When she was living her life as an 18-year-old model in Tel Aviv, a friend pushed Eden Harel to audition for MTV. That audition turned out to be a resounding success and she relocated to London soon after, beginning her journey as a host on the popular channel.
“MTV had a different power back then that it has now,” Harel says. “Everyone in Europe watched it – 160 million people. It’s crazy to think of it today,” she says.
“I was there for five years. My English wasn’t even that good and I could not read because I was not much of a student in high school … It was nice and fun. I made a ton of money and flew all over the world in private jets, but I was very grounded. All my friends were real people … I had famous friends, but only because they were amazing. Not because they were famous.”
Harel says the secret to her success has nothing to do with her, and her path was chosen for her because “that’s what the Shem (God) wanted.”
When pressed to provide other potential reasons for her international success, the Israeli star admits that she is a “bulldozer.”
“To this day I am a person who works a lot. Maybe because I grew up without much,” Harel says.
During her time on MTV, she also go to host the Miss World pageant with singer Ronan Keating, when Israeli candidate Linor Abargil won. She says that Abargil’s victory came as a surprise, although she always thought she was gorgeous.
After her contract with MTV ended, the seasoned Israeli anchor went to India and lived in a Buddhist monastery for a year before returning to Israel. There, she had reconnected with Judaism, and now considers herself religious.
“I am a person who is attracted to simplicity,” she says, while describing her time in the monastery. “Even as a child I was spiritual. I’ve always looked for meaning. I didn’t finish school or anything, but I’ve always read a lot.
“Harel married Israeli TV host Oded Menashe, and the couple are parents to six children, in addition to her son from a previous marriage.”
Aside from keeping Shabbat with her family, Harel’s perspective on fashion shifted when she became religious.
“I dress modestly. Once I didn’t understand that it’s something very internal. Obviously there is external expression, but it’s important to take notice of the internal change. I really enjoy it. I can no longer imagine myself dressed differently. It’s important to me to show that you can dress modestly and look nice.”
Still, when asked if she’s content with the way she looks, Harel admits she always wants to weigh 3-4 kilograms less than she does. Her tip for keeping her physique is drinking a lot of water.
“I drink two liters every day,” she says. “Darlings, protect the skin on your face. Put on sunscreen, because later on there are sun spots and wrinkles. Tan only your body. You’ll thank me when you’re 40.”
As for her diet, Harel does 19:5 intermittent fasting, which means she fasts for 19 hours and eats during five only.
“I’ve been doing this for over four months. Besides the fact that it maintains the body’s figure and gives you time to rest, it’s amazing. We eat way too many meals a day. We’ve always been told to eat three meals. Now, we know that it’s important to let the body rest.”
Finally, Harel says if she could go back in time, she would tell her younger self to “go with the flow. Everything will be okay. Just don’t get stuck in life.”
