Her name is Melissia Rene. There’s no need to give her any other title because she is definitely making a name for herself. She will soon open a clothing boutique, Devanna Love. That name is inspired by both of her children. It was such great pleasure talking to this beauty. She took the time out of her busy schedule to do this interview. And I do mean busy! We talked while she was in route to a family vacation. She was super positive and very down to Earth. I enjoyed every minute of it. Check out this interview to get to know who Melissia really is.
Parlé Magazine: Hi Melissia. Thank you so much for taking out the time to do this interview! I don’t know you personally but judging from Instagram, you seem like a really positive woman. And thank you for even considering doing this interview because there are women out there who refuse to be kind and just seem like they have to have a negative attitude but you’ve been very willing and open and I would like to commend you on your positivity.
Melissia: Thank you! People are like, “Oh my God, I look up to you!” and “I’m like, it’s me! I’m so normal, I swear!” (laughs)
Parlé: First of all, you having a clothing boutique and beauty bar does not surprise me. I think it’s safe to say you’re a fashionista, right?
Melissia: I think it’s safe to say I’m into fashion. I kinda have my own style. I’m a little bit of everywhere. I don’t have to wear name brand stuff. It’s the person who rocks the clothes. It’s not the clothes. If you put something on and you feel good in it, that’s what matters. I don’t feel like I have to wear Gucci and Prada. I’ll put anything on. I told my girls I’ll shop at Forever 21. It doesn’t matter to me. I will rock anything and I think I make it look good.
Parlé: The name of your clothing boutique is Devanna Love. Is it open yet and if not, when is the Grand opening?
Melissia: It’s named after my son and daughter- their names combined. It will be opened around mid-February. The whole process has been a lot of work. At first I felt like ‘I have the money, I’m good’! But once you get into it, you have to have the licensing and {so on}. I was like “Oh my Gosh.” But we plan to be open soon. We have celebrities involved and just really focus on branding myself. A lot of people know me because I have a daughter with Floyd. I’m trying to brand myself so I can be known as Melissia, not Floyd Mayweather’s baby mother.
Parlé: How will Devanna Love differ from other clothing boutiques?
Melissia: I haven’t seen this done. It may have, I don’t know. Once I said I wanted to incorporate my beauty bar within the boutique. I thought that was like a one stop shop. And I’ve noticed that when I walk into a boutique, I get a “Hey, how are you doing?” And you’re picking your own stuff out when you have a lot of people who really don’t have a sense of fashion. What I’m going to bring to the table is you can sit down with us, you can talk about what you’re trying to do, get fashion tips-almost like a consultation. I can give some tips and show women certain things that do and don’t look good on you. Some people don’t know and if you don’t have anybody telling you, then you don’t know any better.
Parlé: How do you put the perfect outfit together? Some people start with clothes first, then find shoes to match. I’ve also heard that some start with the shoes first, then finds something to match.
Melissia: My first idea is what do you want to wear. If it’s just pants, I think I can throw in a fly jacket with it. And if it’s a dress, that’s kind of simple. If it’s like pants and jacket—I do that first.
Parlé: What are four things you have to have before you leave home that you may feel contributes to a completion of you being completely dressed? (Lip gloss, lip stick, jewelry, purse)
Melissia: I have to have my purse. I feel naked without my purse. I have to have accessories on. There have been times where I actually left my house and had to go back to for my ring or watch. I definitely have to have lip gloss. I can’t think of a fourth thing. You know how some people are constantly turning down their visors and looking at themselves in the mirror? I’m not like that. Once I’m ready to go, I’m good.
Parlé: Now that surprises me. You look like a “mirror girl.” I would think you’re always looking in the mirror.
Melissia: And I don’t. Every now and then, I’ll go to the bathroom. But I don’t do it often. I know what I look like. (laughs)
Parlé: What would you say is the biggest misconception about you? You were in a relationship with someone very much respected for what he does. Some people have automatic thoughts on certain situations without knowing each person’s story.
Melissia: I think the biggest misconception of me is that I would be stuck up or that I would have an attitude. Everyone that has met me is like, “She is so super cool!” To be honest I rather to be liked for that than just my looks. {I like people} knowing that I’m a real person,I’m that person that you can come and talk to. It trips me out to hear that. I like that they have that misconception of me because once you do get to know me, you realize it’s so the opposite.
Parlé: I wouldn’t say that it was a misconception but when people are in a certain lifestyle or related to celebrities or know celebrities, sometimes they do act a certain way. I wanted to interview you. I was like, “I’m going to give it a shot. It will either be yes or no or she may not even respond so I’ll see.” You said yes and I was like, “Oh! She’s cool!” (laughs)
Melissia: I’m just that way and I’ve always said when I get into a relationship or friendship with anybody, I don’t care if it’s my girlfriends or somebody that I’m actually dating, I don’t want anybody to change me. I am who I am so therefore, I’m not going to let money change me or let the fact of who my daughter’s father is change me either because I know where I come from and I know I didn’t always have this lifestyle. I didn’t have this much attention geared toward me or the person that I share a child with. I even look at him like, “Oh you’re just Floyd!” Everybody else looks at him like, “Oh my God! It’s Floyd Mayweather!” I feel like he’s just Floyd and that’s how I handle him. We have a good relationship. I appreciate everybody. I don’t care if you want to interview me, if you want to say hi or take a picture with me. All that makes me feel a certain type of way and I appreciate everybody.
Parlé: And that’s why you will constantly be blessed.
Melissia: (laughs) I hope so.
Parlé: On Instagram, you seem very confident and positive. Did you always feel as confident as you seem to be now?
Melissia: I feel like I’ve always been confident but I do think that there was a point in my life where I could have used a bit more confidence. I just got myself to a place where after one of my last relationships where I just said I was going to take out time for me and focus on me. I took a lot of time to see the things that I liked. I didn’t worry about hearing the compliments of a man saying I look good or anything like that because I was focused on myself. I had to convince myself that I was a beautiful person. It’s not just outward. It’s the inside-out to me. We’re all going to be old one day. We’re all going to look a certain way one day. You have to be confident with what you got. It is what it is and nothing’s going to change.
Parlé: If there’s a young girl {or anybody} who is dealing with low self-esteem, what would you tell them?
Melissia: I would say take the negativity out of the picture and just know that you are someone special. I tell my daughter she’s beautiful. I think it’s important for you to know, especially if you don’t hear it when you are a kid, because some people don’t. Their parents don’t take the time out to tell them that their beautiful. But just know that you are someone special. If we all were supposed to look one way, we would look that way. We were all made differently for every different walk of life. Everybody is not going to look at me and say that I am a beautiful person. I’ve gotten that on Instagram. It may not be that they’re hating. It could honestly be that they don’t think that I’m an attractive person. There are people that I’ve looked at and thought they may not necessarily be somebody that I’m attracted to. But I would never down someone for the way that they look because once you get to know someone; that’s who you fall in love with.
Parlé: Is there anything else you would like for people to know?
Melissia: Not really. Anybody that does have a misconception of me, just take a step back and take the time to get to know me. I respond to a lot of people on Instagram. There’s been times when I have taken a pen and wrote down all the names that I have to @ back and actually reply to them. I really take the time to do that. I just don’t like when people are negative. It’s just not even worth my time. The first thing I do is I go to their page, I block them and I delete their comment. I’m not into all that negativity because when you pull it in, that’s what you get. I just want people to know me for me. I have so much coming up. There is so much more of me that you guys are going to see and hear. Everybody won’t get to know me personally like how you and I are talking on the phone, but even if one person like you says, “I talked to her and she was awesome!” It’s word of mouth.
Parlé: How can you be reached? Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and website
Melissia: On Instagram it’s @melissiarene and my Twitter is @mizzmelissia
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