A new season of Life After Lockup is set to begin this week, and Brittany and Marcelino are back again.
They are one of the most beloved couples, and their success story is admirable. Brittany put in the work to help herself and turn her life around, and Marcelino gave her the love and support she needed to do all of it.
While still in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic, a lot has changed for the couple. Brittany has a new job, and as a family, they traveled to Hawaii to celebrate Marcelino’s birthday.
The Life After Lockup couple spoke exclusively with Monsters & Critics about the new season and changes in their lives since beginning the reality TV journey. Here’s what Brittany and Marcelino had to say about their lives now.
Monsters & Critics: So it’s been a couple of months since we’ve seen you guys, so has anything major changed that you can talk about or preview what’s coming up for the next season?
Marcelino: Oh, yeah.
Brittany: Yeah. I think a lot has changed.
Brittany: You know, getting the new house.
Marcelino: Right before that, though, that billboard, Brittany got her realtor license.
M&C: That’s amazing. I saw that, and I was going to ask you guys about that, so tell me about that. Did you just decide that that was what you wanted to do?
Brittany: Well, you know, Marcelino had been talking about like, you know, building a real estate empire to leave to our children one day, and then, you know, going through the whole process of trying to rent a house when I first came home from prison they were, you know, just discriminating against me because of my, my background and no one wanted to rent to us, and so it pushed us into homeownership, and I think over, you know, selling and buying our first two houses, it really like made me become passionate about real estate.
So I was like, “You know what? There’s not too many felons out there in the world that, you know, actually get their real estate license, but I’m not going to take no for an answer. I’m going to be determined, and I’m going to go to school. I’m going to try, and all they can do is tell me no.”
And so, I did, and like I just, you know, I submitted my real estate application to the division. I told them, I was like, “I know you have my background check, and you have every reason in the world to deny it,” but I’m like, “Let me, just give me an opportunity to tell you why you shouldn’t.” And, you know, they accepted my application, gave me my license, and I’m in contract with my first house right now and just so excited. Things are good.
Monsters & Critics: So, I saw that Giovanni went to school, so what is life like?
Brittany: Yes. He’s actually in a magnet school. Marcelino got him into a magnet school.
Monsters & Critics: Is it kindergarten or preschool?
Marcelino: It’s his very first year into, uh, elementary he’s going to be starting in a magnet school. It’s going to help him develop like his performing art skills, and, and music, and dance, and it’s, I’m just so excited because I know that these magnet schools are so much more different and, and just allows them to express themselves creatively, and that’s just, this little boy is full of energy, and he needs, he needed something like that.
M&C: So what is it like with two toddlers now? Like, you’ve got Giovanni in school, and then you’ve got two toddlers. Are you guys just like running around crazy?
Brittany: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Listen, if Marcelino and I did balance everything out so well, I don’t. I don’t know how I would do it. I, I have no idea.
Marcelino: Yeah, if I had hair to pull out, I probably would. This is, um … (Laughing)
Brittany: It’s fun, and it’s very rewarding, but at the same time, you know, trying to build like new careers, and moving into a new house and everything we have going on, these kids definitely keep us busy, and on our toes, that’s for sure.
M&C: In the new season, there’s like a couple more new couples added. Have you watched them on this season of Love After Lockup?
Brittany: Oh, yeah. We watch the show when you guys watch the show.
Marcelino: Yeah. Yeah, we watch, we watch the show. We’re fans on the show too, because, I mean, at the end of the day, they don’t tell us anything. We’re fans just like you guys.
M&C: So do you have a favorite couple that’s coming because you guys are now the OG’s, you guys are the original couple from the show?
Marcelino: It’s, you know, for me it’s a little bit difficult because, over the seasons, it’s become a little bit difficult to get attached to some of these couples because you root for them, and by the end of the season, it’s like “Oh man, you did what? Oh, that’s terrible,” and you feel so bad, and I really get heartbroken because we’re really talking about people who are trying to battle recidivism.
If you’re going to get wrapped up in that cycle, it’s just, it becomes heart-wrenching, so, uh, I get more for like individuals, people that I want to see do good and, and so yeah, I have a few that stand out.
M&C: Are you still doing the poker thing?
Marcelino: Yeah, definitely. I mean, that’s how, that’s how I get it, so and the pandemic’s kind of down a little bit, so the poker tables are back to eight people live without the partitions in between, which is, which is a lot better than when they were, because when, even when they were there it was, I mean, it was live, but it was still, you couldn’t get a good read on somebody (laughs). Sometimes you’d feel like you were, you were looking at somebody, and through the partition, you were actually looking at somebody else, like somebody else’s reflection, so it was like “What?”
M&C: So I saw that you guys went to Hawaii. Was that super amazing?
Brittany: Oh my god, I had been planning Hawaii for like six months, and I kept it a secret the whole time, and literally, um, like a couple of hours before the flight, I surprised him with the birthday, and so it was just, it, it was really amazing. Yeah.
Marcelino: Yeah, it was great. I couldn’t say anything else. I woke up on a beach in Hawaii on my birthday. That was, that was fantabulous. Absolutely.
M&C: What can you preview that’s happening this season? Maybe a big storyline or something?
Marcelino: Well, what we’re going to see is just, uh, the further progression of Britt- Brittany, uh, becoming successful, or trying to be successful.
Brittany: Yeah. I would definitely say that this season was, you know, a really big challenge for me to shoot because, you know, it was real and raw. If you, you know, think about the timeline from, of my life, you know, I spent my whole teenage years addicted to drugs, and then I went to prison when I was 18 and spent seven years of my adult life in prison.
I’m only 31, so I’ve only been out here in the world doing this adult thing for, for a few years now, and so me learning, you know, how to be successful, and how to start a career, and how to be a mom and how to be a wife is, a really huge learning curve for me, and, I’m not even going to lie, I can’t give any spoilers away, but I will say that I, uh, you know, I, I really f***ed up this (laughing), I really f***ed up this last year, but, the good does not, you know, I mean, the bad does not outweigh the good, and I just, I don’t know (laughs), I don’t know what else to say about it.
M&C: Can you talk about your relationship with your mom? Is she still in the picture? Are we going to see some of that?
Brittany: I can’t give any spoilers away. I’ll have to say that you guys have to tune in, but I will say that she is, um, she is doing better than the last time that you guys saw her. I will say that.
To see what happened with Brittany and what will play out, be sure to tune in each week!
Life After Lockup airs Friday nights at 9/8c on WEtv.