Tameka Raymond: "I Will Not Be Joining 'The Real Housewives of Atlanta'"

ESSENCE.COM Dec, 16, 2009

Despite whisperings that Usher’s wife, Tameka Raymond, will be the latest Georgia Peach to join ATL’s “Real Housewives,” the celebrity fashion stylist will not seize the opportunity to show America what a true southern belle is made of.

“Although [Bravo] approached me, and I was flattered by the offer, I will not be joining the ‘Real Housewives’ cast,” said Raymond.

Raymond, the CEO of Swanky Image Group and owner of Hides & Dungarees Denim Collection, welcomed her second son, Naveid Ely, with her pop star hubby last December. The couple had their first son, Usher V, in November 2007.

The mother of five has been busy raising her sons and creating her apparel line. Raymond is also preparing to work extensively with her Lost Ones Foundation, a nonprofit organization devoted to empowering at-risk, 12- to 18-year-old teenage girls by teaching them to about healthy self-images to help build their self-esteem. The foundation will sponsor biannual, four-day retreats with motivational speakers, empowerment seminars, group testimonials and beauty makeovers.