Israeli model Bar Refaeli and her family, which has been embroiled in scandals in recent years due to tax evasion accusations, is ready to air out all their secrets in a new documentary series.
With days to go until the release, Ynet got an exclusive sneak peek into the Refaeli family's decision to make a documentary featuring Bar, her parents Rafi and Tzipi, and her brothers Dor and On.
Flashback to summer 2020: Tzipi and Bar were convicted for tax offenses. Tzipi jumps under the bus and takes the hit, spending eight months in Nave Tirzah prison. Bar gets away with a fine and some community service.
"Its feels like it was a different time period," says Tzipi. "I've completely forgotten about it. But I still have friends from prison whom I speak to on a daily basis. Great girls, way better friends than some of the ones I had prior, who turns out weren't really friends. When I reminisce on that time, its only in a positive light. I have no trauma from prison. It was a kind of vacation from life".
If in the past it seemed that the Refaeli family was protective of their privacy, often expressed through publicized disputes with paparazzi photographers, it appears that now things have taken a turn.
"We weren't protecting our privacy," says Bar as she explains her family's past behavior. "It was a horrible period in which photographers would appear out of nowhere. We were protecting invasion of our personal space. When someone would get really close, it was like 'woah, wait, can you stand on the other side of the street at least, you don't have to jump on me'. That's what bothered us, not privacy. We got used to everyone knowing about our lives."
To the question of why her wedding was so closed off, Bar's mother replied: "It was called for then. The photographers would've shown up in helicopters and done anything in their power just to ruin it.
"Today we are way more at peace, relaxed, mature." Still, those who expected insight into Bar's private life is up for disappointment: her kids and husband Adi Ezra don't make an appearance in the series.
When asked about the absence of her kids Liv, El, and David from the show, Tzipi rushed to answer before Bar could get a word out. "When the father approves." Bar added that her husband "doesn't like the cameras and doesn't want out kids to be in front of them. I really want them to be a part of it, but unfortunately this was the compromise."
Dor joined the series following his role in the show "Mehubarim".
He says the show was his and Bar's husband's idea. "He pitched the idea, he said if there's so many headlines and noise about every little thing, at least we'll be able to control it. We'll expose our truth." Rafi said that Adi told him it's a way to make money.
The family also agreed that working together on this show brought them closer together. "Our free time usually doesn't sync up," Rafi says.
"There aren't families at our age that spend all day together. Families meet up on weekends. And now we're back to being our parents' kids. Coming home to be spoiled with food, driving with them alone. Its a gift and an honor," adds Bar.