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Basketball Wives star Evelyn Lozada decided to answer a few questions from fans recently, and they ranged from who she would like to see back on the show (Suzie Ketcham surprisingly) and what her dating life is like now (she’s single and ready to mingle). One question she did get that veered far from the rest was about her first marriage to former NFL player Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, and how she decided to leave him after he headbutted her following an argument back in 2012. She filed for divorce three days after the incident.
When a fan asked, “How did you find the strength to end your last marriage?” she responded by saying she was motivated to do so for the good of her daughter, Shaniece.
“I knew in my heart I deserved better,” she responded. “I also didn’t want my daughter to think that it was ok to stay in an abusive relationship.”
She elaborated when someone inquired as to how she talked to her daughter about her domestic violence situation with Chad. She said being hospitalized with her head cut open said far more than she ever could.
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“Seeing me at the hospital spoke volumes,” she wrote. “Me leaving that relationship also sent her another message.”
Following the situation and the abrupt end to her marriage, Evelyn said back in 2013 that Shaniece helped her get through everything and that the experience brought them closer together.
“We were literally together for eight months since that happened [crying] … I even slept with her,” she told Rolling Out. “After everything happened, and my life was upside down, it was tough because I had to live all of that out in the public … everybody had an opinion, and even now I’m sure there will be some people who say ‘b—h, you’re still crying over that?’ … but she went through that with me from the beginning. She went to the hospital with me.”
“It was a great feeling to have her there, and to not have her judge me, or be negative, because during that time period, there was just so much negativity. But there was also a tremendous outpouring of support from fans and from women who have gone through the same things,” Evelyn added. “I had women who came to me and said that I encouraged them to leave their own relationships. So for me, I couldn’t have been any more thankful to have her there with me. She makes me feel safe.”
