Tucked away in the upper reaches of Alabama, hundreds of miles away from the marquee Southern cities like Atlanta and Memphis, LaTisha Scott is living her American Dream in the picturesque college town of Huntsville.
Actually, Scott is the quintessential embodiment of “The Dream.” She is highly-educated, professionally successful, photogenic, married, and has three beautiful children.
Along with her husband and colleagues, Scott illustrated convincingly that upwardly mobile and aspirational folks can manifest that glorious life outside of the renowned Southern metropolises. This is why producers created the now-popular TV show “Love & Marriage: Huntsville.”
The reality program has rocketed in popularity as it airing weekly on the OWN channel. The multifaceted and overachieving Scott promises some serious fireworks on season 3, some of which have already erupted.
But the one thing that has already been solved unequivocally is this: folks had the state of Alabama twisted. It was still saddled with that antiquated image of being backwards and devoid of any refinement and sophistication.
“When people think about Alabama, they think of cornfields and cows,” Scott told the Atlanta Voice. She decried the archaic reputation of the state that lingers from its Jim Crow years.
As one of the most populous cities in the state, Huntsville boasts four universities and related businesses that attract a wide array of talent from across the country. “It’s really a melting pot because you have so many different backgrounds in the Huntsville area.”
Scott says the loves that “Love & Marriage” is atypical from the usual suspects of reality TV shows that teem with gratuitous violence, dysfunction and toxicity.
“I’m in commercial real estate. My husband’s in commercial real estate. We actually went to school. We pledged just sorority and fraternity. So this is like, among our friends, these are the type of people we hang around. We work hard, we play hard, you know,” Scott explains.
“But we’re not cussing each other out, we’re not pulling hair. We have a disagreement as you can see. But you have to handle it. You know, sometimes the hood side may come out,” she said as she burst out laughing. “Because that’s our background.”
Scott added that “You carry yourself a certain type of way, because I realize I have kids that are coming up, and I want them to see mommy in a good light.”
The businesswoman is a talented juggler, sort of speak, as she has a lot going on. She and her husband, Marsau Scott, just expanded on the opening of their business, Blaque Cigar Lounge, and they have implemented safety procedures to maximize patronage while simultaneously ensuring everyone’s safety.
She has also returned to school to obtain her second master’s degree, has to care for her children, all while navigating the emotional hazards that spray all over the TV screen at regular intervals with her castmates on “Love & Marriage.”
That hasn’t been the toughest part of being on the show, however, as Scott attests. Being ripped apart online took a period of adjustment and prayer. She didn’t enjoy being dissected like a medical school frog from a herd of anonymous social media critics.
“I was not prepared for this. People can be so vicious. I watch TV, but not one time have I ever gone to someone page (and say) ‘I like I don’t like your hair’ or ‘girl, you need to get your hands together,’ and ‘you need to do this.’ So I was not prepared for that. I did not expect it. It was a shocker to me,” Scott told the Atlanta Voice.
The experience forced Scott to grow an extra few layers of skin to take the inevitable pounding that comes with exposure in the internet age.
“I’m like, you don’t even know me, so I don’t even care what you have to say about me now I’m in that space at first I wasn’t but now it’s definitely given me tough skin,” Scott said.
“I believe in God, you know, I have a personal relationship with God and so I pray about it. I’m like God, okay, you put me in this position for a reason. I’ve never dreamed of growing up being on TV. So this is happening real quick for us. So I’m like for this to happen for me you the purpose is bigger than what I can see and what I understand.”
When the onrush of external stimuli causes Scott to have sensory overload, Scott said she can always retreat into the comforting emotional embrace of her family. Despite the many ills emanating from the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the show to press the pause button and caused everyone to be sequestered from each other, Scott said the quarantine period wound up producing some positives for her.
“It was really like for us … I have three kids. And so it allowed us to actually sit home or play games more and cook more together as a family,” she said as she flashed that trophy smile. “I taught my daughter had to ride a bike … like she’s nine years old and didn’t even know how to ride a bike. I am working on my second Master’s and I have to do homeschooling with my kids. So it’s like, okay, maybe things have work that way. So it was to me, it was just about going with the flow, man.”
