Meri Manziel on Big Brother Johnny, Fashion, Life …

By now, most everyone has become acquainted with Johnny Manziel’s sweet younger sister, Meri. Recently, Meri sat down with Dana Schuster of “New York Post” to talk about growing up in Texas, her passion for fashion, and of course her famous brother.

The Manziels have always been close. Paul and Michelle started their family in Tyler, Tex. where they have a large extended family, but later they moved their small family of four to Kerrville Texas, where Paul and Michelle worked in the contracting and real estate business. Kerrville is also where Johnny first begin to wow Texans with his otherworldly football prowess

Through the years, Paul and Michelle have spent a lot of time together with Johnny and Meri, bonding over family activities. Although Meri admits that “she doesn’t like to sweat,” (neither do we, Meri!!), she definitely had a penchant for golf growing up. Golf is one of the Manziel family’s favorite sports.

“It would always be me and my dad against my brother and Mom. Whoever lost had to cook us dinner and clean the kitchen.”

These days you can find 20-year-old Meri in Tyler Texas, where she still dates her high school sweetheart, Ty Malechek. She lives with her grandmother, and has been working on an associate degree in business.

Even though her schedule is pretty busy, she still finds time to visit with her brother about their shared love of shopping and fashion.

Meri, like many of her young contemporaries, mentioned that her dream job would be working as a buyer at Neiman Marcus.  “I’m probably overdressed everywhere I go … I like to get dressed up and look cute,” Meri said.

And she also has a sentimental streak when it comes to fashion as well. Meri has made a point to save all of her gowns from the big events that she has attended with Johnny. When it came to her all-important wardrobe decision for the draft Meri confessed, “I didn’t know what team he was going to, so I was like, ‘Well, whatever team it is, I don’t want to clash!’ ”

We admire Meri’s touching sentiment regarding her keepsake wardrobe. “They have so much sentimental value to me. Those were really cool times that a lot of people don’t get to experience. I like looking back and having those things in my closet to remind me of what we’ve done and where I’ve gone.”

And Meri said she’s not the only one who likes to go shopping every now and then. “Johnny’s huge into shopping,” says Meri. “He loves to take me shopping when I’m in LA.” This fun activity for both siblings allows big brother Johnny to spend time with his only little sister.

Time together isn’t the only thing about these trips that Meri treasures… “Recently he got me my Céline bag, and I’m obsessed with it,” she said as she proudly displayed the Navy colored bag. “I picked the style. He picked the color. If he’s going to buy me something, he likes to see it in person and help me out with it.”

“He’s going through this fashion phase right now that I’m not a big fan of,” Meri reveals. “It’s very YSL. Kind of that Scott Disick look, but, you know, he loves it.”

Even if Meri isn’t a huge fan of Johnny’s wardrobe choices, America is falling in love with her fashion-centric photos on Instagram, where nearly 17,000 fans follow Meri @mmanziel. Most days you can find Meri showing off lots of sunny summer pics and chic outfits.

And with some good-natured sibling taunting, it sounds like Johnny has plenty to say about his little sister’s wardrobe choices as well. “Johnny got mad at the last one I posted in Saratoga [Springs, NY],” Meri commented, regarding the vastly flattering Instagram photo of the petite brunette in a striking one-piece bathing suit–which definitely showed off her assets to best advantage.

Meri laughed as she recalled his reaction to the photo. “He was like, ‘I don’t know how I feel about that.’ ”

Meri also joked, “My dad doesn’t have an Instagram, and I think we need to keep it that way.”

Despite the joking that goes on between the two, Meri is the first to defend her brother. When it comes to ridiculous rumors in the press about Johnny she makes it clear that there is no merit to these outrageous and largely fictitious stories.

“I know who he is as a person, and I’ve never been concerned or worried about anything he’s ever done,” Meri said.

Meri commented that the ugliness in the news media often gets to Johnny as well as the rest of the family.

“He doesn’t always like to talk about it, but I know when something [comes out], he’ll call and just be superquiet and I’ll just know,” she said.

“We never talk about things that are written about [Johnny]. We always try to avoid that stuff.”

Most of the time the brother and sister pair stick to happier topics, and they clearly have each other’s back when it comes to dealing with fame and other negativity in the world.

Meri shared that Johnny’s favorite saying is: “You have to make yourself happy. That’s his No. 1 thing. It starts with you.”

That is definitely good advice to a young lady who is stepping fully into the bright lights of worldwide fame herself. But it is a topic that has been on her mind for a few years now. Meri penned a thesis in college pertaining to the overt pressure of news media that is constantly dogging Johnny. Meri mentioned that Johnny had not read her thesis yet, and she went on to say “The attention is cool, but it kind of freaks me out at times. A lot comes with that. I’ve seen the attention my brother gets, and sometimes it’s too much.”

And it’s especially a lot for a young man who not only has to deal with fame, but with the litany of haters, who seem to revel in negativity. For people who have never been under the glaring pressure of media frenzy, it might be difficult to comprehend. “I’ve been on the sidelines throughout it all. People always say it’d be so cool to be famous, and I’m always like, ‘I don’t know,’” Meri says … “I think it’s worse.”

Meri said Johnny is committed to training to play football again next year. And hopefully he’s also committed to making himself happy … In the words of her famous brother “it starts with you.”
Photo Credits: Annie Wermiel, Meri Manziel

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