Yandy Smith is opening up about Mendeecees’s statements about being unsure of the outcome had the tables been turned as it pertains to his prison bid. Viewers of the Love and Hip Hop franchise have been privy to Yandy Smith and Mendeecees Harris’s relationship and marriage. They’re also well aware of Harris’s time in away and how Yandy held him down. But in April of this year, a clip began to circulate on social media that showed opposing viewpoints from the couple while on VH1’s Couples Retreat when speaking on the stint of incarceration. The clip also unlocked widespread eye-raising or side-eye action from the public in the direction of Mendeecees Harris.
Yandy Smith made a recent stop on The Breakfast Club where she addressed the viral debate that lit up social media. Appearing via Zoom, the reality star was asked to clarify what occurred while being reminded of Harris’s statements that he doesn’t know whether or not he would have “held her down” had the roles been reversed. Smith begins by stating, “My husband is brutally honest in every situation.”
Yandy Smith goes on to share that she was asked that question previously when Harris initially was locked up. According to Smith, at the time, her husband insisted that she “did not have to do this.” All the while, Smith began to question whether or not she could while hoping that she would be able to hold Mendeecees down during his incarceration.
To bring it all together, Smith clarifies her husband’s statements. “What he said was, ‘I don’t know.’ And that is what everybody really feels,” Yandy stressed. “But I was like, ‘Damn! We sitting in front of three million people watching this show. I don’t care what you really feel. Say what you’re supposed to say!”
Ultimately for Yandy, Mendeecees’s brutal honesty does not come as a surprise to her, and she brings into account that she as well felt the same at one point. “I think that’s an honest feeling that you have,” she added, “but the point is, don’t be stupid.” Smith emotes that the world is going to bring up that she was able to carry the weight of the family and the relationship and will heavily criticize him for his open and honest feelings. “I was like, ‘I should knock you upside your head!” she jokingly exclaimed.
Yandy then goes into the conversation that she had with Mendeecees after the clip went viral, which she says has similarly happened on multiple occasions. Mendeecees’s incarceration still appears to be a deep spot of contention within their marriage as sometimes it may come up in arguments, and he would bring into question the times where Yandy was not as communicative or as responsive as he would have liked.
“What if the roles were reversed?” questions Yandy to Mendeecees. She then goes on to remind him of her responsibilities at home while “working three jobs” and “owning different companies.” Says Yandy, “I’m allowed to miss a phone call. I’m allowed to not write you after I done spoke to you three times, today.” Through their conversations, she admits that Mendeecees has been able to become a bit more understanding as to why she may have been unavailable to him at times. He also has been able to relate in saying he doesn’t know if he would be able to do the same.
Due to their many conversations on the subject, Yandy revealed that she was not as shocked to hear his true feelings. Smith also revealed that her husband has expressed extreme gratitude for her holding it down while he was away. But because they’ve had the conversations prior to the taping of the show, that did not stop it from rearing its head once more after its air date. Yandy described her nerves while taping the scene for Couples Retreat and shared that she walked into the confessional months later already feeling “mad” from their prior conversation.
Yandy then shared that she was further embarrassed due to the setting in which Mendeecees shared his feelings. According to Smith, Harris also expressed embarrassment for her comments on work having more importance in the relationship. She also briefly spoke about her feeling unappreciated by her husband when it comes to her work. As you recall, Yandy Smith has been on the front lines along with Tamika Mallory in support of her causes and was even detained while demonstrating.
Yandy realizes that it was less of being unappreciated and more seeing that her husband was “scared” for her. Calling her husband while she was incarcerated, she says, was “one of the hardest calls he had to receive. Because, at that moment, the roles were reversed.” Watch below to hear Yandy Smith speak on the subject, and also for the original viral clip.
