Lira Galore is angry.
The 22-year-old social media star, former exotic dancer and ex-fiancée of rapper Rick Ross has admitted as much, but Lira is now dealing with her anger in a dramatically different fashion than firing off some heated Tweets or burying her feelings in a bottle. Rather, she is facing her emotions head-on with the help of life coach Iyanla Vanzant.
Determined to debunk the myth of the angry black woman, Iyanla has invited eight women labeled “angry” ― including Lira ― to enter a “House of Healing,” where they will get to the heart of their behaviors. Lira’s work begins as she addresses her high-profile split.
“Our relationship was phenomenal. But then he changed,” Lira says. “He was doing a lot of sneaky things behind my back.”
Lira admits that her ex-fiancé’s behavior infuriated her, but adds that there’s a boarder issue at the heart of her anger.
“I’m angry because I want our black men to value us, and they don’t,” she says simply.
For Lira, dealing with that anger hasn’t been easy. “When I’m angry, I drink. I like the way it makes me feel. Makes me forget my pain, my hurt, my heartbreak,” she says. “Alcohol helps, but sometimes I act out.”
It is the acting out that Iyanla says reinforces the stereotype of the “angry black woman,” and she adds that the key to doing away with this dangerous label is understanding what’s really beneath the anger. In Lira’s case, her conversation with Iyanla draws out her biggest problem in her relationship with Rick Ross.
“[I was] being naïve, listening to anything I was being told,” Lira says.
“You ignored your intuition as a woman. Do you know how you learned that, Miss Lira?” Iyanla asks the former stripper. “I’m not saying it to be disrespectful. You learned to do that on the pole. Because on the pole, it wasn’t about you, was it?”
Considering this, Lira uses two words to describe how she feels now. “Very embarrassed,” she says, dropping her head.
“Those are some of the places we’ve got to go for your healing,” Iyanla says.
Lira’s healing ― and the healing of the seven other women ― continues on the next “Iyanla: Fix My Life,” airing Saturday, Sept. 17, at 9 p.m. ET on OWN. You can also watch episode on demand via the Watch OWN app.
Another inappropriate way anger is expressed:
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