Opening up about her precious little one, Jillian Michaels took over the cover of the July 2012 issue of Ladies' Home Journal magazine.
The 38-year-old personal trainer looked like the quintessential California girl in a white T-shirt, khakis, and flip-flops on the front page while dishing about her newfound role as a mother.
Highlights from Miss Michaels' interview are as follows. For more, be sure to pay a visit to Ladies' Home Journal!
On what it was about herr daughter that first grabbed her heart:
"I've been to Haiti on and off since I was 27. I met her a year ago on a trip visiting orphanages for All Blessings International, an organization I work with. I was visiting this one orphanage and the next thing I knew she jumped into my arms. She just grabbed me and clung to me and I immediately felt something. I was like, 'Oh my God, this is my daughter.' I asked people what was going on with her, and they're like, 'She's placed already, she's going to a family in Germany.' And I said, 'I don't think so, I don't think that's meant to be.' They thought I was insane. Then last October I got an e-mail from the woman who ran the orphanage that said: 'She's available, you can be her mom if you want.' Granted, it's not that easy -- you have to go through the process. But that's what happened, and I do think there's a certain amount of fate involved. Life has a way of working out the way it's meant to."
On what her daughter is like:
"Actually, she's incredibly shy. This was a very good orphanage, but my daughter had a hard time in that environment. It was overwhelming for her. But when she started to visit with me she would come alive and laugh and play. She's clever and adventurous, but it's kind of heartbreaking, because you have to understand she had been there since she was 9 or 10 months old. She's now 2 and the only time she had left the orphanage [prior to the adoption] was when I would take her to the Haitian guesthouse where I stayed nearby. So this was a kid who had never seen the ocean, a swimming pool or a dog. She had never been to a park or a zoo or on a swing set. So she was just running around the yard of this guesthouse, picking up pebbles from gravel on the road. She had never seen gravel before. Pebbles were like gems to her."
On what excites her most about motherhood:
"Being able to see the world through a young pair of eyes. Everything is new to her -- to see things from a different perspective is a gift."
On if she has any secret goals:
"When I'm 50 or 60 I want to start a nonprofit. I guess because of the adoption and learning so much about Haiti, I'd like to help come up with a way to prevent malaria. Of course, my biggest goal is to be a good parent. I'm taking time this year to bond with my daughter -- and just be a mom."
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