Kandi Burruss appears classy and elegant on the cover of this month’s ESSENCE magazine. She looks conservative in a black and white print dress and an oversized white double breasted coat, with no skin or cleavage on display.
Inside the issue, the 42-year-old reality TV star and entrepreneur discusses motherhood (she’s a mother of 2) and how public betrayal made her rethink her role on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
On the frailty of fame:
“It’s a very humbling moment when your songs aren’t on the radio anymore. I didn’t appreciate what that success was when we had it. I remember feeling like, when I get things back the way I want them to be, I will never take anything for granted again.”
On how public betrayal made her rethink doing RHOA:
“…I honestly had a lot of times when I just cried. There were moments when I really wanted to say, ‘You know what? I’m done with this!’ I was vindicated in front of millions, which helped me to feel comfortable again.”
Comparing single motherhood to her current blended family:
“…as Riley got older, I saw that there were things she did miss, not having her dad really there. Now this is even better. We’re a whole family—we’ve got Riley, Kaela [Tucker’s 21-year-old daughter from a previous relationship] and Ace [the couple’s 21-month-old son.]”
On “grinding like she’s broke” and building an empire:
“Some of us are doers and some of us are just dreamers. I’m both. I’m trying to build so that I can set up my children to have great futures. All of these different companies that we have, I would love for them to be passed down from generation to generation. I want my kids to be leaders.”
