Joelle Mardinian's new reality show 'Joelle Unfiltered' to have its premiere next week

The Dubai entrepreneur and social media star has let the cameras into to her home for a new series launching in the UAE

Joelle Mardinian with her husband Kamal and children Ella, Nathan and Bailey. The family are the subject of new reality show 'Joelle Unfiltered'. Photo: Joelle Mardinian / Instagram

She has built a successful beauty empire, amassed a social media following of more than 18 million and now, Joelle Mardinian is opening up her life for the cameras.

The Beirut-born entrepreneur, who lives in Dubai, is the star of the new MBC Shahid VIP original series Joelle Unfiltered, which follows her as she runs her successful business empire and takes care of her family, including her three children, Bailey, Ella and Nathan, alongside her husband Kamal.

Four years in the making, Joelle Unfiltered will premiere on February 14. In the show, the star opens up about a number of aspects of her life that she has never publicly spoken about, including how she adopted her son Nathan, 3, in 2018, as well as her wish to adopt another child in the future.

The series was filmed in the family’s home in Dubai, as well as in London, where eldest son Bailey, 21, is currently living and studying. Clips also show the family in the Maldives and Jordan.

The National got a preview of episode one ahead of its launch next week. “Some people think I’m too emotional, too crazy,” Mardinian, 44, says in one clip, “But why should I care what people think.”

Speaking ahead of the launch, she said: “You are going to see us for real.

“We all know the face of the person we see during the day but nobody knows what happens under their roof. I have given [the show] everything, everything was filmed.

“The most encouraging thing in my life and the thing that makes me feel that I am really doing something right is knowing that Shahid and MBC, this great association in the Arab world, has that much trust in me ... it is mind-blowing.”

Mardinian moved to Dubai from London in 2004, starting out as a make-up artist and going on to open high-end beauty salon Maison de Joelle in 2008. The brand expanded throughout the Middle East and, in 2013, was joined by cosmetic clinic Clinica Joelle, which now has outposts in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Kuwait.

Mardinian is also the founder of contact lens business EyeCandy, which launched in 2021, a process that will be featured in the show.

Describing the experience of letting the cameras into her home, she said the crew came to feel like “one big family”.

“I felt so safe and so happy,” she said. “It really felt like family.”

Joelle Unfiltered will have its premiere on MBC's Shahid VIP on February 14