Bret Michaels is one of the most talked about celebrities around right now and VH1 is capitalizing on that with the premiere of a new reality series entitled Life As I Know It. The first episode was a half-hour sneak peek into Michaels' family life and relationship with his on again/off again girlfriend, Kristi Gibson. Prior to this show, Michaels did three seasons of the popular Rock of Love, which showed his dating life and had beautiful women competing for his affection.
Fans Will See Bret Michaels at Home With His Daughters
With Life As I Know It, Michaels takes a completely different turn, offering up a look at his home life and the interaction he has with his two daughters, nine-year old Raine and four-year old Jorja. Raine has gotten press recently during Michaels' stint on Celebrity Apprentice, which showed him receiving news that she had been diagnosed a borderline diabetic. Michaels is a life-long Type 1 diabetic, and has since started a camp for diabetic children.
The focus on Michaels' relationship with Gibson is the biggest change to VH1 viewers who are used to seeing Michaels partying it up with different ladies. Michaels and Gibson have been on and off since 1993, and Michaels explains in the opening credits of Life As I Know It that the last time it was completely "off" for good, he decided to do the show Rock of Love in 2007.
Bret Michaels is Shown With His Girlfriend Kristi Gibson
The first episode showed Michaels coming home exhausted from the road, yet giving Gibson a break from motherhood so she could spend time with one of her girlfriends. Gibson is shown confessing to her friend that she is lonely and would like more from the relationship with Michaels.
She plans to discuss it with him during dinner that evening, but as luck would have it he is exhausted from traveling and his day with the kids. He falls asleep on the couch, and the next day he is gone to another gig. Gibson admits that his constant travel has been a sore spot in their relationship.
Bret Michaels Shows a New Look at His Life as Family Man
Michaels is shown in several scenes playing with his daughters, making them breakfast and taking them to a popular sport park. While with them he stops and takes pictures with fans, but his focus is always on his girls. At one point he is even playing in a toy castle with his daughter as they have a pretend tea party.
Fans have grown with Michaels over the years, following him from his rock star days as lead singer of the still popular Poison, his stint as a reality TV star in Rock of Love, and his recent win as the latest Celebrity Apprentice. He has also appeared on a celebrity version of Don't Forget the Lyrics, where he raised $100,000 for diabetes.
In the last month and a half, he had an emergency appendectomy, brain hemorrhage, and warning stroke. Doctors have since discovered a hole in his heart. Despite this, Michaels made a surprise appearance on American Idol just days after appearing in the live Celebrity Apprentice finale. Production of Life As I Know It is expected to resume when Michaels' health has improved. VH1 has indicated a tentative start date for the show for Fall 2010.
Cherie Burbach - Cherie Burbach writes about dating, relationships, health, sports, and lifestyle. She's the author of eleven books and ebooks.
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