Comedian and radio host Jennifer Zamparelli reveals the secrets of her success
Jennifer Zamparelli wants to talk about sex. Specifically, she wants to talk about why we’re not having more high-quality activity in the bedroom.
As the face of a new tongue-in-cheek campaign for Durex, Jennifer’s got her placards in place for Orgasms For All, a fun crusade with a serious message.
The condom manufacturer says research it conducted found that 22% of women say they never orgasm through sex.
By contrast, almost two-thirds of men said they were confident their partner was reaching orgasm at least 75% of the time.
It’s clear some couples aren’t talking about what goes on between them in the bedroom.
“I saw the statistics and I was actually quite surprised by the numbers, and how little women are finding their happy place, let’s say, getting to orgasm in the bedroom,” says the former Ms Maguire.
“I was thinking: ‘Jaysus Christ, it’s a huge inequality’. That’s not to say that men are doing anything wrong.
“We’re not having the right conversation. We’re not having any conversation!” said the actress and presenter with typical candour.
“The biggest surprise for me was the amount of men (62%) who are confident their partners are reaching orgasm. They think everything is fine, there’s a bit of a discrepancy there in itself.
“It’s unfair on men as well — they don’t know what’s going on, because we’re not telling them.
“If you’re having a good time in the bedroom, they’ll have an even better one, so you’re benefiting them in the long run.
“Give your fella, your partner, a little bit more credit, because they want you to be happy. It’s about being frank. Gone are the days when we’re giving out about the Lovers’ Guide being on The Late Late Show. Those days are gone.”
Being frank is part of Jennifer’s DNA, and something that has served her well throughout her life — even when it’s occasionally landed her in trouble.
And she admits to being initially bemused when she was asked to get onboard the campaign.
“I was like: ‘Do they think I talk about riding a lot on my radio show?’ Maybe I do!
“I think one thing people know me for is being frank and open, especially on radio.
“I try not to censor myself and good or bad I try to say how I feel. It’s gotten me into trouble in the past and it’s gotten me where I am to a certain extent.”
It’s an attitude that transformed her overnight from a successful sales executive to a reality TV star when she appeared on The Apprentice in 2008.
The UK show was at the height of its success and the biggest thing on TV.
A desire to work for Alan Sugar and to absorb some of his business acumens spurred her to compete for the title.
But by the time she was fired after the seventh task, she was relieved to be done.
Her upfront nature led to her being dubbed ‘The Ice Maiden’ of the show, which must have been strange when she saw the edited series.
“Oh, that was scary,” she recalls.
“I was unaware during filming, but I was aware of going into a shell. Eight and a half million people saw me get fired.
“I wasn’t offended by it. I think it’s harder for your parents to read stuff, to see stuff, and go: ‘That’s not her!’
“You put yourself in that situation, you have to be able for it.
“You have to let it go because it can consume you, it can be a dangerous thing.
“And we’re all open to it now with social media.
“So you need to get a thick skin and ignore the bullshit, really.”
By the time The Apprentice made the then-27-year-old a star, she was living in London, forging a successful career in marketing, but a little bit bored with her career path in life.
Few are aware of it, but Jennifer had studied drama when she was young and had always harboured ambitions of showing her creative side.
But in an industry where you’re perceived as businesslike or artistic, but never both, making the move into TV and radio was not easy.
“I had my own theatre company in Bristol, that’s how I met my husband [actor and stunt performer Lauterio Zamparelli].
“Since I was 19-20 I was working for myself, working in sales. After years of this you do get a bit all sold out.
“It is nice to switch that off and go work in a creative environment, which is what I’m doing at the moment, and which is a lot less stressful,” she says.
“It took a long time, it took seven series of Republic of Telly. It was full circle, because I started off doing drama and theatre, wanted to do it as a career, but I couldn’t afford it and started working in sales.
“I think you have to be a good business person to work in TV and radio, if you want to survive,” she observes.
After The Apprentice she moved back to Dublin and ran a successful make-over and photography business, but when the opportunity to work in radio arose, she decided to make the leap.
“I gave up a business when I got the radio show because I physically couldn’t split myself in two. It’s not the same if you’re not there in any business, so I had to make a choice.”
She’s now been co-hosting 2FM’s Breakfast Republic with Bernard O’Shea and Keith Walsh for four years and volunteers that they had a rocky start.
“It was very difficult. We got a lot of abuse, I suppose, and the criticism was hard to read, to listen to. We knew it ourselves, but we didn’t have the time to be brilliant.
"People were listening to us gel as time went on. You can’t be fainthearted — you can’t listen to the good and you can’t listen to the bad in this business. That’s just the nature of live radio.”
It’s been a rewarding time in her life personally as well as professionally, with her marriage to Lau, who is British-born but of Italian descent, and the birth of their daughter.
Her eyes light up at the mention of her husband and Florence, who turned two in the days before we meet.
“He’s a proper actor, he trained in London for four years, and lived there for a while, and then I dragged him over to Dublin.
“He never wants to go back, he loves Ireland so much. He’s an actor and he works in stunts as well. We’re really happy with our family and delighted to have had Florence.
“Things are really good. I’m really lucky to have him, he’s very calming and very grounding. As long as we’re ok, and our families are ok, that’s all that really matters.
"When you have a kid, you do get a different perspective on life really. You spend less time worrying about bullshit, and less (time being) self-absorbed, I suppose. You tend to look at the bigger picture more often.”
She went back on air when Florence was just ten weeks old (“I still had leaky boobs!”), partly because the breakfast show hours were maternity friendly and partly because of the realities of being self-employed.
Like many, she was overwhelmed by parenthood and initially struggled with the feelings of guilt it brought her.
“It was impossible to get my head around. It messed with my head. It made me think about leaving my job and to start baking! And just live in the country.
“Nobody prepares you for that guilt, but then you kind of learn to manage it. Having the conversation with other mothers, and realising this is normal.
“It’s a huge shift in gear, and it’s getting used to it, and remembering: ‘I’m still myself, I haven’t changed as a person.’”
Five AM rises for breakfast radio are a daily part of life and the hours work for her.
“In the summer it’s really hard because you’re closing the curtains when all the kids are still playing on the road, and you’re going to bed.
“But I’m a morning person, and it suits me now because I’m a mother.”
Another series of Bridget and Eamon is in the works, and she’s also writing a new sitcom with the same creative team.
If the work dries up, she says, she has a back-up plan.
“If things went belly up in the morning I’d always go back to running a business,” she says.
You get the sense that’s not happening anytime soon.
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