Bling Empire: The latest updates from the crazy rich cast

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you likely have heard of one of Netflix’s most popular reality series, Bling Empire, which follows the lives of uber rich Asians living it up in Los Angeles.

Whether you hate it or love it, or love to hate it, Bling Empire has lit up the interwebs with its colourful cast of socialites as they share their life philosophies, embark on lavish adventures, and seek love, happiness and friendship like the rest of us.

Premiering this month, season one was a thrilling binge watch that left fans wanting more. And since it was filmed back in 2019, a lot has changed since then (hello, pandemic). It seemed high time for a real-life update on this rambunctious crew and Netflix delivered with a video gathering the crew for an update on where they are at now. Since the Bling clan is also fairly active on social media, there’s a few juicy tidbits we’ve gathered so far. Here’s what we know:

Anna v. Christine beef lives – and the crew chimes in

Early into season one, it was clear there’s some off-screen history between unofficial matriarch Anna and high rolling philanthropist Christine. The two clearly had some on-screen tension with Anna even saying it’s hard for her to “take some people seriously” and Christine calling Anna a b-tch at one point. With a year gone by, it seems not much has changed: Christine says she respects Anna and sometimes they’ll text but “it is what it is”. But Anna? “No. No I do not talk to her,” she says firmly of her co-star.

The cast is pretty split on whether they’re Team Anna or Team Christine but one thing is for sure: that penis pump took everyone by surprise.

Kane and Anna haven’t let COVID-19 change the way they shop

It’s always good to have a friend like Anna. Kane says, “During Covid, there was no shopping, no nothing.” However with Anna, nothing was shut down. All the two had to do was go to Gucci, stand outside the window and say “yay” or “nay” to each item as a sales associate held up each item from inside.

Of course, when your net worth is around US$600 million, life won’t stop regardless of COVID. Despite this the sharp shooter has been laying low sharing in an interview with Town and Country, that renovating her house (remember that sledgehammer scene?) and reading philosophy books by her grandfather Kiyoshi Oizumi are what keeps her busy for now. Check out Anna’s Instagram to follow her latest glittering adventures.

Kane supercharges his career in the most bling way possible

Hoping to expand his family’s real estate empire beyond South East Asia, Kane has been focused on real estate development in his new home of Los Angeles. “The Asians Are Here, We Are Here To Buy Your Property!!!” he says in a recent post about a luxe home he’s selling (the line is a reference to a run-in he had with white supremacists in season one). He also shares a little behind-the-scenes of some masks (with gold chains) that he is working on.

Kevin has his own place, and it’s a steal at US$1,700 per month

“It’s only about 500 square feet but it feels like a mansion to me!” the model says with that earnestness that made all of us normies root for him.

Kevin is also carving out a place for himself in the world as an Asian American. He took to Instagram to continue defending the show’s positive representation of Asians, sharing a clip of when his mom met the cast. In the Netflix video, he says one of the best parts of being on the show “is having Korean adoptees actually reach out to say our stories are finally being told.”

Andrew and Kelly are in therapy

There’s probably no truer statement in this video than when Kelly says, “The relationship that changed the most since filming is definitely my relationship with Andrew.” It was clear from season one that Andrew was going through things and therefore Kelly was too. After many interventions by other cast members, the tumultuous couple started therapy and are back in touch after a break. Andrew says he’s grown a lot since filming but the Internet may have the final say on that.

Kelly opens up to her fans

When she’s not playing with her puppy Kilo, she has been very active on IG and is even doing weekly Q&As with Bling fans every Sunday. It’s hard to imagine she won’t get bombarded with questions about (leaving) Andrew, but maybe she’ll also spill more about a possible season two?

Kevin and Kim are still defining the relationship

Season one saw Kevin and Kim banter and bicker plenty. “As far as Kim and Kevin goes they already fight like a married couple,” Kelly said of the boisterous duo. While there’s nothing official between the two, it’s clear the potential for something is still there. “Is there an attraction? I don’t know,” Kevin says. “She’s hot, how could I not?” The one thing they have committed to is their social media rivalry (the two don’t follow each other on Instagram).

Kim is processing the closure about about her father

Kim’s relationship with her dad was another touching subject in the midst of the group’s high rolling shenanigans. When Kim reveals she’s been trying to reconnect with her dad, Kevin and Kane take it upon themselves to look for him in South Carolina – without telling Kim. While it wasn’t appreciated at first, Kim says she’s ultimately grateful her friends did that for her. “If it wasn’t for them going out of their way to do that, I probably would’t have had the closure I wanted,” she says.

Cherie and Jessey’s wedding is on hold for now

Cherie and Jessey went through an emotional journey during season one with the passing of Cherie’s mother, having their first child and even getting engaged. “We don’t want to have a Zoom wedding,” Cherie said about their unconfirmed wedding date. “We don’t want to plan and have a small wedding and have people get sick. We don’t know anything yet.” Whenever the wedding is, fans will be rooting for their fairytale ending.

Christine hints at surrogacy

Christine was very honest and open about her struggles with pregnancy before the arrival of Baby G. While Christine says she and husband Dr. Gabriel Chiu have no plans to expand the family, she’s been inundated with fans from around the world offering to be their surrogate. “Maybe we’ll have to reopen that discussion,” she says. Follow Christine’s journey into motherhood on IG.

The crew agrees: Kevin needs to keep his shirt on and Jamie needs to be dropped from the group chat

“Everytime you take off your shirt Kevin, you lose money, because that’s how [he makes] money right?” Kane says. And Jamie, who’s been too busy influencing around the world to answer her 641 unread messages, is unanimously voted out of the group chat.

With a Rotten Tomato Critic Rating of 100%, Bling Empire is doing quite well for itself regardless. After such a successful first season, it will be very interesting – and juicy – to see whether the rumoured second season comes to fruition.

See also: 5 movies you’ll love if you loved Crazy Rich Asians