‘She Aging Gracefully and Backwards’: Don Brumfield Shows Appreciation to His Wife Ashley and Her Physical Transformation

“Black Ink Crew” star Don Brumfield took to Instagram on Dec. 22 to shout out his wife’s Ashley Pickens’ fitness journey.

The doting husband started by saying Pickens motivated him to get his life back on track in more ways than one. “2 kids later and a c-section this goddess has kept me on my toes and inspired me to get my life in order.” Brumfield went on to say his wife’s improvements came from a healthy diet and not surgical procedures.

Ashley Pickens’ weight loss transformation in 2019. (Photos: @ashley_danielle_b/Instagram)

“She made herself in the kitchen with healthy eating habits and self-control. No doctors or tables here. Not against anyone who has just giving her props on hard work. She is aging gracefully and backwards @ashley_danielle_b keep doing what you doing love you queen 👸🏿.”

Pickens returned the love by commenting that despite their previous rocky patches in their relationship, she only wants to experience this life journey with Brumfield.

“Awww, thank you king been a long hard journey to good health and wealth but wouldn’t want to go through this journey with anyone else love you ❤️ @bishop__don.” Fans expressed their admiration for the couple and their ability to work things out.

“Ash & Don ❤ so proud of how y’all held it down 💯”

“Yes Don! I’m so happy to see you and Ashley are working through it, I love to see a strong black family.”

“Glad to see your relationship has done a 360..proud of you 2❤️”

“Behind every good man there’s a good woman may you two grow old gracefully 🙏❤️”

“I’m so happy for y’all happiness ❤️I love black love 💗 y’all look damn good together #blacklove”

Don Brumfield shouting out his wife’s fitness journey. @bishop__don/Instagram

Hours before the loving post, Brumfield uploaded a collage of his own transformation, hoping to encourage his followers. In his caption, the 33-year-old explained that change for him involved doing the internal work first. “I did this for me …. transforming was about feeling better on the inside the outside came later … trust the process.”

Brumfield also informed his fans “they haven’t haven’t seen nothing yet” while tagging fellow bodybuilder Tay Raines and trainer Paul Younan.

The reality star recently placed top three in his amateur class at the Mr. Olympia competition. Brumfield stood alongside Raines in the photo and said what made his high placing sweeter was that he got to do it with his “brother.”

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top