The View’s Sunny Hostin has spoken about her “tough” childhood growing up in project houses in the Bronx with no heat or hot water.
Sunny, 54, has made no secret of the fact that she grew up poor in a fifth-floor house with her parents Rosa and William.
But the lawyer and TV presenter has revealed more about her younger years, telling Paolo Presta that she knew she wanted to break the cycle and “get out of that situation” after witnessing her mother “suffering”.
When asked what her younger self would tell her now, she said: “It’s getting so much better. “Those were actually tough times.”
The View’s Sunny Hostin has spoken about how “tough” it was growing up in project housing in the Bronx, New York City
The 54-year-old admitted she watched her mother Rosa (pictured) “suffer” as a child.
Sunny said her father William (left) was “strong” even though they lived in a house without heat or hot water.
“This is in front of Morris Avenue, a rental house before we could move forward with the projects,” she said over a photo of her old house.
Speaking about why she was determined to better herself, she continued: “There’s no way that would be the right cycle for my kids.” And I wanted to get my mom out of it too. My mother suffered… my father was strong, but my mother suffered. We all wanted to get out of this situation.’
The View host confirmed that her “nice” mother now lives in Purchase, New York with her and her husband Emmanuel and their two children.
Elsewhere, Sunny also opened up about how she “gained confidence in hosting” and revealed that being told by a CNN producer that she wasn’t good enough to host her own show left her unsettled.
“Not only was I told that I would never be able to host my own show, I was also used to auditioning other people for the show I wanted to host,” Sunny told Paolo.
“And I did it for the money. I have two kids in school, I have a husband who, even though he’s a surgeon, likes to do a lot of charity work, which is a great thing… and I just kept doing it, every time “I did it.” , it would destroy my self-confidence.”
When Paolo described Sunny on The View as “so confident,” she replied, “People confuse confidence with arrogance.” Actually, I’m the least arrogant person you’ll meet because I still have those insecurities.
“It deserves trust.” I’m only confident when I’m talking about the law or the love I have for my children and my husband, I’m confident… always. I am confident in my faith, I am confident that all people are created equal and are meant to be treated with humanity.
The TV star confirmed that her “nice” mother Rosa lives with her in Purchase, New York
Sunny pictured with Whoopi Goldberg, Abby Huntsman, Bill Geddie, Joy Behar and Meghan McCain in 2019
In an interview with Paolo Presta, the mother of two spoke about her life and career
“I’m confident in all of these things and it shows. Other things… I’m not arrogant at all, it’s just the confidence I’ve gained through life experience.”
Sunny also took the opportunity to pay tribute to The View co-creator Bill Geddie, who died in July, by giving him advice that she would give to her younger self.
“I would give Sunny the advice that Bill Geddie gave me after I kind of messed up my first audition,” she said. “He was like, ‘You watched the show like a tennis match, you weren’t on the show, that’s not who I’m auditioning, lean into it, you can do it.’
“And my advice would be, ‘Lean into everything,’ and you see that every day. Sometimes I lean in too far and then think, “Oh man, let’s see what Instagram thinks!” And our poor PR person is usually like, “Oh God!”
“But I lean in and I would tell her to do that, to be authentically herself and be authentic. Sunny leans forward. For me there’s really no gray area, I’m trying to get there, I’m much more of a black or white person, that’s right, that’s wrong.’
Since 2012, Sunny was a regular guest on The View before landing a permanent role as co-host for the show’s twentieth season in September 2016.
The full interview with Sunny Hostin about “A Spoonful Of Paolo” is now available to watch on YouTube.