Source: WENN

It looks like VH1′s Hollywood Exes star and ex-wife of R&B legend R. Kelly,  Andrea Kelly aka “Baby Hair,” will be joining the ranks of reality television stars with book publishing deals. The super-talented choreographer recently revealed that she is in the process of writing a book entitled, Life Under the Red Carpet: My Life As R.Kelly’s Wife. Don’t let the title fool you though, it will not be a juicy tell-all that exposes Robert and all of his messiness, but a self-help book for women who may find themselves going through what she went through during the course of her relationship and divorce with the R&B megastar. In an interview with Ebony.com, the reality star shares some interesting details about her book, letting us know what to and what not to expect.

It’s called Under the Red Carpet, and it’s about my life as R. Kelly’s wife. Everyone thinks it’s a tell-book, like girl she’s about to throw him under the bus, [but] nope! It’s really a self-help book for women about staying true to you and don’t get lost because that’s a big shadow when you have such a famous ex-husband. The image [gets] so distorted that you don’t even know who you’re looking at. If I can walk away from R. Kelly, and the world says I have everything, you can walk away from a man that does not have a job, does not support his children, he is not bringing money back into the household, he’s not protecting and caring for you. If I can walk away from this, surely you can walk away from that for yourself. But if you don’t have the strength [to walk away], let me show you how I did it, and not [by] giving you a book that’s full of BS, glitter and unicorns.

In a recent interview with HipHollywood.com, she also discussed Hollywood Exes being renewed for a second season and how she hopes that women were able to watch her on the show and realize that it’s okay to cry and get past whatever may be hurting them.

Unlike many reality television stars, it seems like Andrea is using her influence to release positivity into the universe and to actually help someone else. Having been married to R.Kelly for so many years and still being able to smile after such a difficult divorce, I’m sure she has much wisdom to divulge.

Will you be reading Andrea’s book when it’s released?

Jazmine Denise is a writer living in New York. Follow her on Twitter @jazminedenise 

If you watch Vh1′s “Hollywood Exes,” you know that Andrea Kelly has catch phrases for days. She’s consistently entertaining and oh so real. Madame Noire caught up with our favorite member from the cast to talk about how women in reality tv can indeed get along, what her ex, R Kelly, has to say about her being a part of the show and what she’s got in the works.

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Source: Blog.VH1

Good news! “Hollywood Exes” is coming back for a second season and they’re bringing a new cast member with them, Keenan Ivory Wayans’ ex-wife, Daphne. A couple of months ago, we reported that the mother of Keenan’s five children, whom he was married to for three or four years, was vying for a chance to join the cast, and according to a press release on VH1′s blog, she succeeded.

The announcement says all five women, Nicole Murphy, Mayte Garcia, Jessica Canseco, Sheree Fletcher, and Andrea Kelly, will be returning for the renewed season in 2013 along with Daphne who is a longtime friend of Nicole and Sheree.

“Daphne will join the rest of the ladies as they continue to step out of the long shadows cast by their famous exes and support each other on the next stages of their lives,” the site says.

Though “Hollywood Exes” didn’t quite put up “Love & Hip-Hop” numbers on VH1, with an average of 1.5 million viewers, the ladies proved that people like to watch classy women as well, and you don’t have to act a you know what to be entertaining. I’m sure Andrea Kelly’s hilarious sayings kept people coming back for more too.

Are you looking forward to season 2?

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Source: lindaikeji.blogspot.com

The “should she or shouldn’t she take his last name” is a topic of constant debate. The majority of brides decide to take their husband’s last name or at least hyphenate. But when that marriage ends in divorce, then what? Is it weird when a woman keeps her married name after the couple calls it quits?

After a short-lived marriage, Usher Raymond and Tameka Raymond went through a highly publicized divorce and custody battle. The two were at each other’s throats in the courtroom and in social media. Though the couple’s marriage lasted less than two years (and they reportedly lived separately for an entire year in that time), Tameka still goes by “Tameka Raymond”. Some news outlets have begun referring to her as “Tameka Foster” despite no evidence that she has any intention on going back to her maiden name.

Is that weird though? Is it odd that she would keep a last name from a marriage that expired faster than a box of cereal?

I think so. Keeping that last name is a pretty clear indication of her desire to continue to reap any benefits that come from being married to Usher despite no longer being married to him. Of course, some will say, what about the kids? To which I say, what about the kids?  She has four kids by three different men, so the “same last name as my kids” thing doesn’t apply to her.

Of course Tameka is hardly the first divorced woman to raise eyebrows for keeping her ex-husband’s last name.

Last year, when NecoleBitchie.com asked Shaunie O’Neal why she kept “O’Neal” after the divorce, she said she kept it for the kids and because she “earned this name”. According to Webster: “earn” means to receive as return for effort and especially for work done or services rendered. So apparently, Shaunie that keeping “O’Neal” is worth something and she deserves whatever benefits come with that as a result of being married to him for seven years.

When Detroit Radio Station WJLB’s Morning Show asked Kimora Lee Simmons why she kept “Simmons” despite being remarried to Djimon Hounsou, she said:

“Oh my G-d! Cause then… I don’t know! Would my companies still be the same? Ive already been Kimora Lee Simmons for 10 years. I don’t know. Would you ask Ivana Trump that? When it comes to my brand, My brand is KLS (Kimora Lee Simmons). It would be hard to change it to KLH… I think professional the name remains the same, but in my personal life I am definitely a Hounsou… Russell doesn’t care. I worked as hard for that name as he did!”

Again, she feels she “earned” it and has no desire to drop it despite being remarried to another man.

There are countless other Hollywood exes who keep their famous husbands’ last name and some would agree they’ve “earned it” as well. Look no further than the show “Hollywood Exes” for example. Only Prince’s ex-wife Mayte Garcia is going by her maiden name and Sheree Fletcher has her new husband’s last name. Many had no idea that R. Kelly was even married but his ex-wife is indeed “Andrea Kelly”.

Regular women don’t always drop the former husband’s last name either — especially those who were married to their ex-husbands for a long time. It’s not always about wanting to remain associated with the ex, sometimes it’s about the fact that his last name is no longer just his, it’s also hers and it’s part of her identity. Also, some women keep their last name because it is the same last name as their child(ren). Still others have established themselves with a certain name and it can be an unnecessary hassle to change it.

When kids aren’t involved, or the person hasn’t established a career based on that name, sharing the ex-husband’s name can be strange — especially when the marriage wasn’t long in the first place. It’s even more bizarre when the ex-husband has married someone else. I have a friend on Facebook who unceremoniously left her husband after two years of marriage. Five years later she’s still got his last name and he’s re-married to another woman. Awkward.

We all have our own reasons for doing things though and just as it’s a personal choice when a woman decides to take her new husband’s name after marriage, it’s a personal choice when she decides to keep it or discard it after a divorce. When you marry, you vow to stay married til’ death and though people change and vows are broken, you can always opt to take that surname to the grave.

What do you think? Is it odd for a woman to keep her ex-husband’s last name? Would you (did you) keep your husband’s last name after a divorce?

Source: anongallery.org

I’ve never seen “The Notebook” and as a result of this latest foolishness from R. Kelly I will continue to avoid seeing the film which everyone around me—male or female—has admitted caused them to have a full blown emotional breakdown. Though the most I’ve gotten from friends was that the film made them cry (somewhat uncontrollably), Kells said it made him get a divorce.

In his new memoir, “Soulacoaster,” R. Kelly claims that seeing the love between the two main characters in the flick was too much for him to handle as he recognized that there was no romance in his 12-year marriage. He wrote:

“As the film credits started to roll, I couldn’t move. I burst into tears. People walking past me patted me on the back, trying to console me. ‘The Notebook’ was beautiful, and I was crying because its hero and heroine had died together.

“But I was also crying because I remembered a Valentine’s Day — when a helicopter dropped a rainfall of roses — that had come and gone … My marriage had died. And there was nothing I could do to bring it back.”

That man can tell a story can’t he? What I love even more than this news is the response Andrea Kelly gave to TMZ about his recollection of things:

“[The movie] came out in 2004 and we saw it together.  Our divorce wasn’t finalized until 2009 so it’s impossible that the movie could have been the reason for our relationship ending. We had been separated for 6 years at that point! The movie definitely did not end our relationship!”

If you watch “Hollywood Exes,” you know how animated Andrea is so I can only imagine how she sounded saying that. Whether ‘The Notebook’ was R. Kelly’s “aha moment” or not I guess we’ll never truly know. I’m more shocked that allegations of him peeing on teenage girls didn’t end their marriage but to each his own.

Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.

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Source: All Star Pics

I know, another reality show, but this one actually sounds a little promising. A couple of months ago, we told you that Will Smith and Eddie Murphy’s exes were going to star in a new VH1 reality series, and now we’ve got the names of the rest of the cast members.

Staring alongside Sheree Fletcher and Nicole Murphy in “Hollywood Exes” will be R. Kelly’s ex-wife, Andrea Kelly, and Mayte Garcia, the ex-wife of Prince. Rounding out the cast will be Jose Canseco’s ex-wife, Jessica. When we first broke word about this show, some of you felt like these women’s only claim to fame was being the past lover of a famous man, but according to VH1 the purpose of the show is to prove that’s not the case.

“These five women, who have all been friends for years and in some cases for as long as 20 years, want to show the world they are more than just a trophy wife with a pretty face,” according to a VH1 press release. “They want to establish themselves as independent, successful women and bring relevance and honor to themselves separate from their very famous exes…even if there is a little drama along the way.”

I was with them up until the drama part, but you have to admit the fact that this women are friends in real life is a positive sign and sets them apart from most of the other reality stars—Evelyn and Jen excluded. Plus, the drama may not necessarily be between the ladies. We all know Nicole was recently swindled out of half of her divorce settlement and it can’t be easy walking down the street as the woman who was married to R. Kelly for 12 years amongst those child pornography charges.

Truthfully, all of these women have been divorced from their husbands for long enough that the pieces ought to have been pretty much picked up by now, but I guess that’s what they plan to prove.

So what do you think about this show now that you know the whole cast, yay or nay?