With wedding plans just months away to Keely Watson, Bozoma Saint John is expressing the importance of Black love and joy every chance she gets.
“For powerful, successful, driven and ambitious women, it is hard to be seen by your partner,” the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star told EBONY on the red carpet of the 57th NAACP Image Awards nominees brunch in Los Angeles on February 7.
The former media executive and Image Awards nominee and her entrepreneur fiancé announced their engagement in August 2025. “You have to be very didactic about who you partner with,” she continued.
“I have felt very seen by Keely in that he is so supportive of me, championing and celebrating and not competing with me.” She explained that it can be a real challenge for Black women to find themselves in this light. “If you’re successful, oftentimes people think you’re just an alpha woman, and you don’t deserve softness. I’m in my soft girl era. I need to be taken care of. That’s how I feel seen.”
The bride-to-be is in full wedding mode with plans on walking down the aisle in August and November. During an episode of Andy Cohen’s Watch What Happens Live in January, Watson revealed that they’re celebrating with two ceremonies: one in Ghana on August 21 and a wedding in Los Angeles in November. She’s also discussed her future baby and fertility challenges plans on RHOBH.
“Entering this [14th] season, it was important for us to show this journey because there are so many people who go through IVF, but they do it silently and alone,” she said on the series. “It’s not always joy. There’s disappointment and loss, too. We thought to be honest and tell people what we’re going through.”
Through life’s ups and downs, Saint John said that she finds joy in her resilience as a Black woman.
“In every lifetime, I would choose to be Black,” she said. “I love being Black because we are so resilient. It’s hard to explain the word strong and it gets tiring, but our resilience beats no other. What we have been through on the continent, the diaspora, and we’re still here. People are still copying us. Trends are still built on us. It’s incredible. I love being Black because of our resilience.”
Held at the NYA Studios West, the star-studded event celebrated nominees across more than 90 categories, including One Battle After Another star Chase Infiniti, in film, television, streaming, music, literature, podcasts, and more.
On the red carpet, guests shared similar sentiments about Black joy and what they admire most about being Black. Karen Pittman, star of Forever and The Morning Show, acknowledged her biggest role models whose legacies have shaped Black history and culture. “Barack and Michelle Obama,” she declared.
“I love that legacy. I love who they are. I love what they represent. I love Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou. There’s so much to love about who we are as people. The more I grow and learn about our history in this country, the more I find myself enamored with it. I’m so proud.”
Abbott Elementary star William Stanford Davis mentioned his love for rhythm and blues. “Nobody loves like Black people,” he exclaimed. “From our food to our history and culture, we created everything that this planet loves. We’ve made fast changes in this country, and it’s time we get credit for that.”
Event co-host Melvin Gregg added, “Black Americans have a shared experience where we have familiarities and don’t even necessarily have to know the person. It’s really a community where you’re a part of an inner circle that’s full of love. I couldn’t imagine being anything else.”