20 Questions With Fashion Model Cynthia Bailey

BVNewswire.com:

In this season on 'The Real Housewives of Atlanta,' Alabama-born model Cynthia Bailey has her share of ups and downs. Much of the storyline for this former Essence magazine cover girl and single mother revolves around her nuptials to entrepreneur Peter Thomas. Bailey opened up about her dwindling finances in the midst of planning her lavish wedding, and things got really ugly when the couple discussed their money problems with actor and New York Times best-selling author Hill Harper.


BlackVoices.com chatted up the 43-year-old statuesque beauty to discuss all the hype surrounding her marriage, and we got the lowdown on just how "real" she is.
BlackVoices.com: It seems like the perfect time to talk about your role on 'The Real Housewives of Atlanta.' You've definitely had a transition on the show this season.
Cynthia Bailey: I was really happy with how they rolled me out. They rolled me out really slow. We do end with the wedding, and from this point on you see a lot of me and maybe more than you want to. For my first time doing it, it was good to have a slow transition.


BV: There are so many questions people have regarding your relationship with Peter. We see you two fighting about money and things get heated. How does that make you feel watching it back?
CB: Those are not my favorite things to watch because there is so much emotion there. We have a great relationship, but we're going through a crazy financial crisis while shooting the show and having the wedding. We lost the restaurant and everything was happening at the same time. We both deal with things differently. I feel like I'm a worrier. I don't know anybody who wasn't affected by the recession. We didn't have to be forthcoming, but I didn't want to sign up for the show and try to hide that. It would've taken way too much energy. Some people on the show don't always say, "My money isn't right," or "I can't afford this. I can't afford this car."


BV: Some people are buying Aston Martins, right?
CB: Right, exactly! I feel like I've had an amazing life, and I never thought I would not have money, but going through this with my partner was difficult, but very humbling. I don't think he dealt with it in a good way. He was a complete a**hole a lot of days. It would have been easier for us to act nicely, but we just kept it real. I would walk away like, "Why did you have to act like that?" I know it looks crazy. There are things that I watch and I say, "What the hell?" but you have to realize you saw 10 minutes of a three-hour shoot. I don't have any control of editing. But in this house with Peter Thomas it's a 50-50 venture, and he isn't controlling anything more than that.


BV: Your relationship is definitely different from Nene and Gregg's. What are your thoughts on that?
CB: I do try to let Peter be dominant -- not saying Nene doesn't, but I think Nene comes across more dominant in that relationship, and I don't know if that is actually the case. She comes across more dominant in terms of the show.


BV: Let's keep it real. You have the only real strong-willed husband on the show. Phaedra's husband, Apollo, follows suit with what she says, too.
CB: I think Phaedra has a lot of control in that relationship. It comes across like that on the show. I'm not trying to be negative with my cast mates, but the dynamics of those three marriages are very different. I think with mine and Peter's, he is the man in the relationship. I give him that respect. I think he is a complete jackass sometimes, but he wants to handle things well and to be able to pay for things and not stress me out about anything, but that just wasn't our situation. I wish we could've been balling out the whole season, but it didn't happen that way.


BV: Another thing that some people love about you, Cynthia, is how you've showed this whole phenomenon in which women give their men money to build their careers and sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. Do you regret giving Peter money for the restaurant?
CB: I support Peter's vision and who he is. I supported his decision. I didn't say I was going to partner with him. I said, "Oh you need this? I am going to give you that." It was a business transaction. That was his thing, and I was doing my thing. I thought no matter how much I was in love, I need to get my money back and they didn't have anything to do with each other. I may be 60 and say, "Are you going to give me that money back from Uptown from 30 years ago?" When you say I need to borrow it, it's a loan. A loan is a loan. Nothing changed we just got married. I still want it back.

Cynthia Bailey was a great and much-needed addition to RHOA. Sure, she's a longtime supermodel, but her story goes way beyond just her looks or her career. And what with Kim and Nene usually dominating the storyline on RHOA, the show needed something unique but at the same time real and Cynthia more than provided it throughout the season.