I kissed a lot of toads before I found my prince.
MEETING SCOTT BAIO
I first saw Scott on the set of Baywatch in ‘92. I was working second unit stunts, doing photo double, body double work for the show. I am a precision driver, mixed martial artist, horseback riding. It would come and go. That’s the first time that I ever saw him. I didn’t really know him then, and I know a lot of tabloids or magazines will say that we dated back then. That is not true. And I will tell you with great certainty when things are real, or not real. That was around '92.
In 2001, Superbowl Sunday, we ran into each other at the Playboy Mansion for the Superbowl party. It was a party where, Garry Marshall was there, Jerry Buss, owner of the Lakers, was there. I think Donald Trump may have been there. I mean, Barbara Walters has even been there, to a party. It’s not as voyeuristic as maybe the public would have you to believe. Everyone had clothes on, it was like a big--Superbowl party--there’s food, barbecue, whatever. I ran into him then. That was the end of January, or first of February. We did not date then.
We just kept bumping into each other--I ran into him again in 2003, that was when I was launching my clothing company, Whipped Couture. I got in to the Emmy gift bags for the gifting suites. At the time I had a boyfriend, and he was actually engaged to someone. We just ran into each other, he remembered me from seeing me at the Superbowl party. And again, I had a significant other, so did he. Didn’t date. [It was,] “Hi, how are you, I remember you, how’s it going blah, blah, blah…” And then we ran into each other again in 2004 and 2005--started dating in 2005. So if you do the Math, I was born the last week of ‘72. I met him in ‘92. [We’ve] been together for 16 years, I’ve known him for over half my life.
FIRST CHRISTMAS TOGETHER
He and his father used to collect watches. My best friend from Charlotte, North Carolina--we took a CPA review class in college, in San Diego, and her father is a big dealer with estate jewelry. I wanted to find him a Rolex from 1960, because that was the year he was born, a lot of people think it’s ‘61, but in fact, it’s ‘60. I searched for 4 months but couldn’t find one, but her Dad found me a 1959 Tudor. On the back, him being Italian--and I’ve got a lot of Dutch with European roots--I put “Carpe Diem” on it. He wore that watch on our wedding day.
Ever since Bailey was a toddler, she’d always wanna go look at her Daddy’s watches. She’d play with them, and ooh and ahh, and say “I like that one,” because blue is her favorite color. But over the last few years, since about maybe age 8, she picks that watch out and she says, “Daddy this is my favorite. You can never sell this one.” And she never even knew what that one was about, until recently.
[Bailey chimes in] “Which one?” [Renee] The little tiny one that has the little leopard band on it? [Bailey] “(Gasps) Oh my gosh, I love that watch! But I also like the one that glows in the dark and it’s blue, with the lightning bolt.” [Renee]
BEING PEACHES RENEE SLOAN BAIO
I know who I am, and I know all my faults. I don’t need people on Twitter or any type of social media to tell me what I’m doing wrong, and what I have done wrong because I have to live with myself and I know everything I’ve done wrong--some things I’m not proud of and some things I have to toughen up and just deal with and power through. Here’s the thing, when I find the perfect person, then I will be submissive to them. But nobody’s perfect but Jesus Christ. So, that’s where I sit.
They fought me for Playboy, they fought me for a lot of things. Like I said, I know who I am, I live with myself, and I know my faith.
You know, I’ve beat cancer twice. I have been diagnosed with 3 brain tumors and a frontal lobe microvascular brain disease which causes a series of strokes and early dementia. My mother-in-law, God rest her soul, died almost 3 years ago of Alzheimer’s. She suffered for 16 years. And my husband was the last person that she knew, that she remembered. She called me “Apples,” she couldn’t remember [my name] “Peaches”--but you know what? I love her for it. I’m happy to be called “Apples” by that sweet woman.
THE WEDDING
[My mother-in-law] was the only person at my wedding. Her and Brandon, my manager, were the only 2 people when we got married. We got married in the backyard. We had a TV wedding after we were already married, which a lot of people think was our real wedding. We did not bring in a child out of wedlock.
LOSING BAILEY’S TWIN SIBLING
Mid-second trimester was when I lost her twin. I don't know if it was a boy or a girl. And I’d say between 15, 16, 17 weeks because I started spot bleeding really bad. Chances are, I was probably miscarrying then, but I didn’t really know. I had done that alpha-fetoprotein test, to find out if the child was gonna have Down Syndrome or not.
We found out that the reason why that one test scan [went] kinda wonky is because it wasn’t a viable pregnancy anymore for her twin. And so I was put in the hospital when I officially miscarried her twin on a Wednesday, whereas 2 days later on a Friday, we were supposed to find out the sex of the babies--so we don’t know. Ever since Bailey has been young enough to walk and talk, she says she has a brother in heaven. [Bailey interjects--“No, I think I have a sister now. I don’t know.”] It’s always been a brother for 13 years, but she’s changed it. She’s a pre-teen, what can I say? Haha.
I’ve beat cancer twice. I have been diagnosed with 3 brain tumors and a frontal lobe microvascular brain disease which causes a series of strokes and early dementia.
THE NAME CALLING
Again, a lot of people--they fought me for Playboy, they fought me for a lot of things. Like I said, I know who I am, I live with myself, and I know my faith. And I know the bond that I have with my husband. I know that he's my partner, he's my best friend. Our daughter knows a lot of stuff, and a lot of things that have been said about my husband. Everything from, he’s a former drug addict to a nympho. He’s been called a racist, I’ve been labeled some nasty things, too. I don't care. My husband said that he doesn't care if he ever works again if people are gonna be so politically-biased, and just wanna tear you down.
MOVING HOMES
And we went from estate living to a gated community living. So we have guards and stuff, because we've had some serious death threats because people are politically biased, and it reflects onto our child and our livelihood so we needed to pay attention once the FBI and law enforcement got involved.
“Saddle up, and warrior on."
SEIZURES AND THE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST SCOTT
I got off of social media for a long time. I had nine seizures in 2018 due to this whole fake “me too” situation. I was friends with this person [Nicole Eggert] for a very long time, and I never thought someone would come across, and backstab, and hurt my family. You hurt my husband, you hurt me, you hurt my family. You hurt my child. I can wholeheartedly tell you that it ripped us apart, but God put us back together. He built us stronger, and wiser, and better.
Everything from, he’s a former drug addict to a nympho. He’s been called a racist, I’ve been labeled some nasty things, too. I don't care.
My husband lost his father, found him dead on March 31st, 13 years ago. The very next day, I found out I was pregnant. Going through that, and going through losing Bailey's twin, and going through 3 months of living hell on Earth--not knowing if she was gonna be severely mentally challenged, cerebral palsy, dystonia, coma, dead, strokes...The list just goes on and on of being falsely diagnosed with GA-1, that our child did have. Three months later we found out that Bailey was a carrier. I'm not even going to cry over this because I've lived it too much.
Two weeks after my husband's 50th birthday, I found out I have early breast cancer. In the end of 2003, 2004, I had Non Hodgkin's lymphoma. I have looked death in the eye. I have been alone at Cedars-Sinai parking lot, to hear that you have cancer. I looked at my oncologist and said, “I have a 2-year old. My husband just turned 50.” For him to roll his chair in front of me, sitting on that table and say, “Now you have something to live for.” He was right. And I did. And I fight.
I have looked death in the eye. I have been alone at Cedars-Sinai parking lot, to hear that you have cancer.
And I will tell you, this older man--when I was going through my chemo, my treatments for non hodgkin’s lymphoma--I sat, hooked up to my mediport. I was alone, sitting there, hooked up to that machine...And this guy turned to me--he was 82 years old--he said to me, “I know that I'm not gonna make it out of here. I'm just doing this to buy some extra time to see my grandkids, so hopefully they'll remember me. But you, you have to saddle up and warrior on.” That has been my motto: “Saddle up, and warrior on." I'm not a cancer survivor, I'm a cancer warrior, because it could come back.
FAITH
My faith in God is greater than my fear of the unknown. And I say this to you with all that I have--My husband is too weak to ever go through what I went through. And I will tell you this, 2 weeks after he turned 50, I got the, “You have DCIS Stage 1 breast cancer” [news], which was early but I still had three lumpectomies in 18 months--He looked at me and he said, “Who's gonna take you?” He just checked out. He emotionally checked out because he didn't know how to handle it.
He is the baby of 3, been in the entertainment business since he was 9 years old and over 50 years, And his Dad was his 'fix-it' guy. His dad was his manager, his mother was there when he was sick, his father was there for any type of legal or business type of stuff. My husband is not equipped to do certain things, and to handle certain things.
He looked at me and he said, “Who's gonna take you?” He just checked out. Marriage, it takes work, you know? And that's part of our love story.
A lot of my friends were really concerned and upset when I shared with them--and this is my closest friends--“Who’s gonna take you?” They said, “I said I would have divorced him, I would have done that.” Marriage, it takes work, you know? And that's part of our love story. We get through some of the hardest things and I know what he can do, what he's going to have trouble with, and what he just can't handle. Just like the three months of us not knowing if Bailey was OK.
He got angry, he got upset, and he's a first-time dad, and he’s already lost his father. Now he's lost a child. Now this one may have special needs, or may die.
He could walk by the baby's nursery, and I would be on the phone with my mom and daddy in Tennessee--2600 miles away--and he would hear me say, “Well, this test came back elevated…” And he would pop up and say, “Maybe she just effing has it.” And my mom would just say, “Oh well, I gotta go…” And she get off the phone and I was alone. Forget postpartum, I had an emergency c-section, and I would cry until I'd vomit at night over it. Because I felt alone. Because my husband checked out. He got angry, he got upset and he's a first-time dad, and he’s already lost his father. Now he's lost a child. Now this one may have special needs, or may die. People handle stress and heartache and pain, and they grieve differently.