All The Single Ladies, airing on OWN and Discovery+, gathered for the series season finale on Friday, February 24. Insecure star Jay Ellis co-produces this provocative view of intimacy and dating in the modern world with his mom, Paula Bryant-Ellis.
Covering everything from cheating husbands and toxic boyfriends to interracial romances, the docu-series leaves no stone unturned. “Several of my friends and family members are single Black women, and I hear about their dating and relationship experiences all the time,” Bryant-Ellis says. “Shukree Tilghman (series co-creator) and I were very passionate about providing a platform where women of color, specifically Black women, would have an opportunity to share their stories.”
EBONY: What are some of the challenges Black women face dating in today's climate?
Paula Bryant-Ellis: Everyone longs to find true love and acceptance; unfortunately, for Black women, perspectives and biases are drastically skewed. Black women are seldom perceived as women looking for true love, and are more often unfairly viewed as “unworthy,” “unwanted” or “less than.” The stereotypes and cautionary tales of single Black females being bitter, lonely, and miserable still abound—we wanted to look beyond the propaganda and false statistics and went directly to the source to hear firsthand accounts on the search for love within the Black community.
Tell us a little about the finale episode: what do your guests grapple with and discover?
Four women share how they ignored the glaring "red flags" while dating and in marriage, and they share the outcome and lessons learned in each of those relationships.
What do you want people to take away from this series?
We aren't finger-pointing or male-bashing! These stories aren't even about who was right or who was wrong, we simply wanted to approach the dating conversation from a fresh, new angle. We want to transform and reshape the narrative surrounding the single Black woman and the often-harsh realities she faces in love and relationships. As these women opened up about their joys and challenges, the rawness and realness of their stories was the impetus that allowed us to do that in a very impactful way.
How does your son feel about having his mom do a reality show around dating?
Jay is always super supportive. He knows my heart and my passion for the stories I choose to tell, so he's always eager to help in any way possible.
