duck’s back, any criticism doesn’t seem to bother her. Ultimately, Nina hopes she can harness the notoriety that comes with being on one of television’s most popular reality shows and channel its powers for good, for philanthropic endeavours and to give back. And, of course, like all mothers, workplace drama and idle gossip appear to be the least of her worries. Being a mum will always come first. What are her hopes and dreams for her children?

“I really want them to be happy,” she smiles. “Growing up I didn’t have much, but, you know, my parents always made it a happy home. We always had home-cooked meals and family time with everybody.” She touches on how today’s generation is having to navigate a whole new set of challenges that didn’t exist in years past, ones that weren’t present when she was young. “I feel like kids have more pressures. The expectations are a lot higher than our expectations [we had growing up]. There’s a lot of mental health issues happening. I do get a bit worried about that,” she says. “I let my kids express themselves. I’m like ‘It’s ok. You want to be angry? Be angry. You want to shout?’ It’s okay to sometimes show [your emotions.] I don’t want to ever alter them. These are their foundation years. I want them to be happy – and all I can do is support them and guide them.”

Photography: Vaughan Treyvellan. Styling: Nour Bou Ezz. Creative Direction: Nina Catt. Words: Laura Kell. Make-up: Vianne Najeeb. Hair: Ania Poniatowska at MMG Artists. Senior Producer: Steff Hawker. Hair Assistant: Deepa Yadav. Photography Assistant: Shamim Shaheed. Fashion Assistant: Cristina Burca. Fashion Intern: Dhara Gandhi. Props: Propped Up Rentals. With special thanks to PBI Tennis Dubai

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From the A/W22 issue of Harper’s Bazaar Arabia Junior