Reality TV star and Fix My Life Alumni Evelyn Lozada recently sat down with Vibe Vixen magazine to discuss her past, present, and future. Check out some excerpts from the interview below.
On her relationship with daughter, Shaniece, and how she helped her cope with the Chad Johnson situation:
I’ve never been one of those parents who tell their children, “Oh, you’re getting fat.” I tell her how beautiful she is every day. I’ve always been very open, talking to her about sex and things she needed to know… She has truly been my rock through all of this. She’s been with me since the day of, and for three months, we were together. I was having anxiety, so I slept next to her; we were connected at the hips. She stepped up to do things that I mentally didn’t want to do. Whether it was running errands or whatever, she held it down. I was a little gone because it was traumatic for me.
On her interview with Iyanla Vanzant:
Because of all the controversy with the show, she was one of the first people to reach out. Granted, I didn’t even want to talk about it, but I had to sit with Iyanla. I knew that even though she was going to be tough with me, she was going to try and figure out why I accepted [Chad’s behavior]. I’m still going through the healing process. After I did that interview, I never talked about [the abuse] ever again. But I do reality TV; not talking about it doesn’t make sense. When we started filming [Basketball Wives] again, I started talking about it. I’m very emotional probably every episode because I’m dealing and filming and going through my healing process at the same time.
On the upcoming 5th season of Basketball Wives:
I’m still going to have my little quotes; this is just who Evelyn is. And at the same time, I need to learn to handle certain situations. But if somebody is coming at me, I’m going to protect myself. It’s not like I’m going to be super perfect because I was on Iyanla and now I’m Mother Mary, because that’s not what it is. But at the same time, instead of going from zero to 1,000, let’s really think before we speak and not get physical. I just have to remind myself of that. It’s a daily thing for me because sometimes you’re tested.
On life after reality TV:
I’m working on my clothing line, so I envision so many things. Kind of like what J. Lo did. She’s done so many great things. If I could take a page out of her book, I’m good. I would love to do production, turning my book into TV features and continue to work in fashion. I want my brands to be big. Global status.
