Former CNN Anchor Shares How She Rebuilt Her Life After the ‘Unimaginable Happened’ Weeks After Giving Birth

Author and former CNN and CNBC anchor Nicole Lapin welcomed her daughter in December 2024. Just three weeks later, the 41-year-old had to evacuate her home with her newborn due to the devastating fires sweeping across Los Angeles. Eight months on, Lapin opens up to PEOPLE about how she’s rebuilt her life and the lessons she wishes she had known before the “unimaginable happened.”

“I had everything really set up for postpartum, tried to think through as much as I could to safeguard from postpartum depression and have a studio within walking distance of our home,” she shares.

Yet, as Lapin points out, some things are impossible to plan for. The fires, she admits, were “not part of my birth plan at all.”

“I worried about a zillion different things. Losing my entire town was not one of them,” the author adds.

Lapin and her family were among more than 150,000 Los Angeles residents forced to evacuate as the blazes consumed over 40,000 acres and destroyed more than 16,000 structures.

“It cut so deep from our entire home and everything that we had. We left with the clothes on our back, not an ID or our wallet or anything—much less valuables or sentimental items.”

The fire destroyed Lapin’s Pacific Palisades home, her office for the Money News Network, and even her pediatrician’s office.

The financial journalist has spent the past several months rebuilding her life and preparing for future emergencies.

“We did the best we could. It was out of survival and necessity that we had to find a temporary place, but ultimately, we were homeless,” she says. “We finally found a spot a few months ago and just rebuilt our studio.”

Beyond the material losses, the situation stirred up past trauma.

“I had this irrational fear of being homeless. I saw my house foreclosed on when I was a kid. I always had housing insecurity, but I never thought that could happen to me again,” she shares. “There are these financial irrational fears that you have, no matter what’s in your bank account, that are really deep-rooted.”

Lapin reflects on the experience as both a personal and financial lesson.

“I have realized that as far as I’ve come, there’s always more to learn and there’s always more work to do. I’ve definitely learned even more having to go through it myself,” she continues. “It’s one thing to take financial tests, which I have and study for. It’s another thing to actually go to the school of hard knocks, which I had to do this year.”

The former finance correspondent has used her experience to guide others through her Money Rehab podcast.

“The unthinkable, unfortunately, does happen regardless. Emergencies will happen,” she says. “It’s not if, but when. It’s not even to this extreme, but to be as financially prepared as possible—that is something you can control.”

Lapin also shares practical advice for disaster preparedness, recommending people create a “digital go bag” with essential documents, passports, IDs, insurance policies, and other vital papers.

She also suggests taking a video inventory of your home to document possessions for insurance purposes. For Lapin, this includes everything from major items to small details like clothing and makeup shades.

“It’s so gut-wrenching to do an inventory of your entire life, but the insurance will ask for it,” Lapin says. “It’s always tricky to learn from these life lessons. It’s a combination of forgiving my former self for what she didn’t know, but also having tough love and taking the right steps moving forward.”

Outside of disaster recovery, the New York Times bestselling author is focusing on her daughter’s financial future. Growing up with money-related trauma, Lapin emphasizes teaching her child healthy financial habits and demystifying financial jargon.

“I rethink the way I talk now, and when my daughter does talk, I want to change the language we use. I won’t say, ‘Money doesn’t grow on trees,’ but maybe, ‘Money grows where we save it and invest it.’”

“Consciously changing the way we think and talk about money is important,” she adds. “Instead of, ‘We can’t afford that,’ I’ll say, ‘We’re choosing to spend our money on something else right now.’”

Lapin’s transparency in sharing her experiences is central to her media presence and her parenting philosophy. She hopes to inspire others while setting an example for her daughter.

“I try my best to lead by example. The last eight months have been a challenge, but even at this point in my life, there’s so much to learn,” she says. “I know a lot. I don’t know everything, and I’ve never claimed to know everything. The more you realize there is, the more there is to know. One of our last taboos in this world is finances.”

“I hope that parents realize money is the tool and not a limitation. When anyone asks me how to make rich kids, ultimately it’s looking in the mirror first because I’m seeing that kids mirror exactly what you do,” she shares.

“If you have bad habits you’re displaying to your child, they’re gonna watch you. They’re gonna watch if you’re scared to open your credit card bill. It’s important to lead by example, and that is an honest, hard conversation that we all have to have with ourselves. I try to have it first.”