Bozoma “Boz” Saint John, a newcomer to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, recently shared details about the devastating loss of her Malibu home in the recent Los Angeles wildfires. In a poignant interview on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Saint John, 47, described the emotional toll of the experience and the difficulty of processing such a significant loss.
Saint John expressed her empathy for the many others affected by the fires, stating, “It’s a difficult time because there are so many people who have lost everything, and it makes me wonder about just how we can be resilient and how you can continue to go on when things like this happen. I’m trying my best.”
Adding to the heartbreak, Saint John was in Zambia, Africa, when she learned of the fire. Unable to do anything but watch from afar, she discovered the devastating news via Twitter. “I was in Zambia and saw my house on Twitter and that’s how I found out that it was gone,” she shared. The feeling of helplessness was overwhelming, she explained, as she rushed to return home. “It was devastating, and I felt so helpless. There was nothing I could do. You can’t send anybody to go get anything, so I just tried to make my way back as quickly as possible.”
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The Malibu home represented more than just a building to Saint John; it was a sanctuary for her family and friends. Having purchased the beachside property four years prior, after 25 years of hard work, the loss was deeply personal. “It’s in deep grief,” she confessed. “I mean, I try not to compare grief to anybody else’s or anything like that, but the hard thing is that it was more than just a house. It was not just my home, but a home for my family and my friends. I had a keypad on the house, not a keyhole, so that people could just put in a code and go in whenever they want. So we all lost a home,” she added.
Saint John, who also owns a home in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, spoke about her 15-year-old daughter, Lael. While acknowledging the shared trauma of several of Lael’s friends also losing their homes, Saint John expressed cautious optimism about her daughter’s resilience. “She’s doing alright,” the former Netflix executive commented. “She’s trying. She had a few friends who lost homes as well, so there’s some community in that too.”
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In a raw and emotional Instagram post just two days after the fires began, Saint John confirmed the destruction of her home. The post featured photos of the house and a caption detailing the profound significance of the loss. She described it as “the house I wanted. The house I prayed for. The house I worked in blood, sweat, and tears for… the house where I finally felt like I could choose to spend time … when I wanted to and how I wanted to.” She also revealed the personal struggles she faced in acquiring the property, highlighting the deeper meaning it held for her as a single Black woman. “This was my EFF YOU I’m here house,” she declared. The house also held a special space dedicated to her sister, a movie room designed as a personal sanctuary. The loss of this sanctuary compounded the tragedy for Saint John. The devastating wildfires have left a lasting impact on the community, and Saint John’s story serves as a poignant reminder of the personal losses endured by so many.
