

What do you get when you add two parents plus 14 kids? The delightful TLC reality series Doubling Down with the Derricos, following the lives of Karen and Deon Derrico and their fourteen kids – that include multiple sets of twins and triplets – as they navigate daily life with their larger-than-life family.
Just in time for Mother’s Day, xoNecole caught up with Karen to hear what it’s like to be a stay-at-home mother of 14 living children and how their story began. “We met at a nightclub,” Karen says about meeting her husband Deon for the first time. “There was just a boldness about him…and we just danced the whole night.”
It only took three months into their courtship that Karen says the couple discussed their plans around having children. “He asked me, ‘How many children do you want?” She replied: “I want as many as God blesses me to have.” She said it was those magic words that led to her life as a mother to over a dozen kids.
Sets of multiples run on both sides of the family. Karen says that she has cousins with twins and triplet aunts and her husband’s family has twins. Even Gigi – Deon’s mother who also appears on the show – tragically miscarried a set of triplets. “I guess I’m just carrying on Gigi’s torch,” Karen says.
But Karen is a medical anomaly having so many sets of multiple children without the aid of fertility treatments. It’s one of the reasons why TLC producer Lori Ansaldi reached out to the Derricos after reading their story in a newspaper article and asking them about the idea of doing a show. “We just realized there are things in our life that we had a blueprint from someone else to go by,” Karen says about their decision to do the show. “"If someone…says, 'Girl, I got five heartbeats in here and I got to carry them. How was it like for you?'... We just want to provide that loving, caring, non-judgmental blueprint for other families out there [with the show].”
There was only a bit of hesitation from extended family members about why Karen and Deon would want to invite a camera crew into their lives, but for the most part, Karen says that everybody was on board, especially their kids. “We introduced it to them as this is our way of telling our story and what we’ve been through,” she says.
Their lives before the show weren’t much different than now, with Deon working in real estate and Karen raising the kids as a stay-at-home mom. The newfound spotlight also hasn’t created any “pumpkin heads” as Karen describes it. “We don’t drop that ‘f word’ of fame,” Karen says. “We don’t use that word at all.” A part of keeping the kids level headed also includes their weekly Saturday morning cleaning rituals, which Karen attributes to her “old school” parenting style. “You turn your music on, you light some candles or some incense and everybody in the house knows it's time to get up and start cleaning,” she says.
It’s their faith and their commitment to a life of service that keep the Derrico family humble. Besides the ability for the kids to get big boxes of complimentary fruit roll-ups whenever they want (which Karen says she quickly nipped in the bud), it’s been fans' messages about how much the show has meant to them that have been a blessing to Karen especially. Opening up about miscarriage, Karen says she’s had fans reach out to her and thank her for her vulnerability on the subject. “You’d be surprised how much people don’t talk about going through a miscarriage,” Karen says. “I want other mothers to know that it’s okay, not to be okay.”
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.
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'Leave Quicker': Keri Hilson Opens Up About Learning When To Walk Away In Love
What you might call Black love goals, Keri Hilson is kindly saying, “Nah.”
In a recent appearance on Cam Newton’s Funky Friday podcast, the We Need to Talk: Love singer opened up about a past relationship that once had the public rooting for her and former NBA star Serge Ibaka. According to Cam, the pair looked “immaculate” together. Keri agreed, admitting, “We looked good.” But her demeanor made it clear that everything that looks good isn't always a good look for you.
That was all but confirmed when Cam asked what the relationship taught her. Keri sighed deeply before replying, “Whew. Leave quicker.”
It was the kind of answer that doesn’t need to be packaged to be received, just raw truth from someone who’s done the work. “Ten months in, I should have [left],” she continued. “But I was believing. I was wanting to not believe [the signs].”
Keri revealed to Cam that despite their efforts to repair the relationship at the time, including couples counseling, individual therapy, and even sitting with Serge’s pastor, it just wasn’t meant to be. A large part of that, she said, was the seven-year age gap. “He was [in his] mid-twenties,” she said, attributing a lot of their misalignment to his youth and the temptations that came with fame, money, and status.
“There were happenings,” she shared, choosing her words carefully. “He deserved to live that… I want what you want. I don’t want anything different. So if I would’ve told him how to love me better, it would’ve denied him the experience of being ‘the man’ in the world.”
But she also made it clear that just because you understand someone’s path doesn’t mean you have to ride it out with them. Instead, you can practice compassionate detachment like our girl Keri. “You can have what you want, but you may not have me and that.”
When Cam jokingly questioned what if there was a reality where a man wanted to have both “you and a dab of that,” Keri didn’t hesitate with her stance: “No,” adding, “I can remove myself and [then you] have it. Enjoy it.” Sis said what she said.
Still, she shared that they dated for a couple of years and remain cool to this day. For Keri, being on good terms with an ex isn’t a sign of weakness; it's a reflection of where she is in her healing. In a time when blocking an ex is often seen as the ultimate sign of growth, Keri offers an alternate route: one where healing looks like resolution, not resentment. “I think because I have such a disgust for ugliness in my life. Like, I don't do well without peace between me and everyone in my life. Like, I really try to resolve issues,” she explained to Cam.
Adding, “I think that's what makes things difficult when you're like sweeping things under the rug or harboring ill feelings towards someone. When you're healed, when you've done your work, you can speak to anybody when you've healed from things. I think maybe that's the bottom line.”
Watch Keri's appearance on Funky Friday in full here.
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Featured image by Paras Griffin/Getty Images