holds many titles. Not only is she a mother, but also a business woman and wife to former NFL player and current Sr. Pastor of San Diego’s City of Hope International Church, Terrell Fletcher. Though prominently recognized in entertainment for her previous marriage (1992-1995) to rapper-turned-actor Will Smith, Sheree is more, much more.
All will become evident in VH1’s new reality show Hollywood Exes, which premieres this summer with 10 one-hour episodes. Vixen caught up with Sheree–pronunciation of the name not to be confused with that of Real Housewives of Atlanta‘s Sheree Whitfield–to get the scoop on the highly anticipated show.
Amidst taping, the new reality star shared with us her reasons for joining the show, details about her second marriage and a look into her booming business ventures. —Aliya Faust
VIBE VIXEN: Can you tell me a bit about how you teamed with VH1 to do the show? Did they reach out to you, or did you and the other wives get together yourselves?
SHEREE FLETCHER: No, the actual creators of the show, before we had the deal with VH1, reached out to me. Then, we got together with the other ladies and we just kind of pitched, and they made the deal with VH1.
What were your reasons for joining?
It looked like it would be a lot of fun. It was reality but it was a “different color of the rainbow.” They wanted to show women in a more positive light and women coming together and being supportive and encouraging one another, a kind of a sorority type of thing. So that kind of piqued my interest. As a business women, I thought it’d be great in terms of exposure of my brand.
Are you bothered at all by being labeled an ex?
I am an ex. So no, that doesn’t bother me.
Do you sympathize with other exes in the public like Kim Kardashian, as far as having the stigma of an ex?
Sure. I can relate to that and I do have compassion. Anytime you go through a divorce, it’s painful. It doesn’t really matter how long you’ve been married. It’s painful. Any time you break up in the public eye, there’s so much scrutiny involved. People come into their own set of conclusions without knowing the full story and they have an opinion. But that’s kind of the nature of the beat. When you’re in the public eye you have an up side and you have a down side. That’s part of the down side and sort of comes with the territory.
How do you feel about Will and Jada’s relationship? Will that appear on the show?
I think they have an amazing relationship. Will and Jada won’t be making any appearances on the show. And
Will we see your son?
He will make an appearance, [but] he’s not going to be a regular. You’ll probably just see him once in the whole season.
I understand you were remarried. It’s been a while, but congrats! How does your husband feel about you joining the show?
He was skeptical at first because of the nature of reality, as was I, but he’s great. You’ll see him in the show. He makes quite a few appearances with me. He’s super supportive and totally on board.
Did you have to get Will’s approval?
Absolutely, because he is an ex. I didn’t need Will’s permission to do the show; there was nothing that I needed to sign in order to do the show. You know, our son is 19 [years old], so out of respect, of course I told him that this was what I was considering doing. I actually told him when I signed. When I said, ‘Look, this is what I’m going to do,’ he gave me his blessing to have a good time.
That’s really good. So you guys have a good relationship?
We really do.
VV: I want to switch gears a little bit. I hear you have a beauty line: Whoop Ash.
SF: I do.
Very clever line. Can you tell me a little bit about what it is and how it started?
It is a body butter. That’s kind of where I started. I read a book, and the book got me interested in honey and the properties of honey. I love to cook, so I thought I’d get in my kitchen and make some different foods with honey. As I was doing my research online, what was coming up was spa recipes for the body. I’m thinking, Okay, that’s interesting, then I ordered different ingredients. I did the Shea butters and coconut oils, and I started with the lotion base. I literally got out my big gumbo pot and cooked up this amazing body butter. I never in a million years thought that was a viable business.
One day “Whoop Ash” just dropped into my spirit, and I was like, ‘This is the name of the product!’ I’m telling you, God has a sense of humor. I launched in 2009 and it’s been great. One of the reasons why I strongly considered doing [Hollywood Exes] was for the exposure. Not for the fame, not for the money–though the money obviously comes when you’re company is a success and people are in business to make money–but I wanted the exposure. I think once I get that type of exposure, the distribution will come and then I can really start mass producing the product because we get nothing but amazing testimonials. I mean, I’ve had everybody from Samuel Jackson to L.A. Reid. These people love the product and don’t leave home without it. It’s a great product and I’m really excited about the potential of it growing and expanding.
Not just you, but it sounds like Hollywood Exes are career-orientated.
We are. Jessica Canseco, she’s got a business. Nicole [Murphy] has her business, her jewelry, then the other two ladies are dancers and have dance companies. We all are business women.
Wrapping up, what do you want people to take from the show?
First and foremost, women can come together and do something great. We can disagree respectfully. I want people to know that women need women. We really do, and I want women to be encouraged. Like I said, you’ve got five women who are business owners and I’m hoping that that would inspire somebody to step out and start their own thing. I think that we’re very relatable. I think that women will connect to us. We’re women just like anybody else. It doesn’t matter who our exes were. I mean, obviously, we went through our divorce in a public, major way, but at the end of the day, we’re women and we can connect and relate on so many other levels. I’m hoping that women will relate and be encouraged.