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DeShawn Snow and her husband, Eric, captain of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, recently moved into their dream home in Alpharetta, Georgia. A mother to three boys: 9-year-old EJ, 6-year-old Darius and 5-year-old Jarren, Snow is an active member of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and runs the DeShawn Snow Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on improving self-esteem in teenage girls.
ESSENCE.COM: What made you decide to do “The Real Housewives of Atlanta”?
DESHAWN SNOW: I thought it would be an exciting thing to do for the experience, but I also did it because I thought it would be a great platform to take my nonprofit organization to a national level.
ESSENCE.COM: Have you learned anything new about yourself by doing the show?
SNOW: I pretty much stay even-keeled. I’m kind of the balance between everyone. But, even prior to taping, I felt like I’ve grown a lot mentally and spiritually. By the time we were taping, I was still evolving, but I think I was in a much better place.
ESSENCE.COM: Have you received any negative feedback from being on the show?
SNOW: There are a lot of people out there on the blogs. I started to read that stuff initially but then I stopped. After a while, you realize that they don’t really know what they are talking about, so there’s no point.
ESSENCE.COM: What do you hope people will learn about you?
SNOW: I want people to know about the work I do with my foundation that helps teenage girls with self-esteem issues. I went through a lot as a teen, and I didn’t always make all the right choices, and my life could have been totally different from what it is today. God had a plan for me and my footsteps were ordered. I’m passionate about the things I do with these girls. I tell them, you can have big cars, a big house and big money, and still be empty on the inside.
ESSENCE.COM: How do you balance running your foundation, being a wife and mother to three boys, and taking care of your fabulous new home?
SNOW: It’s hard and you definitely have to prioritize. I’m also a graduate student studying divinity, taking online classes. If I had to do it all by myself, it would be impossible, but I have a great support system.
ESSENCE.COM: You seem to be very spiritual. What place does your faith have in your life?
SNOW: I wouldn’t be where I am today without my faith. It gets me through the day. We’re a Christian family. We instill Christian values in our children. But I’m not perfect, so I’m sure there will be some things where people might write in. I don’t go around preaching. I’m just myself and people like being around me. I talk about it and I invite people to my church, but I’m not throwing it in their face all the time.
ESSENCE.COM: Why do we need to watch the show?
SNOW: It’s going to be totally different from anything else on television. I’m really excited because it’s also going to dispel a lot of myths about being married to an athlete. A lot of people think we just sit around, but that’s so not the case, and viewers will be able to see that.