Of all the places you’d expect to find a television show exploring Jewish identity, TLC probably isn’t one of them.
But the cable channel recently launched a new reality series that does just that.
TLC’s new series Forbidden Love follows four couples whose biggest hurdle is religion. The two include an Amish man who left his community and has a child with his secular wife; another relationship involves a Muslim man with a conservative Catholic woman; a Pentecostal preacher’s son dating a Muslim woman; another series follows an Orthodox man, Eli, and his partner, Laurie, who was raised as a strict Catholic, gave up her faith after the early death of her father and decided to convert to Judaism after meeting and falling in love with Eli at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.
“Sometimes in life, a Jewish boy falls in love with an Italian Catholic girl,” Eli says in the series’ first episode. But as the couple’s rabbi tells Laurie in an early scene, “It’s not easy to become Jewish.” Indeed, Laurie’s journey to becoming Jewish involves not only giving up her clothes, changing her hairstyle, learning the laws of kashrut, attending classes and studying for exams, but also overcoming other unexpected challenges.
For example, in the third episode of the season, Laurie celebrates her first Hanukkah with Eli’s parents. She says the words as everyone prays. Then Laurie’s mother joins Eli and his parents around the menorah and calls, expressing her disappointment that she won’t be home for Christmas.
In another episode, Laurie expresses discomfort about wearing a necklace with a Jewish star in public, but eventually puts it on.
In a moment of lightheartedness that is surely familiar to all short Jewish men, the couple discusses Eli’s height, or rather his shortness, and how Laurie was one of the few women he had ever met who was shorter than him. “He’s about 5’10” tall,” says 36-year-old Laurie. “I’m 5’4″ tall,” replies 32-year-old Eli. “Without shoes!”
The series premiered on July 27 and will run through September 8. Keeping things secret, the network would not reveal whether Eli and Laurie are currently married or if Laurie has completed her conversion. However, a spokesperson for the network confirmed, “They are still together and very happy.”
A few days after the season’s second episode aired, the Journal caught up with Eli and Laurie — North Hollywood residents whose full names are Eli Hayempour and Laurie Palermo — to talk about their experience on the show, what message they have for other couples who experience one partner converting, and what it’s like to be suddenly thrust into the reality TV spotlight.
The following telephone interview with the “Forbidden Love” couple has been edited for clarity and space.
Jewish Journal (JJ): How did you end up on the show?
Laurie: My sister sent me a little casting call and said, “I know you guys have started the conversion process. Would you be interested in doing this?” And I looked at it and thought, “This is unique. I’ve never seen anything like this before. Maybe we should give it a try. That would be cool to document because we’re only converting once.” I thought it would be great to see our journey.
Eli: Yes, it was her idea. She told me about the show. I was like, “Yeah, I don’t think that’s the best idea.” But yeah, it was a cool experience.
JJ: What was it like for you to watch the show now that it’s airing?
Laurie: We really enjoy it. I think it’s funny. It’s really cool to just see where we started and where we’re going to end up, you know? I see that I don’t know anything at the beginning and then slowly you realize that I’ve learned and I’m gaining some knowledge. I think that’s important.
JJ: Laurie, how much did you know about Judaism, Shabbat and Jewish values before you met Eli?
Laurie: Growing up, I had a Jewish friend and she was literally the only thing I knew about Judaism, which was pierogi.
Eli: That’s not even Jewish! That’s a Russian thing, I think.
JJ: Can you tell us a little about what the conversion process was like for you?
Laurie: You know, it’s been a long process and I feel like even though I’ve learned a lot, I’m still learning something every day and I think to myself, “Oh my God, there’s so much I still have to learn!”
Eli: It’s like we’re both converting because I’m going back to my roots and it’s actually a very beautiful process.
Laurie: Hopefully we can become Jewish influencers!
Eli: I’m just trying to get a free Passover program, man!
JJ: What was the reaction of family and friends? How worried were you that you might face online hate because you were so openly Jewish on the show?
Eli: Especially in this day and age, it’s very important to embrace Judaism and be proud to be Jewish, because there’s a lot of hate out there. The last thing we need is for Jews to be afraid of being Jewish. When we started filming, October 7th hadn’t passed yet. I don’t think a war had broken out during the entire time we were filming. When it broke out, we still had some filming to do, and I just thought, “Well, now is the time to show our Judaism even more and be proud of it.” Throughout the show, I kept telling the producers, “Hey, you know, people don’t like Jews anyway.” … Is that (anti-Semitism) on steroids now? I think so. But pride in being Jewish should be on steroids too, you know?
JJ: Laurie, what are some of the positive things you have discovered during your conversion journey to Judaism?
Laurie: I found a family, a community, and a place for my spirituality because I didn’t have one before. And just a love for something I never thought I could have. I really didn’t believe there was a God before, and now I feel like he’s helped me through a lot, and I think that’s changed everything.
“I gained a family, a community and a place for my spirituality because I didn’t have one before. And just a love for something I never thought I could have.” – Laurie
JJ: What advice would you give to couples going through something similar, where one partner is of one faith and the other is of another, and who are discussing the conversion process?
Laurie: You can’t be half-hearted. Do the work. If you’re going to do it, you have to do it with full commitment. And I think you shouldn’t just do it for your partner. You should do it because you want to, because otherwise you’ll resent them. So you should want to do it, not just for love.
“Forbidden Love” airs Sundays on TLC. For more information, visit tlc.com/shows/forbidden-love.
