At 54, Marie-Claude Barrette admits that she is in a wonderful phase of her life in which optimism and balance come together. “I feel in my place and in control,” says the presenter, who has just launched MarieClub, her new online wellbeing platform.
If she were on stage, explains Marie-Claude Barrette, she would be exactly on her X right now.
An unexpected success
“For some time now I’ve realized that it’s possible that my creativity on television won’t be restricted like it used to be. With the podcast and the new project it gave me wings. We fly over many unknown areas and go there together with my team, which I love. It feels good to feel a tailwind,” explains the moderator of Open your game.
In this podcast, which airs free online (“and will always be free,” she promises), she welcomes Quebec artists for one-on-one conversations with no time restrictions. Using personalized Tarot-style question cards, she manages to further increase the trust of guests who speak very honestly.
The success of her podcast came as a complete surprise and filled the presenter with pride, who had painfully received the news of the end of her television contract last February after 14 years on air. His emotional announcement on his Facebook page earned him 21,000 likes and 5,300 comments.
Why then does she manage to get artists to speak out on issues they have never addressed publicly?
“Because I listen to them. To confide, you have to feel heard. I have no bad intentions, just a desire to understand,” explains the woman, who says that she puts people at the center of her actions.
Courtesy of Bertrand Exertier
The Marie Club
What Marie-Claude Barrette missed most since leaving television was the dialogue with the public, which she enjoyed bringing into contact with experts to discuss various personal or social issues.
That’s why she created the MarieClub, which she sees as a community and place of exchange in which she can continue to be “this transmission belt between the public and the experts”. A paid platform, far from the anger that is increasingly present on social networks, and a space of discovery and learning whose tools can help subscribers live better.
“I want us to help each other and free people from loneliness. The MarieClub is really me. “I also think that as we get older we have more time for kindness and I wanted it to be a caring place,” she explains.
She surrounded herself with fellow actresses (Sophie Prégent, Guylaine Tremblay and Maude Guérin) to host her reading club, and also offered a personal logbook, informative capsules and access to the Open Your Game podcast episode a week before release.
“I think being a public figure is interesting if you use it in a positive way. I wanted to get back in touch with people and pick up the thread of communication,” she admits.
Highly motivated, she confirms that she and her team are planning a second and third phase of this “continuous learning project”. She also explains that she has great ambitions for her podcast.
“It could travel easily. I want to take it further and am ready to explore new markets,” she says.
– To learn more about MarieClub, visit https://www.marie-claude.com/