Their eponymous reality show may have gone off the air in 2014, but Giuliana and Bill Rancic are seemingly busier than ever with projects like TV hosting gigs, a wine label and a restaurant group, just to name a few. We caught up with the Chicago residents in advance of the UnMask Cancer Gala on Oct. 22 to benefit the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund, where they’ll serve as hosts.

What made you get involved with the gala?

GR: Our good friends who live in Boston, [event co-chairs] Sam and Jessica Slater, told us all about the event and got us involved. There’s going to be a DJ, great food, a wonderful live auction, as well as a silent auction. It’s going to be tons of fun, but at the same time, we’re raising money to find a cure.

BR: It’s going to be a fun night. Certainly cancer isn’t something that’s fun, but we’re going to have a fun night. We’re going to raise a lot of money and hopefully have north of 350 people show up. I know folks in Boston, much as they do in Chicago, they come out for good events.

Will you be wearing masks?

BR: You won’t even know that we’re there! We may take over the live auction and throw in a few surprise packages, which we’ve done in the past to help make it a banner night.

Speaking of what you’ll be wearing, Giuliana, this is your 14th year on the red carpet. What has been the biggest lesson you’ve learned over the years?

GR: When your job is to talk to people and have interesting moments with people, in a way, the less prepared you are, the better, because then you allow spontaneous moments to happen. … I remember I was at a charity event for my charity Fab-U-Wish. I was sitting on stage in front of hundreds of people, telling my story of breast cancer and I was wearing this black dress with a metal belt. In the middle of my story, the belt just went flying off. Everyone just stopped because it was in the middle of this sad story and people didn’t know how to react. I immediately made a joke and said something like, “Thank goodness the Fashion Police aren’t here.” We actually ended up bidding that belt…so we got an extra $10,000 for charity.

Favorite red carpet moment?

GR: I’ve had a lot of great moments—Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, George Clooney—but interviewing Madonna for the first time at the Met Gala was pretty big for me just because I grew up listening to her, watching her. I was Madonna for four Halloweens in a row. And after the interview, I blurted that out at the very end. She kind of looked at me and laughed and smiled and she was cute about it, but I was like, “Oh my god. Why did I just yell that?”

Has being on Fashion Police changed how you approach your own wardrobe?

GR: You know what’s funny? I think I used to be safer before Fashion Police, but being on Fashion Police, I actually push the envelope more. … If you end up on a worst dressed list, who cares? There are real problems in the world.


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