Beta Lebeis Interview
Brazilian Journal March 12, 2001

Who is this woman? Up to January 14 she was a simple woman from Sao Paulo of 45 years old living in California, divorced and mom of three children. After this date she is also known as "The Mom" of Axl Rose. And she was called and praised in the stage she suddenly became a big celebrity. Her picture appeared in the headlines of many Brazilian newspapers.

In the bar at the Intercontinental Hotel she gave us this interview where she speaks about her personal life, her children and reveals that Axl is an eternal romantic person.

He is so passionate that at the time he was with Stephanie Seymour, he "went to her house riding a big horse and carrying flowers".

So this is Axl Rose according to Beta...

Q: Mother?

B: I always cook and take the meals to the studio, I make cakes, pies and I call before a show to wish them "good luck". I even light candles for them. It's like I'm the mother of Guns n' roses.

Q: Did Axl composed any song for you?

B: I don't know, I don't think so. He says that one of the new songs is dedicated to me and my family.

Q: When did Axl left his home?

B: He left home when he was very young, his step-dad used to beat him hard and he even abused him sexually. This being the main reason for him to be so shy. I think he left Lafayette, I'm not quite sure, at 14 or 15 years old. Now he is 38 years old.

Q: And he is now discovering maternal love.

B: He has nothing against his mom, the only thing he could not understand is why he did not receive her maternal protection. This is what he sees now in my relationship with my children. Today he understands that a mother should be protective and he never felt protected.

Q: And that influenced a lot, right?

B: I think that who we are is a reflection of how we were raised, how our family behaves at home, how we relate with our parents. We are a mirror of our family. The basic level comes from our home, and Axl never had that. That feeling is much more difficult to grow in an adult's head. We when are growing up we see this examples in every day life, this love, the kiss goodnight...he never had that. Therefore, he doesn't know how to show this type of love and this is very hard for a grown up to handle, right?

Q: And his music reflects this lack of love.

B: Yes, right. Old songs do reflect that, new songs are different.

Q: Is he in touch with his mom?

B: She passed away 5 years ago.

Q: Who lives with him in Malibu?

B: Me and him. My younger son lives with us every now and then and in my house too.
I own a house in California, too but in another neighborhood. But its very close to Axl's house.

Q: I feel like you are a housekeeper for him, do you organize everything?

B: (laughs) That is the correct word, cause everyone asks, what do you do?? OK, I am his personal assistant. And I also organize his house, I coordinate the personnel.

Q: Do you advise him?

B: I give him my advice whenever he asks. He accepts my opinion very much, you know. He never took it bad. I have to see the person in every possible angle. You have to see in 360 grades, there is always something good in a person. So, if he performs any contracts with the new band, that is his decision. He only asks me what I think about it. He wants to know if he should do that or not, he asks if he is being fair. He is worried about being fair, he doesn't like to do anything which is not true. He always wants to do everything right cause he gets worried of what they may say about him. He wants everything to be clear. So I think that I influence him pretty much. But at the same time this worries me, cause I'm afraid of this responsibility.

Q: How did you enter into his life?

B: I was the babysitter of Stephanie Seymour's son. She was a Victoria's secret model, this was 11 years ago. I started working with Stephanie in February and in May she started going out with Axl Rose. It seems that they had something before this.

Q: Do you believe in past lives?

B: Yes, I do and Axl believes in them also. As a Brazilian I believe in this. I find it impossible for two persons who never met to get along so well. When I opened the door and he was there, I felt like I had known him for years.

Q: Do you know what Axl says about Queen?

B: He likes Queen very much, its his favorite band. Freddy Mercury liked Axl very much. Axl even made a tribute to him the second day of Rock in Rio. Axl is still Brian May's friend. He plays the guitar in one of the new songs.

Q: So after the breakup you stayed with Axl?

B: He asked me to stay with him when they broke up. But I was the child's babysitter so I was worried about him. He was only two years old and Stephanie was always traveling, she was never at home.

Q: What was the reason for Axl and Stephanie to breakup?

B: Because she used to bring many people at home and Axl found out. He adored her.  She moved to New York and Axl called me to work with him. And I accepted cause between Axl and her, I was always sure I wanted to be with him, he beats her 100 to 0. Even though he is a man our friendship is amazing, I really trust him. He is what he says he is, Stephanie was in a certain way with me and in another with others. He values me much more than her.

Q: Can you talk about his depression?

B: Axl is a person who wants to do everything right. I think he was the man in love that many women would have wanted to have in their lives. He was like an enchanted prince. All the things he did for her where the type of things you can only find in a romantic book.

Q: So he was an old fashioned lover?

B: Yes, of course. When they were about to breakup, he went to her house in a white suit, riding a horse and carrying flowers. The things he did for her can only be read in history books. This does not exist in real life. I think that many women would have liked to be in her place. I would never have left this man walk away. But as Stephanie is very beautiful and sexy, she can have any man she wants. She uses men like toys. Have you seen a child with a new toy? She plays with it and then she doesn't want to play anymore. I have always told her that she would hurt Axl more than she thinks. Other men that dated her had not suffered the way Axl did, that is why he suffers so much. He wanted to do everything right and he thought he was doing everything right. He took this relationship very seriously. She practically killed him. When the band finished he thought he would have his family, he would get married and have children. He thought this would be the second part of his life, he had earned enough money and now he wanted to dedicate his time to a family. His dream was to have a family, children, and everything he never had. I think that when I entered into his life he started realizing that someone cares about him and loves him. I'm a patient person, I trust him and he did not trust himself. I'm not a psychologist but he needs someone to listen to what he has to say and I'm here for him. When I have to be his friend I'm here as his friend and when I have to be his assistant I'm here as his assistant. I don't mix things. When I have to be his assistant I leave our friendship behind and I work. He doesn't take advantage of our relationship.  I respect him as if he was my boss and it becomes an employment relation.

Q: Is he happy he played for 200,000 people?

B: His dream was to come back to Brazil. When we first met, our first conversation was about Brazil. He spoke about the poor people, the "favelas", and how he wanted to build a hospital where everyone could be treated no matter their condition.

Q: I have the feeling that Brazilians liked the new band.

B: Yes, very much, its amazing. We are very surprised, this generation is not so GNR and yet they love the band.

Q: How is the new record going to be?

B: So great. I'm emotionally related to them but I think it will be amazing. It will be released in June or July. They already have 48 songs and the record company is selecting the material.

Q: Is Axl out of drugs?

B: Totally. I have known him for 10 years and I have worked with him for 7 years and a half and he never had drugs. He even quit smoking.

Q: Any drinks?

B: Yes, every now and then.

Q: You must have been in touch with people who were addicted to heroin, is it hard to quit all that?

B: I have never seen it. Axl does not admit it in his house or in his group. Not even smoking is allowed in the studio, never close to him. You have to go out if you want to smoke. So I have never been around someone who is doing drugs.

Q: Does he have an studio at his Malibu home?

B: Yes, he does.

Q: Weren't drugs one of the reasons of his fight with Slash?

B: There wasn't any fight, the problem was that Slash said he had already had Guns n roses records at that time. Slash last records were terrible, and Axl wanted to do something more advanced for the new generations. You cant remain in the same music style you were 15 years ago.

Q: There is an electronic business behind this music.

B: In this current year 2001, music is more electronic but its not all electronic. Slash wanted to stay in the past... and then there was this problem with drugs. Axl could never count on Slash cause he never showed up in rehearsals and he was never OK.

Q: Does Axl have a routine nowadays?

B: We have a doctor that tells us what to eat. Axl does gym all day long.  He runs up to 5 miles every two days. His exercises last for about 4 hours. He doesn't go out much, we go to the cinema cause he likes watching movies very much.  He doesn't like bars.

Q: Does he go to sleep late?

B: According to his grandma he never lived the day very much. He writes very much at night. He doesn't have a phone or anything that may interrupt him, he is more creative late at night.

Q: Does his grandma still live?

B: His grandma on his mother's side is still alive. He never met his father. He thinks that nobody in his family ever protected him. He's got a huge sorrow inside. His sister was abused by his stepfather and his mom continued living with him. Nobody did anything, not even his grandma.

Q: And what does he like to eat?

B: He eats plenty of healthy food, many fruits, water and salads. He also likes Brazilian food.

Q: How old are your children?

B: 24, 23 and 22.

Q: Did you raise your children by yourself?

B: I got divorced 15 years ago so I practically raised them by myself.

Q: Are you a protective mother?

B: Very protective (laughs) I should be that much.

Q: Are you a rocker mom? I can see you have a tattoo.

B: (laughs) I wasn't a hippie. I actually came to the first Rock in Rio to see Queen.

Q: Were you a secretary before moving to the United States?

B: I worked in Quaker, in Itajai, Santa Catarina. I was an executive secretary. I moved to the U.S. cause the situation in Brazil was very hard and I was divorced and with three children. I thought that I wouldn't be able to raise my children the way I wanted to raise them here in Brazil. They were three little children. I raised some money and I left by myself leaving the children with my mom and I have brought them one by one.

Q: You went there with courage?

B: Right, I sold everything I had so as not to come back. After a year I took one of my children, then the other and finally the other.

Q: You said that everyone is phoning you. What do think about this?

B: I never thought this could happen. I was translating what Axl said and he suddenly called me to the stage. I thought he was just going to thank the public. Then he said "Seven years ago.." and I started to choke, I didn't know anything else. Then his manager took me to the stage, there he was translating everything wrong as I was didn't know anything. It is very hard to translate a person who is talking about you. I was very nervous, I cant explain what I have been through that moment to face all those people.

Q: What is it that you must always carry in your bag?

B: the cellular phone and the pager. I don't go out if he cant he in touch with me 24 hours a day.

Q: Talk about your loving life.

B: I lived 12 years with the father of my children in Santos. In the last four years of our relationship I didn't know he had married to another person. It was a great shock. Today he is the owner of Santos Nave, a company. I suffered a lot with his family. I moved to the US and I remarried an American. After six years he said he was not ready to be married and as he didn't know how to say this to me, he took his stuff, put them in the car and left. This was my second separation. I always get in too deep in a relationship and I want everything to be ok and then I suffer a lot. Now I think I have a goal, either I finish my mission with my children or I don't do anything else. I'm afraid of getting involved with someone again and then get hurt. I have placed a barrier in my love life and I have no one. I work and I take care of my children.

Q: Do you spend some time with friends?

B: Axl's friends are my family. The guys in the band call me the Big Mom.

Q: Do you come to Brazil very often?

B: I visited Brazil six years ago.

Q: What do you think about abortion?

B: I'm pro choice, it is necessary in certain situations, are you against it?