She Worked As A Nanny For A Rich Family That Wanted Her To Run And Hide Whenever They Were Around
For over a decade, Elizabeth (@bbsmallsmb) was a high-profile nanny in Hollywood, and throughout her career, she has seen it all.
One time, she was interviewing with a new family who was extremely wealthy. They owned several businesses and a famous sports team.
They also had a large estate and a household staff to match. Their kids were a little older, so she wouldn’t have to care for them as much.
Overall, her title would be the household manager. During the interview, the woman Elizabeth would be replacing wanted to go over some of the rules for household staff.
The most important rule of all was that the household staff were not allowed to be seen by the family. They wanted to live as normal lives as possible, and that included having the household staff stay out of their field of vision. If they were spotted doing their jobs, they would potentially be fired.
Elizabeth was expected to run out of whatever room she was in whenever she heard any of the family members approaching.
However, this usually was not an option since the rooms were so large that you wouldn’t be able to hear footsteps until they were already close by.
If you couldn’t leave the room, you had to make yourself invisible. For example, you could hide behind a curtain, but if there wasn’t enough time, you could throw a blanket over yourself and hide under a table while curled up in the fetal position.
Sometimes, the family would walk into the room and sit down for an hour or two. During that time, you would not be allowed to move a muscle.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
The position of household manager also required traveling with the family for one month per year on their superyacht. There would be plenty of downtime, but she would be forced to stay in her room the whole time.
In the end, Elizabeth turned down the job, saying that she didn’t think it would be the best fit for her. The interviewer seemed genuinely surprised, but Elizabeth was not willing to work for a family that did not treat their staff with basic human decency.
Several people who worked for the wealthy detailed how well they were treated by them, contrasting greatly to the family that Elizabeth described.
“I was a personal trainer for Martha Stewart. She always had the staff bring me the same green juice she had every morning at our session. Treated me SO well,” wrote one person.
“My friend was a chef for the Kraft family. They bought him a home on Martha’s Vineyard when he retired,” stated another.
“I know a lady who nannied for the CEO of a cereal brand. When he passed away, he left her millions,” commented a third.
More About:Human Interest