

'FBOY Island' Season 2: Meet The Cast
HBO Max shook up reality television with their reality dating competition seriesFBOY Island last year and now it’s back for season 2. For those who aren’t familiar, FBOYIsland is a reality show that follows three women looking for love. The ladies are joined by 26 good-looking men, but there’s a catch. Thirteen of the men are self-proclaimed “Nice Guys” while the other 13 are self-proclaimed “FBoys.” The women are challenged to determine who is who as the male contestants’ titles aren’t revealed right away with hopes that they will choose the “Nice Guy.”
But not only are their hearts on the line but so is the prize money. If the ladies choose a “Nice Guy” the couple will split $100,000, but if they end up choosing an “FBoy,” the “FBoy” will walk away with the prize money instead.
The second season premieres on July 14 on HBO Max. Similarly to the Love Is Blind roll-out, three episodes will be available on July 14. Three more will release the following week on July 21. Two more episodes will debut on July 28, leading up to the final two episodes dropping on August 4.
Get to know the cast below:
Who is Mia Emani Jones?
Mia Emani Jones
Ramon Naquid/HBO Max
Mia Emani Jones is one of the three women looking for love on FBOY Island. Mia is a 26-year-old dental student from Tampa, FL, and a pageant queen. She’s a former Miss Delaware USA and Miss Delaware Teen USA. According to PEOPLE, Mia joined FBoy Island to find love no matter what.
The Ladies of 'FBOY Island' Season 2
Louise Barnard, Mia Emani Jones, Tamaris Sepulveda
Ramon Naquid/HBO Max
Joining Mia on her journey to love are Louise Barnard and Tamaris Sepulveda. Louise is a 25-year-old model from Onekama, MI, and Tamaris is a 29-year-old account executive from New York City.
The Men of 'FBOY Island' Season 2 Cast
Ramon Naquid/HBO Max
In alphabetical order, the men of FBOY Island Season 2 include A.C. Long, Asanté Tait, Benedict Polizzi, Braydon Elgar, Carlos Lopez, Danny Louisa, Dewayne Rogers, Ilon Hao, JaBriane Ross, Jared Seay, Jeremy Edberg, John MgBemena, Kian Lewis, Kyland Hewett-Newbill, Lukasz Yoder, Mercedes Knox, Michael Dakessian, Nick Priola, Nick Warfield, Niko Pilalis, Nikolay Pranchenko, Noam Atzil, Tom Carnifax, and Zachary Wambold.
Below are some of the men that make up season 2 of FBOY Island and where to follow them on Instagram.
John Mgbemena
John Mgbemena is 28 years old and hails from Atlanta, GA. His occupation is a pharmacy technician.
Dewayne Rogers
At 26 years old, Dewayne Rogers is ready to find love and is hoping that his time on FBOY Island can help.
Jared Seay
Jared Seay is a 25-year-old model and content creator from San Diego, CA.
JaBriane Ross
Sacramento healthcare worker, JaBriane Ross, enjoys learning about food and has a dream of being a food critic.
Kian Lewis
Kian Lewis is a frat boy from Spartanburg, SC who likes the simple things in life such as spending time with family and his frat brothers.
Kyland Hewett-Newbill
Kyland Hewett-Newbill is a 24-year-old college student from Springfield, MO.
Mercedes Knox
Dallas, TX native Mercedes Knox enjoys fashion design and hopes to meet the girl of his dreams on FBOY Island.
Nick Warfield
Michigan-born Nick Warfield is a graphic designer who enjoys art galleries and museums.
Watch the trailer below:
FBOY Island Season 2 | Official Trailer | HBO Max
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Featured image by Ramon Naquid/HBO Max
How Content Creators Hey Fran Hey And Shameless Maya Embraced The Pivot
This article is in partnership with Meta Elevate.
If you’ve been on the internet at all within the past decade, chances are the names Hey Fran Hey and Shameless Maya (aka Maya Washington) have come across your screen. These content creators have touched every platform on the web, spreading joy to help women everywhere live their best lives. From Fran’s healing natural remedies to Maya’s words of wisdom, both of these content creators have built a loyal following by sharing honest, useful, and vulnerable content. But in search of a life that lends to more creativity, freedom, and space, these digital mavens have moved from their bustling big cities (New York City and Los Angeles respectively) to more remote locations, taking their popular digital brands with them.
Content Creators Hey Fran Hey and Maya Washington Talk "Embracing The Pivot"www.youtube.com
In partnership with Meta Elevate — an online learning platform that provides Black, Hispanic, and Latinx-owned businesses access to 1:1 mentoring, digital skills training, and community — xoNecole teamed up with Franscheska Medina and Maya Washington on IG live recently for a candid conversation about how they’ve embraced the pivot by changing their surroundings to ultimately bring out the best in themselves and their work. Fran, a New York City native, moved from the Big Apple to Portland, Oregon a year ago. Feeling overstimulated by the hustle and bustle of city life, Fran headed to the Pacific Northwest in search of a more easeful life.
Her cross-country move is the backdrop for her new campaign with Meta Elevate— a perfectly-timed commercial that shows how you can level up from wherever you land with the support of free resources like Meta Elevate. Similarly, Maya packed up her life in Los Angeles and moved to Sweden, where she now resides with her husband and adorable daughter. Maya’s life is much more rural and farm-like than it had been in California, but she is thriving in this peaceful new setting while finding her groove as a new mom.
While Maya is steadily building and growing her digital brand as a self-proclaimed “mom coming out of early retirement,” Fran is redefining her own professional grind. “It’s been a year since I moved from New York City to Portland, Oregon,” says Fran. “I think the season I’m in is figuring out how to stay successful while also slowing down.” A slower-paced life has unlocked so many creative possibilities and opportunities for these ladies, and our conversation with them is a well-needed reminder that your success is not tied to your location…especially with the internet at your fingertips. Tapping into a community like Meta Elevate can help Black, Hispanic, and Latinx entrepreneurs and content creators stay connected to like minds and educated on new digital skills and tools that can help scale their businesses.
During a beautiful moment in the conversation, Fran gives Maya her flowers for being an innovator in the digital space. Back when “influencing” was in its infancy and creators were just trying to find their way, Fran says Maya was way ahead of her time. “I give Maya credit for being one of the pioneers in the digital space,” Fran said. “Maya is a one-person machine, and I always tell her she really changed the game on what ads, campaigns, and videos, in general, should look like.”
When asked what advice she’d give content creators, Maya says the key is having faith even when you don’t see the results just yet. “It’s so easy to look at what is, despite you pouring your heart into this thing that may not be giving you the returns that you thought,” she says. “Still operate from a place of love and authenticity. Have faith and do the work. A lot of people are positive thinkers, but that’s the thinking part. You also have to put your faith into work and do the work.”
Fran ultimately encourages content creators and budding entrepreneurs to take full advantage of Meta Elevate’s vast offerings to educate themselves on how to build and grow their businesses online. “It took me ten years to get to the point where I’m making ads at this level,” she says. “I didn’t have those resources in 2010. I love the partnership with Meta Elevate because they’re providing these resources for free. I just think of the people that wouldn’t be able to afford that education and information otherwise. So to amplify a company like this just feels right.”
Watch the full conversation with the link above, and join the Meta Elevate community to connect with fellow businesses and creatives that are #OnTheRiseTogether.
Featured image courtesy of Shameless Maya and Hey Fran Hey
Halle Bailey Says She Appreciates That Everyone Wants To Protect Her, But She's Got This
Halle Bailey and her boyfriend of over a year, rapper DDG, are young and in love. We learned the two were dating in January 2022 after they were spotted together at Usher's residency concert in Vegas. DDG later confirmed the romance that March when he made it all IG official with a birthday shoutout to his bae. And since then, they've been seemingly inseparable, attending public events together, most recently, for the Vanity Fair Oscar party as Halle prepares for the premiere of her career-defining role in The Little Mermaid.
While there, DDG gave flowers to his bae, telling PEOPLE, "I'm very proud of her. And I'm just happy to see it. I feel like sometimes I'm even more excited than anybody else. Just seeing it and seeing everything that she dreamed of coming to life, it's really dope."
It's the support for me, m'kay?!
And listen, Halle loves her 'some him' too, showing that she pulls up for his music career by starring in the music video for his single, "If I Want You." "Everyone go watch 'if i want you' by @ddg it's out now ❣️you might see a familiar face 🤭💗," she wrote on an Instagram post. She doubled down on her support, revealing to ESSENCE that she had been "a fan" even before they met, adding to the cocktail of their romance that has captured the hearts of many by simply being two young lovebirds navigating their journey of fame, loyalty, and love for the world to see (and dissect).
Well, that was until a little drama, or ex (his), showed up on their doorstep and publicly tested whether the couple's relationship is what they say it is. And after the dust settled (and a little PR work), Halle hopped on IG Live to basically tell us what's understood between the two of them, does not--and will not--be explained. In fact, after sending comment sections into a frenzy for weeks because the culture was coming to her defense, she let us know that, yeah, she appreciates the love, but she's got this.
When speaking about the new music she's recording she said, "This music that I'm making right now, is a lot about the time, how I felt, when I was filming. I was very independent and on my own but also felt isolated and it's also about what happened when I got back home and being in love and all of that..."
She continued:
"I just think it's so funny, people getting to see me, you know, being in love, in a relationship...I think because I've grown up in the public eye since I was younger, people just feel like this sort of protective energy that they feel like they have to have with me, which honestly I think is sweet, but it's funny."
Halle also wrote on Twitter in a now-deleted tweet, "the devil is working ♥️ lol please don’t feed into the lies, especially from a third party 💕✨stay blessed everyone."
In other words, it's giving 'nothing-to-see-here-but-I-ain't-the-one-and-he-knows-that-so-we're-not-even-going-to-entertain-this.' And as grateful as Halle is for the continued support she has received, she admits is in the process of setting boundaries surrounding matters outside of her craft.
She touched on the subject again, telling Yahoo!'sThe Unwind, "They still see me as that 13-year-old girl that they first discovered and I understand how if you've been supporting somebody for a long time you get invested in their personal lives," she says.
"It's definitely been a learning experience for me. And the beautiful people that have supported me and stuck with me for a very long time, can continue to support what I do publicly in my business affairs, and I really appreciate that, but everything else is my business. And I have to make that priority."
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Featured image by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic