While social media is tuning in for entertainment and gossip surrounding Pastor Jamal Bryant‘s new fiancée, his ex-wife seemingly could care less.
At least, that’s how Gizelle Bryant played it during a recent interview days after her ex revealed to his congregation at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church that Dr. Karri Turner will be his future first lady.
While guest starring on “Fox 5 Morning” in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, May 28, the green-eyed beauty appeared cool and casual when asked about the engagement that rocked the Black church community over the weekend.
Her ex-husband announced his engagement years after the two tried to rekindle their romance a few years back on season five of her hit reality show. Gizelle initially responded saying, “Congratulations! Very happy for you,” in Bryant’s comment section on Instagram
Host Marissa Mitchell pressed Gizelle about her congratulatory comment announcement and wanted her to share more with her television viewing audience.
The Bravolebrity’s response was brief but clear: her main focus is on the happiness of her children’s father so that in turn he can show up in the best way possible for their three daughters, Grace Bryant, 19, and twin sisters Adore and Angel, 18.
“Super happy for him and for the church,” she said. “New Birth really needs a first lady. That’s important. And we need New Birth to be happy with Jamal because he has a lot of tuition to pay. All of my girls will be in college. So, all is well.”
As Mitchell mentioned that Gizelle soon will be an “empty nester” and noted that she and the pastor are still friends, the Hampton graduate responded, “Absolutely.”
She added, “He has called me four times this morning.”
RHOP’s Gizelle Bryant reacts to her ex-husband Pastor Jamal Bryant’s recent engagement announcement. We talked about this, her latest business venture and more today on #GoodDayDC. The @fox5dc convo —> https://t.co/VFuYfBw99m pic.twitter.com/YhXa7sJPQl
— Marissa Mitchell (@MarissaMFOX5) May 28, 2024
The other host Stephen Graddick followed up with another question, asking if she was going to send him an engagement gift.
“No, I’m not sending no gifts,” she sassily stated. “I’m happy for anything that’s going to make him continue to thrive and be a great dad to my girls.”
The former couple’s 19-year-old daughter, Grace Bryant, is a sophomore at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. As for their 18-year-old twins, Adore will be attending her mother’s alma mater in Virginia, Hampton University, this fall, while Angel will be close by her father at Spelman College in Atlanta.
The Shade Room posted the excerpt of Gizelle’s sit-down and many people chimed in, claiming that they detected a mocking note in her voice.
A person wrote, “She’s not really happy for him.”
“The ‘he called me 4 times today’ was uncalled for but I guess the questions were too,” a comment read.
A separate comment remarked, “Leave it to Gizelle to be tacky talking about the church paying her children’s tuition.”
Others who believed she responded in a “classy” way also questioned why she was asked questions about her ex-husband.
“The, ‘We HAVE to talk about your ex-husband’ isn’t journalism. It’s mess,” another comment read. As another followed up with, “That’s weird… why y’all asking this girl about her ex husband chile. Is the fox or the Wendy Williams show? Lol.”
Gizelle wore a green dress with white trim during her interview, and Turner wore a green dress with white polka dots during the Sunday service when her engagement to Bryant was announced.
One observer who claimed Gizelle and Bryant’s new lady look like twins added, “Hear me out, maybe I’m sleepy. Both of them with green dress and blonde hair i was confused like “same girl.”
Other commentators noted that Bryant’s ex was keeping it a buck, writing things like, “She’s just happy he won’t be embarrassing her anymore!!”
Gizelle and Pastor Bryant were legally married between 2002 and 2009. When they decided to rekindle their relationship in 2019, which played out on television during season 4, some of her “RHOP” cast mates weighing in on his past infidelity.
The two have worked hard to keep a level of normalcy in their relationship for their children’s sake, who are said to be “happy” about their father’s engagement to Dr. Turner.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am, how happy my family is, how happy my children are, and I hope my church is happy for me,” Bryant said to his congregation, receiving a round of applause.
This is not the first engagement that the Morehouse graduate has had since his divorce from Gizelle. In 2016, he announced his engagement to singer Tweet, who has not publicly commented on his new relationship.
