

xoNecole's Moms Who Inspire series highlights modern day moms mastering all the tasks on their plate, from day-to-day responsibilities to ensuring their children are kind, educated and well-rounded human beings. Each mother describes their inspiration, what motherhood means to them, and how they maintain their sense of selves while being the superwoman we all know and love.
For Ashley Sirah Nicole Chea, being a modern mom is anything but playing it by the book.
In fact, the author, writer, mother, and all-around creative being chooses to honor motherhood for what it is: a woman who happens to be a mom. Her identity isn't eclipsed by her being a mother, instead, it is an extension of who she is and who she is becoming every day.
Abby Walters
The blogger behind Watermeloneggrolls was first introduced to the xoNecole audience when she shared her proposal to husband Chea in a love story that proved love has no color. "I was set on marrying a black man that burned incense and listened to Lauryn Hill and Dwele in the late hours of the night like myself. Instead, Chea came into my life with every topical difference possible," she revealed. "Our souls have always been aligned and that is what spoke to our hearts when we met."
Her multicultural marriage to her husband would later be featured on Black Love, OWN's groundbreaking docuseries highlighting love stories from the African-American community. Although the focus is often placed on her epic love with her husband Chea, Ashley is also the co-creator of two other love stories (and one in progress) in the form of her beautiful children.
@watermeloneggrolls
Ashley's first pregnancy at 23 was anything but planned, but she knew she'd be great at it regardless. After experiencing loss when her sister died a year prior, her oldest daughter AmirahLee was a vessel for restored faith she didn't know she needed. Motherhood would be transformative for Ashley, but also whatever she wanted it to be.
As a Mom Who Inspires us, Ashley shares how her faith, her family, and her upbringing continually inspire her to thrive as a wife, mother, and creator.
@watermeloneggrolls
On what motherhood means to her:
For me, it's a chance to show God's grace.
I believe it's the greatest responsibility in the world. It's my chance to show how great a human can be if you cultivate them with love and respect.
On the three words that represent her approach to motherhood:
Create. Love. Empower. I live by this motto I created for my life, motherhood, and business. If you do all things with this in mind, you will be fine. When I think about their future careers, I want my children to learn from me to do things that make them happy and contribute to this world in a positive way.
On what a typical day in her household looks like:
I make breakfast, homeschool my eldest daughter, play with and help my 19-month-old learn. Work on writing and run around like a chicken with their head cut off. I'm also pregnant [with our third daughter] so I take naps when my husband gets home (laughs).
@watermeloneggrolls
On how she balances work and home life:
There is no such thing. Some days, you are better in one area than you are in another. It will always be that way. Accept it and move on.
On what she believes to be true about herself:
I believe that God speaks to me and I always listen. So when I have a deep feeling, desire, dream that shakes my core I act on it. I dreamed about my children's book, woke up in the middle of the night wrote it and it ended up selling out 3K copies and I self-published it. I dreamed about writing a script and I'm doing that now and I know it will manifest.
I don't question anymore, I just do the work and wait for the universe's timing.
On how motherhood led her back to her first love:
I also used to be a ballet dancer, when I became a mother I had to give that career up temporarily to move back to Ohio to raise my child. Once I was there I was spending more time writing and creating. It was challenging because it took my life in a different direction. I ended up creating a children's book and that pushed my career into a whole new direction.
@watermeloneggrolls
On the most important thing motherhood has taught her:
We really don't know anything (laughs). Everything we thought we knew can be challenged and changed.
On what scares her about being a parent:
I'm scared every day. They keep changing and growing and as soon as you master one age they change and get older and that brings new challenges.
I just take it one day at a time and understand that I must evolve with them.
On prioritizing her children's individualism:
I respect them and treat them as humans and not my little robots. They will understand that by me allowing them to be themselves, I've given them the greatest love possible, which is freedom.
@watermeloneggrolls
On how she practices self-care:
By telling my kids and husband no when I feel overwhelmed. It's important my daughters understand that being a mother does not mean we have to over-exhaust ourselves.
On her relationship with her mother:
My relationship with my mother was and is very strong. Very open and very encouraging. She's always supported me and pushed me to be my greatest self. She taught us to be respectful, to question, and research.
To do things because they mean something and not because everyone else is doing them.
She taught us about mental, spiritual, and physical health. I've used those exact tools when raising my children.
On how her mother inspires her:
My mother, she is constantly inspiring me because she hasn't stopped growing or learning. She calls me and tells me things she did wrong, things she wished she did differently, and challenges me to read and learn from my mistakes as well as hers. She is growth, and that gives me so much inspiration to do the same.
For more of Ashley and her darling little ones, follow her on Instagram.
- Moms Who Inspire: Ashley Sirah Nicole Chea - xoNecole ›
- I Married The Man Of My Dreams Twice - xoNecole ›
Christine Carter is a voice for millennial moms (and uniquely, young black female professionals and mothers). She has been featured in and guest contributed to several global digital publications, including Forbes, TIME, Health, Ebony, Black Bride, Inc., Women's Health and many others.
Eva Marcille On Starring In 'Jason’s Lyric Live' & Being An Audacious Black Woman
Eva Marcille has taken her talents to the stage. The model-turned-actress is starring in her first play, Jason’s Lyric Live alongside Allen Payne, K. Michelle, Treach, and others.
The play, produced by Je’Caryous Johnson, is an adaptation of the film, which starred Allen Payne as Jason and Jada Pinkett Smith as Lyric. Allen reprised his role as Jason for the play and Eva plays Lyric.
While speaking to xoNecole, Eva shares that she’s a lot like the beloved 1994 character in many ways. “Lyric is so me. She's the odd flower. A flower nonetheless, but definitely not a peony,” she tells us.
“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Feature image by Leon Bennett/WireImage
These 5 Simple Words Changed My Dating Life & Made It Easier To Let Go Of The Wrong Men
Dating in 2025 often feels like meandering through an obscure tropical jungle: It can be beautiful, exciting, and daunting, yet nebulous when you’re in the thick of it. When we can’t see the forest for the trees, we often turn to our closest friends, doting family, and even nosy co-workers for advice. While others can undoubtedly imbue a much-needed fresh perspective, some of the best advice you’re searching for already lies within you.
My dating life has been a whirlwind to put it mildly, and each time I’d heard a questionable response or witnessed an eyebrow-raising action from a potential beau, I’d overanalyze for hours despite the illuminating tug in my spirit or pit of my stomach churning. And then I’d hold a conference call with my trusted friends just to convince myself of an alternative scenario, even though I’d already been supernaturally tipped off that he was not in alignment with me.
Fortunately, five simple words have simplified my dating process and ushered in clarity faster: “Would my husband do this?”
A couple of years ago, I met an entertainment lawyer who was tonguing down a twenty-something-year-old woman for breakfast while I slurped my green smoothie and chomped on a flatbread sandwich. Okay, Black love, I grinned and thought as I sauntered out of the Joe & The Juice. As soon as I stepped down from the front door, a torrential downpour of Miami summer rain cascaded and throttled me back inside to wait out the storm.
I grabbed a hot green tea and vacillated between peering out the wet door and anxiously checking my watch. My lengthy agenda started with attending the Tabitha Brown and Chance Brown’s “Black Love” panel, and I was already late. That’s when the lawyer introduced himself to me, after he made a joke about neither one of us wanting to get soaked by the rain. His female companion had braved the storm, leaving us to find our commonalities.
We both lived in L.A. and had traveled to the American Black Film Festival to expand our network. He represented various artists, including entertainment writers, while I was working as a writer/creative producer in Hollywood.
While there is no shortage of internet advice on how to strategically meet a prominent man at conferences, if I spend my hard-earned funds on career growth, I have tunnel vision, and that doesn’t include finding Mr. Right. So, I stowed his contact details away as strictly professional.
As the humidity and mosquitoes were rising around L.A., two months later, another suitor-turned-terrible match cooled off after three unimpressive dates and a bevy of red flags. I posted what some of my friends called a thirst trap, but it was really me wearing a black freakum jumpsuit with a plunging neckline to my friend’s 35th birthday soiree despite feeling oh, so unsexy and bloated on my cycle.
I’d been waiting to post a sassy caption and finally had the perfect picture to match: “You not asking for too much, you just asking the wrong MF.”
That’s when the entertainment lawyer swooped into my DMs and asked me to dinner. I was quite confused. Is he asking me on a date? Or is this professional? Common sense would’ve picked the former. Once it clicked that this would in fact be a date, I told my mentor, who’s been happily married for over twenty years and has often been a guiding light and has steered me away from the wrong men.
Upon telling him about how we met, he emphatically stated, “He ain’t it.” He followed up with a simple question, "You have to ask yourself: Would my husband do this? Would you tell others that you met your husband, tonguing down another woman, and later married him?"
Ouch. The thought-provoking question cleared any haze. Prior to going out with the lawyer, the first thing I inquired about was the woman.
“You saw that?” He said, taken aback that I’d witnessed his steamy PDA. Surely, anyone with two open eyes peeped him caressing her backside as he kissed her in the middle of the coffee shop.
He brushed her off as a casual someone he’d gone on a couple of dates with but had since stopped talking to. He said he hadn’t been in a serious relationship in over three years. Though I was still doubtful, dating in L.A. is treacherous and ephemeral. Making it past three months is considered a rarity.
With my antennae alert, I dined with him at a cozy beachside steakhouse restaurant where we were serenaded by a live jazz band. I’d emphasized forming a platonic friendship first.
“I’ll come to you,” he obliged. I liked that he had made me a priority by driving over 50 miles to see me. I also liked the effort he made to check in with me daily. But I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that he initiated on a professional pretense and then alley hooped through the back door on a romantic venture, which bombarded me with confusion.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my dating life, God is not the author of confusion; any man who brings confusion, rather than clarity, is simply not The One. It doesn’t matter how many boxes he checks–eventually, that confusion will manifest itself into bigger problems, in time.
After diving into deeper conversations on the phone, post our first dinner date, I quickly realized this man was indeed not The One for me. But I’m grateful for the valuable lesson I learned.
I don’t expect some unattainable fairytale of a husband; we all have our own flaws and conflict is inevitable, but after dating for two decades, through failure and success, I’ve realized that the person I ultimately marry must mirror the values I exert into the world. He must reciprocate kindness, patience, and respect. He must be quick to listen and slow to respond. He needs to be forgiving and trustworthy, practice healthy communication, and be a man of his word at the bare minimum.
If I’d had “Would my husband do this?” in my toolbox when I was dating and floundering in stagnant relationships, in my twenties, it would’ve saved me a lot of precious time. But now that I’m equipped with the reminder, it’s allowed me to ground myself in my non-negotiables and set/maintain the standard for the special person, I’ll one day say, “I do,” to.
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Featured image by stockbusters/Getty Images