Giuliana Rancic - I Do, Now What?: Secrets, Stories, and Advice from a Madly-in-Love Couple

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This is a recollection about a certain time in our lives. The names of some characters have been changed, and some are composites of various people, experiences, and conversations weve had with them. If you think thats wrong or unfair, you may change your mind after reading what we have to say. We wrote this book to reveal what makes our great marriage worknot to make people from our past cringe. This is an ode to love, after all.

Copyright 2010 by Giuliana and Bill Rancic

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

B ALLANTINE and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

The Style logo is a registered trademark of E! Entertainment Television, Inc.

All interior photos were taken by Kusha Alagband Photography (www.kushaphotography.com) and are from the authors collection

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Rancic, Giuliana.
I do, now what? : secrets, stories, and advice from a madly-in-love couple / Giuliana and Bill Rancic
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-0-345-52515-4
1. Marriage. 2. Married peoplePsychology.
3. CouplesPsychology. 4. Man-woman relationships.
5. Rancic, Giuliana 6. Rancic, Bill. I. Rancic, Bill. II. Title.
HQ734.R176 2010
646.78dc22

2010031012

www.ballantinebooks.com

v3.1_r1

To our wonderful parents, Gail and Edward, Anna and Eduardo, whose marriages inspired us to search for the love of our lives and never settle for less

If the grass looks greener on the other side,
its because they take care of it.

C ECIL S ELIG

I f youre anything like we are, your heart gets warm and fuzzy when you meet a married couple whos madly in love. Whats more endearing than watching a husband subtly reach for his wifes hand as she tells a story, or a wife smile at her husband as they share an inside joke? Their energy is palpable to those around them. And as outsiders, we dont exactly know what makes these great marriages work, but we do imagine theyre hoarding all the good secrets to themselves.

Well, somehow weve managed to convince a lot of people that were one of these lucky couples. Maybe its the way we gush about each others accomplishments at dinner with peers and loved ones, or banter like best friends with benefits on our reality show Giuliana & Bill. Having good chemistry probably doesnt hurt, either. But all that said, were here to tell you that our marriage isnt the result of discovering the truth behind a mystery we cant wait to share with the world. No, its much simpler than that. Our marital success stems from small but significant efforts weve made to improve our relationship, starting as far back as our first date. The result is a bond built on a foundation of shared values that allow our marriage to thrive.

Call us old-fashioned, but weve learned that tried-and-true basics, similar to what our grandparents looked to for guidance, are what work in todays world, too. For instance, were kind to each other, have fun, and laugh a lot. Weve learned how to diffuse tension before fights become explosive, and we lean on friends, family, and God for support when we need to call in backup. We also know how to forgive and forget. We do our best to trust each other, try not to tell white lies, and deal with money and housework issues in a way that feels fair. We have delicious sex as often as we can. We try new and different things to keep our relationship fresh, and we honor our commitment every single day. We talk (but not too much) about what matters in between, and weve come to discover that marriage isnt about work as the saying goes, but effort. As a result our marriage is healthier today than when we first said, I do.

When we first met, we had no idea we were in for such a whirlwind romance. As would soon become a running theme in our relationship, this initial encounter was full of ridiculousness.

Giuliana: I first fell hard for Bill when he won The Apprentice, though we didnt officially meet until two years later when Id overheard in the E! News newsroom that we were shooting an interview with him. He was doing charity work in Santa Monica for the Boys and Girls Club, which offers positive programs and services to underprivileged kids, and we wanted to cover the details to support the cause. My assignment manager, Maureen, was about to give the story away to a junior reporter, but I immediately elbowed my way to the front of the line. I knew from watching Bill on TV that he was a catch, and I wanted a shot at this hottie with a body.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, I said to Maureen. Whats this about a shoot with Bill Rancic? Maureen gave me all the details, and said that she didnt ask me to cover the event because I was busy anchoring at the time, and the interview was an afterhours gig forty minutes from the studio. Well, I do want to get involved in more charity work, I told her. She threw me a knowing smirk (I later found out that she also had a crush on Bill) and then gave me the assignment. I ran to the bathroom to touch up my makeup.

Just before leaving for the interview, I did some quick investigative research on Bill by Googling three words: Bill Rancic girlfriend. You better believe I did, but not only for the reason you think. Sure, I wanted to know if Bill was available for my own single girl purposes, but if youve ever seen my interviews, I love to get personal with my subjects and the more intimate the questions, the more memorable the Q&A.

As I clicked the Search button, I secretly hoped that nothing would pop up about Bills love life, but something did. A few gossip blogs reported that hed been dating a producer in New York City for the past few months. This seriously bummed me out, since my motivation for doing the interview wasnt entirely professional. But with an hour before the shoot, it was too late to squirm out of the assignment, so when I finally sat down with Bill, I remember copping an attitude with my tone and body language. My arms were crossed, and my voice sounded indifferent, even though all I could think was, Damn, this guy is gorgeous! After a series of questions about boys, girls, and clubs, I prepared to dash the hopes of single women like me. Donald Trump had just had a son and seemed very settled and content with his beautiful wife Melania, so it seemed like the perfect segue to get my viewers the scoop on Bill and that chick in NYC.

So, are you going to settle down soon with your girlfriend? I asked him, while simultaneously planning how to act shocked when he told me about the producer. Instead, Bill surprised me. My girlfriend? he asked. We broke up. My heart skipped a beat, and my cheeks got rosy. I was excited.