MiMi Faust paid a visit to the studio to give Egypt a clear rundown of why she tolerates the B.S from her very rude and disrespectful man,Stevie J ! She also discusses how she feels about him and Joseline relationship and many more…read full interview after the break !
Egypt: I’ve watched many reality shows, but you are honestly the first cast member that I’ve prayed for. I pray for you because I’ve been there.
MiMi: Yea it hasn’t been easy. I think when I first agreed to do this show, everything just happened so fast. I didn’t have time to think about it or make any type of plans or preparations. I was told about it from my girlfriend Hannah on a Monday and on Wednesday was chosen to do the show.
Egypt: You guys are still taping the show?
Mimi: We’re still taping, yes.
Egypt: Now when I saw you at Frank Ski’s restaurant during the “Love & Hip Hop” premiere, I had no idea you guys had not yet viewed the show. So I watched your face when you found out on camera that Joseline said she was having a thing with him, that she was in love with him. How did that feel in the middle of a room with people and why do it?
Mimi: Um, I think Joseline she just says whatever out of her mouth with no regard and I mean… (pauses and gets emotional)
Egypt: Can I give you a hug? No seriously. I know everybody’s talking Love & Hip Hop but I feel a connection to you and I’m going to tell you why. I was with a man once who had such a hold on me I didn’t know if I was coming or going. I loved him more than I loved myself. People tried to shake me, they tried to smack me, my momma prayed for me and it was one day when I woke up- I had to wake up and realize this is not me. I want me back.( Ladies hug for a period of time) Now listen. It’s being played out on tv and for a lot of people it’s entertainment, but it’s also your real life. There were a lot of questions when people knew you were coming on the show, like how long were you guys really dating? I heard you say 15 years on tv.
Mimi: I want to clear this up. I’ve known him for 15 years. We have dated off and on. I have not been with Stevie straight for 15 years. I was absolutely not with Stevie when he was with Eve. I wasn’t with Stevie when he was with Alex, Whoopi Goldberg’s daughter. I was not with Stevie when he was in any other relationship. So I’ve known Stevie for 15 years and we’ve dated off and on but for the past 3.5/4 years we have been together.
Egypt: And you have a beautiful 2-year-old daughter together. I just saw the pictures of her. Oh my God you just want to eat her up. Do you have an understanding now that you’re supposed to be exclusive?
Mimi: Um, understanding? Um, no.
Egypt: Ok. What is it about this man? Just keep it real. What is it about him that has these women going crazy? Because it’s not the singing- what is it? Is it the… pow pow
Mimi: If you watch the first episode I clearly stated I have never met a… that has made me do cartwheels. I clearly said that in the first episode. What I think what it is for me the connection that him and I had and also I’m just flat out he lies to me a lot. I mean that’s just the bottom line. He’ll say one thing to me and he’ll say one thing to her or whoever else but and im not with him when he’s out with anyone else. I only know what goes on when we’re together.
Egypt: Most of us have either been there or have been there, where we love someone so much they tell us the right things we wanna hear. They lie to us just enough for us to say okay and sleep at night. But now you’ve seen it on tv. What has changed now that you actually see it for what it is.
Mimi: A lot has changed. You guys, when you’re in a relationship and things happen, it’s a process of getting out. One thing will happen and you just don’t leave your family because one thing happened. So it’s definitely a process of a transition and process stage that you go through so that’s what I’m going through right now.
Egypt: Is it that you want to keep your family together? I know you have a two-year-old.
Mimi: I would love to keep my family together. But at this point I don’t see that happening so I’m willing to just let this do what it do.
Egypt: I know a girl. As a matter of fact she’s still married to him. One of the Redskins. And it was understood that the wives sat in one section at the games and the mistresses sat in another section at the games. It was just known. You could look across and see that’s the mistresses and this is the wives. Everybody knew it and I had to ask her, why would you tolerate that level of disrespect knowing it, and she said because I’ve worked too hard, I’ve earned where I am as far as her status and her lifestyle. I’m not giving all of this up for the next chick. Does that fall into play anywhere as far as over the years what you’ve dealt with with Stevie?
Mimi: Absolutely not. Not for me. For me I thought him and I were working towards something towards you know raising and building our family, but when I realized that wasn’t the direction we were both trying to go in. My head was there and his was obviously elsewhere then you know I made a decision at that point. It’s hard watching your pain, your life play out on tv. It’s very hard. I’m watching it along with you guys.
Egypt: Your family, what do they say?
Mimi: I don’t have a very large family. My father absolutely is disgusted and he wants absolutely nothing to do with that at all. I’m his daughter. I’m his baby daughter at that.
Egypt: Now when you watch last night’s episode, do you have any regrets?
Mimi: I never have regrets. Everything that has happened to me in my life has made me who I am. So I don’t regret anything that I’ve done. Everything is a learning situation and I think that I’ve learned from it if it was bad or a mistake and it makes me a better person, so no regrets.
Egypt: As much as I adore you and I think of you like a sister friend, I was a little upset with you last night when you decided to take a commission of Stevie’s business in exchange…well it felt like you were accepting all of the mess that had happened on the prior episode. That everything was forgiven as long as you got 10% or 20% What did you get? 10 or 20?
Mimi: No no no no no. What it was was I wanted to be more involved in the business. It wasn’t I was accepting a payoff. I actually wanted to be involved. If I put in this work and I have been dealing with this this long I want to be more hands-on with the situation as far as making the money and everything that goes along with it.
We have somebody on hold. Let’s talk…
Caller: Hey Mimi I just wanted to say to you I don’t really care what anybody else says about the show or whatever. I am grateful to you for doing it because it let me know when I was in that position I was alone n the world so I don’t care how it turns out, whatever you decide to do, it doesn’t matter. I’m grateful that you did it and I can see damn right I’m not the only one.
Egypt : So you’re saying you’re currently going through the situation?
I came out of it.
Egypt: What got you out of it cause that’s what I want to know. How do you break away from a man that has a hold on you? You love him, you want to keep your family together, how do you break away?
The same exact thing you said. I had to love myself more than I love him and that’s what I had to do. And I did it for 15 years, so I feel you.
2nd Caller: I would like to say I’ve watched the show and my heart goes out to you. I was in that situation where I was married to someone on the West Coast so I know what its like with the late nights, and girls and I’m here, I’m there. But you are so beautiful and I know that you have that two-year-old that one day will see the show or read about it in years to come. That would be my biggest concern- that one day she’s gonna see that’s how Daddy is doing Mommy. And it’s not cool. I’ve been there but you have to love yourself more than anybody and think about that little girl, because what I saw in the 2 episodes is crazy. Crazy. So my heart went out to you.
Egypt: I have to wonder why Stevie would risk losing you in doing the show ,cause you gotta know the cameras are going to follow you and it’s going to catch all your dirt. Do you want to tell them what you just told me?
Mimi: I think it was him getting back on top and him just the money and the fame.
Egypt: It was worth losing you?
Mimi: I don’t think he thought about that, obviously. He said why are you mad? He asked me why I was mad because I was getting a check.
3rd Caller: I just want to say I want to see Mimi do better. I remember when Stevie J. was dating Eve and I went to a premiere and he was being totally disrespectful to her and I just thought you know she could do better than be with someone that’s going to be disrespectful in her face.
Egypt: Well, I think she realizes that now and what we were saying, she didn’t know any of this before the tv show aired and this has all been a whirlwind. It’s happened in the last few months and sometimes it takes us looking at ourselves on tv and looking at people for who they really are to realize that we’re walking down the wrong road, right?
Mimi: Absolutely. That I am actually watching this along with you guys so it’s unfolding for me as well. When I was at home before the show, I would be at home with my daughter when Stevie was out at the studio or wherever he was, I wasn’t privy to what he was doing. I had no idea so it wasn’t like I was out with him or I was witness to. I’m at home with the baby. And I’m believing what he says to me. I’m not the type of person, I’m not running down to the studio what are you doing, who are you with, whose here. I’m raising my daughter.
Egypt: I never understand why men would risk a beautiful loyal woman for some two dollar trick. Did you keep the house?
Mimi: No I did not. It’s not worth it. Don’t want it. The house comes along with everything else that comes along with him and I would still be tied to everything else. It just complicated. When you start mixing houses and this and that…
Egypt: Whether you realize it or not, what you have gone through on tv for all eyes to see, is a lesson many people, not just women going through it. Listen, Mr. right is waiting on the sidelines but you got Mr. wrong all up in your life occupying all your space so how can Mr. right come in? You gotta move them aside and don’t let anybody put a “stop payment” on your “reality check.”
Egypt: There was one thing I wanted to address. You said Karlie last night surprised you on the show. Why?
Mimi: She kinda threw me under the bus last night. Joseline came to see her and it was a gym scene and she told Joseline that I was talking about her or something along those lines and said it more than once and I’m like were we watching the same show?!
Egypt: Was she a plant? I think she was a plant just to cause drama on the show. You know they always have one!
I don’t know about any of that. I just know when I got there me and Stevie. I don’t know about anybody else.
Egypt: I for the life of me don’t know why you’re on reality tv girl. I wish you the very best. I think you’re beautiful, you’re smart, you’re strong, even though someone was your weakness for a time. I gather you have moved on with your life in more than one sense of the word.
Mimi: Yes I HAVE. Keep watching. Stay tuned!
Interview and pic courtesy of egyptsaidso !