Inside Bill Rancic’s comeback – starring Eric Trump and friends: The Apprentice winner dipped out to raise a family but is back with a new podcast, and says Donald Trump was ‘exhausting’

Remember the guy who won the first-ever season of The Apprentice in 2004? To jog your memory, it was restaurateur Bill Rancic, who segued in to reality TV with his wife, Giuliana Rancic, in 2009 with their show Giuliana and Bill.

Bill all but disappeared from the spotlight in 2014 to focus on his highly successful restaurant group RPM, and to help raise the couple’s son Duke, per People magazine. However, he did occasionally still appear on shows such as Celebrity Page and The Kelly Clarkson Show.

Now he’s returning to showbiz as a “serial entrepreneur”, author and motivational speaker, ready to share his pearls of financial wisdom through an edutainment podcast called Dollar Bill with Bill Rancic. So far, guests on the pod have included Eric Trump and comedian Howie Mandel.

The idea reportedly came from his wife – the entrepreneur and former E! News anchor Giuliana Rancic – who suggested he start a podcast to offer the financial advice that “they don’t teach you in school”, and equipped him with tips from her own career as a host.

But for the uninitiated, who is Bill Rancic? Here’s what you need to know about him.

Bill Rancic is from Chicago

Rancic was born and raised in Chicago, according to his IMDb bio, and later graduated from Loyola University. During Giuliana’s stint with E! News, the couple were splitting their time between Chicago and LA before moving to the West Coast. Now they’ve decided to move back to Chicago to be closer to family as their son starts middle school, according to an interview they gave to People in July.

He was treated ‘exceptionally well’ by Trump on The Apprentice

Twenty years after his big win on The Apprentice, the multi-hyphenate has opened up about how being on the show changed his life. Rancic revealed to PageSix that Donald Trump was “exhausting” to keep up with because “he was the first guy at it, last guy to call it a day”. He said the former president’s work ethic inspired his own and taught him that “no one should outwork you”.

The businessman also recalled being supported by Trump during the show, telling the same outlet, “He wanted to lift me up, wanted me to become very successful, and I think that’s his objective, you know, with what he’s doing now. He wants everyone to do really well”.

He supported his wife through her health and fertility journey

Bill and Giuliana Rancic met when she interviewed him for E! News in 2005 after his Apprentice win. They fell in love and got married in 2007, per People. Now, they have an eleven-year-old son, Duke, who was welcomed via surrogacy.

Giuliana had tried to conceive herself and had undergone multiple IVF treatments, but was diagnosed with breast cancer. When the couple tried for another child via the same surrogate after Duke, the surrogate suffered a miscarriage, according to the Los Angeles Times. The news left the family devastated, with Bill revealing to People: “We experienced a miscarriage years ago when we were trying with Giuliana, so we had been keeping the pregnancy news tight to the vest”.

Rancic also stood by his wife when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. He had lost his father to kidney cancer, and so said he knew they had to “just take control”. It wasn’t easy for him, he admitted to Glamour: “As a husband and as a man, you wish you could trade places with your wife, but you can’t, and it sucks. I of course had my moments. But you know, you’ve got to be strong; I would never break down in front of her”.

He is a bestselling author

Bill Rancic has authored four books, including New York Times bestseller You’re Hired: How to Succeed in Business and Life. He has also published Beyond the Lemonade Stand, written to help young people learn about money and the importance of a positive self-image, according to his website. First Light was his first novel, and I Do … Now What? was co-authored with his wife and shares their secrets to a happy marriage.