Being one of Canada’s most famous power couples, Grego Minot (actress and cast member of The Real Housewives of Toronto) and Pierre Jutras (business entrepreneur and co-owner of The Spoke Club) have only really been in the spotlight for more than a year now. They met in Montréal about 20 years ago, when Grego was bartending at one of the Pierre’s bars/nightclubs. As she states, she ‘was not a good bartender but it was fun’. They met there and they just clicked.
Margarita: So Pierre, what was your first thought when you saw Grego?
Pierre: Well, obviously her exotic beauty attracted me. But once I got to know her, what really impressed me was the fact that she chooses to only see the good in people. It’s still true to this day. If I were to describe her in three words, I’d say she’s pure, compassionate, and artistic.
Do you have any advice for couples on how to maintain a long-lasting relationship?
Grego: Ugh it’s hard to give advice to couples. There is no perfect relationship – you just try your best every day. For me, it’s to remember why you fell in love in the first place.
Pierre: For me, it would be to remain as vulnerable with one another as possible, at all times. So basically, don’t start putting on a facade that will ultimately build blocks, that will turn into a wall. Communication is important. But vulnerability for me is the key – not to be afraid to show your sensitive side, your sorrows.
Grego: Yes, and we all have an ego. You learn how to put your ego aside and say sorry.
What was the most romantic moment for you two?
Pierre: For me, it’s when I proposed to Grego in Vienna. We were on a horse-drawn carriage and we stopped in front of the Sisi palace. And because she idolized Sisi growing up, it was very meaningful, and it also came as a surprise. It was just a perfect day and night.
Grego: Yes, I did not expect anything like that. We had champagne and the music, we were in a carriage in Vienna in front of the Sisi…it was like a movie. It’s hard to beat! And we went to Thailand for our honeymoon. It was my first time back since I was adopted.
That’s amazing. And on a business side, Pierre, do you run The Spoke Club yourself?
Pierre: I am a co-owner of The Spoke Club, but I used to own four nightclubs/bars and one restaurant – three of them were in Montréal, and two in Toronto before The Spoke Club.
Do you want The Spoke Club to be more of a creative environment like Soho House or do you want to attract more people from finance and not art related industries? Like the Bay Street crowd?
Pierre: It’s a very interesting question. The club has been around for 13 years now, and in a private members club you go through different iterations of your identity. When you first open, you attract that very exclusive A-list clientele that will visit your club not necessarily for the reasons why you opened it. But then the crowd you attract tends to be generally speaking – fickle. These people will migrate to whatever is ‘newer’ and the clubs find themselves on the crossroads of what they need to be. In the case of The Spoke Club we decided to be a platform for creative community to network and develop connections and foster opportunities for one another. And we do that through event programming. It’s very easy to get to the top but it’s much harder to stay there with regards to relevance. You need to adapt the concept to the changing marketplace. In this case, there’s been a movement that has been a celebration of collaborative working spacing. And I think that the future of The Spoke Club lies in accommodating in that increasing demand that you see all over the world. So millennials want to work and socialize under one roof.
So it is kind of like WeWork (co-working and office space)?
Pierre: Yes, it is a mix of WeWork and The Spoke Club.
And Grego, do you take part in organizing events at The Spoke Club?
Grego: No, I’m usually a guest here (laughs). But I hosted an event at TIFF this year. And I also took a course to be a wedding planner, as that’s what I was thinking of doing later in the future.
Do you go out a lot?
Grego: We used to go out a lot, but now with kids, we are picky. But we do some events as well. I love cooking so we have some entertainment at home. Especially with our friends who have children too. This is our new life. And we want to get our children involved.
Pierre: We go to a lot of events though. We like to try new restaurants.
And Grego, you also started your jewelry line, am I right?
Grego: Yes! This is my big project right now. So of course, I kind of put my acting career on hold for the past few years. My kids are growing up now. ‘The Real Housewives of Toronto’ has brought me so many amazing opportunities, so I can launch my own jewelry line called ‘Grego’, and I’me very excited about it. Hope we can launch it for Christmas. We are staring with eight pieces and every one of them is made of semi-precious gems from Thailand.
Pierre: And I think what’s important to mention about your jewelry line is the importance of social consciousness as a portion of the proceeds will go directly to support some charity.
Grego: Yes! It’s not confirmed yet what charity it will be, but it will definitely include children.
Are you involved with different charitable organizations in Canada?
Grego: I’m involved with SickKids and we were involved with amfAR a few years ago. And also Homes For Dinner – it helps house the homeless in a city-wide dinner party.
Pierre: We also contribute to Save The Children and some other charities.
I can see your love for kids. Are you planning to have a third?
Pierre: We are happy to have a boy and a girl, you call it a royal family in French.
Grego: I think I would have – if we started earlier. But we are happy now.
What are the main qualities you want to teach your kids?
Grego: It’s definitely compassion for others and each other. We want our children to reflect love. So we give them as much love as we can, so then they could give love to others.
Pierre: It’s respect for themselves and the others.
Do you have careers planned for them already?
Grego: You know, my daughter is most likely going to be in a show business! She is really outgoing and she loves fashion and makeup. I wonder where she takes that from (laughs). She likes to have fun. And Tristan is studying acting now. I was his age when I started working on TV. But I don’t want to push him, if he wants to do other things it’s up to him. So, for now it’s just fun.
Do you ever think of moving back to Montreal?
Grego: Toronto has been so great to us, we’ve been living here for 17 years. This city is amazing. Montréal is where family and friends are but our life is here now.
Pierre: It’s great to be part of a city that’s on the rise. Growth in Montréal cannot compare to the level of activity in Toronto. We want to be part of that movement, action, cement Toronto as a truly international city.
Grego: We moved for work. Both our children were born here. But we still go back to Montréal.
And I assume you speak French at home?
Grego: Yes. I think it’s important for kids to learn French and English. We are French Canadians, so we want them always to have that Québécois culture.
Photography by Margarita Menard
Makeup by Kristina Brakhnova
Hair by Samantha Fabian
Location: The Spoke Club
Wardrobe by: Stylist Box and Dress Empire
Edited by Marcus Muñoz
