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‘Atlanta Exes’ members create own lane to fame

By WTOP Staff

JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr.
Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — Torrei Hart’s career took a backseat for years to raise two children, allowing her then-husband Kevin Hart to pursue his comedy career.

The two ultimately ended an eight-year marriage with divorce in 2011 after she says infidelity caused the split. By that time, Kevin’s career began to soar while Torrei struggled to get her comedy career back on track.

Now, she hopes it’s her time to shine. Hart is among a group of exes having yet another moment in the spotlight, thanks to a new phenomenon in reality television shows: spinoffs based solely on the ex-wives and ex-girlfriends of famous folks.

“It’s my time to come up,” said Torrei Hart, who along with five other women will star on the new reality series, “Atlanta Exes,” which premieres Monday night on VH1 with eight episodes planned for the first season. The show delves into the lives of the women who were linked to highly popular men.

It also stars Tameka Raymond (Usher’s ex-wife), Monyetta Shaw (Ne-Yo’s ex-fiancee), Christina Johnson (Cee-Lo’s ex-wife) and Sheree Buchanan (ex-wife of former NFL player Ray Buchanan).

“It’s a great platform,” Torrei Hart said. “Look what happens to people who do reality TV. I mean, everybody has a goal in life. You can achieve it through reality television.”

But Raymond says aiming toward fame is not her ulterior motive.

“It’s not coming up on our strife. We’re not trying to come up off of our exes,” said Raymond, who was married to Grammy-winning singer Usher for two years before they divorced in 2007. “I think the title may scare people. It might make people tense up. Even the title concerned me in the beginning. But I think it’s a draw. I think it’s very strategic.”

Raymond wants to tell her side of the story after a long legal fight with Usher last year. She lost custody of her two sons to the singer a month after 11-year-old son Kile Glover died in a boating accident in 2012.

“There were so many misconceptions of who I am as a person,” Raymond said. “Everything from my marriage to how I deal with my children. I figured there’s no other way to clear it up, and be my own voice.”

The Atlanta version is a spinoff of “Hollywood Exes,” which finished its third season in July. Some of the cast members included Nicole Murphy, Jessica Canseco and Mayte Garcia for a show that averaged less than a million viewers. Exes also have been featured in VH1’s “Basketball Wives” and various “Real Housewives” franchises on Bravo, among others.

Both the spinoffs and the others offer exes of celebrities an opportunity to tell their stories, promote themselves as entrepreneurs and with the hopes of ridding the conception of being “gold diggers.”

On the show, Johnson maintains her interior design company, Shaw pens a children’s book, Hart releases her Cherry Limeade-flavored drink mixer called Skimpy and Raymond attempts to bring more recognition to her son’s foundation, Kile’s World.

“The stereotype of a celebrity’s significant other or ex is not true,” said Monyetta Shaw, who has two children with Grammy-winning artist Ne-Yo, who broke the news of their breakup to his followers on Instagram last year.

Shaw and Ne-Yo still live together in a home in suburban Atlanta. Even though a family portrait is posted on the wall and the singer’s awards are cased in the hallways, she said the singer is often away.

“We’re not gold diggers,” Shaw continued. “We are more than that. We are business women, college educated, very smart, ambitious and role models too.”

Some of the cast member’s former mates were fine with their being on the show, while others, such as Usher, were concerned about their exes revealing too much.

Hart couldn’t care less.

“I guess mine is supportive,” she said. “Even if he wasn’t, I would still do it. Who cares? He never said ‘don’t do it.’ But he was like, ‘Why are you doing it?’ I said, ‘Because I want to.’ And that was the end of that.”

Johnson hopes the extra exposure of the show can help other women who are dealing with the aftermath of a divorce or breakup following a long-term relationship.

“We go through it,” she said. “But we want women to see being divorced doesn’t mean you’re a failure. We want women to learn from us.”

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VH1 is owned by Viacom Inc.

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Online:

http://www.vh1.com/shows/atlanta-exes

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Follow Jonathan Landrum Jr. on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/mrlandrum31

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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