GlossMagazineOnline (GMO): What made you decide to do the reality show?
Chilli: Well, I already had experience with this before. T-Boz and I had our show, R U the Girl? And I like TV a lot. It’s hard work but [then again] it’s not. It doesn’t take you away from your family too long. It’s a little bit of structure there. Plus, I like how it’s another outlet to use to get out how you feel about things, and especially with TLC, we’re always about women being positive and being true to themselves, and so this is just a continuation for me to do it by myself.
GMO: Did the first season turn out the way you expected?
Chilli: It was challenging in a different way for me because with the first go-round, they were blind dates, and you know that’s a hard thing [to do]. God bless all the people where that’s the way it works for them because it doesn’t work for me. I am very particular, and I know what I want. So when you really know what it is that you want, you’re going to know that better than the next person, and the only people who can really help you with something like that have to be people who’ve been around you for years. I didn’t [really know] Tionna. So it was very tough.
GMO: Speaking of Tionna, you guys had some back and forth toward the end of the first season of the show. You were kind of referred to as her “toughest client,” and some people said that you were just being way too picky. How do you take that?
Chilli: I look at it in different ways. Some people say that because they want to be ugly. A lot of people don’t understand their own self-worth, and that doesn’t mean you feel like you’re better than anyone else, it’s just that through experience, you understand what works for you and what doesn’t and you’re just being vocal about it—that’s all I’m doing. I know what I bring to the table, and I feel I deserve those same gifts and wonderful things. A lot of times, unfortunately, a lot of us women are just very insecure for whatever reason. And I don’t mean we don’t have insecurities, because we all have insecurities, but I mean [some women] have an insecure personality. Like, you don’t feel like you deserve a lot of great things because you don’t see yourself that way, and I really want to try to help change that.
GMO: Yeah, some women just kind of take the guy who approaches them without thinking about too much else.
Chilli: I don’t know why we’re still doing that because it’s clearly not working. It just doesn’t work. You’re not happy, you’re complaining. We’re so much more comfortable dealing with BS—that’s our comfort zone, to be sad and complaining all the time and calling your friends to have a pity party. I can’t take it! I do not like that kind of stuff because that’s just a sign of weakness, and we have to get rid of that. Because it’s no reason for it to be here. We need to uplift each other. If you see a woman and she has on a nice dress or her hair looks cute, she’s beautiful, I think you should tell her that. That helps people feel good. When you do those kinds of things and it gives a person an extra pep in their step, it makes a man step up to the plate when he knows he has to bring his best personality and everything to approach you. [Instead of him] bringing his ‘I just rolled out the bed and haven’t brushed my teeth or cleaned my eyes out’ approach—and you’re excited about that? We have a lot of work ahead of us, and we just have to help each other and change these things because if we do in women, you’ll see the change in men.
GMO: So, in regards to the show, your list brought a lot of conversation. Will you be using that same list in the next season?
Chilli: My list has never gone anywhere. That list has been in my head for quite some time. The experiences I’ve gone through have kind of helped put that list together. All it is, is knowing what I want and what I don’t want and what I feel like deserve and what I’m bringing to the table. I just happen to be vocal about the list. But it’s in my head, it’s there. It’s never ever going anywhere because that’s just what I like. Everything on the list is not a deal breaker. It’s a combination of needs and wants.
GMO: What can we expect in the second season of the show?
Chilli: Good eye candy for females. A lot of other reality shows with guys always have a ton of eye candy and I am changing that! [There will also be] a lot of things I feel women will be able to relate to when it comes to being a woman and not settling. I’ve always wanted more than one child. But I want it the more traditional way. I want a husband in the household before I bring a second baby into the world, so I’m vocal about that. You know, I’m 39 so of course when you hit 35, doctors always make you feel like you have to have a baby in the morning! So it’s a lot of info that women will get this time when it comes to that kind of stuff.
GMO: Besides the second season of the show, what else will be happening in the next couple of years for you?
Chilli: This year will be 20 years for TLC, and we are talking about performances we want to do all around the world. We do a lot of stuff in Japan but we definitely want to do some stuff in the states just for that celebration. I love entertainment. I cannot see myself not doing this. I’m really interested in doing voiceovers— T-Boz and I did a little bit of that before and I liked it a lot. It’s so much fun how you can get animated with your voice and physically get into it to bring that character to life. I’m also continuing work on my purse line, Bags by Chilli. We recently revamped the website.
Find out more of what Chilli's looking for by following her on Twitter: @OfficialChilli.
