BET aired the new reality TV series that offers an interesting twist hosted by actor and artist, Bow Wow. After Happily Ever After brings ex-couples together to aid them in finding a new love. Love and Hip Hop: New York stars Peter Gunz, Amina Buddafly, and Tara Wallace join the cast as exes and daters. With their turbulent relationship being televised on the popular franchise, viewers see the trio in a new light with new goals. JaGurlTV spoke with Gunz, Buddafly, and Wallace about their experiences on set.
What was it like staying in the home with people with similar goals?
Amina – Exciting for me. First moving into the house I was anxious to see who was even there because we had no idea. It was all positive vibes from the very beginning. Everyone was really cool, most of these people we met for the first time. We ended up all getting along, it was amazing.
Tara – There was a lot of anxiety going into it. We knew very little about what was happening so that created a little bit of anxiety and because of that, it brought us closer together. In the house in general, I think we all looked out for each other’s well-being. Very mature crowd, and it posed different issues that we would help each other get through. It was a lot of fun.
Peter – I feel like it’s unbelievable the group that they picked, we all bonded so incredibly well. Outside of the show, I speak to everyone every day. These are my friends, my brothers, and my sisters. They couldn’t have picked a better bunch. If nothing else came from this show, they gave me a new family and that’s how tight I am with these people. It’s incredible. I never thought I would’ve gotten along with everyone like that. I love each and every one of those people I was in the house with.
Amina – See that’s what I love about the show. People think reality tv the first thing that comes to mind is people fighting. This show was so entertaining and no one was fighting. It was an interesting experiment.
Peter – It gets a little testy.
Tara – We’re pretty much in this house away from all the things that are familiar to us like our computers our phones and you are forced to interact 44 hours a day with someone. And if you’re not interacting, that means you’re sleeping. It gets interesting, it gets juicy to see people’s response to this situation and how people begin to explode in ways that are uncomfortable and ways that they can no longer suppress and they have to say something so that was quite interesting. It was like a battle of the sexes and us having to understand each other as men and women and where we stand in this situation. I will tell you the women, we held each other down. There’s no one guy that would pick on one girl without having to pick on all of us and it was the same with the guys. It was like a crazy family reunion.
What surprised you the most while filming?
Tara – That I was going to find someone. Just the idea of being put into a situation where I would like someone. It was just the possibility of finding love was quite interesting in this [48-hour] filming, sleeping in a room with your ex in my case my ex, and his ex in the same house.
Did you discover anything new about your exes while trying to find that perfect match?
Peter – I found out that Tara can date someone opposite of me. She doesn’t have a type. Amina was more concerned about not only someone that I liked but she was concerned about someone that would be okay around her, Tara, and all the kids. So it was more than just finding someone that Peter likes. That would’ve been too easy for her.
Amina – One thing that I learned is that Peter can actually be honest if he wants to, but that’s if you make him understand that it’s going to hurt someone.
Peter – I didn’t lie this show. I was very honest.
Tara – I wasn’t focused on Peter, I was focused on myself. I just wanted to stay focused on my own goals here.
Have you discovered anything about yourself?
Tara – First of all, I’ve dated but I really haven’t dated where I’ve given a lot of myself just because I don’t feel like I’m young and in my 20s and just frolicking around the city with a lot of time. I have limited time, I have children. So to be in a situation and try to make the hard decisions. Sometimes as women, we’ll continue to go out with a guy because we don’t want to say no or hurt their feelings. And I feel like I didn’t have time to waste. So whatever was on my mind, I just bit the bullet and had the hard conversations at all times because I don’t wanna lead anyone on and I don’t want to be led on. I try to lead with honesty and seeing does this person fit in my life. And when those questions would come up I would just have those tough conversations right off the bet.
Peter – I think the hardest thing for Tara and Amina is explaining that they have a son in their 50s. I come with the deal.
Were there any difficulties that you faced while filming?
Amina – For me it was more personal cause I was struggling, I actually fell into a few-day depression because I didn’t have my instruments. I’m a musician. And I learned about myself that I would never ever ever again go anywhere for 3 weeks and not bring at least my guitar because it drove me crazy and I didn’t know it would affect me that much. And obviously, my kids, not having them. I don’t ever be away from them longer than a few days so that was hard. It really weighed on me a lot to where I didn’t want to talk. I think around Day 10 it was really hard for a few days, but then I got focused again and remembered why I was there.
Peter – I was traumatized on the show offset. One of the cast members almost drowned and I had to dive in and save them and it was very uncomfortable for me. I couldn’t focus. I had to even find someone to get some pills for anxiety which made me sleepy. They kind of played on it a little bit in a way to where I was just sleeping but the truth was I was just fucked up. A cast member almost drowned, I got in there, pushed him to the edge, saved him and it mentally f***** me up a little bit. But it showed me that people always look at the person that almost had the tragedy and they worry about them when I was on the other side of that and I really couldn’t pull it together for a few days. That kind of f***** me up but I pulled through.
Tune in to After Happily Ever After on BET every Wednesday to see even more exes take on the challenge of helping their former lovers find love again! Check out the first episode to witness Peter, Amina, and Tara navigate through this new experience and see if Peter and Tara find new love.
