Fast Confession - Lucie Borhyová: I don't like to speak definitive judgments out loud

How are you enjoying summer?

I always enjoy summer a lot, because I love summer. It's my favorite season, I love heat and warmth. It's true that this time it's different from the usual, it's unusual for us from many standpoints, also because we travel a lot. Now we spend most of our time in the Czech Republic. But that has its charm too.

I saw some pictures at the seashore on your Instagram.

We were planning to go to Spain, but considering the situation we did not fly there and changed our program. We wanted to go to the sea, so we chose the easiest option, meaning that if anything were to happen, we could just hop in the car and come back immediately.

Croatia was that option. We chose Istria, because it's probably the closest by car, so we wouldn't have to travel all the way down to Makarska, it's approximately a ten hour journey. The kids aren't that used to the long travel, because we usually fly places, so it was a bit of an adventure after a long while. Plus, we were looking at it like we'll be able to just hop in the car if anything happens and we'll be home "in a bit". In the coronavirus era you don't know what'll happen, regardless of everything changing minute to minute, and you never know when new measures might be taken during your holiday. Especially with kids it's different from travelling alone.

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Did you travel with your partner?

Everyone went, the whole family.

How long have you been employed with TV Nova?

September 5, 1999 was the first time Rey and I presented the evening news together, but I'd first come to TV Nova as an assistant presenter for the news in 1997. This year Rey and I will be celebrating our 20th anniversary on the TV News, with Nova it will be 23 years in total. For me, it's like I turned around and those 23 years had gone. It's unbelievable, I feel like I'd started yesterday. It's sad, how terribly fast time flies.

It doesn't show on you at all! These days it's admirable though, to keep one job for that long. Haven't you ever felt like trying out something different somewhere else? You must have had a lot of offers.

There were many offers, I must admit. But I'm loyal and conservative, when I like it somewhere and I'm satisfied, I don't tend to want to change anything. I'm like that with everything, my job too. I'm happy and grateful for the job that I have and I still enjoy it.

In life, I've always wanted not to have a boring job. And in the news business, it can never be boring. There's new information coming in every day, new things are happening, there's stuff happening around you all the time, so every day is completely different.

Sure, but you're not out in the field, you're always at the office...

Yes, but the coming information is always new. It's true that we're always at the office, we have an open space one. Quite many of us sit there together and there's always something to deal with, always something fun, the colleagues change sometimes, so after a certain time we're always in a new group of people, you don't get to get bored or become boring to each other.

I still present Weekend too, there's events unrelated to television on top of that, photoshoots, shooting, sometimes I even get acting offers, I've already been in a few series, I manage my non-profit, design bracelets and so on.

What's hosting outside of TV like, or acting? Is there any improv? In TV news presenting it's strictly outlined.

Yes, that's why I like live events, because I like improvising, I'm into it and I'm happy to stretch my muscles a few different ways. Of course, in series you have a certain script that you have to stick to, but the team around me was always great, so I could always adjust my lines slightly to fit me better. There's always a rehearsal before the actual shooting, where you exchange lines, and in the process they can be altered a bit, but of course the direction and meaning of the script must be kept.

Have you ever thought that TV hosting would be your gateway to acting?

When I was around 19 I went to the audition for Zdeňek Troška's fairytale "Princezna ze mlejna". It was a coincidence, my grandpa worked at a Foley-studio in Barrandov, so I'd already happened to come to the studio as a little girl. I enjoyed it and sometimes I'd even play small roles, such as scenes where kids are getting off a bus and so on. I returned after many years as a presenter, life is cyclical that way.

Back then, it was my grandpa who'd asked me if I'd like to come to an audition. I didn't get the role, but still, I've been toying around with this thought for a while now. Then I got some offers and I acted in the series "Ulice", "Dáma a Král", "Comeback" or in the movie "Dědictví aneb Kurva se neříká". As a child I'd also been in movies, but I never had a bigger role, I'd just appear in the background thanks to my grandpa. I'd go there with my mom, who'd always tell me that she didn't like waiting around for me. At a movie filming, the thing you do is mostly waiting around, really, that's the only unpleasant thing about it. That's why we stopped going, eventually. (laughs)

You and Rey have been a presenter duo for over twenty years now, that's almost like marriage at this point.

Rey always says that, that it's like marriage. He probably feels it more, because I think he's been married for the same amount of time. I haven't been married yet, so I have this TV marriage with Rey.

Do you ever argue like a married couple?

I have to say, not really. We haven't had a single fight throughout all this time. We may have had a day when we didn't necessarily like talking to each other, we weren't in the mood, but we never fought or got on each other's nerves.

That's probably special...

Rey told me once that he doesn't believe in star signs, but he'd read somewhere once that Aries, my star sign, and Leo, which is his, get along well at work. We probably wouldn't gel well in daily life, but in work we do.

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How have you been dealing with your fame over the years with TV Nova?

You see, since it was kind of gradual, you just naturally get used to it. It'd have been different if I'd been an ordinary girl one day and the next day people were shouting at me on the street. You get put on screen and for the longest time nothing happens, because it takes a while for the viewers to notice you and start noticing you on the street and recognizing you in some way.

At first I did the presenting, went out and nothing happened. Then you gradually realize that somebody's watching you, that guy looks at you and then you suddenly notice people's reaction. Weirdly enough, it was mostly being noticed by people who were with me, not myself. They were asking me if I don't mind it when everyone stares at me or yells. I learned to live with it and I don't pay mind to it anymore. I think that I live in my own bubble and don't notice these things.

Not even when you travel abroad?

It's true that I like traveling for holiday abroad to places where nobody knows you. It's an even greater feeling of freedom. In here, you feel like you're under constant surveillance. Let's say we're at the airport and everyone can see what we're drinking, where we're flying and with whom. Sure, when we see a friend, we look where they're flying too. People feel like we're a part of their life then, they want to talk or take a picture and you can't have your own space. Every time you come to a place where nobody knows you, you can relax completely.

But there are many Czechs in Croatia specifically...

Not this year, people don't travel much because of the coronavirus. The turnout was maybe 10% compared to previous years. We were at a place where we met very few Czechs, we were practically alone at the beaches. We were staying kind of away from the hotspots though, not at a tourist center or a hotel, we rented an apartment. We only met a few Czechs throughout our stay, when we went out for dinner or in the evening at the tourist towns, there, sure. They were nice, we had a chat, but at the beaches we were on our own, that was great.

How old are the kids?

Linduška is six and Luky is eleven.

They're at the age where they realize already that their mom is famous.

It's funny to watch it in children. At first they don't know, and the first thing they start to notice is when somebody comes up to you and wants to take a pic. When they are very small, they think that that's normal, everyone wanting to take pics with you. Only when they start growing up, they start realizing that it's only your family's case. Then it even started to bother them. Kids really say everything that's on their mind, for example, last year at a car exhibition, somebody came to take a picture with me and Linduška immediately responded "Again?" (laughing)

Lucas can use it to pick up girls, though...

Probably not. We don't get too into it, we just disregard it. His take is that I work on TV, but he doesn't get too into it. He probably notices that sometimes, somebody at school would tell him that they know his mom, but it's not like he brags about it by himself, not at all. We try to be invisible when we go somewhere. I take my glasses and we don't want to be the center of attention.

Do the kids know what they'd like to be yet? Such as not wanting to be famous because they don't want to take pictures with everybody?

They probably don't realize the pros and cons yet, but Linduška has the tendency to imitate me. She's a girl, and looks a lot like me on top. She likes picking up a microphone when she sees me at home getting ready to host, and I use little Lucas to read Rey's lines for me. (laughs) Linduška loves it and tries it too sometimes.

When we were talking about what she'd like to do, she didn't say TV host. But the teachers from her kindergarten told me later that when they asked the kids, Linduška said TV host. That warms up my heart, it was really nice. It made me even happier than if she'd said it to me. Luky isn't too extroverted yet, I don't see much of a tendency for performing in front of people in him.

How are you dealing with your little one going to school soon?

I'll cry about it, that's for sure. I've always cried over milestones in life, such as when the kids entered kindergarten and so on. Suddenly my tiny little girl is becoming a little lady. Those moments always move me.

Will the dad be present for it?

I don't know.

But you get along, are you functioning?

Yes, we're one big family.

Have you ever thought about having one more baby?

I'm a spontaneous type, I don't plan ahead. Whatever life and fate brings.

I've noticed that you support a charity...

I'm a patron of the neonatal department of the hospital Na Bulovce, and through my LuckyBe foundation I raise funds to help premature babies however possible. And not just them, mostly the doctors and the hospital staff, and the moms.

Aside from organizing various events, auctions or taking part in them, I've also decided to design and produce my LB products, thanks to which I'm managing to keep the help constant. LuckyBe merchandise includes jewelry - LB bracelets, pendants, clothing - T-shirts, hats, lip gloss or mugs, etc.. I'm glad people like the idea. And when they buy something at our website www.luckybe.cz, they will help those in need and get something nice for themselves at the same time.

Are you happy, Lucka?

I don't like saying that, because I don't want to jinx anything. I don't like speaking definitive judgments out loud.

Because every time I see you, you're just glowing with that big smileof yours....

My motto is, every cloud has a silver lining. I try to keep a positive mindset. It's not always possible, of course. It's a cliche, but life goes by really fast and we don't know what will happen tomorrow, it's important to enjoy it.

I'm happy when I wake up and the sun is shining, I enjoy my day even through the little things, such as going out for a good meal in the evening, or my favorite ice cream. You can enjoy life in a similar way too. Of course, everyone has a different threshold for what makes them happy. When small things make you happy, you're a happy person, in a way. That can't be learned.

Lucka, thank you for the interview.