Tami Roman in Uptown Magazine

Reality Check by Tami Ramon:

At 22, she was the out-spoken, no nonsense cast member of MTV’s The Real World: Los Angeles. Tami Roman is one of the more memorable characters known for her sharp tongue and devastating good looks. Now as the breakout star of VH1’s Basketball Wives, she is hitting her stride. That was last year, and since then, Roman has once again stolen the show with her comical talent, sharp wit and quick hands. But that’s just the beginning.
Tami Roman married NBA player Kenny Anderson in 1994, and were divorced in 2001. Shortly afterwards, Roman began focusing on her career – getting involved in several projects. Then in 2010, she joined the cast of Vh1’s Basketball Wives – executive produced by Shaunie O’Neal. Recently, Roman sat down to talk about the show, her relationship with other cast mates and her status as an enterprising business woman.
At the conclusion of the second season, Tami got into a fight with fellow cast member Evelyn Lozada (current fiancé of Chad Ochocinco – wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals) when she told Roman that she had an affair with Kenny Anderson during the time that they were still married. It all erupted when Roman was told that she was a, “Non Mutha-Fu***** Factor.” Roman says that her relationships with the girls have not changed, “I still feel the same way. We are cast-mates we worked together. We are cordial. I am cool with Jennifer and Shaunie. I am up and down with Evelyn. I have grown to like Royce,” Roman says. Of her relationship with newcomer Meeka Claxton (wife of retired NBA player Speedy Claxton) – Roman says that she is never around her. So far, the two have had two instances of disagreement.

In the third season, audiences will see more of Roman in her own element – motherhood. “I’m a very hands on mother,” Roman says of her style of mothering. She says that she tries to be their best friend and disciplinarian – a fine line that Roman seems to walk well. “We have an understanding that I do have to work, but the people I am working with have an understanding that I am a mother first.” It is this philosophy that audiences get to see first hand. Roman is actively involved in her daughters’ (Lyric and Jazz) music careers. “Both girls are doing things independently. One is a rapper and one is a singer.”Roman is protective of her daughters – perhaps a skill that she learned from her mother. “My mother was a single mother. She worked three jobs and tried to provide the best she could at the time,” Roman says. For her, that meant spending time with her whenever she could. Most times, it was spent at a group home where Roman’s mother worked. The residents became her extended family.
Viewers will see more of Roman’s family as she plans the next steps for her career. Not to mention, the drama. “You’ll see the relationship between myself and the new girl come to a head and pan out,” she says. But her overall focus will be her career. “I am thinking of what can Tami do on a day to day that will pay my bills and put my daughter through college, and handle some business.”
Roman says that she is trying her hand at producing another reality TV show and short film. “I am producing The Tombs – a short film.”
As for another season of Basketball Wives, Roman is currently unsure if she will participate.