Jeff Lewisand his former housekeeper Zoila Chavez were back together on Saturday, to celebrate the third birthday of Lewis’ daughter,Monroe Christine.
TheFlipping Outstar, 49, revealed the news on Monday’s episode of his SiriusXM showJeff LewisLive, explaining that Chavez arrived at his home for the small birthday gathering “at 8 a.m. and was there ’til 5 p.m.”
“She was there the entire day,” he said. “It was so fun.”
Just days earlier, Lewis had told his listeners that he was hoping to see Chavez again, after revealing that he hadhired Chavez’s sisterto work for him.
Their reunion, it turns out, was long overdue. Saturday marked the first time Lewis had seen Chavez, 69, in over a year, he said.
Chavez had worked for Lewis for 18 years before retiring back in 2017. She now splits her time evenly between her native Nicaragua and Los Angeles, where her daughter lives.
Kelsey McNeal/Bravo/Getty
Though it had been a bit since they had seen one another, it appears Lewis and Chavez picked up right where they left off.
He told stories of their day together, and the hilarious quips Chavez made throughout — jokes that will feel familiar toFlipping Outfans, who grew to love the dynamic between the two over the course of the Bravo show’s 11-season run.
At one point, Chavez joined Lewis and Monroe at the Peppa Pig bouncy house he had rented for her big day.
“I was reading all the rules. Like, ‘You have to take off your shoes, you can’t wear jewelry,’ ” Lewis recalled. “And it said, ‘No medical conditions.’ So I’m like, ‘Zoila, no medical conditions.’ She’s like, ‘Oh, too bad, I’m pregnant.’ ”
Another LOL-moment came when Lewis caught Chavez texting. “I was like, ‘Are you sexting?’ And she said, ‘Yeah, I’ve got a date tonight, I’m sending him pictures right now,’ ” Lewis remembered.
“I just forgot how funny she is,” he added. “I forgot why I love this woman so much. She’s too fun.”
PEOPLE exclusively reported that Chavez had retired from working with Lewis back in August 2017.
“It’s been kind of rough,” Lewis said at the time. “I’m happy for her new life, but of course we were sad over here and we miss her.”
Chavez’s absence was felt even more at the time because Monroe was just 9 months old.
“Physically, after doing that kind of work for all of these years, it really takes its toll,” Lewis continued. “She’s 68 years old. She looks 10 years younger, because I gave her all that plastic surgery. But she’s tired and she’s ready to go.”
He and Chavez have certainly had their ups and downs over the seasons she spent working with him onFlipping Out.
Not afraid to push back from time to time, Chavez’s sassy and stubborn attitude often landed her on the receiving end of Lewis’ famously short temper. In a season 9 episode, she was almost fired after walking out and refusing to return right as Lewis was preparing to leave for an important business trip.
“You better think real carefully about what you’re doing right now because there’ll be no going back,” Lewis warned her in a tense voicemail. “And I promise you—there’ll be no going back.”
Of course, the duo made up and Chavez returned to the household to work part-time two days a week. Viewers got to see her road to retirement throughout season 10 before her departure.
Last October, Lewis said that he and Chavez were still in touch.
“I just texted her this weekend,” he said onWatch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. “In fact, I think we’re gonna have dinner pretty soon.”
Sadly, Chavez seems to have lost touch with former costar Jenni Pulos, who had afriendship-ending falling outwith Lewis duringFlipping Out‘s 11th season.
“We haven’t really spoken, no,” Pulos, 46, said in November, during her own visit to theWWHLclubhouse. “But Te amo, Zoila. Te amo always.”
John Tsiavis/Bravo
Meanwhile, elsewhere on Thursday’sJeff LewisLive, Lewis gave an update about his possible return to television.
“I have talked to a couple of different networks about either a doc-series or a more formatted design show,” Lewis said. “I think when the right show with the right person comes, we’ll hopefully put something together.”
Until then, he’s staying busy at SiriusXM. “I’m happy doing radio,” he said.
Jeff LewisLiveairs weekdays (12 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy (Ch. 102).
source: people.com
