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It’s officially time for Family Empire: Houston to debut on OWN, Oprah Winfrey’s network. Launching on Friday, June 28th, the new show takes place in Houston, Texas, highlighting four generations of the Braden family.

Clocking in at 8 episodes, the unscripted series follows ‘sister cousins’ Nicole, Jermeshia and JaQuita, who all have a collective dream to follow in the footsteps of their grandmother Oscarene, who has been revered as the Brandem family matriarch. Oscarene is a real estate entrepreneur who built the family empire from the ground up, passing down her work ethic, hustle, and determination to her children and grandchildren. 

Sheen Magazine had the pleasure of chatting with Nicole Braden Handy, Jermeshia Goudeau, and JaQuita Martin about this exciting new venture.

 

What does it mean to have a show on Oprah’s OWN network?

Nicole: Girl honey, the Oprah Winfrey?! 

Jermeshia: The Oprah Winfrey, that’s what we call her.

Nicole: It’s amazing. Growing up, I can speak for all of us when I say we’ve all wanted to emulate Oprah. We love everything about her. From her business aspect, overcoming boundaries and hurdles, the challenges that she’s faced as a businesswoman and the mogul that she is today. Then from a philanthropic aspect as well, I don’t think we could’ve been partnered with a better network. Honestly, representation matters. To us, Oprah was that representation.

JaQuita: We won the lottery.

Nicole: Yeah, we won the lottery. Oprah knows my name honey.

Jermeshia: The reality TV show lottery. The Oprah Winfrey Network, absolutely.

What was the most wild moment from filming?

Nicole: The wildest? Can we say that?

You’ll see it on the trailer, you’ll see it a little bit. This part is on the trailer. But there’s an instance where we have a little girl’s day in my home, and we bought in a stretch therapist. It was a lot of stretching going on. I don’t want to give too much away, but that was on the trailer. 

JaQuita: A lot of moaning and groaning. 

All: [laughs]

When I watched that part, I was wondering why they’re stretching. 

Jermeshia: Preparation. 

All: [laughs]

How does granny feel about being on camera? 

Jermeshia: Oh, she loves it!

JaQuita: She never would’ve imagined in 87 years that this would be her life. She’s just taking it all in. I think she loves the local celebrity status that she’s getting. She’s absorbing it all. 

Nicole: We thought honestly she wasn’t going to like it.

JaQuita: We thought she wasn’t going to like it, but we were so wrong. She shows up so well, she does her part. She’s great. She’s fantastic. Like Jermeshia said, we think she likes the local celebrity fame.

What is the Braden legacy?

Jermeshia: The Braden legacy is hard work. It’s hard work, and that’s how you reap the benefits to have excellence. We don’t mind working hard to be able to celebrate it with our family. Those two go together, and that’s family and hard work. And doing it together, that’s what Braden is. The Braden legacy is all about family and working together to reach our own goals.

What are your ladies’ beauty go-to’s?

Jeremeshia: Ooh, Nicole has them all.

Nicole: [laughs] Skincare, that’s my beauty go-to. I’m really big into the Korean skincare now, because you have to have a great palette to start off with. You can put makeup on anything, but I was introduced to the Korean skincare and now I am hooked.

Jeremeshia: For me, it really is Vaseline. Oh my gosh, I use it everywhere. I use all my lashes, because I don’t wear a lot of makeup normally. I use it on my face, arms, legs. I use it everywhere! I have purchased all types of moisturizers, all types of stuff. What works for me is good ole Vaseline. Petroleum jelly, that’s what works for me. It’s crazy, it is. But everybody tells me: “you have such great skin!”

JaQuita: Yeah, exactly. I don’t think our skin needs too too much. Me, being honest, I just use Dove. Dove soap and hey, it gives me what I need. But my thing with self-care is really my hair. I’m big on making sure my hair is done and looking good all the time. Skincare, I haven’t come up with the skincare regimen besides the good ole Dove. But this is weekly. [laughs]

Anything else I should know about Family Empire?

Jeremeshia: It’s gonna be fun. We’re a fun family. When people watch it, it’s gonna be so relatable. It’s so many characters because there’s so many family members. Everyone will be able to find that one character that resonates to them, and they see a little bit of theirself in. That’s what’s going to make Family Empire great, is because you can see yourself. It’s not this old pomp and pageantry, it’s really truly authentic. It’s real, it’s family. It’s fun, it’s love, and it’s legacy.

 

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Own TV & Warner Bros Discovery