VH1’s Atlanta Exes Torrei Hart Tells Her Truth

18 Aug, 2014

We were scheduled to meet in the lobby of Chicago’s W Hotel Lakefront. The newly remodeled lobby provided the perfect space for a chat: stylish enough for the ‘in’ crowd with its ceramic floors and mirrored walls but with seating strategically placed, providing the right amount of spacing for privacy. I chose a booth in the bar area overlooking Lake Michigan.

It’s been a busy week for Torrei Hart who’s been making the press rounds to promote, as it turns out, the next chapter in her life. She flew to Chicago from St. Louis after doing a demonstration segment with a local television station on her newest business deal with Skimpy Mixers, a non-alcoholic, low calorie drink mixer.

So it was fitting when she arrived, luggage in tow, donning a short sleeved, fitted, black tee shirt with the word ‘skimpy’ embellished across the front. Her Chicago itinerary included our interview followed by a quick radio spot, maybe a surprise visit to Chicago’s famous Jokes and Notes comedy club then back to Los Angeles. Hart recently became bi-coastal with homes in Los Angeles and Atlanta.

She moved to Atlanta to ‘check out the scene’ and it wasn’t long before she landed a role on VH1’s newest reality series, Atlanta Exes. Hart will star along with four other women in the spin-off to Hollywood Exes, a show that chronicles the lives of women formally married to celebrities.

While the show’s title is Atlanta Exes, Hart has a new man in her life. But she readily admits that getting there wasn’t easy.

The Ex-Factor

They were both young, care free and right at that exciting stage in life where they knew what they wanted and were figuring out how to get there. The possibilities were endless. Hart always told her parents that she wanted to be in show business. “Since I was 6-years-old I told my mom I was going to Hollywood” Hart recalls. “I was going to be an entertainer.”

Hart enrolled in community college in Philadelphia after being honorably discharged from the Army. It was there that she met Kevin.  Their similar personalities were their initial bond. “He always had this big personality” she said.  Voted class-clown in high school Hart enjoyed ‘being silly and making people laugh’ as well.  “It’s probably the reason we ended up together” she said. “We clicked.  We were always joking and we would play off of each other. That’s why it worked for us.”

“I was at his very first comedy show that he ever did” Hart said.  “From that moment forward, I guess I was like his good luck charm.”  The two were nearly inseparable. They decided school wasn’t for them and dropped out. Four months later, they’d found a place and moved in together.

Coming from a household with parents married for over four decades, there had to be more than just living together. “If you’re serious, this is how you do this. That’s what I was taught.” He got a ring and simply said, “You’re mine.”  “It was us” Hart remembers with a smile.  “It fit.”

That fit continued for several years and then it started to loosen. Infidelity crept in and eventually their 8 year marriage ended in divorce.

Getting Past the Hurt

“Honey let me tell you, it ain’t easy.” Her sass is a sweet deterrent to the painful memories.  Learning of your husband’s infidelities via social media is just harsh.

Honestly, “I really just got past it two months ago” she said.  Hart attended a women’s seminar that would be exactly what she needed to move on. One woman on the panel of 4 was married to a very famous baseball player and had a story similar to Harts. She paid very close attention to her testimony. This particular woman had written a list of everyone that hurt her and did her harm in her marriage.  She went out to her backyard, did a bonn fire and prayed.  She gave it to God and released it.

“On the day of the seminar something kept telling my spirit that I had to be there” Hart recalls fighting back tears. “That day I was so tired. I had so much to do but something kept tugging me to go. So I got a babysitter for my children and went to the seminar.  I knew that in that moment that it was God that made me go.” Hart knew what she had to do.

“Girl I went home and I wrote that list.”

“When you divorce a man it’s like the family divides” Hart recalls of her experience. “It was horrible! There were a lot of people who I felt wasn’t loyal to me in the process. I had family who chose him because of his celebrity, over me and that hurt a lot.”

“So I put their name on the list, I put his (Kevin) name on the list, I put his current girlfriend’s name on the list to get over everything because she was the woman who was with him. I went out in the backyard and I prayed. I was balling when I was praying. I asked God to please release it.  Take this from me, whatever it is I’m feeling, take it away so that I can move on with my life.”

“In that moment after I lit it on fire, put it into the ground and gave it to God, I felt so free. Something just came off of me.  There was a hold on me and I didn’t even realize it. Sometimes we don’t realize when something is holding onto us but in that moment I was like, ok, I’m free.  I haven’t looked back since. Yes, it took me a while. I will say that.  Sometimes you do need certain tools to do certain things. Even though you think that you do have it down, you don’t.”

Finding Her Happy

These days Hart has a lot on her plate. Her Pretty Funny Fish production company scored a deal to do content for Russell Simmons’ All Def digital YouTube channel. Hart along with her partner, writes, executive produces’ and edits the sketches.

She’s working on a show with Bentley Evans who’s worked on television sitcom hits including Martin and The Jamie Foxx Show.

Along with her older sister, Hart has also started the S.O.A.R Foundation (Starting Over Again Ready). The name speaks for itself.

Today Hart and Kevin have found a happy medium in co-parenting their children Heaven and Hendrix. While a lot has changed since they moved to Los Angeles together, there’s a mutual respect for talent that they continue to support. Hart has seen Kevin’s recent string of blockbuster hits including Ride Along and Think Like a Man 1 and 2. However she admits that she has no interest in watching BET’s Househusbands of Hollywood. Will Kevin tune in to VH1 for Atlanta Exes? We’ll see.  Either way if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that the show must go on.

B Owusu

Image Skimpy Mixers 

Mentioned In This Post: @VH1Exes