‘Selling Sunset’ Star Amanza Smith Says Ex-Boyfriend Taye Diggs Financially Supported Her And Her Children For Five Years: ‘He Took Care Of Us’

Selling Sunset star, Amanza Smith says actor and ex-boyfriend Taye Diggs financially supported her for five years when her ex-husband Ralph Brown couldn’t.

Smith was married to Brown from 2010 to 2012. They have two children; Noah, 10, and Braker, 9. After they split, Smith moved on to a relationship with Diggs, but the two broke it off in 2018, according to Us Weekly. During an interview with the outlet, the Selling Sunset star shared how her relationship with Diggs continued on even after they split. “I was with somebody for five years. I dated Taye for five years,” said Smith. “He took care of us. I worked barely. And so I never felt at that time…it didn’t make sense to ask for [my ex’s] money when I was…After Taye, and I broke up, I did ask for it and [Ralph] told me, ‘I can’t.’”

Smith went on to say that she never pressured Brown to support her and their family. “It’s been so long, and we could argue that he owes it, but I went through so much when we got a divorce—just the back-and-forth texts and anger. He was so angry. When it kind of settled down, it’s so much more important for me to just have peace in my life,” said Smith. “I would rather bust my ass and work 10 jobs than have to always feel, like, anxious or blamed or guilty. I can’t. I just want to be happy, and I feel like I’ve been blessed because I do have opportunities. I did have a boyfriend that took care of us for a while. I have a huge platform now. I’m making my own money, and that feels so good.”

One of the reasons Brown couldn’t support Smith and their children is because he “blew all his money” after he retired. Brown’s estranged relationship with the family later became a storyline on Selling Sunset. Smith says she hasn’t seen Brown for an entire year. “I’m positive that he’s alive and I know that he’s alive because I’ve had to get an attorney and we’ve had to file court records, and I’m trying to get full custody, and at one point he submitted something to the courts where he did a change of address, and we traced it back, but it’s a P.O. box at, like, a UPS store,” she said. “So, I mean, he’s off the grid. Whatever’s going on and I have no idea what it is, whatever it is, he doesn’t want to be found right now, and for me, if he doesn’t want to be found right now, then it’s probably best that he’s away until he’s better or he wants to come back.”

Smith says she wants to help Brown, but she’s taking the process slow and steady for her own health. “Right now, we’re doing good, and we’ve kind of just settled into this new reality, and if he showed up on the doorstep right now, I think it would just rock our worlds even more, so I’m not even prepared at this point if he were to, like, show up tomorrow,” she said. “‘Cause I don’t know what that entails. I have no idea what state of mind he’s in.”