5 Things To Know About Bevy Smith, New Co-Host On ‘The Wendy Williams Show’

Source: Derrick Salters/WENN.com / WENN

After Leaving Rolling Stone, She Hit Rock Bottom

Smith left Rolling Stone to embark on career as a television personality, but her transition wasn’t as smoothed as she had hoped it would be. In an interview with Cosmopolitan, she said she had no idea what was in store for her and she had trouble making ends meet for the next few years.

“When I marched into the Rolling Stone publisher’s office to quit my job, I was giddy,” she said. “I was euphoric. I probably seemed drunk to him. I was so happy, because I knew that I could do this. But what I did not calculate is that it would take me so long to actually do it. I quit at [age] 38. Then I don’t get to Fashion Queens on Bravo until I’m 45. That’s a long transition period, and in the middle of all of that, I ran out of money. I was so very happy on this new career trajectory, but I was dead broke, to the tune of housing court and three meals a day out of a can of salmon. I can thank Harlem for that. We never wanted for anything as children, but there were certain people in my community that struggled financially. And I remember, when I was going through my difficult financial times, I tapped into that spirit of the incredibly strong and independent Black women that I saw when I was growing up. I knew I could do it. I knew I could make a way out because I had seen women in my community doing it for decades.”