Earlier this week, BV posted an interview with Real Housewives of Atlanta cast member Cynthia Bailey. The beauty, who graces the cover of UPTOWN’s Weddings and Travel issue, spoke candidly about her summer nuptials to entrepreneur Peter Thomas. Anyone who follows the show knows all about the investment Cynthia made in Thomas’ now defunct restaurant venture. Cynthia dished her side of the story declaring, “I don’t know when I am getting that money back, but he’s going to have to give me something.”
We heart Cynthia and Peter, so it only seemed proper that both parties had the chance to address the seemingly touchy subject. Peter most certainly wanted to clarify a few points and set the record straight. In an exclusive with UPTOWN, the self-proclaimed “reckless mouth” didn’t hold back on a number of subjects, including marriage, the ex-factor, and how he really feels about the rest of the RHOA cast. In his words…
ON THE MONEY-LENDING INCIDENT As much as I appreciate what she’s done, it probably came across to everybody that she put up all this money to help me build my restaurant. No. Initially, she put up $10,000. Uptown [Restaurant and Lounge] cost several hundred thousand dollars—$10,000 couldn’t buy the silverware and the plates at Uptown.
So it’s not like she’s supported my vision and gave me money to build a restaurant ’cuz that’s not what happened. And I want to clear that up. I didn’t agree with her putting that out there to the public. But she’s on a reality show and she’s a new jack to it, so she might feel as if that’s what she needed to do. I didn’t agree to that. But I didn’t oppose either, especially if she’s telling the truth. She has the right to say it. But I don’t want the viewers to leave with the impression, “Oh, sh-t. He got with this model girl and she’s putting up all this money to support his sh-t.” That’s not the way it is.
SHE CAN’T TELL ME NO If I need her to do something for me again, she better step up. That’s part of her duty as a wife. Because she’s never gonna call on me and I say no—never. It’s my duty as a husband to provide whatever support to [help] her go forward. The show that I’m on is called Atlanta Housewives, not Atlanta Husbands. I’m not getting paid to be on the show. But I have to do it to support my wife. So I just gotta bite my lip, swallow my spit, and call it a day.
IS CYNTHIA GETTING HER MONEY BACK? If that’s the last thing I do before I die, I’ll make sure that she gets her money back.
WITH INTEREST? [Laughs] It doesn’t matter to me, because I never want any woman to run around saying what they’ve done for me. That’s just the kind of guy I am. I think a man’s job, when he gets with a woman, is to be the provider. If the relationship goes south, I don’t want things I gave you back. I’m a hustler—I know how to flip it. I know how to get back on my feet. A lot of women out there don’t know how to do that. All [they] got is a 9-to-5 check coming. They don’t know how to flip it. They aren’t risk takers like men are. You feel me? You know, most women. Some women are. I know for a fact that Miss Bailey isn’t. She’s not that kind of girl. If she has $100K in the bank, she would like to look at it knowing that it’s there. But me, I’m gonna invest it ’cause I want it to grow. That’s how we’re different.
She doesn’t really go into a relationship for money. She’s had a lot of opportunities. A lot of major players have come to Cynthia Bailey, but she’s the type of person who can’t do it if she’s not emotionally into you. And that’s one of the most attractive things about her to me.
IN CASE IT DOESN’T WORK OUT… Cynthia’s been independent for 11 years. She never lived with [actor and model] Leon; they just had a baby together. And she [believes] that whatever [she] makes, [she] has to hold on to it, because she’s responsible for not just herself, but also her daughter [Noelle]. Even though I’m there now, she still has the mentality that, “If it doesn’t work out with this Negro, for one reason or another, I would still like to have my money because it’s just me and my daughter.”
I do respect that what’s hers belongs to her. I have nothing to do with it. And what’s mine is mine. We have a prenup. But if I build something and she was by my side while I was building it, that’s definitely for us.
LOVE THE ONE YOU’RE WITH… I wasn’t even one to get married. The same way she [Cynthia] didn’t want to get married, I didn’t want to marry nobody. I was dating this one celebrity and read in People magazine that she said she wanted to marry Peter Thomas. So I went left on her.
But Cynthia is just a cool person. She’s someone I can live with. You feel me? I can live with the mistakes, and I can live with the ups, and I can live with the downs. And I never really, to be honest with you, felt that way before. So that’s why I’m in it. So let’s see what happens, because it gets more interesting as it goes along.
ON ANDY COHEN AND THE OTHER HOUSEWIVES I say anything I f—ing feel, because I don’t feel I need to answer to anybody but God. People are going on Andy Cohen’s show and being all careful—I don’t give a f-ck. If they ever put me on that sh–, I’m gonna say exactly how I feel, and that’s what people wanna hear. If he asks, “What do you think about the guys in Atlanta wearing heels?” I’m gonna say, “That sh-t is not cute.”
If they say, “What do you think about the other Housewives?” I’m gonna say, “I can’t stand Phaedra’s ass. I think Kim is crazy as f–k. Nene has a big-ass mouth, okay? And Sheree’s not cute! She thinks she’s cute, but she’s not cute.” And this is ON the record. The only one I like is Kandi, and she’s too soft. That’s why she got played with Kim. And that’s how I truly feel. “
MODELS AND BOTTLES I’m opening Bar One [in March, 2011], which is gonna be incredible. You know how Cindy Crawford’s husband got Whiskey Bar? He does extremely well with it—he’s got probably around 50 or 60 of them now. In our community, we don’t really have a lifestyle piece like that. You know, a very upscale lifestyle piece for 25 and older. So I’m starting Bar One. I’m definitely doing it here [in Atlanta], and I want to branch off to New York and Miami in the next 18 months. It’s gonna be ridiculously sexy.
I’m [also] starting The Lifestyle Conference, which will take place Memorial Day weekend in Montego Bay. Russell Simmons came on board as a chairman for it. Steve Harvey just signed on to do the golf classic, and Shaggy just came on board also.
As Told to Chrystal Parker
Tha Lyfe 