Flex Alexander made a name for himself as an actor when he played Darnell on the sitcom "Girlfriends" and earned award nominations for his role as Flex Washington on his own series "One on One."
But that was years ago.
More recently, Flex and his wife of 14 years, '90s pop star Shanice Wilson, have had more than a few career stumbling blocks, hitting financial rock bottom. Along with their two children and handful of extended family members, Flex and Shanice moved into a rental house and dealt with their troubles quietly. Not even their close friends knew the extent of their woes. But now, the couple feels it's time to open up.
In their new reality special, "Flex and Shanice," the two allowed cameras to capture their journey to get back on track, beginning with Flex revealing exactly what his family has been through to his friend of 15 years, comedian Kym Whitley.
In the above video, Flex meets Kym for lunch to discuss how he can get back into stand-up comedy, which he has done and enjoyed in the past. After the two talk about his comedic approach, Flex lets Kym in on the secret he's been keeping.
"Kym, you don't know what we've gone through. We haven't shared it with a lot of people," Flex begins. "We've gone through a lot. We've gone through ups, we've gone through downs. I've had that 4 o'clock banging at the door, they're coming to get the car…"
Kym interrupts. "Somebody came to get the car?" she asks, shocked.
"Yep," Flex nods. "We lost our home."
"Flex, no!" Kym says. "Oh, you're going to make me cry. You're going to make me cry… I've never ever known this."
"There ain't no pain worse than that," Flex tells her.
Later, Flex explains why he, too, becomes emotional when faced with these facts. "As a man, you take all that on your shoulders, no matter what," he says. "It's my job to protect and it's my job to provide. So, you feel like a failure."
