Love & Marriage: Huntsvillefans were thrown for a loop when Arionne Curry, the former multi-year mistress-turned-girlfriend of Martell Holt, was revealed as a cast member for Season 12 of the hit OWN reality TV show. And, as expected, the internet had plenty to say, but Carlos King is defending the controversial casting choice, noting that he deliberately held off on bringing Curry into the fold until two years after Melody Shari’s exit, and nine years after her affair with the then-married Martell was first publicly exposed.
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Some viewers called the casting choice “distasteful,” considering Curry was at the center of the cheating scandal that ultimately contributed to the 2021 divorce of Holt and former Love & Marriage: Huntsville star Melody Shari. Of course, their messy marriage had already been playing out on television for nine seasons, so the drama was hardly a new development. Now, the show’s executive producer is speaking out.
Here’s what Carlos King had to say about Arionne Curry’s casting.
“So, Melody left the show two years ago. For the first nine seasons of her being on the show, this affair was a topic of conversation, season 1, episode one, and has been continuing since she left. I made the executive decision to never bring Arionne on while Melody was there,” King explained.
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“This is the reality, but I did not want Melody to ever face the woman that her husband had the affair with on the show. Whether it happens in real life, that’s fine. And I am proud to say that for nine years, that never happened,” he explained.
However, King said that once he realized Holt would be developing a relationship with Arionne — particularly given the relationship and child they share — he knew avoiding her involvement in Martell’s life on the show would eventually become impossible.
Source: Love & Marriage: Huntsville / OWN
“It’s been two years since Melody left the show. And this is not only Martell’s girlfriend, this is the mother of a child they share,” he continued.“So after 2 years of Melody being off the show, this is Martell’s reality. So I understand the emotional reaction to it. This is the mother of his child for the rest of their lives.”
When Hall asked Carlos how he made the decision despite being “close” to Melody, he explained that he waited two years after her departure before bringing Arionne into the cast — and that the timing also coincided with Martell publicly acknowledging their relationship.
The backstory.
From a reality-TV standpoint, it’s easy to see why producers may have wanted to avoid putting Melody and Arionne in the same room. That potential face-off could have been, well… a lot.
For those who may be new to the Love & Marriage: Huntsville drama, Martell was previously married to his co-star, Melody Shari, before a bombshell cheating scandal — in which Arionne was the other woman — contributed to the couple’s split.
During his affair with Arionne, Martell welcomed a child with her, adding more controversy into the mix.
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Although Martell and Arionne have seemingly been together for a few years, his decision to officially introduce her on the show still caught many viewers off guard. And his conversations about marriage? That raised even more eyebrows.
But when it comes to the Love & Marriage: Huntsville cast, the casting decision apparently wasn’t quite the shocker it was for viewers. Read more after the flip.
Love & Marriage: Huntsvillestars Kimmi Grant and LaTisha Scott weren’t surprised by Arionne joining the show. Here’s why.
While speaking to BOSSIP’s managing editor Dani Canada about the new season on Sept. 7 during an episode of Reality Recap,cast members Kimmi Grant and LaTisha Scott said Arionne joining the show was not exactly a surprise.
“Obviously everybody was surprised. But at the same time, not surprised. It’s a double-edged sword because if she is Martell’s reality, then at some point you would anticipate that she would be in the group to some extent,” Kimmi told BOSSIP. “It’s his reality. If he didn’t bring her, everybody would say he’s not talking about his reality, like you can’t win sometimes. But it was surprising when it happened. At the same token, at some point we kind of knew this was coming. We didn’t know when, how, or where. But being that this has been his reality for this long of time, we pretty much all knew that eventually we had to meet her.”
Source: Love & Marriage: Huntsville / OWN
LaTisha echoed a similar sentiment but kept things pretty tight-lipped when asked about the drama brewing between her and Arionne.
And based on LaTisha’s comments, it sounds like viewers may want to buckle up for those conversations as they’ll be shown throughout the season.
Source: Love & Marriage: Huntsville / OWN
“I don’t really want to give too much away because we discussed it a lot this season. However, like Arionne doesn’t know me. We have never been in the same circle. We don’t hang with the same people,” LaTisha explained, stating firmly that she and the newcomer were “not of the same caliber.”
She added:
“She knows nothing about me, and so it was weird that she has so much to say on social media about me and my husband. When girl, you don’t even know us. I mean, she’s Martell’s mouthpiece. So, we did get into that a lot this season, and so hopefully you guys will get a chance to witness those conversations.”
As for whether the casting decision was “distasteful,” Kimmi made it clear that she and the other cast members didn’t exactly get a vote.
“It’s Martell’s reality, and all of it, the whole turn of events were unfortunate. And believe it or not, they don’t ask us who gets to come, who doesn’t get to come, who, you know, they intend on doing storylines around, and quite frankly, I think there’s been a few other distasteful things that’s happened on this show that involve us that seem to be okay for some reason. [But] we don’t get an opinion.”
So, there you have it: Arionne is officially part of the Love & Marriage: Huntsville world, Melody is no longer on the show, and the cast apparently knew this introduction was coming eventually.
Source: Love & Marriage: Huntsville / OWN
Now the big question is what happens once all of these storylines collide.
What do you think of Arionne Curry joining the Love & Marriage: Huntsville cast? Thoughts?
