Amber Jones Didn’t Come To Reality TV To Play A Character
OWN’s Belle Collective reality TV franchise has made its way to a new city, Birmingham, Alabama. As a native myself, the city is known for its deep and historic roots and talent, but as the city grows and transforms, Birmingham is becoming more of a gem in the South.
With that, the cast of Belle Collective Birmingham is taking the opportunity to show exactly what Birmingham has to offer, and I was able to speak with one of the leading cast members, Amber Jones.
Amber is a financial strategist and credit coach for her business, Life Key Financial; she’s also CFO of Canvas Beauty, a beauty brand led by Stormi Steele, an OWN Love and Marriage Huntsville alum.
Amber met Birmingham as a Division I athlete at the University of Alabama at Birmingham before leaving to pursue professional basketball on international teams. After a life-altering injury, she became a true Birmingham transplant, planting her roots in the city. But that’s only a part of her story, and in this season of Belle Collective, you’ll learn more about who she is and what she’s on a mission to accomplish.
On the heels of the first episode premiere and several pre-premiere interviews, I sat down with Amber to discuss some of the questions I hadn’t heard about the show.
When I got on a call with Amber, the first thing she told me was that she’s been deliberately avoiding the blogs. Not out of fear exactly, but more so self-preservation. She knew going in that perception would be completely out of her control, but she’s decided to embrace it.
“I don’t want anything to shift my mood. I haven’t gotten to that space where I’ve never received public negative backlash or anything. So if that does happen, that will be a first for me. I accepted the fact, hey, if I’m going to be on reality TV, I have to show my real life, and just however people perceive it, that’s just how people perceive it.”
For viewers who aren’t from the South, some of the early episode tension between castmate K’la might read as small. I have to laugh at the thought because I think if you have to ask, you probably didn’t grow up here. Why does that matter if someone doesn’t speak when you walk into a room?
“Down South, we speak. And if you’re walking directly and you’re looking at me, or if you walk in a room with people I know, I just expect just to say hello. That’s just common courtesy. And if you don’t, I’m like, what’s the issue?”
One teaser-like gem in the first episode shows Amber’s relationship with her niece, Kylin. She said she and Kylin made a deal when she moved in that she would treat her grown woman, so I asked her about sharing a home and a bit of the spotlight with her niece. Kylin is, in Amber’s words, “a little young crash out that we all were at one point.” Beyond the “coat stealing” and the keeping-her-on-her-toes moments is a financial takeaway that I think many can practice.
“The biggest life hack is not having bills and being able to get ahead. If a parent curates a space where the child feels comfortable coming back for two or three years out of college, do you know how far ahead they can get by not having any bills?”
As CFO, Amber’s job at the beauty brand is basically to be the person who says no when necessary. Stormi, she told me, is a creative and a marketing mind, and if Stormi had it her way, everything would be marketed. Amber’s job is to hold the line, budgeting, forecasting, overseeing payroll, managing benefits, and asking what the company can actually afford. It’s the kind of role that makes a business sustainable instead of just exciting.
“A company has different departments where everything has to be balanced. It’s not only the credit, the base credit, all of that, but it’s making sure that we’re set up to succeed going forward.”
Anyone who’s watched a promising small business grow fast and then collapse even faster knows exactly why that role matters.
Here’s a detail I genuinely loved: Amber did not have TVs in her house for the first two years she lived there because she just didn’t watch TV. Between growing up where she played five sports in high school and being deep into personal development after college, she never picked up the habit. Even when Stormi appeared on Love and Marriage Huntsville, she said she may have watched one episode, but things are different now. She has a TV in her bedroom now, and she’s been catching up on Real Housewives of Potomac. I asked about how she felt about reality TV being on the opposite side of things
“A lot of people have this one moment that could have happened seasons ago that people just never forget. People’s entire future is defined by one moment.”
If you’re visiting Birmingham and want to experience it the way Amber does, then add Battle Republic Boxing Gym, the restaurant Johin’na, and a Barons baseball game.
As a native and resident, there’s something about a Barons game on a summer night in Birmingham that she is absolutely right about.
Belle Collective airs Fridays at 9:00 PM ET/PT on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.
Follow along at @OWNTV and @coachamberjones, and join the conversation with #BelleCollective.
