Life is a balancing act, particularly for modern-day multihyphenates. So when you throw two sisters into the mix, it can make for some interesting moments. Enter: Olivia Culpo, her older sister, Aurora, and baby of the family, Sophia. While each has her own interests and thriving career, they come together on projects like their popular fashion line, Culpos x INC with Macy’s. With a new reality TV show focused on their solo and collaborative endeavors, the trio is getting ready to connect with audiences on a deeper level. We hopped on Zoom and found them sitting around the kitchen table in Rhode Island, where it all began.
What’s your dynamic like?
Olivia Culpo: Growing up in a family of five, there was always a lot of chaos. We have a wild family dynamic! Having one sister on each side is interesting because it’s like having built-in best friends, although there are moments where we can’t stand one another, but we equally know each other better than anyone in the world.
Aurora Culpo: My parents joke that I was never really a child, because I was thrown into this role—some might call it bossy, I prefer to say I have strong leadership skills. I also might point out that I distinctly remember my mom saying that if there was ever an argument, Olivia was always involved!
Sophia Culpo: I have so many memories of sitting on the bathroom floor and watching them do their makeup; I swear that’s how I learned to do everything remotely fashion- and beauty-related. Looking at them, copying them, and definitely stealing from their closets and makeup bags! Now that I’m older, I’m trying to break the mold of being the youngest because you still get treated like you’re 5 years old when you’re 25. I want them to see me as grown-up now.
What are your earliest memories? You all seem to get along so well. Was that always the case?
Olivia: That was not always the case, in any way, shape, or form!
Aurora: It still is not the case!
Olivia: We fight on a daily basis, every single day.
Aurora: We don’t fight as much anymore, as much as when we were younger. I don’t have the energy for her drama! [Laughs ] Olivia: They’re not shallow issues anymore, when we were growing up it was like, “Who stole my tank top!” One of my first memories is that any time Aurora would leave the house, I was so excited to go upstairs and put on all her clothes. I used to want to be her so bad! And then Sophia couldn’t even get a word in edgeways; she didn’t even order her own food at a restaurant for the longest times. Everyone spoke for her!
Olivia Culpo
What role do each of you play in the dynamic?
Aurora: I have a lot to say on this! Olivia likes to assert her dominance; she likes to think she has much more experience than the rest of us.
Olivia: I’m sensing some resentment!
Aurora: Well, I don’t want to do any photo shoots with her anytime soon! I feel like I’m the gracious leader; I’ve been honing these skills for a while. So the leadership role has somehow come to Olivia and she’s reveling in it, but I think she’ll get over it soon!
Olivia: I’m figuring out what exactly our dynamic is. As much as I’m considered a leader because I’ve done all of this before and they haven’t…
Aurora: I’ve had more life experience!
Olivia: Aurora lives, makes mistakes, and we learn from them!
Sophia: I’m definitely more of their security blanket. I’m not confrontational. I’m not one to start a fight, so my role is the peacekeeper.
Aurora: She’ll probably still be asleep if it’s before noon!
Sophia: Well, I bring a sense of Zen and calm. I’m an observer; our mom always said that about me my whole life! I would say even though I’m the most reserved, I’m probably the most social. I’m a foodie, I pick the restaurants, I love to go out for dinner, hang out with friends. They both love to stay home!
Aurora: I think that’s an age thing, I was going out at your age, too!
Olivia: Sophia is definitely so easy to get along with.
Sophia Culpo
Who gives the best advice in the trio?
Olivia: We’re all going to think we do, but I’d say between Aurora and me—no offense, Sophia—it’s probably a tie.
Sophia: Well, I think when you’re the younger sibling, you just assume the older ones know more. I would have to ask someone above me; that’s just the rules of life!
Aurora: To be honest, I think it’s me.
Sophia: They both give good advice, but if you’re looking for any type of cushioning or sensitivity…well, Olivia will just straight up yell at you and tell you the realest truth that you don’t want to hear! She doesn’t cushion the blow of a harsh truth.
That makes us curious about how it was working together on your fashion line, Culpos x INC with Macy’s. Were you in agreement on most things?
Aurora: Interesting you ask…
Sophia: I think when it comes to our partnerships, sometimes it can be very equal, and sometimes when it’s one of our niches…well, Olivia is the fashion guru, so it can be hard to bring her down to our preferences! She has more experience in the world.
Aurora: Olivia works every day with a stylist and is up with the latest trends, so I think she thinks that negates what we like.
Olivia: This is an interview, not therapy! I feel like there’s definitely a little bit of everyone’s personalities that came through. And then some things were also just for who the customer is, so it was a balance between everything so that we could create the best version of what we wanted to put out there.
Are there certain trends that you all unanimously agree on?
Sophia: I hate shoulder details!
Aurora: We all like things that we can wear multiple types of ways.
Sophia: Aurora, we know that you were not a fan of the crop top. Olivia, you love a crop top!
Aurora: Well, I was pregnant, and then I had just given birth, so no, I was not a fan of a crop top at the time! [All laugh] Olivia: I think we all like comfortable fashion, streetwear, and versatility. There were a lot of looks that could be transformed into other styles.
Sophia: There was one dress, a plain shirtdress, that Olivia would pair with high boots and a beret, and of course, I would wear it with sneakers.
Olivia: We really do have such different personal style!
Aurora Culpo
Do you have more collaborations in fashion coming up?
Olivia: We have a few things coming up that we can’t talk about yet, but we do have more collaborative projects. I feel like it’s cool having each of us incorporated in what we do because I think it makes it more meaningful. It also creates more variety for the consumer because [my sisters] have ideas that I wouldn’t think of, and vice versa.
What was the process like filming your new reality show?
Sophia: It was a lot of work and a lot of time together, so there was definitely arguing, but a lot of fun. We got to spend time with our family. It was a whole new world and experience, and we all learned a lot, even about our own limits of working with one another.
Did you film in Rhode Island with the rest of your family?
Sophia: It followed us each through our own realities, which are all very different. I’m in a newish relationship, so we were following things like that. It was about getting to know us and our own lives individually and then us together, us with our family. We were in Rhode Island, so we showed a lot of different dynamics within the family!
How many dogs are there?
Olivia: Among the whole family…maybe six!? But Sophia and I each have just one; they were in the show, too!
Reality TV usually demands giving up control. What was that like as people who usually produce their own content?
Olivia: There was nothing that we wouldn’t talk about on social media, too. We’re pretty open on Instagram! It was just another platform to communicate with people.
What do you want viewers to take away from it?
Olivia: There were certain moments of vulnerability. I hope that people can relate to us. That’s the real beauty of connecting with an audience.
Did you learn anything new about yourselves during the process?
Olivia: It was a lot of time, a lot of vulnerability, a lot of letting people in on a different level, which took getting used to and was a learning curve. We had to be comfortable with putting it all out there for people to see and judge. Hopefully, they can relate to it! But having one another as a safety net during that process was definitely reassuring. I feel like typically you’re not doing this with your family, so it’s nice all going into it together and taking a risk together.
So besides fashion and TV, are there other industries you want to engage in?
Aurora: Right now I’m working on a website that has a lot of home décor. I’ve renovated four houses before, and I’m helping our mom now with her situation here with the barn and the farm. We hope to renovate our barn. Sophia and I both share an interest in that space, and we actually both have a candle coming out with a company called Wakeheart.
Sophia: We’re excited to see where this show takes all of us. I would love to work in the wellness space; that’s something I’ve always been interested in. I’m excited for all the opportunities to come!
Anything else fun coming up?
Olivia: We always go on a trip together every August. We’re hoping to go to Europe, and then we’re excited to get this farm up and running in Rhode Island. It’s a lot of work and all up to us. If there’s a Season 2, it’s gotta be here. It’s a lot of drama! It’ll be the new The Simple Life!
Photography by Sarah Krick
Photo Assistant: Bryan Carvajal
Fashion Stylist: Oretta Corbelli
Assistant Stylist: Carola Bronislava
Location: The West Hollywood EDITION
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