Well, this is somewhat of a surprise.

Gospel duo Mary Mary has opened their lives to the public with two season of their WE Tv self-titled reality show but there’s one thing that we had no knowledge about: one of the sisters has dealt with her husband having an affair. This according to Vibe Vixen.

Tina Campbell, the more boisterous one of the Marys admitted in the June 2013 issue of Ebony magazine that her husband, musician Teddy Campbell, had an affair and her reaction was one most of us have seen on shows like Snapped:

“Once I became aware [of the affair], I initially wanted to kill my husband,” she admitted. “I was considering adjusting the will, the living trust and all that kind of stuff. I did physically try to stab him. Several times…I never got to the point of physical harm, not really, but my words…My words hurt.”

It should be pointed out that so far, that is the only snippet that has been released about the interview. There’s not been any word on when this affair happened , if there was a reason stated (yes, we know cheating is a choice but some people give reasons for their affairs) or how they got through it.

During season one of their show, Tina and Teddy took a carriage ride and Teddy expressed that he’d not been as happy in the marriage due to Tina’s heavy schedule in the group. It was in that moment that Tina decided to devote more time to her husband and family.

The June issue of Ebony hits newsstands on May 7th.

Are you surprised by this revelation?

Remember the first day Goo Goo, real name Thomasina Atkins, introduced Erica and Tina to Justin on an episode of “Mary Mary?” The sisters put ol’boy through the ringer immediately, but that didn’t stop Goo from making things official — for over a year. But now the couple has confirmed that they’ve called it quits.

If you’re anything like us, you might be saying “Good!” Not that we’re happy at the thought of two people breaking up, it’s just that Justin seemed like a bit of a jerk, especially when he overstepped his relationship bounds and rolled up on Mitch questioning him about Goo’s work as a stylist. Regardless of outsider opinion of him, Goo insists the split was amicable, telling AlwaysAList things just simply didn’t work out.

“Justin and I are no longer together. It’s nothing horrible or bad or anything like that. It just kind of didn’t work out. There were some things we needed to work on and they just kind of didn’t work themselves out.

“I pulled back and looked at the overall relationship and I just thought it would be best if we went our separate ways just as friends,” she said before adding that Justin is a “good guy!”

Goo was also quick to defend Justin’s image on “Mary Mary,” and said “demanding schedules” and “her inability to travel to Atlanta as much” were a big part of the reason the relationship ended.

“I feel like the show didn’t paint him in the best light,” she said. “Justin has been the most supportive man I’ve ever had in my life. Very warm, very kind, very helpful. Never threatened by anything. He didn’t have an issue with me being me, he always supported that and that was something I just wasn’t used to. If there was something that was important to me, it was important to him.”

Likewise, Justin had only good things to say about Goo after the split, saying:

“I’d like to thank Goo for being the very best woman in the world,” he said. “She is the classiest and most-caring individual I have met to date, and I will always love her!

“I’d just like to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who supported me and Goo and our relationship. It was not in vain. We are still great friends and I hope that our relationship can just be an example of how mature adults handle life and its seasons.”

We shall see. What do you think about Goo and Justin’s split?

Source: WENN

A few months ago when gospel duo Mary Mary revealed that they would be taking a hiatus from the group, Erica Campbell announced that we would be hearing about her first solo project very soon. She definitely wasn’t kidding! A recently distributed press release says that we can expect to hear the first single from Erica’s forthcoming album as early as next month.

Erica’s solo venture is actually a part of a new partnership between hubby Warryn Campbell’s My Block Records and eOne Music. An excerpt from the press release, detailing the deal reads:

“In this deal, the strategic partnership will utilize eOne Music’s multi-faceted channels of production, distribution, sales, marketing, communications and more to support a range of My Block’s artists.

Upcoming releases will include a single in May 2013 and album from Campbell’s wife Erica Campbell of Mary Mary, a new single in June and album from his Gospel super group Soul Seekers in Fall 2013, as well as releases planned from Jason McGee and Jason Champion for 2014. With Entertainment One Television (eOne Television) already producing the hit Mary Mary reality series airing on WE tv, this deal expands the eOne relationship with Campbell, the My Block group’s founder, longtime producer and songwriting partner.”

Warryn says he’s very excited about the deal.

“I am very excited to be partnered with a company that truly understands the future of entertainment. Working across multiple genres with My Block, it’s important to have a clear vision and the resources for artists to be successful across multiple platforms today. In this strategic partnership with eOne Music, we share a similar vision in supporting Gospel’s great history and taking it to another level as well as other genres, to serve both emerging and established artists in creating innovative work that paves the way now and for the future. Let’s go.”

Are you ready for an Erica Campbell solo album?

Does gospel get a bad rap?

If you grew up in a “praying house,” as some call it, chances are you were required to go to church all the time – probably three times during the week and all day on Sunday. At home, the Bible may have been centrally located and the gospel music playing was a constant. Your parents and grandparents played all the goodies like Shirley Caesar, Mississippi Mass Choir, Mahalia Jackson (if you really want to take it back) and James Cleveland – they were the real music stars. So it was church and gospel music. That’s all there was back in the day. That’s it.

But that was then.

Today, gospel is a booming business that goes way beyond praising God in song. Many artists are doing reality shows, making songs that sound really close to secular music and other becoming involved in other business ventures that some may consider attempts to be more mainstream. It’s almost become a gift and a curse.

When it was first revealed that Mary Mary would be getting their own reality show early last year, I admit to being one of the people staunchly opposed to the entire idea. Like, of course, Mary Mary are really just two women who lead very regular lives outside of music but as they are gospel artists, I was nervous about how much they would show of their lives. I, like many others, were worried they’d be “ungodly” in their personal lives and it would turn me off.  Sure, I was prejudging them and as judgment is a part of life (despite what many of us might say), I don’t really apologize for it.  As it turns out, the show isn’t that bad (aside from the occasional very “angry” moment from one of the sisters) and I enjoy watching. They’ll be on season three soon so I guess so does everyone else.

The music is becoming a little more “interesting” as well. While many of us who know and sometimes enjoy gospel music may recall it being traditional – mostly slow and literally almost just like church – in its sound, a lot of today’s music is quite…hip. Kirk Franklin led that wave in the late 90s with “Stomp.” Artists like Mary Mary, Tye Tribbett and others are continuing the trend. While these artists are continuing to deliver “the word” in song, some feel they’ve gotten too secular (if you recall, “God In Me sounded a lot like “Blame It On The Alcohol”).   New artist Lecrae (who actually won a Grammy earlier this year) is a young gospel rapper – and a great one, at that – who grew up with hip-hop music did not initially “know God.” He surrounded himself with a party lifestyle full of drugs, alcohol and women. He finally had an epiphany of sorts and decided to turn his life over to God.  But he raps; should he not be allowed to perform his praise in the way he knows how?

The question becomes: Is today’s Gospel just getting bad rap? Are people too uptight and caught up in what gospel artists “should” be? If you think about it, a lot of these artists grew up in not only a hip hop era, but also a media based one. They’re gospel singers, not blind singers who don’t know what’s happening outside of their genre. Shouldn’t they have a right to express themselves in a way they see fit without being disrespectful to their message? It seems like many people who are familiar with gospel would like to see it stay in this “box” that’s full of choir robes and hymns. Admittedly, I’m a person who likes gospel music in spurts and am fairly conservative in what I like. But as I recently watched an episode of “The Sheards” while wondering why they would even bother with reality television, I thought, “They have a right to show their lives too. Stop being so critical.” It may not stop me in full from being critical but I’ll watch with more openness.

Gospel artists seemingly will never catch a break unless they stick to this mold of only singing and speaking about God, heaven and the like. Perhaps that’s too much responsibility and as we know, you can’t please everyone.

What do you think? Are people too hard on the gospel artists or should some gospel artists be more mindful of the product their releasing?

D. Salters/WENN.com

With already Braxton Family Values and Mary Mary on WE tv (and oh yeah, if you were watching, Tamar & Vince), you can say that the cable channel for women is becoming the reality TV channel for black singers. And with all the success they’ve had with just those programs in just a few years, who can blame them for wanting to keep the money train going? That’s probably why the folks at WE tv have decided to help SWV, the very huge girl group from the ’90s (now extra grown women) with their comeback, as the ladies, or Sisters With Voices, are getting their own reality show on the channel. The show doesn’t have a name as of yet, but according to the site AlwaysAList.com, what you can expect is that viewers will finally find out why the ladies, Cheryl “Coko” Clemons, Tamara “Taj” Johnson-George, and Leanne “Lelee” Lyons, parted ways musically in the first place in 1997. On top of that, it will also follow the ladies in their quest to become relevant once again in the new R&B scene, and we’ll also get a glimpse into their personal lives. They reportedly filmed a pilot for the reality show last fall.

We know that the group reunited in 2005, have been touring sporadically and just this past November they performed together during Black Girls Rock! They put out a new album early last year called I Missed Us, and it actually did well on the Billboard charts, coming in at number one on the R&B charts, so they still have a strong fan base. Now will the fan base tune in to watch their reality show? We’ll have to wait and see, but there’s no doubt that the ladies are ready to be seen once again by all.

Are you excited for the new series?

Source: WENN

From Essence

Mary Mary is known for spreading lots of positive light to their fans through their music and through their reality TV show, but the ladies are going a bit deeper these days.

The duo, who’s set to take a break this year, has taken it upon themselves to define “a good woman” in an inspirational message on their Facebook fan page

They define a good woman as someone who “is proud of herself. Respects herself and others. She is aware of who she is. She neither seeks definition from the person she is with, nor does she expect them to read her mind. She is quite capable of articulating her needs. A good woman has a dash of inspiration, a dabble of endurance. She knows that she will at times, have to inspire others to reach the potential God gave them.”

The duo didn’t stop there; to check out Mary Mary’s full definition of  a “good” woman, head to Essence.

Do you agree with them? What’s your definition of a “good woman?

Source: WENN

When gospel music duo Mary Mary announced that they would be taking a musical hiatus from one another to focus on solo music, spending time with God and catering to their families, many wondered what that would mean for the fate of their popular reality show, which is generally based on their careers as a gospel group. It appears that whatever the ladies will be doing as separate entities, We TV wants in on it, as it was recently announced that Mary Mary would be returning for a third season, reports Deadline.

“During the current season of Mary Mary, viewers witnessed two incredible births: Tina’s baby boy and Erica and Tina’s hit single, ‘Go Get It,’ which went on to win the duo a Grammy Award. It’s exactly this type of dimensionality that WE tv spotlights in women,” said We TV’s Lauren Gellert.

The network will begin production of 10 one-hour episodes in Los Angeles next month. As of yesterday, viewership of Mary Mary‘s second season is up 16% from the first season, with 5.2 million total viewers. It will be fairly interesting to see the ladies doing their own thing next season. Erica, who recently discussed the group’s hiatus in an interview shared that although she’s a bit nervous about doing music without her sister, she’s also excited.

“You can expect music from me, possibly a children’s book and children’s music from Tina. I think she wants to just take a break and breathe. So, that’s what we’re going to do. Of course there’s anxiety with us stepping out to do different things. We’ve been joined at the hip for the last twelve years, and so now we’re taking chances and doing different stuff. You gotta flip it up every now and again. It’s been twelve years so it’s time to flip it around,” she revealed.

Mary Mary’s Season 2 finale airs tonight at 9/8 c.

Check out a sneak peak of tonight’s episode on the next page. Have you been watching the show this season?

Source: WENN

Earlier this month, Gospel duo Mary Mary announced that they would be taking a hiatus to focus on solo music, traveling and reconnecting with God. While they made it clear that they are not breaking up, they did express that time apart is necessary and much needed. The ladies just snagged a Grammy earlier this week for their 2012 hit, “Go Get It”. Sister 2 Sister recently caught up with Erica Atkins-Campbell to get the scoop on how she feels about working on a solo project and what we can expect from her during the hiatus. She also had a word or two for her show’s critics. Check out what she had to say.

On what she currently has in the works:

“You can expect music from me, possibly a children’s book and children’s music from Tina [Campbell]. I think she wants to just take a break and breathe. So, that’s what we’re going to do.”

On being anxious about doing a solo album:

“Of course there’s anxiety with us stepping out to do different things. We’ve been joined at the hip for the last twelve years, and so now we’re taking chances and doing different stuff. You gotta flip it up every now and again. It’s been twelve years so it’s time to flip it around.”

On negative comments being made about the show:

“There are so many channels for you to watch, so… turn. I mean, my truth isn’t theirs. I’m not forcing nobody to watch just because I sing Gospel music. But, if there’s something that resonates, if there’s a truth that you can connect with, if there’s something that you see and you’re like ‘Gosh, I went through that same thing,’ and ‘How did they deal with this?’ because we’re committed to resolve in our show. We’re committed to forgiveness and not just slamming each other, but we’re telling the truth and sometimes it ain’t cute. If people can’t deal with that, there’s a lot of other channels for them to watch.”

Although I hate to see them apart, something tells me they could both put out great music as solo artists as well.

On another note: Doesn’t she look amazing?

Peep footage of Erica’s interview on the next page. What do you think of her response?

Source: WENN

With the exception of a very select few, reality television seems to serve as the final nail in the coffin of many celebrity relationships.  Sure, prior issues and problems that plague these couples are always a factor, but the constant rolling of cameras and the invitation of the entire world to peak into a relationship that is supposed to be shared between two people does not help. In the latest issue of Juicy, one half of gospel duo Mary Mary, Tina Campbell dishes on reality television, how it can negatively impact a relationship and what’s she’s learned about herself and her marriage from appearing on Oxygen’s Mary Mary. Check out some of what she had to say.

On the reality television curse:

“Reality TV destroys some relationships because [the couple] may not have had a strong foundation to endure public opinion… Some elements of your relationship might need to stay away from the cameras. Sometimes you wanna say insulting things if you feel like they hurt you – but you can’t do that in front of everybody. You have to be conscious of that. We took that into consideration when we created Mary Mary, knowing that if it tampered with the health of our marriage, the show was over, immediately.”

On the strain reality TV cameras placed on her marriage:

“The cameras can also put a strain on your relationship… At first, people were just invested in me [and my sister, Erica] as artists, but now they’re in my marriage… I’m like ‘Back up and shut up.’ You don’t get to have an opinion… I kind get ready to put my hands on people and not to pray for them, but in a physical, Hip-Hop kinda way. That part is a little challenging and I’m learning to handle it.”

Tina also went on to discuss how she sometimes feels restricted when attempting to show her husband affection while the cameras are around. You can check out her full response and other interesting news bits in the March/April issue of Juicy.

What do you think of Tina’s annoyance with the public poking their noses into her marriage?

Jazmine Denise is a news writer for Madame Noire. Follow her on Twitter @jazminedenise

Johnny Louis/WENN

From ESSENCE

In December 2012, the internet began buzzing that Mary Mary was breaking up. Since then, there’s been much speculation about their future and if they would be ending a 12-year career. ESSENCE.com caught up with the ladies to find out what their plans are.

“I will say this, we are not breaking up,” said Erica Atkins-Campbell. “But we’re taking a break. I’m going to do some solo music. Tina’s going to vacation and travel the world. We’ve been joined at the hip the last 12 years and I think in order for us both to be our healthiest selves, just as women, in the group, [we will] take some time to think and re-assess. We’ve been going constantly year after year, baby after baby, tour after tour and now season after season on TV.”

They will do more than rest during their time off — the ladies say they are also planning to reconnect with God. “We’re singing about Christ, we’re singing about God. I can’t sing about God and I’m not taking the time to talk to God,” said Erica.

Well, that’s that. Check out ESSENCE for more, including Tina’s point of view and what they will be doing together while on hiatus.

Do you think this the sugarcoated way of Mary Mary saying this is the end?