The reality TV series will show the publicist explore different chapters in her life and, according to her, the timing couldn’t have been better. “I think it’s just [that] opportunity approached me at the right time, and truthfully, I went to college for radio, TV and film, so it was never really a goal for me to be behind the scenes, it just kind of happened that way,” she tells xoNecole. “For 17 years, I was behind the scenes. And now it’s like alright, back to your passion, back to what you initially had in mind.”
Heart & Hustle: Houston focuses on six women entrepreneurs navigating business, love, and heartbreak.
Besides expanding her brand, viewers will also get a glimpse into La’Torria’s dating life. As a lover girl, the Clark Atlanta University’s 40 Under 40 recipient is not a fan of the term hopeless romantic, but rather prefers being called a “hopeful romantic.” “Hopeless sometimes feels like or sounds like, oh, pity her. She [doesn’t] have [any] options, she’s desperate and that ain’t me. I’m approached and I’m pursued at times,” she says.
“Sometimes it’s just a matter of the caliber and what my interest is. I’m not very picky in the sense of, oh, you gotta take me on a $500 date, or whatever the case may be. But I do look for quality. Quality in the areas of, do you communicate well? Are you creative? Do you know how to plan a date? Do you know how to call me, and if you hear my voice, that my voice sounds a little down, because I’ve had a long day. Do you know how to boost me up a little bit?
She adds, “So that’s kind of where I’m at with it. You may see on the show, maybe some dates that I go on, sure, but then I like to say at the age of 36, my pursuit and what I want in life really has nothing to do with career. It’s all about personal.”
“I’m not very picky in the sense of, oh, you gotta take me on a $500 date, or whatever the case may be. But I do look for quality. Quality in the areas of, do you communicate well? Are you creative? Do you know how to plan a date?
David Settle
With all the noise online about how to date, how to get a man’s attention, how much they should spend on you, it’s always best to stick to your morals. It also doesn’t hurt to get advice from women who’s been there and are in happy relationships. La’Torria shares what role some of the married women on the cast played in her dating life.
“Some of the married women, when we’ve hung out, they have given their advice, and I think it’s worth tuning in to see some of the valuable things that they’ve said to me,” she explains. “There’s one married lady who actually set me up on a date, so we’ll have to see how that goes. But it’s been really good.
“Just hearing their transparency, I think no matter if it’s single life or dating life or married life, none of it is easy, right? All of it has different steps to it, different levels to it. And I think when you truly care about somebody, you like somebody, you’re willing to compromise certain things to ensure success. And just like we want success in our careers, we have to take that same approach in relationships. Whether it’s friendships, whether it’s dating or whatever. Go into it with an open mind, go into to it with, ‘hey, this is something that I could see myself building with.’ Or again, goes back to transparency. If it’s not for you, it’s not for you, but let’s not waste each other’s time.”
When she’s not focused on matters of the heart, she’s getting better professionally and personally. She is the co-owner of Rain on Washington Lounge and Restaurant in Houston and is launching a candle line, Lemon Royale, based off of her last name and love of the popular citrus fruit.
As for her personal growth, La’Torria shares that the show helped her to become more vulnerable. “I learned about vulnerability with myself. I’ve always been an open book, but yet private, right? And so private in the sense of, there’s people that had no idea I was single. They were like, ‘Oh, you carry yourself like a wife or we never really seen you with anybody. So we just thought that was a private side of your life,” she explains.
“But going into this experience, I promised myself to be transparent. I promised myself to show the real me. Whether it’s funny, whether it’s a good day, whether it’s moments where I’m crying, whether it’s moments where I need my therapist, whether there’s moments where I’m missing my dad, all of the above, and that’s what I’ve learned to just be vulnerable and be a human. PR, sometimes is very robotic in the sense of, I’m making it happen for everybody else. So you’re behind the scenes, and this is the system of it. But when you step outside of that and you realize, hey, there’s a huge piece of me that I do want people to know, understand and respect, we just kind of let it all out.”
Heart & Hustle: Houston premieres Saturday, August 2, 8 pm EST/ 7 C.
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Feature image by David Settle
