La La Anthony Shares Why She Ultimately Decided To Step Away From Her Marriage
La La Anthony made a big decision that unfortunately many people make in their lifetime. Should I stay in my relationship or should I go? The BMF actress ultimately decided to go with the latter and filed for divorce from NBA star Carmelo Anthony after a little over a decade of marriage.
While the reason for the divorce cited irreconcilable differences, the filing comes after Carmelo reportedly fathered a child outside of their marriage. However, his alleged infidelity didn’t make it any easier for the actress, who shares a son with the L.A. Laker, to leave.
“Stepping away from that marriage was such an incredibly hard decision to make but it made me realize there’s nothing I can’t do,” La La told TV and radio host Charlamagne Tha God for The Hollywood Reporter.
“Staying is easier... Walking away is harder. Staying in your comfort zone– what you know, your house … your kid is happy ’cause their parents are together; that’s easier. Walking away on your own and trying to rebuild a life by yourself … I was with him when he was 19 years old like that’s all I’ve known.
“To step away from that and try to build my own life and still keep my sanity and keep things normal for my son, who only knew his mom and his dad together, that wasn’t the easier decision, but I had to make a decision for myself. So now it’s like, wow if I could do that, I could do anything.”
La La explained what it’s like co-parenting their 15-year-old son Kiyan. The young basketball player currently lives with the actress in New York.
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“We want to be a great example to our son. We have open conversations with him. We tell him, ‘You were made from love.’ We’re still a family, and we do things together. We go to his games together. We try to keep it as normal as possible,” she said.
“I don’t want my son to look at his parents like they didn’t get along. He’s looking at us as an example. I don’t want him to have dysfunctional relationships. I want him to be better when it comes to that.”
While divorce can be hard and can result in a lot of drama especially when children are involved, there are some families who get along and have become shining examples of how to co-parent.
Here are a few other celebrities who opened up about their healthy co-parenting.
Will Smith and Sheree Zampino
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“I’m not saying it was problem-free and we didn’t encounter any bumps. But I think that in terms of co-parenting, we’re more successful, a lot more successful actually, than in a marriage dynamic. We were put on this Earth to be co-parents. That’s what we did and that’s what we’re doing," Sheree Fletcher toldFox News.
Amber Rose and Wiz Khalifa
“We’ve always been really good at co-parenting. Even if you technically still have feelings for that person maybe right after the breakup, it’s not about your feelings, it’s not about what they’re doing in their personal life, it’s about the kids. Wiz and I, we talked about that very early on,” Amber Rose toldUs Weekly.
Shaunie O’Neal and Shaquille O’Neal
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"We have a great co-parenting relationship, seriously. It took us a long time to get there — don't get me wrong, it was not an easy journey — but once we got there, I think we felt comfortable being honest with each other and just sharing what was going on in our personal lives ... to a certain extent," Shaunie O’Neal shared on Tamron Hall.
Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon
Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage
"Luckily I've been blessed to share this experience with someone I really admire and have so much respect for. And I think the feeling is mutual. At the end of the day, you've got to be a little selfless. You have to say 'It's not about us. This didn't work out quite how we wanted it to but look at the amazing blessing that we have in these wonderful children.' So you kinda put everything else to the side and really focus," Nick Cannon toldPeople.
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ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Another season of Love Is Blind has come to a close, and almost two months later we’re still unpacking the drama that is Clay and AD. The finale, reunion, and post-interviews with Clay and AD after season six of Love Is Blind left millions of people wondering - why couldn’t AD see the signs? Clay told her he had a fear of marriage, his parents experienced infidelity, and he seemed to have many doubts about saying, "I do."
After changing his mind at the altar and hearing AD question why she feels like she’s never enough, I was finished watching. I didn’t need to hear anything else because, at that moment, I realized this wasn’t about Clay; this was about AD feeling inadequate before she ever met Clay.
If I’m honest, I don’t watch much dating television. TikTok keeps me updated with the clips that I need to see in order to be kept in the loop, but it’s difficult for me to watch an entire season of dating TV because seeing Black women settle for less and questioning their beauty is a trigger for me. In many ways, there were points in my life where I was AD, settling and ignoring red flags because I wanted to be loved.
Now, on the other side, it doesn’t feel good to see Black women lower their standards on national television. There have been many hot takes on this couple and who was in the wrong. Did Clay play in AD’s face or did she not listen to the truth of what he told her from day one? Was his reason for joining the show to promote his business and not to find the one?
We’ll never know the truth, but what we can do is learn tactics to better our self-worth. Founder and CEO of The Self Love Organization Denise Francis shared her expertise with xoNecole on what tangible steps to take to improve feelings of worthiness. “Self-love blooms in a garden where self-worth is planted, nourished, and whole. However, when your self-worth is challenged, displaced, or broken, it could be difficult to rebuild," Denise explains.
How To Rebuild Self-Worth
During her self-love coaching sessions, Denise likes to walk her clients through the cornerstones of rebuilding self-worth: grace and self-compassion. To her, self-worth is never lost, it's only displaced, so practicing self-compassion and giving yourself grace is a must. "We tend to place our self-worth in entities and people of ourselves such as relationship status, physical appearance, material possessions, social media followings, what others think of us, and more. Self-worth is not something to be measured by anyone or anything outside of ourselves because we all innately hold value and worth.
"Self-worth is not something to be measured by anyone or anything outside of ourselves because we all innately hold value and worth."
"When we place our value into people or things, we tend to feel that we are not enough, worth it, special, or important when relationship status, job titles, friendships, and physical appearances are lost or changed. We then tend to feel lost within ourselves because we’ve placed our value outside of ourselves. Using grace and compassion, you can rebuild your self-worth by returning home to who you are at your core," she concludes.
How To Return Home To Yourself
Denise advises taking a step back and using self-reflection through journaling by answering the following journaling prompts:
First, ask yourself, "What do you tend to attach your self-worth to and why?"
Is it your relationships, your job title, your finances, your appearance, etc.? Why do you think you place so much emphasis on external status? How does it make you feel when you are defining yourself through these entities and/or people outside of yourself?
Then, ask yourself, "Without these things, who am I?"
Once you have your answers, show yourself kindness, remove the shame, and, as Denise says, "Redefine yourself by detaching your value from the things and people you have no control over and no longer serve you. Challenge yourself to define yourself outside of titles and societal values."
"By returning home to your core, you find value in who you are as a person. You begin to find value in the way you love instead of your relationship status, your compassion instead of your popularity, your drive instead of your income/job title, and your heart instead of your physical appearance," she adds.
"By returning home to your core, you find value in who you are as a person."
"Be intentional with healing your self-worth by leaning into the people and things that nourish your core values. Surround yourself with the people who love and cherish you, they will always remind you just how valuable you truly are."
It all goes back to self-compassion and grace. As Denise explains, leading with those two things as you heal and rebuild your self-worth allows you to reduce negative self-talk that might come up for you. "This weakens thoughts like, 'I am not enough... why am I never enough?'" she shares, "And 'I don't deserve this while strengthening thoughts like 'I deserve better,' 'I am enough,' and 'I am worth it.'"
Denise continues, "Once you return home and remember the irreplaceable person you are, you can rebuild your self-worth by placing it back where it belongs. It belongs to you."
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