...Because I Love It

There’s something about Chilli. Something that convinced us she was one of our girlfriends during her crazy, sexy, cool years with TLC. Something that had us all up in her relationship (and her breakup) with Mr. Raymond. She’s a girl’s girl. And she’s kept her cool, despite our imaginary probing into it all.

So maybe that’s why we’re so excited for her new reality television show, What Chilli Wants. Premiering this Sunday on VH1, we get to follow the Atlanta native find herself the made man — whether or not that exists we’ll see — as she works with relationship expert Tionna Smalls.

VH1 hasn’t had much luck finding love for their reality show stars, but this isn’t I Love New York revisited nor is Chilli giving us Rock of Love antics or Flavor of Love ignorance. “I made sure that the show was very classy. It’s totally different from some of the other dating shows. I’m not in a house with guys, and they don’t know each other,” Chilli assured us the other night at her Atlanta premiere party.

Chilli admits her dating life has been on hold for a bit. Between her singing career and motherhood, she let us know, “I don’t get out much, so this was a great opportunity.”

Insert Tionna Smalls, one of the craziest, most hilarious, unapologetic frank chicks you will ever have the pleasure of being snapped back into reality by. Smalls is in charge of clawing through the pickings for Chilli’s blind dates (nope, Chilli doesn’t pick any of her potential suitors), all while following her strict checklist: six packs are all good, but bacon biters can go that way.

Last year, when taping began, Chilli threw an event for her former classmate and the city’s current mayor, Kasim Reed. The crowd? Pretty young. We’re not mad at her. Especially because she isn’t a self-proclaimed cougar.

“I don’t [purposely date younger men]. It’s just that younger men are attracted to me. They came to the casting call.”

Whether or not they’re ready to be the man Chilli wants remains to be seen. But we did get her to dish about one of the guys on the show. He hails from Wisconsin and evokes giggles from Chilli, who can’t help but show teeth when asked about him.

“He’s very sweet and very comfortable with himself. I think every female wants a man that’s very complimentary. This guy made me feel like a woman. We all want that. We all need that. We all deserve that.”

The petite singer is open to all shades and believes that women , especially Black women, should never culturally limit themselves on the love front. “Men have the pick of the litter, so why shouldn’t we?” You can expect to see an assortment of colorful men on the show.

After having gone through the reality dating show machine, has Chilli found love? Of course she wouldn’t reveal that, but she did say that the experience solidified one thing. “I’m not getting rid of my list! ” referring to her requirements that a potential mate must meet.

However, she didn’t just put it all on the fellas, as she did drop this little gem for other women looking for love. “First of all, you have to start with yourself. Think about what it is that you can bring to the table. I’m not asking anyone to bring ‘all of this’ to the table and I have nothing to bring. I know what I can bring, so I don’t want to settle for less than anything less than I deserve. TLC has always been about encouraging women to love themselves and believe in themselves. This just kind of goes along with what I’ve always done in my career.”