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Years after their high-profile split, La La Anthony admits there are still some “day-to-day” challenges when co-parenting with her ex-husband, former NBA player Carmelo Anthony.
The actress and television personality shed light on the complexities of raising their 17-year-old son, Kiyan, in light of their divorce and finding out about his secret child.
Anthony was recently a guest on Keke Palmer’s “Baby, This is Keke Palmer” podcast, where she discussed her growth as a woman, mother, and entrepreneur.
During the interview, Palmer asked Anthony about the inspiration behind her 2015 book, “The Love Playbook: Rules for Love, Sex, and Happiness.”
“Well, I need to rewrite it now,” Anthony said jokingly. She married the former New York Knicks player in 2010. They separated in April 2017 following messy rumors of him cheating and finalized their divorce in June 2021.
The former “Power” star added that she wrote the book when “I thought she had loved figured out,” but realized she didn’t when a “curveball” was thrown her way.
“At that time I was like oh I’m married I have a kid. I’m kinda cruising and I got this thing figured out, and a whole curveball came my way and now I’m not married and now I’m co-parenting and living in that space and figuring that out and that’s a day-to-day challenge that comes with that.
The “curveball” La La’s possibly alluding to is finding out about the secret child that her ex-husband fathered during their marriage.
The reason for the five-year gap between their split and divorce became apparent last year when photos of then-5-year-old Genesis Harlo were posted on Instagram by her mother, Mia Angel Burks.
Fans instantly saw the resemblance between the young girl and Carmelo and called it out on social media, asking, “The baby he had while still married?”
Carmelo silently confirmed Genesis was his daughter by “soft launching” her with a feature in his retirement video honoring his 19 years in the league.
Carmelo Anthony is is outta pocket Not him having a picture of his daughter in the video but couldn’t say “my daughter” like he said “my son.”
— ari d. (@aridbby) May 22, 2023
Carmelo has become more visibly active in the young girl’s life. As recently as August 2024, he was seen attending her 7th birthday party. At her basketball-themed party, Genesis paid homage to her father by wearing a top and skirt fashioned in the likeness of his old No. 7 Knicks jersey.
The pictures of the birthday party caused a stir on social media when fans noticed that Carmelo’s son, Kiyan, was not there to celebrate with his sister.
Although fans were poking fun when commenting, “Lala said she is not playing stepmom to NOBODY. Let somebody else do it,” regarding her son’s absence.
But she is serious about protecting Kiyan from the traumas that could come along with having to deal with his father’s infidelity.
“We’re so close. He is my only child. There’s a different bond,” she said of Kiyan, who she also referred to as her “best friend.” She continued, “It’s been him and I through this journey, and he’s been with me through the ups and downs of whatever happened with me and his dad and what my life looks like now. He’s been there through it all.”
Anthony further spoke about her experience as a “boy mom,” especially with her son transitioning into a young adult and navigating life through school, sports, and dating.
After a long (and unwarranted) lay-off Carmelo Anthony got a call from his proud son, Kiyan after putting up 25 points with the Blazers Last Night. LaLa holds up the phone so that Melo can see the FaceTime call from his son rooting him onpic.twitter.com/iQFIICTbap
— Black With No Chaser (@BlackNoChaser) November 26, 2019
Palmer lastly asked for Anthony’s perspective and advice on co-parenting, especially regarding the importance of maintaining a friendship with your former partner.
“It’s not always the easiest, and every day will not be peaches and roses. It’s just not realistic. But at the end of the day, you have to remember that your child sees everything,” she told Palmer.
Anthony added that parents must remember they are an example of “what love looks like” to their child.
She emphasized the importance of communication and boundaries to ensure there were no “blurred” lines and to keep the focus on the child at all times. She ended with, “It takes time. You have to figure out what works. There’s a lot of trial and error, a lot of bumps in the road, and a lot of arguments. There are a lot of things that happen until it kind of smooths out, but eventually, it always smooths out. It’s all trial and error, and it happens as you go. The main thing is just always to keep the child at the center of it all.”
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