Reality ratings are based on toxic relationships and scandals. Carlos King’sLove & Marriage: Huntsville became OWN’s No. 1 series because of the marital breakdown of star couple Martel Holt and Melody Rogers. Introduced as a series celebrating Black excellence, entrepreneurship and marriage, Love & Marriage: Huntsville focused on three successful couples that partnered in real estate ventures. Marsau and LaTisha Scott represented the more traditional family, while Maurice and Kimmi Scott offered a more of a contemporary option with a blended family. Audiences were hesitant to embrace the series as Huntsville, AL was not known for being spicy or even interesting, but King knew the internal friction between the couples and the spouses would produce reality gold. And while it was the catalyst for the show’s success, it’s since become its downfall.
Melody and Martel’s Divorce Had Lasting Effects on the ‘LAMH’ Cast
Carlos’ intuition was correct and the first season of Love & Marriage: Huntsville sparked curiosity in OWN’s audience as viewers tried to figure out why the couples had so much internal tension. From the first episode, it was clear that Martel and Melody’s marriage had been affected by infidelity. Melody wasn’t shy about dropping tea about their marriage within the group, which created tension among the other couples. As the seasons continued, audiences became more invested in the three core marriages, so much so that by the time Melody revealed that Martel had gotten his mistress pregnant, there was a public outcry of anger towards him.
The breakdown of the Holt’s marriage had an immediate domino effect on the rest of the cast. The relationship between the women became strained as Melody insinuated the other wives dealing with philandering husbands as well. Carlos The Scott brothers, Marsau and Maurice, regarded Melody’s insinuations with a grain of salt, but the rumors surrounding Marsau grew louder and louder. LaTisha ignored the allegations of everyone on the outside, but was unable to escape Melody’s disapproving energy. LaTisha worked to become more independent, earning another degree and focusing more on business outside the home, to her husband’s displeasure. Unfortunately, the breakdown of Melody and Martel created a lasting rift between the other couples.
The breakdown of the Holt’s created a rift between both the men and the women on the show, until eight seasons later, not only are the Holt’s officially divorced, but the remaining cast remain at odds. There are always fall-outs among reality casts, but the current situation on LAMH is unique as there are no alliances or even strong friendships. Without longstanding relationships to offset the severed ones, it’s hard to imagine how audiences will remain connected to the series. Carlos may need to start over with a new principal cast or abandon Huntsville altogether.
Marsau and Martel’s Friendship Was Irretrievably Severed Years Ago
Relationships among women are usually up and down on reality television, but seldom do men get involved in the antics. After fathering an outside child and divorcing his wife, Martel has embraced the bad boy role assigned to him by LAMH fans. He jokes about the divorce and, although he has expressed regret over the actions that led to losing his family, his actions don’t reflect true repentance. A brief fling with RHOA alum Sheree Whitfield is just one of the many women Martel has been linked with since his marriage officially ended. Martel’s resurgence to a bachelor’s lifestyle has put pressure on the other men in Huntsville.
Marsau denies any infidelity but doesn’t shy away from making tongue-in-cheek references to the allegations. Maurice teases the allegations about his brother but denies any wrongdoing on his part. The brothers began distancing themselves from Martel after his divorce, hoping to persuade fans and their wives that they have nothing in common with Martel and his playboy ways. After Melody had Martel arrested for threatening to release revenge porn, Marsau spoke with bloggers against Martel’s actions. Martel confronted Marsau, but this was not the first confrontation between the two.
Several seasons prior, Melody got into a verbal altercation with Ms. Wanda (LaTisha’s mother) and Martel jumped in to defend Melody and Marsau stepped up to defend his mother-in-law. The two alpha males never resolved their conflict but instead retreated to their respective corners, creating an ever-growing chasm in the group. As LAMH prepares to finish out the current season, the tension between Martel and Marsau threatens to boil over with a physical confrontation.
A Bigger Scandal Stole The Spotlight From Melody and Martel This Season
Season 8 started with Melody vs Martel, but their drama took a backseat to the scandal of a producer stealing the love interest of a cast member. Sunni Minx was a producer on the show assigned to Destiny Payton. Sunni took her job as a producer to heart, befriending Destiny and even agreeing to manage her music career post LAMH. When Destiny’s relationship with her on-again-off-again boyfriend Moses started struggling, Sunni swooped in and, in less than 90 days, married Destiny’s ex. Sunni defended her action by claiming befriending Destiny wasn’t genuine ,but instead was a part of her job description as producer. She claimed to never truly like Destiny and was disgusted by her neglect of her then-boyfriend, Moses.
Sunni laughed the coincidence off, claiming her newfound love with Moses was the couple’s “destiny” and suggested Destiny move on and find her own happiness elsewhere. Sunni’s cutthroat behavior was rewarded by Carlos with a primary spot on the show and the opportunity to move from behind the cameras to the front and center of the juiciest story line on the show. Needless to say, the scandal split the cast again, with Melody sweeping in to Sunni’s defense, while Kimmi and LaTisha supported a very scorned Destiny.
Stormi Steele and her husband Courtney Beasley came to the show as friends of Melody, but that relationship was short-lived. After Stormi and Melody’s friendship disintegrated, Stormi looked for other couples to connect with. Unfortunately, Stormi and LaTisha immediately clashed, but even worse than their disagreements was Stormi’s blatant lack of respect for Marsau. Stormi called Marsau a “bitch” several times, ending any possibility that the couple could resolve their differences and driving a dangerous wedge between Courtney and Marsau. Never one to admit defeat, executive producer Carlos King brought another couple onto the show to create synergy. Instead of bringing the group closer, Chris and Nell Fletcher’s arrival created tension among the couples as Nell vocalized her disapproval at Melody’s choice to have Martel arrested. Chris’s condescending views on Martel’s antics and cold shoulder towards the Scott’s threw additional salt on the wounds and worked to alienate them from the rest of the cast.
A New Scandalous Couple Was Added to ‘LAMH’ This Season
In a last ditch effort, one more couple was added to the show. Gym rats Trish Annette and Ken Lee, were added to round out the cast, but instead may prove to be the nail in the LAMH coffin. Not only are Trish and Ken not married, but Trish joined the cast, still legally married to her estranged husband, Marques. Tricia was quick to share their dilemma with the ladies, who bit their tongues but exchanged disapproving glances at one another while listening to Trish’s story. If her estranged marriage and new live-in boyfriend wasn’t enough, Trish hinted at a past entanglement with Martel during the time of his separation from Melody. Stormi picked up on the inconsistencies in Trish and Martel’s recollection of their past interaction, but that information has yet to be shared with Melody.
Carlos has woven a tangled mess of infidelity, divorce and jealousy with the cast of LAMH, which has resulted in the show being a constant trending topic on social media and various blog sites. In order for the series to continue, viewers will need to see the drama but will also need some relationships repaired for the sake of continuity. On the recent drama-filled girls’ trip to the Virgin Islands, Melody flew in two personal friends just to have personal support as she is at odds with the women in the cast.
Directly or indirectly, the breakdown of Melody and Martel’s marriage has resulted in the entire group turning on itself. Reality shows need the balance of scandals and breakups juxtaposed against longstanding friendships and alliances that serve as the glue that keeps the audience rooting for change. The divorce of two principal cast members was devastating, but the problem with LAMH is that the friendships of the women were irrevocably damaged due to betrayal stemming from Martel’s cheating. Melody felt betrayed, not only by her husband, but also by the women who claimed to be her friends during her fourteen-year marriage.
Instead of supporting Martel through his divorce, Marsau and Maurice have used his failure to highlight their own success, destroying the opportunity to show how men can support one another through trauma and build one another up. If Carlos can’t restructure the cast with a balance of positives and negatives, the interest in the show may fizzle out completely. Reality fans are fickle and love to dish about betrayal, affairs and break-ups, but what makes those negatives so fun to watch are the strong relationships they threaten and ultimately are unable to break.
Love & Marriage: Huntsville can be streamed on Discovery Plus.
Stream on Discovery+
