Destiny Payton-Williams is the newest addition to OWN’s marriage-based reality series, “Love & Marriage: Huntsville.” In the current second season, the show focuses on three affluent couples all going through various struggles and stages of Black love. As a newlywed with a brand new baby, Payton-Williams believes the original couples have given her enough examples of what not to do when it comes to maintaining a healthy marriage. Still, Payton-Williams believes that African Americans have a lot of work to do when it comes to sustaining healthy marriages.
Do you believe Black women are prepared to be wives?
No. We aren’t raised that way. Many of us are coming from families where a single woman was leading the family. For women who have seen a woman do everything from working and then coming home and taking care of the children and then doing that in their own lives, it’s hard to just put all of that down and learn to be a wife and let someone else lead. We can do it, but it’s not what we’ve seen. So it’s an adjustment period.
You joined the show mainly because of your friendship with Melody Holt. Her situation is one of the most troublesome on the show. Can you share with us how she is holding up?
Melody is strong. She is amazing. I have a text in my phone right now were she text me this morning encouraging me. She has always been that person and I’m happy to say she is doing great.
You have the first Black-owned beauty supply there in Huntsville and you are a new wife and mother, how do you balance work and home life?
(Laughs) I don’t think there is a balance right now. I’m just learning with everything as I go. The beauty supply store has been a labor of love with so many learning lessons. People don’t realize that Black women are such a big contributor to this billion-dollar business and yet, once we are on the other side of the business with ownership, there are so many things done to keep us out or to try to make us fail.
Have you seen customers support you more lately because of the “support Black business” campaigns?
Yes! We’ve definitely experienced a surge of support recently and I believe that will continue. Customers have to understand that when they come to a Black-owned beauty supply, if they don’t see as many products or certain products, it’s because there is so much done to keep us out. There are some vendors that won’t sell to us because they are loyal to the other stores in the neighborhood. I just want to encourage our customers and others to be a bit more understanding to Black-owned beauty supplies. We’re working on it, but believe me, it’s a process.
You can see Destiny Payton-Williams and the other couples from “Love & Marriage Huntsville” on OWN, Saturdays 9/8C.
