*EURweb.com Spotlight caught up with Ryan Henry and Charmaine Bey, the key personalities in “Black Ink Chicago” who chop it up with radio and TV personality Jazmyn Summers about what’s poppin’ in Season 7 which drops tonight (Oct. 4, 2021).
When season 6 ended last summer both Ryan’s shop 9Mag and Charmaine’s 2nd City had to shut down because of COVID. And now they’re back.
“Your girl Charmaine is 22 weeks pregnant ” she reveals. “When my husband was shooting the chromosomes out he shot the wrong one. It’s another girl. We were hoping for a boy but we’re happy. Now I’m gonna have to have another baby for him,” she jokes.
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Charmaine says the biggest surprise in season 7 is how deep Ryan goes into the controversy about him sleeping with his homeboy of 12 years Anthony Lindsay’s girlfriend and baby mama Nina Marie last year.
“I hurt people that I care about badly,” Ryan said in an IG video after the incident. “I disrespected myself and my family.” Henry added that he made “toxic choices while in dark places” and that “I hurt a lot of people and I embarrassed a lot of people. We’re dealing with the consequences of my actions.”
In season 7 his attitude has changed. He says it was time for that friendship to end.
“Yes, I was in a dark place and people don’t understand trauma bonding which led me to that situation with her. It allows for things to happen that normally shouldn’t happen. But that was a friendship that needed to be ended and you’ll see on season 7 how that ended up happening. For me it ain’t about reconciliation any more. I have never been more relieved to have that person away from me. That wasn’t a good friendship. At that time I was depressed about a lot of stuff that allowed it to happen. And with him, I had a bad toxic friendship around me that had to go.”
In another spoiler alert, he hints that in he and his ex Rachel might be working on reconciliation.
Just 4 years ago Charmaine was recovering from the pain of sleeping with Don and feelin’ some kind of way after he made it clear she wasn’t anything but a side chick flaunting his wifey and baby mama in her face. She was just managing Ryan’s shop and wasn’t even a tat artist. Over those years, Charmaine leveled up owning her own successful shop 2nd City and becoming a popular radio jock on WGCI in Chicago. But she spills to Jazmyn, “There was a lot of beef on the way and we’ll be seeing new faces in season 7.”
Co manager Jess is one that was told to kick rocks. “Jess is in London. She’s not coming back. It was super bye girl,” she tells EURweb “Spotlight.” “And Jess ain’t the only one.”
“Look, I am the owner of 2nd City Inc. so if you beefing with me, I ain’t got nothing for you if that’s the route you wanna take. All of that unfolds on this season” Charmaine adds.
Charmaine is still grappling with the pain and tragedy of her father recently passing away and losing her mom in 2019.
“I’ve been so so busy I haven’t been able to focus on myself, ” she shares. “I’m going to take some time for myself. Time to fully grieve. But I’m just so grateful to have my mom and dad in a different light. It’s really hard but I know they are with me.”
The brightest spot in her is hubby Neek.
“Marriage life is amazing I tell Neek every day how fortunate I am to have him as my husband. He’s like my best friend. We laugh together. We cry together. He gives me advice when I really need it even if it’s hard for me to take it. And he holds me accountable. What I love about him most he has morals. His character means something to him. He’s teaching me a lot. There are good men out there.”
Her advice to the single ladies? ” If you’re in a situation where you’re not benefitting nothing from it but some good peen. If it comes from a toxic situation it’s not worth it. The best time I had in my life was when I stepped away from men to focus on building myself up. It was hard. But stay focused on yourself until the right man comes along,” she counsels.
The show courageously spotlights mental health and Black men. The second leading cause of death among black men is suicide. Ryan talked openly in season 6 about struggling with severe depression and often feeling like he didn’t want to live. He says he never really dealt with the trauma of his sister and niece being murdered and him having to find them and that continues in season 7.
“My sister had an ex who just wouldn’t let go and ended up taking both of their lives. It’s unfortunate that my family had to go through that. It’s important that their death not be in vain and it can help people.”
He went to the apartment after his mother discovered the bodies and that still haunts him.
“It’s worse than what you see in the movies,” he describes to Jaz. “You know how you can stomach blood in movies? It’s not like that when you go and see those dried up puddles and know that blood provided life for your family member. It’s 12 years later and I’m just starting now to deal with all the grief. I felt I should I have been there for her. I have to deal with that guilt,” he tells EURweb Spotlight.
In season 7, “You’ll see the things that we start to uncover and unravel. Many of the bad situations I’ve been in is because of that unreleased trauma. You don’t feel like you deserve to be happy,”
As for whether he’s single, he tells the ladies even if he is, “don’t slide up in my DMs. Just because I’m a man don’t mean I want to be objectified and want all that attention.” OK I see you Ryan.
The new season also focuses on Phor becoming a father and Don don dealing with a heart attack
More tea, who’s been kicked to the curb, Haiti, mama-in-law beef and Charmaine on how she & hubby met & he locked her down are in the full convo in the video above.
Interview/article by Jazmyn Summers. Follow her @jaztalk1 on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook. And subscribe to her YouTube channel. Video editing by www.patrickhousefilms.com
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