OWN's Ready To Love is back for a hot new season in The Magic City! Season 6 of the Will Packer Media-produced hit dating series is coming in hot with the help of 20 sexy singles in their 30s and 40s that are sure to bring the heat to the bright lights and sandy beaches of Miami. After it premieres on Friday, July 29, you'll be able to tune in to the sparks flying, game-changing curveballs, unavoidable love triangles, and all the Black love connections that have promise as the contestants discern whether or not the object of their desire is truly ready to love.
All of this drama will unfold under the guidance of veteran host Nephew Tommy Miles who gives the true love hopefuls the poignant advice of choosing "love over lust." And let's just say, we can't wait to see which of the singles heed those words of wisdom and which of them won't fight the temptation! If you're ready for a taste of what's to come this season, check out the first look trailer for Ready To Love below.
We ready! The melanated cast of 10 Black women and 10 Black men "from every walk of the Black diaspora" is serving up a taste of a grown and sexy element we didn't know we needed in the world of dating reality series.
So, if you're eager to learn who will be your fan favorite and who you want to see get the boot with the quickness, keep reading to meet the cast of Ready To Love Season 6.
Meet the Women of the 'Ready to Love' Season 6 Cast
Meet the Men of the 'Ready to Love' Season 6 Cast
Tune into the Season 6 premiere of Ready To Love Friday, July 29 at 8 p.m. EST | 7 p.m. CST on OWN.
Featured image courtesy of OWN
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Shaina, who has held roles at companies including ESPN and the NBA and has taught strategic sports marketing at esteemed institutions like Georgetown University, officially launched the network as a business in 2019. Since then, it’s hosted high-impact events like the Toast to Black Sports luncheon during Super Bowl weekend and built student chapters at both HBCUs and PWIs to pipeline underrepresented talent into the industry.
She shared with xoNecole more on the early days of launch, the turning point that made her realize she had a platform with real influence, and what keeps her going. With 17 years of experience across agencies, teams, and networks, Shaina is proof that grassroots efforts can turn into transformative change—especially when backed by passion, vision, and community.
xoNecole: How did the Minorities In Sports Business Network come to life?
Shaina Wiel: So, I just started the group chat and added a few of my friends who work in the industry as well. We were all kind of in New York at the same time working in the sports space… Very quickly over the next few years, the chat grew to over 800 individuals within the chat. Then, we had over 1000 individuals.
xoN: What was your ‘aha’ moment to expand?
SW: I noticed a bunch of employees from the Big Four leagues— NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB— within my group chat had all started posting roles. And when I asked, 'What is going on? Why are there so many posting jobs within the group chat?' I was told that HR had sent a note to their Black Employee Resource Group and had told them they had heard about this group chat.
That's when I realized, ‘Okay, this is more than, you know, my little friend group chat. Let's see if we can turn this into an actual business. And then in summer, 2019 I decided to do this full time.
Brittany Dacoff
xoN: What was the transition like growing the group chat into a full platform offering membership perks like access to job listings, networking opportunities and more?
SW: I was working at an agency, and the agency had lost their account. It was the account that I was working on. So they were like, you know, we can try to find another or we can separate. I decided to leave. And then, as we know, COVID happened, which actually was a blessing in disguise.
I was able to really focus on building the vision with this group chat and turning it into an actual company, seeing what works, seeing things from an events and a relationship standpoint, in terms of like, how we were interacting with different partners from different companies, and actually turning that into something substantial that could last.
xoN: Speaking of events, talk more about what inspired the Toast to Black Sports event you held earlier this year during the Super Bowl. Why is it important?
SW: This was the second year. There are so many dope people of color, specifically Black people, who work in this industry who are just doing the work behind the scenes. They’re not getting their flowers. I took it upon myself to say, I want to celebrate you. We’ve honored Kimberly Fields, Esq. of the NFL, Kevin Warren, CEO of the Chicago Bears, sports executive Jason Wright, sports and entertainment vet Carmen Green-Wilson, and NFL coach Jennifer King—all of whom have made major contributions to the industry.
xoN: What do you enjoy most about your role today?
SW: I think the work that I enjoy the most, honestly, is with our college students. We have 12 chapters across different colleges and universities. We help eliminate some of the barriers a lot of us had coming out of college. What I love seeing is that we have students who are now looking at roles they never even thought of.
xoN: What’s a bit of career advice for women breaking into the sports industry?
SW: I would say, build relationships. That’s really it: Build authentic relationships. Make sure it's a give and take and that you're supporting other people because once you're building those relationships, then it's a lot easier to either get into a space or to have those conversations when you want to do something.
And always be willing and ready to do the work.
Featured image by Hosea Johnson