Jeannie Mai Says She Won’t Take Lessons Learned in 2024 with Her Into 2025: ‘There Are a New Set of Rules’ (Exclusive)

Jeannie Mai is adamant about moving on from the past in 2025.

The television host, 45, exclusively told PEOPLE at the It’s A Wonderful Lifetime Yuletide Event in November that her overarching resolution for the new year is to “leave” 2024 in the proverbial rear-view mirror.

“The lessons from this year are the lessons for this year,” the Emmy-winning host emphasizes. “I’m excited for next year. I want to learn new things.” 

“I learned very humbly that all the things that I believed in worked for me at a certain time in my life,” she adds. “But now, there are a new set of rules because they’re not just for me, they’re for my daughter.” 

Mai — whose divorce from ex-husband Jeezy was finalized in June, nine months after the initial divorce filing — shares 2-year-old daughter Monaco with the rapper. They were married for two-and-a-half years.

Mai and her daughter will both celebrate birthdays in January.

Among Mai’s new rules is to not contradict her feelings. “One of [the rules] is listening to myself — like actually listening to my own feelings and not trying to prove myself different when your body’s telling you, ‘No, that that ain’t cool’ or ‘That’s not okay’ or “That person is not safe,’ ” she explains.

Mai capped off her 2024 with a supporting role in Lifetime’s Christmas in the Spotlight, a holiday romance loosely inspired by Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s real-life love story. In the movie, Mai plays the manager of fictitious famous pop star Bowyn Sykes (Jessica Lord).

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Now, Mai is heading into the next 12 months with a new perspective.

“Instead of following my own rules from before, I want to leave that there,” she says of lessons learned in 2024. “I want to walk into 2025 like, ‘Who are these new people God’s going to bring me? What are these new situations? How are we going to face forward with all the skills and traits that I’m proud of?’ And to listen to myself and learn new things.”

Christmas in the Spotlight premiered on Nov. 23 on Lifetime and is now available to stream on the Lifetime App.