Charles Oakley might be an NBA legend, but becoming a Bravo househusband was never exactly on his bucket list.
The former New York Knicks star, who’s married to #RHOA’s Angela Oakley, recently got candid about reluctantly entering the reality TV world on BET’s For The Fellas. During the Sept. 23 episode, Oakley revealed that Bravo had been pursuing his Housewife honey for years before the couple finally agreed to join the franchise.
“They’ve been chasing us for some years,” Oakley said.
At first, the couple passed on the opportunity. But as time went on, Angela became more interested in joining RHOA and approached her husband again to see if he had changed his mind.
“I said, ‘Oh lawd.’ So, It’s cool. It’s not my field but I just let her go on and do her thing.”
The couple ultimately joined The Real Housewives of Atlanta during Season 16, with Oakley making appearances alongside his wife, much to the joy of Angela’s “Fangies”, throughout the season.
Read more about Charles Oakley’s For The Fellas interview after the flip.
Charles Oakley onFor The Fellas: The basketball star revealed that filming can sometimes “drain” his wife.
According to RealityTea, Oakley continued discussing his wife’s casting and the longevity of her time on the show. With Angela’s third year approaching after a drama-filled appearance on Season 17, the NBA legend admitted that being part of RHOA can be emotionally taxing — particularly for his wife.
“Sometimes my wife gets drained; it’s a draining show,” Oakley said.
Oakley, who has been married to Angela for 10 years, explained that he tries to be there for her when the pressures of filming begin to take their toll.
“But I work it out with her,” he continued.
He’s made a few male fans from being onRHOA.
Oakley has also noticed something he didn’t necessarily expect from his time on the show: male viewers are watching, too.
“It’s a female show, but now, since I was on it for a couple of years – everywhere we go, all these guys [say] ‘Man we love you!’” he gushed.
According to Oakley, men who initially had little interest in The Real Housewives of Atlanta have started tuning in after seeing him on the series.
“All these guys [and] the wives go: ‘Oh, my husband; he never watches,’” he recalled. “But he heard you was on it; he can’t wait till Sunday come around,” Oakley chuckled. “So I get that all the time.”
For The Fellas host Brian “B-Mac” McIntosh reacted with a laugh, joking, “He went from checking players to checking husbands.”
That comment also calls to mind Oakley’s memorable appearance during the Season 16 reunion, when he pushed back on comments from Shamea Morton and Phaedra Parks, who claimed to know him while seemingly not knowing Angela — or even that the two were married. Angela, meanwhile, accused her castmates of making those comments simply to be “shady.” But Oakley made it clear that he wasn’t going to tolerate disrespect, and sent a fair warning to the ladies.
“Everybody wanna know about me. What about y’all?” he asked the group last year. “I’m the only husband here. Where your husband’s at?”
Reflecting on that shady moment, Oakley told the fellas:
“They always told me growing up, especially if you’re a female, you never say nothing to a man. I got the same rules. Don’t say nothing to me, you know. Disrespect me. But no, they say, ‘Oh, it’s just a show.’ No, I don’t care. This a show for y’all, not for me.”
Angela and Charles Oakley recently celebrated 10 years of marriage.
Away from the drama of RHOA, Charles and Angela Oakley have been celebrating their 10-year marriage milestone. The couple married in Las Vegas in July 2016 and share one daughter, Arleigh. Together, they have a blended family of four children.
