*“Love & Marriage: Huntsville” reaches its 200th episode this Saturday on OWN. For original cast members Kimmi Scott and LaTisha Scott, the milestone still feels hard to believe.
The OWN hit is having one of its best runs in years. It recently won the African American Film Critics Association award for Outstanding Unscripted Series. The current season is pacing 29 percent ahead of last season.
Kimmi and LaTisha spoke with EURweb about the milestone, their growth on camera, and what keeps fans coming back. Neither woman saw this coming when cameras first started rolling in Huntsville, Alabama.
“The honest answer is no. All of this is very surreal from beginning to end, in all fairness,” Kimmi said. “All my things were nursing and taking care of people. So this is a blessing.”
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LaTisha agreed. “When the show first started, I was just a good old stay-at-home mom taking care of my three babies,” she said. “So we had no idea we would be, what, seven years later, 200-plus episodes. Like, little Huntsville, Alabama? No idea.”
Kimmi credits the show’s staying power to the real friendship among the original cast.
“We weren’t pre-plucked and pre-planned and shoved together,” she said. “The core six that started the show, Melody and Martell, in the inception, we were friends. We hung out, we did stuff. I think the fans, even when we didn’t get along, they just had this little soft spot for the core six, and so do I.”
LaTisha noted that the husbands also set the series apart.
“I think our guys played a major role in the show because they were so outspoken, and you have these guys that pride themselves on being providers and protectors of this Black family,” she said. “I think that was another thing that really set us apart from the other reality shows.”
Both women say the show has changed their lives, at home and in business. LaTisha said reality TV tests a marriage but can’t break a strong one.
“It made me realize how much I love my husband,” she said. “As long as you have a strong foundation in your marriage and your relationship, you’re going to be okay. It’s going to test you for sure. And if there’s any type of issues that you’re having that you’re trying to hide, reality TV is gonna put a light to it.”
The spotlight has also brought new customers to Blaque Cigar Lounge, the Huntsville business LaTisha runs with her husband, Marsau.
“Everybody, when they come to Huntsville, it used to be the Space and Rocket Center, NASA. Now we get a lot of people to come to Huntsville; they stop by Blaque Cigar Lounge,” she said. “Like, we get people every week, every weekend from different parts of the state here to visit Blaque because they’ve seen ‘Love & Marriage.'”
Kimmi said the show also pushed her and her husband, Maurice, to grow.
“Maurice and I have subsequently been in counseling. And that’s something that we probably should have done before this TV show,” she shared. “Anybody who knows me knows my filter is real small.”
Looking ahead, Kimmi is ready for more. “I want 200 more,” she said. “It takes the good, bad and the ugly to make a TV show. I really want the fans to lean into some of the conversations that are had and look deeper than just the person that you like. Sometimes you can be right and still not be liked.”
The landmark episode, “Arionne Curry-On,” finds Arionne sitting down with Martell and his mother. Marsau, Tisha, Lynn and Sylvia speculate about where Martell and Destiny stand. Nell weighs a hard decision about her father’s future. Marsau also confronts Tisha about the state of their marriage.
Watch EURweb’s full interview with Kimmi Scott and LaTisha Scott below.
The 200th episode of “Love & Marriage: Huntsville” airs Saturday, Nov. 7 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on OWN.
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