Actor, comedian and dancer Flex Alexander recently sat down with Bet.com to talk about the second season of his reality show “Flex & Shanice” on OWN and his new graphic novel “The Joshua Run” and his struggle with bankruptcy.
The actor had had a great time as an actor during the 1990s and early 2000s, but ended up falling from the heights of success and became bankrupt as a result of his desire for expensive things and lavish lifestyle. But, in spite of all the hardship, the star has already been able to make his way back on the track, all thanks to his beloved wife, Grammy-nominated R&B singer Shanice Wilson.
Recalling his bitter past memories, the comedian and newly turned comic book writer, talked with BET. He shared his difficult past and how he found victory against his demons and his motivation behind writing his new graphic novel.
The interviewer started the interview by asking Alex about the inspiration behind writing the graphic novel and the development behind his black character in the comic. Alex replied by saying: “Honestly, I just wanted to see a Black character in a really dominant role, almost kind of like a Robin Hood, a super hero almost. We hadn’t seen it. It was a big fan of the Bourne Supremacy series and Enemy of the State and all those governmental-type movies. I just said, “This would be interesting.””
BET praised the comedian and his wife for the success they have garnered via their reality show and also congratulated him as the show got picked for the second season. When asked about the reaction of their fans regarding the show, Alex sald that the reaction had been extremely great and fantastic and said that their show was quite different from the regular reality shows.
“It’s been great. It’s been so much positive feedback. The glass-throwing, chair-throwing stuff… that’s just not what we’re doing. When we travel… people are saying, “Thank you. I can relate,” or, “My whole family can sit down and watch the show,” he said.
He added: “That, for me, is the most rewarding, because we wanted to be able to do something that can inspire people and let them know that you don’t have to give up. You can keep going. We’re entertainers, we’re in this business, and we go through it just like you. We chose to talk about it as opposed to letting someone else talk about it.”
As we all know, Flex Alexander survived bankruptcy with the help of his wife and he remembered the struggles he had to face. He shared how his marriage survived despite the financial turmoil. He said prayers and communication between Shanice and him was the key that helped them retain their relationship.
“It was never a conversation about, “Hey, maybe we’d be better if I’m over here, you’re over there.” That never came up. It was always, “We’re going to get through this. We’re going to see that other side. We’re going to get through this.” We didn’t argue about it. We just said, “Okay, we’re in this situation. We hate that we got here.””
The interviewer seemed more interested in digging up his bankruptcy and Alex was happy to share it with BET. At one point the interviewer asked him: “How did you get there? You were making tens of thousands of dollars a week at one point.”
Alex explained: ‘We’re not extravagant people. When you have expenses and you’re making a certain amount of money, your expenses go up, then when money’s not coming in, those expenses still have to be paid. What you do have saved, it’s being pulled off constantly. It’s being chipped off and nothing’s replenishing it. Next thing you know, it’s all the way down. That’s what happened.”
The One on One star also revealed how he teaches his two kids the importance of managing money.