‘Love & Marriage: Huntsville’s’ Kimmi Scott on Maurice’s Support Amid Her Breast Cancer Diagnosis, Martell’s Regrets, Scott Family Drama, Huntsville’s Growth, and More (Exclusive)

Love & Marriage: Huntsville is back. There’s a reason the reality show is OWN’s No. 1 rated program, and Kimmi Scott is a huge part of its appeal. When the show first began, it followed three successful Black couples making moves in residential and commercial real estate. Their friendships interlocked into business with a philanthropic effort, The Comeback Group, designed to help build up the north side of the city. But one couple’s divorce and friendship woes put the group – and their relationships with one another – at a standstill.

Season 5 premieres on April 8 and chronicles Kimmi as she finished up her chemotherapy treatments. Last year, her emotional breast cancer diagnosis was revealed, and she took it on like a champion. This season, she’s excited for what’s to come, keeping a positive outlook, and has her husband Maurice and their sons by their side. With the added support of their friendship circle, the sky is the limit. But drama is never far.

Kimmi is the only woman on the cast with cordial relationships with everyone, as Melody Shari remains estranged from most of them. Melody’s ex, Martell Holt, is finally expressing regrets for the way his infidelity tore apart his family, despite currently dating RHOA star, Sheree Whitfield. 

Meanwhile, Kimmi’s sister-in-law LaTisha and her husband Marsau have their own drama in business and family. With Tisha’s mom no longer on the show arguing with cast members, her cousin Keke Jabar has taken her place, and there’s ill feelings on each side. Kimmi remains a sounding board through it all. 

Ahead of the Season 5 premiere, PopCulture.com spoke with Kimmi about how sharing her cancer journey with the world has provided healing she never thought was possible. She also dished on her co-stars’ drama, overcoming family issues, why Huntsville is the place to be, and much more.

PC: I am really excited with where the show is going this season versus where it’s been in the past few seasons, just as someone who has watched the show from the beginning. So it’s really refreshing to see things progress in this way. And especially with your storyline. So last season, obviously, you really shined a light on breast cancer by being vulnerable and opening up about your diagnosis. And you received, from what we know that you’ve discussed, so much support from the fans. How have the fans’ support aided in your recovery process?

KS: It was huge for me and completely unexpected. Completely unexpected. I can’t even tell you the amount of things that people have sent me. The amount of DMs, the amount of actual mail, cards, flowers, shirts, pajamas, creams, oils, potions. Little things like, “Put this on your boobs. Put it in your bra.”

PC: They’re not sending you pajamas? Oh, that’s a good one. I love that.

KS: Yes, they have. Pajamas, everything… I mean, if you can name it, I’ve probably gotten it over the last six months. And a lot of it is very timely, because… You know, every day’s not a good day. Some days are better than others. And as much as I try to keep a positive outlook, some days I’m just kind of in a funk. And they always seem to come very timely – the gifts, the cards, the shout-outs. People will email me and tell me that they got their first mammogram because they watched the show. Or they’re taking their mom to their mammogram. Or, them and/or a family member is a breast cancer survivor.

All of those things have really helped me bridge the gap in some of the days when I just haven’t really been feeling my best. So the outpouring of the fans has been great. And I literally wish I could meet every single one and say thank you for everything that they poured into me over the last year.

PC: Well, you look amazing, and your positivity always shines through. It’s always needed on reality television, especially. So, thank you for always being a light in that way. You’ve had a huge support system in your own personal circle of family and friends, especially with your husband, Maurice. Now, we know that Maurice has gotten some slack in the past few seasons, for how he’s sometimes shown up or complained in your marriage. But amid your diagnosis, fans have really applauded him for the way in which he’s shown up for you. So, how did the diagnosis impact your marriage and maybe the way that Maurice has kind of shifted a bit, from your perspective?

KS: So the thing about Maurice is that, Maurice is going to be Maurice. And so, whatever snippet that you all have been able to glean from our relationship… I get the obstacles that we’ve had to face, but there was never a doubt in my mind that Maurice was going to show up for me. It was never a doubt in my mind, because I knew who I married.

And so, at the end of the day, it just solidifies our relationship, and my decision in marrying Maurice. Maurice has the biggest heart of any person that I know. And so yeah, on days when we’re dealing with an obstacle, y’all may not see the heart, because it’s kind of tucked way, way down. But it has definitely solidified… I can’t even say it’s brought us closer, because I love that dude. I do. I love him. And he showed up exactly how I knew he would show up.

https://youtu.be/E3XRA5Ao0Yg

My concern was that, I didn’t want him sad, in the moment, showing up. And so ,for me, the way that he showed up with the positivity that I needed and the encouragement that I needed every day is just what I needed. Like, Jesus sent me him, y’all. Y’all just don’t know.

I’m telling you, every marriage isn’t perfect and our certainly isn’t. But there was nothing about this life event that he wasn’t able to handle. And I can appreciate that to my very core.

PC:  Well, it’s definitely been beautiful to see. Now, like I told you, I’ve seen three episodes. But outside of obviously taking viewers on your journey with your health this season, what else are we going to see from you guys’ personal storyline, outside of what we see with the core six and the new full-time cast members that we have? Because I did see you… It was on HGTV, correct?

KS: Correct.

PC: So I saw you on HGTV, and I loved seeing that side of you, because I’m just an HGTV buff anyway. So can you tell us a bit more about what you may be doing, or may be looking to do in the future in regards to other projects like that, in terms of your real estate career?

KS: So, I really enjoyed HGTV. I enjoyed House Hunters a great deal because that’s what I do, and I like that aspect. Obviously, with my most recent diagnosis, I’ve kind of taken a step back from active real estate, like the front-facing portion of real estate just because I need to be in good health to be out and about showing houses and that kind of thing. I did talk to them about doing another episode of House Hunters. But again, all of that has to kind of take a back burner until all things are in order.

So Maurice and I both try to keep our irons in the fire to do a little something here or there. As far as the show is concerned, I can never really tell you what exactly you’re going to see. I know what we film, but I don’t know what makes the cut. I don’t know what if they’re like, “Yeah, no, we’re not going to show that.” But at the end of the day, I am definitely getting back into real estate on both ends, as far as the front-facing real estate and the title company that we’re starting to open here. So I’ve been actively working diligently trying to get the title company up and running.

Our nonprofit – I’ve been working diligently with that. And so, we have like three annual events under that umbrella that we would like to do. So we have a couple of those coming up that we’re supposed to be doing. We did the Bowling for Boobies in October for breast cancer awareness. And so, we want to keep along that path with the nonprofit.

And then, of course, Maurice’s United Legal Team, his law office. We’re still working on getting that consumer law aspect and Credit One aspect worked into our repertoire.

PC: Now, before we get into your very entertaining co-stars, I wanted to talk a little bit about Huntsville as a whole. Because I think that when the show first premiered, everybody was like, “What do we need to see in Huntsville? What is going on in Huntsville?” But I’ve been doing some research, and it’s really showing that Huntsville is becoming a booming popping city. And obviously, the show has a lot to do with that. So, can you talk a little bit about Huntsville’s growth, and why you fell in love with the city? Because you’re a Detroit person. You’re from Detroit, right?

KS:  No, I’m actually from Baltimore. My husband’s from Detroit.

PC: I am just moved from Baltimore City myself, so I can imagine how slow it may be going from East Coast that far down south. But, there are a lot of great things going on in Huntsville now. Would you like to dish on that?

KS:  So it’s funny, your path is kind of my path. I grew up in Baltimore as an adult. I kind of lived in Silver Spring for a little while, actually. And I lived in North Carolina. I actually had my son at Duke University, a matter of fact, before I moved back down to Huntsville. But here’s the thing, I like the notion that Huntsville’s up and booming, and it’s growing, and it’s doing this and that. But y’all were sleeping on Huntsville a long time ago. Literally, y’all were sleeping on Huntsville a long time ago.

Part of the draw, even for the show, was that at that moment, Huntsville had started to project into being the largest city in Alabama. So, it was already on that trajectory when the show came along. So we just helped boost it up a little bit, kind of push it along a little bit. And, I like it. I didn’t fall in love with it the first time I came, to be clear, because it was very different from living in Maryland. You know, stuff closed at 9:00. The little street lights that start blinking at 10:00. You know, stuff like that. You can’t even get nothing to eat when you leave the club.

PC: No, after like 7:00 PM, that’s it. It’s crazy.

KS: Right. Even now… I’ve been here a long time, and even now, if we get finished filming late, I may say, “Babe, let’s grab something to eat.” And we’re scrolling through our phone trying to find something that doesn’t close at 9:00. And so, there are some drawbacks that we’re still working on as a smaller city.

But the things that made me love it, in all honesty, one is the financial bang for the buck that you get just by being here. So obviously, coming from the East Coast, I took a pay cut. But the pros outweighed the cons as far as my property taxes, what I was paying for daycare, what I was paying for school, that kind of thing. It far outweighed, financially, the real estate here. You literally just get more bang for the buck.

And for me, I was really kind of tired of the rat race. I was tired of taking 45 minutes to get to work, and it’s only 10 miles away from my house. And anywhere I wanted to go, I had to fight that 9:00 to 5:00 traffic, and go back and forth. So for me, I was ready for the middle ground. And I think that’s why I enjoyed North Carolina too, because it was a little step down from Baltimore as well.

But for Huntsville, for Kimmi, it just offered everything that I wanted. And I wanted to raise my son, I wanted to stack the odds in his favor as far as being successful. And that’s not to say anybody on the East Coast or whatever, is not going to be successful. But as a single mom, ot’s a very big difference.

As a single African-American woman raising an African-American male, I wanted my baby to live. I wanted him to have an opportunity to see the world and succeed. And at this juncture, even in hindsight…sometimes you do that Monday morning quarterback of “I could’ve, should’ve, would’ve.” There’s nothing I would’ve done differently. I think my son was on the right trajectory and is going insanely to the right place, the place that I wanted him to be. As far as getting his college degree, getting his education, spreading his wings, and getting his house. All of those things, in my opinion, are how your parents set you up for success. And a lot of me moving, whether I loved Huntsville at the time or not, was primarily in regards for setting my son up for success.

Now that I’m here, I just like it. I like it because I like the pace of life. If I want to do something spectacular and hang out, or go see a Major League game, I can shoot to Atlanta, or I could shoot to Tennessee and watch the Titans. So if you are desiring that kind of thing, you can shoot down the road and get a lot of that. But, I’m comfortable. I like the little slow-paced life. I like this season of Spring when the farmer’s markets are coming out, you can go and get some fresh stuff to eat. That kind thing turns me on.

So, I love this environment, and I love what we’re becoming. I love that they’re building up. But we’re not trying to keep up with Atlanta, we’re Huntsville. We don’t have to keep up with Atlanta. So, I like exactly where we are right now as far as Huntsville and the growth.

PC: Well, you did a great job. We’ve seen your son on the show, so we know he’s doing his thing. So, let’s get into the drama. There have been a lot of discussions from the episodes that I saw, and obviously, as being a fan of the show – you and Mel have a great relationship and there have been a lot of discussions about how her past friendships have maybe gone array depending on how people may view it. But as I mentioned, you two have always appeared to be the stable ones of the bunch. And some people have complained about the way that she goes about taking space, especially when filming is done. What is your perception on that?

KS: I don’t know if I have a perception on it [laughs]. Like, if she wanted to take some space, I’m fine with that. Listen, what I’m saying is, by now, if y’all don’t know she wants to take some after the show, then that’s shame on you. Because we’ve seen it, I would say, three years in a row now where that little bubble of space that she desires seems to infringe upon her relationships. And if that’s how she wants to set up her personal space, then who am I to argue with that? I mean, I don’t think I can say anything about her personal space. That’s her choice.

Now, if she sees that it’s affecting her relationships and she cares about the relationships, then she might think about making some space in the bubble. I don’t know. But what I’m saying is, literally, since season one, we have seen her take her space after the show. And so, me personally, it doesn’t work me into a frenzy. I’m not going to hunt for you. I’m not going to hunt for you. If you need your space, you need your space. And when she’s ready to come out her space, she’ll look you up. So for Kimmi, it doesn’t affect Kimmi as it has maybe some of the other cast members, because I watch the show.

PC:  You’re probably sitting there like, “What is the big deal?”

KS: Right! I watch the show. And listen, maybe the first time with her and Tisha, that might have come as a surprise because it was the first time. And so she was like, “T, I just need my time. I need to back away. Surprise.” Then with Destiny, “I need my time.” I’m just saying, after a while there’s a pattern, and nobody should be surprised anymore.

PC: Now, speaking of Mel, this season, the Mel and Martell saga continues in a different direction. But, we see him seemingly living and reeling with regret. And that’s something that you notice, and that you and Maurice kind of talk about throughout the season. So, what is your take on Martell’s emotional journey when it comes to the way in which he’s handled this divorce?

KS: Well, I’ve never been divorced, so I can’t rightly say how a person should respond in regards to losing their family. I can imagine that it’s a tough situation to be in when your actions have caused the severance of your family, especially if you weren’t completely over your wife. I think he struggles with loving his family. In his head, I think Martell’s a family kind of guy, and he likes that family life, and he misses that. And so, I think that makes it difficult for him. I think there are times when he thinks about wanting to be back in that situation. And then I think there are times when he’s torn between moving on and moving in a different direction – because Mel isn’t in that same head space. 

But, we’re girls, we’re ladies. We’ve had breakups, we’ve had college relationships. I don’t know if everybody would say it compares to being married, but I think all of us have gone through a sense of turmoil when a relationship ends. Trying to figure out, “Do you go back? Do you not go back? What did I do?” Especially if you feel like it was your fault.

So a part of my heart understands because I’ve been in breakups. But, I think he’s torn. I think some days he wants his family back, and then some days he wants to move on.

PC: Now, you’re always the most sensible one on the show. You really keep a level head, which we appreciate because reality TV is so void of that. And it’s really shown up in the way that you handle your relationships, especially in your relationship with Tisha. And I’m sure that’s difficult, because it’s your sister-in-law/friend, and then you guys work together. That’s a big mashup, and we’ve really seen you guys go through your ups and downs, but where do you stand currently?

KS: Tisha and I, we’re in a good space. We’re in a good space. Like you said, we’re sisters, we’re friends, we work together, all those kinds of things. The honest truth of it is that there were things that came along during the course of the show that she didn’t really agree with, for me. And it made her feel a way. And in the way that she handled it, or I handled it, it made me feel a way. So there are definitely going to be obstacles that we face going forward because nobody is really in a place to say… I guess we’ve just agreed to disagree on some stuff. It’s not been a situation of, “Oh, I was so wrong, girl. Oh, I’m so wrong. Let me just say I’m sorry and move on.” It hasn’t been that. It just hasn’t been. She’s pretty much committed to how she felt about some of the situations, and I’ve been pretty much committed to how I’ve felt about some of the situations.

However, I love her to her core. I literally do. I’ve never done anything to any person with the intent to harm them, ever. And so, for that, I’ll continually apologize. Like, continually apologize. But, I don’t know, at the end of the day, I’m not always sure if it’ll always get back to exactly what it was, because I think she’s felt harmed. And so, it’s sometimes a measure of, “I can forgive you, but I’m just going to rock different.”

And so, I think that situation for us, she felt like she saw some of me that she was surprised by. And I guess I felt like I saw some of her that I was surprised by. So everybody got a little taste of reality.

PC:  So I guess she won’t be moving onto the Scott Manor property still?

KS: No, ma’am. I’m committed to that. I done told y’all a long time ago. Listen, at the end of the day, they might not be moving on Scott Manor. It’s taking forever.

PC: You guys have a new friend of the show, so it’s like the Chateau Shereé.

KS:  It is. It is.

PC: Now, we don’t see Tisha’s infamous mom, Miss Wanda, on the show this season from what I’ve watched, or from the trailer at all. Are you happy about that, considering some of the chaos that’s transpired with her being on the show?

KS: No, I’m never happy when somebody doesn’t get to get on. I think it was circumstances. And I think a lot of people played a role in all those circumstances, quite frankly. However, as an adult, I think all of us are responsible for our own actions at the end of the day. So regardless of what antagonists might have been in your world, I think as grownups, we’re all responsible for our own actions and the results of those actions. So no, I’m not happy. I like Wanda. Wanda is Wanda. Wanda made the show, because Wanda’s Wanda.

PC: Now, Miss Wanda may be going, but Keke is here for this season. So there is some family drama. And you have already been very vocal about what you feel about what has happened with Keke and Tisha. So, what are you hoping happens between them this season?

KS: Listen, I want what they want. That’s a real simple answer for me. And I’m saying that sincerely. Because they’ve acknowledged several times that their situation has gone back and forth. They argue, they make up. They argue, they make up. And as friends, we get stuck in the middle of that somewhere. And so, I honestly want what they want. If they want to move forward and everybody just be amicable in the same space, I want that. If they want to be besties and get back to hanging out and doing what they used to do, I want that.

I don’t have a dog in the fight when it comes to them. I’m in it for the care and safety of my friends and family. So anything that would affect the care or safety of anyone I love, then I have an opinion on that.

However, just the bickering back and forth about, he says, she says, who said what? I want what they want. I want them to be content. I don’t even know if it’s happy, I want them to be content in their space.

PC: Has there ever been a time when you thought about not doing the show because of all of the stuff that comes with it?

KS: Absolutely. I think the first season… I did fine first season. I was cool first season. I think the second season, I started to feel like, “Hmm.” Because I felt like the show was kind of turning from what was presented to us and what we had presented, to be honest. The Comeback Group and doing residential housing, and commercial housing – I had filmed, several times, showing properties, selling properties, closing deals, and none of it made TV. And so, I was feeling a way about that and I felt a little bamboozled.

And then, on top of that, I felt like producers were in angst about drama. And so I was just like, “Okay, I thought we was Love & Marriage. Why everything got to be drama?”

PC:  Love & Marriage: Huntsville. We were showing what we were doing in Huntsville. 

KS: Right. So yes, absolutely, I thought about it, and I’ve talked to my husband. And at the end of the day, we wrote down pros and cons, and the pros outweighed the cons. You know, the platform that is afforded to do some of the things that we wanted to do, especially in our community, in the philanthropy aspect of it all. The pros definitely outweigh the cons.

And even with my diagnosis, I absolutely considered stopping, because I didn’t know if that was a side of me that I wanted to portray. Just like you said, when we started, “You’re always upbeat. You’re this, you’re that.” I didn’t know what I was going to be in a moment of a major life change like that.

So those are probably the two times. After the second season, and then when I got my diagnosis were two times that I considered not going on with the show.

PC: Well, you mentioned philanthropy, and we see that there’s a tease about a Comeback Group meeting. So, are you guys reunited as The Comeback Group?

KS: I’m going to let that tease, tease. I’m going to let it do what it’s supposed to do. I’m going to let it do what it’s supposed to do.