
Relationship Expert Dr. Stacii Jae Johnson Shares Tips On Maintaining Healthy Relationships

Dating in the modern world can be tricky, especially if individuals aren't given the proper tools to obtain and maintain a healthy, loving, and satisfying relationship.
With the limited information, many could find themselves either settling for less than they deserve or in a never-ending cycle of bad situationships and relationships. But that's where Dr. Stacii Jae Johnson comes in.
The best-selling author and relationship expert made it her life's mission to help women and couples dominate the relationship realm by asking the right questions and assisting others in figuring out their overall goals when it comes to love.
Dr. Johnson, who has been offering relationship advice for over two decades, has used personal experiences from her dating life to help what she says a "million women and couples create healthy love."
The public speaker's work is so influential that she's been featured in various well-known publications and is hosting the reality TV series OWN's Put a Ring on It.
In addition to Dr. Johnson's profound career, she is extending her services by collaborating with xoNecole, to create weekly 90-second video segments discussing specific topics to help individuals get and sustain healthy love.
Last week, in a video announcing the new collaboration, the 52-year-old opened up about what inspired her to help others find fulfilling relationships.
Dr. Johnson's inspiration behind helping women and couples find and create a well-rounded relationship
In the clip, Dr. Johnson revealed that her late mother prioritized always showing her and her brother "good love" despite the hardships.
"My mother passed away of cancer and going through her fifth divorce when she was 56 years old in 2005. Before she passed, more than anything, she said she wanted to show my brother and I, good love," she explained.
Later in the video, Dr. Johnson shared that her mother's gestures "resonated" with her because, at the time, she didn't fully comprehend how to love healthily because she lacked the tools to do it.
"That just resonated with me because I had zero tools to understand how do you make love work in a healthy way?" she said. "Since then, I've been teaching people how to create, cultivate and keep healthy romantic love."
Dr. Johnson's Tip for Preferences, Deal Breakers, and Nonstarters
Dr. Johnson's first tip was about the standards individuals set early in the relationship while discussing the topics of preferences, deal breakers, and nonstarters.
In the video, Dr. Johnson disclosed why it is essential that many choose their words wisely regarding these topics, especially preferences and nonstarters. The reason behind her explanation is that this stage could set up their potential relationship for failure.
"This week y'all, we're talking about deal breakers and nonstarters. If you find yourself in a relationship, honey, with somebody who you are asking and negotiating your deal breakers and your nonstarters, then shame on you,” she said. “Why are you even in a relationship with somebody like that in the first place?"
She continued, "What you should be negotiating is your preferences. So if you find yourself in a relationship and you are negotiating your nonstarters, y'all, those are nonstarters, get the words, get into it. You see what I'm saying. So then the relationship should have never been, right? But your preferences, that's another thing."
Dr. Johnson wrapped up the clip by saying that if an individual is still negotiating their nonstarters with a partner, their union will be doomed because they were never supposed to be with someone with qualities that fell in the nonstarters category.
For more of Dr. Johnson's work, tune in to OWN's Put a Ring On ItFridays at 9 p.m. ET and catch her weekly videos on xoNecole's social media pages.
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Featured image by Carol Lee Rose/Getty Images
Eva Marcille On Starring In 'Jason’s Lyric Live' & Being An Audacious Black Woman
Eva Marcille has taken her talents to the stage. The model-turned-actress is starring in her first play, Jason’s Lyric Live alongside Allen Payne, K. Michelle, Treach, and others.
The play, produced by Je’Caryous Johnson, is an adaptation of the film, which starred Allen Payne as Jason and Jada Pinkett Smith as Lyric. Allen reprised his role as Jason for the play and Eva plays Lyric.
While speaking to xoNecole, Eva shares that she’s a lot like the beloved 1994 character in many ways. “Lyric is so me. She's the odd flower. A flower nonetheless, but definitely not a peony,” she tells us.
“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Feature image by Leon Bennett/WireImage
Teyana Taylor & Aaron Pierre Might Be The Internet’s New Favorite Pairing
Is it just us, or are Teyana Taylor and Aaron Pierre making it harder and harder to believe that they’re not a thing?
The two have been serving soft launch vibes for months, but their most recent Instagram interaction has folks raising their eyebrows and their glasses.
Just this week on Sunday, April 13, Aaron shared a shirtless selfie to his IG Stories, a classic thirst trap moment, complete with abs on display, and emitting just enough heat to get the timeline talking. Not long after, Teyana hopped on her own IG Stories with a three-word message that had the internet abuzz: “on di wey 😮💨.”
Aaron Pierre/Instagram via people.com
Now, maybe it was just a coincidence... but let’s be honest, it didn’t feel like one.
Especially considering Aaron’s West Indian roots and Teyana’s long-documented admiration for tall men she can climb like a tree (her ex-husband Iman Shumpert is 6'5" and Aaron's not far behind at 6'4"). That “on di wey” hit like a flirty green light. And fans caught it, quick.
Teyana Taylor/Instagram via people.com
This isn’t the first time these two have had us side-eyeing and doing double-takes to their timelines.
On March 3, Teyana posted a striking set of black-and-white photos on Instagram alongside Aaron. The two stood back-to-back, dressed to the nines and giving high-fashion, high-intensity energy. Her caption? “Oscar night in black & white, no grey area. 🤍”
Aaron posted the same photos, except his was without a caption, just vibes.
They also shared a table at the American Black Film Festival Honors back in February (where Teyana was also spotted holding his award that he won that night) and were spotted at the Vanity Fair Oscar party looking entirely comfortable in each other’s space. While they haven’t officially confirmed anything, the visuals have done most of the talking.
(L to R) Aaron Pierre, Teyana Taylor, Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts attend the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party
Dave Benett/VF25/WireImage for Vanity Fair
And if you're wondering whether Teyana fits Aaron’s type? First, how could she not be? But second, according to a 2024 interview on Buzzfeed’s Seasoned podcast, the Mufasa: The Lion King star had a thing for women like Ashanti and Foxy Brown growing up. "My first childhood crush was Ashanti, and my second childhood crush was Foxy Brown," he shared at the time, sending social media into a frenzy.
Black women who exude sex appeal, confidence, and boss energy, aka, everything Teyana walks with daily. She’s the moment, the mood, and apparently… the mirror selfie responder...
Since finalizing her divorce from Iman in June 2024, Teyana has been booked, unbothered, and flourishing on her own terms. Between starring in a Dionne Warwick biopic and starring in One Battle After Another, a star-studded film led by Leonardo DiCaprio and helmed by director Paul Thomas Anderson, sis is locked in.
Aaron, meanwhile, is fresh off voicing the title role in Mufasa: The Lion King and gearing up to appear in Lanterns, an upcoming Max DC series, as well as the new season of The Morning Show. Lowkey highkey, they’re both in their leading-role eras, on-screen and maybe, just maybe, in each other’s lives.
Or maybe it’s just vibes. Maybe it’s more. But from the flirty exchanges to the red carpet proximity, this pairing feels like the kind of slow burn romance that soft launches are made of.
And if it is what it looks like? We love this for her.
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Featured image by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Vanity Fair