Ring the belles, because your fave Mississippi stunners are back!
Source: Belle Collective / OWN
Belle Collective is returning to OWN tonight at 8/7 C for a spicy third season and one of the ladies is detailing the wild “rollercoaster ride.”
Tambra Cherie told BOSSIP that she and her fellow Jackson-based beauties are bringing a blend of drama and sisterhood this time around, and she thinks dedicated Belle watchers will be pleased.
Source: Courtesy OWN / Oprah Winfrey Network
Not only that, but she’s prepared to let viewers gain even more insight into her private life, all the while trying to protect her peace from things (and pesky people) who might interrupt it.
“I’ve grown. Now, if this is 15 years ago, you might have different content!” said the radio personality.
Below, Tambra tells BOSSIP what you can expect from herself, Latrice Rogers, Lateshia Pearson, Marie Abston, Aikisha Holly-Colon, and Sophia O. Williams aka “Sogucci” on Belle Collective season 3.
How does it feel to get a third season of Belle Collective?
I would say it’s amazing. I love the fact that people can actually see Mississippi. They can see Jackson, they can see the successful women that’s in the city of Jackson. I love that. We’re breaking some of those stereotypes that we have been under for so long. And I definitely feel like I’ve been under it, just being in the entertainment industry. So, it’s exciting for me to get to break that. That’s what I love about it. And just so you can just see the successes that we have here, even going beyond, even the belles, of course, all of us are successful. That’s amazing. So, just to be able to show that. You just don’t understand.
I think it’s a blessing. You don’t understand how many times I have gone to the Grammys, or the BET Awards, and all these places throughout my career, and they look at me like I’m crazy when I say I’m from Mississippi. And they’re like, “Why are you still there?” So, for me, years later, it’s a blessing to be able to show you why I am still here.
Source: Courtesy OWN / Oprah Winfrey Network
Agreed. Besides the location being in Jackson, why do you think people keep tuning in for Belle Collective? Every time you guys go off the air, there’s always a demand for more.
And I love that. I think that it’s because you just see Black women doing amazing things. I think this shows that Black women are amazing and we are doing some amazing things. And I think people tune in to see how we juggle all of those things that we’re doing, [like] our professional careers. With me, I am one of those women, I do put my career first. That was important for me. And I realized that I’m not alone in that. For so long, I didn’t want to interrupt what I had going on. I wanted to build my brand and I did and I put that before raising a family.
And that’s something you don’t necessarily see in Mississippi and in the South because we’re taught to get married. As soon as you get out of school, what are you doing? Getting a job, getting married, and having kids. And that was just not the plan for me. Of course, I want the family, I want the babies, yes, but at the same time I know I have a purpose, and that purpose is just taking me a little bit longer. I just took a different route. And so, I think that people are intrigued with that, that you [can] stand up for yourself and make decisions for yourself that everyone necessarily will not agree with. But you have other women in this world that can relate to us.
One thing viewers have noticed about you is that you’re big on protecting your peace. It’s something that you don’t just say, it’s something you act on. So, for you, when there is something chaotic happening, how do remain so levelheaded?
You know what, Dani, I am huge on that. I don’t think people really understand. For me, protecting my peace is more important than proving my point And I think some of the viewers have to realize that. So, I will walk off if you’re not talking right. That’s just who I am. And that’s me in real life and it’s important to me because I’ve just grown. I’ve grown throughout the years.
And I don’t know if you even knew this but I wrote a book years ago, and the book was called “Surrounded by Sin, Grounded By Love” and it’s called” 8 Simple Keys to Becoming Better.” I meant what I said when I wrote it. I’n not only telling other women how to become better but I also became better for myself. So, even in that book, I talk about how everything does not deserve your attention. You don’t have to respond to everything. I still mean that to this day. I’ve grown. Now, if this is 15 years ago, you might have different content!
If this was 15 years ago, some things will be a little different. But it is that growth. And I believe in women growing and evolving and letting women know, no, you don’t have to entertain everything that comes your way.’ You don’t, and that’s just the truth. So, sometimes viewer gets confused when I don’t entertain stuff, or I do walk off, because I’m big on peace. I would rather have my peace and peace of mind than sit there and try to prove my point. And then, I think I am definitely one of the belles that I’m not going to constantly try to prove my point. If I addressed it once, I’m not going to do it two, three, four, five times. I’m just not. That’s just not my personality. I’m booked and busy. Run with that.
We know that protecting your peace is important to you, but we also learned last season that authenticity is especially important to you as well. Do you think that people are being authentic on this season of Belle Collective? Is everyone showing up as their true self?
You know what, I’m going to watch this season just with the audience, to be honest. I am going to have to watch this season, because people have to realize, we don’t film together all the time.
Some of the belles, I have no idea what they may have going on in their personal life unless they come and they tell me. So, you’ll see that, because we’re not around each other. One thing about us, even though we are a collective, we have independent lives that we’re showing you. So, everyone has something going on in their life that they are dealing with as independent women. And we come together collectively, and it’s up to us to say, “Hey, are we going to discuss this?” I’m really not the belle that goes and really acts like, “Hey, what’s going on with such and such?” I’m not that belle.
I let the belle share with me what they have going on if they’re ready to share. Because they may have something going on in their personal life they may not be ready to share with me, but they may share with another belle. So, that’s why I say sometimes we’re watching with our audience, because it may be things that some of the belles did not even share with me. They may have personally shared with another belle, and for some of our belles, we don’t go back and tell what another belle has told us.
You’ll see that type of sisterhood [this season], you will really see that. We don’t share information all the time. And I think that you will learn that and watch it in this season. So, I do like the fact that I’m watching with you guys.
What do you think fans are going to see from you, Tambra Cherie, this season on Belle Collective?
I think that, of course, you will definitely see my professional career, because that’s something that I absolutely love. You have to see that part because it’s one of the things that I put first. I put my professional life first. Now, this season, you’re also in for some surprises. I can honestly say that you’re going to see more of my personal life.
And this is why I say this because the fact that I have been in radio and entertainment for so long, I’ve always been taught to separate it. And I’ve always been taught that. I still believe in radio. It’s about my listeners, it’s about my audience.
So, transitioning to TV, they want to see more of you. And I’ve never put me first. I’ve always put my audience first. My listeners are first and I’m like, I come later. Transitioning to TV, it’s more about sharing me and putting myself at the forefront of who I am and what I have going on, not only in my professional life but in my personal life as well. So, you will see relationships. You will see the relationship side. You will see personal things in my life. So, you get more in-depth of what’s going on in my personal life and just not my professional life as well.
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