All of them are fake. Let’s start there.
Okay okay… maybe not ALL of them (because it looks like Apollo Nida has moved on with his commissary queen and Tamar is living her best life with her new hunk), but I’d say 90% of the break-ups are for show ratings. I know, I know… everybody says that, but it’s a formula that has been working for ALL of the networks. Break-up during the off season, leak it via social media, send subs/shots, peak everyone’s interest to watch the new season. Rinse and repeat.
Didn’t we all think it was over for Nene and Greg? They went through a whole divorce and got back together! What about TI and Tiny? They wrapped an iconic show and came back with a rebrand of the same show… together. Kirk and Rasheeda… should I go on? This is NOT to say that the drama and scandal that occurs is FAKE, but there’s some theatrics involved in it all when it’s being covered on a reality tv show.
Ever notice how these break-ups conveniently happen in the off-season (when we’re not currently watching a new season)? It’s because they need the time to “tape” the break-up while we’re being baited into watching the new season to see how it plays out. The latest couples that are “bubbling” in the break-up arena are Porsha / Dennis and Joe / Cyn.
Joe Budden and Cyn Santana
We have been here for Joe and Cyn’s relationship since they splashed onto the social media scene featured in each other’s posts and stories. Cyn’s playful personality seemed to balance out Joe’s old, crotchety demeanor (I love Joe, but it’s true… lol). It was cute! Then came the adorable Lexington who made us stop caring about his parents’ pictures completely. (an angel!) It wasn’t long after his birth that it was announced that the couple would be on Love and HipHop New York. DOM DOM DOMMMMMM.
How bad could it be for them? They’d both been on seasons of the show previously (in different) relationships, so they knew how it went. While the relationship wasn’t contrived for our viewing pleasure (ratings), it was the perfect fit to slide back onto the show. We knew them both and were already invested. That was an easy payday for the both of them! They’d only have to show the world their relationship on a different platform.
They made it through the season with only a minimal tiff with Safaree (for bring Erica Mena around). It was great! They even got engaged in front of the show cameras on the finale (side eye). Here’s where things got shaky. The off-season came on the heels of their engagement and 5 months later they “called it quits” (but not really). There was this whole back and forth of can-you-break-up-without-saying-it between the 2 of them and some subs were thrown on their respective platforms. I’m not buying it. They had a solid relationship before the baby and an extra check never hurt nobody. I smell a rekindle in the new season. Mark my words!
Porsha Williams and Dennis McKinley
This was shaky from the get up, but we all tuned in and let it play out. I will say this “break-up” may be legit because of how fast the relationship progressed, BUT since the speculation is out there and I haven’t seen confirmations from either party… I smell ratings bait. Dennis even posted Porsha’s picture to wish her a happy birthday a few days ago. This could just be him being cordial OR the “break-up” is not what the fans are making it out to be. There MAY not be a break-up at all. Mysterious women have been “linked” to Dennis only to deny the claims later. Nothing is sticking.
This could be a classic case of them letting the public speculate their future show ratings through the roof. It’s not far-fetched for them to be gunning for a wedding special (because they had a 3 or 4 part baby special). NOW… they must prove their show would be a draw. Beef and break-ups sell. What better way to create a buzz?
I’m hoping I’m right for all parties’ sake on this one because they do have a beautiful 3-month-old baby girl (PJ).
Here’s hoping this is just a case of both couples working the system to get a bigger payday! I suspect I'm more right than wrong on this one. #breakups #celebritycouples #splitsville