June 27, 2025 • 28 mins
Carlos sits down with PEOPLE Magazine journalist Dave Quinn for an in-depth conversation about Porsha Williams’ digital cover, which just dropped TODAY. The photos? Jaw-dropping. The article? Even better. Dave gives the Reigndrops some exclusive behind-the-scenes tea and breaks down what led up to the moment Porsha filed for divorce. Were there red flags? We’re thrilled to see Porsha stepping into her power - and you won’t want to miss a single detail. Be sure to check out the PEOPLE article for all the juicy scoop!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Reality with the King. It's me Carlos Kings,
the King of Reality TV and one of the most
sought after executive producers in reality television with over ten
years a production experience. Twice a week on Reality with
the King, we'll sit down with my friends across the
entertainment industry, recap our favorite reality shows and revisit unforgetable
(00:24):
moments that we are still talking and tweeting about. Hey,
rain drops on today's episode of Reality with the King. Okay,
I know where I was when JR. Got shot on Dallas.
I know where I was when Beyonce dropped her surprise album.
(00:49):
I know where I was when Kimberle kardash shams on
the cover of another magazine breaking the Internet bench.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
I know where I was with Dave Quinn Creative directed
the digital cover that is leaving all of us gagging
of Porsche Williams formerly Porsche Garbadia serving Angela Baca Tee
waiting to excel character Honey with the cover of People
(01:18):
Magazine cop this.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Now People Magazine cover.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Star Porsche Williams is ready to exhale. We have to
talk to the journalist. Hey, Porsche pun attended Dave Quinn Concait, Honey, Carlos,
I am.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
So thrilled that this is out and that you love
it so much. Thank you so much for your kindness
and for having me here. As always my favorite person
to talk to.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
You not only have been my favorite person for so
many years. What you have done CRUs while you are
a pop culture not only enthusia, is but an icon
in the journalist world. It we Okay, before we get
into the details of the article where Porsche is set free.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
She's finally divorced. There's so much to.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Break down with that, but Honey, bunty pudding Pie, we
have to break down and listen. I am somebody who
used to work at Kentucky for our chicken, making five
dollars and fifty cents an hour, and when my paycheck
came every two weeks, Honey, I would save money to
buy People magazine. So I am somebody that I want
(02:37):
this cover in my home day who came up with
this idea of having Porsche be Angela Bass's character and
waiting to ex Hell.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Listen, I say this humbly. This was all my idea.
But listen, and here's why. Because we're talking to Porsha Williams.
The concept of the story comes around She's gone through
this really difficult divorce. It's her first time that she's
going to be able to freely kind of speak about it.
(03:11):
What do we do visually to capture that? And you know,
decades before Porsche was making names on the Internet, and
decades before it became one of the most infamous memes
on the Internet itself, of this iconic meme of female empowerment,
waiting to exhale was a cultural reset. You know. The
nineteen ninety five film, adapted from Terry McMillan's best selling novel,
(03:36):
really gave voice to grief, resilience, self renewal, of black
women navigating love and loss on their own terms. It
offered this vision of healing, of heartbreak, of self discovery,
of someone stepping into their own power. And I just
thought it was so important that if we were going
to look at Porsche as an example of what I
consider to be black excellence in reality TV, why not
(04:00):
carry her with something else that I really believe in
the culture is the ultimate example of black excellence, of empowerment,
of strength. So I wanted to frame her in these
photos as not someone who was a victim, not someone
who was centering herself in the image of a man.
That was really important to me that she's her own
(04:21):
woman and that we're really celebrating where she is at
this place in her life, which is she's gone squarest man.
She has stepped through that fire and she is really
now rebirthing herself as a stronger, more powerful woman than
ever before.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
I mean, the character that Angela Basta play, which is
Bernadine Harris, is somebody that is infamously known with the
car blow up scene, with being in the core. So
talk to us about the images, because not only did
you guys recreate the iconic scene where Bernardine Harris, played
by Angela Bassett, blew up the from her ex husband,
(05:03):
you guys also did a lot of iconic moments from
the movie itself. So can you talk us through some
of those creative concepts as well.
Speaker 4 (05:11):
Yeah, it was funny. We were really thinking full scale here, right.
Originally I was just like, we got to have her
with the car scene, mimicking that incredible meme that we
all know and love so well, and from there that
sort of became the blueprint to what else can we do?
To make it make sense and to sort of fill
it all out. So we did that scene where Brendadette's
in the mirror, she's sort of brushing her hair and
(05:33):
her husband comes in to tell her that he's leaving her,
and that sort of she has that moment of realization
that it's all over. We did that scene. We did
the scene in the courtroom where she sort of has
her victory and has her justice, and it was great.
I mean, we built all of this in a beautiful
house in Atlanta, all of these incredible sets. The courtroom
(05:55):
was built in like the corner of someone's living room essentially,
and with porschaucked in and saw it, she said, I
need a core room in my house. Like it was hilarious.
And we also wanted to color that with other scenes
that we believe were sort of mimicking the experience that
Porch has been going through in her own life. So
we built a scene that was really about her, you know,
(06:17):
her empowerment in business, her owning Go Naked Hair, shout
out Go Naked Hair, her pampered by Porsche, her pursuit
of Porsche book, and sort of how she's focused on
business and that's really done that and also how she's
juggling all this as a mom. We got Polar on
set and really did a great shot with Poar and
(06:39):
I have to tell you, Carlos, of all the divas
in the room that day, myself included, Polar was the one.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Oh really, what was the giving she came with?
Speaker 4 (06:52):
She came with a writer. She said, I want donuts
when I'm done, and there were donuts available for her
when she was nothing. She knew what she wanted and
she was such a joy. It was really fun to
see Portrait in that motherhood moment and she's the sweetest girl.
She's so so so. Yeah, we got to kind of
(07:13):
do it all, but it was really fun, and afterwards
Portrait said something. We sat down for our interview afterwards
and talked for an hour, and she said, y'all really
took me through it, like you took me through mimicking
all of these setups for waiting to exhale really allowed
her to process what she's been going through for the
past year in the span of a day.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Child, We are just getting started. This is reality with
the King, and I'm Carlos King. Let's get back into
the show.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
So let's get into that.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Because for a housewive to get the cover story of
the prestigious people Mad magazine. Like I said, I grew
up on this magazine. Everybody from Jennifer Aniston to Halle
Berry to Beyonce has graced the cover of this magazine.
So to have Portia Williams do that, I know the
article itself must be juicy. So what sort of tidbits
(08:19):
did she give you day that we are looking forward
to reading in this issue.
Speaker 4 (08:25):
Well, what I was really excited about when we built
this digital cover is it gives a lot of freedom.
You know, print covers are sort of sometimes limited by space,
but we had so much room here to sort of
grow and tell a full story. And we really talked
about how she feels about this divorce, what got her
to the point where she felt she needed to say goodbye.
(08:47):
And it was interesting because a lot of what she
said she couldn't say on The Real Housewives of Atlanta.
She talked about the fact that filming this season because
they were still going through proceedings, because she wasn't filming
in her home because he was slapping her with defamation suits,
and you know, they were in the midst of this
really contentious divorce, there was a lot that she couldn't
(09:08):
talk about, and now she really spills, She really lets
it out. What was it that made her want to
get out of this marriage? That from? I mean you
and I I remember where we were. Also, when Portia
announced that she was getting divorced, it was a shock
to all of us because this looked like the happiest
marriage of all time. So yeah, it really allowed her
(09:33):
the space to talk.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
Did she talk to you?
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Because I do remember where we were when the divorce
was announced And obviously Dave Kremp broke that exclusive too,
and I'm like, dam.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
It was going on here girl, Like what's happening?
Speaker 1 (09:47):
But what did Portia tell you about what led up
to the moment of her deciding to file? Because it
was something she thought about for months or weeks or
was it for days before she filed.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
It really feels like this was something that she had
seen signs of and decided I have to go. She
knew when it was time to pull the trigger. She
talks about Valentine's Day then having an argument and seeing
a look on his face where she just knew it
was done. You know, I asked her, how do you
see the red flags? And she laughed, She's like, you're
(10:28):
asking me, like, I don't see the red flags. I
see you know, I always joke red flags in the
shape of hearts, right, and she but she's learned through
the experience she had with Cordel, through other experiences, that
she needed to sort of take control. She talks about
how she was blindsided by the Cordel divorce, but in
(10:50):
this case, she was not going to be blindsided. She
was going to step into her power and make those
decisions for herself, and she really protected herself along the
way to do those things.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
I do want to get No, no, no, it's.
Speaker 4 (11:04):
It's a very different Porsche than we've seen before, is
what I was gonna say.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
No, And I was gonna say that as well.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
In the sense of what we saw what she went
through during season six, and I was the showrunner for
that season, we saw the steps in terms of what
she did not do when she decided to marry Cordell.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
She did sign a prenup.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
She pretty much, for all autism purposes, had no rights
essentially during that marriage. This is her second one, and
what we have learned is she did have a prenup
that sort of worked in her favor. Can you talk
to us about the new Porsche that was getting married
(11:51):
for the second time and some of the smart things
she decided to do this go around.
Speaker 4 (11:55):
Yeah, that prenup is the smartest thing she decided to
do this go around, made sure that she was legally
where she needed to be, and that preenop is ultimately
what got en forced. You know, the ruling that was
decided on by the judge just on June eleventh, so
very recently sided in her favor. And it's because of
(12:16):
that that she gets to keep the house. It's because
of that that she gets to sort of be in
a place of peace with a lot of the contentious
things that Simon's been going after her over. I also
think that the thing that she did differently this time
around is she's still grieving right now. She's very upset,
but she seems to have found a way to separate
(12:38):
her mind from her emotion. She made choices that were
not driven by emotion, but by driven by protecting herself
and being very clear headed about that. And it's only
now talking to her that she's really grieving a lot
of the things that are, you know, are the natural
(13:00):
feelings that one gets at the loss of a relationship,
you know. She says to me that she's really not
ready yet to date other men, that people try to
set her up and she just doesn't feel like she's there.
She doesn't feel like she can trust men again right now.
She says that she's really focusing on giving all that
love that she gives to men that she loves giving
(13:20):
in a relationship. She loves being the protector, the provider,
the one who's going to cook your favorite meal, who's
going to address you right, who's going to take care
of you. She loves doing that, and she's now focusing
that on herself, which I've been candid with you. It's
been two years since I've been single and I'm still
learning to do that. So to hear her talk about
(13:41):
it was really inspiring to me to remind myself that
we all need to be doing that for ourselves. But Carlos, ultimately,
I think the thing that you find about Portia is
that she recognizes that this season on Housewives, she wasn't herself.
She was like, I went through that was the biggest
shell for me. But she went through this season as
(14:03):
a shell of a person. She says, She's like, I
would go to work and just I don't even know
who that person is. She watches the show and she
has no concept for sort of how she was acting
or what she was feeling. And it gives a lot
of context in my perspective to the ongoing conflict she's
having with Shemiah, because I feel as though Shmiah is
(14:24):
a person who was very present and Porsha just was not.
We all interpreted. I think a lot of the fans
have interpreted as jealousy or as you know, feeling a
certain way about holding the center peach and things like that,
and how the season was going. I think that Porsha
was just lost. I think she was just from what
(14:44):
she says in the midst of hell and was clocking
into work, going through the motions.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Which is so interesting to me because what we're seeing
this season on the show is a woman who decided
to return back to the show after three year hiatus,
and she said yes to returning while she was married
and supposedly, just based on what we have seen, was
(15:13):
in a good place at her marriage. Again, on all
the details, did she explained to you if she had
any regrets coming back to the show, because when she
came back, she thought she would be coming back as
a married woman.
Speaker 4 (15:27):
Yeah, you know, we talked, Actually, we honestly talked a
little bit candidly behind the scenes about it. Wasn't necessarily
part of my focus for the interview because I was
much more interested in her reclaiming herself as as a
woman after this sort of emotional loss than it was
about her return to the show. But she very candidly said, remember,
(15:49):
I was coming back to the show as Portia Gubadia.
Porsha Williams wasn't coming back. It was Porsia Gubadia. That's
how she announced it, and then it wasn't. I think
that she's in a place now from our conversations where
she's really excited to go back to filming and do
it again because she's sort of gotten now the the
(16:09):
ability to take a deep breath. I didn't realize until
she really explained it to me how difficult it was
to film an entire season not being in your house.
And we've seen other housewives do this before, you know,
we've seen plenty of housewives not film at their home.
But the fact that she wasn't allowed to. She didn't
(16:30):
really have that center thing holding her to the ground,
so she felt like she wasn't able to really show
who she was.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Which makes a lot of sense because everybody's home is
their sanctuary, it's your safe space. So the fact that
I mean, I didn't think about that as well, where
you're not even able to be in your safe haven
doing the job that you love, but also a job
that is intense because you have to talk about uncomfortable things.
I didn't realize that until you said today. That is
(17:00):
another sort of like mind fuck when you're shooting a
reality show and the reality is I cannot film in
my house. So one thing we do know is she
her divorce is final. She did get award a lot
of things in her prenuptial agreement. She said to you,
she's not yet there in terms of dating. She's figured
(17:21):
things out. You have covered Porsia since the inception of
her on the show season five. What was your takeaway
based on this interview and you being around her. Do
you feel like Porscha is the black j Lo, the
black list Taylor to where she's not ready today but
(17:42):
she's a hopeless romantic or do you think Porsche is
somebody who is relearning who she is, and there's a
more stronger version of Porsche in the sense of dealing
with the aftermath of this divorce that we will see
next season on Housewives.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
Honestly, Carlos, I think both. I'm not going to put
that label on her, I'll tell I'll say that I
think that she's the Jennifer Lopeze Bravo because she does
sort of have like that fullhearted, like hopeless, romantic, wants
to be in love thing, and that's still inside of her.
I did ask her if she's getting married again, and
(18:24):
she's like, yeah, I would do it. You know, she's
not closed that she wants to be a wife again.
So that's very much still a part of who Portia is,
and that, in that sense, lies I think with j Loo.
I mean, the thing I love the most about her
is that she loves so deeply and so hardly. You know,
she goes all in on her things. But I do
think there's a lot of strength and wisdom that she's
(18:47):
going beamed. Just like you said, she's elevating herself in
a way, she's really learning from it because she could
have been sitting there saying, f this, dude, I'm out
of here, you know what I mean, Like I deserve better,
I'm dating this guy. I'm dating that guy. But that's
not what she was saying. I mean, she was really saying,
I took stock. What did I do to cause this?
(19:08):
What role did I play in the end of this?
How do I make better choices going forward? How can
I learn to love myself right now so I can
give to somebody and not give all of myself and
giving different ways. I mean, this was stuff that was
very different than I think we've seen before from her.
And even at the end of the chat was she
(19:29):
tried a lot. I messed those make I folded her
a canvas stiller, bass at, crying goal, patitant, but made
sure that she got what she needed. But no, I mean,
she really opened up a lot, and she said after
the end that she was glad that the interview wasn't
about saying mean things about another person, that it was
(19:50):
about really owning who she is. And in that moment,
I was really proud of that myself. I just think
you know this from working with her. Portia is somebody
who has this amazing charisma and she has the ability.
When she is in a good mood, everybody is in
a good mood. She is so kind and loving and
(20:11):
warm and fun and funny. But when she's hurting, you
all feel that too. She can really dictate the temperature
of her room, and it was great to have her
in a place where I think she felt safe and
comfortable to both be open and emotional and still have
fun with it. She brought champagne for the entire crew.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
I've never seen anybody in my years and years and years.
Speaker 4 (20:33):
In the business, I've never seen a single celebrity end
the day by celebrating everyone there with a toast.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
That says a lot for who she is. Yeah, it
really does. And listen, it says a lot for who
you are.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
The fact that you were able to get the exclusive
interview with her, pulse her divorce and to be able
to give her an iconic cover that she deserves. Dave Quinn,
where can't people pick up this magating? What can I
go find it? Because I do want people to still
read the article, Because listen, Dave Quinn is an amazing journalist,
(21:08):
and to know that he got the exclusive post Porsche
signed off divorce means we are in.
Speaker 4 (21:14):
For a treat and it was great because we've we
shot all this before Reunion even films, so I'm excited
to watch Reunion to see what comes after that. We
also got to talk to her from the set of
The Traders, where you know that she's film next season
of The Traders, because we had a follow up conversation
with her afterwards, and I said to her, I said, Porsia,
(21:36):
I know you're playing a game right now, but I'm
glad to hear you already won. She got that win
in right before. Yeah, we worked in her in her divorce,
but we chatted from there. So it's it's gonna be
a lot of fun for fantasy. The stories out right now.
(21:58):
You can click on People dot com and find it
all on our socials and our issue will be a
newstands this Friday.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
A man to that another exclusive from the amazing Deve
Quinn over at People Magazine. Rain Droffs, make sure you're
on People dot com to read the article and on
Friday listen journalism is still alive and start a magazine,
So please pick up the magazine on newsstands wherever you're
able to get them.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
I am getting me a.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Hard copy that I want to frame because that I
mean seriously, that I kind of cover gave me chills
and I screamed so loud when I saw it. Sotos
Kutos an amazing magazine. Listen more to come from you guys,
great stuff.
Speaker 4 (22:46):
Thank you so much, Carlos. Now, but we can we
just can we talk for a second because I want to.
I have a lot of questions for you. I want
to know.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
I've got so many questions.
Speaker 4 (22:55):
We need to catch up.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
We do need to catch up. Call me.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
I want to know what you think about Candace Dillard
and pors being back together on Traders like no.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
But all just aside. Listen Canvas being on.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
Traders with Porsche when they both did Ultimate Girls Trip before.
I can't wait to see what goes on there because
that Canvas Honey is not want to play with, so
to see who is zooming who between her and Porsche,
I can't wait. And I am so happy that Porsche
(23:37):
decided to do Traders because it just goes to show
you the profile of hers that is elevating, and they
got somebody who's not only great TV. Porsche's no dummy,
but that Kansasidy is savvy too.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
Well, wait, do you think either of them will be
a trader.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
I don't see Canvas being a trader.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
I can see Porsche pulling it off because Frick and Frack,
because you know, Phaser was one, so I can see
that happening too.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
Portia.
Speaker 4 (24:08):
I rooting for Candas to be a trader just because
I think she her talking heads are so funny. I
don't just I want real good trader confessionals. And I
think Phaedra was such a beautiful example of that, of
how good it is on that show, So I'm sort
of hoping for that. I mean, Mamma, Kelsey hain't gonna
(24:28):
be a trader, you know what I mean. Like, it's
gotta be someone attitude. It's gotta be someone who can
give it up. And I feel like, well, yes, go ahead.
I feel like Candace can give it up.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
Though I worry.
Speaker 4 (24:39):
I don't think she's I don't think the chess moves
are there that you have to have. But she could
be a fun burnout, you know what I mean. She
can go out sweat.
Speaker 5 (24:49):
She'd be like I don't like you, You're dead. Like
its good, in which case Portia better be careful. Oh baby,
Portia has a. I have a live her life money,
so I will just happened.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
She will be just fine.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
But no, I'm so happy those two are are doing
Traders and listen, talk about another epic season of that show.
Speaker 4 (25:15):
It's gonna be great. And as I as I said
to somebody who's on it this season, I'll remain meanless.
I said, welcome to any winning show.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
But we also have to talk about, to your point,
any winning soap opera world, Lisa Rena.
Speaker 4 (25:33):
Girl, you and I love Lisa Rena so much. The
Lisa Renna apologists of the world are here to celebrate
and scream. She is gonna be so good.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
I'm so excited that she's back.
Speaker 4 (25:48):
I mean yes, that for me, Lisa Renna being cast
on that show, that was the best pride gift I
could ever get. Thank you. We are celebrating.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
So that that alone got my like Antenna's running in
terms of like cause, listen, no one is better television.
No one is better at being a force multiplier in
scenes that needs a little push of anomelope than Lisa Renna.
And by her being an actress a great one at
(26:22):
that soap opera.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
Daytime in me like amazing casting for Lisa Renna.
Speaker 4 (26:29):
Yeah, she's She is definitely the headline for me. I'm
thrilled that she's back in the mix. And I'm also
thrilled to see how she interacts with people like poor Show,
people like Candice, people like Derinda who I don't know
I can see, I mean, Dorenda and Caroline Stanbury will
be in good place, but like because they're good friends.
But I don't know how she's just gonna do with
(26:50):
Lisa Rena.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
Lisa Renna versus Derenda is the mussy TV of the year,
Are you kidding me? Random versus Lisa render two women
who do not hold back and don't give two f's.
Speaker 3 (27:05):
Let it go. That's your next cover, honey, that's your
next cover.
Speaker 4 (27:09):
That's an excover. Will recreate something like what film will
we recreate? We'll find something real good over Board by
Goldie Hon I'm well, death becomes sir with Lisa.
Speaker 3 (27:26):
Listen. I love it, I love it, I love you,
I love you.
Speaker 4 (27:30):
Thank you for having me so great catching up?
Speaker 3 (27:32):
No, thank you and I'll see you soon.
Speaker 4 (27:34):
All right, fine, thank you for.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Listening to Reality with the Kings.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
New episodes drop on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Share, comment, follow
and subscribe to Reality with the King.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
Wherever you get to your podcast.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
Visit Reality withthe King dot com and be sure to
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TikTok and Yes Baby, my YouTube channel where you could
get all of my visuals, Baby, my expressions, Yes, and
don't forget. Tweet me your thoughts and hot takes about
this episode using the hashtag Reality with the King. Reality
(28:18):
with the King is a production of Kingdom Rain Entertainment,
an executive produced by me Carlos King, Kingdom Rain Entertainment,
(28:38):
Baby
Welcome to Reality with the King. It's me Carlos Kings,
the King of Reality TV and one of the most
sought after executive producers in reality television with over ten
years a production experience. Twice a week on Reality with
the King, we'll sit down with my friends across the
entertainment industry, recap our favorite reality shows and revisit unforgetable
(00:24):
moments that we are still talking and tweeting about. Hey,
rain drops on today's episode of Reality with the King. Okay,
I know where I was when JR. Got shot on Dallas.
I know where I was when Beyonce dropped her surprise album.
(00:49):
I know where I was when Kimberle kardash shams on
the cover of another magazine breaking the Internet bench.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
I know where I was with Dave Quinn Creative directed
the digital cover that is leaving all of us gagging
of Porsche Williams formerly Porsche Garbadia serving Angela Baca Tee
waiting to excel character Honey with the cover of People
(01:18):
Magazine cop this.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Now People Magazine cover.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Star Porsche Williams is ready to exhale. We have to
talk to the journalist. Hey, Porsche pun attended Dave Quinn Concait, Honey, Carlos,
I am.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
So thrilled that this is out and that you love
it so much. Thank you so much for your kindness
and for having me here. As always my favorite person
to talk to.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
You not only have been my favorite person for so
many years. What you have done CRUs while you are
a pop culture not only enthusia, is but an icon
in the journalist world. It we Okay, before we get
into the details of the article where Porsche is set free.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
She's finally divorced. There's so much to.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Break down with that, but Honey, bunty pudding Pie, we
have to break down and listen. I am somebody who
used to work at Kentucky for our chicken, making five
dollars and fifty cents an hour, and when my paycheck
came every two weeks, Honey, I would save money to
buy People magazine. So I am somebody that I want
(02:37):
this cover in my home day who came up with
this idea of having Porsche be Angela Bass's character and
waiting to ex Hell.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Listen, I say this humbly. This was all my idea.
But listen, and here's why. Because we're talking to Porsha Williams.
The concept of the story comes around She's gone through
this really difficult divorce. It's her first time that she's
going to be able to freely kind of speak about it.
(03:11):
What do we do visually to capture that? And you know,
decades before Porsche was making names on the Internet, and
decades before it became one of the most infamous memes
on the Internet itself, of this iconic meme of female empowerment,
waiting to exhale was a cultural reset. You know. The
nineteen ninety five film, adapted from Terry McMillan's best selling novel,
(03:36):
really gave voice to grief, resilience, self renewal, of black
women navigating love and loss on their own terms. It
offered this vision of healing, of heartbreak, of self discovery,
of someone stepping into their own power. And I just
thought it was so important that if we were going
to look at Porsche as an example of what I
consider to be black excellence in reality TV, why not
(04:00):
carry her with something else that I really believe in
the culture is the ultimate example of black excellence, of empowerment,
of strength. So I wanted to frame her in these
photos as not someone who was a victim, not someone
who was centering herself in the image of a man.
That was really important to me that she's her own
(04:21):
woman and that we're really celebrating where she is at
this place in her life, which is she's gone squarest man.
She has stepped through that fire and she is really
now rebirthing herself as a stronger, more powerful woman than
ever before.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
I mean, the character that Angela Basta play, which is
Bernadine Harris, is somebody that is infamously known with the
car blow up scene, with being in the core. So
talk to us about the images, because not only did
you guys recreate the iconic scene where Bernardine Harris, played
by Angela Bassett, blew up the from her ex husband,
(05:03):
you guys also did a lot of iconic moments from
the movie itself. So can you talk us through some
of those creative concepts as well.
Speaker 4 (05:11):
Yeah, it was funny. We were really thinking full scale here, right.
Originally I was just like, we got to have her
with the car scene, mimicking that incredible meme that we
all know and love so well, and from there that
sort of became the blueprint to what else can we do?
To make it make sense and to sort of fill
it all out. So we did that scene where Brendadette's
in the mirror, she's sort of brushing her hair and
(05:33):
her husband comes in to tell her that he's leaving her,
and that sort of she has that moment of realization
that it's all over. We did that scene. We did
the scene in the courtroom where she sort of has
her victory and has her justice, and it was great.
I mean, we built all of this in a beautiful
house in Atlanta, all of these incredible sets. The courtroom
(05:55):
was built in like the corner of someone's living room essentially,
and with porschaucked in and saw it, she said, I
need a core room in my house. Like it was hilarious.
And we also wanted to color that with other scenes
that we believe were sort of mimicking the experience that
Porch has been going through in her own life. So
we built a scene that was really about her, you know,
(06:17):
her empowerment in business, her owning Go Naked Hair, shout
out Go Naked Hair, her pampered by Porsche, her pursuit
of Porsche book, and sort of how she's focused on
business and that's really done that and also how she's
juggling all this as a mom. We got Polar on
set and really did a great shot with Poar and
(06:39):
I have to tell you, Carlos, of all the divas
in the room that day, myself included, Polar was the one.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Oh really, what was the giving she came with?
Speaker 4 (06:52):
She came with a writer. She said, I want donuts
when I'm done, and there were donuts available for her
when she was nothing. She knew what she wanted and
she was such a joy. It was really fun to
see Portrait in that motherhood moment and she's the sweetest girl.
She's so so so. Yeah, we got to kind of
(07:13):
do it all, but it was really fun, and afterwards
Portrait said something. We sat down for our interview afterwards
and talked for an hour, and she said, y'all really
took me through it, like you took me through mimicking
all of these setups for waiting to exhale really allowed
her to process what she's been going through for the
past year in the span of a day.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Child, We are just getting started. This is reality with
the King, and I'm Carlos King. Let's get back into
the show.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
So let's get into that.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Because for a housewive to get the cover story of
the prestigious people Mad magazine. Like I said, I grew
up on this magazine. Everybody from Jennifer Aniston to Halle
Berry to Beyonce has graced the cover of this magazine.
So to have Portia Williams do that, I know the
article itself must be juicy. So what sort of tidbits
(08:19):
did she give you day that we are looking forward
to reading in this issue.
Speaker 4 (08:25):
Well, what I was really excited about when we built
this digital cover is it gives a lot of freedom.
You know, print covers are sort of sometimes limited by space,
but we had so much room here to sort of
grow and tell a full story. And we really talked
about how she feels about this divorce, what got her
to the point where she felt she needed to say goodbye.
(08:47):
And it was interesting because a lot of what she
said she couldn't say on The Real Housewives of Atlanta.
She talked about the fact that filming this season because
they were still going through proceedings, because she wasn't filming
in her home because he was slapping her with defamation suits,
and you know, they were in the midst of this
really contentious divorce, there was a lot that she couldn't
(09:08):
talk about, and now she really spills, She really lets
it out. What was it that made her want to
get out of this marriage? That from? I mean you
and I I remember where we were. Also, when Portia
announced that she was getting divorced, it was a shock
to all of us because this looked like the happiest
marriage of all time. So yeah, it really allowed her
(09:33):
the space to talk.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
Did she talk to you?
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Because I do remember where we were when the divorce
was announced And obviously Dave Kremp broke that exclusive too,
and I'm like, dam.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
It was going on here girl, Like what's happening?
Speaker 1 (09:47):
But what did Portia tell you about what led up
to the moment of her deciding to file? Because it
was something she thought about for months or weeks or
was it for days before she filed.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
It really feels like this was something that she had
seen signs of and decided I have to go. She
knew when it was time to pull the trigger. She
talks about Valentine's Day then having an argument and seeing
a look on his face where she just knew it
was done. You know, I asked her, how do you
see the red flags? And she laughed, She's like, you're
(10:28):
asking me, like, I don't see the red flags. I
see you know, I always joke red flags in the
shape of hearts, right, and she but she's learned through
the experience she had with Cordel, through other experiences, that
she needed to sort of take control. She talks about
how she was blindsided by the Cordel divorce, but in
(10:50):
this case, she was not going to be blindsided. She
was going to step into her power and make those
decisions for herself, and she really protected herself along the
way to do those things.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
I do want to get No, no, no, it's.
Speaker 4 (11:04):
It's a very different Porsche than we've seen before, is
what I was gonna say.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
No, And I was gonna say that as well.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
In the sense of what we saw what she went
through during season six, and I was the showrunner for
that season, we saw the steps in terms of what
she did not do when she decided to marry Cordell.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
She did sign a prenup.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
She pretty much, for all autism purposes, had no rights
essentially during that marriage. This is her second one, and
what we have learned is she did have a prenup
that sort of worked in her favor. Can you talk
to us about the new Porsche that was getting married
(11:51):
for the second time and some of the smart things
she decided to do this go around.
Speaker 4 (11:55):
Yeah, that prenup is the smartest thing she decided to
do this go around, made sure that she was legally
where she needed to be, and that preenop is ultimately
what got en forced. You know, the ruling that was
decided on by the judge just on June eleventh, so
very recently sided in her favor. And it's because of
(12:16):
that that she gets to keep the house. It's because
of that that she gets to sort of be in
a place of peace with a lot of the contentious
things that Simon's been going after her over. I also
think that the thing that she did differently this time
around is she's still grieving right now. She's very upset,
but she seems to have found a way to separate
(12:38):
her mind from her emotion. She made choices that were
not driven by emotion, but by driven by protecting herself
and being very clear headed about that. And it's only
now talking to her that she's really grieving a lot
of the things that are, you know, are the natural
(13:00):
feelings that one gets at the loss of a relationship,
you know. She says to me that she's really not
ready yet to date other men, that people try to
set her up and she just doesn't feel like she's there.
She doesn't feel like she can trust men again right now.
She says that she's really focusing on giving all that
love that she gives to men that she loves giving
(13:20):
in a relationship. She loves being the protector, the provider,
the one who's going to cook your favorite meal, who's
going to address you right, who's going to take care
of you. She loves doing that, and she's now focusing
that on herself, which I've been candid with you. It's
been two years since I've been single and I'm still
learning to do that. So to hear her talk about
(13:41):
it was really inspiring to me to remind myself that
we all need to be doing that for ourselves. But Carlos, ultimately,
I think the thing that you find about Portia is
that she recognizes that this season on Housewives, she wasn't herself.
She was like, I went through that was the biggest
shell for me. But she went through this season as
(14:03):
a shell of a person. She says, She's like, I
would go to work and just I don't even know
who that person is. She watches the show and she
has no concept for sort of how she was acting
or what she was feeling. And it gives a lot
of context in my perspective to the ongoing conflict she's
having with Shemiah, because I feel as though Shmiah is
(14:24):
a person who was very present and Porsha just was not.
We all interpreted. I think a lot of the fans
have interpreted as jealousy or as you know, feeling a
certain way about holding the center peach and things like that,
and how the season was going. I think that Porsha
was just lost. I think she was just from what
(14:44):
she says in the midst of hell and was clocking
into work, going through the motions.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Which is so interesting to me because what we're seeing
this season on the show is a woman who decided
to return back to the show after three year hiatus,
and she said yes to returning while she was married
and supposedly, just based on what we have seen, was
(15:13):
in a good place at her marriage. Again, on all
the details, did she explained to you if she had
any regrets coming back to the show, because when she
came back, she thought she would be coming back as
a married woman.
Speaker 4 (15:27):
Yeah, you know, we talked, Actually, we honestly talked a
little bit candidly behind the scenes about it. Wasn't necessarily
part of my focus for the interview because I was
much more interested in her reclaiming herself as as a
woman after this sort of emotional loss than it was
about her return to the show. But she very candidly said, remember,
(15:49):
I was coming back to the show as Portia Gubadia.
Porsha Williams wasn't coming back. It was Porsia Gubadia. That's
how she announced it, and then it wasn't. I think
that she's in a place now from our conversations where
she's really excited to go back to filming and do
it again because she's sort of gotten now the the
(16:09):
ability to take a deep breath. I didn't realize until
she really explained it to me how difficult it was
to film an entire season not being in your house.
And we've seen other housewives do this before, you know,
we've seen plenty of housewives not film at their home.
But the fact that she wasn't allowed to. She didn't
(16:30):
really have that center thing holding her to the ground,
so she felt like she wasn't able to really show
who she was.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Which makes a lot of sense because everybody's home is
their sanctuary, it's your safe space. So the fact that
I mean, I didn't think about that as well, where
you're not even able to be in your safe haven
doing the job that you love, but also a job
that is intense because you have to talk about uncomfortable things.
I didn't realize that until you said today. That is
(17:00):
another sort of like mind fuck when you're shooting a
reality show and the reality is I cannot film in
my house. So one thing we do know is she
her divorce is final. She did get award a lot
of things in her prenuptial agreement. She said to you,
she's not yet there in terms of dating. She's figured
(17:21):
things out. You have covered Porsia since the inception of
her on the show season five. What was your takeaway
based on this interview and you being around her. Do
you feel like Porscha is the black j Lo, the
black list Taylor to where she's not ready today but
(17:42):
she's a hopeless romantic or do you think Porsche is
somebody who is relearning who she is, and there's a
more stronger version of Porsche in the sense of dealing
with the aftermath of this divorce that we will see
next season on Housewives.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
Honestly, Carlos, I think both. I'm not going to put
that label on her, I'll tell I'll say that I
think that she's the Jennifer Lopeze Bravo because she does
sort of have like that fullhearted, like hopeless, romantic, wants
to be in love thing, and that's still inside of her.
I did ask her if she's getting married again, and
(18:24):
she's like, yeah, I would do it. You know, she's
not closed that she wants to be a wife again.
So that's very much still a part of who Portia is,
and that, in that sense, lies I think with j Loo.
I mean, the thing I love the most about her
is that she loves so deeply and so hardly. You know,
she goes all in on her things. But I do
think there's a lot of strength and wisdom that she's
(18:47):
going beamed. Just like you said, she's elevating herself in
a way, she's really learning from it because she could
have been sitting there saying, f this, dude, I'm out
of here, you know what I mean, Like I deserve better,
I'm dating this guy. I'm dating that guy. But that's
not what she was saying. I mean, she was really saying,
I took stock. What did I do to cause this?
(19:08):
What role did I play in the end of this?
How do I make better choices going forward? How can
I learn to love myself right now so I can
give to somebody and not give all of myself and
giving different ways. I mean, this was stuff that was
very different than I think we've seen before from her.
And even at the end of the chat was she
(19:29):
tried a lot. I messed those make I folded her
a canvas stiller, bass at, crying goal, patitant, but made
sure that she got what she needed. But no, I mean,
she really opened up a lot, and she said after
the end that she was glad that the interview wasn't
about saying mean things about another person, that it was
(19:50):
about really owning who she is. And in that moment,
I was really proud of that myself. I just think
you know this from working with her. Portia is somebody
who has this amazing charisma and she has the ability.
When she is in a good mood, everybody is in
a good mood. She is so kind and loving and
(20:11):
warm and fun and funny. But when she's hurting, you
all feel that too. She can really dictate the temperature
of her room, and it was great to have her
in a place where I think she felt safe and
comfortable to both be open and emotional and still have
fun with it. She brought champagne for the entire crew.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
I've never seen anybody in my years and years and years.
Speaker 4 (20:33):
In the business, I've never seen a single celebrity end
the day by celebrating everyone there with a toast.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
That says a lot for who she is. Yeah, it
really does. And listen, it says a lot for who
you are.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
The fact that you were able to get the exclusive
interview with her, pulse her divorce and to be able
to give her an iconic cover that she deserves. Dave Quinn,
where can't people pick up this magating? What can I
go find it? Because I do want people to still
read the article, Because listen, Dave Quinn is an amazing journalist,
(21:08):
and to know that he got the exclusive post Porsche
signed off divorce means we are in.
Speaker 4 (21:14):
For a treat and it was great because we've we
shot all this before Reunion even films, so I'm excited
to watch Reunion to see what comes after that. We
also got to talk to her from the set of
The Traders, where you know that she's film next season
of The Traders, because we had a follow up conversation
with her afterwards, and I said to her, I said, Porsia,
(21:36):
I know you're playing a game right now, but I'm
glad to hear you already won. She got that win
in right before. Yeah, we worked in her in her divorce,
but we chatted from there. So it's it's gonna be
a lot of fun for fantasy. The stories out right now.
(21:58):
You can click on People dot com and find it
all on our socials and our issue will be a
newstands this Friday.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
A man to that another exclusive from the amazing Deve
Quinn over at People Magazine. Rain Droffs, make sure you're
on People dot com to read the article and on
Friday listen journalism is still alive and start a magazine,
So please pick up the magazine on newsstands wherever you're
able to get them.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
I am getting me a.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Hard copy that I want to frame because that I
mean seriously, that I kind of cover gave me chills
and I screamed so loud when I saw it. Sotos
Kutos an amazing magazine. Listen more to come from you guys,
great stuff.
Speaker 4 (22:46):
Thank you so much, Carlos. Now, but we can we
just can we talk for a second because I want to.
I have a lot of questions for you. I want
to know.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
I've got so many questions.
Speaker 4 (22:55):
We need to catch up.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
We do need to catch up. Call me.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
I want to know what you think about Candace Dillard
and pors being back together on Traders like no.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
But all just aside. Listen Canvas being on.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
Traders with Porsche when they both did Ultimate Girls Trip before.
I can't wait to see what goes on there because
that Canvas Honey is not want to play with, so
to see who is zooming who between her and Porsche,
I can't wait. And I am so happy that Porsche
(23:37):
decided to do Traders because it just goes to show
you the profile of hers that is elevating, and they
got somebody who's not only great TV. Porsche's no dummy,
but that Kansasidy is savvy too.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
Well, wait, do you think either of them will be
a trader.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
I don't see Canvas being a trader.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
I can see Porsche pulling it off because Frick and Frack,
because you know, Phaser was one, so I can see
that happening too.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
Portia.
Speaker 4 (24:08):
I rooting for Candas to be a trader just because
I think she her talking heads are so funny. I
don't just I want real good trader confessionals. And I
think Phaedra was such a beautiful example of that, of
how good it is on that show, So I'm sort
of hoping for that. I mean, Mamma, Kelsey hain't gonna
(24:28):
be a trader, you know what I mean. Like, it's
gotta be someone attitude. It's gotta be someone who can
give it up. And I feel like, well, yes, go ahead.
I feel like Candace can give it up.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
Though I worry.
Speaker 4 (24:39):
I don't think she's I don't think the chess moves
are there that you have to have. But she could
be a fun burnout, you know what I mean. She
can go out sweat.
Speaker 5 (24:49):
She'd be like I don't like you, You're dead. Like
its good, in which case Portia better be careful. Oh baby,
Portia has a. I have a live her life money,
so I will just happened.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
She will be just fine.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
But no, I'm so happy those two are are doing
Traders and listen, talk about another epic season of that show.
Speaker 4 (25:15):
It's gonna be great. And as I as I said
to somebody who's on it this season, I'll remain meanless.
I said, welcome to any winning show.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
But we also have to talk about, to your point,
any winning soap opera world, Lisa Rena.
Speaker 4 (25:33):
Girl, you and I love Lisa Rena so much. The
Lisa Renna apologists of the world are here to celebrate
and scream. She is gonna be so good.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
I'm so excited that she's back.
Speaker 4 (25:48):
I mean yes, that for me, Lisa Renna being cast
on that show, that was the best pride gift I
could ever get. Thank you. We are celebrating.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
So that that alone got my like Antenna's running in
terms of like cause, listen, no one is better television.
No one is better at being a force multiplier in
scenes that needs a little push of anomelope than Lisa Renna.
And by her being an actress a great one at
(26:22):
that soap opera.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
Daytime in me like amazing casting for Lisa Renna.
Speaker 4 (26:29):
Yeah, she's She is definitely the headline for me. I'm
thrilled that she's back in the mix. And I'm also
thrilled to see how she interacts with people like poor Show,
people like Candice, people like Derinda who I don't know
I can see, I mean, Dorenda and Caroline Stanbury will
be in good place, but like because they're good friends.
But I don't know how she's just gonna do with
(26:50):
Lisa Rena.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
Lisa Renna versus Derenda is the mussy TV of the year,
Are you kidding me? Random versus Lisa render two women
who do not hold back and don't give two f's.
Speaker 3 (27:05):
Let it go. That's your next cover, honey, that's your
next cover.
Speaker 4 (27:09):
That's an excover. Will recreate something like what film will
we recreate? We'll find something real good over Board by
Goldie Hon I'm well, death becomes sir with Lisa.
Speaker 3 (27:26):
Listen. I love it, I love it, I love you,
I love you.
Speaker 4 (27:30):
Thank you for having me so great catching up?
Speaker 3 (27:32):
No, thank you and I'll see you soon.
Speaker 4 (27:34):
All right, fine, thank you for.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Listening to Reality with the Kings.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
New episodes drop on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Share, comment, follow
and subscribe to Reality with the King.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
Wherever you get to your podcast.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
Visit Reality withthe King dot com and be sure to
follow me at the Carlos King Underscore on Instagram, Twitter,
TikTok and Yes Baby, my YouTube channel where you could
get all of my visuals, Baby, my expressions, Yes, and
don't forget. Tweet me your thoughts and hot takes about
this episode using the hashtag Reality with the King. Reality
(28:18):
with the King is a production of Kingdom Rain Entertainment,
an executive produced by me Carlos King, Kingdom Rain Entertainment,
(28:38):
Baby
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