Jeannie Mai Reveals the Life Lessons She's Already Learning From Her 2-Year-Old Daughter

Jeannie Mai is facing a real dilemma.

After years of living in the public eye, The Real host is trying to keep her private life, well, private amid her divorce from Jeezy. So how is the mom of daughter Monaco, 2, striking that balance?

Well, "Isn't that the million-dollar question?" Jeannie told E! News in an exclusive interview. "Right now is a really tender time in my life because I have so many different emotions. I need to be alone in order to feel and hear all of them." 

And, as it turns out, alone time isn't so lonely when you love yourself.

"I'm having a really good time soaking in my intimacy," Jeannie shared, later adding, "I'm not gonna lie, Monaco takes full front seat in my life. She's 1,000 percent my priority and my schedule. But I'm learning how to position myself so that I get what I need as well."

The beauty of independence is a lesson her toddler is already picking up, too.

"She's really learning how to do things to self-soothe, which I'm really into," Jeannie noted. "She's into meditating. She's into counting down her feelings until she's in a calm place. That's such a really big deal for me because I learned how to emotionally regulate, like, last week and I'm still just starting. So for us to learn together is so huge."

Another huge takeaway she's hoping to impart on her daughter is the importance of trusting her instinct.

"I'm teaching her to be confident in the most important character traits like honesty, discipline, empathy, love," the 45-year-old said. "If she grounds herself in those, I think that her instinct will be really razor sharp and then she can trust her instinct wherever she goes."

Which, let's face it, isn't always easy.

"I think all of us—especially women—have this inner compass that tells us what to do and how to protect ourselves," she continued. "But sometimes, it gets muffled with our idea of what other people think we should be or fears of what other people think we should behave like."

"I don't want that to ever happen to her," she continued. "When Monaco says no, it's a no. I do not force her to do something she doesn't want to do. I lean into her instincts. If I planned a whole day to do something and she just seems like she just wants to sit and be held, we do that."

And in turn, Monaco is guiding her too.

"That's different for me because, as a performer, sometimes I have to do a lot of things I don't want to do," she admitted. "Sometimes I have to get up and just be on even though I don't feel it. So through Monaco, I'm learning how to listen to my emotions and give myself the break I need."

As Jeannie later put it, "I'm learning with Monaco that I too am human, and I need the love that my mom can give, I need the love my dad can give, and the best part is I can also give it to myself." 

And now, the mother-daughter duo are spreading that love. Take, for instance, their recent trip to Vietnam with Smile Train, a nonprofit that provides surgery and care for children with cleft lips and palates. During their visit, Jeannie and Monaco connected with patients and parents—and the tot learned about empathy. 

"At just the ripe age of 2 years old, she knew that some of these children were different by seeing them pre-surgery," the TV personality said, adding it was cool "to help her understand like, 'Hey, these children are going through a very turbulent time right now. So we have to be there for them. We have to love them, and we have to make sure that they have to feel safe and they're going to be OK.' And she got it."

The trip marked Monaco's first trip to Vietnam. And for Jeannie—who is hosting Smile Train's 25th anniversary gala in New York May 8—it meant the world to bring her daughter to a place so close to her heart.

"It's always been very important for me to celebrate her culture and her heritage by taking her home to our country," she shared. "But this was even more monumental because she went with a charity that is servicing our country in such a great, beautiful way. She was able to connect with kids who need the support and the love...And for me and Monaco to be able to share that was so meaningful."