As a single mother who’s in the midst of expanding her business empire, Jana Webb will make you rethink your idea of a housewife. At a young age, Jana founded and created Joga, a unique athletic based style of yoga that’s found clients in celebrities, and professional athletes throughout the NBA, CFL, NFL, and NHL (just to name a few). While Jana calls The Beaches of Toronto home, she’s often jet-setting around the world to train and spread the word about Joga.
No stranger to cameras, Jana’s made appearances all over Canada’s top daytime shows to flex her expertise, but now she’s opening up a whole different part of her life. From the drama to her dating life, we had a chance to sit down the boss herself to find out what’s in store this season on The Real Housewives of Toronto, and exactly what it takes to get on to Jana’s infamous roster.
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What does it feel like officially being a housewife?
It’s exciting. There’s some nerves because you don’t know how your character is going to unfold so there’s definitely some nervousness there. But in saying that – accountability. You just have to be accountable for everything that you do and say.
There’s times where we’ll see a housewife blame an edit, will you be that person?
Oh 100%! [Laughs] My instincts will definitely be like ‘I said that, but it wasn’t in that context.’ Of course, but that’s human instinct, right? It’s to protect yourself.
There’s a line on the show where you say something about how your mom asked you, ‘How are you going to be a housewife when you don’t cook, clean, and aren’t married?’. How does it feel to be on the show, now doing it as a single mom?
It feels awesome. My mom and dad were the first people that reacted. When they said ‘we’re so proud of you’, I was like ‘nothing else matters now.’ Now I feel with the episodes coming out, as long as my mom and dad are proud, that’s all that matters to me.
Was it important for you to showcase that you’re not only a single mom, but you’re also running this Joga empire?
It’s important because I think people will look at my social feeds and be like ‘oh my god, that woman is like Wonder Woman.’ And that’s just not attainable, that’s not achievable, and that’s not true. Even Wonder Woman has adversities and challenges, and doing all of this as a single mom… it’s hard. A lot of the times we just show the shiny stuff because that’s what the consumer likes to see, but definitely there’s ebbs and flows. And the point of showing that is definitely to inspire other women to get out of their comfort zone.
Joga has really taken off now, how did that all get started?
I was actually in a car accident many years ago that got me into yoga. I was in school in Toronto, and it was my singing teacher who said I should try yoga to rehab because I had a bunch of nerve damage. I started to do yoga, but I couldn’t do it. I was that person in the class who was just awkward because I was an athlete, so my hamstrings were tight, my hips were tight, but I loved it so much. [Then] I found a course in Japan that looks at individualization, so prescribed movement based on your actual structural anatomy. So for me, that made sense. That’s the type of learning that I come from, and so I adjusted to that and manipulated that into what I love – sports and athletic movements.
I was lurking your Instagram, and there was a picture of you with Alan Thicke and it said that he helped spread the movement in LA. Can you tell us more about that relationship?
Yeah, I met him at Joe Carter’s event in Canada like 5 years ago. [Alan] just made it so easy for me to break into the LA market because he respected entrepreneurship, and he respected that I was doing something different. Anyone that has ‘made it’ knows the adversity that comes with that, and he knew how hard LA was [to break into]. So for him to open doors for me down there just made things so much easier, plus there’s a certain credibility and validity to my program that goes with that, especially when you have that introduction. He was an amazing man. I literally texted him probably a week before his passing because I’m always checking in with him and seeing how he’s doing.
There’s a lot of talk about your dating life on the show. Are you exclusive with anyone currently?
I’m not, no. I’m not ready for that. Emotionally, mentally, spiritually, I’m just not there yet.
There’s this great line you have about your ‘roster.’ So what exactly does it take to get on Jana’s roster?
[Laughs] The roster’s kind of been blown up out of proportion. But you know, the roster is the roster. It’s not necessarily a sexual connotation, it’s like sharing time with somebody. For me, my favourite thing to do is to go for dinner with a friend, with a nice bottle of wine and some good food, and that can be considered ‘the roster.’ I have boundaries on who I spend my time with. I have very little time for myself, so when I do invite somebody into that space, I either want to learn something from them, or it’s just sharing good energy, or it’s spiritual. It’s just something.
Is that the tricky part about dating for you? Going through this whole process of having to make time for someone?
Yeah probably. That word ‘dating’… I was in a marriage for a very long time, and prior to that a relationship for a very long time, so I’m probably going to be the worst dater because I won’t even know how to do it.
What’s it been like seeing yourself on TV?
You’re definitely like ‘oh, Jesus!’ [laughs] You’re definitely hard on yourself because you look for all the imperfections – again, by nature, that’s what we do. But as soon as I feel myself doing that I just have to stop myself because if I start [being critical] now, it’s going to be a long 10 episodes. A lot of people are already going to be trying to break you down, so I think that I have to really own my stuff.
What were your first impressions of the other women and the ‘procedure party?’
Well it was a procedure party, so my first impressions were ‘oh my god, this is really happening!’
Have you been to something like that before?
No! God no. Oh my god no. So that was my first impression. I was like ‘oh I really did sign up for this, this is what it’s going to be!’ It was overwhelming at first. [You’re] going into this environment of not knowing anybody, and then there’s this stigma of what the show is, [and] your tone is set by that.
Did you feel the need to portray yourself a certain way because of the expectations of the franchise?
A little bit. I mean, if I had it my way, I’d probably just show up in my runners and my snapback. I’m not really one to get all done up.
What can we expect this season?
First of all – Toronto! The viewer is going to get a really good scope of Toronto on so many levels. From not only the people that live here, but what there is to do here. From the food, to the culture, to the entertainment, Toronto is an amazing city. From working in sports, my athletes LOVE coming here for a reason. It’s one of the best cities in North America.
Do you have any regrets from this season?
There’s definitely some things I say without thinking… and with too many glasses of wine in my belly. But I’m just going to have to be accountable for it now. Oh – and I wish I had gotten more spray tans [laughs].
