I had a very sound and respectful conversation with her, and you know, I think she took it fairly well. I just basically said, you know what, like I want more for you. I was my mom's assistant, her personal shopper. I was just a little bit of everything. And that's what Onmi became for me, which is a good thing because she helped me out so much, but with time it became a not so good thing. It's kind of
like a breakup. You guys, like you're used to someone who's in your life and helps you so much, and then all of a sudden they're not there. Ola Olan, Welcome to this week's episode of Cheeky's and Chill. If you haven't stepped outside today yet, be sure to do that. It's so important to get some sunshine and fresh air every single day. Get that vitamin day. I know a lot of us are still working from home, so make sure you're taking a few minutes out of your date
for yourself. Anyways, with that being said, I wanted to hop on the mic today to talk about some changes that have happened on my team. I haven't really talked about this too much publicly, so I wanted to take some time to talk about it today here in my safe place. So let's get started. This is Cheeky's and Chow. Okay.
So most of you know that Noah Mi Valdivia or Omi or Homie or my lovely or Pepper because I call her so many different things has been my personal assistant for almost ten years and she's been great and we have become very close. But we recently just parted ways and she's no longer working for me. So I'll get into those details in a second, but I want to give you guys a little bit of background first, and just for the record, everything is good between us, Okay.
That's why it was so important that I got on the mic and spoke to you guys one on one because I was on live on TikTok the other day and on Instagram and people were already asking, is only
not working with you? We haven't seen her around, and I just thought it was important because Omi has been on the podcast before and we talked about our experience and her experience with being my assistant, and I just thought that out of respect to her, out of respect to myself, our history, and all of my listeners, I just wanted to set the record straight. Sony who I met Omi in two thousand and nine or ten something
like that. She went to one of my events. She was a huge fan of my mom's and she became a fan of mine through the reality show that I was doing, Cheeky's and Roxy, and we met at a meet and greet and we became like cool, like on Twitter. We would tweet each other, you know, and we were supposed to go hiking, which we never went hiking. Maybe we'll go hiking now, I don't know, but we were supposed to go hiking. That's how it kind of all started. Hey, I go hiking here, maybe you can come with me
because I used to love hiking. Well I love hiking, but back then, you know. So anyways, then, you know, fast forward to twenty twelve, which was when my mom passed. And then in twenty thirteen, I think and I just started talking a little bit more and it kind of just happened organically where I was like, hey, can you
help me a little bit with social media? And like little by little it just turned out or she was like my assistant, you know, And according to her, I didn't give her the chance to say no, it was kind of like, Okay, you're gonna be my assistant. So the thing is that she was going to college. I think she had stopped going to college. It wasn't like really her thing. She was working I think at Smart and Final, and she started working with me, and she
was just like, you know, I like doing this. I think I'm just gonna quit my job and work with you. I don't really remember the details, you guys, because I was like almost ten years ago, but it just happened very like organically, and it wasn't like she woke up one day and she's like, I want to be an assistant, or she knew that that's what she wanted to do. It just happened, and I basically taught her everything that I knew because I started as an assistant. I was
my mom's assistant, her personal shop er. I was just a little bit of everything. And that's kind of like what Omi became for me, which is a good thing because she helped me out so much in the beginning of my career, but all so with time it became a not so good thing because boundaries were blurred and because I was also growing as an employer, as an artist, and I think that I should have set certain boundaries
between an employee and an employer, and I don't. That's why I'm like, Okay, it was bound to happen, and not because it was a bad thing. It was just just too much. I don't even know how to explain it, because nothing specifically happened to bring us to this point. I just think it was a series of things and years and me honestly caring so much about her as a person that I want more for her, if that
makes sense, And we'll get to that. But you know, Omi has been a huge part of my life, a huge part of my career as a singer, even of my family. She's really good friends with my sister Jenica, and you know, I've been there with her through her mom's passing, and I basically have raised her. She always tells me, she's like, you know, you raise me. I learned so much or like a sister like a mother to me, because you know, I taught her how to say please and thank you and manners and be nice
and be polite. So she's I think, very grateful with me, and I'm also very grateful with her because she gave me the opportunity as a boss. Sometimes make mistakes and I've learned so much from that experience, and it was a very hard decision to get to this point. But I'm very grateful, and like I told her, I'm very grateful for everything you've done. I appreciate you very much.
I don't want there to be any bad blood. It's kind of more like certain things did happen that were frustrating me, and I didn't want to feel frustrated or irritated with her. I just felt like it wasn't fair, and I found myself feeling that way way too often. And she's also been through so much the past couple of years that I think we just grew. She grew up, she matured, I obviously did as well, and it just
so happened to be where it was clashing. I think unintentionally, it just wasn't fitting anymore, just wasn't feeling I think good on both sides, and I care about her so much as a human being that I didn't want to hurt her feelings or to be rude to her in any way. And I had been praying about this decision for a while, and I just said, look, God, I feel this help me and my meditation. I was like, okay, give me like certain signs talk to me, and I
got those signs. I had a very sound and respectful conversation with her, and you know, I think she took it fairly well. And I just basically said, you know what, like I want more for you. Maybe you could start a business, Like you're a smart girl, and I'm always going to be here for you, and I just kind of want to see you fly. It's kind of like one of my siblings, or you know, when my mom with me was like, Hey, I love you, but you got to stop working for me and you have to
stop living here. And it's a shocker and it's hard and you're like damn, but it helps you grow into the person you're meant to become. And I just thought that it was the best decision, and I think that she kind of felt it as well but didn't know how to verbalize it. Maybe it has been very hard. It's been about a month, you guys, but we still communicate.
She has helped me a lot with like making the transition, and I just felt that it was important for her peace of mind as well, because there are people out there that are going to want to make up stories and speculate and all this stuff, and I just don't want any drama. Like I'm so over that I want to be the one to just let it be known.
There's no need to get into details. But I do feel that it's important that you guys know that we're fine, that I wish her the absolute best, that we're still in communication, that she's still around, she's still my sister's really good friend of her best friends, and I think it was just time. Like I said, it has been tough for me because I also was very dependent on her, like co dependent. I think I think we were kind of codependent on each other, and that's not necessarily a
good thing. Like I want to grow and as an individual, as an artist in every single way, and what makes me happy is taking care of my things and having a little bit more I guess control for the lack of a better word, just to really know what's going on in my infrastructure and like be hands on with everything.
And I think because I depended so much on her and she was with me through some very tough times, I left a lot of things in her hands and I felt like I was losing a little bit of control in my personal life and in my personal space that I'm like, Okay, I think it's time for me to really do things differently this time. And yes, I have found someone. I was interviewing two people, almost three.
The third person kind of fell through. The other person that I was interviewing was great, but I actually recommended her to another friend of mine who needed an assistant. And I feel a lot of peace with the person that is gonna start working with me, So you guys will get to know her a little later. And I don't feel like it's necessary to say anyone's name, but I have and I am starting to work with someone else.
But anyways, I feel like so many new things have happened like in this past few weeks, and this is one of them. So I am excited to see what the future holds for me and every way, and I'm excited to grow and to become better. And you know, it's it's kind of like a breakup, you guys, like you you know what I mean? Yeah, Like, it's like you feel like you're used to someone who's in your life and helps you so much every single day, and
then all of a sudden they're not there. The good thing is like her and I have good communication and if I need something, like you know, I told her, I was like, I just don't like make it as easy as possible for me, and same here, you know, because I'm gonna take care of her. I just be like, oh, you know, I'm letting you go, and that's it. Like, no, I'm gonna take care of her. I want her to be good and I'm excited to see what the future
holds for her. And I can honestly say that I feel like I'm a big part of her growth as now a woman. She's thirty years old and I want to see what she does. And like I told her, I'm always going to be here to help her and to guide her in any way that I possibly can, because I'm grateful and I'm grateful for this moment as well. Changes aren't always the most comfortable, you guys, But that's when I feel like we grow the most, is when we make changes and we step out of our comfort zone.
And I think that's what I had to do. I meditated on it, and I feel peace with my decision, you know enough to speak to you guys about it. And let you guys know what's happening. So, yeah, guys, that's what's going on. And I wanted to share this new beginning with you guys. And well before we go, I do have a quote for you guys. The quote is never be afraid to start over again. New beginnings sometimes bring the best changes to your life. That that was a good one for the topic. And thank you
guys for listening to this week's episode. We have a lot of really interesting guests and topics coming up, so look out for those. I love you all and I'm so grateful for each and every single one of my listeners. Thank you. That's you much. Do you need advice on love, relationships, health emails? And I'm so excited to share with you that my Cheekies and Chill podcast will have an extra episode drop each week. I'll be answering all your questions.
Just leave me a voice message person a Monday. All you have to do is go to speak pipe dot com, slash Cheekys and Chill Podcast and record your questions. I can't wait to hear from you. This is a production
of iHeart Radio and the Michael Dura Podcast Network. Follow us on Instagram at Michael Doura podcasts and follow me Cheeky's That's c h i q u i s. For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast, and check us out on YouTube