Sheree Zampino and Drea Kelly want you to know they are more than just famous ex-wives.<\/p>\n
Kelly, who was\u00a0married to embattled singer R. Kelly, and Zampino, who was wed to Will Smith from 1992-1995, were both eager to set things straight on \u201cHollywood Exes: Reunited.\u201d<\/p>\n
The special, which airs Nov. 24 at 8 p.m. EST on VH1, picks up where the reality show left off when the final episode aired in 2014. Following the ups and downs of the ex-wives once married to Hollywood\u2019s leading men, \u201cHollywood Exes\u201d dug deeper into the lives of ladies like Nicole Murphy (Eddie Murphy), Maura Garcia (Prince), Shamicka Lawrence (Martin Lawrence), Jessica Canseco (Jose Canseco), Shanna Moakler (Travis Barker) and Daphne Wayans (Keenan Ivory Wayans) as they tried to move on amid public scrutiny.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we left it was a lot of cliffhangers, you know, so we\u2019re back six years later,\u201d Zampino, who has a son with Smith, told The Post. \u201cIt\u2019s awesome to be back and to reconnect with each other. We never disconnected because we have a forever bond.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to come together and be able to be vulnerable and that\u2019s the beauty of the show,\u201d the 53-year-old added.<\/p>\n
Kelly, who married R. Kelly in 1996 and has three children with him, said she doesn\u2019t let her relationship with the singer, who\u00a0faces a trial for sex trafficking and racketeering\u00a0next year, define who she really is.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing referred to as \u2018just R. Kelly\u2019s ex-wife\u2019 \u2014 I don\u2019t feel like it\u2019s a diss,\u201d the 46-year-old said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like water off a duck\u2019s back at this point. It\u2019s a part of my life but it doesn\u2019t encompass everything that I am and if you choose to put me in a box, I can\u2019t let that penetrate me as a person because I know who I am and what I bring to the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cBeing a woman, a friend, a mother and an entrepreneur, I\u2019m all of these things. So if you limit me that\u2019s not my fault.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Kelly, who finalized her divorce in 2009, said knowing what she knows now, a bad marriage can lead to dark places, especially when it\u2019s to someone famous.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me tell you something, when you\u2019re not ready for it, that marriage gonna do one or two things,\u201d she said. \u201cMake you a functional alcoholic or send you to counseling. You got to be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody wants to be on the red carpet but they not ready for what\u2019s under the red carpet,\u201d she added. \u201cDon\u2019t go after the dream because sometimes that is a nightmare.\u201d<\/p>\n
One such nightmarish but \u201ceye-opening\u201d scenario she recalled actually helped her learn self-respect \u2014 and how important it was for her to protect her daughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say for me to recognize my self-worth, it was my children,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen it was a situation that happened and it wasn\u2019t physical abuse, it was verbal abuse. My daughter was in the room when it happened \u2014 that was the moment for me because I had a very clear understanding at that point. If I was to stay I just signed my daughter into a contract she never read. I will be teaching her from that moment forward that this is how a man treats women and that this is OK. So for me, it was seeing the look on my daughter\u2019s face.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelly also revealed that\u00a0the glamorous lifestyles viewers believed the ex-wives lived came at a price.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou cannot take one of them Birkin bags and pay for a college loan. You can\u2019t put it up for a mortgage on a house,\u201d she said. \u201cYou can\u2019t purchase a car with it. At the end of the day, you got to be strong and secure and know who you are as an individual.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo say we have Champagne problems .\u2009.\u2009. what people don\u2019t understand, if you are upset every month when you get a $75 electric light bill for your apartment, what do you think the light bill is in a mansion? It\u2019s still a light bill,\u201d she continued. \u201cBiggie said it best \u2014 \u2018more money, more problems\u2019 \u2014 and our pain is still the same.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adv<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n Zampino agreed, adding: \u201cThat\u2019s the misconception \u2014 because you have things you don\u2019t have any problems, there\u2019s no issues. As women, it doesn\u2019t matter the square footage of your home, what\u2019s in your bank account. We go through the same things.\u201d<\/p>\n However, when it comes to legacy, both ladies wanted to be remembered for something else other than their last names.<\/p>\n \u201cI want my legacy to be that she stood in her truth even when it was not popular,\u201d said Kelly. \u201cI really want people to know that at the end of the day, she did it in front of the world because I knew it wasn\u2019t about me. It was bigger than me. And that my life is an example. I\u2019m God\u2019s sample and I\u2019m doing his work.\u201d<\/p>\n For Zampino, she wants to help other women \u2014 whether they\u2019re stuck in a bad relationship with a celebrity or not.<\/p>\n \u201cI want my legacy to be just changing women,\u201d Zampino said. \u201cTo know how worthy they are and how valuable they are. Not to look for something else to complete you because that will really never satisfy you. The connection that you need is a God connection, not a man connection.\u201d<\/p>\n\n \u201cWe had people tell us face-to-face, or DM us, or somehow connect with us to say, \u2018Hey, thank you. Because hearing your story or seeing your vulnerability gave me the courage to move forward, to know that I can come out on the other side.\u2019 That makes it all worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n Sheree Zampino and Drea Kelly want you to know they are more than just famous ex-wives. Kelly, who was\u00a0married to embattled singer R. Kelly, and Zampino, who was wed to Will Smith from 1992-1995, were both eager to set things straight on \u201cHollywood Exes: Reunited.\u201d The special, which airs Nov. 24 at 8 p.m. EST …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":69409,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[611],"tags":[4504],"yoast_head":"\n\r\n \t