Solenn Heussaff on Why Her Kids Follow a Zero Sugar Rule

Solenn Heussaff often appears effortless and composed, but away from the cameras, she admits that family life with husband Nico Bolzico and their daughters Thylane Katana “Tili” and Maëlys Lionel “Maë” takes a great deal of intention.

Solenn explained that at Casa Bolz, their family home, she generally aims for a balanced approach when it comes to food and nutrition. Nico, however, takes things much more seriously. As she puts it, he’s “super strict, like, zero sugar and zero ice cream. Only on birthdays and stuff.”

For her part, Solenn is more relaxed and still allows the girls occasional treats during small celebrations. “Me naman I allow, like, after this [shoot], Papa’s not here, we’re going to have ice cream to say thank you guys for cooperating,” she said. Even so, she made it clear the treat comes with one condition—the girls have to finish their proper meal first.

“But Nico is very serious about the no sugar rule, which is good... now the only sugar we have at home is fruits, like natural stuff. So, there’s nothing at home that they can get, because we have no [sugary] snacks,” she added.

Solenn strongly believes this isn’t just about eating well but about long-term development. “Eating healthy is what helps the brain development as well. So, if you’re going to feed sugar, then you’re stopping the brain from expanding in the ways it can,” she said. 

“And I think nutrition isn’t spoken about enough in [Philippine] schools, because I’ve seen [some] schools give cookies and artificial juices, and people think it’s like, ‘oh, it’s okay, they’ll enjoy, it’s fun, they’re young’. But at the end of the day, whatever you do in the short term affects the long term.”

For her own kids, Solenn thinks it’s better if they never get used to sugary snacks, and hopes they’ll grow up reaching for natural options like carrots and strawberries instead.

Before having children, she prayed to be able to simply live with Nico first and enjoy being married. Looking back, she feels grateful that they got to experience that season fully. “We did that perfectly,” she said.

The birth of their first child completely changed her, although she admitted it also left her overwhelmed. “The first one, you don’t know what the hell you’re doing,” she said. With Maëlys, things felt more manageable. She had experience.

She laughed as she pointed out that parenting is still unpredictable, but one thing remains clear in her mind: “I try to teach them to be good people, and then later on, I’ll figure out the rest.”

When asked about how they reconnect as a couple, Solenn laughed and admitted that a parents-only trip still hasn’t happened. Instead, they create their own small moments at home. “We both wake up at like, 5 a.m., and the kids usually wake up at 7:00,” she said. “So, we have two hours where we just sit down, he has his maté, I have my coffee, and then we just talk.”

She added that Padel has become their favorite way to feel like partners again. “I’d have to say mornings is really our time—and Padel—because we both found that we love Padel, which is the same sport that I can actually play with him,” she said. “So that’s our time. We go for two, three hours of Padel playing.”

Travelling together is still something she hopes they can do in the future. “We haven’t traveled together yet since the birth of Tili. But I told him maybe in three years, we’ll be able to do that trip alone. We’ve never left the kids. Ever.”

Solenn ended the conversation by reflecting on what worries her most as a parent: the loss of real human connection. “It’s really being present,” she said. “I feel like nowadays, with everything that’s available to us, with how fast it is to obtain any type of information, people forget to live in the now and people do not connect with their children.”

She pointed out how common it has become to see families sitting together but entirely absorbed in their devices. “If you see this when you’re in restaurants in general, every family is on a gadget. If you have a family of four, you have the dad on the phone, the mom on the phone, and the kids are on the iPad, and it’s horrible. I find it so sad,” she said.

To counter that, she and Nico set firm boundaries at home. “We don’t have our phones at the dinner table; we don’t have our phones in bed. It’s always charging in the toilet. When we’re with the kids, no phones. Because obviously the more they see you on your phone, the more they’re like, ‘hey, why can’t I do that?’ What are they doing?”

Solenn hopes other parents will take note. Being present, setting limits on devices, and spending focused time with children doesn’t require perfection—it simply means being there for them. “Again, like I say, it’s really being present. I’m not trying to be perfect. I just want to be there,” she said.

Catch the full interview with Solenn below: