Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

New Program Showcases 'Buff Brides'

Aired October 06, 2003 - 14:41   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MONICA RODRIGUEZ, "BUFF BRIDE": And my booty used to be, like, really, really out there, but it's calmed down now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: That's Monica Rodriguez and the rest of her is anything but calm. Her wedding day is just five days away and she's been sweating out last minute details along with the pounds. Got to look good in that wedding dress. And unlike most brides, though, she's taking it off -- the pounds not her dress yet -- in front of millions of people in a new reality television series that's turned blushing brides into buff brides.

Rodriguez joins us from New York along with Sioban Lynch Raddani, another star of the Discovery Health Channel's wedding workout. She actually got married. We'll talk about that in a minute.

But, first of all, Monica -- hey, the booty's looking pretty good there.

RODRIGUEZ: Yes. It's feeling good.

PHILLIPS: I bet you are. Now tell me, why did you take on this adventure here with Discovery Channel?

RODRIGUEZ: Well, I had actually just come off of having a spinal surgery, and it was perfect timing for me to get myself back to the gym. It was a -- I was given the opportunity to be on the show for my perfect day, and I decided to jump in it with both feet.

PHILLIPS: Now you used to play basketball, right?

RODRIGUEZ: Yes, I did.

PHILLIPS: And that's how you -- in Puerto Rico, is that right?

RODRIGUEZ: Yes, I did, I played one year season in Puerto Rico.

PHILLIPS: So you know what it took to be in shape and get buff and feel good right?

RODRIGUEZ: Absolutely. I did, and I missed it. PHILLIPS: Now, did your fiancee ever put any pressure on you like, Hey, baby, the booty's getting a little big there. We got to do something.

RODRIGUEZ: No, he didn't at all. Actually he loved it.

PHILLIPS: Uh oh. He did like the J-Lo look. So what's he saying now?

RODRIGUEZ: He did but -- he did like it. But now that it's going down, he's liking it firmer and I think it's looking better at this point.

PHILLIPS: All right.

Now Sioban, how did -- tell us about your situation, and how it all, I guess came down, came off, we should say.

SIOBAN LYNCH RADDANI, "BUFF BRIDE": Well, I got married on May the 10th, and I started the Buff Brides program on February the 8th. I was set up with a fantastic trainer, Lydia Pena (ph) from New York Sports Club, and I was the procrastinator bride, who took 12 weeks and I slimmed down 17.5 pounds and a total of 9 inches...

PHILLIPS: Wow.

RADDANI: ... and I felt wonderful on my wedding day, because that's really what it was all about. I was marrying the man of my dreams. I waited a long time to meet him. And instead of wearing a size 14, which is what my wedding dress was originally measured for, I wore a size 8.

PHILLIPS: Oh, that's fantastic. And you had also a neat little twist here, you and your fiancee sort of reconnected after 9/11, right?

RADDANI: Yes. We originally met in the early part of July and kind of didn't get together really. We lost touch with each other and then after September 11, Zack (ph) called me and wanted to see if I was doing OK and if he could help me out and we reconnected again then and literally did not go away from each other until that -- until now, a little while ago.

PHILLIPS: Now another little twist, you went from size 14 to a size 8. And what's this I heard about you belly dancing at your wedding?

RADDANI: Oh, that's right. Well, if you watch the show tonight on Discovery Health Channel -- it's on at 8 p.m. -- we brought both of our traditions into our wedding. I'm Irish and my husband is Moroccan and we had belly dancing at the wedding. We had a professional bellydancer. And some of the lessons and some of the exercises that I did was actually bellydancing, which I've got to say is very difficult to do. It uses a lot of the abdominals.

PHILLIPS: All right. So... RADDANI: There you go.

PHILLIPS: There you go. We're looking at it right now.

Monica, what do you think? A little bellydancing, or maybe -- well, let's see -- Puerto Rican, maybe you can do a little salsa.

RODRIGUEZ: That's right. I think we're going to have a lot more (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

PHILLIPS: There you go. Very -- and how did you meet your husband, Monica?

RODRIGUEZ: I met him...

(CROSSTALK)

RODRIGUEZ: ...my mother said I would never meet a gentleman. I met him at a club, actually.

PHILLIPS: You did? Oh, OK. While you were salsa dancing. There you go.

RODRIGUEZ: Yes.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, now, how did -- what was it like to do the show? Did you guys at any time think, Oh, my gosh. This is going to be in front of millions of people, whether it -- you know, bellydancing, or doing something crazy. I mean, you know, you got to feel really comfortable when you're with a trainer. It's not always a real comfortable experience, I guess.

(CROSSTALK)

RODRIGUEZ: I think that from my perspective it helped a lot because you had a crew that made you feel very comfortable. And also the trainers and everybody involved. It's just a very strong nucleus that made you feel part of a family and they really were there to help and support us.

PHILLIPS: You felt the same way, Sioban?

RADDANI: Yes, after awhile you just get used to them. They're part of your family. For me, my husband works in the evening and I trained in the evenings. He was my constant supporter during the day and in the morning. And then when I was at the gym in the evening, it was my trainer and all of the production staff from (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that was there, encouraging me all through (ph) the way. And then they were also there at the wedding, and they got to have a lot of fun with us.

PHILLIPS: All right. So tonight, at what -- tell us what time everybody can catch this guys?

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: OK.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: All right. Very good. And, Monica, this Saturday, you actually do walk down the aisle.

RODRIGUEZ: Yes.

PHILLIPS: You're looking beautiful.

Sioban, I hope you're going to be rooting her on.

RADDANI: I will absolutely.

PHILLIPS: All right.

RADDANI: It's a great day to look forward to.

PHILLIPS: Well, you -- both of you look absolutely beautiful.

RODRIGUEZ: Thank you.

RADDANI: Thank you so much.

PHILLIPS: All right.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired October 6, 2003 - 14:41   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MONICA RODRIGUEZ, "BUFF BRIDE": And my booty used to be, like, really, really out there, but it's calmed down now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: That's Monica Rodriguez and the rest of her is anything but calm. Her wedding day is just five days away and she's been sweating out last minute details along with the pounds. Got to look good in that wedding dress. And unlike most brides, though, she's taking it off -- the pounds not her dress yet -- in front of millions of people in a new reality television series that's turned blushing brides into buff brides.

Rodriguez joins us from New York along with Sioban Lynch Raddani, another star of the Discovery Health Channel's wedding workout. She actually got married. We'll talk about that in a minute.

But, first of all, Monica -- hey, the booty's looking pretty good there.

RODRIGUEZ: Yes. It's feeling good.

PHILLIPS: I bet you are. Now tell me, why did you take on this adventure here with Discovery Channel?

RODRIGUEZ: Well, I had actually just come off of having a spinal surgery, and it was perfect timing for me to get myself back to the gym. It was a -- I was given the opportunity to be on the show for my perfect day, and I decided to jump in it with both feet.

PHILLIPS: Now you used to play basketball, right?

RODRIGUEZ: Yes, I did.

PHILLIPS: And that's how you -- in Puerto Rico, is that right?

RODRIGUEZ: Yes, I did, I played one year season in Puerto Rico.

PHILLIPS: So you know what it took to be in shape and get buff and feel good right?

RODRIGUEZ: Absolutely. I did, and I missed it. PHILLIPS: Now, did your fiancee ever put any pressure on you like, Hey, baby, the booty's getting a little big there. We got to do something.

RODRIGUEZ: No, he didn't at all. Actually he loved it.

PHILLIPS: Uh oh. He did like the J-Lo look. So what's he saying now?

RODRIGUEZ: He did but -- he did like it. But now that it's going down, he's liking it firmer and I think it's looking better at this point.

PHILLIPS: All right.

Now Sioban, how did -- tell us about your situation, and how it all, I guess came down, came off, we should say.

SIOBAN LYNCH RADDANI, "BUFF BRIDE": Well, I got married on May the 10th, and I started the Buff Brides program on February the 8th. I was set up with a fantastic trainer, Lydia Pena (ph) from New York Sports Club, and I was the procrastinator bride, who took 12 weeks and I slimmed down 17.5 pounds and a total of 9 inches...

PHILLIPS: Wow.

RADDANI: ... and I felt wonderful on my wedding day, because that's really what it was all about. I was marrying the man of my dreams. I waited a long time to meet him. And instead of wearing a size 14, which is what my wedding dress was originally measured for, I wore a size 8.

PHILLIPS: Oh, that's fantastic. And you had also a neat little twist here, you and your fiancee sort of reconnected after 9/11, right?

RADDANI: Yes. We originally met in the early part of July and kind of didn't get together really. We lost touch with each other and then after September 11, Zack (ph) called me and wanted to see if I was doing OK and if he could help me out and we reconnected again then and literally did not go away from each other until that -- until now, a little while ago.

PHILLIPS: Now another little twist, you went from size 14 to a size 8. And what's this I heard about you belly dancing at your wedding?

RADDANI: Oh, that's right. Well, if you watch the show tonight on Discovery Health Channel -- it's on at 8 p.m. -- we brought both of our traditions into our wedding. I'm Irish and my husband is Moroccan and we had belly dancing at the wedding. We had a professional bellydancer. And some of the lessons and some of the exercises that I did was actually bellydancing, which I've got to say is very difficult to do. It uses a lot of the abdominals.

PHILLIPS: All right. So... RADDANI: There you go.

PHILLIPS: There you go. We're looking at it right now.

Monica, what do you think? A little bellydancing, or maybe -- well, let's see -- Puerto Rican, maybe you can do a little salsa.

RODRIGUEZ: That's right. I think we're going to have a lot more (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

PHILLIPS: There you go. Very -- and how did you meet your husband, Monica?

RODRIGUEZ: I met him...

(CROSSTALK)

RODRIGUEZ: ...my mother said I would never meet a gentleman. I met him at a club, actually.

PHILLIPS: You did? Oh, OK. While you were salsa dancing. There you go.

RODRIGUEZ: Yes.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, now, how did -- what was it like to do the show? Did you guys at any time think, Oh, my gosh. This is going to be in front of millions of people, whether it -- you know, bellydancing, or doing something crazy. I mean, you know, you got to feel really comfortable when you're with a trainer. It's not always a real comfortable experience, I guess.

(CROSSTALK)

RODRIGUEZ: I think that from my perspective it helped a lot because you had a crew that made you feel very comfortable. And also the trainers and everybody involved. It's just a very strong nucleus that made you feel part of a family and they really were there to help and support us.

PHILLIPS: You felt the same way, Sioban?

RADDANI: Yes, after awhile you just get used to them. They're part of your family. For me, my husband works in the evening and I trained in the evenings. He was my constant supporter during the day and in the morning. And then when I was at the gym in the evening, it was my trainer and all of the production staff from (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that was there, encouraging me all through (ph) the way. And then they were also there at the wedding, and they got to have a lot of fun with us.

PHILLIPS: All right. So tonight, at what -- tell us what time everybody can catch this guys?

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: OK.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: All right. Very good. And, Monica, this Saturday, you actually do walk down the aisle.

RODRIGUEZ: Yes.

PHILLIPS: You're looking beautiful.

Sioban, I hope you're going to be rooting her on.

RADDANI: I will absolutely.

PHILLIPS: All right.

RADDANI: It's a great day to look forward to.

PHILLIPS: Well, you -- both of you look absolutely beautiful.

RODRIGUEZ: Thank you.

RADDANI: Thank you so much.

PHILLIPS: All right.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com