‘Raising Spirits’: Theresa Caputo on Gloria Estefan & Amanda Kloots Readings, Skeptics and More
Q&A
Theresa Caputo has returned to share her hotline to heaven in the new Lifetime series Raising Spirits, which premieres Thursday, January 25. In the show, the Long Island medium, who won over audiences with her long-running series on TLC, goes on tour from West Virginia to London and beyond. Along the way, she hosts deeply emotional private readings with people looking for closure and comfort from loved ones lost.
Over the 20 episodes, viewers will also get a glimpse of Caputo’s at-home dynamics as a devoted mother, daughter, and grandmother. Whether it’s having her parents living next door, celebrating her son’s wedding in Italy, or helping her daughter adjust to motherhood outside her house, life is busy.
We caught up with the big-haired and big-hearted Long Islander to find out more about her new show and her life right now.
How would you compare this show to your last?
Theresa Caputo: Well, I still talk to dead people. What I love about this new opportunity with Lifetime, is it allows me to keep that connection with the audience. I’ve always had that. They thought I was in their living room every single week. People that come up to me now like, “I feel like I know you and your family. I love what you do.” To bring people into a new show of still doing what I do, but more of what it’s like for me personally. How I am with my family on a day-to-day basis. What it’s like to be with my crew. Living on a tour bus for weeks on end, doing live shows and readings on days off. Traveling all over the country and world at this point. To give people a sneak peek into that is very special.
You’re also going to these places that maybe others have never been before. Maybe even discover some hidden gems.
I love that. People will tell me they are from New York and Long Island and love all the places. Now we’re bringing people with me there. I would never think to go to a hot dog place in West Virginia. You learn about so many things. I feel like this is a tribute to my grandparents because my grandmother used to say, being that she was from Italy that, “It’s an honor and privilege to live in America.” The country is so beautiful. You have to see the countryside of the United States. The one state I’ve never been to is Alaska. Lifetime if you’re listening, we need to go to Alaska.
Is there a place you visited that surprised you?
Every place was surprising to me because there was something new, breathtaking, and exciting. I got to meet these amazing people, but I will say Lake Como in Italy was very magical and special, and unique.
You’ve done so many readings. Was there any that took you especially aback?
They all surprised me, to be honest, but the one that really stuck out the most and took me back was the girl I read in Chatanooga. I was on the way to reading and feeling all these things I didn’t know what I was feeling. During the reading, her mom was making me feel on the way to the reading how she survived the ordeal she went through during her death. That was extremely surprising. I felt like I was driving and doing all these things but not in my body. I felt like I was having this out-of-body experience of how she survived this tragedy.
We’re seeing you in these everyday places. Have there been any weird places that you heard from a spirit?
Interestingly, it would be the hot dog [Hillbilly Dogs] place because I was just walking around, eating, and doing all these things. I kept getting messages and delivering them to different people at the hot dog place. It turned out it was the same soul I was channeling. I didn’t know his family was all related to the owner who had passed away. I was in contact with all his family members throughout the day. I had absolutely no idea.
I saw in the clip that you sit down with Gloria Estefan. She appears to be a big fan of yours. What can you tell us about that meeting?
Her family didn’t speak English. Her parents spoke a different language, so to be able to communicate in that way is absolutely amazing. I will have people say to me, “Well, my dad didn’t speak English. He didn’t even know English or even come to America.” Then to be able to channel the soul. It goes to show how they make me feel things. They show me things through my frame of reference to say something to someone. It doesn’t matter if they spoke English or not.
We’ve seen readings where you translate a symbol or get a feeling.
Right. It’s more of a feeling. Sometimes I will even hear things, clear as day. A lot of times it’s just a feeling or knowing.
Any other celeb readings you can tease to come?
One that popped into my head because I think it was so emotional and a very moving appearance was Amanda Kloots. That was extremely moving and healing. I think when someone loses someone, we all feel that grief. We all struggle with the day-to-day. Whether someone loses a child or sibling or a spouse in this case. If you lose a spouse and have an infant, life is hard. When your loved one is taken from you very unexpectedly, even if they are ill, it’s hard to move on.
We have all these questions. “Am I doing the right thing? Should I be doing this? I can’t do this without you.” For her, a soul to come through and validate all these things you’ve been asking them for months and years. Then have them validate for you that they truly haven’t left us. That their souls are with us but in a different way. That they are living life through our eyes. How comforting is that? How peaceful is that? Knowing there is an afterlife. People ask me all the time, “What is it like?” I’m like, “I don’t know. I’ll find out when I get there. I’m just showing you what the spirit is showing me.”
You’re taking on all this emotional baggage here. It’s amazing how you can separate all that when you’re at home with your family.
I think it’s the way I was built. I always say I was born this way. I was born to do this. Even in my regular life, a lot of people have trouble separating things. I think it’s because of the way you work. I’m able to separate my thoughts, feelings, and emotions from what I’m reading. I don’t hold on to that. That’s why a lot of times I don’t remember the readings. I don’t remember what happened. When I talk about past readings, it’s the spirit re-showing it to me.
Recently you talked about connecting with Natalie Wood. What can you say about that experience?
It’s funny because people who know me know I know nothing about anything. I always tease that Brad Pitt could be sitting next to us, and I would say, “Who is that guy?” I was in a theater and I just kept hearing someone knocking at my door to my dressing room. Interestingly, you bring this up because I’m going to that theater again, so I don’t think it’s a coincidence that it’s being brought up. I actually went outside and asked security in the hallway if they heard knocking on my door. They were like, “No.” It was someone who died very tragically and it was just a message that they were okay. That they were at peace. I think I was telling my tour manager about it. There were a couple of things I said that led to them responding with, “That’s Natalie Wood.”
Any readings that brought you any regrets?
I don’t look at things as regrets. I feel if I’m supposed to deliver a message to someone the spirit will present that opportunity to say that to them. They will light the path. It’s not easy sitting on the other side of that table receiving messages from a departed loved one. A lot of times people will say that’s what they want and need in their grieving process. They will come to me like a deer in the headlights because they can’t believe what is happening. I never look at things as a regret. I always say there is a reason for anything, even when things don’t go your way or you think things are a disaster. There is always a silver lining to why things are happening.
We’re going to also see your ex-husband on the show. How would you describe your relationship today?
Just because Larry and I are divorced and not married, we’re still a family. I think that’s something very special and something Larry and I are both very proud of. That we have been able to maintain a friendship during this time.
What does it mean to you to have this longevity and success, even winning over skeptics?
People use the word skeptical, but for me, it’s people who don’t understand what I do. It’s hard. I get it. More importantly, I respect it because what I do is crazy. How in the world can someone communicate with someone who has died? It’s not me winning over. It’s their departed loved ones. They are the ones giving them these messages. I’m just the vessel that they’re using. I love it sometimes when someone might be a little skeptical and then talk about their own spiritual experience. It validates that. Those are the moments that bring me peace and joy. That the person knows their loved one is with them and might not have believed it or thought that before. Even if they say, “I don’t know about that crazy lady from Long Island, but I know that was my dad I was talking to with me.” That’s all that matters.
Theresa Caputo: Raising Spirits, Thursday, January 25, 9/8c, Lifetime
