BY: Walker
Published 2 years ago
La La Anthony’s teenage son is keeping a watchful eye on his mom’s dating life.
via: Page Six
“He’s protective,” the actress, who shares the teen with her ex-husband, Carmelo Anthony, said on “The Jennifer Hudson Show” Wednesday. “He doesn’t like it. He doesn’t like it at all.”
La La, 43, joked that Kiyan would prefer she stay single.
“I’m just like, ‘You just want your mom to be alone? Like, forever?’ He’s like, ‘Kind of,’” she shared. “But anytime his friends want to go out and do something, he’s like, ‘All right, Ma, see ya later. I’m going here.’ I’m like, ‘You just leave me in a heartbeat, but you don’t want me to have anybody.’”
The “Power” alum even said she feels she has to hide her phone conversations with men and is often “sneaking texts” when her son or father are around the house.
“This is crazy,” she admitted with a laugh. “He’ll be like, ‘Mom, let me see your phone real quick.’ I’m like, ‘For what? What [do] you need my phone for?’”
Jennifer Hudson said it must be a “mommy-son thing,” to which La La replied, “It definitely is.”
The former “TRL” VJ also spoke about how she is raising Kiyan to be respectful of women.
“I lead by example,” she explained, adding that she teaches her son things like how he should say a woman looks nice when she is dressed up for an event.
“Women like to hear compliments. Women like people to do nice things for them. So, I start with me so he can learn from me on how to do that.”
But La La shared that she takes it even further, teaching Kiyan how he should act in all his relationships in life.
“If someone does something nice for you, acknowledge that. Let them know that was nice or that made you feel special. It’s OK to do that,” she said. “I try to make sure he’s in touch with his feelings.”
Kiyan, who is 6-foot-4, has followed in his father’s footsteps as a basketball player. He received a scholarship offer from Syracuse University in November 2022.
“That’s the school his dad won the championship at, so for them to come back around and offer him a scholarship, yay for Kiyan. I’m so proud of him,” La La said elsewhere in the interview, adding, “It’s just so amazing.”
La La opened up last October about re-entering the dating world after her divorce from Carmelo, 38, and admitted that only younger men want to date her.
“Here’s how it goes: This is what I’m finding, I don’t understand this. … I’m not saying when you get older you want to date younger guys, but when you get older, only younger guys want to date you,” she said on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast at the time.
“It’s the wildest thing. Guys will DM me and want to take me out, and I’ll Google them, I’ll be like, ‘You’re 22 years old.’ Like, how?”
At the time, the TV personality said she was not seriously dating anyone because her options were so young.
“People think I’m just out there, like, you can have any guy you want, but not really because the guys trying to talk to me are 21 to 22 years old,” she reiterated.
La La also shared that she would be open to having her newly single friend Kim Kardashian set her up on a date, though it’s unclear whether the reality star, 42, ever followed through.
La La divorced Carmelo in 2021 amid rumors that the former Los Angeles Laker cheated on her, which he denied. The former couple had previously separated in 2018.
The exes continue to co-parent their son and seem to maintain a close relationship despite their breakup. La La was even by Carmelo’s side when he opened a club, 9 Jones, in November 2022.