Basketball Wives has been a reality television staple since 2010. First in Florida and then in Los Angeles, the two franchises united to become the juggernaut that it is today. Filled with drama, intrigue, and everything that makes a docufollow series juicy, Basketball Wives has continued to serve it up hot. Now, the show is back on VH1 for a mammoth twelfth season. With fresh faces and some returning personalities, Basketball Wives Season 12 promises to be something that the fans will keep talking about.
Evelyn Lozada, Jennifer Williams, and Jackie Christie spoke to Collider about everything that’s about to go down on this brand-new season. Evelyn is now a grandmother. Jackie has her daughter joining the cast. And Jennifer, well, she’s got some drama with Christian Gold that has kept her costars and the Internet chatting. Even with these storylines dominating the front half of the season, it’s going to be a continuation and evolution of the women who share their lives with the world.
It’s had such longevity because, as Jackie pointed out, “People get to follow our lives. They grew up with us. They’ve got to see all our ups and downs. People have lost family members, we’ve got married, we’ve had friendships start and end, and then we came back together. Just all the different things we’ve been through and have been transparent about, I think that’s what they identify with and they love. They love authenticity and us opening up our lives.”
There’s a Lot of Personal Changes in the ‘Basketball Wives’ Cast Storylines
I asked the ladies about how they felt about the upcoming season, and it was an overall sense of excitement. “It’s going to be a passionate, turbulent, fun ride,” Jackie said. “No matter how many seasons we’ve had, we’re excited for it to start. But I think at the same time, we’re also like this,” Evelyn said as she covered her face. And that’s the joy of reality television. For the viewers at least. We get to watch the action, but the stars not only get to live it, they have to re-live it. As Evelyn joked, “Buckle up for the ride.” With the world bound to have opinions about something they have already lived, the Basketball Wives stars also find it interesting to hear what their costars think about the moments as they air. Their anxious excitement was real, even as Evelyn described the season, with a laugh, as “toxic.”
As Jennifer pointed out, “There’s no way you could script it. I don’t know what type of mind you’d have to script some of the things that happen. I think people appreciate us being raw, transparent, and showing, sometimes the ugly.” Speaking of, a major storyline for Jennifer Williams her marriage to Christian Gold. With so much chatter about their pairing and the events surrounding Christian’s arrest, Jennifer spoke about how she’s dealing with the backlash. “It’s been interesting, but for me, I just feel like I have found a place in my life where I’m extremely happy, and I am not going to let the outside noise, because anything that is not in my house is outside,” Jennifer said. “My household is very happy. I’m going to continue to keep it happy. I really don’t care. That’s really been my solution. I don’t care. I just don’t.”
Evelyn Lozada has been on cloud nine as a new grandmother. She’s already eager for more! But in addition to that happy new relationship, Season 12 will see an evolution in her rocky relationship with Jennifer. Will it be different? “I think it’s the same,” she said as she laughed. Jackie jumped in and said, “You’re going to get to watch the journey of their relationship.”
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The New Cast Brings A Fresh Dynamic
This season is quite special for Jackie, as Season 12 has a generational twist. Her daughter, Chantel Christie Jeffries, officially joins the cast. She’s excited that everyone will get to see her daughter in a whole different way. “She’s independent, a wife, and it didn’t say it in the press as much, but she’s definitely a basketball wife, so you’ll get to follow that,” she said. Did she have any advice for Chantel before her debut? “You know, it’s funny, I didn’t have to. She’s been a basketball daughter, her dad, of course. And now a wife. She’s been on the show for years, so I didn’t have to give her any advice. She’s been around it so she knows. She knows how everyone’s opinionated and how they’re going to be. So it’s going to be exciting for the fans to see how she navigates that,” Jackie shared.
In addition to Chantel, Season 12 has some new castmembers joining. As well as the return of Brittany Renner. Jackie felt it was great to welcome the new energy into the group. “Brittany Renner is someone that I championed because she came on one season and then left, so this time they’ll get to see a lot deeper into Brittany’s life. All of the ladies bring something. Ty [Young], WNBA, ex-coach. You’ve got Ming Lee, who’s a beauty ambassador and influencer,” Jackie said.
“They all have something different they bring. It’s exciting.” Looking deep into the season, I asked Jackie, Jennifer, and Evelyn which cast member is going to shock the viewers the most this season. First, Jackie pointed at Evelyn and laughed before she shut her down with an emphatic “no.” Jackie then picked Chantel. Evelyn cosigned. Jennifer said it would be between Chantel and Brittany.
To kick off the season, Jackie calls the women together for a Friendsgiving in hopes of starting fresh and squashing the tension in the group. But, as this is Basketball Wives, not everything will go according to plan. And that’s not just in terms of the questionable color that Jackie’s turkey is. I’m not a cook, but I feel like I did my big one with this. I did my big one,” she said as Jennifer and Evelyn laughed. “It was so beautiful and golden,” Jackie said before Jennifer reminded her, “It was more pale.”
Jackie claimed it was crunchy on the outside as Evelyn said it was certainly not. “It was beige,” Evelyn said. While they joked and laughed about the food, the scene itself was much more intense. “I can tell you what did happen at the Friendsgiving. Brittany did see Evelyn for the first time,” Jackie said. She then pointed at Jennifer and said, “And this one stormed out of Friendsgiving early. But we ain’t going to say why. Just tune in! You’ll see it all.” To tease her exit, Jennifer said, “Because I brought the tea.”
Needless to say, if Season 12 is anything like the energy that Friendsgiving brought, it’s going to be one for the history books. As relationships change, the ladies think this might be one of the show’s best seasons. For Jackie’s part, she thinks this season will show so much of each star. “I show restraint like never before. When I can,” she said. “I think everything is evolving and changing. Me and Jen. Jen and Evelyn. Just everybody, the dynamics. And the new women, what they bring to it.” Evelyn knows they always say in these interviews that they’re excited, but said, this time it just worked. “We can’t wait to see your comments on Twitter and everything. Bring it on! Start dragging us.”
