At the end of the first season of My Unorthodox Life, the reality show’s star Julia Haart sits down at the head of her family dinner and makes a toast. “I think that we are a very rare and usual group of people,” she says, looking out a table of her children, her ex-husband, his new girlfriend, and her colleague-turned-best-friend. “The relationships we’ve formed have withstood the test of religion, location, disagreement, and look at where we are. We’re sitting here connected and united, even though we are so very different.”
The speech encapsulates so much of what the first season of My Unorthodox Life set out to convey: how Haart’s decision to leave her ultra-Orthodox Jewish community at the age of 42 and enter the secular world, eventually rising to the role of CEO of Elite World Group, has affected her career, her family, and her perspective on the world. Now it’s been confirmed that the Haart clan is returning for a second season, which will most likely include all the ritzy fun of the first nine episodes (think: trips to Paris Fashion Week, designer clothes, yacht parties) as well as more discussions around religion, feminism, and personal freedom. Here, everything we know about season 2 so far.
Season 2 of My Unorthodox Life will feature all the Fs.
This September, Haart went on The Ellen Show to share the exciting news that My Unorthodox Life has officially been renewed for another season. Netflix also announced, via a press release, that season 2 will “feature more fashion, family, female empowerment, faith, fabulousness, and of course, Haart.” No release date has been set, but since the first season came out this past summer, it’s possible the second season is coming summer 2022.
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Most of your favorite cast members should return.
Based on Netflix’s press release, it seems safe to assume the entire family will be returning for season 2, including Haart’s eldest daughter, social media influencer Batsheva; Haart’s eldest son, Shlomo, who we last saw dating and preparing to go to law school; Haart’s youngest daughter, Miriam, who’s studying software engineering at Stanford; and Haart’s youngest son, Aron, who still lives part time in the ultra-Orthodox community she moved away from. Season 2 will also, most likely, see the return of Silvio, Haart’s husband, and Robert Brotherton, the COO at Elite World Group and Haart’s right-hand man.
However, it’s still unclear whether we will see Ben Weinstein, Batsheva’s husband, in the upcoming season. Their relationship was a key part of season 1, showing how the two have grown since Haart left the community in which the couple met and married. But this November, Weinstein and Batsheva announced they have separated.
The couple posted a note on their Instagram Stories, which read: “We have so much love and respect for each other but have realized that it is time to take some space to ensure that each of us live the most joyous, fulfilling lives possible. There are no secrets nor salacious events to blame. We are just two best friends who met at a very young age and have grown over the past 9 years each in our own way.” Weinstein also posted a solo Instagram photo of himself with the caption, “‘Officially not-famous.’” It remains to be seen if their split will be part of the show.
After the show aired, it garnered criticism for its depiction of Orthodox Jewish life. All that could be addressed in season 2.
After season 1 of My Unorthodox Life aired, a number of Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox women came forward to criticize Haart’s message that women in these communities are oppressed and expected to exist solely as wives and mothers. In an article about the controversy, the New York Times reported that Haart “agreed to address the debate over her show in an in-person interview if it could be filmed as part of her show.” However, the Times declined the agreement, and Haart and the newspaper were not able “to agree on an alternative.”
In a statement, she told the Times, “My sole purpose in sharing my personal story is to raise awareness about an unquestionably repressive society where women are denied the same opportunities as men, which is why my upcoming book and season 2 of my show will continue to document my personal experience that I hope will allow other women to insist on the precious right to freedom.”
It’s still possible that the topic could be covered in season 2, as Haart has discussed the issue in a number of interviews after the show’s release. Asked how she navigates these conversations during a time of rising anti-Semitism, she told ELLE.com: “My issue is that no man, no country, no philosophy, and no religion should tell women who they are supposed to be and what they’re supposed to be doing, otherwise they’re sinners and bad. This isn’t about God. This certainly isn’t about Judaism. This is solely and utterly about fundamentalism.”
Haart’s memoir is also coming soon.
If you need more Haart in your life and can’t wait for the second season to come out, there’s some good news: Her memoir, Brazen: My Unorthodox Journey from Long Sleeves to Lingerie, which also occupies a significant story line in the television show, will be out March 2022 and is now available for pre-order. According to the book’s publisher, the memoir will explore Haart’s meteoric career as well as her former “double life,” where she secretly gathered fashion magazines, sketched clothing designs, and started selling life insurance as she prepared to leave her community.
Watch My Unorthodox Life on Netflix.
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