A Handsome Eligible Prince

New Yorker Prince Lorenzo Borghese, 39, best known for starring in ABC’s The Bachelor, was born in Milan. His father is Prince Francesco Marco Luigi Costanzo Borghese of Italy and his mom, Amanda Leigh, is an American.
The Borghese family titles date back to the 1600s when Pope Paul V bestowed them. Prince Lorenzo’s ancestors owned land and fine art and the name Borghese is prominently displayed throughout Italy. In December 2010 Harper Collins published Prince Lorenzo’s first book, The Princess of Nowhere, a historical novel starring his relative Pauline Bonaparte Borghese, Napoleon’s favorite sister.
A cosmetics entrepreneur and the executive vice president of Multimedia Exposure, the Prince is also the founder and president of Royal Treatment Italian Pet Spa, a high-end bath, body and skin care line for pets.
We sat down for espresso at Bottega del Vino on the Upper East Side.
Dorri Olds: What can you tell me about your upcoming TV show The Prince of Pets?
Prince Lorenzo Borghese: The focus is pets, especially dogs, and human bonds. We’ll present controversial stories regarding animal welfare. One good example is Cheetah from the Tarzan movies. Is it bad to have animals in movies? Are they treated poorly? It’s an inspirational show that celebrates how the good within animals brings out the good in people.
Dorri Olds (DO): Who came up with the concept?
Prince Lorenzo Borghese (PLB): I did. I’ve been in this industry for 10 years.
DO: Industry?
PLB: Whenever there’s money involved I’d say it’s an industry. The American Humane Association—not to be confused with the Humane Society—was set up to protect animals and children in the entertainment industry.
DO: Did you have pets growing up?
PLB: [laughs] Yes, parakeets, lovebirds, gerbils, hamsters, mice, fish, turtles, newts, frogs, dogs, cats and Petey the guinea pig.
DO: Where did you grow up?
PLB: I was born in Italy but then we moved to France. My Dad got a job for Max Factor in Paris. Then we moved to the U.S. when he worked for Mennen. After that Dad started his own cosmetics business.
DO: If you’re royalty why do you all work?
PLB: We work and we give back. My sister, Ilaria Borghese, rescues greyhounds and horses. She’s involved with many charities like Mylestone Equine Rescue for abused horses. My brother, Scipione, and his wife are involved with 50 charities.
Here’s some family history: during WWII, my father’s grandfather lost an old Medici Italian castle in a card game then sold all of his property at the worst possible time. It was the end of the war and the Italian economy had tanked. Way before that, in 1902, the corrupt Italian government forced the Borgheses out. Napoleon confiscated much of their art and forced his sister’s husband to sell over three hundred artworks that now belong to the Louvre. The more I learned of Princess Pauline Bonaparte Borghese and her scandalous love affairs I knew I had to write   a romance novel.
DO: Let’s shift to The Bachelor. I’ve always wondered, is it scripted?
PLB: They didn’t force me to do anything. Would I have acted differently without a camera? Yes. The camera is with you constantly and there’s always a mic above your head making you hyper aware you’re being watched by millions of people.
DO: Did you think you were going to meet a woman, fall in love and get married?
PLB: I went into it with an open mind but skeptical. I’m not afraid of getting married but I don’t want to make a mistake. I recommended my friends pick the women for me but ABC said no. I said I wouldn’t propose if they presented only ridiculous, catty women.  I think casting did a decent job. They provided a balance of good girls, and some who were just good TV. Nobody would’ve watched if there was no drama. Let’s face it, people want to watch a train wreck.
DO: Were you in love with the woman you gave the last rose to?
PLB: Did I think I met my soulmate? No. Did I love her? I don’t remember if I really loved the girl I picked. She didn’t feel like the one and it was impossible to predict how we’d be when we returned to reality where there were no helicopters and exotic islands.
DO: Was the split mutual?
PLB: Yes. She was in Miami and I was in New York. The Enquirer showed photos of her at a beach with some guy. She said it wasn’t true. That’s when I said, “Don’t you think this is insane? You’re in Miami being followed by paparazzi and I’m here in New York.” I asked her if she really loved me. She said no and I said, “I don’t really love you.” I couldn’t go out with female platonic friends without it ending up on page six saying I cheated on my girlfriend. I thought, ‘This is just stupid.’
DO: It sounds like living in a fishbowl.
PLB: I call it under the bubble. On the show we were protected but back in real life we weren’t.
DO: Post-show did women throw themselves at you?
PLB: Yes. I knew if I went on the show it would open the door to meeting a real girlfriend. I knew it would make it much easier. I’m really shy. I don’t like approaching women.
DO: Really?
PLB: It’s funny what TV can do for you. Before the show, women weren’t asking me out. I’d had long-term girlfriends but I was single for seven months before the show.
DO: I read about your recent breakup. Did she ask you out?
PLB: [smiles] No, I met my last girlfriend on a plane back from Amsterdam. She’s Russian but had flown all that way just for a Dave Matthews concert. I was there for a reality show called Undercover Princes. Food on the flight was awful. This pretty Russian woman was sitting in front of me. I got up the nerve and wrote on a napkin “Was your food as bad as mine? Do you want to go grab a pizza when we get back to NY?” She wrote back, “Yes.” And we were together for a year and a half.
DO: Were you in love?
PLB: I thought we were really in love. It was the longest relationship I’d had in a long time. I had been with my high school girlfriend for nine years, then another girl for seven. But this was the first time I’d lived with someone.
DO: What caused the breakup?
PLB: We got in a fight over a piece of furniture and she left.
DO: She broke your heart over a sofa?
PLB: Yes. We’d just returned from Italy where we’d had a great time. I tried to understand what the heck happened but she was already gone and never explained. Now I have to think maybe it was for the best. She didn’t like controversy of any kind.
DO: We’ve got to get you hooked up. What is your ideal woman?
PLB: I don’t really have an ideal. I like the usual—smart, pretty, fun—and sensitive to others’ feelings. She should love animals and make me feel loved. I’m not typically a romantic guy but when my Russian girlfriend and I celebrated our anniversary I wrote on an airplane napkin and invited her out to repeat our first date. Then I took her to see Dave Matthews.
DO: That is romantic. Let’s talk about your other big love, Belle the Labrador Retriever.
PLB: I got her for my 21^st birthday. My nine-year girlfriend asked me if I wanted to go to Great Adventure but I said I wanted a female black lab. The week of my birthday my girlfriend called and said her sister was out walking and saw a litter of black labs on the street. Belle was the runt of the litter and the last one left.
DO: Do you believe in fate?
PLB: I think it was a Godlike intervention. I mean, what are the odds of that? On the same week that I told my girlfriend I wanted a black lab, Belle suddenly appeared in this weird quirky way. She came over with her little tail wagging and hopped up and down then sat with her legs crossed like a southern belle.
DO: Belle inspired your pet shampoo line, correct?
PLB: Yes, when she was five her dandruff was so bad it looked like she’d been snowed on. When I bathed her it got worse. The vet said to bathe her once every two months.
DO: My dog would stink if I waited that long.
PLB: Right. So I went on a mission to fix the problem. Research proved my theory that there was something in dog shampoos creating the problem. It was the pH levels, which measure acidity. Dogs’ skin is alkaline. In humans it’s acidic. Traditional pet shampoos are just slightly altered human shampoos. Dog shampoos also contain harsh foaming agents called surfactants that create dry skin because they scrub out natural oils. When these oils are removed, water escapes and the skin becomes very dry. I decided to create a shampoo with a much lower pH, balanced for dogs’ skin, using only organic ingredients and I added moisturizers. In 2003 the Home Shopping Network bought my shampoo line and I’m the television spokesperson. It’s the only pet line that has been around for nine consecutive years on HSN. It’s a good business and I enjoy it. I also own a business with my brother called Multimedia Exposure. We find products for TV.
DO: Can you explain?
PLB: We’re an agency with dozens of clients. We find products for television and get a commission. We own a home fragrance line my sister-in-law created called Casa di Francesca and my mom’s jewelry line, “Princess Amanda.”
DO: What are some of your upcoming animal charity events?
PLB: I’m a celebrity judge for the Hero Dog Awards. It airs on November 11, Veterans Day, on the Hallmark channel. Judges picked the best therapy dogs. It was filmed by the American Humane Association and presented by Cesar^® dog food. Betty White hosted and Whoopi Goldberg MC’d the kickoff dinner.
DO: What’s next?
PLB: I’ve already done most of what I wanted to. I wanted to go to business school, so I earned an MBA from Fordham. I dreamed of running the New York Marathon, so I did it. I wanted a scuba license so I got one, then a pilot’s license. I wanted a motorcycle so I got one.
DO: Wow, it sounds like you never stop.
PLB: I get bored easily. I’m active and love skiing, scuba diving, zip lining. I’ve even gone skydiving.
DO: Have you ever bungee jumped? My Dad did that for the first time at age 86.
PLB: [smiles] Not into bungee jumping, it looks painful. My main goal now is for my TV show to be successful and raise a lot of money to help animals. My other goal is to get married and have a family. Then maybe when I’m 86, I’ll go bungee jumping. Who knows?