Queen Of Versailles Reigns Again's Jackie Siegel On Her Home And Passions

How did the new show come about? How did you get back into that?

My husband and I have had a lot of offers over the years to do shows, and emotionally, after losing my daughter, I wasn't ready. My husband didn't like the way he was portrayed on the original "Queen of Versailles," the documentary. He wanted to shy away from the cameras, and I was married to him. I couldn't bring the cameras so much to my house, but time has passed, and we're doing great. We have our mission in life of saving lives. Discovery, they're are not a tabloid. They're more true to life and do a nice showcase of the challenges of me trying to finish Versailles and balancing my other life besides Versailles.

I've got my family life and the Versailles. My other life is taking care of my husband, being a wife. I don't think women really get enough credit for how difficult it is to be a career woman, because [aside from] having a job, you also have to manage being a great wife, the household bills and things like that.

Your kids going to soccer practice or lacrosse, or doctor's appointments — it's crazy to say it, but even my dogs or the animals [have] their own schedules too, because they go to the doctors, get their shots, get groomed. And you got to do meal planning.

As a mother, this is so much [what] it seems like most of the time. Most husbands, from what I've seen, they go to work and they come home [asking] "What's for dinner?" and then they pop on the couch. The women's job is never done. It's been an incredible task to take on this project in my already busy life, because we had Victoria's Voice and everything I mentioned, but I also produced beauty pageants because that's how I got my start in life. Besides having my engineering degree, the beauty pageants really catapulted me to the next level, and I want to give other women the opportunity.

It's more charitable — I don't get paid to do it. I do it out of the goodness of my heart, and I try to do as much in the community as I can. I have a thrift mart [where] we donate a lot to a battered women's safe house. I really enjoy giving back to the community. That really makes a person whole, to be a productive member of society. Too many people in this world... I find the more they need to know the more good you do to other people, the better your life will be. It's really true.

What are you most looking forward to when you move into Versailles?

Walking in there, seeing the grand ballroom completely finished, and having the palace be a home, and being able to be a mom. I want to be a mom and a wife and get it done. I plan [on] the house being done around a year from now, May 3rd, 2023. It's my goal because that's going to be my husband's 88th birthday.

"Queen of Versailles Reigns Again" is now streaming on Discovery+.