by Kristine Gasbarre , on Friday, February 26, 2010
So, you know how LimeLife is in with the ever-growing pro poker circuit? Well, at the North American Poker Tour in Las Vegas last week our celeb editor not only learned how to play with the PokerStars.net crowd (yes, finally!), she also remembered the biggest reason why the poker world rocks: the celebs. Here's LimeLife's exclusive interview with - it's surreal for us too - New Kids On the Block's Donnie Wahlberg. (This is truly one of our most revealing interviews ever.)
When Donnie found out LimeLife is a women's lifestyle site, he said, "I love it. I love it." He revealed what he loves about New Kids fans even more now than he did then (we're, ahem, women now)...plus, Donnie had some unexpected life updates to share with us.
Donnie Wahlberg is a well-known poker regular, so the PokerStars.net red carpet was a chance to catch up with a massive old crush, celebrate nostalgia, and embrace the incredible reality that childhood dreams come true. Chatting with Donnie Wahlberg (who's notorious for giving good hugs, and we found out why) was like 1990 all over again, except this time, way hotter...
LimeLife: Donnie Wahlberg, how amazing to see you at the North American Poker Tour! Can you update us on what all is new with you?
Donnie Wahlberg: Well, the New Kids reunion [in 2008-09] was obviously fun and crazy and good and exciting, and I'm doing acting as well. I just did The Zookeeper with Kevin James [the rom-com filmed in Boston and will release in October], so, I've been staying busy. Fortunately I finally have some time off when there's poker going on, so I get to play. I'm playing here today, L.A. tomorrow. It's great.
LimeLife: Awesome. And you're married now, right?
Donnie Wahlberg: Uh, no. Almost divorced.
LimeLife: I'm sorry to hear that.
Donnie Wahlberg: That's okay! It happens...she's a good girl.
LimeLife: And you have two sons, right? (Donnie's son Xavier turns 17 March 4, and Elijah is 8.)
Donnie Wahlberg: For Xavier, I just won a guitar. I knocked out [poker superstar] Daniel Negreanu, and Slash signed it for my son's birthday next week. I'm stoked.
LimeLife: Can you talk a little about coming back with the New Kids this time around? What has the fan experience been?
Donnie Wahlberg: Better than ever. The fans are still excited and enthusiastic but much more mature. It seems like a lot of them really wanted to have some fun in their lives, and, I don't know, when you fall in love with teen idols when you're young, ultimately you're forced to grow out of it - you know, your peers, your family, everybody wants you to grow out of it and get on with it. Most teen idols just sort of fade away, and many don't come back. I think we respected our separation. We never cheapened it by reuniting the band, and all that stuff. So I think that made it special for the fans when we finally did it.
LimeLife: That's such a good point. How have you seen the fans reacting to you?
Donnie Wahlberg: I'm just amazed at how grateful so many of them are, that they can feel young and free again.
LimeLife: It's true, you guys really consumed the "tween" years for so many of us. How have females changed, in your eyes?
Donnie Wahlberg: They just dress sexier. I mean, younger women dress, like, ridiculous. But older women are the benefactors too. It seems like every few years crappy styles come out, but for the most part women nowadays adopt most of the best of the old styles and combine them into something new. I love high boots, and a lot of women wear high boots - gogo boots whatever...hot.
LimeLife: You know, your message for your fans was positivity. When you see us now, do you feel that you left your mark?
Donnie Wahlberg: You know, we left different marks on different people. I like to think that we just tried to do our best. We weren't always perfect, we made mistakes, but we were real guys, and we came from real families and real neighborhoods, and just we wanted to do our best. That's all we tried to do. I think by the reaction of the fans this time around, they got that from us. They appreciated that, and we appreciate the fans back. Because the reality is, all those little girls were just doing their best too. They were excited, they loved something, they wanted to be a part of it. And they just did what they could do to be a part of it.
Donnie Wahlberg was part of something else that was special at NAPT: it was the celeb charity poker tourney, which raised nearly $50,000 for Three Squared, an organization that collects and distributes rescued and donated food to hungry people in the Las Vegas area. Love those PokerStars superstars!
Plus we got to interview actor Jason Alexander (yes, that Jason Alexander) on women's bodies and weight loss. Such a sweetie, check him out! And, of course, our insider account of Paris Hilton's birthday bash at Tao...see, NAPT was so much more than just poker! More red carpet interviews over the next week, including Joanna Krupa and Slash's firecracker wife, Perla Ferrar Hudson. Be sure to check back...
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