In 1994, when the first album of Iggy Waxman, then 22 years old, was recorded under the musical production of ex-husband Hami Rodner, Ati Sholberg was 12 years old and watched “Zvi the Ninja”. 16 years later they fell in love and got married, but then the big crisis came. Just when everything seemed lost, they received an offer from the reality show “VIP Winning Couple”, in which they revealed their relationship to the eyes of the entire Israeli people, and against all odds they managed to restore it.
It was their personal experience that prompted them to initiate the lecture show “(Sometimes) a winning couple – the reality of life in a relationship” (November 5, 9:00 p.m. at Talkhouse in Tel Aviv), which combines the story of their relationship, the crisis, tips and songs.
“By and large, the lecture is boring and not recommended,” Sholberg begins the interview with humor. “But the truth is that Iggy and I have been together for 11 years, and I think we’ve gone through several lifetimes during that time. We met at an interesting stage in our lives, and we have a story, even with such a Hollywood twist, because we went through a big crisis and were able to overcome it thanks to the program ‘Winning Couple’, it’s a hallucination that I say this, but we just took ten years and reduced them to a lecture in a way that we believe will give A lot for other people – people who are in crisis or were in crisis and in general. This is a very funny lecture. Iggy and I have an interaction that is unique to us, we are very different.”
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“It’s quite true what Atti said, it’s a really funny lecture and there’s also a beautiful closure at the end, and any couple who has been through burnout can relate to the lecture and the tools we give,” says Waxman. “It’s not that we are gurus or pretend to be, but we only speak from our experience, but it’s a fun lecture and fun to be in.”
How does it feel to collaborate together on stage?
Waxman: “I like being in front of an audience, it’s natural to me, and I also have it in my blood, so it’s quite fun. The truth is that Ati is quite the boss in the lecture, he remembers all the texts by heart so he is the leader. I’m the one who gets bitten, but I have my fair share of flinches, and I sing songs, so I have fun.”
Schulberg: “You can think that Iggy is swimming in the situation. What is not challenging? Sure it’s challenging. She can say until tomorrow that it comes naturally but it is not natural at all. The situation is that we talk about our relationship and bring ourselves. I’m not talking about mathematics or empowerment, but there is something here that is personal, charged. Even until we reached the state of the lecture there were months of construction. It’s something very challenging, but you get so much out of it, and you tinker with things and try to understand situations and stories. Meeting the audience creates something different because the people you meet are different. For me, this reaction is amazing.”
Eurovision songs
Waxman, 50, is considered one of the prominent rock singers of the nineties with a list of huge hits such as “Marry me to wife”, “I have nothing to say to you”, “On the way to Milwaukee”, “No longer waiting for the postman” and “Watching you”. Shulberg, 39, a businessman and content man, burst into the limelight in 2010 when he participated in the third season of the reality show “Big Brother” and was the eighth evicted from it.
“The only thing I knew about Ati when I first encountered him was that he was on ‘Big Brother’, that he is terribly handsome and that I want a date with him urgently,” says Waxman. “He seemed cute to me and I had to get to know him. Who thought I would marry him and have children? Anyway, I’m the one who started him and approached him through mutual friends. Ati didn’t know anything about me.”
“First of all, Iggy lives in the film”, refers to Schulberg. “A narrative was created that I didn’t know her songs and all kinds of nonsense like that, which is not true at all. Basically I knew that Iggy Waxman was a singer, a rock girl, and that’s why I also didn’t understand what she wanted from me, I mean I knew who she was because when I was a teenager she was a rock star, but I quickly realized that she was starting with me. We met for the first time at Mashina’s concert, and even then there was the first click between us.”
The two met at the end of 2010 and in 2012 they got married. “It was an interesting time because I had just left the ‘Big Brother’ house, and Iggy of course was with the career, and suddenly all the media was on us, people started talking about the age gap between us, but very quickly we focused on the family and reached a kind of balance on the issue,” says Shulberg.
Does it still bother you that people talk about the age gap of almost 11 years between you?
Waxman: “It never bothered us, and that’s the beauty of it, because it mainly bothered others. There is once a year that all the morning shows call us for an interview, there is a day called ‘Age Gap Day’ or something like that. There is some misconception that says that when a man dates a woman younger than him, it’s fine, but when a woman dates a young man – it’s ridiculous. So we really don’t bother with it, but we still get comments like ‘how nice that he’s younger than you.'”
Schulberg: “I feel old enough not to be too young.”
Waxman: “He’s still the responsible adult in the house and I’m the infantile girl, so it works great.”
Iggy, this year you changed your prefix. How did you deal with turning 50?
Waxman: “Quite normal. The big crisis is more towards the age of 30 or 40. The age of 50 is acceptance with reality and liberation. There is nothing to do, I am infantile, I am who I am. It sounds cliché and banal, but age is really just a number. I don’t feel 50 years old by any means but that’s a given. I don’t fight it and it doesn’t bother me that much.”
What is your favorite type of couple recreation?
Waxman: “I really like restaurants, going on vacations with the kids and also hanging out at home and watching TV series.”
Schulberg: “We also have friends who come to visit regularly, so sometimes we spend a whole night with Iggy singing Eurovision songs from the 60s in karaoke.”
How similar are you in character?
Waxman: “I think we are both very similar and very different. We are both perfectionists. I am a responsible person, meticulous and precise in details, a real walking calendar, and I am more of a spirit, throwing laundry on the floor. A married man, no.”
Ati: “Is that what you have to say? I will Iggy concentrates on screws and wrong details, if we can call it that. She can get stuck for half a day on little things that are not my priorities. I see more broadly, and she lingers and gets caught up in every little detail. I like flow and impulsiveness. Iggy likes to plan every step.”
A decade ago, their daughter Lily was born. In 2016 their son Uri was born. “The children accept our profession in a completely normative way, and they are completely normal children and are partially satisfied,” says Waxman. “This is their life and this is how they grew up,” adds Schulberg.
What kind of parents are you?
Waxman: “I used to be a more anxious mother, and today we are more liberating. Now more impulsive and flowing than me, he can suddenly take them after school to swim in the river. I’m less of that type.”
Schulberg: “Exactly what Iggy said.”
We got over it and got along
In 2021, as mentioned, the two participated in the third season of the reality show “VIP Winning Couple”, in which they came in second place. “We approached the program with uncertainty and it was very stressful,” says Schulberg. “When you go alone to a reality show, then you have defense systems, and you can manage with it, but when you come with a partner, then you are constantly responsible for another person, and there are other interactions that also depend on the character of the partner. When you come to deal with such a private issue as a relationship, it’s stressful and not easy.”
“But we overcame and got along,” adds Waxman.
How connected are you to the celebrity industry today?
Waxman: “We sometimes go to water, mainly for our friends, people we want to lift for them, but we really don’t go to everything anymore. No more power. We need to be more active on Instagram. My time is more active and I am less. I need to increase my activity there.”
Schulberg: “It’s also a matter of time. We need a babysitter for every launch. In the end, you have to choose what is more important to you and there is an order of priorities in life.”