K. Michelle has a long line of famous exes—Idris Elba, R Kelly, and Memphitz among them. Now, she’s taking another shot at love in the public eye.
K. Michelle joins fellow celebs LisaRaye McCoy and London “DEELISHIS” Charles in Season 2 of Queens Court, a reality dating show hosted by actress Holly Robinson-Peete and her husband, former NFL star Rodney Peete. The Peacock series presents the three “Queens” with 22 accomplished male prospects to become their “Kings.” Over the course of 10 episodes, the women engage in a series of cocktail parties, dates, and fancy dinners ending in eliminations to determine who is the best fit.
K. Michelle is no stranger to reality TV. She starred in VH1’s Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta in 2012 and returned for its second and fifth seasons. She also appeared on both Love & Hip Hop: New York and Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood.
Although she agreed to participate in Queens Court seeking love, the R&B singer found herself more skeptical of the men who showed up than she expected. “I do like a certain type of man. The man that I will date or would date would never go on TV to date me,” she told DECIDER.
In an exclusive interview with DECIDER, K. Michelle elaborated on what it was she was looking for on Queens Court, and where the men fell short.
DECIDER: Why did you decide to go on the show? What was missing from your love life?
K. MICHELLE: I decided to do something different. I had never done anything or showed the world my dating life. They knew of me and my significant other. But we were having issues and problems. So I decided to go on the show and see what it would be like to date someone.
And what was it like?
It was great. I met a lot of great guys. I got to see the dating world from a different perspective and got to see it could be really cold out here.
What were your fears going into the show? Were you scared to put yourself out there?
Yeah, because I do like a certain type of man. The man that I will date or would date would never go on TV to date me. I was thinking, “I’m going to give everything a shot.” You want to go in with an open mind without any preconceived notions about anything. I was mentally dealing with that…The very first day, seeing the first set of guys, it was like, “What am I doing?”
What’s your typical type? How did going on the show take you outside of your comfort zone?
Somebody very low-key who doesn’t want to be famous, who doesn’t need to be on TV, who has their own business and doesn’t want to be in the spotlight. It took me outside of my comfort zone knowing that these men knew that they were going to be on TV and that’s what they wanted to do. So that’s my biggest thing with dating. It was difficult, very hurtful.
As celebrities, you’re used to your life being displayed publicly. Were you nervous at all for your dating life to be broadcasted?
No, I still don’t agree with [doing] that rather than songs and things you write about. I feel like I tried that experience. I still, to this point, do not want a man that wants to be famous.
You had a hard time connecting with Andre after he failed to advocate for himself as a King. Were there any red flags you saw prior to that night?
He’s a good guy. He actually is in Nashville, where I live. I’m going to get a red flag all the time. Andre’s a great guy, but…I can’t even tell y’all what happened. I was about to. Red flags, I would say with him, would be that he considers himself a ladies man. He kind of said to me how all women think that he gets all the women because of who he is. Well, not all women think you get all the women, because I don’t think you get any. I don’t think like that. So that was my very first red flag with him.
On a more positive note, you got a really special gift from Ben. What did that mean to you?
Ben is amazing. He’s absolutely an amazing person. Through the show, he’d get me a lot of gifs, but they always meant something. It wasn’t about the value, the high-price value or anything of the gift. That’s what really stuck out to me with Ben. I don’t really care about bags and purses and all those types of gifts. I really want someone to care. All of his gifts were so thought-out. That’s why I was always crying when he gave me a gift, because he listened to me and tried to do something to make me smile.
Are gifts traditionally your love language in a relationship?
No. Affection or something meaningful really is important to me.
One of my personal favorite parts of the show is your outfits. How did you curate your wardrobe for the series?
I’m not even a fashion girl, but I do have my aesthetic, how I like to look day to day. So it was just a day-to-day thing. A lot of stuff I already had or maybe hadn’t worn. I just try to do what feels good, looks good on my body, and just makes me feel like, “Okay, I’m ready to work. I’m ready to go.”
I feel like a good outfit can give you such confidence in an experience like this.
Yes, it can. And that was the thing. I just wanted to be comfortable in how I looked. I already had enough to worry about. I definitely didn’t want to worry about looking put-together and looking good.
Despite the drama, there was definitely a lot of fun on the series, whether it was the fashion or the dates. What was your favorite date you went on?
Ooh, my favorite date I went on. I would say that it ended up being outside of another date. And that was just my conversation with Ben at the lake about life and adoption and things like that. It was just a chill date. We were just talking, but we were able to connect.
What advice do you have for mature and established women that still want to find love but are holding back?
It will happen as it’s supposed to happen. You do have to put yourself out there if that’s what you want. Staying at home, you’re not going to meet anybody in your kitchen just out of the blue. Be open, do things. Go out and meet people. I don’t think you should rush into anything, just because I feel like you’ll know it. But you do need to get out there and make time outside of your career to actually meet a person.