On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, 10-carat diamond earrings and a fairy on a crescent-shaped Christmas tree.
But my darling husband Ricky knows me too well to think that’s all I’d want. The beautiful diamond studs from De Beers, which I happen to know cost a little under £200,000, are my stocking filler, to mark our 10th Christmas together.
Later in the day, we’ll go shopping in the glamorous malls of Dubai, where we have our second home. Our baby Amira is growing fast and she needs a new Dior wardrobe of dresses and shoes. And teddies, of course. And jewellery.
In fact, Amira’s list to Santa is even longer than mine, because she’s 10 months old and like every Muslim baby she needs lots of gold. Honestly, her jewellery is more important to me than her education, because if you’re rich, beautiful and smart you won’t have to work for a living.
And as I have told Ricky, in Arab countries it’s practically illegal for a little girl not to wear gold jewellery from birth.
If she doesn’t get it, everyone will know about it, because nothing escapes my followers on social media.
I am known as the ‘Original Dubai Housewife’ – I share videos of my life as a stay-at-home mother and wife to a cryptocurrency trader with my many online followers. I have about 1.4 million on Tiktok, and another 400,000 on Instagram, but some of the videos I posted attract many millions more views than that.
The channels earn me about $100,000 (£80,000) a year which is nice pocket money – especially at this time of year. And nowhere is better to splash the cash than in Dubai at Christmas time.
When Amira was just a few days old, I spent $3,000 (£2,400) on a solid gold pacifier and $6,000 on a Dior stroller. And in the same outing, we bought her $30,000 (£24,000) of treats from Tiffany’s, her first collection.
Even then, Ricky wanted to keep spending on her, so we went Chanel handbag shopping. Sometimes I think he loves her more than he does me. To remind him who is Number One in his life, I make sure he buys me a bag every time he gets her one.
The video of that trip is just over a minute long and it has been viewed more than 13 million times. Even more popular is the short I filmed when I announced I was pregnant and my husband started checking over the prams and pushchairs. He looked so hot. A lot of other people must think so too, because it has racked up 24 million views.
He worries about our safety, with Amira in a stroller that costs more than some people’s cars. In Los Angeles it might make me a target for muggers. I suppose I ought to be concerned but to me, that’s secondary – what matters most is looking good. And mugging isn’t a consideration in Dubai, where the crime rate is so low.
Everything is five star in Dubai. I guess that’s why it feels like my spiritual home. The streets are paved in marble, and everywhere is clean. It’s also very much oriented to families, not singles, while simultaneously being ultra luxurious and lots of fun.
The only place I know that can compare for sheer glitz is Las Vegas, but Dubai is 100 times brighter and 1,000 times cleaner. Incredibly, it’s also comparatively inexpensive, because the dollar and sterling are so strong against the dirham, which is the currency in the United Arab Emirates – one dirham is about 22p.
Though it’s the capital of a Muslim state and quite religiously strict, Dubai knows how to do Christmas… perhaps because Arabs appreciate gold so much. Instead of red and green, we go for gold baubles, tinsel, stars and lights.
Most people don’t even think about the Christian element. It isn’t relevant here. We just love to have a good time. But this year I want to add an Islamic element, so I’ve persuaded Ricky the tree needs to be curved, in the Muslim crescent shape. I feel that’s both respectful and attractive.
I haven’t seen it done before, but I know it’s possible, because in Dubai anything is possible. On Palm Jumeirah, we have a complex of luxury mansions stretching out into the sea on manmade islands, forming the shape of a palm tree. Compared to that, a crescent-shaped Christmas tree is easy.
Ricky’s family is Mexican and mine is Palestinian. We met in the gym when I was in high school, as teenagers a decade ago and immediately became obsessed with each other. He knew from the outset that I have demanding standards and, if he wanted to keep me, he’d have to be a millionaire.
He did much better than that. As a cryptocurrency trader and property investor, he has met all his targets so far – including the toughest one, presenting me with exactly half my body weight in gold when we got married two years ago.
I trust him implicitly, so I’ve never asked him to tell me to the ounce how much gold he bought. The truth is, if it’s not quite enough, I’ll be disappointed… but if he over-estimated, I’ll be furious.
We never thought of leaving the U.S. until the pandemic struck and it went into lockdown, like much of the rest of the world. I went into a tailspin, because I couldn’t go shopping. That’s when I knew for certain that my passion for spending Ricky’s money was a bona fide addiction.
Dubai didn’t lock down, so we bought an apartment there, facing the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. Our place was just two bedrooms, perfect for a young couple, and I loved it. But the inevitable happened, and now Amira has joined us we need more space, especially at Christmas.
So we’re getting a villa with a pool and glass walls, and at least five bedrooms for when our parents come to stay, and additional rooms for staff, such as a housekeeper.
We won’t be hiring a chef, though. Neither of us likes the idea of that, and it’s not because I do the cooking – you can forget that idea right away. In Dubai, there’s no need to cook because the restaurants are so amazing.
We eat out, sometimes three times a day. And if we’re feeling too lazy, we order food in, from our favourite places. There’s cuisine from all over the world here. On Christmas day, since Ricky expects the traditional Mexican feast and I want Arab food, we’ll probably compromise – and go for an Italian.
When I was expecting, I was able to have whatever I wanted to eat, because my husband had to respect my cravings. My biggest craving was for diamonds. I told Ricky, ‘I’m having a baby girl and she’s got expensive tastes.’
Diamonds were a medical necessity, because without them I would feel sad. That transmits itself to the unborn baby. It’s bad for growth. And what kind of man would want to make his pregnant wife sad? Not one I’d stay married to, that’s for sure. So Ricky took me diamond shopping, and that’s when I told him about my other craving.
I said, ‘The baby in my womb wants to go to the Maldives.’ So he bought me a set of Louis Vuitton luggage for the trip, and bought a matching set for himself. The nerve of the man! He wasn’t the one who was pregnant.
If any woman is reading this and thinking, ‘I wish my husband would buy me diamonds and take me to the Maldives – but we can’t afford it,’ I have a very important piece of advice for you.
Make him.
It’s no good compromising at the beginning. If you don’t start with gemstones and super-luxury hotels, he’ll know he can get away with being cheap all his life. And that’s not healthy for him, and it’s certainly no fun for you.
Set a high bar, and he’ll thank you for it. For Christmas, if you want a watch, choose Bulgari. My favourite is on a golden snake bangle, at around £45,000 but I also bought a $205,000 (£163,000) Blair Waldorf Cartier wristwatch that is all set in diamonds, both the face and the strap.
Take advantage of the best Britain has to offer, and go shopping on New Bond Street. Walk into Hermes and choose a clutch bag, such as the lovely pink Bearn wallet, which is £2,650. Don’t forget to add a little Rodeo charm, a leather tassel in the shape of a horse, which is so sweet and only £530.
For shoes I would say Loro Piana, or a pair of crystal Amina Muaddi shoes that will make you look like Cinderella for around £1,000.
If you have a baby, pick out a pink Chanel tote bag with diamante crusting, like the one I bought for Amira. It’s a great idea to order a Dior photoshoot too. Hers was just under $10,000 (£8,000).
Even if you’re a new mum like me, it’s important to make time for beauty treatments. In fact, it’s twice as important. I don’t enjoy washing my hair so I have it done at the salon every couple of days.
I love getting a facial and professional makeup, and I’ve just spent $700 (£560) on body sculpting. Self care costs me $7,500 (£6,000) a week, out of my budget of $100,000 (£80,000 a month). But I’m very sparing with the Botox. Ricky doesn’t like me to look fake. And if the budget runs out, he’ll give me more.
He has strict rules for me, though, as is his right. He likes me to dress modestly, so that men aren’t always checking me out. I have to make time to join him at the office when he closes a big deal, so we can go out and celebrate. I have to work out and stay fit.
Buying presents for family is almost as much fun as buying for myself. Ricky’s mum appreciates jewellery, especially bracelets and necklaces, and we chose a gold chain for his father – who is hinting that he wants a car, maybe a Lincoln Continental.
Ricky and I have a Lamborghini in California, and we’ll choose something else when we’re in Dubai. That’s the great thing about living in two countries… you get to go shopping for everything twice.
You might notice I haven’t told you what I’m getting my husband for Christmas. This isn’t because it’s some big secret. The fact is, I’m getting him…
Nothing.
No, really. I gave the man a beautiful baby girl this year. What more could he want? And yes, he bought me a stunning nine carat diamond ring to celebrate the birth, one carat for every month of pregnancy, but he could hardly do anything less.
Being a mum is wonderful, but it’s hard work. One child is enough for me. But I know Ricky would love to have more.
So my present to him this year is a ‘maybe’. We’ll see.