Bria Fleming, star of Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard, gave us an early glimpse of her experiences on the reality show. She speaks about why she joined the cast, her love for Milo, and her plans for the future.
You have already achieved a long list of accomplishments prior to the show. Have you always been interested in being on reality television?
Since I was young, I have always wanted to be involved in reality television. I grew up Jersey Shore, The Deion Sanders show, The Playboy Show, and The Kardashians. Being a young person looking up to reality television stars, I’ve always said that when I got older, I would love to be on a show one day that would show my lifestyle and the way I lived. I was still unsure about it, but as I got older; I knew it was something I wanted to do. You get these opportunities, especially with all these new shows out, but it has to be the right one. For me, being able to show my life and showcase everything—the lifestyle and the Black excellence—was very important to me. So, this was the right fit for me.
What were some of your biggest concerns about participating in the show with so many other cast members?
My biggest concerns were adapting to other people’s personalities and daily routines. Some people might get up early. Some people might get up late. Also, it’s an unscripted show so you don’t know how everyone may be emotionally. Some people may be sad or happy. Dealing with the emotions and daily routines, I was a little scared about that and we might clash. Some people are introverts. Some people are extraverts. I didn’t know what to expect, so that was kind of a challenge, and it was a little scary.
How did your family members, and friends respond to you joining the cast?
They loved it. My family and friends were very excited for me, especially because it is an all-Black show that promotes Black excellence. They were so happy that finally found the right show where I would be able to showcase my life and my accomplishments. They were a hundred percent onboard.
What would say has been the best and worst part of being in the house?
The best experience of being in the house was making new friends and learning from each and every individual in that house. The worst experience I would say is them not being open-minded when it came to my dog and people not being dog friendly.
A lot of reality stars describe a feeling of needing to turn up or create conflict to drive their personal roles viral for attention from viewers. How did you feel?
For me, it was very authentic. What you see is what you get. There were some people—if you saw the first episode or trailer—there was some tension between me and Jasmine. It is what it is. It’s something that we’re still trying to figure out in our relationship now. It’s real. I can’t get too much into it, but you see real problems. It’s all natural. We have to kind of navigate around it in a respectful way. Everything you see is what you get. There was no one giving us directions or telling us what to do. We did it naturally. The beef that you see is really the beef that you see. It comes from being in a house with people you know well and people you don’t know well at all. Relationships and friendships are being tested.
You and fellow housemate Shanice Henderson are best friends. Has living in the house together brought you two closer?
Being in the house with Shanice has brought us way closer than expected. As you can see in the trailer, she was butt-naked in the hot tub with my boyfriend (laughing). It brought us a little bit too close. Our bond gets stronger every day. I look at Shanice as an older sister. She’s older than me. I respect her. We have our moments, but we are very very close. As we go through these experiences and memories, it brings us even closer.
Now tell us about Milo and how long have you had him.
Yes, I have had Milo since he was eight weeks old. He just turned one-year-old on September 10th. He’s my best friend. He’s my emotional support animal. He is like my son. He’s everything to me. I wake, eat, sleep, and breathe Milo. He’s a great dog. We have established boundaries in our relationship. He’s sleeping next to me, that’s why I am looking down… I kind of feel like he’s a kid reincarnated in a dog. How he knows when I’m sad. How he behaves is very weird and scary (laughing). Milo and I are very close. He goes everywhere I go.
From the trailer, we see that some of the roommates had issues with him. Did you anticipate that people may be uncomfortable with Milo’s presence?
I didn’t anticipate that it would be a problem. Everyone I know is a dog lover. I assumed that everyone would be fine. They also knew that he was coming, so I didn’t think it would be a big issue. It was shocking when everyone tried to play like they didn’t know. I made it clear that he doesn’t bother anybody. He doesn’t bark. He pooped one time in the house as you can see in the trailer. He is very to himself. He kind of minds his business. I didn’t think he would be a bother because he is just in his own little world. Like I said, you are in a house with all of these different personalities. It’s a challenge. I love the challenge. It was a big challenge for me.
Beyond reality television, you have the House of Louisa Munich clothing brand and Bria Beauty Cosmetics, and Bria Beauty Skin. Where do you find the time?
House of Louisa Munich is a clothing brand that was gifted to me by my boyfriend. He is the cofounder and creator. He had a lot of stock left in his warehouse. When I toured his warehouse here in Germany, I saw his inventory of clothes and bags. He told me they were from a women’s clothing line that he had, but he was doing much with it. He offered it to me because I was into fashion. So, gifted it to me and I am actually rebranding the clothing line. I was able to introduce the brand on the show and give a couple of gifts out.
I make the time… I want to be a billionaire. That’s the end goal, and you need six or seven different sources of income to get to that level. I just keep on going. My brain is on a treadmill. It is always focused on how I can grow and what I make or create… I was able to trademark my name and trademark all of those brands, including Bria Hair, Bria Beauty, Bria Skin and Bria Cosmetics. I look at other billionaires like Rihanna and Kylie Jenner and follow their blueprints. They inspire me.
Be’n Original
