The stars of Netflix’s latest reality series, Designing Miami(premiering Sept. 21), don’t let their marriage get in the way of a little healthy competition.
“In the business world of interior design, I want to win,” Ray Jimenez admits in the show’s trailer, above, premiering exclusively with PEOPLE. “Eilyn, she’s my competitor, I want to rip her to shreds,” he adds before revealing that his rival also happens to be his wife.
Ray and Eilyn each have their own interior design firms and often battle it out for business. “You’ll never compete with me,” Ray challenges in the clip.
While his wife cooly replies, “Oh honey, I do.”
PEOPLE spoke to the stars of the new eight-episode reality series, which takes a bit of DNA from two other hit Netflix shows —Dream Home Makeover’s aspirational design andSelling Sunset’s high drama — about balancing their private lives and work lives in front of the cameras.
Netflix
They both confess that Ray is better at separating the two. “I have to for my mental sanity and mental health,” he says.
But Eilyn is confident about handling it all. “I’m a Virgo and I’m a multitasker, so I can be doing a million things at the same time,” she says. “At the end of the day, we care about our relationship. He’s my best friend, so nurturing that is really important to us.”
“Our careers are who we are, but at the core of it, it’s just him and I, so we do what it takes to stay connected,” she adds.
Ray’s motto to keep their bond strong: “Happy wife, happy life.”
Denise Crew/Netflix
“I really want viewers to see what it’s like to be able to work really hard for something and achieve it at the end,” Eilyn says
Adds Ray, “Some projects are going to go extremely smooth and some are going to be all over the place and I’m excited for the world to see that process.”
The “young Latino power couple,” as Eilyn dubs them, retain a sense of humor while butting heads, managing wealthy clients, a staffs of designers, and their families — some of whom are also their contractors.
While growing their businesses, the couple are also building their dream home from the ground up. As seen in the trailer, tensions reach a breaking point when Ray calls his wife out for not being more involved in the process.
“It’s not my fault I have 14 projects and you have 5,” she shouts.
“We see eye-to-eye on everything when it comes to design,” Ray says before breaking into a fit of laughter.
His wife’s response: “Let me know when you’re done.”
Designing Miamipremieres on Netflix on September 21.
source: people.com
