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Rachel Zoe opened up about why she left behind the career that made her famous.
The former celebrity stylist, 54, said a lot of factors went into her decision but one of the main reasons was that she just “couldn’t trust assistants.”
“I think after being completely betrayed, for lack of a better term, in various ways, by enough assistants and not being able to trust them with my clients and stuff to represent what I do and how I am with my clients, it just wasn’t worth it anymore,” she told People in a new interview published on Friday, January 2.
Zoe said that she prided herself on exceeding the expectations of the A-listers who hired her, pointing out there was “no margin for error,” but felt she could no longer do that at a certain point.
“The definition of insanity is when you do the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome,” she said, highlighting that she wanted to be present for all of her clients but couldn’t at times due to conflicting schedules, especially during award show season.
“I never wanted to let them down, ever,” she explained of how the clients were like “family” to her. “You have to be able to entrust that in people that represent your work, and if you can’t do that, the system is broken.”
Rachel Zoe. Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images
Zoe made a name for herself after launching her career in the 1990s, going on to become a stylist for major stars including Nicole Richie, Anne Hathaway and Lindsay Lohan.
She has since focused her efforts on expanding her business with new license partners while making a reality TV comeback, notably appearing on season 15 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
The designer said that being a go-to fashionista for Tinseltown’s elite mixed with being a mom — she shares sons Skyler, 14, and Kaius, 12, with ex Rodger Berman — often left her spread thin due to “incessant and unpredictable traveling” combined with early morning fittings.
Zoe and Berman separated in September 2024 after 26 years together. She filed for divorce in July while filming her first season of RHOBH.
“We are incredibly proud of the loving family we have created and our countless memories together,” she shared about their breakup in a statement. “Our number one priority has been and will always be our children.”
As Us Weekly previously reported, Zoe cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split. She asked the court to award her joint physical and legal custody of their kids and for her last name to be restored to her maiden name, Zoe.
“It’s not sustainable,” she said of her former routine. “It was hard to give styling my undivided attention and to get up and jump on a plane every other day, which is really what that life is.”
She added, “You are working for other people, and you are on other people’s schedules, and that’s very hard to do when you have multiple businesses, and you are the CEO and you have a newborn and a toddler.”
