Evelyn Lozada Breaks Her Silence on Iyanla Vanzant's "Fix My Life"

Oprah has faced some hardships since she shut down the Oprah Winfrey Talk Show and started her own network called OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) on cable TV, but she is slowly starting to build up steam for the relatively new network with exclusive interviews with the likes of Rihanna, Usher, Jennifer Hudson and more.  Her new show featuring life coach guru Iyanla Vanzant has also made major waves featuring the exclusive interview with Evelyn Lozada, Basketball Wives Miami reality star and estranged wife of Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson via Vanzant's show on OWN called "Fix My Life".

The irony of it all is that Lozada initially agreed to appear on the show to "fix her life" prior to her domestic violence incident with her husband, in an effort to shun her bad girl image that she not only gets paid to portray on Basketball Wives, but has garnered a book deal and hefty appearance fees for the reality star.  After receiving backlash from the public and well known celebrities like Star Jones, Lozada finally realized that she did not want to be seen as the angry Latina woman that had originally created her stardom and celebrity, citing that her "ah ha" moment was when her step daughters mocked and idolized her violent actions on Basketball Wives.  Lozada was determined to turn a corner and show the true her, get past her fears, pain and regret, and move forward to a healthier and more peaceful life.

In the first episode of the show, Iyanla delved deep into Evelyn's childhood and got to the core of her pain, rage and anger that often is seen played out on TV for all to see.  Iyanla wanted to help her find her inner child that was still hurting from being rejected by her father.  Iyanla was surprised to see that her husband, Chad Johnson, was not present for the interview although he had committed to being there.  This was a red flag for Iyanla and she quickly proclaimed that in regards to her marriage, that Lozada was, "in trouble".  With Vanzant somehow foreseeing the future, she later heard the news with the rest of the world that Evelyn and Chad had been involved in a domestic dispute which allegedly involved Evelyn being headbutted by Chad, requiring Evelyn to get stitches in her forehead.

After the alleged headbutting incident, Evelyn has since filed for divorce and says she has not spoken to Chad.  The second part of the segment was recorded after the incident and Iyanla had somewhat of a "I told you so" vibe, while letting Evelyn once again, dig deep into her inner self to determine how she got to this point.  I was so proud of Evelyn for her courage to want to change and her honesty throughout the process.  Evelyn showed her vulnerability as she constantly shed tears while consistently confronting her past, present and future.

Seeing Lozada in this light really changed my views on her and I have never seen her look more beautiful and endearing.  Lozada and Vanzant ultimately determined that her anger and rage stemmed from her abandonment as a child by her father and her dealings with men (promiscuity, low self esteem and teenage pregnancy) were also bi-products of this still open wound.  Vanzant urged Lozada to discover who she truly was without the high profile marriage, hit reality show and closet full of Louboutins and the exchange was incredibly moving and inspiring.

I wish Evelyn Lozada the best on her journey to set an example for young girls, as the truly strong and beautiful woman that she is and hope that she finds her true calling, as she acknowledged that, "its not to act a fool on TV".  To say that this show made me look into myself for similar answers to the ills that plague me would be an understatement.  The show is definitely something I'll watch in the future as I believe I can learn and grow from the courageous stories of others.

Here is some video footage of the exchange between Lozada and Vanzant on "Fix My Life":

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
Did you watch the two part segment of Lozada on Iyanla Vanzant's "Fix My Life"?
Do you now have a different perception of Evelyn Lozada, the "bad girl" on Basketball Wives?
Do you have "daddy issues" stemming from abandonment as a child?
Have you ever been a victim of domestic abuse?
Does her courage and honesty inspire you to tackle some heavy issues in your own life?

Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta

Well, Vh1 has done it again!!! They've come up with another reality guilty pleasure that will surely keep everyone buzzing throughout the summer.  With the recent season finale of Basketball Wives, we have a new set of ratchet wives (I mean girlfriends and side chicks) to laugh at and shake our heads to in Love & Hip Hop's new installment in ATL.  Mona Scott-Young has outdone herself with this cast of ATLiens that are working, loving and fighting their way through the cut throat Atlanta entertainment scene.

The cast has newcomers like Karlie Redd and K. Michelle, that some of you might've heard of and original players like Steve J, "a three-time Grammy Award-Winning producer who has worked with artists such as Diddy, Jay-Z and Mariah Carey, and his longtime girlfriend and mother of his child, Mimi Faust, whom we are just meeting.  Mimi claims her and Stevie have been together for over 15 years, yet, I'm wondering when he had time to be with her because the last time I checked, he and rapper Eve had a longtime love affair.  Things start off with a world wind between these two and I can't help but think how much more juicy its going to get throughout the season (Did you see the highlights?!?!??! Wow!).

There are other familiar faces via ATL born rapper Lil' Scrappy that has worked with the likes of Lil' Jon and the Eastside Boyz, among many others throughout Atlanta and the mother of his child, Erica Dixon, whom accepted him back after rapper Princess recently broke his heart.  These two seem to be patching things up and are on the road to recovery, while Scrappy's crazy and overprotective mother, whom used to pimp and sell drugs (sigh), has to keep her nose in the business and make sure her son is being well taken care of.  This mother-son-girlfriend dynamic is very reminiscent of Jim Jones' and Chrissy's love triangle with Mama Jones.

Up and coming female rapper Rasheeda and her manager husband, Kirk Frost, seem to have their work cut out for them as they embark on introducing Rasheeda to the world via her new album.  The season opener would not be complete without the fiery Latina rapper, Joseline, whom like Somaya Reese of the 1st edition of Love & Hip Hop, is hungry for her spot in the rap game and will do almost anything to achieve her dreams, which includes, possibly stealing Stevie J away from Mimi.

I already know what you all are thinking: Mimi is a fool, Stevie J is a misogynistic a-hole, Scrappy and Erica are the ride-or-dies who just might make it work, Karlie Redd is messy and K. Michelle is too emotional.  We didn't see much of Rasheeda and her husband Kirk, but I'm sure we'll have plenty to talk about in the upcoming episodes.  All in all, this soap opera, drama style of reality TV is just like a train wreck, you can't stand the gruesome and grimy scene, yet you can't take your eyes off it and I'm sure Mona Scott-Young likes it that way.

Check out the cast, photos and clips from the new hit reality show Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta here on Vh1:
http://www.vh1.com/shows/love_and_hip_hop_atlanta/series.jhtml

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think about Episode 1 of Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta?
Who are your favorite cast members?
Do you think Joseline can make it big?
Will you be watching the entire season?
Who did you like the least?

Would You Want To Know If Your Lover Is Cheating?

I was riding in my car the other day bumping my iPod on shuffle and one of my favorite Mario Winans songs came on. The song from his second album on Motown called "I Don't Wanna Know" was based on a sample of the Fugees' 1996 hit single, "Ready Or Not" and is probably one of the most memorable songs from the R&B singer and musician.  Mario Winans comes from a talented musical family and he has worked behind the scenes for many years writing and producing, singing and composing music.

While listening to the song I thought about what the actual lyrics were saying.  In the song, he receives word that his woman was cheating, but he won't talk to her about it because he can't endure the betrayal of the infidelity.  So he proclaims that he doesn't wanna know if she's cheating, and if she is, she needs to keep it on the low, so he won't find out.  I started wondering how many people actually feel this way about their significant others.  We all know that cheating is one of the #1 deal breakers in relationships, but how many relationships actually survive because their lover was never caught or they turned a blind eye to the signs?

The old saying says "what you don't know, won't hurt you" so maybe its best for all involved, that if your spouse or lover cheats on you that you never find out.  I would like to hear from my BornTooBlog readers.  Have you ever turned a blind eye to the cheating activities of a significant other?  Would you rather NOT know if your lover is cheating on you?  If someone saw them with someone else, would you mention it? 

I'm assuming the majority of people would confront their significant other, but I'm pretty sure there are some people that just Don't Wanna Know.

WEIGH IN!

Here is the video for good measure...ENJOY!