Dating Angel Conwell at that time in her career—when she was in Baby Boy, The Wash, Soul Plane—was a unique experience. She was incredibly attractive, and I’ll be honest, I think I was a bit insecure. I was coming off Smart Guy, still shaking that “smart guy” image, had just dropped 40-50 pounds, and was finally getting into shape. But the cool thing was, I knew her before all that. We met through a mutual friend at one of the many gatherings I used to throw at my house, which was kind of the party spot back then.

I remember after I started working out for a role, I saw her again a couple of months later. She looked at me and said, “Okay, I see you. You getting right.” I played it cool like, “Watch it with the compliments.” But that moment stuck with me. Later on, I saw her again at a Baby Boy table read. She was going out for the role of Kim, and I remember her not even knowing all the details, just reading from sides. From there, our bond started to grow.

Here’s the thing about relationships that start in Hollywood—especially when you’re working on a project together. There’s this natural bond that forms. I remember in high school, during a play, our teacher once made me and a co-star sit face-to-face and take turns complimenting each other. At first, I wasn’t even attracted to the girl, but after that session, we looked like we were in love on stage. That kind of bonding translates to film and TV too. You spend so much time rehearsing, looking into someone’s eyes, saying intimate lines, even kissing—it can create real emotions.

With Angel and I, our connection grew over time. I was very protective of her. That’s just how I was raised—to treat women with respect and care. But with Angel, it was extra. She was from South Carolina, raised in the Valley, and I just wanted her to always feel safe around me, especially being in L.A. and looking the way she did. I knew the attention would be there. She was attached to me, too—we were tight. It wasn’t one-sided. It took about a year before we really got serious, but once we did, we were inseparable. If we didn’t talk for a day, something felt off.

But then, things got tough. A lot of it was me—young, insecure, and now getting attention from women I had never received attention from before. I had always been the big dude, but now I was fit, in shape, on TV, and it was a lot. I loved Angel, no question, but it was still hard to process all of that while staying committed in a new relationship. I never cheated, but the temptation and attention were real. Eventually, things fell apart—not explosively, but they did end. She was the one who officially ended it. And I didn’t take it well at first.

At the time, I was a little hostile, seeing her at events and not really speaking. She actually called me out on it once, like, “What’s your deal?” And she was right. There was no reason to be salty. So we made peace and remained cool after that.

Then years later, when I started working on Family Time, they cast her as my wife. I had no say in it, but people assumed I pulled strings. I didn’t. I already had a girlfriend and had to explain that my ex was now playing my on-screen wife—and we’d have to kiss. I even gave my partner the option to veto it, told her I’d walk away if it was too much. Like most good women, she said it was fine… but the first season or two was rough.

Angel was always cool, though. She’s a real hip-hop head, and she’s always supported my music. I remember taking her to the studio once. She admitted she was skeptical like, “He thinks he can rap?” But then the track came on, and it was fire. To this day, she still remembers one of the bars and quotes it in interviews—it makes me laugh every time.

Now, about rappers trying to get at her? If they did, they never did it in front of me. But she was in a lot of videos—Angel was a video girl back then. She looked amazing, and she was in videos with big names, so I’d be lying if I said my mind didn’t run wild watching her dance around in a thong on TV. I’d be like, “Wait, why she gotta wear that? She don’t wear that at home!” But that was the industry. That was hip-hop. And she did her thing.

There was one time, though, that really stood out. She booked a role in The Wash, and the dressing rooms were actually hotel rooms. You think I was about to let my girl go on set at a hotel and just be unattended? I was there every day. I remember laying on the bed in her dressing room when there was a knock on the door—it was Dr. Dre. He asked for Angel, and I was like, “She’s on set.” After that, I was like, “Yeah, I’m not leaving this room.”

Pierre, who played her boyfriend in the movie, even told me years later, “Man, you were at every shoot, standing in the background during the kissing scenes looking serious.” I probably made it mad awkward, but I was just protective.

Looking back, I can say it: yeah, I was insecure. She was beautiful, she had that natural body—nothing fake—and she carried herself well. But she wasn’t all about her looks. She was grounded. Solid woman. My mind played tricks on me sometimes, especially watching her do those music videos. But I respected her hustle, and even though things didn’t last romantically, she’s always been a good person. A good girl. A solid one.