Before they joined the new Vanderpump Rules Season 12 cast, cousins Chris Hahn and Jason Cohen really struggled while trying to make it big in Hollywood. During Episode 5, the New Jersey natives opened up about the lengths they went to make ends meet after relocating to Los Angeles.
“This journey with me and Chris moving to California was just like any typical actor’s story,” Jason shared with a producer. “The first five months in L.A., I was grinding as a server, working at a spa, and I was also working at a club, like three jobs.”
In a separate confessional, Chris recalled, “First moving to L.A., it was not really what we expected. We had barely anything. … Thank god we had each other.”
RELATED:Â What Does the Vanderpump Rules Season 12 Cast Do for a Living Outside of Working at SUR?
A flashback to a week earlier showed the duo reminiscing about the early days of launching careers in the entertainment industry. After Jason revealed, “We lived in our f–kin’ cars,” Chris chimed in, “All of our clothes were in trash bags.”
“I was using the trash bags of clothes as warmth at night — and your body heat,” Jason joked. “And then honestly, bro, I was just getting sick of ramen noodles and f–kin’ cat food.”
As he elaborated in a confessional, “I was trying to eat clean and, like, I didn’t have any money to do it, so I was eating cat food.” (And if you’re wondering what cat food tastes like, Jason compared it to “canned tuna.”)
How Chris Hahn and Jason Cohen started earning more money
Despite getting “shredded” on his low-budget diet, Jason quickly realized that something had to change.
“Chris and I were both just trying to figure out how we were going to make money faster,” he explained. “I see all these social media people, and I’m thinking to myself, like, ‘How are they making money at this?’ …Â People were hitting me up on Instagram left and right saying, ‘You should do OnlyFans.’ And all of a sudden, it was just like, ‘Eureka!'”
Chris, for his part, added that “you could make good money” as a server, but they were still “in the hole,” nonetheless.
“Jason started OnlyFans before me, and I started seeing how much money he was making,” he said. “And I really just wanted to make as much f–kin’ money as we can.”
Details on Chris Hahn and Jason Cohen’s careers outside of SUR
Though Chris moved to L.A. with the “dream” of becoming an actor, he pivoted to music. Outside of his bartending job at SUR, he now considers modeling to be his main side gig, however. In addition to his OnlyFans earnings, Chris also previously collected a paycheck by appearing on two reality dating shows.
Chris further told The Daily Dish that he also works with an East Coast-based liquor company that he’s “hoping to bring” to the West Coast. Plus, he and “business partner” Jason “have a lot brewing,” though he couldn’t discuss details of their upcoming projects just yet.
RELATED:Â What Dating Shows Was Chris Hahn From Vanderpump Rules On?
Jason, for his part, said that he’s “definitely an actor,” which he referred to as his “art” and “passion,” in a separate exclusive interview. His diverse job history also includes everything from work in the medical field to dancing at strip clubs.
Jason also described himself as “a little bit of an entrepreneur” before offering a bit more intel than Chris did on their future career goals.
“We want to start getting into managing and running our own businesses,” Jason revealed. “We think we would be very good at marketing, because of our personalities and what we do … We’re working with a couple of companies right now. One of them is an app, so we’re actually considering building an app together.”
Don’t miss more details on how Chris and Jason’s pals in the Vanderpump Rules cast earn money outside of working at SUR.
— Additional reporting by Jeff Edelstein
