If you’ve heard anything about marketing titan Bozoma Saint John‘s resume, including C-suite roles at some of the biggest companies around, including Netflix, the idea of her joining the world of the “ladies who lunch” of Real Housewives might make you scratch your head. But upon chatting with “Boz,” the newest cast member of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, it makes sense. She has a vibrant personality, is easy to laugh, warm and inviting, and has been friends with several housewives. She’s actually a perfect fit. And Saint John has a plan to help showcase something different as a successful businesswoman and executive.
“We need to see these women who are all very complex people. It’s not just like, oh, I’m just a corporate person, or I’m just somebody’s wife, or I’m just somebody’s mom. There’s so many identities to showcase,” she tells ESSENCE. “And so I think rounding out the perspective and perception of us is really important.”
You may see a lot from her on social media, hear some things from the stories written about her, or even learn a bit from her book The Urgent Life: My Story of Love, Loss, and Survival. But you’re going to get the most uncovered version of Saint John yet as she plans to present a deeper look at her life through the show, including her romantic partner, her relationship with her daughter Lael, and more. And in case you were concerned about how Saint John would fare entering into the often conflict-heavy waters of reality TV, she’s got this. It has nothing on what she’s seen in corporate America. “I’ve seen some real draggings!”
We talked with Saint John about her newest title as a real housewife, her biggest business venture yet, and its roots in her beloved Ghana, keeping her love life private—until now, and how she does it all while being a proud single mother.
ESSENCE: So, first of all, congratulations! You have joined the realm of Real Housewives. You are officially a Real Housewives of Beverly Hills madam. Were you a fan of the franchise before you joined?
Bozoma Saint John: Oh yes, yes, yes, yes. I’ve been a fan of all of the franchises. But to be honest, I watched Atlanta very closely, and then I started watching Dubai pretty closely. Chanel Ayan is one of my favorites. But I’ve known of the Beverly Hills cast. I’ve known the New York cast, and I have a few friends who are on New York, so I’m, like, in the family.
So it was only a matter of time. Even on the premiere episode, everyone knows you for being a boss in business and your career in marketing. So why reality TV, and why now?
Well, I would say it’s probably more pointed. It’s not just any reality TV. It’s this particular show, this particular group of people. You and I already know representation is important. And so there was a two-way conversation that I was having with myself when considering being on the show. One was that I am branching out into my own. So there’s been lots and lots documented about my corporate career, about my corporate life, even via my social media and Instagram and whatnot. Maybe people know me most for that. And anything else known about my personal life is usually past tense. Maybe you know about the trips I take my daughter on. But outside of that, I don’t think people know me on a personal level. And as I elevate into the next things that I want to do, I thought it was important to round out who I am. And this is one of the best places to do that. If you’re going to get really personal very quickly with a large fan base, then this is the show to be on. I think that Beverly Hills is unique, even within the franchises, in that it is aspirational. I think it was important for me, anyway, to be representative of the self-made women. Those who found their way to the top on their own two feet. No disrespect to anybody who got there any other way, but we exist, and there are a lot of us. And so I want us to also be celebrated.
When you say were going to see more of your personal life, I know you said you have a partner. So you’re comfortable sharing all of that with viewers?
Yes. Well, that’s the thing, Victoria, I have been actually have been very private about that. I’m a widow of 11 years and I don’t think I’ve ever talked about who I’m dating. I don’t even think I posted him in a story. I’ve kept that very, very private. I didn’t make a choice not to. I just didn’t. You know what I mean? Yeah. And that’s other thing that I think happens social media is that sometimes you think people are making a choice and I’m like, not really.
You dunno if I cook, but that’s not a secret. I do cook. There are things I think that happened in our personal lives that sometimes you just don’t talk about. Not because I’ve made an active choice, but just because I don’t. But yes, I’m talking about my love life. I’m talking about me as a mother, not just taking my daughter on expensive vacations, but how do I mother her? She’s a teenager and she’s going through a lot and there are ways in which I counsel her that I think a lot of people will identify with who are in my similar position. Shout out to the single moms out here.
Knowing your brand and stature, but also knowing how Real Housewives can be—we love the entertainment, we love the aspirational aspects, but we also enjoy some of the mess and the drama. Were you ever concerned about that part of things?
Oh, girl, please. You work in an office, I don’t have to tell you [laughs]. I think I’ve been trained very well in the corporate space to deal with conflict. And I do it very well because I certainly wouldn’t have made it to the corner offices that I’ve been in if I was unable to not only be direct and stand up for myself but also to have my position, stand well in my position and quell the haters. That has been a part of my journey. We don’t like to talk about that often. We just like to talk about that, Yay! First black woman to do X, Y, and Z thing. Or oh, you’re a boss chick, you’re in this office. But it’s like, do you know what it took to get there? The arguments and battles I’ve fought to get to those rooms? So please, I’ve seen some real dragging!
How does your daughter feel about you joining the show and her getting to be part of it as well?
Well, what’s so funny is that my daughter and I are very different personalities. She’s definitely quieter than I am; I would say that she’s the type of person who’s like, we both enter a room. I’m the one who’s like, hi, everybody! She’s the one who’s going to sit in the corner and observe. So I was concerned that she wouldn’t want to be a part of the show or wouldn’t want to be filmed, which would’ve been fine with me. And I would never have forced her to do anything. And it wasn’t a deal breaker if she said she didn’t want to do it. It’d be like, okay, great. Don’t do it. We’ll keep you out of the story. But she was very excited and I think part of it’s that very much like me, even though we don’t talk publicly about everything that’s going on in our lives, there’s nothing that’s a secret. You know what I mean? And so it doesn’t feel like, oh my gosh, what are we going to say and what are we not going to say? It wasn’t like a pre-planning, okay, we can’t talk about this thing over here. No, if the cameras were there, we were talking. You have a window into the conversations that we have all the time. And I think that’s also practiced because, like I said, it’s the two of us. We’ve been through a lot together, and I have maintained a household in which we talk very openly about everything. And so I realized that that could perhaps be like, oh, but isn’t that for the inside? Not for everybody to know. But I think actually what has happened is that she’s very comfortable in expressing her feelings, very comfortable with expressing who she is, very comfortable with asking me very direct questions. And so I don’t think that coming in, she felt like, oh, this is going to be weird and different.
And I love that you’re going to get the opportunity, like you said, to kind of show people a different side of parenting and the journey you’ve been on as a single mom. You’ve accomplished so much. Who are those in your village who’ve kind of helped you to get it all done while still being able to be a hands-on mom?
Girl, you already know. It really does take a village to raise a child. My parents are very, very supportive. My mother lives in LA nearby so she’s always very helpful in coming through when I need to travel or whatnot. I have sisters, I have cousins, I have lots of besties. And actually, let me not be disrespectful to my brothers out here, not my actual brothers, but friends who are so wonderful, who take Lael and do things that I don’t want to do. They want to go camp! I don’t, so thank God for them. I have a very, very strong village. So I never want to come off sounding like, oh, I only did this alone. Yes, I’m a single mother, but I did it with, I have done it, and I’m doing it with a lot of people who support me.
As you balance your career and your personal life with these cameras following you now, hanging with ladies who lunch and things like that, and being front and center to their drama, how are you practicing self-care in the midst of that?
Well, what’s so funny is that I feel like I’ve actually had a very good self-care practice for decades. I have been able to balance that, like I said, in my corporate life. And so this doesn’t feel much different in that I don’t know that self-care means the same thing to everybody. Self-care also means to me that I have days where I am in my pajamas all day long, sitting on my couch watching TV without having to speak to anybody. I’m ordering in, I’ve got my tray next to me, my snack, my drinks. You just sit there, and nobody bothers. That, to me, is as much self-care as, like, oh, I’m going to a spa to get a massage. You know what I mean? Sometimes self-care makes it feel like you’ve got to do these very extravagant things. But for me, it’s like I just understand where I am, and then when I need the break, I just simply shut down. I don’t like to get to that point of feeling like, oh, I need to just shut all systems down. For me, the regular self-care is that, I know this is going to be unbelievable, but I get my eight hours of sleep every single night. By 9:30 you can’t get me. Everything’s getting shut down. My daughter’s bedtime is nine, and so I see her to bed and do a few little things that need to get done. By 9:30, I’m in my room, everybody quiet. And then I am waking up early to go. So I find that from that 9:30 p.m. to about 8:30 a.m. is my time. And that’s a combination of sleeping, working out, and doing whatever the hell I want to do. So that allows me to feel like I do have a significant part of the day that’s just mine.
I love that! And tell me about your new business launching on Black Friday.
I started a hair company! It;s Eve by Boz. And so right now it’s in pre-order. Essentially I built it for us because the market, it should be dictated by us. We make up 80% of consumers. However, these big extensions, bundles, closures, they have nothing to do with us. It’s actually quite astounding. And so I’ve been a consumer of these products for years, and just like every other Black woman out there, 14 million videos can prove it, we’re out here trying to figure it out. Tinting lace and using foundation to match skin tone. Why are we doing that? When I was done with my corporate career, and I wrote my book, and I was on a sabbatical trying to think about, okay, what’s next? What is the next industry or next job that I want to have? I was looking at a lot of fashion and beauty space offers, and I was just like, man, I think I want to go into this industry, but I don’t want to work for anybody.
The most frustrating thing is that even when you are in the top seat, you’re still dictated to by the pressures of the business in the industry. So the only way you can change this is if you become a creator, if you actually become the manufacturer. And that’s what I’ve decided to do. So I’ve taken on the entire industry, and I’ve built a factory in Ghana. I’m still sourcing raw goods out of Asia because that’s where it’s coming from. But I am processing in Ghana, so every product says “Created in Ghana.” I have the fulfillment company in Dallas, and so it’s distributed worldwide from there. It’s bought online at www.evebyboz.com. And it’s been great. It’s been really great. It’s been so wonderful to create with us in the center.
Even when I was creating the hair care for the hair extensions, I worked with this incredible Black woman chemist. She worked for all the big companies. But when we were talking and first formulating, I would just ask the simple questions. It is like, why are the ingredients from the continent not used more? Not when I know the properties. I know for a fact that palm kernel oil is actually very moisturizing. We use it in all kind of stuff. I was like, why is it not in ingredients for hair or skin or any of that stuff? And the answer wasn’t that it’s not possible, it’s just that people don’t do it just because. So I was just like, well, can we do it? Can we create a formula? And so we did. So I have shampoos, conditioners, leave-in, edge control, curl pudding. I have so many products that are made for the hair and for us with us in the center using ingredients that come straight from the continent.
It’s so fun. I mean even down to the imagery, it’s been so great to create what I find are more elevated and luxurious images of us. If you’ve ever bought any kind of hair extension, you will know that when you go to the websites, you’re spending a lot of money and what you’re seeing is product on mannequins. They have the nerve to have bad lighting, you get the product and it’s in a plastic bag or some sort of subpar satin bag. And I’m like, why are we served so poorly in this industry when we’re spending so much, hundreds of dollars, thousands of dollars on these products? And then we get them, and it’s just like, here. Take it. So even to that point, I created multi-use packaging. The packaging is a bonnet. I designed it myself. The fabric is intentional. I printed it using GTP, which is one of Ghana’s oldest textile companies. And the pattern is a beautiful conglomeration of logos that creates an Adinkra symbol. It’s like intention. So it’s been so wonderful to create with us in mind and to have real joy and love in the creation process.
And what can we expect from you on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills? I know you said we’re going to get to see your personal life. We’re going to get to see you be a mother. Is there anything else you want to give people a heads-up that they’ll see in this new season?
You can expect to see me slay. Hair is laid, and outfits are popping. So that’s what you can expect every week. I don’t ever let up. I don’t step off the gas. I give it to them every week. No days off!
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills airs on Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo.
