Trixie Mattel says appearing out of drag in 'Trixie Motel' wasn't her 'favorite thing'

• Trixie Mattel spoke to Insider about appearing out of drag in Discovery Plus series "Trixie Motel."
• Mattel also discussed featuring her partner and friends for the first time in the series.

Trixie Mattel told Insider she had mixed feelings about featuring her partner and appearing out of drag in her new Discovery Plus series, "Trixie Motel."

The drag superstar rarely appears out of drag but balances Trixie with her out-of-drag self in "Trixie Motel." The series features Mattel, her partner David Silver, assistant Brandon Lim, and designer Dani Dazey as they renovate a Palm Springs motel.

"It wasn't my favorite thing, to be honest," Mattel told Insider. "I don't love being out of drag on camera. But since this is a real process, where we were often pulling 12-hour days, I can't live in drag. We're in the desert doing manual labor in drag, I wouldn't wish that on an enemy."

"We're trying to bring good energy to the motel and we can't christen it with vengeful drag queen energy — sweat rolling off my face carrying a bunch of wood," Mattel continued. "But once I got into it, it didn't matter. This show is beyond Trixie, this show is my real life. It's my real partner, who I've never shown on camera. I never post pictures of him. This is my real assistant, this is my real friends, and all of our guests are real friends of mine."

"The costume is a fun part of it," she added. "It's not where it begins and ends. But if the motel has taught us anything, it's that packaging matters."

Mattel previously spoke to Insider about why she'll "never" appear as a competitor on "RuPaul's Drag Race" again.

"They did ask me to come back for 'All Stars,'" she revealed. "They said, 'Hey, we're doing "All Winners." We know you don't want to do it, but we wanted you to know that we always think [of you] if you wanted to do the opportunity,' and I said, 'No, thank you.'"

Mattel also appears on the Paramount+ drag singing competition, "Queen of the Universe" as part of the judging panel.

"I love judging," Mattel said. "I mean, making fun of Leona Lewis, Vanessa Williams, Michelle [Visage], and Graham [Norton] to their faces all day? They're fun people to mess around with and then the talent is so ridiculous."

"Trixie Motel" airs weekly on Discovery Plus.