La La Anthony Admits Marriage Struggles With Carmelo Anthony Helped Understand Latest Project

They were once the definition of a power couple—La La Anthony, the fiery MTV VJ with charisma to spare, and Carmelo Anthony, the NBA phenom lighting up arenas. In 2019, La La publicly praised him for staying solid despite being “blamed,” “overlooked,” and “scapegoated.” But that was then. Now, the two are separated, and La La’s charting a far more personal journey—navigating the emotional and financial realities of single motherhood, co-parenting, and everything else that comes with starting over.

They met in 2003—Carmelo, fresh off being drafted by the Nuggets, and La La, already a star on MTV’s TRL. Introduced by DJ Clue, the two quickly became one of pop culture’s favorite couples. Melo proposed on Christmas Day in 2004, they had their son Kiyan in 2007, and tied the knot in a star-studded New York wedding in 2010. But over the years, the whispers of infidelity grew louder—first against him, then rumors (later debunked) against her. La La stood by him for as long as she could, but after more cheating allegations surfaced, the decade-long marriage ended in 2021.

La La Anthony isn’t just playing a woman trying to reclaim her power on BMF—she’s been living that story in real life too. With Season 4 of the STARZ series dropping today, La La’s character, Markisha Taylor, is stepping into her own, no longer content being someone’s sidepiece or shadow. “She wants to be a boss now,” La La told ESSENCE. “She’s tired of relying on men to get ahead, and she wants to have her independence.” That’s not just a plotline. That’s personal.

“She didn’t want to forget herself anymore,” La La said, reflecting on how her character—and she herself—has evolved. “A lot of times we as women, even being a mom, we lose ourselves. We just become a mom or a wife and forget who we are.” That hit deep. After years of trying to hold it down in a rocky marriage, La La is now channeling all of that pain, growth, and power into her art.

In an episode of SoFi, she opened up about what it felt like to be labeled the “first lady of the NBA.” For someone who once played the sport herself in college, you’d think it’d be flattering, right? Turns out, not quite. “I didn’t really love the term because I knew that I was more than that,” she shared on the podcast. But it is also true that post-divorce, she had to carry a different type of pressure.

In a Richer Lives episode, La La opened up about the emotional and financial weight that’s followed, “You’re on your own at that point… and that puts a different responsibility, sometimes a different amount of pressure,” she said. Even though she’s always been financially independent, she admitted there was a certain comfort in knowing she had someone to fall back on. Now? “I don’t have anyone to call,” she admitted. “There’s pressure there, but I don’t mind it.” And when it comes to love again? That chapter’s still waiting—because marriage is not on her vision board right now.

Is La La Anthony done with marriage?

La La Anthony is done with marriage—and she’s not shy about saying it. “I’m never getting married again,” she said bluntly in a 2022 episode of ‘The Breakfast Club.’ For her, tying the knot feels like one of those life events you check off a list—been there, done that. “I’ve experienced it and I know the good and the bad that happened to me, so it’s not something I want to experience again,” she explained. And she’s not knocking anyone else’s path—she’s just clear about hers. “I can have an incredible relationship with somebody and not be married.” She even admitted she finds the whole thing too transactional now. “Marriage at times becomes very much like a business thing… it’s easy to get into and harder to get out of,” she said. At this point, she just doesn’t feel like she needs all that extra complication.

She’s also noticed something funny about the dating scene: apparently, only 21- and 22-year-olds are lining up to shoot their shot. “I don’t understand this,” she laughed. “When you get older, only younger guys want to date you.” But despite the attention, La La’s focus has shifted. These days, her number one priority is co-parenting her son, Kiyan. And while the dating thing is complicated, parenting with her ex, Carmelo Anthony, is something she’s proud of. “I couldn’t ask for a better partner in the co-parenting space,” she told E! News, calling Melo the “greatest dad ever.”

Even though they’ve gone their separate ways, they show up to Kiyan’s games together, keep communication open, and try to make sure he sees love—no matter what form their family takes now. And yes, she admits she wishes she could have shielded Kiyan from the public fallout of it all. But in everything she does now, La La is focused on creating something steady, loving, and real for her son. “Put the child at the center of it,” she said. And while she’s still got her ex’s last name (because, well, that Kiyan NBA jersey might just drop someday), La La’s sense of self couldn’t be clearer. She’s moving forward with grace, boundaries, and a whole lot of heart.

La La’s not chasing a fairytale ending—she’s writing her own. No more boxes to check, no more pretending. Just a woman showing up for herself and her son every single day.