Adjectives abound when faced with the task of adequately describing Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas. From the moment she initially exploded on the scene as the mocha beauty in the groundbreaking trio TLC, descriptives like gorgeous, stunning and breathtaking were there to meet her at every turn of her record-breaking career.
But as Chilli embarked on a new phase of her career that found her evolving from singer to entrepreneur and reality TV star, there was one additional title that she openly pined to have added to her collection.
Wife.
That singular desire inspired her to step outside of her comfort zone to create “What Chilli Wants,” a VH-1 reality show that chronicled her attempts to find Mr. Right.
When the rumor mill began to churn about a possible Chilli dating show in the works, the public’s response was decidedly mixed. Some positions were of the positive variety: “Good for Chilli. I support this decision in every way.” Others were left scratching their heads: “Why would she put herself out there like that?”
All told, no one knew what to expect or how to react to the idea of this type of show … Chilli included. “I was nervous about what people were going to think,” she confessed in a recent sit down with rolling out. “I didn’t want them to think it was going to be like the other reality shows. When the fans saw the show, I was hoping that it wouldn’t leave a bad taste in anyone’s mouth. I was hoping that they would watch and would see that I represented right.”
But did she succeed in those desires? Depends on whom you ask. When episode one premiered, the Twitter-verse was set on fire. Positive and negative opinions populated time lines the moment Chilli rattled off a list of requirements for Mr. Right that rivaled the vetting process for a presidential appointment.
Detractors were of the opinion that Chilli didn’t really want to be a wife. It was their belief that she instead had designs on a relationship that resembled a dictatorship. There were also those who believed that her standards were so impossibly high that she was inevitably standing in the way of her own happiness. She heard those voices loud and clear.
“People talking bothered me a little bit because I know I’m not that way,” she confessed when addressing the detractors. “I felt like through the years in my group, you could actually see my personality so you could know where I was coming from. There are certain things I felt the fans knew about each and every member in TLC. Lisa would do almost anything, and I was the most reserved one. So me being cautious when finding a man, I didn’t think that would come as a surprise … I really didn’t.”
