Rym Saidi on Bullying, Falling in Love and Raising Children in The Limelight
As one of the first famous faces from the region, the model-turned-presenter is inspiring the younger generation with her successful career, stylish wardrobe and ferocious love for her family
When Rym Saidi met her now-husband Wissam Braidy on the set of Dancing with the Stars, she says it was “love from the very first meeting.” Having married in 2017 at a lavish reception at Chateau Rweiss in Lebanon, with Rym wearing a bespoke dress by Lebanese couturier Georges Hobeika – the pair were legally wed first in a civil marriage ceremony in Milan, which is her adopted home – the stylish pair have since had two daughters together, Bella Maria, five, and four-year-old Aya Sophia, and are still very much infatuated with each other.
“We understand each other’s work because we’re from the same field and we support each other,” she tells Bazaar Junior. “I was 32 and he was 35 when we met, so we had both already experienced a lot in life. We knew what we wanted and that we were looking for the same things. It was a nice combination.”
As one of the first, and most popular, models from the region, Rym’s hectic work schedule saw her splitting her time between Milan, London and New York before moving to Lebanon to start a family. During the Covid pandemic, however, her husband got stuck in Dubai for four months, which was the catalyst for their move to the UAE. “The day they opened the airport we just decided to move to Dubai,” she explains. “It was the best decision we’ve ever made.”
‘‘I was 32 and he was 35 when we met, so we both had experienced a lot in life. We knew what we wanted and were looking for the same thing’’
While she now shares plenty of the details of her fabulous life with her 1.8 million Instagram followers, the television host still believes in building strict boundaries when it comes to balancing her public and private lives. “When it comes to our home, that’s just for us,” she says. “Once we close the door, it’s our life. And yes, it’s true we share stories on our social media, but we don’t share everything. What we share doesn’t represent our entire private life.”
The same goes for the couple’s children, who the star admits she tries to protect as best as she can while still honouring the family’s public persona. “He’s famous and I’m famous,” she tells us. “We are living our lives, and our kids are part of that. The public has followed us from day one and having kids is part of our path. They have to see what is happening in our life and how our family is growing. If there is something that could be a danger for our kids or our family though, of course we keep it just for us.”
If the profile of their parents is anything to go by, the girls most certainly have a bright future ahead. “While Sophia loves the camera, she’s not comfortable with strangers,” shares Rym. “Whenever someone asks for a picture, Bella, however, just jumps right in. She definitely has the attitude to go into the entertainment business and I think she would be an expert in front of the camera. She could be a model in the future for sure. After all, you either have it or you don’t, and she does.”
Rym herself was inspired to start a career in the industry after being bullied at the age of 16. “My friends used to say things like ‘the giraffe is coming’ because I was so skinny, and that bothered me,” she says. “I soon realised I was the same height as Claudia Schiffer, so I called my aunt who is a journalist in Tunisia and I told her I wanted to become a model.”
Although she first encountered resistance from her own mother given the reputation of the industry in their home country, she finally relented and allowed her daughter to enter the Elite Model Look Tunisia competition. The rest, as they say, is history. “I won, and they were super happy,” Rym smiles. “Suddenly it was all over the news and the media in my country, and everything took off from there.”
Ironically, after she finished her Bachelor’s degree, it was Rym’s mum who then encouraged her to enter the first edition of the Arabic reality show Mission Fashion on LBC TV, under the supervision of Lebanese fashion designer Elie Saab, which she also went on to win.
As for the future, Rym may currently be working on a new TV show based around the luxury fashion industry, but it also looks like a pivot into movies could be on the cards. “I shot one movie in Abu Dhabi three years ago and I’m now taking acting courses again because there’s a project that I’m currently in talks about,” she shares. “Hopefully it will get confirmed soon. That’s the next step for me. It’s the vision.”
Photographer: Amina Zaher. Stylist: Imogene Legrand. Hair: Olive Jeanne. Make-Up: Sarah Saya. Senior Producer: Steff Hawker. Production Assistant: Rania Algethami. Styling Assistant: Janhvi Kohli. Photography Assistant: Mostafa Abdu. Special thanks to The Westin Mina Seyahi
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s Junior Spring 2024 issue