Morgan Stewart found her way into the limelight when E!
launched Rich Kids of Beverly Hills in 2014. Known for her style, big personality,
and literal dream-life existence, there's a lot more to this wealthy star than meets the eye.
From reality TV to real life drama, here's the untold truth of Morgan Stewart.
"You're here. You never thought you'd be here, but this is who you are. And it's ok."
Stewart was born in 1988, most likely with a bit of a silver spoon in hand.
Her dad, Herb, is the founder and president of a wildly successful
construction firm in Beverly Hills. And as for her mom, Stewart once told Bustle,
"My mom puts up with me and that's pretty much been her job."
"My mom is very big on not having s--- in her house. She brought over my baby
books. And my yearbooks. And my baby blanket. And then I wanted to throw away
my sweater that I got at the Great Wall of China, she's like, 'You keep this!'"
Of course, it must be nice to have a seemingly endless supply of cash from the ol' parents.
But more importantly, Stewart has often spoken fondly of the bond she shares with her family.
Recalling nightly dinners together and fabulous European summer vacations,
she told Justin Anderson's podcast,
"I'm very fortunate. I had two parents that
were married and loved each other. Everything I ever needed, I had."
"We're so fortunate, Morgan. I'm crying again. We're so fortunate."
All that being said, Stewart had a more difficult conversation with mom
and dad when her first TV effort had the phrase "rich kids" in its name. She added,
"Nobody was thrilled, let's just say that.
I think we were all surprised [that] it ended up being a very likable show."
But, it appears it really doesn't matter either way,
because this rich kid has since accumulated an estimated net worth of 5 million bucks.
As one might guess, there are a
lot of rich kids in Beverly Hills. So you might be wondering just how Stewart was ultimately tapped
for the small screen stunner. During an interview with AOL in 2016, the reality star revealed that a
casting director had originally sought out her friend Dorothy Wang — daughter of billionaire
Roger Wang — with an idea to create a reality show based on her lifestyle. Stewart explained,
"They said, 'Bring your friends' […] And so [Dorothy] and I did a
tape and then six weeks later we had a show."
"You've opened up this whole door."
It all might sound like a simple hop skip and a jump to fame, but Stewart elaborated on how
it all went down, telling the Chair with Justin Anderson podcast in 2019,
"It wasn't like E! called and said, 'Hey listen, we're doing a show called Rich
Kids of Beverly Hills. We'd like you guys to be the people on it.'
We went in for a separate casting having to do with none of this. The casting director said,
'Forget this. There's something here with you guys as a group of friends.'"
Once the show hit the air, Stewart quickly became a fan favorite, thanks to a combination of beauty,
fashion, clever comebacks, and jaw-dropping shopping sprees.
"Who's talented. You stop it don't you — don't take pictures of me oh my God."
After building her reputation as a sharp-tongued, quick-witted
and stylish personality on Rich Kids of Beverly Hills, Stewart went on to become
a contributor and host on four different E! Network series: Daily Pop, Nightly Pop,
Necessary Realness, and What the Fashion. And thanks to all of these on-air platforms,
she's been able to practice daily what fans of the reality TV show loved so much about
her — a no-restraint, no-filter approach to fashion and celebrity commentary.
"This is a real job, ok, it's not all glitz and glam and
Louboutins. […] That's as high as my leg goes."
Looking back, her progression from reality TV to full-fledged entertainment industry
pro makes total sense — partly because Stewart once confirmed that this had been her plan all
along. Citing iconic comedians and talk show hosts Chelsea Handler and Joan Rivers as her
idols due to their work ethic, she explained during her chat with Justin Anderson,
"I always took [Rich Kids of Beverly Hills] very seriously, because I had
greater aspirations for myself. I knew that this is what I was gonna do. I said it,
I manifested it my whole life. […] I wanna have my own nighttime talk show."
Back in April 2019, Justin Bieber
made a surprise reappearance with a rendition of "Sorry" during Ariana Grande's Coachella set,
where he notably performed live for the first time in two years. But according to People,
the Nightly Pop team later evaluated his allegedly lip-synced performance, with Stewart declaring,
"I did not realize it was going to be that bad."
"He definitely looks like he put an Oxy pad on that forehead,
but I don't care that is f----- up."
The Canadian pop icon quickly caught wind of the comments
and called Stewart out in a series of tweets, for quote, "laughing at
other [people's] expense" and belittling others. He publicly posted to Stewart,
"When are we gonna be the kind of people that find joy in adding value to one another,
and not tearing each other apart."
Meanwhile, Grande fully supported Bieber by posting her own thoughts on Twitter, and writing,
"People look so ugly when they talk about other people like this, it's crazy.
HOW do people watch s--- like this lmao."
Stewart and her co-star, fellow rich kid
Brendan Fitzpatrick, were already a couple long before the premiere of their show. Loyal fans may
remember that no matter how escalated a situation became, Fitzpatrick's main role on the series was
to act as the more chill half to Stewart's dramatic turn. And a prime example of that
would be a signature Stewart meltdown during an anniversary dinner with Fitzpatrick and the
rest of her co-stars, where, according to Dorothy, she seemingly channeled The Hulk.
"This is our anniversary, we invited you, that is it. Done. Let's go. Now I'm done."
But despite all of these highs and lows, the couple stayed together,
and the show's final season focused heavily on Stewart and Fitzpatrick's wedding
planning. The pair celebrated their nuptials in May 2016
in an extravagant wedding ceremony on the series finale. And after Rich Kids wrapped,
all signs pointed toward the newlyweds sharing a happy life together.
"It is now my pleasure to present for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Brendan Fitzpatrick. [Cheers]"
Unfortunately, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows for the married pair.
In March 2019, Stewart found herself at the center
of a shocking revelation about her former boss, NBC Universal exec, Bryce Kristensen. According
to multiple sources cited by Page Six, the two coworkers allegedly shared an inappropriate
office relationship, which reportedly included flirting, physical contact, and social media
banter. And amid the MeToo movement, multiple employees apparently alerted the human resources
department of this alleged behavior, which in turn may have launched an internal investigation.
"I'm very grateful to be at work every day."
"Whoa. I'm not trying to be so f------ likeable right now, it's just coming out of me."
Both parties have since denied any wrongdoing, with Kristensen telling Page Six,
"Morgan and I have been friends and colleagues for years, and nothing more than that."
Meanwhile, Stewart told the outlet,
"Bryce and I have known each other since the beginning of my career and have been nothing
more than friends and colleagues. […] As for Brendan and I, we remain happily married."
"Whoa. What was that. That was insane."
Only a few months after the allegations
surrounding Kristensen and Stewart broke, Morgan and her hubby were hit with ongoing
rumors of marital trouble. According to sources cited by Page Six, in June 2019, Fitzpatrick
reportedly revealed to his coworkers that he intended to split up with Stewart as a result
of the Kristensen story. Meanwhile, another source pointed to apparent changes in the pair's social
media presence — like, failing to wish one another a happy birthday or anniversary — as evidence.
"So we're working through all of our major issues right now."
Fitzpatrick, who was later seen without his wedding ring in an Instagram post,
denied the claims. And while Stewart remained uncharacteristically mum on the reported matter
for months, she finally broke her silence in early August 2019 with an announcement,
revealing on her Instagram story,
"Brendan and I have spent six wonderful years together, but we have made the difficult decision
to go our separate ways. I wanted to take the time to clarify that our reason for separating
has nothing to do with anything other than two people who sadly grew apart,
deciding what's best for themselves in the next phase of their lives."
Before getting her start on reality TV,
Stewart documented her extravagant lifestyle on her Boobs & Loubs blog — which, of course,
was very 2010 of her. She explained the name on the pilot episode of her show, revealing,
"My blog is a perfect representation of me. I have very large boobs
and a very large collection of Louboutins ."
"So how many Louboutins do you have? I think I'm like at 210 right now."
"I don't even go in. They picture-message me and then I'm like, 'OK.'"
A later episode of the series showed Stewart at a star-studded launch party for the blog,
where yes, she definitely cried. The original iteration of her website was
more of a diary with random quips and photos. But it's since been rendered
inactive and Stewart has taken her extensive knowledge of designer clothing with her during
her transition to co-hosting on E!, and through digital mediums like Instagram.
In 2017, Stewart teamed up
with the fashion startup incubator Touché LA — later rebranded as LA
Collective — to launch her own line. And TLA by Morgan Stewart was born.
"I feel like I just did things I liked and luckily people resonated with it."
The athleisure brand and its signature color palette quickly became a success for the store,
with outlets like Shape and Women's Health featuring the fashion. Still, Us Weekly reported
that things really took off once celebs like Khloé Kardashian and Gigi Hadid were spotted rocking TLA
by Morgan Stewart. Having originally set out to do a single-season one-off, Stewart told E! News,
"I just wanted to do what I love, and I think that that's the most important thing,
that if you're gonna put a product out to the world,
it really has to sort of represent you the best that it can."
With the spotlight
squarely illuminating Stewart throughout her four-year run on Rich Kids of Beverly Hills,
there was seldom any talk about her family apart from the occasional sighting or mention
of her parents. But all that changed when she opened up about her older brother's
struggle with mental illness. Revealing that he was diagnosed with schizophrenia
at the age of 22 — when Stewart was just 15 — the reality TV star recalled on the show,
"He just became so withdrawn, he just didn't function. He didn't leave his room, and then
eventually the voices started to kick in."
At that point, Stewart's mother had him evaluated, which led to his diagnosis. Stewart added that her
brother ultimately moved from Los Angeles to Switzerland, where he was in better spirits.
But Stewart did admit that she had never really talked about the matter with anyone, sharing,
"I think it affects me more than I even am in touch with."
"I just can't suffer in silence anymore."
From the moment Stewart
first landed on TV, she has remained uncensored about her opinions on — and history with — plastic
surgery. In 2016, she opened up about the mild horrors of using lip fillers, tweeting,
"I'm realizing the less you f--- with yourself the better."
"I fill my lips like every eight months, which is — hurts."
When Stewart joined Justin Anderson on his podcast three years later, in 2019,
the two had a lot to say on this topic — all while she was getting blonde highlights
in her hair. Revealing that she would never get a nose job, she said,
"I am excruciatingly hard on myself. [It's] borderline a little bit unhealthy.
[A nose job is] something that I really would potentially get happiness from,
and something that I think would make me more comfortable.
But then I'm like, you're just gonna be pretty and not try as hard to be funny?"
Dating as a famous face
can't be easy. And divorce? Even harder. When Stewart later became a co-host on the celebrity
variety show Daily Pop, she openly shared on air about how seeing other celeb couples separate
only rekindled her own difficult feelings. But this spunky host doesn't give up that easily.
"If ya haven't heard, get ready for a spoiler alert."
According to People, Stewart started dating a new man in early 2020: Jordan McGraw. What's more,
he's another rich kid of Beverly Hills — though not a former castmate from the show. Instead, this
musician is the son of Dr. Phil. And apparently, the two had dated 10 years earlier — long
before Stewart's TV debut — but called it quits. Stewart explained on Instagram Live,
"The past year we got back together.
Isn't that cute? He was persistent and I was like, 'all right.'"
"We got locked down in the pandemic and then four minutes into that, we're like,
'We're bored, we should have a baby.' And then we were like, 'Well, let's get engaged.'"
The rekindled romance turned out to be a lot more than just a comfy rebound.
Having gotten together just before quarantine began, the pair hilariously documented their
cohabitating adventures together and then went on to secretly get married in December 2020. To the
delight of fans everywhere, the couple welcomed their baby girl — little Row — in February 2021.
Looks like this rich kid-turned-mama is gonna have to shell out for some mini Loubs A.S.A.P.
"I think I'll take to it like a duck to water."
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