Since his departure basketball wives, longtime actor Tami Roman’s career has caught fire. But it has not always been so. After seven years of being an NBA woman, The real world alum fell on hard times and ended up on public assistance. But Roman insists she wasn’t as destitute as the show depicted her.
Tami Roman Says Her Public Assistance Script Was Overdone On ‘Basketball Wives’
Fans met Roman in Season 2 of the Miami franchise. Much of her story centered around reacclimating herself to the social circle she was once accustomed to. However, her lifestyle at the time did not match that of other women. She revealed that she had been on public assistance for a while while trying to get back on her feet.
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But she told Carlos King about her Reality with the King podcast that the script was overdone. She explained.
When I climbed basketball wives, it had literally been eight months since I went for EBT. And people have made it my existence. And that’s not what happened – I had been cast on a show that was produced by Queen Latifah. It was a partnership between VH1 and BET, and it was going to be the first hybrid co-production… We put out a pickup letter, the show was going to shoot from New Jersey. So I packed up my whole family – my mom, my two kids – and moved to New Jersey waiting for the show to start, I had been there for a year. And VH1 and BET couldn’t agree on the deal, so they decided not to do the show. So I’m stuck in New Jersey, I don’t know how to get back to California, savings drained because I was already there for a year thinking that everything will be fine because I’m going to be on this show now that hasn’t ultimately did not take place.
Roman has accepted a six-figure director position at Morgan Stanley. But living in New York was expensive. As a result, she went to public assistance for food stamps and free medical coverage so it wouldn’t take away from her annual salary for her and her two children. At the time, she was not receiving any financial support from her ex-husband, NBA player Kenny Anderson. She had signed a prenup and left with what she entered the marriage with.
She launched for ‘Basketball Wives’
While working at Morgan Stanley, Roman became dissatisfied with her life. Dreaming of being a full-time actress, she needed to find a way to get back into the limelight for the casting directors to take notice. As fate would have it, she caught a marathon of basketball wives one day after work and called the network.
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They eventually put her in touch with Shed Media, the production company responsible for the show. She jumped in and joined the show as Shaunie O’Neal’s friend. She remained for four seasons of the Miami franchise before joining the LA franchise until the end of season 8.
The ‘Mrs. The Pat Show star now has a new show on VH1
Since his departure basketball wives, Roman focused on her budding acting career. She also has a new show on VH1, Unfaithful, which was recently picked up for a second season. The funny girl no longer has a relationship with anyone from the Miami cast.
RELATED: ‘Basketball Wives’: Tami Roman Slams Her Former Co-Stars – ‘We Were Just Co-Workers’