Tambra Cherie Talks About TONIGHT’s “Belle Collective” Premiere

Call the beauties, because your favorite Mississippi stunners are back!

Belle Collective returns to OWN tonight at 8/7 C for a spicy third season and one of the ladies details the wild “roller coaster ride”.

Tambra Cherie told BOSSIP that she and her fellow Jackson-based beauties are bringing a mix of drama and sisterhood this time around, and she thinks dedicated Belle watchers will be delighted.

Source: Courtesy OWN / Oprah Winfrey Network

Not only that, but she’s willing to let viewers get a better understanding of her private life, while trying to protect her peace of mind. (and annoying people) that could interrupt it.

” I grew up. Now, if that was 15 years ago, you might have different content! said the radio personality.

Below, Tambra tells BOSSIP what you can expect from herself, Latrice Rogers, Lateshia Pearson, Marie Abston, Aikisha Holly-Colon and Sophia O. Williams aka “Sogucci” on BelleCollective season 3.

How does it feel to have a third season of Belle Collective?

I would say it’s amazing. I love that people can actually see the Mississippi. They can see Jackson, they can see the successful women in the city of Jackson. I like this. We are breaking some of these stereotypes that we have been subjected to for so long. And I really feel like I’ve been through that, just being in the entertainment industry. So, it’s exciting for me to be able to break that. That’s what I love about it. And just so you can see the successes we have here, even beyond that, even the beautiful ones, of course, we all succeed. It’s incredible. So just to be able to show it. You just don’t understand.

I think it’s a blessing. You don’t understand how many times I’ve been to the Grammys, or the BET Awards, and all those places throughout my career, and they look at me like I’m crazy when I say I’m from Mississippi. And they’re like, “Why are you still here?” So for me, years later, it’s a blessing to be able to show you why I’m still here.

Source: Courtesy OWN / Oprah Winfrey Network

Agreed. Besides the location in Jackson, why do you think people still watch Belle Collective? Every time you stop transmitting there is always a demand for more.

And I love that. I think it’s because you see black women doing amazing things. I think it shows that black women are amazing and we do amazing things. And I think people tune in to see how we juggle all these things that we do, (like) our professional careers. With me, I am one of those women, I put my career first. It was important to me. And I realized that I was not the only one in this case. For so long, I didn’t want to interrupt what was happening. I wanted to build my brand and I did that and put that on before I started a family.

And that’s something that you don’t necessarily see in Mississippi and in the South because we’re taught how to get married. As soon as you leave school, what do you do? Find a job, get married and have children. And that just wasn’t the plan for me. Sure, I want the family, I want the babies, yes, but at the same time, I know I have a goal, and that goal just takes me a little longer. I just took a different path. And so, I think people are intrigued by that, that you (can) stand up for yourself and make decisions for yourself that not everyone will necessarily agree with. But you have other women in this world who can identify with us.

One thing viewers have noticed about you is that you protect your peace. It’s something you don’t just say, it’s something you act on. So for you, when something chaotic happens, how do you stay so calm?

You know what, Dani, I’m huge on this. I don’t think people really understand. For me, protecting my peace is more important than proving my point. And I think some viewers have to realize that. So I’m leaving if you don’t speak well. It’s just who I am. And that’s me in real life and that’s important to me because I just grew up. I have grown over the years.

And I don’t even know if you knew this, but I wrote a book years ago, and the book was called “Surrounded by Sin, Anchored by Love” and it’s called “8 Keys simple to become better”. I meant what I said when I wrote it. Not only did I tell other women how to become better, but I also became better for myself. So even in this book I’m talking about the fact that not everything deserves your attention. You don’t have to answer everything. I still think so today. I grew up. Now, if that was 15 years ago, you might have different content!

If it was 15 years ago, some things will be a little different. But it is this growth. And I believe that women grow and evolve and let women know that no, you don’t have to entertain everything that comes your way. You don’t, and that’s just the truth. So sometimes the viewer gets confused when I don’t entertain, or walk away, because I’m big on peace. I’d rather have peace and peace of mind than sit around and try to prove my point. And then, I think I’m definitely one of the beauties that I’m not going to be constantly trying to prove my point. If I tackled it once, I’m not going to do it two, three, four, five times. I am not. It’s just not my personality. I am reserved and busy. Run with it.

We know that protecting your peace is important to you, but we also learned last season that authenticity is also particularly important to you. Do you think people are being authentic about this season of Belle Collective? Does everyone present as their true self?

You know what, I’m going to watch this season just with the audience, to be honest. I’m going to have to watch this season, because people have to realize that we don’t tour together all the time.

Some of the beauties, I have no idea what they may have in their personal life unless they come and tell me. So you will see it, because we are not near each other. One thing about us, even though we are a collective, we have independent lives that we show you. So, everyone has something to do in their life that they face as an independent woman. And we get together collectively, and it’s up to us to say, “Hey, are we going to discuss this? I’m really not the beauty that really goes and acts like, “Hey, what’s up with so-and-so?” I’m not that beautiful.

I let the beauty share with me what she does if she is ready to share. Because they may have something in their personal life they may not be ready to share with me, but they can share with another beautiful. So that’s why I sometimes say we watch with our audience, because there may be things that some beauties haven’t even shared with me. They may have personally shared with another belle, and for some of our beauties, we don’t go back and say what another belle told us.

You’ll see that kind of brotherhood (this season), you’ll really see it. We don’t share information all the time. And I think you’ll learn that and watch it this season. So, I love the fact that I’m watching with you guys.

What do you think fans will see of you, Tambra Cherie, this season on Beautiful Collective?

I think, of course, you will definitely see my professional career, because it’s something that I absolutely love. You have to see this part because it’s one of the things I put first. I put my professional life first. Now, this season, you’re also in for a few surprises. I can honestly say that you are going to see more of my personal life.

And that’s why I say that because the fact that I’ve been in radio and entertainment for so long, I’ve always been taught to separate them. And I’ve always been taught that. I still believe in radio. It’s about my listeners, it’s about my audience.

So, by being on TV, they want to see you more. And I never put myself first. I have always put my audience first. My listeners are the first and I say to myself, I come later. Being on television is more about sharing myself and putting myself at the forefront of who I am and what I have, not only in my professional life but also in my personal life. Thus, you will see relationships. You will see the relational side. You will see personal things in my life. Thus, you dig deeper into what is happening in my personal life and not in my professional life.

BelleCollective

airs tonight Friday, May 19 at 8 p.m. EST | 7:00 PM CST on CLEAN!