“The Real Housewives of Atlanta” TV show did not make former supermodel Cynthia Bailey and businessman Peter Thomas stars. It revealed the star power that was already there.
Arguably the most beloved couple on BRAVO TV network, the stars of the highest-rated show on the entire network hosted the signing of their new book, Carry-On Luggage, at … well … where else? … at their own bar ONE restaurant near downtown Atlanta before their adoring fans and a bank of media outlets.
The book is an expose on a post-40 marriage and, through their book, they were able to edit their story to their liking as — opposed to executives from a TV station — and give fans a glimpse into who they really are as individuals and as a family.
“We named this book Carry On Baggage: Our Nonstop Flight because we got married much later in life. And it’s different from when you get married when you are in your 20s or 30s. When you’re in your 20s, you’re still building your life; you don’t have a house yet, you don’t have cars yet, you usually don’t have kids yet,” explains Bailey, who was in her early 40s when they got married three years ago. “I already had stuff. I had a house already. I had a kid already. And he [Thomas] had his stuff already. And I lived in New York and he lived in Atlanta.”
“When you are over 40 years old,” Thomas chimed in. “You are already settled into who you are as a person. I had already been married before and it didn’t work … and I tried it again, and I tried it again. So I had five beautiful kids with four different ladies by the time I met Cynthia,” added Thomas, who said usually women are intimidated by such a large family with a single person, afraid that it would take away from them. “But Cynthia already had everything she needed in life and she was secure with that.
“And I had it going on in New York,” Bailey cut in. “I could date anyone I wanted to. But for some reason we just connected. I don’t always get along with him, but we connected.”
The celebrity power couple, who each have multiple business ventures and interests, wanted to allow audiences a deeper foray into who they are beyond the quick glimpses spat out during the weekly “RHOA” show.
“You’ve seen us [on TV] through our ups and downs and our highs and lows,” began Bailey. “As you can see, we always have something happening. But I’m happy to say that we have a lot of great things happening.
“It’s hard to come up with content every week. So [through the book] we said ‘let’s let them roll with us, and that’s what we did,” added Thomas.
Take a look at some of the photos from the evening.
