Exclusive Red Carpet Feature · Tanja Bock Magazin

There are women who don’t simply move through life — they shape the cultural moment around them.

Caroline Stanbury is one of them. A woman whose evolution from London to Dubai has become a defining narrative of modern femininity: intentional, self-authored, and rooted in clarity.

Her presence resonates deeply across the region, not because of spectacle, but because of substance.

In a city built on ambition and reinvention, Caroline has become a reference point — a woman who embodies the balance between strength and softness, discipline and freedom.

This Red Carpet Feature explores not only her journey, but the mindset behind it: what it means to live with intention, to command elegance without effort, and to build a life that feels aligned.

1) Transformation & Identity

You seem more centred than ever — calm, clear, and full of a new lightness. What does it mean to you to keep evolving without losing who you are?

CS: I’ve probably changed “a million times” in my life — and it never frightened me. Growth has always felt completely natural, almost like an inner rhythm I instinctively follow. I learned early on to live freely and not let the expectations of others define me. In many ways, I’ve always been a “free bird” — someone who doesn’t fear change but sees it as an expression of authenticity.When I evolve, I don’t lose myself — the opposite happens. With every phase I move through, I come closer to my own essence. I shed layers that no longer belong to me and make space for a clearer, calmer version of who I am becoming. For me, evolution isn’t a rupture but a flow — a constant homecoming to who I truly am, just with more awareness, more lightness, and more inner freedom.

2) Love & Soul Connection

Your relationship with Sergio inspires so many women — it stands for love, trust, and that rare feeling of having found one’s true soul partner. How does it feel to live a connection built on deep friendship, respect, and admiration? And what have you learned through this love — about yourself and about true partnership?

CS: Love later in life has a different colour. It becomes deeper, calmer, more authentic. When Sergio entered my life, I was newly divorced. He was 24, and yet he moved to Dubai without hesitation. That willingness to build my life with me from the ground up showed me what true connection really means: courage, loyalty, and the trust to write a new story together.Our relationship is rooted in teamwork, ease, and an energy that carries us both. We laugh a lot. We don’t take life too seriously. And that’s exactly what keeps me young. What touches me most: my children love him. That makes our home feel complete.With Sergio, I experienced for the first time what partnership feels like when it is built on genuine friendship, respect, and admiration. This love has made me softer — but also clearer about what I need. True partnership doesn’t mean growing over each other — but growing together.

3) Life in Dubai

Dubai is known for ambition, energy, and luxury — yet you’ve created something different here: a space of calm and inner balance. What does Dubai mean to you today — as a home, as a woman, and as an entrepreneur?

CS: I consciously live about twenty minutes from the centre because that’s exactly where I find the balance my life needs today: tranquillity, privacy, and still the proximity to a city I love. Dubai means so much to me — not because of the energy alone, but because of the quality of life, the safety, and the freedom I’ve found here.The club and event scene is no longer part of my everyday life. Not because I reject it, but because I live differently now. I don’t need FOMO anymore. I enjoy presence, not the obligation to be present. “Being less available makes everything more perfect” — consciously choosing where I want to be is an act of strength for me.Dubai is a place where I’m allowed to grow — in my own rhythm. A home that inspires me without overwhelming me. A place full of possibilities, one that I now call home not only on the outside, but on the inside.

4) Style & Authenticity

You are timelessly beautiful — elegant, yet never over-staged. You show yourself bare-faced, strong, vulnerable, glamorous — and take every woman along on the journey from real life to the perfect moment. How would you describe your personal style today? And what would you tell women who believe beauty is something to achieve — rather than something to feel?

CS: At home, I prefer being barefoot, in jeans and a simple shirt. That’s my natural state — that’s where I feel most myself. I rarely follow trends. I was never someone who defined herself through staging. When I’m not in front of the camera, I’m simply me. Uncomplicated, calm, minimal.Of course, I love glamour. But my daily life is far simpler. Sergio loves me unstyled just as much as styled, and that gives me freedom. Beauty, for me, is not perfection — it’s authenticity: the feeling of being at home in your own skin, whether unfiltered in the kitchen or glamorous on the red carpet.

5) Spaces, Energy & Design

Your home is more than architecture — it’s an expression of your soul. Your Al Barari villa, with its art, the iconic bonsai tree, and the calm architecture of serenity — designed together with interior designer Kate Instone — reflects your exceptional taste. And your Downtown apartment, offered through Stanbury Towers with Hive Holiday Homes, lets guests experience a small part of your world — modern, elegant, and full of character. How important is the energy of a space to you — and what makes a place truly feel like home?

CS: In the past, women often designed homes for their husbands. For the first time in my life, I was able to create spaces that are truly mine — without compromise, without outside expectations. My home tells my story: a mix of art, humour, and colour. Pieces that have been with me for years, and those that found me spontaneously. My pink Bentley, my Barbie accents, our pink golf cart (laughs) — it all belongs to me.Sergio and I share this love for objects with soul. We don’t decorate — we collect memories. Our home is animated by this energy: playful, warm, emotional — and at the same time calm.Al Barari gives us something you cannot stage: nature. Birds, water, greenery. This atmosphere calms our lives in a way I didn’t know before. For me, “home” doesn’t come from architecture, but from feeling. A place feels right when it shows who we truly are.

6) Routine & Self-Care

Discipline and mindfulness seem deeply rooted in your life. What does a day look like when you feel completely in balance? Are there rituals, products, or small habits that ground you — perhaps a favourite skincare product or a quiet ritual that belongs only to you? You often share tender moments with your family and your dogs — how do those simple, grounding moments fit into your daily sense of balance?

CS: My day always starts the same way: Pilates, a coffee, and my peptides — I’m genuinely obsessed with them. It’s the one ritual I never skip.In the past, I completely overwhelmed myself in the gym — always higher, faster, more. Today I know my body responds better to gentleness. Pilates gives me strength without stress. It creates a balance that flows through my entire day.

In beauty, I rely on technology: lasers, skin innovation, salmon sperm — but only with people I truly trust. And yes, I had a facelift. I speak openly about it because it was a conscious decision I made — and one I stand by. For me, self-care is not performance — it’s alignment: What genuinely helps me? What feels right?Balance, for me, comes from small things — movement, treatments, rituals that nourish me. And then there are my dogs, my family, these quiet moments that ground me. They’re the softest part of my day — and often the most important.

7) Balance & Body Awareness

We share the love for the FX Mayr Cure — and the belief that true beauty starts within. What does this kind of self-care mean to you, and which routines from that time have remained part of your life today?

CS: I think if you don’t take care of yourself, how can you take care of anyone else in your life? It’s really a reflection of who you are. Just like your home reflects how you hold yourself together, self-care shows people where you place yourself in the hierarchy.

When you put yourself first, people understand that — and they won’t take advantage of you.

8) Manifestation & Reality

You’ve launched a Manifestation & Gratitude Journal — a true passion project. What does manifestation mean to you today? And is there something you once envisioned that has since become reality — perhaps exactly the way you imagined it?

CS: When I started building my house, it was nothing but sand — a blank space. And yet I could already see it. Every room, every feeling, the life inside it. That’s manifestation to me: dreaming with clarity and behaving as if it already exists.Manifestation is not manipulation — it’s a mindset. Trust, gratitude, acceptance. You stay grateful for what you have, you stay focused on what you want, and you move through your life as if it’s already part of your reality. The universe responds to energy, not effort. I use vision boards, intention, discipline — but mostly, I use belief. Clarity creates direction. And direction creates momentum. That’s how dreams stop being dreams and become homes, projects, communities.

9) Creativity & Future

From Ladies of London and The Real Housewives of Dubai to your podcast, YouTube channel, and social platforms — you’ve become the storyteller of your own life. What are you currently working on creatively? Is there a project or idea you haven’t shared publicly yet — something you could reveal to us exclusively?

CS: I’m working on several new projects at the moment, and what I love is that none of them feel forced — they’ve all evolved naturally from where I am in my life.One of these projects is Pemba Living, a new community concept on Pemba Island in Zanzibar. I mentioned it briefly once, but for me it represents something much deeper: balance, nature, and a more conscious way of living. It’s a long-term vision, something that grows slowly and intentionally — perfectly aligned with this next chapter of my life.My Stanbury Retreats continue to expand as well. The retreat we held in November 2025 reminded me of the incredible power that emerges when women come together in a space without pressure or performance. Over 800 women are now on the waitlist — something that still genuinely humbles and inspires me. I’m also opening my own hair salon in Dubai. I spent years not finding anyone who truly understood my hair — and eventually that became the inspiration to build the place I needed myself. A salon grounded in calm, quality and real expertise.And there’s my collaboration with ASTREA LONDON, working with lab-grown diamonds. What makes this project especially meaningful is that Sarah Jessica Parker, ASTREA’s Global Creative Director, guides the creative vision. It feels like a natural extension of my own aesthetic: modern, intentional, elegant.Even our Airbnb apartments in Dubai are part of this creative universe — spaces that Sergio and I design based on how we genuinely love to live.I don’t feel like I’m chasing big projects anymore. It feels more like I’m honouring what aligns with me — and allowing it to grow in its own rhythm.

Stanbury Retreats: Power & Paradise Maldives Retreat

10) Inspiration & Legacy

Many women see you as living proof that style, strength, and sensuality have no age. As a mother and mentor, what values do you hope to pass on — to your children and to the next generation of women following your journey? What would you tell women who may be in a moment of reinvention — searching for courage to follow their own path?

CS: I want to give women hope. Authenticity is everything to me. I’ve met some of the wealthiest women in the world — and many of them are empty inside. It taught me that real abundance has nothing to do with money; it comes from within.I always tell women: stay true to yourself. Build your own dreams. And never give up. Strength doesn’t mean being perfect — it means being honest. Soft when necessary. Clear when it matters. And brave enough to reinvent yourself.For my children, I want to be an example: that they should never believe their worth depends on external things. That they know reinvention is not failure — it is freedom.To women standing at a turning point, I would say: stop comparing yourself. Stop apologising. Reinvent yourself — as often as you want. Your life belongs to you. And you are never too late. Never.

Caroline Stanbury reminds us that elegance is not found in perfection, but in awareness — in the freedom to evolve, to refine, and to live with intention.

She embodies the balance so many women seek today: strength with softness, ambition with grounded presence.

It is this quiet clarity — more than status, success, or style — that defines her. A woman who continues to inspire not by striving to be perfect, but by choosing to be authentic.

With love, xo