Jeannie Mai is beginning 2026 by sharing a deeply personal moment with her daughter, Monaco, whom she shares with Jeezy.
“The most meaningful thing I did to start this year wasn’t a resolution. It was a recognition,” Mai wrote on Instagram.
In a new YouTube video, Mai shared that while her daughter has known her for nearly four years, she had never actually introduced herself beyond the role of “Mommy.”
“I’ve known Monaco for almost 4 years and I’ve never introduced myself to her,” Mai says in the video.
She went on to explain that while Monaco knows her as a parent, there are parts of her life her daughter has not yet known.
“Obviously, she knows me as mommy, but she doesn’t know me. She doesn’t know Genie.”
That realization led Mai to reflect on her own childhood. Growing up, she said she only knew her mother as “mom,” not as a woman with her own history.
It was not until adulthood that Mai learned about her mother’s early life, her journey from Vietnam, becoming a parent at 19, learning a new language, and building an identity in a new country.
“I think part of our tension when I was younger was her defining who she was when I only saw her as mom,” Mai shared, adding that understanding those layers later in life gave her more empathy.
Recognizing she had not offered her own daughter that same understanding, Mai decided to change that.
“I’ve never introduced myself to you,” she told Monaco. “So I want to take a moment to introduce the girl that I was before you and the woman that I’m becoming because of you.”
She then turned to her daughter and said, “Hi, I’m Genie.”
Mai continued by sharing stories from her childhood in San Jose, and the habits she carried with her growing up. She also spoke openly about struggles she faced as an adult, including people-pleasing and placing others’ needs ahead of her own.
“I used to really care about what people thought about me,” Jeannie said.
Jeannie Mai ended the video by sharing what she called her “greatest prayer” for her daughter.
“[That] you become you and you’ll meet me becoming me,” she said. “That’s what we get to do in this life together. I love you, Coco. And I’m so so honored that I get to grow alongside you.”
