After officially announcing her exit from Basketball Wives Suzie Ketcham had a change of heart. The fun loving, free spirited chatterbox has decided to return but she’s a lot more low key and says she has learned to stay drama free⎯ for real, this time. VIBE caught up with her to figure out where her head is for season three. ⎯Starrene Rhett
Why did you decide to come back to Basketball Wives after making the big announcement about leaving?
It’s kind of funny. Originally I thought I wasn’t going to do it. Even when they started filming I wasn’t a part of the plan to be in it again. And then one of the producers wanted me to film some cameo scenes with Royce. And I think because we already have chemistry⎯me and Royce have known each other for some time now⎯that they liked how we were popping off on camera and I know that they had some other people that they were testing I don’t think they worked out. So, they brought me back and it was kind of easy for me because I was eased in to it and I didn’t think that it was going to be that bad, which it wasn’t. It’s been pretty easy so far, a lot easier than last season.
Speaking of last season, a lot of the tension has trickled over and it seems that “the circle” is divided. It’s like Shaunie, Jen, and Evelyn on this side and you, Tammy and Royce on the other side. Will you guys come back together or are you guys on the brink of an explosive argument?
Evelyn and I come back together, Shaunie wants us to meet back up. Royce has a lot of tension going on between them now, there’s a little meeting that they actually show that in the super trailer⎯we have a meeting with Jen, Evelyn, Royce and I and that is as you can see ends up being very explosive. There is a lot of explosive things that happen this season. But for us who have been in since season one, we are starting to know the game a lot better, its just become a lot easier. You can get through it.
You seem a lot more low key. What lessons have you learned from going through this whole experience?
After Season one. The whole thing with throwing water on Sandra was great TV but then the backlash that you would deal with, like I would go to my daughter’s school and have little kids come up to me telling me they saw me throw water in this girl’s face and why did I do that. I was thinking, “Oh my god! I’m a mother. I can’t be like this.” And then during the beginning, I went to jail for that, it was just a big mess. She was trying to sue me. I was worried about her suing me and then I would have to get attorneys, it got really messy. So I learned that I can’t go running around smacking people or throwing water, or doing anything like that anymore. It was a big headache for about eight months because California has eight months to file charges against me. It would have been like five years probation so for me, that made me realized that this isn’t a joke and she could have gotten hurt. I don’t want to live my life like that anymore. All is clear now. It was up until October 15th [last year]. The whole time we were filming my attorney was like, “Don’t do anything stupid, don’t throw anything, don’t lay your hands on anyone. You’re in the public eye so California might try to make you an example. So you have to be careful that you don’t do anything stupid again” [laughs].
Last season you talked about wanting to fulfill a career as a TV correspondent. How is that going? Will we get to see some of your outside endeavors on the show?
I am so busy with my regular life and my regular job, which of course I need to keep. And with the kids it’s like I am trying to fit in the classes too. Everything is happening so fast with the show filming that it’s really kind of hard to fit anything else in the mix right now but I still want to pursue it. Right now, my head is spinning so it might be on hold for now. But I can’t complain. I’d rather my life be crazy and hectic than boring and be complacent.
What would Suzie now tell old Suzie who was about to start taping Basketball Wives?
I would have told myself to do my own makeup and don’t go to the MAC girls [laughs]. I would go to the MAC counter and be like I have no idea how to do make up for TV and they would put dark makeup on me. My face is really pale and my hair is dark and they would put dark eye makeup, dramatic eye make up on my eyes and I would look crazy on TV. I think learned a lot of stuff like, to have a thick skin too. People on Twitter⎯we have so much love and support but it’s just those one or two who send you a nasty message and you think about it all day. I would of told myself don’t take that so seriously and try not to read everything that’s out there. I don’t read the blogs, I’ll skim through my replies and I can tell which ones are the nasty ones and I skip them. So try not to be as sensitive as I was because it’s very hard. It’s a learning experience. I don’t think you know until you do it, because we go through a lot.
Considering the growth you talked about, who is Suzie Ketcham this season?
I am the most passionate one of the group. I think people view me as space cadet because I like to be happy and I want everything to be drama free. I am always trying to keep the peace but it doesn’t happen. I know people love to watch drama, but I want people to take away that we are all really good people in the end. We actually are real people and they only see a portion of what we are. I am trying to show people that I am a better person. I am not some horrible person who runs around throwing water on people. I am sensitive. I care about people. I think that’s a much bigger part of me than that chick who was running around throwing water on people.
