Basketball Wives’ Newest Stars, Keysha & Kenya, Spill Their Own Tea

Kenya Bell and Keysha Nichols are the two new reality girls on the block for the VH1 show “Basketball Wives.” So, what’s the skinny on these two? Ms. Bell, who is the mother of two children, had been asked twice in the past to join the show and finally gave in for this season to clear up her name on some allegations and also to promote her musical endeavors.
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She is currently the wife of Italy basketball player Charlie Bell, but was also in a complicated altercation with an old blast from the past who she allegedly stabbed during an argument. Of this unpleasant incident she explains,
“First of all, it was all a hot fiery mess. The truth of the matter is he was not mad. I did not stab my husband. It was a horrible experience for me. At this point in my life, I think it changed me for the better because I was taught in that situation that when somebody has problems or issues, it’s not in my place  to even try to change them. They need to change themselves. That’s kind of where that whole drama took me. I think I’m in a better place [now]… To me if a woman has been with a guy for 10 years, you know 10 years or so, just because you didn’t get married but you’ve been together for that long, I think You’ve earned the respect that a wife should get. A lot of these girls met these guys when they were young… A lot of times you meet these guys and they’re younger and the girls are younger and you fall in love and you’re in this situation and you find yourself in it for years. Then, when it’s over, it’s like, ‘Geez, I wasn’t even married.’ To me, that doesn’t speak to who these women are. Just because they aren’t wives doesn’t mean they’re not significant. I think a lot of these women are very significant and were very significant in these players’ lives.”
In addition to reality TV, she’s working on an R&B album.
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As for Keysha Nichols, she’s from North Carolina and became well-known in the public after her sudden break up from Spurs player Richard Jefferson. However she admits that on the show she wishes to focus on other things. She says,
“I don’t want to focus on my relationship with Richard. I feel like that story has been told so many times. I’m over that and it’s in the past. I am dating someone now. He’s an amazing person, but he chooses not to be in the spotlight, chooses not to have anything to do with reality TV, and it’s just so amazing that I want to keep that part to myself.”
And on the other cast members, she explained,
“They already have a Tami, they already have an Evelyn, they already have a Jen and a Royce, so they wanted to bring in someone who would be the anti-basketball wife.That’s kind of what I am. I’m very different from them and my reactions are different than the other girls and I’ve never been in my life around a group of people like this. These ladies have short fuse and it’s a learning process for me every single day for me.” But she does admit that she has already made a bond with Royce on the show. “We have a lot in common. We both don’t take life to seriously. We don’t look for confrontation and we like to get out to do things. We both dance, we cheered, we both ran track, we love to rollerblade. We’re more active than the other girls and, we can be silly together.”
Keysha also runs an entertainment company called Sugar and Spice. Season #4, with the new and old cast, (Shaunie O’Neal, Eveyln Lozada, Jennifer Williams, Suzie Ketcham, Royce Reed and Tami Roman), airs Feb. 20th. [Vibe Vixen]