STEPHANIE HOLLMAN Real Housewives of Dallas
Our family’s motto for charitable giving is to pick your passion and make a big impact rather than spread yourself thin and do little for a bunch of organizations. Right now, we are heavily involved with The Family Place, the largest domestic violence agency in Texas, as well as Big Brothers Big Sister which is all about mentoring. Women and children’s issues are the focus of our family and companies’ charitable contributions. I also recently donated bone marrow and through that I developed a passion for speeding awareness on bone marrow registry with DKMS.
You are probably best known for being a reality star in The Real Housewives of Dallas. Please talk us through the filming of such a series – is it grueling, lots of fun – what really goes on behind the scenes?
It is a blessing and a curse, just as most things are in life. There are definitely things that I enjoy about the show such as some of the fun trips that I get to take with my girlfriends or filming silly scenes with my boys, but there are also forever long parties that we have to attend, and what seem like never-ending confessionals. With the confessionals, I think you can tell when I start to get restless, and that’s usually when I say things that get me in trouble. Overall, I absolutely love the experience and I am very thankful that I get to call this my job!
You donated stem cells earlier this year to save someone’s life. That could be seen as the ultimate sacrifice. What happened and how did it make you feel?
Four years ago I was at a cancer walk with Chance, my oldest son, when DKMS approached me and asked me to swap. I did it without really thinking, but 4 years later I got a call that I was the perfect match for a patient in need! I was on vacation at the time with my family, in the car when I got the call and Travis was sitting right next to me just picking up context clues from what he could hear and when I got off the phone, before I could say anything he said “If you want to do it, we support you 100%”. It wasn’t before a second thought crossed my mind that I called DKMS back and started to make arrangements. Having the support from my family was everything for me. DKMS made the process so easy; they helped me through every step of the process and really made me feel at ease about my decision to donate. I can’t say enough good things about my experience!
You seem to have a perfect family life – an adoring husband and two gorgeous children. We would like to know more about them.
It is so funny to me that you say that because I definitely do not try to portray that I have a perfect life whatsoever! When I agreed to film a reality show, Travis and I sat down and agreed that if we were going to