Ayesha Curry: "There's Always Going to Be Haters"
Many nights a week, around 11 p.m. EST, the name "Curry" trends on Twitter. Users have come to expect that the trending topic is about some buzzer-beating shot, some game-winning move, some inconceivable, record-breaking accomplishment by the Golden State Warriors' powerhouse point guard, Steph Curry. One click and you can see a repetitious Vine or gif of Curry in his element, making jaws drop from somewhere out near center court night after night. But Twitter is not without surprise, and often when you click that spicy surname, rather than your run-of-the-mill ESPN and Fox Sports tweets, you'll find headlines made by Ayesha Curry, his beautiful wife and mother of two daughters, including the rambunctious Riley, 3, and Ryan, who will turn 1 in July.
All dark hair and green eyes, Ayesha has undeniable movie-star good looks. In fact, her IMDb page proves that we're not the only ones who've reached that conclusion (one of her credits is literally as "Beautiful Girl" on the since-canceled sitcom Good Luck Charlie). From the outside it totally makes sense why a woman this striking would be with one of the most dynamic and beloved athletes of this decade (since they were around 14 years old, no less). But behind the glamour of being the top basketball wife is a woman. Beautiful, yes, but also passionate, talented, and often misunderstood. Through her YouTube channel, her upcoming cookbook, a Food Network TV show, and her infamous tweets and the fuckbois they've unearthed, Ayesha Curry has made a very tidy mark of her own on our culture. Who is the woman beside the man? Cosmopolitan.com talked with Ayesha to find out.
You're a cookbook author, a mother of two little girls, and wife to the most dynamic, beloved basketball player in the world. Do you believe your life most days?No, it's like we're still trying to process everything. It's been a whirlwind the past couple of years, and I don't think anything has quite set in yet, if that makes any sense.
When did you realize that it wasn't just your husband who's famous - it's also you and your family?I guess it didn't really happen until after the Championship [last] year, when all of that stuff happened with our daughter. Kids do that stuff all the time and nobody takes notice. It kind of caught us off guard, and so that changed everything for all of us.
Does Riley know that she's sort of a meme online? And do you all have any ground rules for how much exposure you'll let her have or what you won't let her be a part of?She has no clue, first of all, but it's something we never had time to think about because it all happened so fast. So now we're kind of at the point where we're regulating what's happening and how much exposure she has, because we just want her to be a kid, and this was never in the plan. Like, where do you draw the line? We're trying to find that balance right now.
Has your relationship with Steph evolved since being in the public eye? Did you guys have any growing pains when everything took off?Yeah, I think so. It was more so trying to [work on] time management and balance both of our schedules and make sure we still found that time for us. But [in] any marriage, everything takes work; so we're five years into our marriage now, and we're still trying to figure things out. But it's working, which is great. It's just making sure that irregardless of how tired you are or of what's going on that you find that time - and make that time - that's just for each other. Like no kids, no nothing; just each other. I think that has been what's kept everything running smoothly over here.
What does a like a night in look like for you two?A night in is basically trying to wrangle and calm down the children, and somewhere in between there make dinner, have a glass of wine, and attempt to watch a movie - and that never happens. I wish I could make it more interesting for you.
Are there any shows that you've binge-watched lately?I love watching How to Get Away With Murder, that is our jam. We are obsessed with it. I'm sad it's on hiatus right now. We're super lame, so like Fixer Upper. I was really, really, really into American Horror Story: Coven, which I guess was a while ago, but that one I loved. That was probably my favorite [Horror Story] thus far. Some of the other seasons I couldn't really get into, but it's almost like if you miss one [episode], you're done. You're lost. I love the show Blackish on ABC, it always gives me a good laugh; it's super relatable for us. It's one of those things you watch and you're like, "Oh, this is going to be whack," and then the first one-liner is completely relatable. You're hooked.
Social media has really blown up your words and image in a big way. A lot of sort of do-nothing men use your image to put down other women that they've deemed "not good enough." To them, you're sort of the ultimate woman and like the rest of us are trash, right? So when you tweeted about personally liking to stay covered up unless it's for your husband, why do you think so many pitiful men took that as an invitation to hate on everybody?You know what? I don't know why, because I'm the girl who kind of likes to fall back a little bit. I like to, you know, indulge in my passions and take it there career-wise - [but] I don't really say anything to bring attention to myself. I was literally looking at some pictures on the internet and flipping through a magazine and there was a picture of somebody with some pasties on walking down the street, and I swear to God I thought it was like the funniest thing I'd ever seen in my life and I thought, What is going on? I must not be cool at all, because I just couldn't bring myself to walk down the street like that. And that's all there really was to it, and then people thought I was saying that I was better than them, and that because I'm married I have a one-up, and it wasn't even like that. First of all, nobody wants to see this [referencing herself] anywhere - I have two kids, I'm a mom. I was just telling the truth about my personal preference and they were acting like they're my views on anybody else. But I don't know, I guess there's always going to be haters and people reading into stuff that there's nothing to read into.
Do you think that if a man had said what you said, they'd have the same sort of backlash? Like if Steph had said, "I like to keep it classy for Ayesha," would there have been a huge backlash? No, I think he would've seen a lot of, like, "hashtag goals." I don't think it would've gotten near as much backlash as my little itty-bitty tweet did. I don't know. I'm trying to wrap my head around that as well. I do hate that men are using it for leverage, I think it's the strangest thing and, like, nobody's perfect, everybody's flawed, everybody has their stuff, and it's kind of unfortunate that I'm apparently the girl that is being used for this. But it's one of those things, like, "Do I say something?" Then I'm like, "No, I don't say anything because then I'm drawing more attention to it."
Can you give the guys who are holding other women to this fake standard advice on how to attract a woman? Because they clearly need some guidance.Oh my God. My advice would be to communicate with that special lady as much as you can and be as open and honest as you can, because that's the base and foundation for a good relationship. And then just be true to yourself and don't play games. It seems like with millennials nowadays, everything is a game, and just doing yourself and playing it honestly is the best way to go.
What is your favorite dish to cook for Steph and the kids? And then which one is their favorite?Okay, okay. I'm glad you asked those two separate questions, because they're totally different. I love making ham steaks for my family, because it's so easy but you get the most tender, juicy steaks that you could possibly imagine, and it's pretty fool-proof so I can't mess it up. But Stephen's favorite thing actually is not fancy at all: It's chicken parmesan. He loves it, he's loved it since college; it's his favorite thing. But of course mine is the best, right? It has to be, right? That's what he likes me to make. And Riley, honestly, will eat anything that she cooks with me. If I don't have her in the kitchen with me she's genuinely upset - "Why didn't you let me help you?" Once she gets older, that's probably going to be her biggest memory of what we did together.
If you could add something to the Warriors' arena menu, what would it be?It would be open bar. One where you don't have to pay for the drinks. Like, nobody has to pay for the drinks. I always forget my wallet whenever I go, because I Uber to the games. They probably think I'm assuming ... like trying to get free drinks. They give me free drinks now, so it's all good, but everybody should get free drinks! It'd be a lot more interesting.
Are there any special perks of being married to Steph? Specifically, have you gotten to meet Beyoncé?So, I did. I have gotten to meet Beyoncé, actually. He's probably going to get mad at me for talking about it. We have a picture - I'm just going to say it. We have a picture with Beyoncé and Jay Z, and he won't let me post it. I think it's because he's trying to play it cool, but I really want to post it as a throwback Thursday and he's like, "Hmm … let's not do that." And I'm like, "All right, fine." [It was] at the Super Bowl; we got to meet them Super Bowl weekend.
At the performance? Or after?Yeah, right after that performance. They were the nicest. They were so nice.
Did you listen to Lemonade this weekend? Did you watch it?I did. My best friend is in town visiting from Toronto and she is totally up on her pop culture at all times. I'd seen the trailer for Lemonade, like the version with the cornrow braids, but I forgot that it was coming out. And [my friend] was like, "We've got to watch Lemonade." And I was like, "What do you mean, 'We've got to watch Lemonade?'" And she goes, "Beyoncé!" So Ryan went to bed on time that night, so I did get to watch. And it was awesome. I loved the imagery and the messages; I thought it was great. But it also made me like … I'm not angry for any reason right now, but it made me want to take a bat to a car window. I mean, when she was smashing in those windows? I was like, "Oh my gosh, that looks like so much fun."
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