Brooks Nader Shuts Down “Misconceptions” About Her Family’s Finances: “We Were Getting Donations From The Church To Eat”

Brooks Nader and her sisters—Mary Holland Nader, Grace Ann Nader, and Sarah Jane Nader—are taking over the modeling world in their new Freeform/Hulu reality series, Love Thy Nader. But in doing so, they are also opening up their personal lives to online scrutiny, which started rolling in after the trailer was dropped earlier this month.

Before the four sisters set off to chase their dreams in New York City, they were raised in a conservative town in Louisiana. Brooks describes their humble beginnings at the start of Love Thy Nader’s premiere episode, revealing that they all “slept in one room” growing up and their mother, who had four kids by the time she was 25, would often remind them that they were “rich in love.” While internet trolls have claimed the Naders came from a wealthier background than they are leading on, Brooks explained that that’s not the case.

“One misconception that’s online is that we’re lying about growing up poor,” the supermodel told Decider, revealing that her father worked at a nonprofit making $18,000 a year when she was a kid. “When we read the comments, he goes, ‘They want to see my tax returns.’ But then when he had four mouths to feed and we were getting donations from the church to eat and I reached a certain age, he was like, ‘OK, I can’t make $18K year and I need to pursue a different career.’”

According to Brooks, her dad switched career paths and “studied hard” to get CPA-certified. “He’s built himself up. By no means is he wealthy, but he earns a decent living and he’s able to support him and my mom in Baton Rouge,” Brooks added, noting that her parents are growing their careers at the same time as she and her sisters.

When we caught up with Brooks, Mary Holland, Grace Ann, and Sarah Jane over Zoom to talk about Love Thy Nader, they also spoke about their love lives and the drama fans will see in their new show. Check out the full interview below.

DECIDER: This show is kind of giving old-school Keeping Up With The Kardashians vibes – model sisters, cheating boyfriends, etc. Would the four of you say that’s a fair comparison? How would you feel about becoming Gen Z’s Kardashians? 

MARY HOLLAND NADER: We would be honored. 

BROOKS NADER: We love the Kardashians. We think what they’ve created is so amazing and admirable. As women, we look up to them, and as sisters, we look up to them. What they’ve created [is] so special and amazing. I love their bond and how close they are. I do see similarities with that. I just feel like it’s a different show because we just have a different background. We grew up in the deep South and in the country, and the show kind of follows us in New York City. We kind of have heard that it’s sort of a Swamp People meets Sex and the City. We’ve also heard Beverly Hillbillies: New York Edition. We’ve been compared to those shows, which I can definitely see that. 

Brooks, I’m sure you never could’ve imagined that the show would start off with such a dramatic breakup. What’s it like for you to finally get your side of the story out there? And do you think you’ll be hearing from your ex again once this show comes out?

BROOKS: Oh, that’s a good question. I am happy that my side of the story is out there. I think there’s a lot to be told. I’m hoping that other women can see this and learn from it and see what I went through and maybe see some of the signs that I didn’t see that when I watched it back, I was like, “How could I be so stupid?” We’re all in this together. I think everyone deals with heartbreak, and it was really hard to rewatch that and relive that. As far as hearing from him, I mean, we don’t communicate. 

While we’re on the topic of relationships, Mary Holland, we got to meet your boyfriend Jules in the show. How is your relationship with him today? And have you gotten to hang out with his friend,  Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, yet? 

MARY HOLLAND: I have not spent time with them, but our relationship is stronger than ever. He’s actually in town this week to support and I think you see that, I guess contrasting to Gleb, he looks amazing. He looks like a prince. But yeah, he’s super supportive and it’s stronger than ever. 

Sarah Jane, we see you open up about your sexuality in the first few episodes, and again in the preview for the rest of the season. What are you hoping people who might be going through something similar with a conservative family will take away from your story? 

SARAH JANE NADER: I think that there’s nothing wrong with being who you are, whether you like girls, guys, whoever. It’s important to live your truth regardless of what other people may think. Anyone who chooses to not be a part of your life because of that is their loss. I’m very lucky to have a supportive family, and I know a lot of people aren’t. I hope that showing my journey and everything will comfort people at home. 

Grace Ann, we see you get into it with a couple of your sisters. In Episode 2, you were annoyed with Sarah Jane over the modeling stuff and in Episode 3, you were upset with Brooks for missing your birthday party. How will we see your relationship with your sisters play out through the rest of this season? Would you say you’re in a better place with them now?

GRACE ANN NADER: I think you’ll all see by the end of the season, we’re in an amazing place. I have always had a very strong personality. So has Brooks. And so my reentry into the sister pride was met with a little bit of pushback. 

BROOKS: What do you mean, your reentry? We have always been sisters. 

GRACE ANN: I was not around for a while. 

BROOKS: What do you mean? You were with us every day. 

MARY HOLLAND: Mentally she wasn’t.

GRACE ANN: I had a little adjustment period that happens in those first few episodes. But now the sisters and I are amazing. I very much march to the beat of my own drum, and I don’t like people to stand in and tell me what to do or how to live my life. So that’s usually why I tend to butt heads with these two in particular. But by the end of it, we’re all hunky dory. All of us. I will say that it seems that I’m always fighting with someone, so maybe I am the problem. 

BROOKS: You are! It doesn’t seem that way. You just are always fighting with someone.

GRACE ANN: But right now I’m literally A-plus. You said I got major brownie points in LA. I was on my P’s and Q’s.

BROOKS: She’s like a two-year-old. OK, I’m gonna put it on your chore chart. You get less chores.You get a gold star for the week.

AI is used a lot in this show, from writing texts, to giving breakup advice. What is the craziest thing each of you have asked AI to do for you?

MARY HOLLAND: You see in the show that I lean on I for literally everything, so there’s no limits on what I’ve asked AI. I don’t even know if you girls use Chat.

BROOKS: I don’t use AI. 

MARY HOLLAND: I have to bring them around to chat throughout the show. 

BROOKS: That’s really her thing. I’m pretty sure she’ll probably write her wedding vows one day with Chat. We gotta stop it somewhere.

MARY HOLLAND: Chat is helpful! And you even see me lean on it a little too much. I have kind of a fight with her.

BROOKS: She turns into a robot! 

SARAH JANE: It’s a sci-fi reality show.

I think some would be shocked to find out that you guys come from this conservative Christian upbringing in Louisiana. We got to meet your parents in the first episode, and they seem amazing. Is there anything any of you are nervous about them seeing once the full show airs? 

SARAH JANE: I think all of it. 

BROOKS: We had some awkward moments with mom. We kind of ripped on her a little bit, and she was sitting right next to us while we were watching it. I think that everything that happened while we were filming, they were there for and they witnessed. So I don’t think anything is a surprise. I mean, as we watched the first three episodes, it was pretty much exactly how it all happened. There was no fabrication or like twisting of words or anything, which is helpful because it’s all out there. But they’re so happy to be involved and support us. They brought frozen gumbo from Baton Rouge all the way to LA for our press tour. My mom, in glam, was like, “I don’t care if you have your lipstick done, eat the gumbo.” They’re just excited and they love this journey for us and they’re supportive. 

Is there anything you guys can tease about what we’re going to see this season? Are there any misconceptions you’d like to clear up?

BROOKS: I will say one misconception that’s online is that we’re lying about growing up poor. People have to realize that my dad worked for this company called Fellowship of Christian Athletes. It’s a nonprofit. He made $18,000 a year. When we read the comments, he goes, “They want to see my tax returns.” But then when he had four mouths to feed and we were getting donations from the church to eat and I reached a certain age, he was like, “OK, I can’t make $18K year and I need to pursue a different career.” So he switched paths and studied very hard and got his CPA. And now he’s a stockbroker. So, he’s built himself up. By no means is he wealthy, but he earns a decent living and he’s able to support him and my mom in Baton Rouge. But this is kind of a new thing, you know what I mean? He’s kind of growing as we’re growing, which I think is kind of special. People already think he’s our peer when we’re out and about because he looks so young. He has this old crusty watch from an LSU game. And I’m like, “Dad, can I buy you a watch?” And he’s like, “No, I want to save up and be able to buy myself my own nice watch one day.” So I want to knock that off his bucket list because he wants to do it himself. So it’s fun to set goals together and grow together in our careers.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Love Thy Nader is currently streaming on Hulu.