The 'Let's Make a Deal' host and his family are showing viewers how they make their blended family work in a new reality series Not every family can survive a divorce, but and ex-wife Mandie Taketa have not only weathered their split, they’re thriving as a blended family. Now, they're letting the world see how they're making it work with their new reality show, premiering on July 24 on Freeform. "It's important to us to show what a family can look like when you choose each other," Brady tells PEOPLE in this week's issue.
Brady, 52, and Taketa, 48, who married in 1999 and separated five years later, share 21-year-old daughter . After their divorce, the two worked through their differences separately with the help of therapy and eventually became best friends and even business partners in a production company. “We got healthy together, and we found a new friendship, a new family and a new safety within each other,” Taketa says.
“We’re soulmates.” After the split, Taketa began dating Jason Fordham, one Wayne’s backup dancers, after meeting during Wayne's well-received Las Vegas residency in 2009. The couple welcomed son in September 2021.
Maile and Fordham, 40, will also be featured in the family-focused new show. Related: When Fordham first began dating Taketa, to make the adjustment easier on everyone, particularly on Maile, he made it a point to give everyone space. “I would remove myself, especially in the beginning, to foster this support for the bigger pict.