Former Basketball Wives: LA star Draya Michelle is back on reality television. The Pennsylvania native’s new reality series is now available for streaming on the Zeus network. This marks Michele’s first dabble into reality television since she quit the longstanding VH1 series in 2015 after five seasons of battling it out with her catty co-stars. Her new show, Doses of Draya, joins a host of popular shows on the streaming service, including The Real Black Chyna, One Mo Chance, Baddies ATL, and Joesline’s Cabaret.
Does of Draya was first announced in August 2020. The show gives Michele’s fans an insight into her life in LA where she juggles being a single mother of two boys and various successful businesses. Michele owns multiple brands, including Mint Swim and Fine Ass Girls. Mint Swim is a million-dollar swimwear line that Michele invested $12K of her own money. She’s also been a brand ambassador for Hypnotic and has several acting credits under her belt.
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Michele was a key cast member on the show since its inception in 2011. She started out as the underdog, with her co-stars shaming her for her background as an exotic dancer, labeling her as a groupie, and questioning her parenting style. But by the first season’s end, she was a fan favorite and her popularity only grew as she continued on the show.
But despite the fame, Michele says the drama on the show became too much to deal with. She wanted more and to be taken seriously as a businesswoman. In fact, she says she regrets her time on the show overall, telling E! News’ Just the Sip in 2019: “Basketball Wives has this stereotype of these angry Black women and I feel like more than just Black people watch it. People who aren’t familiar with Black culture take that and they think that is what they are. I feel really, really bad that I was a part of that and contributed to that. Black women, we’re queens. We’re so much more than arguing with each other over stupid stuff. I never want people think I’m this aggressive Black woman because I’m not.”
Luckily, her brand hasn’t stopped growing. In a 2017 interview with Refinery29, Michele let it be known that reality television can actually help and not harm one’s career…if they do things the right way. “I can actually remember my last episode on TV,” she says. “On Instagram, I had 2 million followers total. I’ve been off of TV for three-and-a-half years now, and I am at 6 million.” So, no, being on reality TV didn’t hurt her career. If anything, it helped immensely.
