Apparently, there is a “respectful” and “disrespectful” way to cheat. That’s what Melody and Martell Holt – one of the three Alabama-based, black, wealthy couples featured in OWN’s new series, Love & Marriage: Huntsville – say. The duo make the astonishing distinction in the show’s premiere episode, which airs on Jan. 12 at 9 p.m. And OWN has given HollywoodLife an EXCLUSIVE sneak peek showing how Melody and Martell (who are facing challenges in their marriage) break down their logic.
In the brief clip above, Melody perplexes the other two couples – Marsau and LaTisha Scott, and Maurice Scott and Kimmi Grant – during a dinner party by insisting that there is a “respectful” way to cheat. Yes, really. Later, in a confessional, the self-made millionaires and residential real estate developers break it down a little further. “Cheating is wrong, regardless,” Melody says. “There’s [sic] no positives that come out of that – especially not for the person who’s on the other end of the cheating. Despite that, if someone is cheating or if someone is the other woman or the other man, it’s still a certain level of respect that needs to be put there for that wife or for that husband. Meaning, you are not calling that person, you’re not texting that person, you are not going around the children if they have children together. You’re not trying to be all up in their city where they live. You know, there’s just a certain way still to be respectful.”
Melody does point out that she’s not cool with infidelity. In fact, she says, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s right, because it’s never right. But, there’s still a way to do any and everything. Cheating is all the way disrespectful, period.”
Melody and Martell both point out that there are some people who are married for 30 to 50 years and never know that their spouse is cheating. Melody is not talking about that. But, what she is saying is this: “[At] the end of the day, am I person who is going to sit around and keep tolerating someone cheating and cheating? Because… I feel like, if you’re going to continue to cheat, that means that you’re not happy with me. There’s something else you’re wanting. There’s something you’re missing. So I’ll say, well, you know what? Go ahead and enjoy that.”
In the series trailer, which OWN released in November, Melody and Martell’s relationship issues were front and center. At one point he says, “I don’t care if I’ve slept with a thousand people, you don’t go out and tell people. We keep that in our household.” Melody claps back, “You should have kept your penis in our household!” Touché.
We can’t wait to see what else is in store for these three successful African-American couples at the forefront of the real estate industry in Huntsville, Alabama. In public they’re joining forces to revitalize their hometown with affordable housing, via their joint venture, The Comeback Group. In the meantime, they’re dealing with their own personal relationship challenges. Stay tuned to watch the drama unfold!