In a similar fashion, Matt says that their time apart was necessary, but adds that it was difficult at first to take. “We love each other,” he says while sitting in a smart black suit looking as he did when he modeled during Fashion Week. “As a young couple you need to experience stuff and live your life and do things sometimes on your own. I understood that and she understood that. It was a small break that was hard, but at the time was needed. It brought us closer together and we’re a lot stronger now.”
And although both Matt and Gloria agree that their bond has been strengthened, viewers unfortunately won’t get a chance to see it for themselves on television. Matt is not returning to the program, he will instead focus on his NBA career. The nine-year NBA vet recently signed a one-year deal with The Clippers.
“I’ve been a side piece to ‘Basketball Wives,’ ” says Barnes when I ask him why he’s not bashed like his former teammate Lamar Odom for doing reality TV. “I’ve never been a main character, so to speak. This season I’m completely not in the show. I think for the sake of our relationship it was best to fall back and not put our stuff out there like before, for people to pick and pry through. This time around we’re gonna do what works for us and not what society wants us to do.”
Like the NBAer said, it’s clear what society wants the two to do — marry. Throughout the interview Gloria is continuously referred to as Matt’s wife and I find myself aimlessly asking Gloria about her “husband”; neither title at the time, however, was correct. Since the time of the interview, the couple married secretly at a Las Vegas chapel. No press and no photographers were invited.
Pledging to keep things as nontraditional as possible, as she clearly did recently, Gloria added that the wedding would be a far cry from the multimillion dollar nuptials of another reality TV star and instead her attendees could expect the finest of comfort foods including, er, cereal? “I don’t think it’ll be what people are expecting. I’ll probably be like ‘hey, I got married girl,’ wanna come to the party? I’ll probably send out a flyer for the party,” she said.
“Matt’s a traditionalist so [he’d] want a big wedding. Which I would do, but it won’t be like a Kim Kardashian wedding. It [would] be like, ‘you want some barbecue?’ she said, her eyes gleaming with amusement. “I’ll take cereal,” she said with a chuckle. “Marriage is something I [wanted] to do, it just [was] not on my number one priority list.”
Another non priority Govan’s revisiting for her man? A baby. ”Maybe, don’t tell him I said this … maybe another baby,” says Gloria in a whisper. ”If it was up to him … [rolls eyes] … I get baby fever and then I see a baby and I’m like ‘awww’ and then they start crying and I’m like, ‘Yeah! I don’t have anymore!’ ”
