Tamar Braxton, Evelyn Lozada and singer Nivea have a number of things in common. They’re mothers, they’ve been married before to notable figures, and they’ve all experienced heartbreak in the public eye. What joins the three together presently is that they’re looking for love again and doing so with some help.
All three ladies are starring in the Peacock series Queens Court, executive produced by Will Packer and hosted by longtime star couple Rodney and Holly Robinson Peete. A desire to find a good man inspired them to jump at the opportunity to meet 21 prospective suitors in the hopes of coming across their match.
“We got tired of kissing frogs,” says Braxton, “and they don’t turn into a prince. Also, it’s really difficult where we are in our careers to meet a nice guy. Where are we going to meet them at? That was a part of my problem. I just wasn’t meeting anybody.”
“I think that when this opportunity presented itself, when I knew Will Packer and Holly Robinson Peete and Rodney Peete were involved, I felt they were going to vet some distinguished gentlemen.” She adds, “We were tired of meeting scallawags and wanksters. It was time to meet a gentleman.”
That doesn’t mean the ladies don’t run into their share of hurdles during the show. Some frogs still slipped through the cracks.
“As you get to talking to these guys, you find out a lot of things,” Lozada says. “We share stories, we find out they were on other shows and they’re trying to promote this and that. So for us it was a little hurtful because we walked in with an open mind, open heart…some of the guys were not there for the right reasons. Some of them were. You guys will see who the guys were.”
They certainly don’t want men looking for a moment on TV. They also don’t want guys similar to the ones from their past.
“Do not ignore the red flags,” Lozada says when speaking on what she learned from former loves. “I was in a 10-year relationship. What I knew at 10 years I knew at two. When I was at the end of my marriage, after that whole incident and debacle, I knew two incidents prior. But you make excuses and try to fix the relationship because you want it to work so bad.”
For Braxton, she learned that she needs to keep her relationships private, at least until they reach a certain point.
“I would hold off as long as I can to become public. Once you become public, the relationship is ready for all the stigmas, all the conversations, all the unsolicited advice you’re going to get. You’ve got to have time to have your relationship be built on something, on solid ground before it’s introduced to the public.”
At this point in their lives, they know what they don’t want as well as what they do want in a man. For all three, confidence is everything. Take notes, fellas.
“Be confident,” Nivea says. “I like confidence. And I like a little aggression. Walk up on me. Show that you’re not afraid. I deal with a lot of intimidation. And I’m a bold female. I’ll approach you normally. I would want a man to be that way to me. That’s attractive.”
“Just be yourself,” says Lozada. “Some of the guys on the show were trying so hard to say ‘I can do this for you. I own this.’ We don’t give a f–k. We’ve seen it all…We just want you to be a good person.”
Check out the full conversation we had with the ladies above, where they also talk dating as single mothers and when they’re comfortable introducing guys to their kids. You can stream all 10 episodes of Queens Court starting March 16 on Peacock.