Lacey Whitlow has been a staple on Life After Lockup after moving to the spinoff following her successful season of Love After Lockup.
From her love triangle with Shane and John to the new life she is about to welcome, Lacey has been put through the wringer as viewers have watched it all play out on reality TV.
As this season of Life After Lockup comes to a close, Lacey Whitlow talked with Monsters & Critics about her life now and what the show has done for her and her family.
Monsters & Critics: So I first just want to start with asking you, what has the last year been like for you with filming and COVID-19 and the kids home and the homeschooling? Can you give me a brief description?
Lacey Whitlow: So, the last year, obviously it’s been really crazy for everybody, especially with COVID, being quarantined in our home with my husband and being pregnant and having to homeschool the kids. It’s been pure craziness. But, I feel like it’s also been a really good growing experience.
I feel like everything happens for a reason and we’re coming out of it a lot stronger. I liked it because gaining more time with the kids and we were able to learn different things because I took them out of public school. So we were able to focus on different things with different ways of learning. So I thought that was really cool.
M&C: So how has doing Love After Lockup and Life After Lockup changed your everyday life? Are you noticed when you go out? Are there different things that happen that didn’t happen before?
Lacey: The way that the show has changed my personal life… When I go out in public, sometimes I do get noticed. And sometimes people just stare. And that’s okay. That’s part of the show. I’ve had people who are friends with me, I’ve had a lady in the grocery store that absolutely hated me and she was not scared to let me know how she felt about me. I was like, Whoa, she’s like really into this and telling me I’m an awful person and blah blah blah. I just feel like I’ve gotten mixed emotions from different people. I’ve had people knock on my front door, wanting pictures. And I just think it’s really crazy. But you know, that’s what I signed up for. So I’m taking it all in stride. I think it’s really interesting.
M&C: So do you have any regrets about joining the show? Like would you do it again?
Lacey: I would definitely do it again because ultimately… Me and Shane, I’m getting pregnant and having that experience of being married and just that whole journey of IVF. That was just an amazing experience. So, I don’t really have any regrets because it all led to a beautiful thing.
M&C: What is one piece of advice you would give somebody else in the same situation as you, like with dating an inmate that you wish you would’ve known ahead of time?
Lacey: A piece of advice. I don’t know because I’ve only, have dated inmates. So, to know ahead of time. I guess a piece of advice would be, just to have patience. Like when someone gets out from being incarcerated, depending on how long they were in, they kind of have to like restructure their brain and they kind of get back into how life is on the outside. But it’s having patience.
M&C: So besides your own story, which other story, on either Love After Lockup or Life After Lockup, are you invested in? Or who is your favorite couple?
Lacey: I don’t know. I love everybody in the story. Everybody’s great. I really loved Andrea and Lamar and I don’t know. I love everybody. I really just can’t pick one. I think everybody’s story is different and interesting in their own way.
M&C: What is one thing that you wish people knew about you that they don’t?
Lacey: One thing? I feel like a lot of people think that my kids don’t live with me because they weren’t on film as much. But, the kids are young and I just felt like they didn’t need to be on camera. So I think a lot of people will be like my dad takes care of my kids. But in reality, I have them all of the time. They live here in the house with me and I’m 24/7 being a great mom to them. And I don’t feel like that’s really perceived on the show like how it is in real life.
M&C: Okay, so a few months ago you made headlines because you called out Javi from Teen Mom 2 because he slid into your DMs. Does that happen a lot, like with other reality TV personalities?
Lacey: Yeah. Well, that has happened before I even came onto the show. But now that I’ve been on the show and even before the show, I’ve had TV personalities, or a lot of the times it’s like, sports players and stuff like that, that have slid into my DMs.
M&C: And are you watching the show live as it airs on Friday nights? And what did you think of the confrontation between John and your dad?
Lacey: Yes of course I’m watching and I really… I had no idea that my dad had gone to his house. So, I’m watching along with everybody else and I’m thinking in my head like, is this live? He kind of backed off and stopped calling and stopped texting. I don’t know. That was the question in my mind. I think my dad maybe definitely had an impact on the situation.
M&C: Okay. And then finally, what is next for you and Shane? Obviously, I know you can’t give spoilers, but just, what are your goals or something that you guys see happening in the future?
Lacey: I think ultimately our goal is just to raise our baby and have a happy family. That’s the ultimate goal. So, we’ll see how that works out.
To see what happens next with Lacey and Shane, but sure to tune into the two-hour season finale of Life After Lockup airing tonight.
Life After Lockup airs Friday nights at 9/8c on WeTV.