Charmaine Bey is gearing up for a seismic career shift. The current VH1 reality star has been hard at work diversifying her career since her breakout role on Black Ink Crew: Chicago. It seems she is officially ready to separate herself from the popular reality show and strike out on her own, and she’s doing so in dramatic fashion. Taking to Instagram earlier today, she revealed to fans that she will no longer be a part of the show and had some choice words for the franchise on her way out.
Black Ink Crew introduced the world to Charmaine Bey in 2015 through their Chicago wing. The small-town girl found her way to Chicago after graduating from Howard University. She is originally from Louisiana and took to the Windy City to pursue roles at CBS and Groupon. After joining the cast, she became a breakout star working her newfound popularity into a deal with iHeartMedia, which included a Youtube Channel, a radio show on 107.5 EGCI, and more. She also launched a cooking show and a successful sea moss company with her husband, Nick.
Speaking of her personal life, Bey and Nick have been busy growing their family and checking off milestones. This past February, they welcomed their second child on her mother’s birthday. It was really significant because Bey’s mother passed in 2019 due to a heart attack, and its something she’s been struggling with ever since. Her father would pass two years later in 2021. “I can’t believe I gave birth on my heavenly mother’s birthday!” She posted a photo of her, her husband, and their new baby all smiling. She called it the “greatest gift” God could give her and expressed how good it felt that her mother and father still felt like a constant in her life, even in passing. She named her new baby Charlie and said she arrived into the world at 6:16 pm, weighing 7lbs 12oz and 20.5 inches long. Charmaine and Nick (also spelled Neek in some reports) already share a two-year-old daughter named Nola Glenda Bey, who was born on March 14, 2020.
Bey lost her father to esophageal cancer last summer, the same cancer that recently claimed the life of Traci Braxton. Charmaine publicly dealt with her father’s illness via social media. She told fans in the summer of 2021 that she was “living a nightmare” and that she had moved her father from Louisana to Chicago to care for him. Despite being able to afford him the best doctors in the city, they knew his chances were not great. Her father suffered multiple seizures following chemotherapy and began having some memory loss. Bey said that this baffled doctors, and they fought hard to cure him and figure out a way for him to overcome his memory loss. Charmaine recalls speaking to him about her mother and him not knowing who she was talking about. Unfortunately they were unsuccessful in helping him, and he passed on August 2, 2021. In a post from that time, Charmaine said, “I’m glad you no longer have to suffer. I love you forever, pops. Daddy’s girl forever.”
With a new baby in her life and her parents’ deaths still fresh, it seems Charmaine really wants to turn the corner and move into a new space. Taking to her social media hours ago, she broke the news that she will be leaving Black Ink Crew. She kicked off the announcement alluding to some drama, saying, “I quit the tv show blackinkcrew, I’m no longer working with ‘TV tattoo artist,’ unfollowed any phony person I used to deal with from the show, hired all dope tattoo artist who represents Chicago, and my haters will still say my shop isn’t legit.” She tells her naysayers that hating on her will not get them a “bigger bag” and will not slow her down or stop her success. She goes on to drop the IG of her new shop, 2nd City Ink, and invite fans to support her there or on the company’s website.
Fans flooded her comments with support, saying, “Straight like that. Chapter closed for an even better one to open !” and “Good for u wish u well on ur new journey, and I definitely love u on Wgci!” She concluded her announcement with, “Thank you, team, for trusting me! Nothing but respect and all love over here 💜.”
